Review: Reclaimed by Seth Haddon

*It is not necessary to read Reforged, Reborn, and Reclaimed in order (that order), but there are references to other locations and names that can only been understood after reading the rest of the trilogy. I read them in what is technically the order 3, 1, 2, but that did not diminish my experience while reading them*

Onto the review! Spoiler-free, as always

Genres: Fantasy/romance/mystery

I am not exaggerating when I say that this book changed my life. Two very important aspects, specifically: as a person and as a reader

As a person: I have never seen myself so accurately represented in a book, ever. The main character is a nerdy disaster gay™ trans man and he's a mess and I love him. I didn't realize how much I needed to see a cis man & trans man together where it's just... not a big deal that he's trans (it is a big deal in other aspects of the story, but not the romance). At the time I was reading it, I had kind of given up on finding love. I didn't feel like I was worthy of being loved because of all the baggage that comes with being dysphoric, and I swear that this book made me believe that I could find love again

As a reader: I have never liked romance novels. I picked up this book because of the main character's top surgery scars on the cover and thought "the worst that could happen is that I don't like it." Well, as evidenced by the paragraph above, I definitely liked it. But it also made me think, maybe I just don't like straight romance novels. Even Achillean romance novels have always been too hit or miss to really bother with. This book made me realize that I like reading romance when I can put myself in the shoes of one of the characters, and that seems to be the only way I can do that

The main character's dysphoria is written tastefully without shying away from brutal accuracy and it's clear the author cared very much about getting it right. The world building is compelling but I really wish there were more maps (a small complaint I have about many fantasy novels)

Rating: 10/10

LMSS: 8 - Much to think about, theorize about, and read about the in-universe implications of