**DNF'd, did not post review publicly**

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC
The premise of this book, combined with the title and cover art, initially intrigued me, but as the story progressed, I struggled to feel invested, and unfortunately, I had to DNF the book. It was hard to follow along with Elizabeths train of thought through the story, and I felt confused from the beginning of the book until I decided that this just might not be the write book for me.
The writing style is undeniably unique and evokes a classical style w/ gothic fusion, However, I felt that it didn't quite align with the plot in a way that kept me fully engaged. I believe this could be a great fit for readers who enjoy a slow, lyrical pace and poetic/gothic literature, but this just wasn't the book for me.

None of this is to say that I think the author is not talented, there is no denying that she has a unique writing style and a talent for writing in an intellectual/clasical style. It almost felt poetic. Again, I just don't think that style matched the plot of the book.

Thank you netgally and publisher for the arcs given

I dnf this book after 60% reading. First I was quite intrigued with the premise of Elizabeth is the only woman survive in this world and she is being trapped in some of magical barrier. I was really enjoying it but unfortunately—chapter by chapter the story progressively become more confusing and doesnt make sense. I dont really if Im the one who understand wrong or the narrative of the world itself is lacking.

It was mention than no women survive for 40 years then how come lot of young men in this world? where they coming from actually? I dont really sure if it was stated through the end of the book but I simply cannot continue.

and then suddenly one man is coming and then another one. What Maze runner is this? Ya, I dont realy get it and I dont really like the characters of both men and how they see elizabeth as an exquisite being rather a human. it such an icks.

I think thats it for me, this book remind me of Jane austen world because of classic language they were using but make it dystopian ( maze runner inspired)

This book is set in a dystopian world with Elizabeth hidden inside an enchanted house revealed to be the only remaining girl in the world. Only for her "solitude" to be disturbed by two men arriving in her life unfolding the world that she longed for. The outer world is more than horrors she could imagine.

I was intrigued by this book’s description and title hence, l immediately took a chance to request an advanced copy of it. Right off the bat, upon reading the Epilogue I had the sense that this book is trying to capture the appeal of the Classics to which we are all aware of. To which is where they emphasised this certain character's torment and how his psyche revolves as such with given in-depth descriptive writing.

This went on in multiple chapters to which I noticed that is attempting the atmosphere on how desolate and lonely the main character is.

Unfortunately, my problem with the attempt to take on this style of the classics in specific to the Gothic aspect of it all, was it that it extends to the point of ended up turning into Purple Prose. I understand that it is to build the settings and all what is inside the character's mind all throughout her stay for years and years but it really end up being excessive. Going off tangent on the symbolic and philosophical comparisons.

This had stopped once the story had progressed but somehow upon the entrance of the characters, it is replaced by the lengthy dialogues that is I guess, the intention. Expounding on politics, literature, philosophy, art, and etc. But I feel like somehow it became cluttered with how ambitious in terms of wanting excessive depth seemed to fail. As well as parts that felt like that could have been shown instead of just telling.

The characters themselves falls flat in the aspects of being fleshed out despite overly described, “Mysterious and Brooding Male Lead”€ and the “Fragile and Gullible Heroine”€ (fainted plenty of times than I could imagine but she has a lot of moments that I do admit that I liked so far). Even with the attempt of this one character, not really being the way they are felt off—making it obvious that this "love triangle" happened because she really had no other choice to begin with. The pacing was dragged on and on, took a long while to reach another level of pacing made me feel disconnected throughout the continuation of the story.

Despite these multiple “Passionate Proclamations of Love” and “History” behind it and how tragic it all came to be as well with the dots aligning evidently for the next book—a continuation, I am assuming. Though I admit that towards the very end still somehow made me like the King more than the rest of the characters. Perhaps I am not the target audience, but I can certainly say people still should give this one a try, since the entire premise and writing style has a huge potential. This could still be worked out into something better.

Posted on goodreads, 12. April 2025

When I saw the cover and read the description of this book, I was instantly hooked.
Fantasy/dystopia mixed with Gothic romance? Sign me up.

The story follows Elizabeth, who appears to be the last surviving woman in the world. She lives alone in a small cottage deep in the woods, protected by a magical barrier that only one person can pass through—someone who brings her food and supplies. But one day, that changes. A stranger suddenly appears at Elizabeth’s door, and everything begins to shift.

Right from the start, I was intrigued. The writing style was beautifully unique—it reminded me a lot of Jane Austen, with a rhythm and elegance that made it feel like reading a classic. For the first 15%, I was completely in love with the book and convinced it would be a five-star read.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver after that.

I felt like very little happened until the 50% mark. Once Arthur arrives, the story becomes heavily centered on their conversations. And while I usually enjoy character-driven plots, this felt excessive. They mostly talked about books, Arthur’s inner torment as a suffering poet, and some philosophical musings about the world. Like Elizabeth herself, I started feeling like I was reliving the same day again and again—except I was only reading about it.

I also struggled to connect with the characters. Elizabeth was incredibly naive—which makes sense given her isolated upbringing with only books for company—but her behavior still grated on me. She constantly acted like a damsel in distress and changed her opinions from one moment to the next.
Arthur started out as a mysterious and intriguing figure, but the more he embodied the “tortured poet” persona, the more one-dimensional and dull he became. Their love story, too, felt very forced and lacked emotional depth, which made it hard for me to invest in it.

Around the 50–60% point, the plot finally started to pick up, but by then my interest had already faded. I kept hoping for more answers, but things just didn’t quite come together. One of my favorite aspects of fantasy is immersive world-building, but in this case, it was almost nonexistent. What year does the story take place in? Is it the 18th or 19th century? Or is it an alternate universe? I honestly couldn’t tell.

The ending didn’t make much sense to me either. It’s possible I missed something because I had started to disengage, but I felt like I was left with more confusion than clarity.

I truly wish I had loved this book more, because it had so much potential. The author is clearly incredibly talented, and I have no complaints about the writing style itself—it was elegant and captivating. Sadly, the story didn’t pull me in enough to maintain my interest.

That said, I think fans of classic literature, fantasy, and Gothic romance might still enjoy this one more than I did.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by this book's beautiful cover art and the title - I thought it was so eerie and the blurb was also equally alluring. However, this book was a little strange and ended up being not quite up my alley unfortunately.

The book is set in a world where there are no surviving woman - only one, Elizabeth, who is held perpetually trapped inside an estate by mysterious magic. Though it's a dystopia, the style of the writing is almost reminiscent of historic classic novels; think the vibe of Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, for example. The characters thought and spoke as if they lived in the 18th or 19th century, the writing style was often jarringly at odds with the actual plot. I definitely wish there was more context than what was included.

Not to mention, while the prose was beautiful, it was excessive in places and made the flow of the book hard to follow. I just couldn't understand what was happening sometimes, with overly-intricate descriptions and convoluted narration that made it difficult to distinguish scenes and characters. The author is a talented lyrical writer, but there just needed to be some guidelines or parameters put in place to help with formatting. The end, for example, made little sense. I could tell what was happening at a very base level, but not much beyond that.

While the execution of the story did fall flat for me, this book is gothic, tragic and beautiful with a strong premise and a lot of readers might like the intersection here between the vibe of the "classics", gothic romance, history and fantasy. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

Disclosure: I read this book to 40% and then did not continue- that being said, I will not be sharing this review publicly on any accounts. I will leave it here for you, the publisher and author, to do with as you see fit. Thank you so much for sharing this story with me and giving me the opportunity to experience your writing.

"To Feel Nothing, To Love Nothing" is a story about a dystopian world where women have been wiped out by plague; However, there exists the miracle of one woman entrapped within an estate by a magical barrier. This woman is Elizabeth, and she is telling her story.

I picked up this book because the title and cover are striking, and the description carries significant promise. When diving into it, I found that the prologue was difficult to get through. While the seemingly intended aspect of mystery and thrilling questions was definitely met, it also was very very long and hard to follow. I found it hard to grasp a firm footing on the story and what was even happening among the ramblings of what seemed to be a dying man (but I wasn't even sure of this yet).

I do believe that the writing style in this book is incredibly unique. It is like Jane Austen rewritten into a sci-fi and definitely reads complexly, borderline high-brow. It adds to the depth of the characters in my opinion, but combined with the slow moving plot, made it quite difficult to remain engaged. I am very intrigued by this story and where it is going, but I made it 40% through the book and all of the characters, setting, and plot remained stagnant. At the point that another character reveals themselves, it almost feels repetitive.

There were also a few aspects of the story that raised questions for me - please bear with me as I address these questions in a way that doesn't spoil anything for other NetGalley readers:
1. Elizabeth says in the very beginning that she was raised by books- can't make sense of the fact that she has seemingly perfect pronunciation of all the words? As a reader myself, I grew up mispronouncing words in ways that made sense in my mind, rather than what was correct. Elizabeth seems to converse perfectly. This seems like a small oversight maybe, but I couldn't get it out of my head as she spoke.
2. Elizabeth finds something on her bedroom floor- Where did this come from? How had she never seen it before?
3. Once the existence of magic was confirmed (in the very beginning)- specifically, a certain spell- I understood the prologue. However, it raised more questions about magic for me. It is clear this book is set back in time, maybe the 1800s? But the parameters of magic are unclear - are there other spells? What are the confines of magic in this world? How does it exist? Where does it come from?

I would have liked to read this book more, but I was having an increasingly hard time moving through the story. It is an excellent concept with great character groundwork, I think the slow pace and complex prose caused me to struggle with the read. This is definitely a story for sci-fi fans, particularly those who also love literary classics. I think there is a lot of influence from the classics in the writing style.

Thank you, again, for sharing this with me. I hope this feedback is helpful.