Tenderly I am Devoured contains very lush and atmospheric writing that truly brings the Gothic world Clipstone has created to life. This book would be perfect for fans of Ava Reid’s - especially her young adult novel A Study of Drowning - as it contains the same damp coastal setting and imagery. The pacing remained tight throughout, assisted by the dual timeline narrative. Lark is a very layered and unique protagonist which really added to my enjoyment, and I especially appreciated the relationship she had with her brothers. These bonds were my favourite part of the book. 


The romance, however, was not it. At all. Love triangles that consist of siblings are icky enough as it is, but to start a throuple this way was too far for me, which is a shame as I thought Lark and Allistair had great chemistry. Similarly, if the relationship between Lark and Camille had been given more time to grow and develop, they could have been a great option too. Instead, the lines were uncomfortably blurred, and I found myself wanting to skip any romantic scenes, especially any that contained all three of them.


Overall - Tenderly, I am Devoured is a well written gothic standalone with a very interesting premise that is unfortunately let down by the romantic choices. 3.5 stars


Thank you to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was so underwhelming, yet it still left me feeling a bit weirded out by the end. Not in a good way, either.

I will start with the positives, though. The prose and atmosphere of this novel is amazing. Clipstone really sets the mood of a mysterious little seaside town with the vast and vivid descriptions and pieces of lore sprinkled in. It made the world feel truly alive; it was one of the best aspects of the book in my eyes.

Unfortunately, everything else wasn't as good.

I did not feel anything for the characters (Except slight disgust, but we'll get to that). Lark is sympathetic in a vacuum, but I never found her a strong lead due to her otherwise stale personality. The side cast was even more so, particularly the sibling love interests. Camille literally has nothing interesting about her. The only two traits of hers I can identify is that she cares for her brother and Lark, and that she's bad at math. She felt so empty and hollow as a character; I feel like very little would change if she was taken out of the story. Alastair had more going for him, but only because of what laid at the heart of of his and Lark's heartbreak. Anyone who reads the book could probably vouch that they saw the twist from 10 miles away, and the fact Lark didn't even try to even guess at it shows how little character she possesses. Everyone else was just there, but some had some intrigue. Lark's brothers, and another guy Hugo, who has a lot of plot relevance, but both are just squandered. There's also an entire cult called the Salt Priests who are the background villains, but not once do they actually show up in person. We're only told about their evilness second-handedly, which really sucks.

As for the romance - I'll just be plain: Lark ends up with both siblings. Said siblings aren't together romantically, but they still agreed to "share" Lark. It's not exactly incest, which normally is a major theme/device in gothic literature, but I just - can't comprehend a relationship like that. Besides, I feel like the whole triangle could be thrown out entirely. Like I said, Camille could have been erased from the plot. I feel like Clipstone made it a love trio between two siblings only to for the story to pull more gothic themes from the roots. I dunno, maybe if there was more actual chemistry and character from these people I would be more forgiving, but as it is, I just can't.

All in all, I'd only recommend this to people who just want good vibes from atmospheric worldbuilding but don't really care much about plot or characters. As someone who strongly desires the latter from my books, it just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Net Gallery for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Reading this book feels like summer nights, dark and heady with the scent of salt in the air. The prose was lush and lyrical, reading this felt more akin to a Grim’s fairy tale and honesty? Made me hanker for some chthonic wine. The world building is lovely and easy to fall into, the world simply falls into place around you until it feels as though you’re breathing in the sea air.

Lark is a lovely protagonist, deeply relatable and the slow reveal of her past cut me like a knife. I think most people would be able to relate to her situation and it made me like her all the more.

I would have liked Camille to have a little more development, at times it felt as though not as much thought had been given to her history with Lark as opposed to Alastair’s but I enjoyed her character all the same.

Perfect for those who enjoy dark gothic romances, I highly recommend.

ᯓwhat i liked:
༝ stunning cover and artwork
༝ beautiful atmospheric writing
༝ dark eerie gothic vibes
༝ intriguing plot

ᯓwhat i disliked:
༝ very slow pacing w/ boring repetitive parts
↪ some flashbacks felt unnecessary and didn’t add to story
༝ romance was a miss for me
↪ couldn't feel the chemistry. the brother/sis duo wasn't for me
༝ camile's character was undeveloped
↪ causing her relationship with lark to feel forced and unnatural

ᯓoverall thoughts:
loved the vibes but the slow pacing often left me bored. i found the story interesting but couldn't connect to any the characters.

This gothic brooding YA fantasy novel was a quick read with a polyamorous love story between a girl born to be a sea gods bride and the siblings she falls in love with.

I liked Lark & Alastair as characters but Camille’s character was quite underdeveloped and I didn’t see the chemistry or romance between her and Lark?

The plot was also a bit thin in places.

Has some darker themes so please check triggers before going into this.