jrayereads's reviews
452 reviews

 Rating: 5

Format: Ebook, Audiobook (available on KU!!!!)

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

WHAT A PRECIOUS LITTLE BOOK THAT WAS. I am SHOCKED that I don’t see people talking about this book more often! A cozy gaslamp romantasy with magic and fae and mystery and family drama??? What a stellar combo that was executed SO well. Cozy fantasy is a genre that, in theory, is right up my alley, but they don’t always hit in the way I want them to. This book HIT and all the key elements that make cozy fantasy so enjoyable just worked for me. 

I adored the characters, the magic system, the fantastical world, and the mystery. I immediately related to Hetta, the resident black sheep of her family returning home for her father’s funeral and the subsequent choosing of the new lord of the estate, and was rooting for her the entire time. She was a fantastic FMC and both her relationships with the other characters and her own journey throughout the book were well developed. 

This first installment was quite character driven (a big bonus for me, personally), but there was still a solid amount of plot to go alongside the good vibes, and even some action thrown in there occasionally. A lot of time is spent letting the reader get to know the world and the dynamics of Hetta’s family, but there is so much more of the world that can be explored in the rest of the series that I’m excited to read about. The romance was a SLOW burn with lots time for the relationship to build, and I’m looking forward to how that will continue to develop. I thought the writing was immersive and fanciful and lovely, as well.

No spice in this one, for those who are curious. Also, the audiobook narrator was EXCELLENT and I enjoyed swapping between the ebook and the audio. Would highly recommend it if you like audiobooks.

 this book is what would happen if the store Spencer's became sentient and tried to write a dark romance