erinaraa 's review for:

A Bond of Briars by Erin Phillips
3.75
dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

“All joy is fabricated in one way or another, and all love comes at a cost (p. 156)”.

I love me a good character arc with healthy development 🥲🥲 Phillips made a perfect retelling in staying true to scripture while also crafting a spooky magic system and cozy world. The easter eggs to order books of the bible/bible passages + the aforementioned magic system + worldbuilding kept me hooked throughout, and I was giggling and kicking my feet with the way she wrote Callen.

Also, the potato callback at the end made me burst into tears because I was so reminded of Sasha from AoT and her arc as well and man. Pain. Much pain.