Dual POV, Spicy, Dark Fantasy, Touch Her and Perish, Enemies to Lovers, Witches & Gods, Shadow Daddy, Deadly Tournament

Night of Death and Flowers is a dark romantasy centered around the god of death Azkiel and stubborn strong willed Calista. The beginning is a bit slow as the the world building is occurring but then the plot picks up and gives Hunger Game vibes as the tournament ensues. The romance is true enemies to lovers and builds slowly as the Calista fights off her feelings. The cliff hanger at the end got me good, trying to wait patiently for the next book in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

If you’re a fan of Kingdom of the Wicked, this has a similar vibe. Unfortunately, a lot of it was pretty predictable, and the character development/relationships fell flat for me. However, it’s an easy, quick read, and if you like the romantasy genre, you might like this!

This book was amazing I couldn’t put it down was completely drawn in from the first page and hooked. I loved the characters the writing and the plot so sad it ended

This book did not hit for me. I couldn't connect or care about the characters. The plot and world were interesting and I was curious where it was going.
But overall, I wasn't super excited by the writing or story as a whole.

I read about 50% of this book, and of what I read I enjoyed, however it felt a tad too slow for my liking. The FMC just continued to hyper focus on her childhood love, and the plot was dragging. I'll probably give it another go...eventually, but for me it wasn't very memorable. I don't want to say I will DNF it, but more of a DNFish.

I liked the characters and the world building. The plot is captivating and i loved romance. I really enjoyed this book full of magic. I spent a good time reading it.

I dnf'd.

It wasn't bad; I am just struggling with intense mood reading symptoms and could not get into the story.

I did not leave a review on any other platform as I don't think it would be fair to do so because this was fully on me and not on Rebecca's book.

Her writing, from what I read, was very well throught out and wonderfully written.

I would like to not assign a ?/5 star rating because I don't feel like it would be a fair judge of the book, however, I need to submit this review. Please take it with a grain of salt, the book was simply not a perfect fit for me! I picked this up a couple weeks before it launched, but ultimately did not finish it (got to ~89%). I realized as I read it that it was not a book designed for me, but I can see how this would be amazing for someone else! Because it was not a love for me, I wanted to wait until after it was published for a couple months to add in my review.
What I will say is that it felt to me like Hunger Games but with witches and ancient gods- which is very cool! It was fairly atmospheric, and I liked the setting of the book a lot. The magic system was also unique and enjoyable. I can absolutely see how this book could check all the boxes for other people.
The details were mostly what turned me off. Mainly, I felt like the transition from enemies to lovers was too abrupt and the spice came in very quickly after they stopped hating each other. Because of that I had a hard time rooting for them as a couple.

3.75 ⭐️ I read this book during a reading slump which has an affect on the rating. It was hard for me to get into this book and get acquainted with the world. The romance felt insincere. However, I appreciated the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I really struggled with this book. There was a huge amount of info-dumping in the glossary and then almost immediately you were thrown into the story with little to no context. I understood very little of what was going on, and the parts I did understand, I really wasn't interested in. The writing and characters were not strong enough to pull me in, and the world-building was very shaky.

I understand Garcia has let some ARC readers know that there has been a lot of editing to address many issues that readers have fed back, so this may have been solved in the updated version. However, as it stands from the proof I was given, I have to give this one two stars. If I ever return to read the finished copy, this may be updated.

Rebecca Garcia's Night of Death and Flowers is a captivating blend of paranormal romance and fantasy that fans of the genre will absolutely adore. If you enjoyed Kingdom of the Wicked and Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco, or if you were let down by the execution of Lightlark, this book is a must-read. The story weaves together elements reminiscent of Hunger Games and Belladonna, featuring witches, monsters, prophecies, and human sacrifices. It also introduces a male character who channels a slightly less bloodthirsty version of Manon Blackbeak. With its slow-burn romance and richly spiced narrative, Night of Death and Flowers promises a thrilling and immersive experience.

This was my first book by this author and was a highly anticipated release. Unfortunately, it was not for me. Insta-love is an immediate no for me.

DNF @ 20%

This book had a great premise but sadly fell through a little.

Think of a magical hunger game and everyone that dies is a sacrifice to keep all the gods asleep minus the god of death, who is also the love interest. This is essentially what this book is, and I was super excited to start by that alone.

Sadly, this book was not everything I hoped it would be, but it did have some positives. The female character was strong and badass and likable to follow, and she just generally had some spunk to her. Additionally, the world-building was very well done, and I could tell that a lot of thought was put into it. So for those reasons, I liked part of this book.

My biggest issue with this book was the dual chapters, as this book has our MMC and FMC both having chapters one after the other. My issue with this was that the MMC added barely anything to the story, and his chapters felt repetitive and useless. This then of course affected the pace of the story, as reading a useless and boring chapter took away from what interesting stuff was happening. So really I wish his chapters had been cut down to only when it was needed, and not forced into having to be one after the other.

Overall there were some ups and downs to this story, and in the end, I was a little disappointed with the final product.

Thank you to Victory Editing Netgalley Co-op for the chance to read and review this arc <3

The plot was good, the story had potential, but it was not well executed. There was a plot twist but the execution and description was so plain it did not feel like a plot twist at all. It was a lot like The Kingdom of wicked now that I think of it too much alike.

Story lacks purpose. The female lead is strong and determined but her purpose lacks intensity. At the beginning her mission was to save her friend whom she loves but given the severity of crime they are committing and the consequences her loves was not that strongly shown. But she does that anyways. Moving forward her hatred for Azkiel; the God of Death, is strong but without any solid grounds. She thinks the sacrifice system was cruel but apparently it only occurred to her when her friend was in danger and it did not server as a strong reason for her hatred. Characters had no depth they believed whatever they were told without conforming it or doubting other person's intentions. It felt like they didn't even have common sense.

Details were scattered in different parts and felt incomplete. The author tried to create a mystery by keeping Calista and Azkiel apart but in that made the story boring. There is a difference between keeping a mystery and keeping things unanswered. It causes confusion and ultimately lack of interest.

All things felts dumped without context and there was no logic behind anything. I know it's fantasy but things have to make sense. And the writing style was so bland it felt like I am reading an emotionless, expressionless dialogue most of the times.

Dual povs are interesting but difficult to maintain. In this book while writing the povs author seemed to loose her grip on the story because it didn't have the rhythm. And there were countless errors and wrong pronouns. I lost interest after 40% and had to force myself to complete it because I feel guilty to dnf a book.

I would really appreciate if you start giving a spice warning with the blurb because not everyone prefers reading such stuff.
thank you for the eARC

Great book. There is a lot of world building building that takes up a lot of the space of this book. However it was well written and the boom was a delightfully dark read. I love Death as a love interest and this version did not disappoint. I can't wait to see what Happens in book 2

This was a wild ride of a book.

It was difficult to get into at first, but after the first 15% I was hooked.

Full of drama and politics - both romantic, family and life.

Is it normal to crush on the god of death? Because that happened.

Wouldn’t say it is a dark romance, a simple Romantasy.

This book would be great for those who love "Kingdom of the Wicked Trilogy" by Kerri Maniscalo.
Dark fantasy/romantasy feels.

The writing and world building were spot on, character development was great along with really well written humor and banter.
And let's not forgot the ending...one I am not going to be able to stop thinking about for a while!

The author has drawn me in and spit me back out again...and I am satisfied.

This book was good. I enjoyed it. The plot and characters are all great. Witches warlocks this bookwas a great dark fantasy.

I received an ARC of this provided by NetGalley. This was a pretty enjoyable book, it was a bit slow going in the beginning, but made up for it with the ending. Perfect for the fantasy romance genre.

I absolutely loved this book! It was very entertaining, I couldn't put it down. It was very atmospheric, the way the author writes really makes you feel like you are in that world. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you for this arc!