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introverted_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, War, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, War, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Mental illness, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, and Dementia
bellebookcorner's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Once you have known true grief, you don’t get better. - You find a way to rebuild yourself, even with crucial pieces missing.”
Fantasy, murder mystery, rebellion and lovers-to-enemies-lovers are great elements to make a fantastic story!
The plot is interesting, it has a strong opening with the murder mystery case being introduced up front.
After that, the world building is introduced with the seven Saints being the foundation of the hierarchy of the society, how some people are gifted and some don't resulting in an unfair system which leads to a rebellion.
The story was told in multiple POV but mostly from the main characters, Damian and Roz.
The characters are flawed and very complex. Both main characters have very different personalities, one is full of rage and passionate while the other is full of remorse.
I really like the romantic relationship development of the main characters, the shift happens slowly as Damian and Roz try to open up to each other while solving the mystery.
The pacing in the middle was a bit slow but it did pick up and the unexpected twists in the last few chapters are very surprising.
The epilogue is the 'cherry on top', the cliff-hanger makes me wish I had the second book ready.
Overall, for a debut novel, this is really great and very enjoyable. It’s pretty well written with unique world building.
If you're looking for a murder mystery with fantasy elements then you should pick this one up!
Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Alcoholism
Minor: Child death and Self harm
thenovelmaura's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you so much to the NOVL for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a tough review to write, because there are elements of this book that I really enjoyed and ones that just didn't work for me. On the positive side of things, the mystery plotline and the gothic/horror elements were intriguing and kept me turning pages. The pacing was good, and while I did guess the murderer before the grand reveal, I still enjoyed how all of the clues started stacking up throughout the story. I also appreciated the LGBTQIA+ rep from the main characters; Roz is bisexual and Damian is demiromantic (and this doesn't even include some of the minor characters).
On a more negative note, I wish the magic system had been explored more, especially since it was the foundation of their economy and the root of their societal rebellion. A key message of the book is that religious beliefs and faith are bad, which I'm not against, per se, but I don't think this discussion was done very well or with any finesse (cue Roz bludgeoning Damian over the head with a club that says "your faith is a lie" on it).
My main issue was that Roz and Damian's interactions contained so much angst that it detracted from everything else. There was a ton of yearning that alternated with "she hates me/I hate him so I shouldn't be thinking this" and almost every chapter ended with a bit of flowery prose about the love or the hate. I think some readers will love this, especially those who are drawn to the childhood sweethearts trope, but it was just too much for me and I wasn't fully convinced by their insistence that this was some grand romance. This debut has a lot of potential and some really good qualities; overall it wasn't the best fit for me!
On a more negative note, I wish the magic system had been explored more, especially since it was the foundation of their economy and the root of their societal rebellion. A key message of the book is that religious beliefs and faith are bad, which I'm not against, per se, but I don't think this discussion was done very well or with any finesse (cue Roz bludgeoning Damian over the head with a club that says "your faith is a lie" on it).
My main issue was that Roz and Damian's interactions contained so much angst that it detracted from everything else. There was a ton of yearning that alternated with "she hates me/I hate him so I shouldn't be thinking this" and almost every chapter ended with a bit of flowery prose about the love or the hate. I think some readers will love this, especially those who are drawn to the childhood sweethearts trope, but it was just too much for me and I wasn't fully convinced by their insistence that this was some grand romance. This debut has a lot of potential and some really good qualities; overall it wasn't the best fit for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: War, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Minor: Self harm
PTSD, see author website for full list of content warnings
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