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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
4.25-4.5
Wow, this was excellent and exactly what I was in the mood for! It started a little slowly but quickly picked up and I was thinking about this book a lot when I wasn’t reading it.
This book is absolutely hearkening me back to fantasy books I read a lot (and loved) as a teenager - although this book is absolutely Adult and has some very open door scenes.
Edira is a threadmender - essentially a healer who can solve illness and injury, at the peril of her own lifespan. She keeps hidden to avoid attracting attention of the Evers, a supernatural sort of group that basically rule above the humans. But there is a mysterious disease that is blighting (lol, get it?) the land and its people and it’s a death sentence. No one can seem to heal it, and it’s not until Edira’s twin brothers get sick that she will do anything in her power to save them.
The author did a really good job to have you questioning who is telling the truth and who is hiding something from Edira, and as the reader I think you can pick up on a lot more than Edira does in the moment! I was definitely yelling at her a little bit, because I could see a bit more how things were likely to play out with Orin and Rorik.
All that to say, I definitely didn’t predict everything here and was pleasantly surprised by the choices both Edira and the author made.
I’m really excited for the next book in this series! I want to know more about blight and its history - how did it start? Why is it so infectious? What’s the root of it?
Thank you so much to HarperCollins and Maxym Martineau for this eARC!!
Wow, this was excellent and exactly what I was in the mood for! It started a little slowly but quickly picked up and I was thinking about this book a lot when I wasn’t reading it.
This book is absolutely hearkening me back to fantasy books I read a lot (and loved) as a teenager - although this book is absolutely Adult and has some very open door scenes.
Edira is a threadmender - essentially a healer who can solve illness and injury, at the peril of her own lifespan. She keeps hidden to avoid attracting attention of the Evers, a supernatural sort of group that basically rule above the humans. But there is a mysterious disease that is blighting (lol, get it?) the land and its people and it’s a death sentence. No one can seem to heal it, and it’s not until Edira’s twin brothers get sick that she will do anything in her power to save them.
The author did a really good job to have you questioning who is telling the truth and who is hiding something from Edira, and as the reader I think you can pick up on a lot more than Edira does in the moment! I was definitely yelling at her a little bit, because I could see a bit more how things were likely to play out with Orin and Rorik.
All that to say, I definitely didn’t predict everything here and was pleasantly surprised by the choices both Edira and the author made.
I’m really excited for the next book in this series! I want to know more about blight and its history - how did it start? Why is it so infectious? What’s the root of it?
Thank you so much to HarperCollins and Maxym Martineau for this eARC!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
With the lyrical, gothic stylings of One Dark Window, and the high stakes political intrigue of The Cruel Prince. House of Blight was a lush, fae-filled and decadently vivid (romantasy-esque) read that I loved every second of!
As a self confessed sucker for lush, poetic prose I adored Maxym M. Martineau’s writing style. It’s gorgeously vivid with a hauntingly atmospheric, dark fairytale quality that I couldn’t get enough of.
The setting was really good too, with the decay and dread that pervades the Fernglove estate and its callous, morally grey (immortal) inhabitants (called Evers) adding an immersive sense of depth. Alongside some pretty powerful social commentary on ethics and the consequences of trying to preserve life —or power—indefinitely.
Though, the vulnerabilities and emotional complexity of our protagonist, Edira, and the unique magic system (threadmending) that allows her to heal others— by shortening her own lifespan— was what I found the most compelling.
Her journey, which sees Edira choosing to sacrifice her own lifespan to help others, was steeped in metaphor (burnout, boundary-less love and lack of self worth.) Exploring the nuances of grief and trauma surrounding the loss of her parents (as well as the shame and failure she feels in not being able to save them), in such an unflinchingly raw yet tender hearted way. I seriously wanted to give her a huge hug (and tell her everything would be okay) soo many times.
But her path to self-redemption, self forgiveness, resistance and courage (in finally realising her own self-worth) was definitely what made the emotionally intense rollercoaster Martineau put us through, worthwhile.
Plus, the chemistry laden scenes between Edira, Orin and Rorik (Orin’s brooding Bryron-esque brother) were incredibly palpable.
Overall, a satisfyingly plot twisty read that’s perfect for fans of Hannah Whitten, Rachel Gillig or Lyndall Clipstone.
Also, thanks to Titan Books UK for the PB copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Vomit
dark
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:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Yes
I have to give a HUGE thank you to Nerdfam, Netgalley, and of course, the author for sending this ARC my way. I started the book today and literally couldn't stop reading. I kept thinking about it every time I put it down. It's been a while since a book affected me so much. I knew I was hooked after the prologue.
In this book, there are healers called threadmenders. They can see the threads of life and the pain/injury on them. Edira is a threadmender in hiding. After her aunt was taken from the family, she was told to stay hidden and never mend. However, a Blight has broken out over the land, and many are dying. There is no cure.
Her brothers are all she has, and when they fall ill, she is forced to make a deal with the powerful Evers. They take her in and agree to keep her brothers alive in a stasis in exchange for her learning to cure the Blight as their elder is dying from it. As it turns out, the Evers aren't as immune as Edira previously thought.
This book is loaded with Gothic eerie vibes coated in just the right amount of magic. There's a bit of slow burn, and when I say the ending has me, Feral for book two, I mean it!
In this book, there are healers called threadmenders. They can see the threads of life and the pain/injury on them. Edira is a threadmender in hiding. After her aunt was taken from the family, she was told to stay hidden and never mend. However, a Blight has broken out over the land, and many are dying. There is no cure.
Her brothers are all she has, and when they fall ill, she is forced to make a deal with the powerful Evers. They take her in and agree to keep her brothers alive in a stasis in exchange for her learning to cure the Blight as their elder is dying from it. As it turns out, the Evers aren't as immune as Edira previously thought.
This book is loaded with Gothic eerie vibes coated in just the right amount of magic. There's a bit of slow burn, and when I say the ending has me, Feral for book two, I mean it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Thank you to Nerd Fam and the author for an opportunity to read early.
I liked this one. Not as much as I hoped to but I think it has potential with the remainder of the series.
I live for a unique magic system. So the threadmending was pretty dang cool. I am interested in seeing where this story goes next. If you like ACOTAR, then yeah... same vibe with the main love interest.. if you know, you know. And instead of a winged shadow daddy, you get a winged insect daddy, nice!
I liked this one. Not as much as I hoped to but I think it has potential with the remainder of the series.
I live for a unique magic system. So the threadmending was pretty dang cool. I am interested in seeing where this story goes next. If you like ACOTAR, then yeah... same vibe with the main love interest.. if you know, you know. And instead of a winged shadow daddy, you get a winged insect daddy, nice!
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
This book was insane. First you get the prologue that tells you nothing but leaves you with sooooo many questions and then you're dropped into this beautiful and atmospheric world where literally nothing is as it seems.
Every time I thought that I had figured out where things were going it twisted and I was completely wrong. At no point did I really know what was going to happen and I am obsessed with that. Edira really deserves more good things than anyone else. She's readily willing to die to save her brothers and just ugh my heart 😭. She takes care of everyone else at the expense of herself.
The brothers 👀. Orin knew just the right things to say while Rorik is the broody and flirty one. Oh no whichever shall she choose?? And the slow burn of it all made it that much better.
The vibes in this were immaculate. Dark romantasy but make it gothic?? I eat it up every time. I will be absolutely frothing at the mouth for book two.
Every time I thought that I had figured out where things were going it twisted and I was completely wrong. At no point did I really know what was going to happen and I am obsessed with that. Edira really deserves more good things than anyone else. She's readily willing to die to save her brothers and just ugh my heart 😭. She takes care of everyone else at the expense of herself.
The brothers 👀. Orin knew just the right things to say while Rorik is the broody and flirty one. Oh no whichever shall she choose?? And the slow burn of it all made it that much better.
The vibes in this were immaculate. Dark romantasy but make it gothic?? I eat it up every time. I will be absolutely frothing at the mouth for book two.
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
Maxym’s “the beast charmer’’ series is one of my favorites out there, so I was STOKED to see they’ve written more- super excited to have gotten an arc by NetGalley!!
This one does NOT disappoint. The house of blight is a gothic horror novel, with creepy sicknesses, curses, lies and deceit. It is a decently sized book, but moves so flawlessly I was able to devour it in one sitting. The ending leaves on a cliffhanger- but not to the point you want to throw the book. Excited for the rest!
Thank you NetGalley, publisher, and maxym for allowing an arc in exchange for an honest review!
This one does NOT disappoint. The house of blight is a gothic horror novel, with creepy sicknesses, curses, lies and deceit. It is a decently sized book, but moves so flawlessly I was able to devour it in one sitting. The ending leaves on a cliffhanger- but not to the point you want to throw the book. Excited for the rest!
Thank you NetGalley, publisher, and maxym for allowing an arc in exchange for an honest review!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This was a fun romantasy! It was one of the more unique ones, with a healer FMC (I really don’t see a lot of them in the books I pick up) who can mend “threads” for others at a cost to her, which is a shortened life. The dark, gothic vibes made this a very atmospheric read and I loved it. The moth sidekick was fantastic, and I really enjoyed the tension and conflict at the end. Very excited to continue this series!
Thank you to HarperAudio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!
Thank you to HarperAudio for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!