Y'all, when I saw the short blurb for this included magic and academic rivals and a f/f enemies-to-lovers romance and a murder mystery situation...I requested it *so* fast. What a combination! Thanks to NetGalley and Del Ray for the early copy (it publishes September 2024). I was hype hype to be approved and I had the best time reading it. 

 

Lorelai is a sharp-tongued, quick thinking, prickly folklorist, who is holding on to a lot of guilt from childhood and is (reasonably) quite jaded after facing years of discrimination/ridicule. Sylvia is a positive-thinking, find the joy in life, sort of person; a naturalist and a long-time academic rival of Lorelai's. When their mentor, Ziegler, invites them both on an expedition to search for a mythic spring whose waters can grant untold power to a worthy person, by direction of the King of Brunnestadd (who is trying to stabilize his kingdom). With competing goals and personal agendas, the group sets out...and is immediately thrown into further chaos when Ziegler is murdered. In order to keep things together for the good of the mission, finding the spring, and identifying the murderer, Lorelai and Sylvia grudgingly agree to work together. Facing opposition both from within (other members of the expedition) and without (myriad magical creatures and mystical landscapes), the two uncover the truth about a number of secrets, including their carefully guarded feelings for each other. 

 

Ok, I loved almost everything about this book. And I am going to focus mostly on that for this review. But there is one sticky thing that just wasn't quite right for me, so I want to say it, to be clear and fair about my feelings while reading, and then move past it and into the good stuff. The thing is... I know that Lorelai's character is supposed to be proud and independent and prickly and impatient, as her end of the "opposites attract" and "grumpy-sunshine" spectrum that she represents. I get that all of that personality was developed as a defense/protective mechanism, and it became who she is in a way she couldn't stop. I respect the authenticity in this, as how she’d probably actually be, after her life/experiences. I also understand that this novel is from Lorelai's perspective, in her narrative voice and with her internal monologue, so all that came through extra strong, as compared to any other character's POV or voice. All that to say: it's very great, realistic character development. And yettttttttt. By about a third of the way into the book, it was all to an extreme that was frustrating and I was quite ready for walls to start coming down. I mean, I am here for the slow burn, romance-wise, but this lack of ability to soften to anyone, at all, for any reason, was starting to get tiring to read. Like, Lorelai couldn't get out of her own way to an extent that it was not only affecting relationships, but also her own work and goals. It tried both my patience to an extreme that was getting frustrating and a bit un-fun to read; hopefully that gets tightened a bit between now and publication. 

     

But fear not! Just when I was getting bogged down to the point that I thought I might be disappointed in the book as a whole, there was a definite shift! We got just the slightest of softenings, when Lorelai and Sylvia take on a small side-quest together. That focused time on the two together gave the reader a bit more of their relationship development, and some particular insight into Sylvia's internal and background story, which helped balance things out. I still feel, overall, that Sylvia was too easy a counterpart character (like, she had some depth, but it seemed chosen to too easily complement Lorelai and fit the narrative needs, and I would have liked a bit more...fight? nuance? idk exactly), but it was enough to win my general buy-in. (Side note: I do wish I could have some of the pure wonder in the world around her that Sylvia has.) 

 

And then...this slow burn really hit its stride and the straining towards each other finally broke free and, phew, it was worth the wait. When they finally decided to give in to the pull between them, it hit. And it delivered on this love-and-hate-are-two-sides-of-the-same-coin romance set-up. Like, OH that ending! It left me cheesing so hard. These polar opposites, truly incorrigible in their own ways, are finally able to just be soft for each other (and enjoy the parts of each other that they'd labeled as disagreement, but were more lowkey jealousy), exactly as they are. And I cannot. 

 

As for the rest... The real highlight(s) of this reading experience came from the ambiance and tone. It was darkly mystical, with threads of lighter magicality woven throughout. All the creatures mentioned (the wildeleute) and the folktales told/referenced, they are all based in or echoes of IRL folklore and I always love when books do that. Giving the familiar a new spin is the perfect mix of nostalgia/familiar and new discovery that makes for such a comfortable reading experience. This was a fairly isolated narrative, in that it focused entirely on this expedition and the members of the group, so the greater world-building was limited a bit. On the other hand, the history and entwining of these characters, how it's all slowly revealed as they search for the spring (and Lorelai and Sylvia work in the background to solve Ziegler's murder as well) and their individual motivations are all revealed, was really well paced. I was mesmerized by the story and the development of the plot and characters, moving forward with compelling interest, though never what might be considered a fast pace (heads up, if you're looking for something with more intensity). It has all the elements of great fantasy - a very cool magic system (water-based), competing loyalties and secret scheming and betrayals, supernatural creatures, an otherworldly vibe, a few action scenes (both magical and not), political machinations/maneuvering, a bit of mystery - but with a steady sort of delivery (though it never felt like it dragged).    

 

I was really enchanted by this darkly whimsical, sapphic romantasy. It very much gets my recommendation. (If you're looking for more guidance, read if you liked: An Education in Malice, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue).  

 

“Every plant, every human, every wildeleute, every drop of water, is a thread. Together, they make up the great tapestry of life. If even one stitch is pulled loose, the whole thing will unravel.” 

 

“How would you like to be extraordinary?” 

 

“Nothing he said surprised her, but bracing for the blow had never once stopped it from hurting.” 

 

“Home. It was written in the sparkle in her eyes and the gentle smile tugging at the corner of her lips.” 

 

“It’s unwise to take your eyes off a dying thing, you know […] Everything becomes more vicious and more beautiful in its final moments.” 

 

“Far better to be disliked for who she truly was rather than what she represented.” 

 

“Stories taught them nothing of how they actually were. They were like molten steel, ready to be molded into a weapon by one clever enough to wield them.” 

 

“Back in the days when wishes still held power…” (the “once upon a time…” of this world – loved it) 

 

“Power, even when given freely to the worthy, still came at too high a price.” 

 

“Death happens. There’s nothing you have done to invite it and nothing you can do to banish it.” 

 

“Now she felt like a soldier come home from war. Confused and purposeless, with a weapon to turn nowhere but inward.” (PHEW) 

 

“You’re like something out of a nightmare. / And you, Lorelai thought despairingly, are resplendent.” 

 

“Listening to her was like being led by the hand through a dark, enchanted wood.” 

 

“One day […] you will grow tired of this thing you’ve made yourself into. One day, all there will be to content you is ghosts.” 

 

“Just then, sunlight lanced through the dense canopy. […] It painted her in soft pastels and danced in her wild hair. She was a work of art.” 

 

“You are everything I am not and everything I admire.” 

 

“All of them were haunted women. Violence had broken and reforged them, and the sharp edges it left behind made them dangerous.”