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bookcrushin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed the witchy ways and the demon banter....but a lot of the plot was internal dialogue, and I never wanted more to scream show me not tell me....but I definitely want to read book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Grief
Minor: Confinement
dhwani's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Grief, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, and Vomit
baexlee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I really wanted to like this book, and there certainly are parts that I enjoyed. But overall I'm just disappointed. Despite the fact it is established early on that Emilia and her twin are supposedly the best of friends, the impact of the Vittoria's death was lackluster. Where the plot was trying to be mysterious and clever it was convoluted and confusing. I often found myself detached from what I was reading because the descriptions felt flat on the page. I had a hard time caring about Emilia's motivations, or even really understanding what they truly were in the first place, they seemed to change and get lost so often. The timeline is both frantically paced with a day of action packed plot where everything occurs and simultaneously dragging with long stretches of weeks where nothing happens, despite catastrophic threats hovering over the characters heads.
The most redeeming aspect of this book was the setting and Wrath. I found myself rooting for Wrath far more often than I was rooting for Emilia, even though I didn't really know what Wrath was doing throughout the novel. Ultimately though, even he ends up disappointing me. This book didn't feel like it had enough substance to be a series and even in the final few pages there are so many loose ends that I'm incredibly dissatisfied. I'm certainly not opposed to a book series, or a good cliffhanger, but I want the climax of the book to at least offer some satisfying payoff and a sliver of answers, something to hold onto while I wait for the next installment. I knew about as much on the last page as I did halfway through the novel, and that doesn't motivate me to pick up the next book. I liked Wrath enough that I might pick up the next installment to see if the author can save him from the absolute disservice that is done in the last 20 pages, but my expectations are low.
The ending of this book is so frustrating. We spent 300+ pages getting to know Wrath, our hearts warming up alongside Emilia's, all for him to sacrifice himself to save her life and really sell that he's not the demon we believe he is. Just to show up in the final chapter when Emilia believes he is truly dead to help her sign her soul away to Pride. Not to mention, what was the point of the whole marking if he won't actually come when she summons him? Why would he decide to mark her and then we can reasonably assume he ignored her summons after his 'death' since he appeared in the final chapter like he wasn't injured at all. Why give her the ring to help her summon him? Why the castle? Why move in with her? What was Wrath's motivation for ANYTHING in this book, why didn't we get even a glimmer of payoff on this to tempt us into the next novel? There were so many secrets dangled out in front of me and absolutely none of them were answered aside from Antonio, and even he was a red-herring of sorts because he was acting for the will of another house. This felt like a fever dream.
The most redeeming aspect of this book was the setting and Wrath. I found myself rooting for Wrath far more often than I was rooting for Emilia, even though I didn't really know what Wrath was doing throughout the novel. Ultimately though, even he ends up disappointing me. This book didn't feel like it had enough substance to be a series and even in the final few pages there are so many loose ends that I'm incredibly dissatisfied. I'm certainly not opposed to a book series, or a good cliffhanger, but I want the climax of the book to at least offer some satisfying payoff and a sliver of answers, something to hold onto while I wait for the next installment. I knew about as much on the last page as I did halfway through the novel, and that doesn't motivate me to pick up the next book. I liked Wrath enough that I might pick up the next installment to see if the author can save him from the absolute disservice that is done in the last 20 pages, but my expectations are low.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Gore, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Confinement and Religious bigotry
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