This is an adult fantasy/romantasy tale by debut author Amy Avery, and I was vibing along with it at around the four star range until the ending. Then I was upset enough with this book to drop the rating to 3.5 stars. 

I will tell you this book made me sob heaps and heaps of tears. This is a very sad book. It’s an emotional book. I guess that’s fitting for a book about a very long autumn, but by the ending I felt emotionally manipulated, and not in a good way. When there’s great trauma in the read there needs to be an equally cathartic payout. The payout here wasn’t cathartic. It was a mess. 

The writing itself was pleasant, and I think Avery has a great future in front of her as a writer. The plot, while marred at the end, was really great and written well. The characters were well-written and designed. The book was predictable in a lot of ways but no more so than any other fantasy book. 

I just really wish the ending didn’t feel so devastating to me.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.