⭐️⭐️
This was in first person which I’m not a big fan of, I didn’t like the mc that much and judged most of her decisions. I warmed up to Rowan towards the end but I didn’t like any of the characters that much, this was fairly short for a fantasy novel and I don’t think there was enough room for character development (or much plot tbh). The main thing the author focused on was the aesthetic and the setting, which didn’t work for me personally but if you don’t mind sacrificing plot and characters for setting then this might be the book for you. I enjoyed the casual queer rep, and the book was very atmospheric, and it was nice to not have that much world building but I’m afraid I just didn’t connect to this story and I won’t be continuing on to the next book.

This book took a little bit of time to grow on me, if I’m honest. I loved the description and the cover art, and that’s what drew me in initially, but the first 25% of the book felt a little flat to me. I’m very glad I stuck with it though, as the rest of the story was really compelling! Lord Under was my favorite bit—the whole underworld, the way the author conceptualized it was fantastic. I loved the magic in the world and the way sigils work, and the main character was likable. The romance felt a bit forced, or sped along, but the kissing scenes were well written and felt impactful to the story. Overall, I enjoyed it! Would recommend.


I received an ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Another god of death I would say, "Yes, today" to.

Not really gothic, super repetitive, oddly flat/bland, and tells you everything without showing a thing. We are told that a couple of characters are queer with basically a shrug (the love interest is bi, I think??), but we know almost nothing about them so it's hard to care. We have both a half-evil love interest and a sexy monster death god but it's all so blah that I am not sure if I even care to read the sequel.

This got rec'd to me as a Phantom of the Opera retelling...I guess because some broody hot guy has scars? Get it together, Libby.

I liked the audiobook version. I think it was good enough for me to continue to the next book even though some parts were vague.

RATING: 4.5

Thank you so much Netgalley and Titan Books for this eARC.
First of all, HOW DARE YOU END THIS BOOK WITH THE BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER EVER?!?
I loved reading this book so much, it was a little hard getting into it at first but after the first 15% of the book I just couldn't put it down. From the plot to the characters for me this book was just perfect. It just made me love the gothic fantasy genre and I just can't wait to read the sequel.
I loved all the characters, I especially loved how the main character, Violeta was such a strong and badass female character from page 1 to the very end. The relationship between Rowan and Violeta was everything I could ever want, I loved every single scene with them together.
Overall I totally recommend this book to anyone who loves Hades & Persephone or Beauty and the Beast retellings.

Lakesedge

Thank you so much to Henry Holt and Co. for sending me an e-arc as well as a finished copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I seem to be in the minority here but I really did not like book... This had loads of elements that I normally love - a gothic setting, demons, morally grey characters, enemies to lovers romance, etc. But in the end, this book just fell really short in execution.

I want to preface this review, by saying I'm very much so a character driven reader. And while I enjoyed the gothic elements of this book as well as the some of the darker, spooky elements, there wasn't much to keep me engaged while reading because I felt like the character development was severely lacking.

My biggest complaint about this novel was the pacing. I felt like there wasn't a good balance to where the time and emphasis was spent. There were overly descriptive scenes of the manor, or a party, or patch of trees in the woods - but major plot elements, like character interactions or confrontations, were rushed through.

And that lack of exploration made me feel distant from the entire story. None of the character choices made sense because I didn't know any of them. Each character seemed to have 1 main 'thing' that made up the entirety of their personality, and not much was explored beyond that. So in the end, I didn't care one way or another about any of their relationships or outcomes.

Unfortunately, despite the open ending of this book, I don't plan to continue on with the series.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel because I don't really like YA anymore and I am not the greatest horror fan but I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved the characters and the setting.