- #1
I'm so glad, so glad I found this book. It's a true gem in my heart. However, this review is subjected to changes because I am only at chapter 56.Every significant character in this story, except Oscar, is truly insane or borderline insane. There's a good reason why they all turn out the way they do, especially Zachary. If you are wondering if Oscar is involved with the brainwashing, no, he is not.Oscar is your typical lovable, dense (in an endearing way), and good-hearted person. He has a very loving mother, but that love from his mother is only limited to Oscar. He has a good (?) family, but again, the family is only good to Oscar. It is a miracle Oscar manages to stay the way he is living with such a family, and witnessing the horrors that happened to Zachary.It was really difficult to read through some parts because it was just downright horrifying or heart-wrenching. My heart really goes out for Oscar and Zachary.The translation and writing is great. I love it. It isn’t overly complex that you need to dig your brains out for. You also won't need to edit the writing or translation in your mind as you read.The characters have many layers to them. None of them has felt one-dimensional to me. The one that has yet to be truly shown is Zachary, but that is because he is completely brainwashed and mentally broken as stated. He is starting to show signs of breaking out from it at where I stopped.If you came here looking for green flags and healthy relationships, nope. Just don't. Even the loving family inside here is not a green flag. No one is. Well, maybe except Oscar but even he might change.If you came here to binge about insane characters (and possible yandere ML) with historical elements and world-building, and slow-burn romance, you can try reading it. That said, if you are the type to hate dense protagonist, Oscar might annoy you in some ways.At the end of the day, it depends on your tastes. It definitely hit all my criteria for a good book, and it hit really hard.