Memorable read as both as a dark fantasy book and as an MM book. The relationship between two leads develops organically and they have their own emotionally repressed dynamic which seems natural in the Victorian-era inspired setting. I like that they're absolute weirdos with many unattractive traits, it makes their chemistry even more special. 

Lovely book with such an intriguing world and complex characters. I only wish there were more stories set in this world. It's a bleak world they're in yet the characters have an understated dignity no matter how much suffering they've had to endure. I'll definitely recommend this book and will read Ginn Hale's other works. 

5 Stars!

I’ve not read a lot from Hale, but I’ve been consistently impressed with the writing and especially, the unique world building that is present in all of her stories. Admittedly, I’m typically not one for “demons” in my books, but in this world the definition is not traditional, and I was thrilled to realize that this shares the same setting as that of [b:The Counterfeit Viscount|53795469|The Counterfeit Viscount|Ginn Hale|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591178601l/53795469._SX50_.jpg|84115274] which I greatly enjoyed. Here is an absolutely wondrous dark fantasy that depicts a society that is starkly and socially divided between humans and the half demon “prodigals” who have very little rights or privileges.

There’s two separate intertwined stories that bring ruined, drug addicted prodigal Belimai, in contact with law enforcement priest Captain Harper. Part one is mainly a missing persons mystery as Harper employs Belimai’s help in finding his sister, and the second story focuses on Harper being neck deep in corruption and cover ups, ultimately endangering Harper’s position as an Inquisitor as he tries to save Belimai from being wrongly targeted for a crime he didn’t commit.

This is definitely atmospheric storytelling. A heavy weight is felt not only in the set up but also the growing feelings between Belimai and Harper, where friendship is barely tolerated and love cannot, and will not, be accepted.

Nothing is rushed here. This is layered and complex. The romance is never overt, and any small gains were oh so satisfying and eagerly gobbled up. Apparently, while I’m always up for explicit romance, I also straddle the other end of the line, reveling in stories that are rife with the insecurity and doubt, doling out small morsels of goodness, the tinier the better and more impactful, each taken and treasured dearly.

If I regularly reread books, this would be on automatic rotation. This was a wholly satisfying and rare win for me this year!

This just did not work for me. The mystery didn't hold my interest at all. A day after finishing it, I couldn't even tell you what it was about. The world had some interest to it, but again, nothing really stuck. Harper and Beliami were all right, I guess, but I couldn't root for them in the slightest since Beliami

gives off some super strong pheromones that make his sexual partners fall in love with him instantly, apparently, or near enough to that.

So whatever "romance" was in this, and it wasn't much really, didn't stand a chance in me rooting for it, even if Harper's a demon groupie. 🤷🏻‍♀️ The writing was decent and the narrator did as good a job as he could with this. 

After I struck out with Lord of the White Hell, Book 1, I stayed away from this author for years. But then her <i>Rifter</i> series amazing, so I was hoping this would be as well. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. It wasn't terrible, but I can already tell I'm going to have no memory of ever having read this. 

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