Reviews

I don't usually read reviews before I go into a book as I like to make my own mind up as reading is so subbjective. I didn't read reviews for this book but I did happen to see the average rating and it makes me a little worried I wasn't going to like it. I shouldn't have worried.

This book was ab olutely not what I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to be reading a murder mystery set in a dark academia setting but it was so much more! There were possessions and rituals that actually work and dark magic and so much more. Definitely had a horror vibe too it and I liked it.

This book is told from two different main characters points of view which added a deeper layer to the story than if it had just been from one, this story definitely needed that.

I really liked the main character of Lottie. She was kind, caring, determined and brave and I warmed to her quickly and liked her all the way through. The other main character of Alice I did not like to start with. She was too moody and angry for me but I ab olutely warmed to her as the story progressed.

Carvell was a perfect setting to this book. Dark, mysterious and gothic and the North Tower was a character all too itself which was very interesting especially as it played such a big and focal point in the book.

I would say that it was a little repetitive, Alice was described like dark beautiful woods so many times and Lottie like sunshine it got a bit boring.

Overall I really enjoyed this and sped through it in a couple of days as it's easy to read. I will definitely be looking for other books by Laura Steven in the future.

bosbury2602's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

vtlism's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Not overly gripping and a little preachy, less fun than I was expecting. I appreciated the queer romantic aspect

s_ierraclark's review against another edition

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3.0

characters were unlikeable and unrealistic. alice was a pretentious prick and lottie was a pushover with no self-respect. also i get that the message was that women can be angry and that's great, love it, however, i do believe that alice might just also be a sociopath.

cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition

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2.0

This really should have worked for me, certainly with being sapphic;there’s a slightly formulaic feel to the whole undertaking.It’ll definitely be someone else’s cup of tea, but there was so much about it that ultimately wasn’t for me.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

ember_is_gay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

i was excited for this, and it didn't really live up to what i had in my head. everything went very slowly until the end, which felt so rushed. the slow burn was too slow burn and then all of a sudden they were in love. the suspense/ritual/what the fuck is going on here was slow, but then towards the end all the reveals happened so quickly and was like a burst of twists that were just there for intensity and not actually for the plot. spacing out reveals would have just made more sense to me.

not the worst book, just kinda meh in both suspense and romance

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