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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Many of my favorite tropes in one. Academy based, enemies to lovers, forbidden magic, touch her and you die. Excited to see what the rest of the series is like. I think the first book set good ground work!
At no in this book was I prepared for what happened. If you want a paranormal romance with a morally black MMC that is also dark and very spicy, this is the book for you. Go ahead and buy the second one because you’ll want to dig in the second you finish this one.
Bloody hell that finale was brutal! my jaw was dropping further to the floor with each new reveal. What a finish this morphed into and it only made me fall even harder for our villainous anti-hero. I was legit cackling like some B-rate movie evil mastermind what a trip.
So basic gist here is we have witches and demons and there is certainly no love lost between these two species. They manage to coexist together despite the animosity and share a somewhat symbiotic bond. The demons have been trapped inside mortal vessels and need the blood of the witches to survive, so think vampiric in nature. Their real bodies and souls are back home hence the term Vessels. It's all down to a deal struck by the first witch to escape and punish her persecutors. We also have the covenant which is controlled by our heroine's ancestor she's the gal in charge and I can only describe her as undead animated bones how creepy.
So Willow Medizza is a witch in hiding many years prior her mother faked her death and warded her existence from the Coven. Now she's dead and the Coven is fully aware of Willows existence. She's the last of her line but also she's hiding a secret as she's also the last Hectate witch and the keeper of the bones, necromancy is in her blood she just needs her ancestor's bones to awaken her full potential.
Called to attend Hollow Grove University as a legacy and one of the original thirteen founding families refusal isn't an option for Willow. Attending with a hidden agenda our girl isn't prepared in the slightest for the enigmatic and sinister headmaster Alaric Grayson Thorne and when he takes a special interest in her even though it was part of the original plan she wasn't expecting the effect this would equally have on her in return.
Willow and Gray had so much combustible chemistry simmering away between them. I adored the push-pull, love-hate ambience of their connection and especially appreciated how shady and morally black Gray was. He's the real deal a proper villain and i was so there for that.
This was mysterious and sinister and everything I love about this genre. We had gothic vibes and secret agendas in abundance here and nobody can be fully trusted least of all our mysterious headmaster. Some things I did guess but others not so much and I was riveted till the very last page. What a cliffhanger and such an enticing draw to pick up book two straight away.
I found this well-written incredibly engaging and such an easy page-turner. I think it's a duology, well here's hoping because if every cliff ending is going to be like the last I don't think my heart could take the stress. I totally recommend this especially if you like a villainous hero, with enemy's to lovers vibes all set in a fascinating paranormal world.
So basic gist here is we have witches and demons and there is certainly no love lost between these two species. They manage to coexist together despite the animosity and share a somewhat symbiotic bond. The demons have been trapped inside mortal vessels and need the blood of the witches to survive, so think vampiric in nature. Their real bodies and souls are back home hence the term Vessels. It's all down to a deal struck by the first witch to escape and punish her persecutors. We also have the covenant which is controlled by our heroine's ancestor she's the gal in charge and I can only describe her as undead animated bones how creepy.
So Willow Medizza is a witch in hiding many years prior her mother faked her death and warded her existence from the Coven. Now she's dead and the Coven is fully aware of Willows existence. She's the last of her line but also she's hiding a secret as she's also the last Hectate witch and the keeper of the bones, necromancy is in her blood she just needs her ancestor's bones to awaken her full potential.
Called to attend Hollow Grove University as a legacy and one of the original thirteen founding families refusal isn't an option for Willow. Attending with a hidden agenda our girl isn't prepared in the slightest for the enigmatic and sinister headmaster Alaric Grayson Thorne and when he takes a special interest in her even though it was part of the original plan she wasn't expecting the effect this would equally have on her in return.
Willow and Gray had so much combustible chemistry simmering away between them. I adored the push-pull, love-hate ambience of their connection and especially appreciated how shady and morally black Gray was. He's the real deal a proper villain and i was so there for that.
This was mysterious and sinister and everything I love about this genre. We had gothic vibes and secret agendas in abundance here and nobody can be fully trusted least of all our mysterious headmaster. Some things I did guess but others not so much and I was riveted till the very last page. What a cliffhanger and such an enticing draw to pick up book two straight away.
I found this well-written incredibly engaging and such an easy page-turner. I think it's a duology, well here's hoping because if every cliff ending is going to be like the last I don't think my heart could take the stress. I totally recommend this especially if you like a villainous hero, with enemy's to lovers vibes all set in a fascinating paranormal world.
I am not even kidding when I say I almost DNF’d at like 85% on this book. I made it through but will not be reading the second one. The plot jumped around to much for me, the writing style made it incredibly hard to follow and there was absolutely no romantic tension at all, just immediately lust between a 16 year old (who’s really 18? And glamour’d?? Idk that was very unclear and weird asf) with a headmaster who is just openly hitting on her? Idk i only rated it two stars bc the beginning had me hooked and then just fell really flat for me the rest of the story.
This one was sloppy and not in a good way. I liked the idea of characters, I liked the idea for the plot, I even liked particular plot points but I really didn’t like it all stirred together.
The characters felt underdeveloped, like first novel versions of themselves. They had objectives—sure, sure—but seemed to grow more in fits and spurts v. organically. One moment they were X and then the next Y with no logical reason why they were suddenly that way. Ditto to the magic of this world—it’s glossed over in an incredibly disappointing way.
The plot, conceptually, is really good. A Chosen One witch who must fight against authority in all its forms (both witch and demon/vampire). But the story was so loosely strung together and lacking cohesion that it was hard to root for this witch. There’s also plot points (creatures in the woods) that come out of left field and cool potential plot points (and character development) that are just left laying on the proverbial playing field.
I think the author attempted to use BDSM as the “sexy times” in this book with out actually understanding BDSM. The lack of consent between the FMC and MMC is… uncomfortable as a result.
This book also uses “male” as a noun which drives me bananas.
The characters felt underdeveloped, like first novel versions of themselves. They had objectives—sure, sure—but seemed to grow more in fits and spurts v. organically. One moment they were X and then the next Y with no logical reason why they were suddenly that way. Ditto to the magic of this world—it’s glossed over in an incredibly disappointing way.
The plot, conceptually, is really good. A Chosen One witch who must fight against authority in all its forms (both witch and demon/vampire). But the story was so loosely strung together and lacking cohesion that it was hard to root for this witch. There’s also plot points (creatures in the woods) that come out of left field and cool potential plot points (and character development) that are just left laying on the proverbial playing field.
I think the author attempted to use BDSM as the “sexy times” in this book with out actually understanding BDSM. The lack of consent between the FMC and MMC is… uncomfortable as a result.
This book also uses “male” as a noun which drives me bananas.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
What did I read?
Nothing of the blurb gives away that this story is actually set in modern day New England, complete with smartphones and SUVs. Made me halt when I started reading. Then when she’s at the school, there is no reason to think that we are in modern times (no mention of anything more modern than paper - including letter openers). So setting was already an issue for me that made no real sense. But I guess authors choice, whatever, fine.
Now characters. There wasn’t much relation between characters from the FMC to others. Well, besides lusting over the age-old school director. Which in itself is already problematic.
And last, the plot. Um, what plot? Some revenge served with a side dish of, oh, the dirty deed. Maybe I was not paying enough attentional the „actual“ plotting and scheming but the finale came out of nowhere and I still don’t know what happened. I was way too confused as to how it ended up as it is, and not in a good way.
Nothing of the blurb gives away that this story is actually set in modern day New England, complete with smartphones and SUVs. Made me halt when I started reading. Then when she’s at the school, there is no reason to think that we are in modern times (no mention of anything more modern than paper - including letter openers). So setting was already an issue for me that made no real sense. But I guess authors choice, whatever, fine.
Now characters. There wasn’t much relation between characters from the FMC to others. Well, besides lusting over the age-old school director. Which in itself is already problematic.
And last, the plot. Um, what plot? Some revenge served with a side dish of, oh, the dirty deed. Maybe I was not paying enough attentional the „actual“ plotting and scheming but the finale came out of nowhere and I still don’t know what happened. I was way too confused as to how it ended up as it is, and not in a good way.
The Coven takes us to Salem where the Creepy bony coven witches force Willow to join their school as she is the last earth witch sending headmaster thorn to go claim her, Willow will reluctantly go as she has other intentions once there.
What I loved
What I loved
Ok I guess I just can't read this author. I got through 2.5 of the Of Flesh and Bones series books before I threw in the towel. Honestly I wish I'd stopped after book one. A lesson learned and I will not be making that mistake again.
Can we just not have an MMC that isn't
...creepy?
...ridiculously old and for some reason obsessed with an extremely naive and vulnerable very young woman (16 in this case)?
..."touch her and die" vibes but to the absolute extreme? I mean, we can have a bit of nuance.
And YES I understand these are tropes, and I've read acotar and was somehow okay with it then, but the vibes are OFF in this one.
The plot did not make sense. We've got witches. Cool. We've got Vessels aka vampires that need to feed on and are apparently obsessed with the witches. We've got a special type of witch called a "sex witch" which the author for some reason feels the need to tell us there is one particular sex witch that hates being touched. FMC says "wow that must be tough" and sex witch is like "YUP." Cool cool cool love being painted a picture where a character is forced to have sex all the time and hate it! This wasn't even a main or side character. Just some rando. Why was that necessary information?
The academia component barely comes into play, so don't have dark, sexy Harry Potter in mind when you start this. The other students do not matter. And somehow the headmaster of the school has a ton of time to just go around stalking this one 16yo student. He has NOTHING better to do. Okay.
There was also one of the most unnecessarily gruesome scenes I've ever read in this book. Absolutely gratuitous, shock value, traumatize the main character BS.
We were warned about the dubcon in the TWs so I won't really touch on that. But. Yeah this book gave me the creeps and there wasn't even enough
Can we just not have an MMC that isn't
...creepy?
...ridiculously old and for some reason obsessed with an extremely naive and vulnerable very young woman (16 in this case)?
..."touch her and die" vibes but to the absolute extreme? I mean, we can have a bit of nuance.
And YES I understand these are tropes, and I've read acotar and was somehow okay with it then, but the vibes are OFF in this one.
The plot did not make sense. We've got witches. Cool. We've got Vessels aka vampires that need to feed on and are apparently obsessed with the witches. We've got a special type of witch called a "sex witch" which the author for some reason feels the need to tell us there is one particular sex witch that hates being touched. FMC says "wow that must be tough" and sex witch is like "YUP." Cool cool cool love being painted a picture where a character is forced to have sex all the time and hate it! This wasn't even a main or side character. Just some rando. Why was that necessary information?
The academia component barely comes into play, so don't have dark, sexy Harry Potter in mind when you start this. The other students do not matter. And somehow the headmaster of the school has a ton of time to just go around stalking this one 16yo student. He has NOTHING better to do. Okay.
There was also one of the most unnecessarily gruesome scenes I've ever read in this book. Absolutely gratuitous, shock value, traumatize the main character BS.
We were warned about the dubcon in the TWs so I won't really touch on that. But. Yeah this book gave me the creeps and there wasn't even enough