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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This honestly gave nothing. The descriptions were too long for things that didn’t matter and too short for things that did. It was so boring until the last 20 pages. I wish the rest of the book had that energy. I also hated the MMC. He was supposed to be a ~morally grey shadow daddy~ but I did not care for or about him at ALL. And of course the FMC was simply useless. Also, why did everyone’s name start with an A?
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I saw this on a lot of Instagram reels so I was curious. I love dark fantasy, when done well. This just wasn’t.
I’m sure someone will love this, but overly complicated names and an invented language don’t make up for the fact NOTHING was explain, NOTHING was clarified, NOTHING HAPPENED in the first 4 chapters. It’s a Persephone retelling that I’ll personally pass on.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Spice level: dark, explicit scenes.
Genre(s): adult dark fantasy romance.
Overall impression: this was exactly what I needed right now. It was fast-paced, not too serious and character-driven with the potential for a decent romance. Not very much happened but the world-building was good and characters were fun to read about.
Tropes:
➵ Morally grey MMC
➵ Shadow daddy
➵ Dirty mouth MMC
➵ FMC with unknown powers
➵ Dark romance
➵ Dark vs light powers
➵ Forced proximity
➵ Enemies-to-lovers
➵ Touch her and die
➵ Insta-lust
➵ Bargains
➵ Betrayal
➵ Traumatic past
➵ Flawed characters
⤷ Plot:
The story was pretty basic and summarised entirely by the blurb. By the end, I couldn't really identify a point to the book or see how it could be stretched out into a series. I'll give book 2 a go but from what other reviewers have said, I'm not expecting an epic fantasy series with a multi-layered plot.
⤷ Characters:
Aheia was a likeable character with a will of steel. She braved the desert and monsters to escape Keloseros and gave up her soul for 7 days of protection in Nephilim. I wish she had used that time to plan for her future but she just seemed to sit around and wait for the time to pass. I never really felt her desperation or urgency to act, even though anyone in her situation would be madly trying to secure a safe future.
I liked the dynamic between Aheia and Arioch. There was definitely a level of insta-lust but they resisted each other for most of the book. By the end of the week, they'd built a layer of trust and I'm excited to see where this goes in book 2.
⤷ World-building:
There was a decent effort made to create a unique world with monsters and magical species. I wish we got to see more of the monsters on page, rather than hearing about them as myth or a potential threat. The magic system was interesting too and there's some hint that the FMC has special powers that aren't fully understood yet. I liked the soul bonding aspect, even though it wasn't permanent. And who doesn't love a shadow daddy?
⤷ Writing:
Very binge-worthy and easy to digest. I ended up reading the entire book in just over a day.
⤷ Everything else:
The moonlight SE was STUNNING. It was the reason I picked up the series because all of the artwork was incredible.
Statistics:
➵ Date read: 15/02/2025-16/02/2025 (2 days).
➵ Page count: 366.
➵ Type: physical book - moonlight book box SE.
➵ Volume: series.
➵ Challenge: Beat the Backlist 2025 Challenge 🍄, unusual transportation prompt (10/52).
Social Medial Links:
Instagram | TikTok
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Aheia flees everything she’s ever known, desperate for safety—and finds it in Aljira… at a price. Arioch demands her soul in exchange, and honestly? He’s the dark romance dream—powerful, violent, possessive, and sexy as sin. Total shadow daddy energy. 🖤👑🌑
The world is rich with monsters, magic, and mystery. The soul bonding? Delicious. The magic system? Intriguing. And Aheia? She might just be more powerful than anyone realizes… 👀
So much setup for major twists ahead, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
🎧 Audio lovers—Samantha Brentwood & Sean Masters brought it to life perfectly!
Content Warnings
3rd person POV, multiple POVs,
found family, touch her and die, dual narrative, adult fantasy romance that contains graphic violence, general dark themes, swearing, and sex scenes—some of which include dubious consent, enemies to lovers, edging, shadow play, choking, Abuse (Both sexual and physical), Panic Attacks, Perceived Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideations, Violence, Blood
Ok so this is a series I'll read to find out if I was right about most things I expected. I'd like to say this was more of a 2.5 as it was just too much all the time, there was too much stuff happening and it didn't feel like a good balance of different plot aspects unfortunately. Also massive massive suicide and abuse content warnings. Depression and suicidal ideation was written in a way that did cause alot of emotional response which was actually really good but obviously not something I'd recommend for everyone.