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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An excellent read, dark & twisted with the tales of love. Victorian aged surrounded by a refreshing magical system that I wouldn’t have even thought possible, but Rachel executed it perfectly. Sinister dark vibes but not in the dark romance way. More like gothic Victorian society meets Jeckyl and Hyde.
Spice was light but did not deter the storyline, plot was fascinating.
Spice was light but did not deter the storyline, plot was fascinating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Gore, Torture, Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I binged this in one day. Absolutely loved. The magic was unique and so fun. The character arc and twists so creative. The story felt fresh with just enough world building. I’m blown away. I loved it.
Plot: Magic is outlawed. Only the deck of cards have magic are allowed. Each unique with consequences. We learn about those consequences and the magic through the eyes of the FMC. It felt like a mix of The Cruel Prince but not YA meets A Darker Shade of Magic.
Overall Rating: 5/5
TW: violence, death, cursing, sexual situations (M/F one easily skippable section)
Plot: Magic is outlawed. Only the deck of cards have magic are allowed. Each unique with consequences. We learn about those consequences and the magic through the eyes of the FMC. It felt like a mix of The Cruel Prince but not YA meets A Darker Shade of Magic.
Overall Rating: 5/5
TW: violence, death, cursing, sexual situations (M/F one easily skippable section)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Child death
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
as a fantasy girlie, this hits the spot. a bit confusing at first, but woW..
i love you ravyn yew. 😝
if this doesn’t have a book two, i’d probably be crying on the floor from the ending. thank God. i’ll read it soon :3
i love you ravyn yew. 😝
if this doesn’t have a book two, i’d probably be crying on the floor from the ending. thank God. i’ll read it soon :3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Sexual content
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was fine. The beginning was the best part, along with the overall aesthetic of the entire novel with the dark clothes, the gothic atmosphere, the simple magic system, and the mist clinging to the city.
Once it got past 55%, I started getting annoyed with the repetition of character descriptions and certain phrases. The main romance was not for me. Elspeth also started to get on my nerves the more the novel went on.
I'll still read the second book, but I'm not in a rush to do so.
Once it got past 55%, I started getting annoyed with the repetition of character descriptions and certain phrases. The main romance was not for me. Elspeth also started to get on my nerves the more the novel went on.
I'll still read the second book, but I'm not in a rush to do so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This year I'm leaning hard into escapist reading...like, obviously. But I've been burned before by popular romantasies being poorly written, so I'm trying to be more discerning in my research. This one popped up multiple places/across multiple platforms, so I decided to give it a go. Similar to Broadbent's Crowns of Nyaxia, this one is soliddddd.
This story opened a little rocky for me, if I'm being honest. The first few chapters of world-building and describing the magic and starting character development felt a little flat, with some very real unclarity. But the writing settled in, and I settled in, reasonably quickly after we got past those "introductory" chapters. ...then, the world-building and development really found its pacing and stride! As a specific example of that transition, the intro of the magical cards, in number and format that lines up to the "12 Days" holiday song, made me snort pretty derisively to start, BUT as we got more development of how they were formed, the way they carry/imbue power, and the associated costs for using them, really grew on me. Similarly, I was confused to start by how the cards had magic, and then there was a magic-causing infection too (that causes a person to "degenerate" over time)?, but that cleared for me over the course of reading as well. And now having finished, I am very interested to see how the remaining mysteries of that process will be addressed in the second book, and how that affects the culmination of the story as well! So, overall, solid writing, if at times it could have used a little more polishing/clarity.
As far as the romance piece - big yes. This is a really well done enemies-to-lovers development for Elspeth and Ravyn. The softening started pretty quickly (which is par for the course for this genre, in all fairness), but other than that, I was totally into it. It was a really well done slower (but not too slow) burn, and there's a really believable connection and pull. I was bought into them from the start and was *very* happy when they finally happened. I also deeply appreciated that after they chose to be together, they handled secrets/disagreements in a pretty mature way. There was no third-act-breakup-over-a-miscommunication situation. And that's a huge win for me. The rest of the characters, and their interrelated relationships, were similarly well-developed as the novel progressed - there was some depth, and still some mysteries left to be uncovered in the second book.
Last two comments. First, as always, I am a sucker for a blurb to open a chapter. So, I really enjoyed the little song-songy rhymes about each type of magic/the history of the world that opened each chapter. Second, there were some really unique elements to this plot, especially in the final chapter(s) with what happens with Elspeth's character. I’m not sure I can see how it'll all unfold, which is awesome, and I am so curious for what's coming in the second half of this story.
“My magic moves, he said. My magic bites. My magic soothes. My magic frights.”
“Practice restraint, and know it by touch. Use Cards when they’re needed, and never too much. For too much of fire, our swords would all break. Too much of wine a poison doth make. Excess is grievous, be knave, maid, or crown. Too much of water, how easy we drown.”
“Something ancient—born of salt. We were the same, he and I. Gifted with ancient, terrible magic. Woven in secret, hidden in half-truths. We were the darkness in Blunder, the reminder that magic—wild and unfettered—prevailed, no matter how desperately the Rowans tried to stamp it out. We were the thing to be feared. We were the balance.”
“The girl, the King… and the monster they became.”
“I am the shepherd of shadow. The phantom of the fright. The demon in the daydream.” Her yellow eyes flickered to Ravyn. “The nightmare in the night.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Mental illness
Minor: Child abuse
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This story was intriguing from the get go, but as it progressed i worried i had guessed all of the revelations. However, I’m glad I stuck with it because the drama at the end is very much worth it. On to the second book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Death of parent, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Vomit
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent