Reviews

DNF at 22%. I wanted to love this (that cover!), but the pacing was completely off. It was too slow plot-wise and too fast romance-wise. The characters jump into bed with each other much too soon, before they had any sexual chemistry. Plus, the human somehow being able to make a sigil on his first try, without any explanation as to why this is, made no sense. I haven't picked this up since March 8 (it's now the 17th), so I'm officially calling it.

sierrajwrites's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I don’t think I’ll ever run out of words to describe how much this book means to me. Like the quote above, these words are a home I love returning to. A rich world switching between the fae realm and Victorian London, captivating and relatable characters whose connection blooms between sweet and burning passion, plot laced with Celtic wheel of the year, folklore, and steamy sex rituals.

I’ve been lucky enough to get opportunities like beta reading the collection of sequel stories and getting to know the author. @sebastiannothwell is both an incredible author and a lovely human who I will read until I die.

mina07's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious slow-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

4.0

kelseykeefe's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

h_howell's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I never usually write reviews but since this a new book and has so few on here I wanted justify my score so as not to potentially put anyone off who might enjoy the book!

Summary:
Characters: 5*
Plot: 4*
Pacing: 2*

Firstly the good things that kept me reading to the end despite what I'll talk about below (I am not a person who is afraid to DNF). I love the characters, Shrike and Wren were both well defined and interesting. But more than that I loved the supporting cast particularly Nell and Daniel. I also thought the dialogue was well written and interactions between the characters both verbal and otherwise were great.

Now on to what lead me to mark it down...

This book is full of rich and beautiful descriptions of both Victorian London and the magical fae realm, unfortunately I have aphantasia (no mental images) so I tend to get a little frustrated by lots of description of visuals and it does affect my enjoyment of a story this is a personal thing and not a reflection on the book at all. Some people love this kind of writing, it's just not for me personally and this is my personal rating.

Secondly, this felt like two books smushed into one. A historical romance set in Victorian London and a fantasy romance in the fae realm, the two plotlines didn't intertwine at all other than them occurring to the same characters. Because of this it felt like I was reading two books at once and it made the whole thing very slow moving. The thing is I did enjoy both stories, I just wish I could have read them separately.

Finally, the ending felt incredibly abrupt. After 521 pages of build up the entire fae realm plot line is resolved in 2 pages and then it just ends. I honestly couldn't tell you what more I wanted from it but it felt like there should be at least a few more pages of winding down from the big fight.

Content Warnings

rachratesreads's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

More...