oof this book was rough for me. i understand why this book is so loved by people, the writing could be beautiful, the characters could be interesting, the entire concept of detailing the love between two Black enslaved men on a plantation in the 1800s could be enough to win someone over.

but i found this book incredibly emotionally rough to read. and don't get me wrong, i expected a lot of it from the blurb and the description, and the general setting of the book. i did not expect a story about enslaved people in the south to be a "feel good" story, but i thought i could handle it. but i could not, and it was a difficult time for me trying to get through the first 130 pages. lots of references to, discussions of, and depictions of sexual assault and rape. i don't think i was in the right headspace for this and that is completely ON ME. 

i recognize this was a brutal and disgusting reality for people who were enslaved, sexual violence was unquestionably commonplace. i would never want to deny that, but i wish this content had been explained more clearly to me before starting to read, specifically in reviews i saw which never mentioned the sheer amount of reference and depiction of sexual violence and rape.