A review by lynseyisreading
And With Madness Comes the Light by Karina Halle

5.0

A real treat for Dex fans!

And really, who reading this series isn't a Dex fan? How could anyone not be? It's impossible not to love that man, even as flawed and downright incorrigible as he is!

So, this novella picks up the morning after the night before; that now infamous scene from the end of Lying Season that is forever scarred across my heart. I had to take a minute, actually, to just sit and recall that scene, to put myself in Dex's current headspace (which is basically a cluster**** of raw emotions and self-loathing), so that I wasn't coming to it too cold. Ideally, I would have read this straight after On Demon Wings as I think it fits in better there than as #6.5, but there you go.

So, our Dexy is in a terrible, dark place. And so he damn well should be! This is the story of how he climbed out of that deep pit of despair (which can be found via the second tree on the left—Princess Bride, anyone?) and how/why he became the Dex version 2.0 that came waltzing back into Perry's life in book five. There are a couple of really gut-kicking moments for Dex in the book. It was both enlightening and painful to see them from his perspective. His POV is refreshing and interesting and I can't wait to see how it works as a full-length novel in Come Alive when that releases later this year.

All together, a great read. One of those rare novellas that is well worth its cost and then some, and an absolute must read for fans of the series. It basically only reaffirmed what I already knew: I love Dex and Perry!

5 Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.