A really interesting premise, so well written and totally addictive. The corrupted humans were terrifying and many scenes were filled with creepy gothic tension. Fans of dark fantasy will love this.

DNF AT 30%

- I really wanted to LOVE this but it kind of fell flat for me. At times there wasn’t much happening and other times a lot was happening at once which made it complicated. I also felt no relation/interest towards the FMC

4,5 Stars - thanks NetGalley for the arc!

Looking for a book with an unique concept that not everybody has already read? Here is your new underrated indie-author-fantasy to tell all your friends about (or community, if you are a book content creator on the hunt for undiscovered bookish finds)!

The premise of this book sounded promising, so i decided to give it a go on kindle unlimited. The reviewers on Goodread either love or hate this book - and after reading it, I think this mostly has to do with expectations and what kind of reader you are.

For me personally, this book was unique, had a different concept and world building compared to many of the currently popular fantasy books on social media and didn´t seem too romance-forward. I quite enjoyed this kind of slow romantic pacing, but maybe I should add that I typically do not enjoy romance-forward, smut-heavy books, simply because I want the book to mostly focus on the plot and because I feel these romantic sideplots are mostly forced. This book does have a bit of a romantic relationship blooming, but it is far from the love-forward ones as seen in the romantasy genre. So do not go into this book with the expectation you´d have for a romantasy book.

The plot and the backstory were fascinating, intriguing and a delightful change compared to many other books. Unfortunately, the story does not seem 100% coherent - I honestely wasn´t really bothered by it, but if you´re actively searching for plot holes, you will probably be successfull. The characters have depth and personal struggles which sometimes makes it hard to really connect with them. However, this only makes them complex and human and is not something that makes the reading experience less enjoyable, but gives them the oppurtunity to experience personal growth.

I am really looking forward to the sequel as I think this first book provided a wonderful foundation to a strong character- and story-development. And maybe I curse myself a little bit for falling in love with these characters without having a release date for part 2 -but as much as it hurts, it speaks volumes about how much this debut has impressed me.