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maya_b's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
The beginning of this book was really hard to read, sadly. I wanted to like this book so much, and I thought the idea of a romance with death and revenge plot could be really nice, but boy did I want to give up reading during the first half or so of the story.
Hazel's abuse was really hard to read and not in a "I feel for her" kind of way, but in a "why does nobody notice/why doesn't she say anything/wtf!?" kind of way. Also, I do not understand a lot of the decisions people make:
- Hazel not telling her father about the abuse for whatever reason was really not that smart, especially since the two of them love each other and also she could see that the mom wasn't good for her dad either, so why not tell him the truth? Also, why not try even the smallest thing to fight back? Like she seemed very free willed in some moments, and then just gave everything up immediately if anybody treated her wrong. Why?
- The mother did so much stuff that I just don't get. Like, I know abuse doesn't really have a reason, most of the time, but her being angry and then just pulling Hazel around to try and drown her was just, like… if you're so angry, wouldn't the first instinct be to hit Hazel? I'm not saying she should have, but I'm saying it would have been fitting for her to attack Hazel immediately.
- Cyprian apparently loved her from the beginning (ick) but out of nowhere started to help only now 6 years(!) after the whole abuse started. Why on earth would he not try to help sooner? At least try anything!
- Amadeus was just… he's sick. I found him so disgusting and I absolutely hated the way he tried to sexually abuse her that whole time (but also, I think, just now, after the six years with probably a lot of chances for that passed by without incident). And not even in the terms of "wow, he's a pretty good written evil person" but more in the terms of "could you not have thought of even a single other thing to make him look bad?" Because everything else would have been better than that.
- Also, apparently, a lot more people have the same plans for her because in the tavern a guy tells Cyprian that now that the father is dying, maybe all of them can take terms (or something like that, but this is the gist of it) which is just… SO wrong. I really hated all of that.
- And also the fact that the father was supposed to care, but we don't really see him care even once, or not really, because he doesn't really show up is also meh, and the fact that he doesn't notice even a single thing? Nobody notices a thing? Like, even if Hazel can't say anything, maybe Cyprian could, he's clearly not as restricted as Hazel.
- All of this book really read like the story started with this book and not a second before. (Especially since Cyprian only started caring with the beginning of the book, not anytime sooner, although he most definitely had the time, because have I mentioned it's been SIX YEARS without anyone caring or noticing a single thing?) Which is really sad, because it kind of made the book feel really flat.
So yeah, first half wasn't good, any made me incredibly angry, the further it progressed, and at some point I stopped reading just to scroll through the one star reviews of this book, because I needed to see that I wasn't alone in how bad I thought it was (even if it's clearly the minority of people thinking that way). And then after reading though 40 or 50 reviews I finally had the energy to read more, and the book… actually got better.
I was really surprised, because I hadn’t expected it, but the second half of the book was pretty alright.
Death was really nice and adorable, and I really loved him and also want him as my best friend, he was a pretty alright person and I liked how he clearly cared and it was just obvious. It was a really nice change to the first half of the book. I saw somebody mention that his chapters do read the same as Hazel's, which I would have to agree with (he reads like a child or a teenager, not like an ancient being), but while he didn't read like Death, the tone of his chapters was different enough in terms of caring/thinking nice things/wanting to do good, that I didn't mind that much.
I also think Hazel was a little better as a character in the second half, too, mostly because it felt like this whole thing could go somewhere. Like, maybe Death would actually manage to teach her too love herself more and stuff.
And I think that's what Wilde was going for, and Hazel kind of did think a little more of herself in the second half, but also the whole build-up was missing for me. There could have just been more. Nothing was happening the whole time, which I didn't really mind, because I actually enjoyed them living together and kind of trying to figure each other out, but then everything else, like character development just existed (or it felt like that for me).
- Death was drawn to Hazel from the beginning for reasons he can't understand, which seemed like a cheap way of avoiding having to write him actually learn to care for her.
- Hazel just out of nowhere hoped Death would convince her to change her mind but didn't want to change it herself.
- Hazel decorated the whole castle (is it a castle?) although Death told her he liked it the way it was and Death just telling her he loves it (because he feels (magically) drawn to her?).
- And then they were in love and kissing and suddenly the book was over which was really not satisfying for me.
Especially, since the next book is probably about Death trying to get Hazel back, and not them growing even closer or anything, which really makes me sad. I just wish we could have had actual character growth and them learning to live together (which we of course got to some extend, but I’d like more of that, it was the actual nice part) and also ANY resolution to the plot in this book. Like, the mother and father and brothers just suddenly don't matter anymore after the deal. I mean, they're mentioned, and Death does hate the mother (and is jealous of Cyprian) and thinks the father isn't a good enough person for Hazel to give her life for him (hard agree on that one), but what actually happens to them? What happens to Payne? Why is there not even a single little bit revenge in this story? I really wish there would have been consequences for any of the characters, and not just Amadeus who, yes, deserved it, but also it didn't feel satisfying, because, like, it was two sentences, and then it was over. I think he should have suffered. (Also, thinking of that scene, why did Hazel just leave her stuff? It didn't read like her bag was too far away, so why not just get it instead of missing it later?)
Well, anyway. First half was absolutely not fun in my opinion, it just made me really angry at everyone (and for some reason especially Hazel), but second half with Death was decent, so I will give it it's almost two stars, because Death did help, but also it will not get more than that, because not even Death can make me feel that much better about the first half, I'm afraid.
Hazel's abuse was really hard to read and not in a "I feel for her" kind of way, but in a "why does nobody notice/why doesn't she say anything/wtf!?" kind of way. Also, I do not understand a lot of the decisions people make:
- The mother did so much stuff that I just don't get. Like, I know abuse doesn't really have a reason, most of the time, but her being angry and then just pulling Hazel around to try and drown her was just, like… if you're so angry, wouldn't the first instinct be to hit Hazel? I'm not saying she should have, but I'm saying it would have been fitting for her to attack Hazel immediately.
- Cyprian apparently loved her from the beginning (ick) but out of nowhere started to help only now 6 years(!) after the whole abuse started. Why on earth would he not try to help sooner? At least try anything!
- Amadeus was just… he's sick. I found him so disgusting and I absolutely hated the way he tried to sexually abuse her that whole time (but also, I think, just now, after the six years with probably a lot of chances for that passed by without incident). And not even in the terms of "wow, he's a pretty good written evil person" but more in the terms of "could you not have thought of even a single other thing to make him look bad?" Because everything else would have been better than that.
- Also, apparently, a lot more people have the same plans for her because in the tavern a guy tells Cyprian that now that the father is dying, maybe all of them can take terms (or something like that, but this is the gist of it) which is just… SO wrong. I really hated all of that.
- And also the fact that the father was supposed to care, but we don't really see him care even once, or not really, because he doesn't really show up is also meh, and the fact that he doesn't notice even a single thing? Nobody notices a thing? Like, even if Hazel can't say anything, maybe Cyprian could, he's clearly not as restricted as Hazel.
- All of this book really read like the story started with this book and not a second before. (Especially since Cyprian only started caring with the beginning of the book, not anytime sooner, although he most definitely had the time, because have I mentioned it's been SIX YEARS without anyone caring or noticing a single thing?) Which is really sad, because it kind of made the book feel really flat.
So yeah, first half wasn't good, any made me incredibly angry, the further it progressed, and at some point I stopped reading just to scroll through the one star reviews of this book, because I needed to see that I wasn't alone in how bad I thought it was (even if it's clearly the minority of people thinking that way). And then after reading though 40 or 50 reviews I finally had the energy to read more, and the book… actually got better.
I was really surprised, because I hadn’t expected it, but the second half of the book was pretty alright.
Death was really nice and adorable, and I really loved him and also want him as my best friend, he was a pretty alright person and I liked how he clearly cared and it was just obvious. It was a really nice change to the first half of the book. I saw somebody mention that his chapters do read the same as Hazel's, which I would have to agree with (he reads like a child or a teenager, not like an ancient being), but while he didn't read like Death, the tone of his chapters was different enough in terms of caring/thinking nice things/wanting to do good, that I didn't mind that much.
I also think Hazel was a little better as a character in the second half, too, mostly because it felt like this whole thing could go somewhere. Like, maybe Death would actually manage to teach her too love herself more and stuff.
- Death was drawn to Hazel from the beginning for reasons he can't understand, which seemed like a cheap way of avoiding having to write him actually learn to care for her.
- Hazel just out of nowhere hoped Death would convince her to change her mind but didn't want to change it herself.
- Hazel decorated the whole castle (is it a castle?) although Death told her he liked it the way it was and Death just telling her he loves it (because he feels (magically) drawn to her?).
- And then they were in love and kissing and suddenly the book was over which was really not satisfying for me.
Especially, since the next book is probably about Death trying to get Hazel back, and not them growing even closer or anything, which really makes me sad. I just wish we could have had actual character growth and them learning to live together (which we of course got to some extend, but I’d like more of that, it was the actual nice part) and also ANY resolution to the plot in this book. Like, the mother and father and brothers just suddenly don't matter anymore after the deal. I mean, they're mentioned, and Death does hate the mother (and is jealous of Cyprian) and thinks the father isn't a good enough person for Hazel to give her life for him (hard agree on that one), but what actually happens to them? What happens to Payne? Why is there not even a single little bit revenge in this story? I really wish there would have been consequences for any of the characters, and not just Amadeus who, yes, deserved it, but also it didn't feel satisfying, because, like, it was two sentences, and then it was over. I think he should have suffered. (Also, thinking of that scene, why did Hazel just leave her stuff? It didn't read like her bag was too far away, so why not just get it instead of missing it later?)
Well, anyway. First half was absolutely not fun in my opinion, it just made me really angry at everyone (and for some reason especially Hazel), but second half with Death was decent, so I will give it it's almost two stars, because Death did help, but also it will not get more than that, because not even Death can make me feel that much better about the first half, I'm afraid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death and Murder
nedenz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 rounded down.
Towards the middle, I was of the opinion that it should be one long chonky book, bcs you know I'm biased towards chonky books. At the end, I felt inclined to take back what I said about it being longer. Like, yes I love CHONKY books and I feel like it might do well as one book in 3 parts, but I enjoyed the pacing, the arcs, the slow burn, the tropes.
Very interested to see how the Fates are portrayed and what role they play. Irl they're pretty true neutral beings, spinning and weaving and snipping as it goes, so I'm wondering if they'll be villainized.
But WOW there was a lot of (attempted) SA. Like more that GOT, Jesus Christ. Not a detraction for stars, just like the descriptions of it were horrific. The abuse Hazel suffered was just excessive, the cruelty was almost unbelievable. Again not a criticism bcs the author did warn us it was a dark book, I was just expecting more dark romance.
Towards the middle, I was of the opinion that it should be one long chonky book, bcs you know I'm biased towards chonky books. At the end, I felt inclined to take back what I said about it being longer. Like, yes I love CHONKY books and I feel like it might do well as one book in 3 parts, but I enjoyed the pacing, the arcs, the slow burn, the tropes.
Very interested to see how the Fates are portrayed and what role they play. Irl they're pretty true neutral beings, spinning and weaving and snipping as it goes, so I'm wondering if they'll be villainized.
But WOW there was a lot of (attempted) SA. Like more that GOT, Jesus Christ. Not a detraction for stars, just like the descriptions of it were horrific. The abuse Hazel suffered was just excessive, the cruelty was almost unbelievable. Again not a criticism bcs the author did warn us it was a dark book, I was just expecting more dark romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
azertyuiops's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Good things first:
I thought this book was a good distraction overall. I enjoyed reading it, hence why I’m giving the rating of 3⭐️/5. However I don’t think that’s the type of book that changes your entire life, know what I mean? Which isn’t a bad thing, we also need those books in which every sentence is not an absolute masterpiece. Like someone on tiktok said about 2000s romcoms « it’s okay that movies are a little bit bad sometimes » and I agree! The characters were still loveable. I also like a good original concept and a masked love interest is not something we see in every book!
Sweet relationship too, not very dark(?). I’ll admit that LI needs a few therapy sessions but if he found a ladybug on the floor, he would defo put it on his finger, go outside and wait for it to fly away.
Although, if we want to get into the less enjoyable things about this book: even if the characters were actually not that appreciable, we wouldn’t really have time to notice. I feel like we only plunge into the actual plot far far into the book (given it’s not that long), making the first part relatively okay with a nice pace, and then suddenly I felt like we were rushing the second main part.
(This part contains spoilers) <Death falls in love in RECORD time and although I love him, like take a little pride in yourself my man? Are you not supposed to be a very cold, intense, dark, deadly man? I feel like we went from who is she to I’m in love in the span of 5 pages.> (end of spoilers)
It was so rushed I didn’t have the time to actually fall in love with the love interest myself, if I even felt any tension at all between them. In the end, I feel like I’m left wanting, even though I think that’s a deliberate move by the author, I feel like the book is not that long that it needs such a cliffhanger at the end, if that makes sense?
Finally, sorry to say so but: this is not a dark fiction. LI is the sweetest being of this series, although a bit protective, but still not « dark » per se. I’d even go to the length of saying that the only dark think about him is his favorite colour (it’s not a toxic mafia love story type of thing, which is perfectly fine with me but I’m still putting it in the cons just in case people wanted to read it for this reason). The promise of the book is a dark romance and the LI is a total softie… which I enjoy most of the time, but that just wasn’t what I was expecting to read this time.
In a nutshell: not a bad book, probably won’t read it again though but enjoyed it while it lasted! I’ll still continue the series when it comes out :)
Tropes:
- insta love
- miscommunication (minor)
- impossible love
- Cinderella / Beauty and the Beast retelling
- he falls first
- touch her and die
TW are also listed before the story starts, which is a very nice thought.
I thought this book was a good distraction overall. I enjoyed reading it, hence why I’m giving the rating of 3⭐️/5. However I don’t think that’s the type of book that changes your entire life, know what I mean? Which isn’t a bad thing, we also need those books in which every sentence is not an absolute masterpiece. Like someone on tiktok said about 2000s romcoms « it’s okay that movies are a little bit bad sometimes » and I agree! The characters were still loveable. I also like a good original concept and a masked love interest is not something we see in every book!
Sweet relationship too, not very dark(?). I’ll admit that LI needs a few therapy sessions but if he found a ladybug on the floor, he would defo put it on his finger, go outside and wait for it to fly away.
Although, if we want to get into the less enjoyable things about this book: even if the characters were actually not that appreciable, we wouldn’t really have time to notice. I feel like we only plunge into the actual plot far far into the book (given it’s not that long), making the first part relatively okay with a nice pace, and then suddenly I felt like we were rushing the second main part.
(This part contains spoilers) <Death falls in love in RECORD time and although I love him, like take a little pride in yourself my man? Are you not supposed to be a very cold, intense, dark, deadly man? I feel like we went from who is she to I’m in love in the span of 5 pages.> (end of spoilers)
It was so rushed I didn’t have the time to actually fall in love with the love interest myself, if I even felt any tension at all between them. In the end, I feel like I’m left wanting, even though I think that’s a deliberate move by the author, I feel like the book is not that long that it needs such a cliffhanger at the end, if that makes sense?
Finally, sorry to say so but: this is not a dark fiction. LI is the sweetest being of this series, although a bit protective, but still not « dark » per se. I’d even go to the length of saying that the only dark think about him is his favorite colour (it’s not a toxic mafia love story type of thing, which is perfectly fine with me but I’m still putting it in the cons just in case people wanted to read it for this reason). The promise of the book is a dark romance and the LI is a total softie… which I enjoy most of the time, but that just wasn’t what I was expecting to read this time.
In a nutshell: not a bad book, probably won’t read it again though but enjoyed it while it lasted! I’ll still continue the series when it comes out :)
Tropes:
- insta love
- miscommunication (minor)
- impossible love
- Cinderella / Beauty and the Beast retelling
- he falls first
- touch her and die
TW are also listed before the story starts, which is a very nice thought.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
dezzella's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A beauty and the beast mixed with Cinderella retelling featuring Death. The pacing starting out was good, byt I wish there had been more time/details/less time skips in the last 40% of the book, I think it would have made the ending better. Still over all a pretty good read and you get to explore some of Death's realm and his home
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death
moberndaseball's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Murder
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