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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I was murdered but not allowed to pass on. Given godly power, but no freedom. Offered the chance to be with someone at the cost of the one I wish to be with.
Okaay, what am I going to do with my life until December? I want to know what’s going to happen almost as much as I want to know what Lorcan did! #ifkyk
❤️ Fast-paced and captivating, with compelling plot twists and a jaw-dropping ending
❤️ Epic worldbuilding and lore
❤️ Interesting, complex characters (both main and supporting)
❤️ Strong FMC and toe-curling MMC
❤️ Humour and banter
❌ Slightly off-putting book title
❌ Modern elements that don’t quite fit
❌ Slightly disappointing spice
Trigger Warnings: violence, blood and gore, injury details, domestic abuse, parental abuse, child abuse, attempted rape, poisoning, murder, death and grief.
Plot:
Nizzara is the heiress to the Zarr throne and the daughter of a power-hungry tyrant. Forced into an arranged marriage, she enters a deadly tournament to win the freedom to choose her own suitor. Dagen is the last king of Zarr, who was killed by Nizzara’s father many years before. Now a half-ghost with tremendous power, he is stuck in another realm, working as a soul reaper. To reclaim his freedom and his kingdom, he must deliver a pure soul: Nizzara’s.
At first, the plot sounded just like 349058 other romantasy novels or series. But fear not, this book definitely stood out after only a few chapters. There’s a high-stake tournament, political turmoil, rebels, monsters, gods, ghosts and spirits, prophecies, love, tension, angst, betrayal and heartache, humour (“Nightlight” made me crack up!) and banter, etc. And, most of all, many of the plot twists were unexpected. None of the common tropes or conundrums felt like they were weaved in just to tick a box or add shock value. It really felt like the worldbuilding, the lore, the characters, and the plot were well thought of. The only things that annoyed me were the modern elements, that didn’t quite fit in; but maybe they will make more sense in the following installments.
Characters:
If you follow my reviews, you probably know how hard I am on MCs. I always find the leading ladies too reckless and self-centred, too needlessly confrontational or stabby, etc. And that the leading guys all sound like generic morally-grey alphaholes who are obsessed with the FMC after a minute and a half. But in this one, we get an FMC who is as fierce and stabby as she is mature and compassionate. We get an MMC who’s a funny, snarky, foul-mouthed, flirtatious half-ghost royal. He’s ruthless, but also sweet and caring. I loved both of them right away and felt an emotional connection very quickly. Also, there’s not a single character that I 100% hated (except Dae’s ex, maybe). The “bad guys” could have been very unidimensional like so many others, but Winn made it hard for us not to feel any sort of compassion for them—and I love that.
Writing:
Winn has a sharp, mature, and captivating writing style that’s also very accessible. I’m not a fan of the first-person POV, but Winn made it work. The addition of journal entry snippets was also great and helped learn more about the world, political dynamics, and important characters without tedious info dumps – thank gods! Some of the names, however, were too similar to my liking. Even at the end of the book, I was still confusing the three kingdoms because of their (very) similar names: Zo, Zarr, Zem. The spice was also slightly disappointing.
The only thing… the title. Maybe it’s a non-native English speaker thing, but I’m really not a fan. If it wasn’t for the high ratings and intriguing reviews, I probably would have skipped it just for that. But I’m so glad I didn’t because I would have missed out big times!
You know what they say? Don’t judge a book by itscover title!
Follow me on Instagram: @bibi.reads.writes
Okaay, what am I going to do with my life until December? I want to know what’s going to happen almost as much as I want to know what Lorcan did! #ifkyk
❤️ Fast-paced and captivating, with compelling plot twists and a jaw-dropping ending
❤️ Epic worldbuilding and lore
❤️ Interesting, complex characters (both main and supporting)
❤️ Strong FMC and toe-curling MMC
❤️ Humour and banter
❌ Slightly off-putting book title
❌ Modern elements that don’t quite fit
❌ Slightly disappointing spice
Trigger Warnings: violence, blood and gore, injury details, domestic abuse, parental abuse, child abuse, attempted rape, poisoning, murder, death and grief.
Plot:
Nizzara is the heiress to the Zarr throne and the daughter of a power-hungry tyrant. Forced into an arranged marriage, she enters a deadly tournament to win the freedom to choose her own suitor. Dagen is the last king of Zarr, who was killed by Nizzara’s father many years before. Now a half-ghost with tremendous power, he is stuck in another realm, working as a soul reaper. To reclaim his freedom and his kingdom, he must deliver a pure soul: Nizzara’s.
At first, the plot sounded just like 349058 other romantasy novels or series. But fear not, this book definitely stood out after only a few chapters. There’s a high-stake tournament, political turmoil, rebels, monsters, gods, ghosts and spirits, prophecies, love, tension, angst, betrayal and heartache, humour (“Nightlight” made me crack up!) and banter, etc. And, most of all, many of the plot twists were unexpected. None of the common tropes or conundrums felt like they were weaved in just to tick a box or add shock value. It really felt like the worldbuilding, the lore, the characters, and the plot were well thought of. The only things that annoyed me were the modern elements, that didn’t quite fit in; but maybe they will make more sense in the following installments.
Characters:
If you follow my reviews, you probably know how hard I am on MCs. I always find the leading ladies too reckless and self-centred, too needlessly confrontational or stabby, etc. And that the leading guys all sound like generic morally-grey alphaholes who are obsessed with the FMC after a minute and a half. But in this one, we get an FMC who is as fierce and stabby as she is mature and compassionate. We get an MMC who’s a funny, snarky, foul-mouthed, flirtatious half-ghost royal. He’s ruthless, but also sweet and caring. I loved both of them right away and felt an emotional connection very quickly. Also, there’s not a single character that I 100% hated (except Dae’s ex, maybe). The “bad guys” could have been very unidimensional like so many others, but Winn made it hard for us not to feel any sort of compassion for them—and I love that.
Writing:
Winn has a sharp, mature, and captivating writing style that’s also very accessible. I’m not a fan of the first-person POV, but Winn made it work. The addition of journal entry snippets was also great and helped learn more about the world, political dynamics, and important characters without tedious info dumps – thank gods! Some of the names, however, were too similar to my liking. Even at the end of the book, I was still confusing the three kingdoms because of their (very) similar names: Zo, Zarr, Zem. The spice was also slightly disappointing.
The only thing… the title. Maybe it’s a non-native English speaker thing, but I’m really not a fan. If it wasn’t for the high ratings and intriguing reviews, I probably would have skipped it just for that. But I’m so glad I didn’t because I would have missed out big times!
You know what they say? Don’t judge a book by its
Follow me on Instagram: @bibi.reads.writes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
fast-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:
Yes
This book is dual POV, following Nizarra and Dagen. Nizarra is the heiress to the throne, and Dagen is the man her father killed to steal the throne. Nizarra enters a deadly tournament to win the ability to end her betrothal and finds herself needing Dagen's help to survive. Dagen needs to earn Nizarra's trust to steal Nizarra's soul with deception to earn his freedom. He only has until the end of the tournament, or his soul is forfeit.
What to Expect:
📖1st Person, Dual POV
📖Warring Realms
📖Fierce FMC
📖Vengeful MMC
📖Dark Fantasy Romance
I am more than likely not going to continue the series now that I have sat and really marinated in my overall feelings of this book. I think it's an enticing storyline, but there were a lot of cringey moments to me like reference to smut, "you slay" Dagon calling himself shadow daddy. My brain was like oh no the silly reader thoughts slipped into the book. It's fun when we jokingly say that as a response to a reaction in real life but physically reading that in a story made me question.
Another thing was there are modern themes in this book, but they live very unmodernly. Like they have cars and stuff. Not a lot of families because it's expensive and rare to have, but it did meet me with some confusion. I wasn't actually sure of what time period we were in and if it was ever mentioned I literally cannot recall it. I think it's placed a long time after cars were invented but they mostly died out type of thing.
I highly advise you to check content warnings before starting this book. One that really stands out is Nazarra being constantly physically abused by her father and it's just the "norm."
What to Expect:
📖1st Person, Dual POV
📖Warring Realms
📖Fierce FMC
📖Vengeful MMC
📖Dark Fantasy Romance
I am more than likely not going to continue the series now that I have sat and really marinated in my overall feelings of this book. I think it's an enticing storyline, but there were a lot of cringey moments to me like reference to smut, "you slay" Dagon calling himself shadow daddy. My brain was like oh no the silly reader thoughts slipped into the book. It's fun when we jokingly say that as a response to a reaction in real life but physically reading that in a story made me question.
Another thing was there are modern themes in this book, but they live very unmodernly. Like they have cars and stuff. Not a lot of families because it's expensive and rare to have, but it did meet me with some confusion. I wasn't actually sure of what time period we were in and if it was ever mentioned I literally cannot recall it. I think it's placed a long time after cars were invented but they mostly died out type of thing.
I highly advise you to check content warnings before starting this book. One that really stands out is Nazarra being constantly physically abused by her father and it's just the "norm."
The premise of this one was intriguing, but the writing style was absolutely not for me. It read much younger than I was expecting for an adult romance, and it prevented me from getting into the plot that sounded so promising.
I was intrigued by the premise but I can't get past the writing style to get into the plot. Everything feels so stunted and there's not a natural flow.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
5⭐️
This was a reread. The trad publish copy contains additional material and slight differences in certain aspects. I would recommend reading the trad copy before book two.
I loved Vesselless back in 2024 and I love it now. The way Cortney writes just sings to my soul. Her writing is just beautiful as well as tragic. You feel the loss, sorrow, anger, and healing of each character. And the way she also makes you forgive characters that doesn’t it, is also maddening and appreciated.
I love every character. I would be writing my own story if I wrote about how amazing each character was.
I cannot wait for the next book. I’ve literally been waiting for ages 😭
Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager & NetGalley for my gifted advanced book copy 💕
Former Review
⬇️⬇️
Rating: 4.5, rounded to 5
Spice: 1, very little
This book was such a breath of fresh air. It was nice to read a different story/plot. It was captivating, unique, and well written.
The world & character building *chef's kiss*
This unique world and magic system had me glued to this book.
The plot twist and betrayal was jaw dropping!
Not to mention, the adorable and funny banter between the characters.
The MCs relationship really felt real and meaningful.
And there’s ZERO MISCOMMUNICATION.
One negative- I hate that this author actually made me feel bad for some of the characters that I hated throughout the book! That’s how I know the author did an amazing job. Now please excuse me while I go cry again.
Book does end in a cliffhanger.
This was a reread. The trad publish copy contains additional material and slight differences in certain aspects. I would recommend reading the trad copy before book two.
I loved Vesselless back in 2024 and I love it now. The way Cortney writes just sings to my soul. Her writing is just beautiful as well as tragic. You feel the loss, sorrow, anger, and healing of each character. And the way she also makes you forgive characters that doesn’t it, is also maddening and appreciated.
I love every character. I would be writing my own story if I wrote about how amazing each character was.
I cannot wait for the next book. I’ve literally been waiting for ages 😭
Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager & NetGalley for my gifted advanced book copy 💕
Former Review
⬇️⬇️
Rating: 4.5, rounded to 5
Spice: 1, very little
This book was such a breath of fresh air. It was nice to read a different story/plot. It was captivating, unique, and well written.
The world & character building *chef's kiss*
This unique world and magic system had me glued to this book.
The plot twist and betrayal was jaw dropping!
Not to mention, the adorable and funny banter between the characters.
The MCs relationship really felt real and meaningful.
And there’s ZERO MISCOMMUNICATION.
One negative- I hate that this author actually made me feel bad for some of the characters that I hated throughout the book! That’s how I know the author did an amazing job. Now please excuse me while I go cry again.
Book does end in a cliffhanger.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes