I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

I think this was one of those books that I read at the perfect moment. I’ve also just always been a big fan of books told in unique ways, like the letters used to tell the story here, and of books that unravel (almost painfully) slowly. These features, when combined with the wonderful atmosphere of the book, created something truly special. 

However, my favorite part of the book ended up being just the characters themselves. There was something so true about every single character, and I loved how much we got to see of them, even if we only met them through their letters. E. and Henerey are perfect examples of the light academia genre, and I loved seeing characters that enjoyed learning just for the sake of exploration and learning more about the world around them. I also loved the relationship between Sophy and Vyerin that develops after their siblings disappear, and how we get to see this trust and friendship build up between them over time to something that exists beyond just the connection of their siblings.

While I can understand this book being too slow for many, especially because this first book doesn’t reveal much to us yet, I honestly really enjoyed its slow pace and how much space it gave for the characters and world to build up. I still can’t wait for the sequel, and I hope to find some answers to the mysteries at the core of this book soon!