This book was a mess but….a very compulsively readable and entertaining mess lol.
The premise is sooooo intriguing and the first half is pretty interesting. There is a big plot twist midway through the book, and it felt like the author lost control of where she wanted it to go. The writing isn’t great but nothing stands out as bad either (except maybe the 20 references to Taylor Swift.) The main character makes a lot of dumb decisions, and every single female character in this book is unhinged in some way. The author is obviously trying to make a statement on men treating women poorly and then blaming them for their reactions and being “crazy” which I understand, but I don’t think it’s done well. Like no actually some things can’t be excused lol. Ashley’s little library said that the ending was very “scooby doo-esque ” and I must agree lol. In the end the whole thing was a mess but like a really fun one lol.

Although full of horror and gore, as a Korean American this was a heartbreaking read for me. Watching what the family goes through and the way Korean women will throw their lives away for men as it’s all that’s been taught. Compulsively readable and so well done.

This book was fine. Some of the ideas were great but not executed well. The world building and magic system were both confusing and inconsistent. I liked the relationship but the characters were nothing interesting except Neve. There was a looooot of repetition….in the language, phrases, scenes, everything. I started getting soooo tired of hearing about blood smearing or about eammons damn scarred hands lol. Also it felt like the author didn’t put much thought into some things….like what do you mean they’re slicing their hands to the bone everyday??? The first half was slow, and there were multiple moments that I thought of dnfing. Also, this is not a dark fantasy, it is definitely fantasy with some romance elements. Unfortunately, I don’t plan on continuing the series even though the ending leaves some interesting plot lines for the next book.

This was a really sweet read and truly a love letter to literature. 

A lot of meandering but understandable considering the huge shift the empire went through since the end of the last book. Lin was not making the best decisions but I feel like her flaws lined up with her character…..Jovis on the other hand…..I could strangle him myself like wtf he was pissing me off so bad. And the fact that Lin was always the one to apologize first and forgive even though most of the time she didn’t even do anything wrong -_- Phalue really grew on me even though we don’t see her much, and I really enjoyed Nisong’s chapters as well. Interested to see where the plot goes after the ending but honestly the characters kinda lost me now. Lin and Jovis were one of the best things about the first novel so it sucked how much this sequel made then so insufferable at times. I did overall enjoy it even though my review may not seem like it lol. 

Really compelling and eerie read. The author is great at slow build ups, but sometimes the execution for the climax isn’t the best. I think one of the reveals definitely could’ve been tweaked to make it feel a little more real. Halley was a fine protagonist to follow, but what really was great was how she interacted with the setting, especially with sleep deprivation and isolation messing with her head. I appreciated the message that the book is conveying, even if you can’t change the world, doing something is better than doing nothing.