Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

WELL, THE COVER IS GORGEOUS.

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And that little fact drew me in before I was let down by a meh story.

Much potential wasted. That summary gave me all the good vibes of a great gothic fantasy duology intro. I was ready for it. And this was not it.

There is magic in this world, but absolutely no explanation or rundown of what that system is about. I don’t know why certain people got magic and why others don’t. No idea what the limitations are or why it works the way that it does. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Along those same lines are the complete lack of world-building. I got the Gothic vibes and that was it. It all practically took place at one location and that’s all I’ve got. I’m so confused still as to where I was supposed to be that entire time.

Our dear main character wanted me to give up this book at 25%. She was that girl you’re waiting to see die in a horror movie because they run straight to danger rather than taking one moment to logically think. This did get better in the second half.

The story also did improve in the second half. Unfortunately since I was already over it by then because of the weak start I didn’t feel emotionally attached to anything happening. The romance was kind of sweet? It burned pretty well, the spice felt forced, and I’m in mixed thoughts about it all. I’m realizing I’m confused about Lord Under’s place in all of this too. Am I supposed to like him? Is he a morally gray character that has more to him? Remains to be seen.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Gothic Fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses to one brief open door scene
- Trigger/Content Warnings: self-harm, loss of loved ones, drowning, poison, magical attacks, creature attacks