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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
slow-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
This is one of those books that will leave you staring into space trying to process everything. It is a dark, whimsical, gory, and weirdly beautiful story about how the darkness within oneself can actually be something redeeming. I was sucked in by the unique story. I couldn’t put the book (or in my case, headphones) down.
Alma is a bastard child, hated by all except her nearly perfect mother. She is taken in by her once estranged father, initiated into the House of the Beast, and never left alone by her beautiful but childish god that only she can see. Alma only wants revenge on her father- after all, he is responsible for all the hardships in her life. Her plot for his downfall quickly spirals into a journey of fate filled with blood, deception, found family, and trickster gods.
Seriously, the plot is unlike any I’ve read in a long time. Something is just off the entire time. It kept me interested to see how it would play out! And it was worth all the constant questioning. I adore Alma’s grit and determination. Aster was quirky and eerie and oh so surprising. The ending simultaneously broke me and brought me hope. It is an excellent fantasy standalone that is worth the hype!!
The narrator truly brought the book to life. She voiced both 11 year old Alma and 19 year old Alma perfectly. The emotion in her narration was KILLER! I got chills when she read a certain part where a normally chill character was viscerally angry. She was the perfect narrator for this book!!
THANK YOU HarperVoyager for the ALC!!
Alma is a bastard child, hated by all except her nearly perfect mother. She is taken in by her once estranged father, initiated into the House of the Beast, and never left alone by her beautiful but childish god that only she can see. Alma only wants revenge on her father- after all, he is responsible for all the hardships in her life. Her plot for his downfall quickly spirals into a journey of fate filled with blood, deception, found family, and trickster gods.
Seriously, the plot is unlike any I’ve read in a long time. Something is just off the entire time. It kept me interested to see how it would play out! And it was worth all the constant questioning. I adore Alma’s grit and determination. Aster was quirky and eerie and oh so surprising. The ending simultaneously broke me and brought me hope. It is an excellent fantasy standalone that is worth the hype!!
The narrator truly brought the book to life. She voiced both 11 year old Alma and 19 year old Alma perfectly. The emotion in her narration was KILLER! I got chills when she read a certain part where a normally chill character was viscerally angry. She was the perfect narrator for this book!!
THANK YOU HarperVoyager for the ALC!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy of this book. These opinions are my own.
Why I DNF’d
The formatting of this was weird and I’m actually so flippin’ bored. I feel like nothing is really happening. I’m also sick of hearing about her arm tbh. It kind of pissed me off that she made a deal with her dad about her mom’s health, and then she loses an arm, and her mom dies anyways. Like it just happened so fast and didn’t leave enough time for build up, tension, etc. This whole imaginary friend thing is kind of weird too. I feel like there is just entirely too much info dumping, even now, at 20%. Just get on with the good stuff… I found myself starting to really skim over the parts that didn’t have dialogue. I don’t think this book is for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy of this book. These opinions are my own.
Why I DNF’d
The formatting of this was weird and I’m actually so flippin’ bored. I feel like nothing is really happening. I’m also sick of hearing about her arm tbh. It kind of pissed me off that she made a deal with her dad about her mom’s health, and then she loses an arm, and her mom dies anyways. Like it just happened so fast and didn’t leave enough time for build up, tension, etc. This whole imaginary friend thing is kind of weird too. I feel like there is just entirely too much info dumping, even now, at 20%. Just get on with the good stuff… I found myself starting to really skim over the parts that didn’t have dialogue. I don’t think this book is for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
**Thank you to NetGalley & Publisher for the ALC; all opinions are my own.**
4.25 ⭐️
🎧
The narrator really helps to bring this story to life. This is a gritty tale about a girl- a very lonely one- who is taken by her Father to train in the ways of their House. Alma can see the god her family worships & together they formulate a plan to take over her family as First Hand. This was a solid read for me, and I enjoyed every bit! The first part was a little slow, but everything really starts to pick up around 35%. This gave me old school anime vibes, which I really like.
If you like:
☆ a god obsessed
☆ revenge & trials
☆ standalones
☆ gods & monsters
☆ metal arms
☆ dual realms
☆ forbidden love
CHECK THIS ONE OUT!
4.25 ⭐️
🎧
The narrator really helps to bring this story to life. This is a gritty tale about a girl- a very lonely one- who is taken by her Father to train in the ways of their House. Alma can see the god her family worships & together they formulate a plan to take over her family as First Hand. This was a solid read for me, and I enjoyed every bit! The first part was a little slow, but everything really starts to pick up around 35%. This gave me old school anime vibes, which I really like.
If you like:
☆ a god obsessed
☆ revenge & trials
☆ standalones
☆ gods & monsters
☆ metal arms
☆ dual realms
☆ forbidden love
CHECK THIS ONE OUT!
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25⭐️
Thank you @harpervouagerus for the free book. ‧₊˚⊹ ♡
·..·˙✧˖°⋆⊹ “𝙸 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝙼𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙼𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜.” ·..·˙✧˖°⋆⊹
This book was tragically beautiful in its construction and imagery. Reads like an anime film, with a whimsical world and different planes of the universe, as well as combat and battle scenes.
It’s a dark fantasy world, with flawed characters. The trauma, the toxicity, the thirst for revenge, and the emotional wreckage. Plus there’s a star-crossed love story 🥺
Must not be turned off by violence, death, and gore as there are horror elements here.
I would be remiss to not mention the gorgeous artwork that is woven throughout the book. The illustrations brought to life Alma and Aster, who I could not help loving even though he’s a monster.
Definitely not the light and fluffy type of story, but instead there’s grit, there’s friendship, unexpected allies, daddy issues, and toxic love story.
A twisted debut novel from Michelle Wong, bravo!
Thank you @harpervouagerus for the free book. ‧₊˚⊹ ♡
·..·˙✧˖°⋆⊹ “𝙸 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎. 𝙼𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙼𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜.” ·..·˙✧˖°⋆⊹
This book was tragically beautiful in its construction and imagery. Reads like an anime film, with a whimsical world and different planes of the universe, as well as combat and battle scenes.
It’s a dark fantasy world, with flawed characters. The trauma, the toxicity, the thirst for revenge, and the emotional wreckage. Plus there’s a star-crossed love story 🥺
Must not be turned off by violence, death, and gore as there are horror elements here.
I would be remiss to not mention the gorgeous artwork that is woven throughout the book. The illustrations brought to life Alma and Aster, who I could not help loving even though he’s a monster.
Definitely not the light and fluffy type of story, but instead there’s grit, there’s friendship, unexpected allies, daddy issues, and toxic love story.
A twisted debut novel from Michelle Wong, bravo!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
⚡️ Tropes:
Gods
Big twist
Revenge
Reluctant allies
Codependency
Beautiful world building
⚡️ Um. Wow. Wow. I had NO idea what to expect going into this book but my expectations were greatly exceeded. I loved it. Warning: This is NOT a Romantasy book by any means. This is more of a dark and powerful book of revenge, pain, and ultimately redemption, with bits of sword fighting action, and humor.
Alma is the bastard child of Zander Avera, one of the heads of the household that serves the Dread Beast- the god of death. In an attempt to save her mother, Alma agrees to be serve her father’s house, unknowing of the pain and misery her agreement would bring her. But when a mysterious god (that only she can see), latches onto her, her plans of servitude for her father morph into plans of revenge, as she starts to gain power unmatched by many serving the dread beast. Will she succeed in her plans? Or will her ambitions be her downfall?
Alma is incredibly tough, and smart. She encounters adversity at every turn, and is hated by many due to her parentage, but she takes it in stride, and essentially strives to make them all pay for what they’ve done to her. She goes on an insane journey filled with power, fighting, death, guilt, and healing.
This book has some very intense world building (similar to RF Kuang). It’s beautiful, descriptive, but may be a bit overwhelming at times. The lore of this book is SINCERELY UNIQUE. I have never read anything like this book, and I really loved that fact. It is very hard to summarize this book because THAT is how unique it is! There are also side characters that are so lovable in the midst of a very dark story. There are beautiful illustrations done by the author throughout the book that add a TON to the story telling
⚡️ This is not an easy, simple pool read. No. This is a cozy chair, gothic ambience music on, glass of red wine in your hand, thinking kind of book. It’s a lot to read, but you won’t regret it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
✨️ Adult Dark, Gothic, Horror Fantasy
🗡 Obsessed MMC
✨️ Resilient FMC
🗡 Feminine Rage
✨️ Revenge Plot
🗡 Family Rivalry
✨️ Court Politics
🗡 Political Intrigue
✨️ Eldritch Gods & Monsters
🗡 Twisted Romance
✨️ Yearning & Tension
🗡 Slow Burn
✨️ Black Cat/Doberman
Call me toxic, but I'm literally broken over that ending. I don't read many Romantic Tragedies but this book was so beautiful! I loved it so much! Michelle has a forever fan in me, especially if she puts out more books like this. Call me a masochist, but I would gladly read every book she ever publishes even if it breaks me.
🗡 Obsessed MMC
✨️ Resilient FMC
🗡 Feminine Rage
✨️ Revenge Plot
🗡 Family Rivalry
✨️ Court Politics
🗡 Political Intrigue
✨️ Eldritch Gods & Monsters
🗡 Twisted Romance
✨️ Yearning & Tension
🗡 Slow Burn
✨️ Black Cat/Doberman
Call me toxic, but I'm literally broken over that ending. I don't read many Romantic Tragedies but this book was so beautiful! I loved it so much! Michelle has a forever fan in me, especially if she puts out more books like this. Call me a masochist, but I would gladly read every book she ever publishes even if it breaks me.