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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I still feel you under all of my scars. It still hurts.
2.5 stars. Most of the reviews I've seen about this book say that it has a lot of great ideas, but needed a lot of editing. And now that I've finished, I do completely agree. There are a lot of cool ideas here, but unfortunately, it's all strung together a little incohesively. The world-building is weak, the setting isn't as fully realised as it could have been, character actions and development often don't make sense (imo) and while I was totally rooting for the relationship at the heart of it, I think this needed a lot more work before it was put into the hands of readers. I get annoyed when I see these kinds of mistakes in indie books, and even more so when I see them in traditionally published books. When a book is traditionally published, I assume that it's had the benefit of both developmental editing and line editing, but I guess that's just not true anymore for all books? And that's really unfortunate.
This is a sapphic historical paranormal/fantasy novel about two girls in 1920s New York who used to be best friends, but were violently torn apart. Elise Saint's father owns a company that produces a special type of steel that is particularly effective against reapers (basically vampires). Layla's family are friends of the Saints, and she is best friends with Elise. Everything changes after a bloody betrayal, when Layla's parents are killed, Layla is turned into a reaper, and Elise is sent to live abroad. Now, it's five years later, and Elise has returned, reluctant heir to her father's company.
- I don't mind being dropped into the middle of a story, but I don't like the pace at which we got all the backstory between Layla and Elise. At times, certain things were discussed like the reader already had full knowledge of it, when we definitely didn't.
- Sometimes we'd have little mini time-skips, which I really never like in books. I didn't make note of any particular examples, but there were instances where a character might hint at a conversation they were going to have , and then we'd skip ahead a bit, and that conversation had already happened, and we were told about it in hindsight. It's not the biggest deal, except that I felt like it kept happening with moments I really wanted to see on page, and moments that would have given good character insight.
- Obviously, this is a paranormal book, but I had to suspend my disbelief for a lot of things. The very premise of Elisa and Layla being allowed to team up to investigate a murder was so silly. I mean, sure, it's def. not hard to believe that the police didn't care, but if they thought Layla was implicated in the deaths (or if they were trying to frame her as being involved) why would anyone in a position of power let her go and let her work with Elise?
- The plot, with the politics and the cure and the rivalry between Saint men and reapers and gangsters... it was all fine. I never felt like it all clicked together really well. Some things are pretty easy to guess.
- There were several times when I felt like the emotional reactions of characters to certain things just weren't given enough page time, or they were written about in a very weird way. When a friend of Elise and Sterling dies near the beginning, it's glossed over pretty quickly. We get maybe a few scenes of Sterling taking it badly, but the character is barely mentioned again. (I should also mention that the passage of time wasn't always super clear to me; if they'd had a long time to mourn this person, that wasn't obvious.) Another character killed her own parents, and seems amazingly well adjusted. (Yes, she has the benefit of being a little sedated by reaper blood, but her reaction still seemed so tame.) A character that Layla is pretty close to dies in a horrible way in the second half, and we never even see her grieving about it. IDK. All of this to say: there were a lot of deaths, and they were all treated very cheaply. (I haven't even mentioned the deaths of randos, of which there were a fair amount.)
- The villains got a little caricaturish in their evilness, which I never enjoy, but especially in a setting like this which... idk, it was supposed to be dark and dangerous. There's a certain vibe that's conjured when you hear '1920s Harlem vampires'; a certain vibe that's conjured when you see the cover of this; a certain decadence and lushness and darkness that you expect. And that wasn't reflected in the characters or the writing in general. This lacked ATMOSPHERE.
- I'm definitely no expert on history and linguistics, but not a lot about this felt very grounded in the 1920s. Except for a few phrases here and there, it felt like everyone spoke in modern English. It felt really weird.
- This is a subjective and personal nitpick, but I really don't enjoy historical books that feature queer characters, but refuse to engage in any conversation about queerness. It feels like there's a big, honking, obvious lacuna in the middle of your work. I know that a lot of queer authors (and readers!) prefer not to write about, see, or engage with homophobia in their works. That's fair and totally understandable. But I'm not asking for a lot of homophobia; I just want some acknowledgement of queer identity, in whatever language would have been appropriate for the time period. It feels weird for neither Layla or Elise to question or comment on their feelings for other girls. It feels hollow, and I don't like it. And the fact that the book DOES engage with other social issues, like racism and classism, makes the absence of queer conversation all the more obvious.
-And I honestly thought the bit at the end where Elise's mother caught them kissing and was like 'omg yay, I'm glad you all are reconciled, you were always such good friends :D' was bad. It's clearly a little joke, referencing how historical f/f couples are often thought of as friends. But I found it to be kind of annoying, lol, since it was like one of the only references to them both being girls. And it felt weird to have a jokey reference in a moment like that, especially since the next time we see the mother, she's in a really emotional scene.
- The writing in general was... not great? Good, but not great. Sometimes it went for a bit of a humourous feel, but a lot of those jokes didn't land well for me. (Jamie and his cat-son were cute though.) Sometimes it got a little flowery and descriptive, and there were one or two pretty lines that I took note of. But also it would sometimes veer into 'I don't think that word means what you think it means' territory. And then there were a painful amount of errors and mistaken word usage that highlighted just how much this needed an edit. Like, "a valid excuse to be busy with"; "preferred to die before rather than wear"; "a falter crossed her expression"; "the day's events beat out the adrenaline with exhaust". And more that I didn't bother to take note of. It was pretty bad.
- And now I've gotten to the point where I have so many nitpicks that my rating seems generous. But there WERE things I liked about this, and I DO think it has a lot of promise. The build-up of the relationship between Layla and Elise was so good. Friends to enemies to lovers is SUCH a bespoke trope. Their chemistry and attraction were my favourite parts of this. I really liked the depiction of Elise's OCD/neurodivergence and the way Layla helped her with them. Monstrous girls are catnip to me, so I liked all the reaper viciousness and goriness. Valeriya was an interesting character, and I do wish we'd seen more of her.
So yeah... lots of promise, but it all sooooorta fell flat? The ending didn't do a lot for me, though there are a few plot threads that could be interesting. I would definitely be willing to read a second book in this series, but I really hope the publisher has heard all the feedback, and I hope the author gets more support and editing. I listened to the audiobook as read by Tamika Katon-Donegal, and it was pretty good. I didn't really love her male voices (especially for the older guys) but since they were secondary characters, that was all right. I do wish that there had been longer pauses when we changed scenes. It was so fast that it sounded like it was all part of the same scene, and I'd often end up a little confused. But otherwise, it was good.
Hopefully, the next book will be better! Genuinely, it does show promise.
This is a sapphic historical paranormal/fantasy novel about two girls in 1920s New York who used to be best friends, but were violently torn apart. Elise Saint's father owns a company that produces a special type of steel that is particularly effective against reapers (basically vampires). Layla's family are friends of the Saints, and she is best friends with Elise. Everything changes after a bloody betrayal, when Layla's parents are killed, Layla is turned into a reaper, and Elise is sent to live abroad. Now, it's five years later, and Elise has returned, reluctant heir to her father's company.
- I don't mind being dropped into the middle of a story, but I don't like the pace at which we got all the backstory between Layla and Elise. At times, certain things were discussed like the reader already had full knowledge of it, when we definitely didn't.
- Sometimes we'd have little mini time-skips, which I really never like in books. I didn't make note of any particular examples, but there were instances where a character might hint at a conversation they were going to have , and then we'd skip ahead a bit, and that conversation had already happened, and we were told about it in hindsight. It's not the biggest deal, except that I felt like it kept happening with moments I really wanted to see on page, and moments that would have given good character insight.
- Obviously, this is a paranormal book, but I had to suspend my disbelief for a lot of things. The very premise of Elisa and Layla being allowed to team up to investigate a murder was so silly. I mean, sure, it's def. not hard to believe that the police didn't care, but if they thought Layla was implicated in the deaths (or if they were trying to frame her as being involved) why would anyone in a position of power let her go and let her work with Elise?
- The plot, with the politics and the cure and the rivalry between Saint men and reapers and gangsters... it was all fine. I never felt like it all clicked together really well. Some things are pretty easy to guess.
- There were several times when I felt like the emotional reactions of characters to certain things just weren't given enough page time, or they were written about in a very weird way. When a friend of Elise and Sterling dies near the beginning, it's glossed over pretty quickly. We get maybe a few scenes of Sterling taking it badly, but the character is barely mentioned again. (I should also mention that the passage of time wasn't always super clear to me; if they'd had a long time to mourn this person, that wasn't obvious.) Another character killed her own parents, and seems amazingly well adjusted. (Yes, she has the benefit of being a little sedated by reaper blood, but her reaction still seemed so tame.) A character that Layla is pretty close to dies in a horrible way in the second half, and we never even see her grieving about it. IDK. All of this to say: there were a lot of deaths, and they were all treated very cheaply. (I haven't even mentioned the deaths of randos, of which there were a fair amount.)
- The villains got a little caricaturish in their evilness, which I never enjoy, but especially in a setting like this which... idk, it was supposed to be dark and dangerous. There's a certain vibe that's conjured when you hear '1920s Harlem vampires'; a certain vibe that's conjured when you see the cover of this; a certain decadence and lushness and darkness that you expect. And that wasn't reflected in the characters or the writing in general. This lacked ATMOSPHERE.
- I'm definitely no expert on history and linguistics, but not a lot about this felt very grounded in the 1920s. Except for a few phrases here and there, it felt like everyone spoke in modern English. It felt really weird.
- This is a subjective and personal nitpick, but I really don't enjoy historical books that feature queer characters, but refuse to engage in any conversation about queerness. It feels like there's a big, honking, obvious lacuna in the middle of your work. I know that a lot of queer authors (and readers!) prefer not to write about, see, or engage with homophobia in their works. That's fair and totally understandable. But I'm not asking for a lot of homophobia; I just want some acknowledgement of queer identity, in whatever language would have been appropriate for the time period. It feels weird for neither Layla or Elise to question or comment on their feelings for other girls. It feels hollow, and I don't like it. And the fact that the book DOES engage with other social issues, like racism and classism, makes the absence of queer conversation all the more obvious.
-
- The writing in general was... not great? Good, but not great. Sometimes it went for a bit of a humourous feel, but a lot of those jokes didn't land well for me. (Jamie and his cat-son were cute though.) Sometimes it got a little flowery and descriptive, and there were one or two pretty lines that I took note of. But also it would sometimes veer into 'I don't think that word means what you think it means' territory. And then there were a painful amount of errors and mistaken word usage that highlighted just how much this needed an edit. Like, "a valid excuse to be busy with"; "preferred to die before rather than wear"; "a falter crossed her expression"; "the day's events beat out the adrenaline with exhaust". And more that I didn't bother to take note of. It was pretty bad.
- And now I've gotten to the point where I have so many nitpicks that my rating seems generous. But there WERE things I liked about this, and I DO think it has a lot of promise. The build-up of the relationship between Layla and Elise was so good. Friends to enemies to lovers is SUCH a bespoke trope. Their chemistry and attraction were my favourite parts of this. I really liked the depiction of Elise's OCD/neurodivergence and the way Layla helped her with them. Monstrous girls are catnip to me, so I liked all the reaper viciousness and goriness. Valeriya was an interesting character, and I do wish we'd seen more of her.
So yeah... lots of promise, but it all sooooorta fell flat? The ending didn't do a lot for me, though there are a few plot threads that could be interesting. I would definitely be willing to read a second book in this series, but I really hope the publisher has heard all the feedback, and I hope the author gets more support and editing. I listened to the audiobook as read by Tamika Katon-Donegal, and it was pretty good. I didn't really love her male voices (especially for the older guys) but since they were secondary characters, that was all right. I do wish that there had been longer pauses when we changed scenes. It was so fast that it sounded like it was all part of the same scene, and I'd often end up a little confused. But otherwise, it was good.
Hopefully, the next book will be better! Genuinely, it does show promise.
It was as if Elise was made up of stars and the dust between the planets. In her, Layla was certain she would find the whole universe.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
sapphic vampire book, goes exactly how you expect it to plot wise.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Amazing!! Friends to enemies to reluctant partners to lovers to enemies again??? Loved it!!!!
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5/5
I think if I was still in the target audience age range I would have loved this book. I loved the main characters, but the plot itself is not something I would gravitate towards normally, vampires and vampire like creatures are just hit or miss for me, and there was some parts of the lore I was just left wondering about.
Overall I still highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for sapphic, dagger at throat, touch her and you die vibes
I think if I was still in the target audience age range I would have loved this book. I loved the main characters, but the plot itself is not something I would gravitate towards normally, vampires and vampire like creatures are just hit or miss for me, and there was some parts of the lore I was just left wondering about.
Overall I still highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for sapphic, dagger at throat, touch her and you die vibes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes