Disclaimer: I knew some people loved this book while others hated it. I had a feeling I would hate it but I read it anyway to see which side I fell on. As a result, I looked at it possibly more critically than I would most books that I read for pleasure.

The book is split into three parts, and that’s how this review will be structured. There’s some ranting at the end. I apologize in advance; I tried to be civil.

Part One 🙂

Honestly, the book started out alright. It was giving very strong Throne of Glass vibes, but that was okay (though I remember enjoying Throne of Glass when I first read it, looking back I’m not sure I would like it as much now).

Lou was definitely a bit out-there. It felt a little like fanfiction, where the OC is a little too snarky and badass to be at all realistic, but I found I didn’t hate it. The story was fun, the characters were fun, and if it was going to be a little ridiculous, I was fine with that. It felt like a guilty pleasure movie or something — something you know is bad, but you can’t help but love it anyway. There were other small issues here and there regarding plot/characters/etc., but I was mostly able to ignore them. They didn’t really bother me until Part Three, which I’ll get more into later.

I found the inciting events to be a little underwhelming. The storyline with Angelica’s ring goes nowhere (which didn’t really bother me until later because I continued to hold onto the slim hope it might have some significance), and the reasoning for Lou and Reid to marry felt a little flimsy. Overall, though, I was able to look past it.

I also found worldbuilding to be quite lacking. It was surprising that the church in the book was quite literally the Catholic church, because this is a fantasy world. You could make up literally any religion you want, and you chose Catholicism? There was so much room for creativity and it just wasn’t used.

Part Two 😍

I won’t lie: this part nearly made me rate the book four stars. No matter what, it would never measure up to most of the other books on my four-star shelf, but in terms of pure entertainment, I was having a good time. The book was a little ridiculous, but it was fun! I could kind of see why people loved it.

The development of Lou and Reid’s relationship was absolutely so heartwarming, and they honestly made such a cute couple. I loved watching them grow together, and I really liked their dual perspectives as well, which I had mixed feelings about going into the book. This is also one of the best enemies-to-lovers I’ve read in a while.

Ansel was a really sweet character, and by Part Three probably saved the book. He, along with the romance between Reid and Lou, are the only reasons I rated this book two stars instead of one (I nearly rated it three, but the end had me seething).

Part Three 🤮 (mild spoilers)

I had to take notes about everything I disliked. It was that bad.

The romance was no longer the main focus, and the plot, what little of it there was, came to the forefront of the novel. This was the first mistake.

There is no plot. The main focus of the story is Lou and Reid’s relationship, and honestly, it should have stayed that way. There’s some extra stuff thrown in there about why Lou left her coven and how the witches hate the royal family, but it really doesn’t feel important. Though I knew that would become a more central plot point, it wasn’t developed enough for it to really make sense, or make the story feel cohesive.

Also, the whole Angelica’s ring storyline? Or the murders mentioned in the first chapter? I’m alright with random plot points being used to get the story rolling, but these kept being brought up like they were supposed to mean something, and they didn’t. The ring was just a magical cop-out for Lou to weasel her way out of impossible situations, and it got old fast.

Pacing and structure were terrible. Partly because the plot was almost non-existent, and partly because I feel like the book was trying too hard to be something it wasn’t. There was such a lack of internal conflict that every time it was thrown in, it felt out of place. I feel like Lou contradicted herself too much. She was supposed to be brash and self-confident, and then the internal conflict made her think, ‘I’m such a coward for leaving my coven’, and then she’s like ‘but I did what I had to. I want to live’ and that’s the entire conflict resolved in a paragraph. Like, okay? You don’t need to justify wanting to live. a) that’s not conflict; and b) everyone wants to live. That makes for such shallow character motivation.

Everything was too convenient. Reid is introduced as an orphan yet he somehow manages to discover both of his parents during the book, and both play semi-significant roles. Lou never knew her father, yet he also was a pretty major side character. No one ever suspected Lou of being a witch, even though she used magic all the time. There are more examples, but let’s just say that she should be dead many times over.

This might have to do with the structure, but the plot twists were weak. They were thrown in out of nowhere, with no build-up or foreshadowing. Sometimes, more than one was dropped in the same chapter. That isn’t how story structure works. I’m honestly curious to see how the rest of the series turned out, because I really felt like all the stops were pulled out for this one.

Worldbuilding needed work. I mentioned this earlier, but it didn’t bother me then. A plot, no matter how weak, needs strong worldbuilding to back it up, and this was not it. I don’t feel like I know enough about witch culture, I certainly don’t know enough about the kingdom it’s set in, and what is up with the Dame Rouges? There’s a little twist thrown on to the last page that I think was supposed to be surprising, but instead I was just confused because it had no context to back it up.

Beau. Who is Beau? Why does he matter? Why was he just dropped into the story out of nowhere? I don’t know. He exists solely as a love interest for Coco, but they both lack depth so severely, I couldn’t bring myself to care at all. I can tell that if I continue with the series, I will come to like him. He had a charm about him. But for this book, he served no real purpose.

Some Closing Notes:

I will not be continuing with the series, thank you very much.
I can see how some people like the book, I just wouldn’t consider it a good fantasy.
This is an insult to the entire fantasy genre (sorry).
Initially, my viewpoint on this book was: if you’re looking for a romance set in a fantasy world (that is, you generally read romance and you’re not looking for anything super intense fantasy-wise), read this book. Then I realized you could just read Carry On instead. (please read Carry On, it’s so much better than this).
While I was in the middle of Part One and laughing over how bad-but-good the book was, I watched Legally Blonde for the first time. Then I went back to reading this book, and I genuinely thought it was good (I strongly disliked Legally Blonde).

Content Warnings

alliekaye23's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

klimatyczny_bluszcz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Really liked that one!! A complex magic system, lovable characters (especially Lou!) and witches. I was involved and looking forward to reading it in the end of the day. I was quite scared that the ending will be a cheese-happy-ending one, but wasn't as predictable and easy as I thought. If you like witchy tropes and enemies to lovers then I really recommend!! I'll probably read the next one in the series soon

Content Warnings

thestarsaresad's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

signebrum's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

What a treat this book was!

I’d heard different opinions about it, and honestly, I didn’t really have any expectations starting it, but man I loved the world in it!
I like the romance, I liked the world building, I liked the French inspiration, and I really liked the characters. Lou had me laughing out loud many times, that girl is crazy I love her!
I will definitely be reading the Blood and Honey, because I need more of that world thank you

Content Warnings

ashybear02's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

pattyblom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Overall a nice story, but it lacked some depth and world building in the beginning of the story. I also had to reread paragraphs to understand the story. And also the end was

a bit anticlimactic.

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