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adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
reread 4/8/25-4/15/25:
4.25 i just love this main trio so much. we need more “triangles” where the poly endgame is implied and encouraged from the jump. nobody in these books is straight.
character work is really where this series shines. lore is truly one of my favorite protagonists of the past couple years. she doesn’t get automatic plot armor from her poor decisions: she’s allowed to fail, and not know what she’s doing, and face criticism from other characters when she does. i need more dumb bisexual US size 12+ leads in romantasy.
there’s a lot of foreshadowing, less subtle at some points than at others, but it all rewards rereading in a very satisfying way. you can tell hannah whitten had a clear plan from the beginning. i enjoy the way she plays with the connection between lore, bastian, and gabe, with the idea of fate being both a comfort and a cruel inevitability.
i am SO excited to reread book 2 and i’ll be foaming at the mouth when the nightshade god comes out.
first read 5/25/23-6/3/23:
3.5 the more i think about this book, the more i wish there was just a little….more. i’m into the connection between the three main characters, and the vibe of the world is cool. the magic system feels like it could be more complex and i can’t stop thinking about bastian saying gabe was “salty” about something when there’s really no modern slang anywhere else in the book. for some reason the second half of this just moved kinda slow for me, idk. still gonna read the second one bc i am very into the character dynamics and the gods lore
4.25 i just love this main trio so much. we need more “triangles” where the poly endgame is implied and encouraged from the jump. nobody in these books is straight.
character work is really where this series shines. lore is truly one of my favorite protagonists of the past couple years. she doesn’t get automatic plot armor from her poor decisions: she’s allowed to fail, and not know what she’s doing, and face criticism from other characters when she does. i need more dumb bisexual US size 12+ leads in romantasy.
there’s a lot of foreshadowing, less subtle at some points than at others, but it all rewards rereading in a very satisfying way. you can tell hannah whitten had a clear plan from the beginning. i enjoy the way she plays with the connection between lore, bastian, and gabe, with the idea of fate being both a comfort and a cruel inevitability.
i am SO excited to reread book 2 and i’ll be foaming at the mouth when the nightshade god comes out.
first read 5/25/23-6/3/23:
3.5 the more i think about this book, the more i wish there was just a little….more. i’m into the connection between the three main characters, and the vibe of the world is cool. the magic system feels like it could be more complex and i can’t stop thinking about bastian saying gabe was “salty” about something when there’s really no modern slang anywhere else in the book. for some reason the second half of this just moved kinda slow for me, idk. still gonna read the second one bc i am very into the character dynamics and the gods lore
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content
Minor: Religious bigotry
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
this read was a pleasant surprise! i had a really good time with this one, especially in the second half of the book. the start felt a little... i guess the best word might be "clumsy"? it felt like a lot of information and names were being thrown at me all at once, and it was difficult to keep track of everything. but as the book went on, it got easier. the incident that kind of kicks off the plot also felt a wee bit forced; thankfully, this wasn't too distracting. i really enjoyed the prose, the descriptions of the magic, the magic itself, and am curious enough to go back and skim through the first half again to better understand the history and world-building. i'm also very curious to know how this is all going to end, so. guess i'll be seeking out the sequel!
POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW
what i liked:
POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW
what i liked:
- out of the four books i've read for a bookclub this year this is the first one that wasn't in 1st person, and i appreciate it so much for that. so thank you.
- the magic and its connection to the history absolutely has my attention! again, i'm invested enough to want to go back and give the beginning of the book a second read now that the information's rooted itself in my head a bit more. the descriptions of the dead were awesome, and i really enjoy the connection of the sun and moon, life and death--the duality of things.
- it took me a while, but i slowly went from being a bit indifferent to lore to enjoying her as a main character! i was also pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed bastian. the last couple books, i haven't liked the "type" of character he is, so catching myself smirking or snorting after he said or did something was a nice change of pace. i feel like out of the main three, he had the strongest connection with lore, and i really hope
that it's a genuine connection and not just something 'born' out of how they're connected magically . i also adored alie as a side-character, and i was relieved to learnshe was just as shocked in the last hour of the audiobook as anyone else . - also GAY MOMS. 💜🖤
- just the general world and... aesthetic of it all? right out the gate, i was really hoping to like this book because it hits a lot of points and ideas that i tend to love. was a little nervous at the start--again, the first bundle of chapters felt a little clumsy to me, personally--but found myself growing more curious and intrigued as things went on. i want to learn more, possibly deep-dive a wiki page if it exists.
what didn't quite jive:
- those first few chapters; they weren't horrible or impossible to understand, but it still felt like a lot of information, a lot of names and terms, and a bit of a forced inciting incident. the use of the term "poison" for drugs also took a bit of getting used to; i hear "taking poison" and my brain goes "oh no!" only to remember they're basically doing cocaine... which is still an "oh no!" but a different sort, if that makes sense. like, i know drugs are basically a poison but... --you understand. after those, however, i found that i didn't have a lot of notes to take, and just enjoyed listening and going along for the ride.
- i don't HATE gabe as a character, but out of the main three i had the hardest time connecting with him (and this was before
it's revealed that he betrayed bastian and lore; this revelation didn't make me like him any more or any less ). overall, he's fine. the reason he's in this section is primarily because i don't really find his relationship with lore--in the romantic sense--believable. lore found it easy to talk to him almost instantly, and i'll admit that kind of soured me (the whole "romantic interest is the one (1) person i can freely talk to" thing), but even in everything that followed that i still just... didn't entirely get them as a potential couple. which brings me to my next thing: - polycule them. i hate love triangles so much, man; polycule them.
- in all seriousness, i feel like gabe had more potential chemistry with bastian OR i'm interested in seeing if he winds up reuniting romantically with alie. but i just don't really get what he's got going on with lore. it made certain aspects of their interactions feel a bit forced and unnatural. ...i feel like lore actually had more chemistry going on with alie than with gabe, but i won't get my hopes up for a sapphic endgame.
that's all that comes to mind immediately! if i think of other things, i'll come back and edit. but yeah! honestly kind of excited about getting my hands on the next book. hopefully, the series keeps up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
📖
While I had a good time reading this book, I struggled with the rating. I liked it, but I had struggles and opinions. I liked parts of the worldbuilding and the magical system. I struggled with the pacing, but I found it hard to put the boo down.
While I had a good time reading this book, I struggled with the rating. I liked it, but I had struggles and opinions. I liked parts of the worldbuilding and the magical system. I struggled with the pacing, but I found it hard to put the boo down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
No
Predictable and oddly paced, but a good time nonetheless! The love triangle was less obnoxious than some other books, but still not my favorite trope unless it ends with a triad. I'll keep listening mostly to see how dark Lore goes, and if some of my predictions come to pass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Abandonment, War
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content
A horse is killed then reanimated, but the wound that killed it isn't healed and is described multiple times. There are multiple recountings of the gruesome death of a child, including body horror elements. The religion in the world is a heavy focus, and there is conflict involving the separation of church and state. There are elements similar to the prison industrial complex and treatment of drugs in the USA. Heavy parallels to marijuana.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Toxic friendship
adventurous
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:
Complicated
This was my third time trying to read this book because for some reason I would always pick it up when I knew I was in a slump but you know what they say, third time’s a charm! I really enjoyed this book! I read a few reviews and saw some people thought the characters had no chemistry or just generally fell flat but I didn’t feel that way at all. I really enjoyed the development of Bastian specifically and I’m quite excited to see what comes of his character in the following books. I will say that I feel like this series has all of the makings to turn into “female character loses/gives up her powers in the end” and I really hope it doesn’t come to that because I think that’s a horrible trope! One of my only issues is the conflict between Gabe and Bastian doesn’t, in my opinion, make sense for the amount of hatred that there seems to be between them during the majority of the book but I might be alone on that. Overall, this was really good and I can’t wait to get into book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, War
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story felt like it fell flat with the potential it had. It was interesting enough to complete it but not enough to keep me needing to read it quickly to the end. The characters were underdeveloped and the plot felt like it stopped often and nothing was happening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Drug abuse
Minor: Confinement, Sexual content, War