Gifted a copy by the lovely Kaci, I didn’t quite know what to expect here but will be eagerly anticipating book 2 in this duology and likely reading more by Pau Preto. 

Solid writing, character development, dialogue feels real, and emotions/motivations of the characters did as well. Yay! Thanks Kaci! 

Very fun book spooky read. Even if you guess a bunch of twists a mile off, the payoff and the scrappy band of friends are well worth it. My only quibble: it is so obviously what if we made a straight, mostly white version of Gideon the Ninth? I spent half the book just marveling how the author could be inspired by a gayass POC necromancer book and carry over….only the necromancy bits.

Counting down the days to the sequel.

GOD. This was so, so good. I loveee the world building, the characters and especially (because I am a romance reader first and foremost, sue me) the relationship.

Pau Preto creates a magical world with both deep and fascinating history and magical system that still manages to not overwhelm the reader (as so much fantasy has tended to do lately). 

I was originally going to write this review being like "I guessed all the twists but it was still fun", I have to admit that while I guessed the major ones (hehe) I actually did *not* guess all the twists. I was very convinced of myself. It was a bit embarrassing. So, unless I'm just dumb, I think even seasoned YA readers will still have some surprises in this! And even if you do guess all of it from the start, for me that wasn't disappointing in the least, the book was still very fun and enjoyable!

Julian and Wren. My babies, my loves, my Romeo and Juliet. These two, you guys, these two. The tension? Unbelievable. The care they have for each other? So high. The constant urge they have to make out even when they're trying to hate each other? Not hidden in the LEAST. They spent a lot of time in the book just with each other (duh) and at times that really felt like a romance novel (with some death involved). They learned to care for the other so quickly, to appreciate and love them and just like them, we were able to forget the outside forces that would tear them apart.

At the end, Julian and Wren and poor ole me were confronted with the real world again and god, did it hurt. Did their choices make sense? ....I guess? doesn't mean I have to like them 😭😭😭😭😭

There's loads of reveals (some of them a bit too convenient for me lmao but that's YA for ya) and Wren's ready for a new chapter in her life – and I'm excited to read it.

Possibly my favorite YA fantasy since Divine Rivals.

If you like Vespertine, The Bone Houses, or the Merciful Crow duology, I am begging you to pick up this book. It has necromancy-school rivalry, a golden (bi??) prince, an exiled broody heir, a haunted landscape with treachery at every bend… and of course, the “we must cuddle for warmth” trope. What more could you ask for??