Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
2.5 stars – not for me, but maybe for you?
This one just never fully came together for me. I felt like it was missing both strong character development and a solid plot—and usually if one of those is working, I can overlook the other. But in this case, neither landed.
That said, the vibes were immaculate: spooky Scottish manor house, misty lochs, eerie atmosphere. I was there. And I did enjoy the almost horror-like take on the fae—it felt fresh and had a few moments where I genuinely thought, let me just turn on the lights real quick…
The story was intriguing in theory, but the execution felt vague and hard to latch onto. It was also very spicy, and to be honest, the spicy moments were the parts that worked best for me—they had tension and weight, even when the rest didn’t fully deliver.
Unfortunately, the ending was a major letdown. I get what it was going for, and I’m sure it was meant to be meaningful or thought-provoking. But after spending the whole book wondering what was really going on, the reveal felt... mid. And by the time we hit the final page, I was frustrated more than anything.
At the end of the day, this might just be a case of “not the book for me.” But if you’re here for vibes, spice, and a bit of spooky fae horror, it might hit different for you.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Creepy house, horny adults.
Think The Starling House meets Fifty Shades of Grey.
Adam and his best friend Nicola travel to Scotland to find the secrets behind an old house that his grandfather told him fairytales about.
There, they find Eileen, a sickly, eccentric aristocrat, and Finley, her broody groundskeeper.
I went into this expecting a horror mystery.
This was more Fifty Shades with creepy shadows.
This was a lot spicier than I was expecting, but as someone who usually steers clear of that and flips them, I can tell you these were hot and steamy and also educational… That’s all I’m saying.
Power play kinks, dom and sub rep, good emphasis on consent. And oh so queer.
I wish we got more plot because the focus on characters and their self-discovery was about 80% of the book.
In this sense, ST Gibson does remind me of Olive Blake in the way they both focus on characters and relationships.
Those last two chapters gave me whiplash. Check me into a hospital. I felt quite annoyed by how that played out considering my comments about the slowness of the rest.
Arc gifted by Orbit.
Think The Starling House meets Fifty Shades of Grey.
Adam and his best friend Nicola travel to Scotland to find the secrets behind an old house that his grandfather told him fairytales about.
There, they find Eileen, a sickly, eccentric aristocrat, and Finley, her broody groundskeeper.
I went into this expecting a horror mystery.
This was more Fifty Shades with creepy shadows.
This was a lot spicier than I was expecting, but as someone who usually steers clear of that and flips them, I can tell you these were hot and steamy and also educational… That’s all I’m saying.
Power play kinks, dom and sub rep, good emphasis on consent. And oh so queer.
I wish we got more plot because the focus on characters and their self-discovery was about 80% of the book.
In this sense, ST Gibson does remind me of Olive Blake in the way they both focus on characters and relationships.
Those last two chapters gave me whiplash. Check me into a hospital. I felt quite annoyed by how that played out considering my comments about the slowness of the rest.
Arc gifted by Orbit.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
slow-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
★ 4.75 stars
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩.
📚 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝: e-book
📆 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 7th October 2025
📎 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: Little, Brown Book Group UK / Orbit
🏷️ 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚜: fantasy, faeries, magic, gothic, folklore, seduction, generational trauma, erotica
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙: I honestly think Nicola and Finley were my two favourite characters in this book. Can we please have a whole book dedicated to Finley ravishing Nicola? Please and thank you x
Nicola as a whole, so relatable.
I also loved that there weren’t too many characters introduced through the book - I’ve always found this a huge thing with Gibson’s other work, for a neurodivergent brain like mine, it’s SO appreciated to not be overwhelmed with 100 random characters who make a single appearance and me just getting confused about who’s who. I knew exactly who was who and what their story was throughout the book and I loved it.
I loved the ending - gagged at the cliffhanger, can’t wait for the next book. And honestly, I had no idea at all what Eileen’s plan was until it was revealed, my suspicions were actually a lot more sinister!
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙: The only really drawbacks I found which are holding my rating from being a 5 star, are that I actually, weirdly, expected more smut and erotica? 😭
Also I did feel at times like the fae storyline was quite random in contrast to how ‘normal’ they all seemed otherwise, but this could be because the only other books I’ve read with fae in it were already in quite a mystical environment whereas this was just a random big estate in Scotland and I imagined the 4 main characters as some random millennials 🤣
𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨: I’m at a stage where anything that Saint writes, I will EAT up and lick my fingers clean. I love her writing so much; the characters she writes are so lovable and the storylines are so enthralling that it’s hard to put her books down! I can’t wait for the next two books in this trilogy. Would highly recommend!
𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬!
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩.
📚 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝: e-book
📆 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 7th October 2025
📎 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: Little, Brown Book Group UK / Orbit
🏷️ 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚜: fantasy, faeries, magic, gothic, folklore, seduction, generational trauma, erotica
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙: I honestly think Nicola and Finley were my two favourite characters in this book. Can we please have a whole book dedicated to Finley ravishing Nicola? Please and thank you x
Nicola as a whole, so relatable.
I also loved that there weren’t too many characters introduced through the book - I’ve always found this a huge thing with Gibson’s other work, for a neurodivergent brain like mine, it’s SO appreciated to not be overwhelmed with 100 random characters who make a single appearance and me just getting confused about who’s who. I knew exactly who was who and what their story was throughout the book and I loved it.
I loved the ending - gagged at the cliffhanger, can’t wait for the next book. And honestly, I had no idea at all what Eileen’s plan was until it was revealed, my suspicions were actually a lot more sinister!
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙: The only really drawbacks I found which are holding my rating from being a 5 star, are that I actually, weirdly, expected more smut and erotica? 😭
Also I did feel at times like the fae storyline was quite random in contrast to how ‘normal’ they all seemed otherwise, but this could be because the only other books I’ve read with fae in it were already in quite a mystical environment whereas this was just a random big estate in Scotland and I imagined the 4 main characters as some random millennials 🤣
𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨: I’m at a stage where anything that Saint writes, I will EAT up and lick my fingers clean. I love her writing so much; the characters she writes are so lovable and the storylines are so enthralling that it’s hard to put her books down! I can’t wait for the next two books in this trilogy. Would highly recommend!
𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬!
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book; it didn’t fully blow me away, but it left a strong impression. It blends fae magic, queer representation, and Gothic sensuality.
The atmosphere is misty, eerie, and hauntingly romantic. The setting is so immersive : a Scottish manor, eerie forests, ancient magic and fae elements. This makes the books so intriguing.
The relationship dynamics are compelling, especially the tension between the characters (Adam, Nicola, and Finley). The queer representation is top notch and the erotic scenes are well written.
However, the pacing lacks a little in the middle, and some characters (especially Eileen) felt underdeveloped. The emotional tension didn’t always land as powerfully as it could have.
I will pick up book 2 once it comes out because this book definitely left me intrigued!