If I could get past the incest part of this book, I think I would enjoy it more. I understand it is dark romance, and I probably would like other books in the genre, but this was just so, so hard to stomach. The main character just consistently calls them "family" while doing the things she does. Also, she ends up with the guy who doesn't talk to her or really show romantic interest? It was just strange and I felt like that came out of nowhere and left me so confused. 

The only redeeming quality of this book was the actual discussion on grief and healing from such a traumatic event. I really felt like it was a great part to the book and wish the rest had more substance to back that up. 

I was expecting a lot more from this book for sure. It tends to just show Ella as a victim, and awful things just keep happening over and over to her. I really was hoping for her to finally break out of this, but it feels like she never did. The retelling was super interesting because there was no Prince Charming, and Ella got herself out of poverty by relaxing her moral code, but I don't know how to explain it expect I was just expecting more. 

The fantasy elements of this are pretty limited. Expect a period piece with an almost gothic description of the world and town she lives in. The writing style itself is beautiful and that is consistent throughout the book. 

The POV from Ella's perspective was interesting and I feel like the characterization and relationships built were complex and we could feel them. However, the plot just felt like it was stumbling along, and it felt like I was waiting for the big moment or something really important to finally happen. I felt this all the way until the final chapter and it felt so anticlimactic. I don't think I'll ever pick this book up again to reread, which is why the rating is lower. 

This was such a fun read! I had heard mixed reviews coming into this, so I a little worried I wouldn't like it. However, it was very enjoyable. Especially since I really am not a big fan of the time-traveling trope. The writing was so so, but the relationships we read about was what I really liked. 

We meet Jane pretty early into the book and watch her relationship with August grow. The plot was very medium-paced and kept me interested. There were a couple moments or plot-lines that I felt dragged on, and it didn't necessarily need to be there, but it didn't detract from the book or cause me to put it down. 

If anything, the characterization is the best in this book. Our two main characters are very fleshed out and I think they grow so much together and we learn more and more about them as we go on. The author does an amazing job bringing depth to the side characters as well and making them feel three-dimensional, which a lot of books suffer from. August and Jane are very much insta-love like but their relationship grows and we don't see them actually fall in love until much later in the book.

The ending/conclusion didn't wrap up all neatly or in one chapter, and I loved the plot twist that the author pulled on us. I like the ambiguousness of the last chapter and it left me feeling very heart-warmed. 

NOTE: There is an area in the book on PG 292 where August tells Jane that "most people aren't like that anymore" in the modern day when Jane is called a homophobic/racist slur. This isn't very reflective still of the world we live in and it's important to keep that in mind. 

I really loved this book! I really thought it would be high fantasy (as that it my preference), but I truly enjoyed the idea of dragons in our modern world. This is a pretty high rating for me because it just was so enjoyable, but there definitely were some flaws in the book as well.

The plot moved along pretty well and picked up so fast! It is a standalone so everything has to be resolved in the first book, so there definitely wasn't super slow areas to the book. I loved everything that has to do with dragons, so I definitely wish that there was some more world building to the actual lore of dragons and the slayers. I felt we only got a couple of explainer sentences throughout the book and I would have liked to know more. The ending was wrapped up well and I think that it wasn't too rushed and concluded well. 

The relationship between Dani and Nox was well developed and I enjoyed their dynamic a lot. Dani also was such a fun main character to read about and I felt she had complexity to her which made me want to keep on reading.

Eden was so-so for me. Her most interesting chapters was when she

turned into a sorcerer and became emotionless.

 She got better towards the end and I was happy with how it concluded, but her character made me hard for me to root for her or really want to read her chapters with as much excitement as Dani. 

Altogether, if you want a fun fantasy that has to do with dragons, definitely pick this one up. 

I loved this book! I was a bit hesitant because I heard mixed reviews, but this was a pretty fun read. I thought this was high fantasy, so I was a bit surprised when I learned it took place in historical Italy. The lore and magic system was really interesting, and I thought it was well built. World building was alright, not amazing, but it described everything necessary, just not in depth.

The plot was a bit slow at first, and it took me a moment to really get into it. Some criticism of this book was the amount of cooking and recipes there were and how much a focus it was. I understand that it's a large part of Emilia's identity, but it was laid on a bit thick at times. Additionally, the first to middle part of the book was a lot of Emilia and Wrath just "running" around Italy and not really doing much, seemed very repetitive. The pacing got better and the plot picked up towards the middle/end and I really enjoyed it then and was very enraptured at that point. 

The characters themselves were really fun to read about. Their banter was amazing and I couldn't help but root for Wrath even though he's a "villain." I expected some sort of plot twist, so I wasn't too surprised with it. The ending was really, really good. I am desperate to read the sequel and know what happens next! 

This book is amazing, but absolutely upsetting and shocking. Definitely a thriller and the best one I’ve read in a long time. Please don’t go into this book expecting a “fun” read. This illustrates an awful experience that the main characters have. 

Altogether, the pacing was excellent and it seemed to move faster as it becomes more tense and fast paced throughout the book. The plot was well developed as well as the characters. However, once we started to getting into the actual thriller and what was happening, I was sick to my stomach. Being white, I can’t quite emphasize with the main characters but reading this story was just so upsetting. 

I really enjoyed the epilogue and the way it ended, I felt it was a satisfying and good ending.