The Everly family is cursed to lose a member each generation but when Marianne Everly disappears her daughter Violet is given 10 years before she has to take her spot. Violet must uncover the magical world of Fidelis and the role of the mysterious scholars, a world that has been hidden from her her entire life, in order to break the curse or fall to it. 

This book really reminded me a combination of The Golden Compass and The Night Circus. The writing is descriptive and beautiful and the magic system is intriguing but I found it just out of reach. I didn’t really get a good grasp on the world until the very end. There is a romantic subplot that I enjoyed but I would have preferred a little more focus on the magic and the fantasy world. It’s so unique and unlike any other fantasy I’ve read before. I think this is very well written and it left me wanting more, if it had been a little longer I would have really liked it. I felt the same way with The Night Circus, the magical elements are there but it’s not really the main focus of the book, so if you liked that you’ll really enjoy this book. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Red Hook Books and Georgia Summers for this e-ARC