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3.5 stars.

Hellevir is able to raise the dead, but her gift comes with a price. Each time she visits with Death, she loses a small part of her self. When rumors of her gift reach the royal court, the Queen seeks her out and demands that she become the on-call resurrectionist for Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the crown. Hellevir finds herself in difficult position as she navigates the world of political intrigue, threats, and conspiracy all while attempting to balance her personal morals with the complex relationships she forms.

Read if you like:
- political intrigue
- necromancy
- dark fantasy

I am conflicted on how I feel about this book. Overall, I enjoyed the premise of the story but I feel like it didn’t meet it’s full potential. A majority of the plot line was repetitive. I would have liked more of a backstory, especially regarding the history of the War of the Waves and the Onaistus religion. A map would also be helpful.

I also didn’t care for Hellevir and Sullivain’s relationship. It was toxic and I found it difficult to believe in their subplot of a romance. Sullivain is incredibly manipulative and doesn’t seem to care about the emotional or physical toll of Hellevir using her gift. She also never takes accountability for her actions. But who knows, maybe she’ll get a redemption arc.

I did really enjoy the scenes with Death and the mystery surrounding his character. Hellevir has far more interesting interactions with him than anyone else. I also loved the raven. 10/10 for the animals.

That being said, I feel like there is the potential for Hellevir’s character to have a lot more growth and development in the next book. Like girl, you can still be empathetic and compassionate, but grow a backbone. I am also curious to see how the rest of her bargain with Death pans out, as well as what happens within the court. I liked this enough to give the next book a shot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: July 2, 2024.

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*Tandem between ebook and audio formats.*

4⭐️ for overall story / 5⭐️ for audiobook performance

Overall I enjoyed this story. It held my interest and I found it fascinating. I know a lot of others have complained about what it is not, but I liked it for what it was. A dark fantasy with queer characters and an FMC who was constantly just trying to do the right thing but was always left being someone's chew toy...until she wasn't.

I read this as an e-arc, but the audiobook also came out on Everand during that time, so I added that in as a tandem read at about the 35% mark. This one had the same narrator (Kristin Atherton) as Belladonna, and she is just *chef's kiss*. Atherton has incredible range and really gives the reader a multi-cast experience while being just a single narrator. I was already enjoying the book, but enjoyed it even more due to the audio.

Speaking of Belladonna, this story gave big Belladonna vibes. But it's also very different. Think Belladonna mixed with One Dark Window. FMC Hellevir is walking and talking with Death, also very dark and kinda gothic vibes, nature/spirit magic...

The cover as it is now, doesn't really fit the story. Mixed with the blurb, it leads you to believe it's a romantasy, but it's not. I wouldn't even call this a romance. It's the barest of sapphic (more like undertones)...if anything, there's more achillean romance in here (I loved those characters). The old cover (on the arc copy) is more appropriately reflective of the story: Hellevir with the raven on her shoulder walking one way, while the man in black is walking above her in the other direction. Not really sure why they changed the cover. Sullivain isn't even queen in this book, so the image of her as the crown being both alive and dead is not really accurate.

This book read like a more mature YA, but the main characters seemed more on the young side. I'm not sure what it's categorized as, but it is a tad bit darker in nature. But overall, I enjoyed the writing style and found it easily consumable, yet not overly simplistic in nature.

I liked that same-sex relationships/partnerships seemed to be somewhat normal in this world, or at least in the court environment.

I felt like some of the backstory seemed a little convoluted. I wanted a little more. The War of the Waves wasn't really explained all that well, to me, so I had a hard time connecting those events with those of the Onaistus history. I didn't really understand how that religion came to be. But I could have just missed some things.

There were a few things I didn't see coming, so I liked that. I enjoy a good twist or something that jerks my emotions suddenly because it's unexpected.

A smidge of character analysis:
Hellevir: I really enjoyed her character. She had a realistic/logical personality, but cared deeply at the same time. I appreciated her gift and her connection to the earth and natural spirits. I really loved Elsevir as her little familiar. I was so happy with how she acted at the end.

Hellevir and Death's interactions over the course of the story were so interesting to me. They seemed to have this rolling type of relationship as the book progresses: enemies, business partners, father/daughter, brother/sister, lovers(?). Either way, he clearly cares for Hellevir. Death's character was so fascinating to me. He's still shrouded in so much mystery by the end and it left me wanting to know more.

Sullivain: I absolutely could not stand her character. She just used Hellevir only when it suited her, but wanted to act like she meant something to her only when she felt her grasp on Hellevir slipping. Sullivain made Hellevir feel worthless and threatened her family any opportunity she could get. I feel a little pity for her because I think she was a puppet, but I also think she's a coward for not standing up for herself and Hellevir more with her grandmother. I also despise Sullivain for making Hellevir have feelings for her. I don't think Sullivain had any intention of actually pursuing a relationship with Hellevir until they became so bonded by their death exchanges. I think she's that much of a selfish B, despite what she told Hellevir.

Recommendation:
I would recommend this book, but not to romantasy readers specifically. If that's what you're looking for, you will not find it in this book. However, if you are a reader of fantasy in general, who also enjoys darker fantasy romance/romantasy, or either of the two books that I comp'd up above, then you may enjoy this for what it is. But just know, any sliver of romance in here is simply the subplot, so you should have that expectation going into it. Happy reading! 🤙🏼💕

Thank you to Avon/Harper Voyager and NetGalley for digital copy of this book. This review is my honest feedback and given voluntarily.

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{3.5/5}

CW: gore, death, some others

What a strangely delightful book. I…have a lot of thoughts.

Hellevir has always known she had a gift— the ability to step into death and bring back the soul of the departed. But every exchange has a cost, and the more she walks with Death, the more Hellevir loses. The cost to raise a princess, though, may be more than she’s willing to pay.

I’m not going to lie, this book took me a while to get through. And by ‘a while,’ I mean that it took me about 4 days, which is roughly double what a book of this length would usually require. Somehow, despite the extra time, it never felt like it was dragging.

Full disclosure— I didn’t like the main character. Hellevir is naive, often willingly so. She’s full of rage and power, and yet she ends up coming across as spineless, especially early on in the story. Perhaps worst of all, for me, is that this combination manifests as a total inability to say no and stick to her guns. It’s a fitting set of characteristics for her situation, but that doesn’t make it any more likeable. Strangely enough, I found almost all of the characters in the story to have a similar problem. With the exception of maybe 2 side characters, pretty much everyone ended up being less than stellar human beings.

The real redeeming quality to this story, what made it so easy to read despite the slow pacing, was the magic. It’s a simple sort of magic there. A communion with the spirits of nature. While this isn’t a common gift in Hellevir’s world, the depiction of it and the interactions she has with the living beings around her was beautiful. It feels soft and warm and perfect, and I loved reading it. Even Hellevir’s interactions with death and the depictions of that world were amazing.

Regarding the actual story…not a lot actually happened. But also a lot happened. It’s definitely a very character-driven storyline; the whole point really becomes Hellevir’s growth and the changes as she interacts with the world. Fortunately, she does indeed grow and change, and combined with the magic it makes for an ultimately decent story. The ending to the book felt like both an ending and a beginning, which was fitting for both the character and for the series (as this is listed as book 1 in The Raven’s Trade series). There’s a lot of potential for an even more active and engaging story in future books, and I look forward to seeing how that plays out.

Overall, I liked this book a lot more than I would have thought had someone simply described it to me. I do think it’s one that most people will either love or hate, but it’s got a subtle sort of magic woven in those lines.

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This review it's written in spanish to explain myself better about how I felt about the book.

Me gustó mucho. Tanto la creación del mundo como el desarrollo de Hellevir.

Me pareció sumamente interesante el personaje de la Muerte y me encontraba queriendo saber más de él cada vez que Hellevir se iba de ahí. Se nota que es un personaje con muchas capas y creo que todos queremos saber quien fue/es (kind of a spoiler but actually it's just a theory: si era una persona o si en el pasado fue a la tierra y vivió entre la gente durante un tiempo).

La relación entre Hellevir y la mamá se me hace TAN real, siento que retrata la relación de cualquier madre-hija (generalmente en aquellas familias donde hay más de un hijo y no son solo mujeres).

El tema de la religión y la persecución por pensar/ser diferente, cómo se usa la misma religión para excusar tales actos simplemente deja en velo la realidad de nuestro pasado y (lamentablemente) el presente de algunas personas.

Me encanta que Hellevir pueda hablar con los animales y las cosas de la naturaleza. Siento que se asemeja a la relación entre una chica y su mascota de la infancia.

Sobre el tema del interés amoroso. Es algo bastante complicado por cómo inicia la relación entre ellas y el daño que le hace Sullivan durante todo el libro. Si bien se nota, a medida que pasa el tiempo, que ella va cambiando y empieza a desarrollar sentimientos, la realidad es que no se ve demasiado porque siempre vemos la historia desde el punto de vista de Hellevir. Nosotros no sabemos lo que significa ser Sullivan, lo que tiene que vivir para ser y hacer las cosas que hace. Si hubiesemos tenido esa dualidad se justificaría más que se hayan enamorado. Hellevir no tiene muchas razones para enamorarse de ella con todo lo que hizo pero supongo que ese lazo que se genera cada vez que la revive y que se fortalece cada vez más, quizás le deja ver quién es Sullivan en realidad. Sentir los sentimientos de otra persona es algo que nosotros como simples mortales no lo podemos experimentar, tan solo imaginar, sí podemos ser empáticos y ponernos en la posición del otro pero no es lo mismo. Quizás sea esa la razón de que algunos no comprendan por qué se enamoran.
Por otra parte el longing no me molestó (aunque me suele molestar) por el contexto del libro y la situación tiene completo sentido.

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0 stars

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and Harper Voyager. The opinions expressed are my own.

Hellevir discovers at a young age that she can enter Death and resurrect the recently dead. As a young woman, she is asked to raise the Queen’s granddaughter and heir. When she does so, she finds herself caught up in political intrigue and conspiracy when all she wants is a quiet life. Things develop from there….

It started a bit slow, which is not unexpected for a first book in a series that has to do a fair bit of heavy lifting in establishing characters and world building. It definitely picked up pace as it went.

It explores interesting (to me, at least) themes around power dynamics and religion. There are definite parallels drawn with the spread of Christianity (in the form of the Roman Catholic Church) across Europe in the Middle Ages.

While it is described as a romance, this isn’t really very developed in this book. It is obvious who the romantic interest is meant to be, but given the circumstances (the aforementioned power dynamics being a big part) I think this is a good thing.

The world is what I consider “generic Medieval European, although the cultural nods were a bit all over the place (Hellevir and her family read Scandinavian-ish, her mentor’s name sounds French, the capital is pretty generic but with nods to Venice, etc), which I found distracting in a way that pulled me out of the story sometimes. I think it would work better if the author stuck to on culture or avoided real world cultural references entirely. But this is a fairly minor quibble for me.

Overall a good debut and a good story and I look forward to the next book

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This was such a beautiful and harrowing story about a young woman with the ability to raise the dead, ensnared in a deal with a kingdom on the brink of civil war who bares the responsibility of keeping a princess, under threat of assassination, alive.

I felt so deeply for Hellevir. She’s such a strong but gentle character. I loved her crow companion Elsevir, and the setting descriptions for the castle and apothecary. Most importantly every character brought to your attention is given some sort of development and holds weight and relevance. In a book this long I was shocked at the end by how it never felt repetitive, despite how well explored each character and plot line was. It makes so much sense that the Authors day job is Editing for a publisher!

The author uses fantastical and mystical imagery in her metaphors and allegory for feelings, and it creates such a holistic and immersive experience.

Though this story wasn’t filled with an explosive war drenched narrative, its elements of political intrigue and mystical encounters with death personified kept me turning the pages rapidly. I was enraptured in this narrative and I can’t wait for the next book! This could technically be a standalone because everything really wrapped up nicely but I would LOVE to meet “Death” and Hellevir again.

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Sadly this one just never turned into what I was really hoping for. There was great LGBTQ+ representation throughout the book. . The marketing, cover design, and concept all led me to believe that this was some sort of romantasy novel and it wasn't which kind of disappointed me

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This book was everything I needed right now. The writing, the plot, the characters, everything was very well done.
Helliver is very stubborn, which in most protagonists I would’ve been annoyed with. But it fits her very well. It made the plot move forward and I enjoyed seeing her try to do what she thought was right.
I wish there was more about the mysterious “Death”. He is very prominent in the story but we didn’t really get an understand of who he is. This will definitely be brought up in the next book so I’m not too worried.
I really liked this book, it was a great time and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

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I enjoyed The Gilded Crown! I think this would be good if you’re a fan of The Nightshade Kingdom, The Wilderwood or The Shepherd King.

Hellevir has a special gift- she can go to Death and bring people and animals back. This does come at a cost to her but that’s where Death’s bargain comes in. He’s looking for treasures and since Hellevir is the only who can do what she does Death needs her. With Hellevir having this gift it doesn’t take long for someone in power to learn of it.

For this first book I really like the balance of Hellevir looking for Death’s treasures and the pressures of being used for her gift with the living. This balance allowed everything to move well and kept me from getting bored.

I will be interested to see how Hellevir navigates everything in the next book. I wouldn’t call the end a cliffhanger but it definitely is left open for the story to continue.

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As a huge romantacy reader, I was very excited for this book! However, for me, it did not quite live up to my expectations. While I can see where many reads could love the book, with its beautiful writing and wonderful imagery, it sadly fell flat for my tastes. I did, however, appreciate the thought and uniqueness that went into the story.

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I could not put this book down no matter how hard I tried. I was always picking it up when I had a moment to just devour the words. The characters were so well built, I felt like I was in the room with them, I felt so much for Helleiver and her journey. The world building allowed me to get in touch with the culture and the belief system set in place. I really enjoyed seeing everyone's growth throughout the novel. I really cannot wait to see what the story holds moving forward

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Rating: 4/5
I received this eARC for my honest opinion.

Hellevir has only wanted one thing in life and that is to feel accepted, but when you have the power to bring people and animals back from the dead, it's hard to have people accept you and not fear you. The first time she visited Death she was only 10 years old, she learned that there is a price that must be paid every time that you want to bring someone or something back. When Princess Sullivain is brought to her healer in her small village, she finds out why. Sullivain is dead and has been for a few days, she is able to bring her back but now she is the royal healer, all because you never know when someone might try to kill the only heir to the throne.

I thought this debut novel was well written and the pace of the book was okay. I did find a few spots to drag a little but honestly I think that is because it was giving out information that you will need for the ending of this book. Now I didn’t know that this would be a series when I requested it, but I am happy to know now that there will be more to the story. I liked that you will see a lot of character growth in this book, and it is more character driven than plot driven. I liked that the author handled the topic of religion, politics and mortality in this book, and I thought the reg for LGBTQ+ was handled well, but I really didn’t fill the connect between the two main characters, more so Hellevir brother and his boyfriend. However, that might be because I find Hellevir and Sullivain relationship to be a little more one sided until the ending.

With the characters in the book really helps it shine. At first I was not that happy with Hellevir and that she didn’t really have any backbone when it came to the Royal family, but getting to see her finally grow and stand up for what she wanted was amazing. I liked that she put her foot down even knowing that she would be giving up. You will see her character grow a lot throughout the book, even the little parts but it's not until the end that you will see her fully. Sullivain, she is a character that I would like to get to know more, because of what I know about her already I am on the fence about her character. I do like that we got to see more from the ending. I think once we get the next book more will come out and hopefully explain more about why she is the way that she is. I mean I understand the part about her being royalty, but I want to know why she doesn’t stand up more for herself. With Death I am excited to learn more about this man/creature…I don’t know what to call him but I think we will learn more about him and the reasons he has in the next book.

If you like fantasy, that has interesting topics but is handled well like: religion, politics and much more. You should give this book a chance.

I want to thank NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the opportunity to review this book.

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Thank you NetGalley, Harper voyager, and Marianne Gordon for the advanced copy.

The Gilded Crown released on July 2!

Hellevir can bring people back from the dead. When she is told by the Queen to resurrect the kingdom’s princess who was murdered by an assassin, Hellevir learns that her gift comes with a high price.
Hellevir tries to keep her gift a secret, as a “on a need to know basis only”. Rumors spread and Hellevir is forced to make a trade bargain with death, while trying to protect those she loves from danger.

This was an interesting book with an interesting power. It was kind of predictable, but it overall kept me engaged and interested!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for this advanced copy. You can pick up The Gilded Crown now.

I've picked up this book two or three times but just could not get into it. I think it's more due to my reading mood than the book itself -- the premise is fascinating, and I love a good princess/bodyguard storyline, especially mixed in with death magic. I just struggled to immerse myself in the story and get swept away in it. I'm putting it down for now, but perhaps I'll pick it up in the future when the mood strikes me.

If you love the tension and stakes from Priory of the Orange Tree and the death magic from The Foxglove King, this seems to be your book!

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I honestly am a bit conflicted on how to rate this book because overall I did enjoy it. I thought the characters were morally gray and impactful and the world building was thorough, well-written, and the politics were explained in detail which was very helpful as the plot unfolded. I was completely enraptured in the story in the first half and the last section of the book but somewhere in the middle it seemed to drag tremendously. It was a lot of information in the middle dumped onto the reader but also in a few scenes I was sat wondering why I should care as the reader or why the scenes mattered. Though, by the end I understood it all was leading up to the major points I feel like the middle could’ve been paced so much better and the scenes could’ve been formed in a way that matched the intrigue and high-stakes of the first and latter half of the book. The middle section did hinder my enjoy ability of this, honestly, which was sad. That being said, some of the absolute highlights from this read was the unraveling of Hellevir and Sullivan’s connection as the story progressed and as Hellevir came to grips with her feelings but also how toxic they were for one another. Death was also such an interesting character and remains one of my favorite characters from the story. The weaving of this story was incredibly well-written and I felt like high stakes politics really added to the overall ambience of the story. All that to say, I am excited for the eventual second installment!

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I’ll start with the positives: the concept was so nice!! Wasn’t too original but can’t go wrong with consulting and bargaining with death to bring someone back - of course with a price. I would have LOVED more interaction with animals and Hellevir speaking. But I’m happy with what I got. A touch of romance but nothing crazy, definitely more so fantasy than anything else.

I had high expectations for this one, but the plot fell short… I tried to love the characters and the concept of death and reviving held promise. But I was so bored halfway through. Honestly I skimmed the last 50 pages or so & can’t say I missed much. Likely won’t be continuing this series. Truthfully Felt like the longest book ever…..

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I liked the premise and idea of the book slightly more than the execution. I became quite frustrated with a lot of the main character’s decisions and the constant same mistakes.

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☆☆☆.5

I really, really enjoyed the necromancy magic aspect of this book. It felt so unique and the way the author painted the world of Death pulled me immediately from the start. The world building was really a strong point.

There was great LGBTQ+ representation with MM AND FF relationships being present throughout the book. However, the relationship with the FMC in the book just felt off and made no sense to me. I didn’t really feel the connection and had such a hard time accepting there would be feelings from the FMCs side after everything that had happened?

“𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘈 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯.”

LIKE ?? GIRL YOU DESERVE BETTER. LOVE YOURSELF. 🥲

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘝𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.🫶🏻

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4.5 stars

I liked so many things about this book: the writing style is wonderful, Hellevir herself is a compelling character that I was able to see myself in, the plot is interesting and complex in ways I was not necessarily expecting, and the world building just got more and more interesting as time went on.

I saw a lot of people complaining about the marketing of this book as a romantasy caused them to not enjoy the book (I wouldn't even say this has a romance aspect, though it deals with something like it), and I think that this book could have used a different name that is more suited to the story itself and not vague like this. It kinda makes this fade into the mountains of other fantasy and romantasy novels.

The only thing that took away from my enjoyment of this novel was it feeling slow-paced. I don't think there could be anything done about this though because there is just so much to the plot. I can also admit that near the end Hellevir's feeling of helplessness got to me and I didn't really want to read further because of that. if anything though, that is a mark of a well-done story.

I would recommend to those that enjoy complex and/or political fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for granting me a free and advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I was really looking forward to this but I agree with other reviews that it seems I feel led astray by the marketing. I don’t often dive into regular fantasy often because they tend to be slower. This has such a good concept but it just gets to feeling a bit too repetitive for my liking.

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