This two stars feels like a bit of bad luck and I’d actually try this author again. There were just some story elements which—though not objectively bad—were not for me. Let’s get into it:

A Greek mythology-inspired modern setting fantasy romance, with almost an X-Men feeling. Lots of social tension between ‘regular’ people and people born with magic (and a critique of segregation). Our heroine had a crime to solve and her crime-solving-partner was her fated mate—he just didn’t know that yet.

I liked the magic system, the Greek-inspired mythology references, and all the complicated relationships between the characters. The Greek-inspired setting was immersive and our heroine felt refreshingly un-generic.

But, I disliked:
▪️ not the book’s fault, I just happen not to love mysteries and crime procedural-esque plots. I didn’t realize how much of this book would be that. Oops.
▪️ this fated mate situation. She’d known he was her fated mate for a long time and had gotten comfortable with not pursuing him? It made the romance plot (especially as a single POV) feel really ‘settled.’ I wanted more anguish and yearning!
▪️ this was VERY tell-not-show when it came to interpersonal relationships. Our heroine’s magical ability was seeing (and cutting) the threads that bound people together—so interpersonal relationships was a major part of the story. But in a… impersonal observer of threads way, which wasn’t my fav.

Still, there was a ‘je ne sais quoi’ to this fantasy writing that I can’t quite put into words but I enjoyed. If this author writes a more up my alley fantasy romance story, I’ll jump on it.