Let me start off by saying that I’m so glad I took my time for this book. It really does the story justice if you can completely immerse yourself in the world. I’ve never read anything quite like this. Stories that leave an impact like this only come along every once in a while and this is a special one. I’ve read other books by V.E. Schwab, so I already knew that I liked her writing, but I absolutely loved the beautiful language she uses in this book. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but it made me feel things. Every other page or so I stumbled across another beautifully written sentence or clever metaphor and I must say I was eating it all up.

The story is very character driven, which I love, but this might not be the book for people who require a lot of action to keep their interest piqued. It reads like you’re reading a history, really, as if you’re on a journey with Addie and you’re discovering the boundaries and wonders of her new life together.

Henry’s fear that time’s passing by too fast and his sense of being lost were very relatable to me. “Blink, and the years fall away like leaves” hit me right in the feels. Even though I’m “only” 24 (which already feels super old to my 18-year old self), like Henry, I have this fear of wasting time and not making the most of things. Like Addie, I often feel like I’m stuck. Afraid to make the wrong choices, to choose the wrong path in life, only to realise years later that you’ve wasted your youth.

Something I appreciate greatly is that the toxicity of Luc’s character and actions isn’t romanticised like we so often see these days in popular fiction. Schwab does plays with the idea... even Addie herself falls for it eventually. But in the end she sees Luc for what he truly is. Someone who wants to possess her but confuses that need for love. He’s not the typical dark, brooding, but redeemable bad boy that can only be “saved” by the heroine and I’m here for it!

5 stars