I wasn't sure what to expect going into this. I had seen so many mixed reviews and was a little worried I wouldn't be able to get into it. It's dual POV and switches between Otto and Fritzi pretty frequently. This made the last half of the story fast paced and kept my attention the entire time, but the beginning was a little slow and had super slow parts for me. Fritzi's POVs continually interesting and kept my attention, it was Otto's that had me dragging in some of the world building or internal monologue parts. 

I would go to war for Fritzi and Otto. They are ADORABLE 😍 I love everything about them! The world building is great, too! It was an amazing reimagining of the Salem Witch Trials if there were actual witches in hiding. I loved all of the twists and turns. I guessed one or two small ones, but all of the big ones were super shocking to me🫢 I thought by the end of the book, why is there another coming out in a few days, but that Epilogue?! I just know the final book is going to be a banger since there isn't the explanation of how the witch hunters or archbishop work. 

✨Favorite Quotes✨
But her rage is so...It's like a storm at night, full of lightning, beautiful in its fury. 

"There is a difference between someone who holds a personal belief and someone willing to kill anyone who doesn't share that belief."

She is a feast I will spend the rest of my life starving for.

"Take what I give you, hexe. And what I give you is all of me..."

This was the perfect mix of time travel, fantasy, found family, and dragons. The world building and political aspects are amazing! I felt fully immersed and just as attached to all of the characters as the FMC. 

I loved the relationships that Elena forged while at the Keep and with her fellow riders. I can see how to some the romance part feels rushed or out of nowhere, but I feel like it was great! It wasn't the normal slow-burn, but definitely hate to love until something forced the reality of what they felt for each other🖤 

The last 25% though?! Maaaaan, my heart HURT. I saw the betrayal coming, but not like that and it still gave me absolute chills. I cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you so much to the author for the gifted copy!

🗡️Favorite Quotes🗡️
This woman could do anything if you angered her enough. A spitfire of a woman.

"I realized I’d rather spend a day in the hands of the man I loved and die, than none at all.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, Elena ... You’re my second chance. And I sure as hell don’t plan on screwing this up.”

He felt like home, and I, more than anything, wanted to be home.

❗Take your mental health seriously! This one was super dark. Not the romance or the main characters with each other, but the world the FMC lives in. It is cruel and looks at women as property and nothing more. There are also instances in the MMCs world. When Keri says something is triggering, PLEASE take it seriously. I loved every second of Anathema, but it's super heavy on the trauma and talked about as a major issue in the book's world.❗

🐦‍⬛Thoughts🐦‍⬛
This is one of those books that you NEED to read. I will recommend and love in this book until the end of time! I already love all of Keri's other books. She's a favorite author of mine, but THIS one?! Anathema took. The. Fucking. Cake. 

There are maaaaassive triggers for this book. Please, PLEASE be aware and take them seriously. She's not being light with them at all in this one. It was dark, emotional, gut-churning and had me bawling at the injustice and brutality that Maevyth and her sister went through in Foxglove as well as what Zevander went through as a boy. 

Onto the book itself🖤 Incredible. I'm literally raving right now. While the beginning and some middle parts feel a little slow, they are full of information and bread crumbs for later. It had my jaw on the floor each time lol. I love the unique world and magic, the in depth characters where you truly don't know who is loyal or who to trust. The glossary was super helpful, but there are small explanations for the world/creatures inside the book as well. I only needed it when I forgot what a creature/element was or wanted a more in depth description. 

This is such a slow burn! My feet were kicking, I was giggling and blushing. Just 👏🏻🤌🏻😍 Maevyth and Zevander are IT. Their banter and back and forth is SO adorable. Maevyth draws out Zevander's humor and heart while Zevander helps Maevyth understand that being forced to do or be a monster doesn't necessarily make her one. I am SO excited to see what else Maevyth learns about herself in the next book.

The cliffhanger?! I NEED ANSWERS. I was not expecting that shit at all! There were so many small things unanswered, not knowing who's safe and who isn't, and the big reveal at the end. I cannot wait for the sequel next year😫🥹

🐦‍⬛FAVORITE QUOTES🐦‍⬛
How tragic that a woman’s worth equated to the depth of a man’s pockets.

“I find it interesting that any time a girl is unusual, or dare I say, unique, she’s deemed evil, or cursed.”

“But whoever enchanted you failed to consider one thing.” ... “I have an older brother.”

In fact, I felt a sense of pride, as if I’d finally embraced my aberrant nature.

"There are those who fear flirting with death, while some of us find it utterly enthralling.”

“Some women are fire in your veins and hell between your teeth, Brother. Accept that Maevyth will never be safe. And no one will be safe from you because of it.”

“If this is punishment, then I welcome an eternity of suffering.”

“You are mine, moon witch. For all eternity and whatever lies beyond it. No soul has ever been more intricately woven into mine than yours.”

Death is always my favorite love interest, so it's not surprising that I completely vibed with this book. I put off reading it for so long because it's pretty short, but now I regret that because I loved Lili and Letum SO much😍🖤 

This was such an easy read, but contains heavy topics of grief after losing loved ones. There are quite a few other triggers, so definitely check them before diving in🫶🏻 

🌷Favorite Quotes🌷
Sometimes I don’t know if it’s better to feel nothing at all or everything.

"But if you ask me of my Lilith? I will tell you that she is everything. Every gust of wind, every fallen leaf, each drop of rain."

For if I were Icarus and she were the sun, I would still fly to her with my waxen wings.

"You are the sunrise after the storm. The new beginning and the dawn. You, my flower, are beauty personified."

This book y'all 🫠 Reading the blurb, I instantly knew I would like it. We follow Aiden, who is tasked with solving a murder before it happens. The part that got me was that Aiden wakes up in a different guest's body every day to have access to clues and evidence. He has 8 guests and 8 days to figure out who's going to murder Evelyn Hardcastle. 

There were so many twists and turns in this book with so many different characters. Everyone has a secret that's worth killing for but it's never obvious who the culprit could be with so many questions. 

This book reads as if you're right alongside Aiden trying to solve the mystery before his memory is wiped and the week starts over. I had so many guesses and theories going, but I NEVER saw the twist at the end coming. 

This was filled with dark secrets, betrayal, money=power, shocking reveals, and a killer that hides in the shadows.

🔪Favorite Quotes🔪

How lost do you have to be to let the devil lead you home?

If this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.

Too little information and you're blind, too much and you're blinded.

...bars can’t build better men and misery can only break what goodness remains. This place pinches out the hope in people, and without that hope, what use is love or compassion or kindness?

This was my kind of deadly trials! It gave Salem Witch Trial and I loved it. It was outlawed and punishable by death (specifically burning at the stake) to possess magic of any kind. You were cursed by the Serpent and your soul would be slowly ate away by the darkness. Our main lady, Elowen, was cursed with a deadly touch when she left an offering to the old gods in a forest after her father dies. Caught and brought before the Pator, she must survive three trials and be deemed worthy of redemption in the eyes of the Archon. 

I have so much love for everyone in the alliance, and lack of love in other areas *cough*Lydia*cough*😒 There's obviously romance happening, and as much as I like Maelor, I'm BANKING on Sion🤤 He's peek enemies to lovers. The hatred just radiates off of them! 

I really liked that the ending was cliffy, but not so much to where I was put into a slump waiting on the sequel. Im also really glad that there were only tiny little breadcrumbs throughout the book, and CN Crawford saved the big pieces for the end. It really helped me to focus and fully enjoy the trials, relationship building, and get a better understanding of the world. It kept an incredibly big, magical, and unique world easy to digest. 

I'm anxiously awaiting Vanquished Gods, so you know I'll be devouring it as soon as I get my hands on it. The war aspect has me super excited and I have a couple theories for it👀

This book was so much more than I thought it was going to be! I was expecting a dark read, but I was not expecting to feel as angry as I did for Rowan. Or feel her revenge like it was my own at the end🖤 

Rowan is the next Red Maiden. She will be the one to cart souls into the Dark Wood to the God of Death, the Wolf. She's supposed to keep the Wolf happy and carry souls for the next 5 years, but there is something sinister plaguing the Woods and stretching to her town.

Rowan is fierce, asks questions she shouldn't, and would do anything to protect those she loves. I was so angry for everything that Rowan was forced to go through and how she was made to feel. The feminine rage that she has by the end is exquisite 😍🫶🏻 

I loves this book and everything that it represented. I'll definitely be rereading it. I was angry or stressing the first half of the book, but by the end I was screaming and cheering for Rowan and the Wolf 🫶🏻

🐺FAVORITE QUOTES🐺
And to all those who cultivate wildness in a world made to tame. Go forth and be a menace.

She knew she would disappear in a matter of years, but at least the Dark Wood would remember her.

“I think I don’t want to die to hold up a world that doesn’t care about me.”

“Love is the thing that holds back the dark.”

“I don’t think we know yet what I might become to protect the people I love.”

How had he ever felt the predator in their relationship when he was so obviously prey to the exquisite woman in front of him?

She’d been alone her whole life, but she wasn’t anymore, and she never would be again, because the forest had always been listening, and it knew her pain well.

If I was able to wipe my memory, this would be the first book I pick up🥹 WTMH is so rich and full of stunning world building, character development, relationships, hidden foreshadowing, and so much more. There was so much to digest but it never took away from the plot. 

I've had this on my TBR since it came out, but was always so intimidated by it. I found a video of someone explaining the basic world building without ruining anything, and it made me feel good about starting it. Let me tell you, that video was a life saver! I don't think I would have enjoyed the first 100 pages without it. I was able to focus on the character introductions rather than try to figure out how their world worked. 

From the world, characters, creatures and everything else in between Sarah Parker wove such an amazingly unique story that I am completely obsessed with! I felt so many emotions throughout. There were quite a few times where I was slamming, throwing, or cussing while I bawled my eyes out from the utter pain and heartbreak that Raeve goes through🥲 

Kaan is the face poster for perfect MMCs everywhere 😂 Raeve and Kaan have incredible banter, chemistry, and he is absolutely OBSESSED when it comes to her!

I need the next book to come out. I'm so mad at myself for not waiting because I know it's going to be SO hard to find something that comes close to what this book is🥹🖤

🌑FAVORITE QUOTES🌑
"I'm going to take away the cold, okay?"

I'd post myself on the back if my skin wasn't flayed.

"The only infection I'm suffering stems directly from your self-indignant presence." ... "Wrong."

"Regret is the heaviest burden to bear."

"I do not hurt, King Burn. I harden."

This is a new favorite read! It was super easy to read, fun, and had me cackling😂

As my first "cozy" fantasy, I didn't really know what to expect other than the blurb sounded so good. I fell in love with how easy the world building was. It was ingrained in the story with everyone's daily life. The plot always picked back up at just the right time and I loved that there was only the one huge plot twist at the end.

For villains, everyone is so sweet and it really gave office vibes. I loved every character, especially Blade and Tatiana🖤 Evie and The Villain are incredible, too! I couldn't get enough of them😍 I loved the banter and their chemistry was their from the start. They had me laughing so hard I was crying at times lol.

This is the slow burns of slow burns and I'm here for it! I can't wait to start the next book🫶🏻

🗡️FAVORITE QUOTES🗡️
"I would never make the mistake of underestimating a woman like you. It would be a fatal one."

He didn't feel ruined with Evie, though. He felt reborn. 

Evangelina Celia Sage was woven into his being ... She wasn't light; she was color. 

"We're all monsters in the end. At least mine lives in the light."

I don't really have much to say about this one lol. It was fast paced, made me think I was losing my mind, and scared the hell out of me. I wish more questions were answered other than the big reveal. For how short it is and what it is, it's amazing. However, I felt like a lot of small stuff was skipped over when it shouldn't have been. Idk. I loved what it was but wanted there to be more to the ending