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One for My Enemy
A thrilling story of rival witch families in New York City, from New York Times bestselling author and internet phenomenon Olivie Blake.
In modern-day Manhattan where we lay our scene, two rival witch families fight to maintain control of their respective criminal ventures.
On one side of the conflict are the Antonova sisters — each one beautiful, cunning, and ruthless — and their mother, the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants, known only as Baba Yaga. On the other side, the influential Fedorov brothers serve their father, the crime boss known as Koschei the Deathless, whose community extortion ventures dominate the shadows of magical Manhattan.
After twelve years of tenuous co-existence, a change in one family’s interests causes a rift in the existing stalemate. When bad blood brings both families to the precipice of disaster, fate intervenes with a chance encounter, and in the aftershocks of a resurrected conflict, everyone must choose a side. As each of the siblings struggles to stake their claim, fraying loyalties threaten to rot each side from the inside out.
If, that is, the enmity between empires doesn’t destroy them first.
Also by Olivie Blake
Alone with You in the Ether
Masters of Death
The Atlas Six
The Atlas Paradox
In modern-day Manhattan where we lay our scene, two rival witch families fight to maintain control of their respective criminal ventures.
On one side of the conflict are the Antonova sisters — each one beautiful, cunning, and ruthless — and their mother, the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants, known only as Baba Yaga. On the other side, the influential Fedorov brothers serve their father, the crime boss known as Koschei the Deathless, whose community extortion ventures dominate the shadows of magical Manhattan.
After twelve years of tenuous co-existence, a change in one family’s interests causes a rift in the existing stalemate. When bad blood brings both families to the precipice of disaster, fate intervenes with a chance encounter, and in the aftershocks of a resurrected conflict, everyone must choose a side. As each of the siblings struggles to stake their claim, fraying loyalties threaten to rot each side from the inside out.
If, that is, the enmity between empires doesn’t destroy them first.
Also by Olivie Blake
Alone with You in the Ether
Masters of Death
The Atlas Six
The Atlas Paradox
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 30, 2019
About the author
Olivie Blake
32 books15.1k followersOlivie Blake is the pseudonym of Alexene Farol Follmuth, a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.
Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.
Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
Olivie has penned several indie SFF projects, including the webtoon Clara and the Devil with illustrator Little Chmura and the viral Atlas series. As Follmuth, her young adult rom-com My Mechanical Romance releases May 2022.
Olivie lives in Los Angeles with her husband and new baby, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,946 reviews
July 20, 2024
API Month
I was doomed before I began. I have issues with Romeo and Juliet. I have issues with Shakespeare. So a white Englishman is writing about Italians. These Italians are turned Russian-esque for the sake of what? Did we even research Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless before using their names? Do not come here if you liked Shadow and Bone's wannabe Russian undertones.
If after all that, you are still interested, and want to know more about this book, please read the other reviews, because I found myself zoning in and out. The characters are alive. The characters are dead. No, the characters are alive. The end.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
I was doomed before I began. I have issues with Romeo and Juliet. I have issues with Shakespeare. So a white Englishman is writing about Italians. These Italians are turned Russian-esque for the sake of what? Did we even research Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless before using their names? Do not come here if you liked Shadow and Bone's wannabe Russian undertones.
If after all that, you are still interested, and want to know more about this book, please read the other reviews, because I found myself zoning in and out. The characters are alive. The characters are dead. No, the characters are alive. The end.
🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio
September 25, 2024
BE. STILL. MY. HEART.
OMG- THIS. BOOK.
This book has destroyed me in the best possible way
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "𝒟𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝓈," 𝐼𝓋𝒶𝓃 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝒻𝓉𝓁𝓎, "𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓈?" "𝒟𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎'𝓇𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒? 𝒯𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝒶𝓏𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹"
:¨ ·.· ¨:
`· . OMFG⠀
*Faints dramatically*
⋆˙࿔*:･✮⋆｡°✩⋆˙ALL. THE. STARS.⋆.✮⋆｡°✩⋆˙࿔*:･
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆
┊ ┊ ┊ ⋆
┊ ┊ ★⋆
┊ ◦
★⋆ ┊ . ˚
˚★
╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂
In One For My Enemy, Olivie Blake takes the classic tale of star-crossed lovers for a witchy, modernized spin, regaling readers with the story of two magical Russian families silently warring in the midst of bustling New York City.
The feud between Baba Yaga and her 7 daughters, the Antonovas, and Koschei the Deathless and his 3 sons, the Fedorovs, doesn’t stretch back hundreds of years, but what it lacks in age and longevity, it makes up for in viciousness and brutality. Trapped between the wishes of the two family heads and the gargantuan shadow empires that magical authorities have not yet been able to dismantle, the Antonova and Fedorov progeny walk the perpetually paper-thin line of balancing private passions with public duties.
However, when the two households reach a conflict that ends not just in financial, but also physical loss, the children will have to decide whether they are content remaining just as faithful sons and daughters, or if they are finally ready to put themselves and their interests first.
╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼
First of all, let me talk about the writing, I found myself completely enthralled- THIS is the type of book that MAKES MY HEART SING!
Blake's writing is grandiose, but in THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. This is a sweeping, lyrical retelling of Romeo and Juliet that is SOMEHOW both less and more tragic than it's Shakespearian roots. Her prose is a sort of songlike intensity that makes the novel feel magnified, romantic and edged at the same time; Not over flowery or pretentious- but detailed and and clever enough to blow you away.
This novel heart-wrenchingly portrays love and pain.
The book features romance and grief often in the same breath. The love of a partner against the devotion/loyalty of a child.
The world-building is often blurred, but this book marches to the beat of a different drum. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and the sheer depth of emotions evoked -omg. It's a must read and an immediate forever favorite for me.
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ “My daughters are diamonds, as Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.”
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ “Sasha leaned forward, lips against his cheek. “Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "This is the important thing, after all: nobody fears a beautiful woman. They revere her, worship her, sing praises to her- but nobody fears her, even when they should." 🥀🗡️🖤
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒶 𝓅𝒾𝑒𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃. 𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓉; 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒."
OMG- THIS. BOOK.
This book has destroyed me in the best possible way
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "𝒟𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝓈," 𝐼𝓋𝒶𝓃 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝒻𝓉𝓁𝓎, "𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓈?" "𝒟𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎'𝓇𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒸𝑒? 𝒯𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝒶𝓏𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹"
:¨ ·.· ¨:
`· . OMFG⠀
*Faints dramatically*
⋆˙࿔*:･✮⋆｡°✩⋆˙ALL. THE. STARS.⋆.✮⋆｡°✩⋆˙࿔*:･
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆
┊ ┊ ┊ ⋆
┊ ┊ ★⋆
┊ ◦
★⋆ ┊ . ˚
˚★
╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂
In One For My Enemy, Olivie Blake takes the classic tale of star-crossed lovers for a witchy, modernized spin, regaling readers with the story of two magical Russian families silently warring in the midst of bustling New York City.
The feud between Baba Yaga and her 7 daughters, the Antonovas, and Koschei the Deathless and his 3 sons, the Fedorovs, doesn’t stretch back hundreds of years, but what it lacks in age and longevity, it makes up for in viciousness and brutality. Trapped between the wishes of the two family heads and the gargantuan shadow empires that magical authorities have not yet been able to dismantle, the Antonova and Fedorov progeny walk the perpetually paper-thin line of balancing private passions with public duties.
However, when the two households reach a conflict that ends not just in financial, but also physical loss, the children will have to decide whether they are content remaining just as faithful sons and daughters, or if they are finally ready to put themselves and their interests first.
╰┈➤˗ˏˋ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼
First of all, let me talk about the writing, I found myself completely enthralled- THIS is the type of book that MAKES MY HEART SING!
Blake's writing is grandiose, but in THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. This is a sweeping, lyrical retelling of Romeo and Juliet that is SOMEHOW both less and more tragic than it's Shakespearian roots. Her prose is a sort of songlike intensity that makes the novel feel magnified, romantic and edged at the same time; Not over flowery or pretentious- but detailed and and clever enough to blow you away.
This novel heart-wrenchingly portrays love and pain.
The book features romance and grief often in the same breath. The love of a partner against the devotion/loyalty of a child.
The world-building is often blurred, but this book marches to the beat of a different drum. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and the sheer depth of emotions evoked -omg. It's a must read and an immediate forever favorite for me.
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ “My daughters are diamonds, as Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.”
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ “Sasha leaned forward, lips against his cheek. “Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "This is the important thing, after all: nobody fears a beautiful woman. They revere her, worship her, sing praises to her- but nobody fears her, even when they should." 🥀🗡️🖤
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ "𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒶 𝓅𝒾𝑒𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓁𝑒, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃. 𝐼𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝒹, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓉; 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒."
November 4, 2023
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?”
I’m in love with this book. I want to skip everything i have to do and hide in this book with these characters and their magical witchy world. I want to lose myself in this poetic, lyrical, beautiful writing style. It was so beautiful and unique I’m obsessed. The writing was so stunning. just read the first quote and u will know what i mean. i want to tattoo it on my heart and pint it on my bedroom walls 😫💗
“ hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin”
the characters
They were very confusing and flawed. The author made it very hard for me to hate and love them (not all of them ofc).
Masha: I can’t say i love her but all i can say is that i admire her so much. I admire her cleverness and ruthlessness. I admire how powerful she is and how no one can cross or stand in her way. And that there’s nothing that would break her. I admire her love for her family and the sacrifices she had to make for them. sigh what i would do to be her. To have 2 fine men fallen in love with me.
“(This one is not for you, he knew, but please, please, may I borrow her from someone else’s fate? May I have her until her stars change, or mine? May I worship her until I die, and may I give her all of me, for better or worse, or worse, or surely worse?)”
To have someone like Stas who loved her and gave her everything even though she was in love with other man. Who accepted to be with her knowing that she will never love him like she loved Dima.
Dimitri: it hurts knowing that he’s only factional and not real 💔 he’s the most rational and kind, pure hearted, decent character in this book. He’s the sun, the moon and the stars.he’s everything. I love his loyalty and devotion to his siblings. I love his love for Masha and his words and his golden hair and the brightness of his character. I love everything about him period✋🏻 my golden boy🫶🏻
“I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you, Masha,Only you, forever, I promise.”
Dimitri & Masha the angst, the longing, the pain and heartache. Ugh i love them so much they’re my favorite couple. Dima was ready to abandon him family and be with her if she’d just ask him. Even after 12 years he never stopped loving her if anything his love for her grow stronger. he’d follow her everywhere. Even in death he’d not left her alone🥹 he promised her that he will keep her heart safe and he kept his promise. He promised her forever and he kept this promise too 😭💗
“I’m your enemy in the morning,” he whispered. Fair warning.
“I’m your enemy tonight,” she said, and kissed him again.”
lev & Sasha they’re very cute. Their banter was very adorable and entertaining it warmed my heart. Love the way Sasha was ready to burn anyone who hurt her lev. 🥹 she was the kind and cute version of masha but she was also ruthless when she needed to be🫶🏻
roman he’s pathetic,excessively envious, he’s jealousy and self pity blinded him from seeing that he was slowly destroying himself and his family in the process. I can’t say i hate him. I pity him actually. It was his father fault that he was like this. It was his father fault that all of this happened. But everyone learned their lesson in the end right?
the bridge i love him and his deals and his sassy comments and comebacks.Can we please have a book for him. I need to know his full story,This is not enough.
beautiful quotes
“He had known he loved her like he knew he would rise each day, with the same comfort as knowing his lungs would fill. With motions as practiced as each step he took. He had loved her with the whole of his being, as if he’d been made to do it; as if he’d been crafted that way by some divine hand. She was in his blood, beating in his chest, racing against it.”.
“She wanted to kill him, to kiss him, to love him with her hands around his neck.”
“If I ever decide to give my heart to you,” Dima, she’d said, holding his hand palm up, “then cut it out of my chest and keep it somewhere safe, where no one else can get to it. Keep it locked somewhere, ”
“I do love you. I will love you.” He laughed again, bitterly this time. “I will love you even when I wrong you, and for that—for this—I’m so fucking sorry.”
“you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you are richer for it; you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
“And this love?” Dimitri asked her, expectant; breathless. “Our love?”
“I would burn down the world for this love, Dima,”
“You gave me your heart, Marya Antonova, and I will keep it safe until my dying day,I’ll keep it safe,” he swore, “and in return, you’ll have my heart, forever, until someone cuts it out of my fucking chest.”
“and when he opened his eyes again, she was smiling down at him, mean and victorious and cruelly beautiful, and she was everything, everything he had ever loved. She was the sun, the moon, and the stars.”
I’m in love with this book. I want to skip everything i have to do and hide in this book with these characters and their magical witchy world. I want to lose myself in this poetic, lyrical, beautiful writing style. It was so beautiful and unique I’m obsessed. The writing was so stunning. just read the first quote and u will know what i mean. i want to tattoo it on my heart and pint it on my bedroom walls 😫💗
“ hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin”
the characters
They were very confusing and flawed. The author made it very hard for me to hate and love them (not all of them ofc).
Masha: I can’t say i love her but all i can say is that i admire her so much. I admire her cleverness and ruthlessness. I admire how powerful she is and how no one can cross or stand in her way. And that there’s nothing that would break her. I admire her love for her family and the sacrifices she had to make for them. sigh what i would do to be her. To have 2 fine men fallen in love with me.
“(This one is not for you, he knew, but please, please, may I borrow her from someone else’s fate? May I have her until her stars change, or mine? May I worship her until I die, and may I give her all of me, for better or worse, or worse, or surely worse?)”
To have someone like Stas who loved her and gave her everything even though she was in love with other man. Who accepted to be with her knowing that she will never love him like she loved Dima.
Dimitri: it hurts knowing that he’s only factional and not real 💔 he’s the most rational and kind, pure hearted, decent character in this book. He’s the sun, the moon and the stars.he’s everything. I love his loyalty and devotion to his siblings. I love his love for Masha and his words and his golden hair and the brightness of his character. I love everything about him period✋🏻 my golden boy🫶🏻
“I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you, Masha,Only you, forever, I promise.”
Dimitri & Masha the angst, the longing, the pain and heartache. Ugh i love them so much they’re my favorite couple. Dima was ready to abandon him family and be with her if she’d just ask him. Even after 12 years he never stopped loving her if anything his love for her grow stronger. he’d follow her everywhere. Even in death he’d not left her alone🥹 he promised her that he will keep her heart safe and he kept his promise. He promised her forever and he kept this promise too 😭💗
“I’m your enemy in the morning,” he whispered. Fair warning.
“I’m your enemy tonight,” she said, and kissed him again.”
lev & Sasha they’re very cute. Their banter was very adorable and entertaining it warmed my heart. Love the way Sasha was ready to burn anyone who hurt her lev. 🥹 she was the kind and cute version of masha but she was also ruthless when she needed to be🫶🏻
roman he’s pathetic,excessively envious, he’s jealousy and self pity blinded him from seeing that he was slowly destroying himself and his family in the process. I can’t say i hate him. I pity him actually. It was his father fault that he was like this. It was his father fault that all of this happened. But everyone learned their lesson in the end right?
the bridge i love him and his deals and his sassy comments and comebacks.Can we please have a book for him. I need to know his full story,This is not enough.
beautiful quotes
“He had known he loved her like he knew he would rise each day, with the same comfort as knowing his lungs would fill. With motions as practiced as each step he took. He had loved her with the whole of his being, as if he’d been made to do it; as if he’d been crafted that way by some divine hand. She was in his blood, beating in his chest, racing against it.”.
“She wanted to kill him, to kiss him, to love him with her hands around his neck.”
“If I ever decide to give my heart to you,” Dima, she’d said, holding his hand palm up, “then cut it out of my chest and keep it somewhere safe, where no one else can get to it. Keep it locked somewhere, ”
“I do love you. I will love you.” He laughed again, bitterly this time. “I will love you even when I wrong you, and for that—for this—I’m so fucking sorry.”
“you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you are richer for it; you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
“And this love?” Dimitri asked her, expectant; breathless. “Our love?”
“I would burn down the world for this love, Dima,”
“You gave me your heart, Marya Antonova, and I will keep it safe until my dying day,I’ll keep it safe,” he swore, “and in return, you’ll have my heart, forever, until someone cuts it out of my fucking chest.”
“and when he opened his eyes again, she was smiling down at him, mean and victorious and cruelly beautiful, and she was everything, everything he had ever loved. She was the sun, the moon, and the stars.”
September 14, 2024
“Imagine thinking something is cursed simply because others would die for it. What’s love, then?”
3.75✨'s rounded up
Welcome to Olivie Blake's urban fantasy retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Within the first pages I was captivated by the characters and the characters along with her writing are what make this story. This was a very character-forward story but the magic system was confusing at times and wasn't well-explained. I enjoyed the beginning and loved the ending but the middle fell flat for me. I feel that this book was kind of messy and a lot of holes because there was so much to process in so few pages. I almost wish it would of been two books so she could better explain and develop certain concepts. Blake's writing is my favorite part of the story, it truly is one of kind. The whimsical and poetic way she describes emotions is what puts me in a chokehold when I read this. I don't care what a book is about Olivie Blake can make it sound like a beautiful song that finds it's way to your heart and soul.
*:･ﾟ✧The Plot*:･ﾟ✧
This features two rival witch families, Antonova's and Federov's, in modern day New York. Koshei the Deathless, or Lazar Federov, has three sons: Dima, Roma, and Lev. Baba Yaga, or Marya Antonova, has seven daughters, all with different magical powers. The feud between these two families is decades old and you realize that the families past are intertwined. However, when forbidden romances between the two families occur, we see the struggle of power and loyalties are tested.
*:･ﾟ✧Characters*:･ﾟ✧
Lev & Sasha-I fell in love with Lev the minute he stepped into that bar and tried to come to Sasha's rescue, even though she didn't need it. These two make this whole book for me! Both the youngest of the two families, they don't understand their position in their family's decade old grudge. They find happiness in each other and to them that is what matters. However, their loyalty to their family is put to the test. The banter between these two had me giggling throughout the whole book, especially when it came to their text messages to each other. At the end of reading this book, these two have a special place in my heart.
“I fell in love with you, didn’t I, Sasha Antonova?” His laugh, the set of her jaw, they both said I love you, it’s over, we’re doomed. “I was always going to be trapped.”
Dima & Masha-as the oldest of both of the rival families these two got the short end of the sticks to say. My heart breaks for the both of them and the sacrifices they had to make for their family. Both the heirs to their families empires they must uphold their family legacies, but at what cost? The love these two have for each other is breathtakingly beautiful.
I would have gone to you, Masha, if you’d asked. You would have only had to ask, and I would have chosen you over everything.
*:･ﾟ✧Favorite Quotes*:･ﾟ✧
"This is the important thing, after all: nobody fears a beautiful woman. They revere her, worship her, sing praises to her—but nobody fears her, even when they should."
“Sashenka,” Marya said, “you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it—you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
“Each time we bid farewell to a piece of ourselves we become different than we were. But each time we rise again in the morning, it’s a victory,”
“and I know, Masha, that the only reason you ever gave your heart to me to begin with was because it would never belong to anyone else, and neither of us could ever forget it.”
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?”
✨❤️ Buddy reading with my Beautiful Bestie Bella! ❤️✨
This one has been on my tbr forever and her other book "Alone with You in the Ether" is one of the very few books I have gave infinity stars. Seeing that Olivie Blake is coming out with a new book next year was my sign to read this one! Fingers crossed I love it just as much as her other work.🤞❤️
June 13, 2022
At best, Dimitri Fedorov was Marya Antonova’s greatest weakness. At worst, she was his.
— 4.75
if this book were a drug then i would forever be an addict coming back for more. mashadima and levsasha will always be my people. yes there’s lot going on but in the end it doesn’t even matter when olivie blake gives you god tier content. i’m obsessed and that will never change <3
January 12, 2024
update: i haven’t stopped thinking about this a month later so i’m bumping it up to a five star
i think i’ve been utterly, irrevocably changed by this book, my brain chemistry altered. it’ll undoubtedly take up a solid part of my thoughts for the foreseeable future. and ... drumroll please ... i am happy to announce i’m now a proud member of the olivie blake fan club!!!
alright, now let me try to put what i’m feeling into words.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the plot
a romeo and juliet retelling featuring rival witch families in modern day new york? sign me right up! the history of bad blood and feuding between the antonovas and federovs was so intricateand long winded that i don’t even know where to start. the heartbreak, betrayal, and loss that comes from the families’ rivalry is unlike anything i’ve read, i think? it truly broke my heart to see all of these things happening to characters that didn’t deserve any of it, all because two people one day decided they hated each other.
there’s so many different wires being crossed and threads being woven throughout the entire story, with different characters and different motives, that really kind of make your brain work. i’m not complaining per se, but i just felt like the ... miscommunication i guess? was unnecessary at some points. with that being said, it also kept the story interesting and let all those previously mentioned betrayals and surprises happen.
and there’s magic! which i will say isn’t ever really explored, like where does it come from? how does it work? why do these witches and fae exist? but nonetheless it is so much fun. give me the materializing out of thin air! the shadows answering to you! the reviving of lives! yes please!
i won’t spend any time on the world building because, well, there wasn’t any. obviously we don’t really need any because it’s modern day new york but still.
also can we talk about the plot holes? and/or the unanswered questions? i won’t go into this either because it’s spoiler free but i wish there was some clarity on certain things.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the characters
💋 masha antonova – such. a. badass. truly i want to be her when i grow upminus the heartlessness, iykyk. so look what you made me do coded. do i really need to say more?
💐 sasha antonova – another girl boss we love her!!! everything that my girl went through tore my heart to shreds, but to see her grow and thrive through it made me cry happy tears. she deserves her happy ending more than anything.
✨ dima federov – the sun, the moon, and the stars. another character that deserved so much better. he really screamed oldest child and it was interesting to read the dynamics he had with his family (especially lev), but all he really wanted was to be with the girl he loved.paaaiiiiinnn
🃏 lev federov – the mercutio of our storyi think!! and we needed it!! his sense of humor and the way he was sarcastic about everything was genuinely so funny. and don’t even get me started on the way he talked about sasha, had me giggling and kicking my feet every. single. time.
‼️ roma federov – the um ... really testing my memory of romeo and juliet here ... tybalt of the story? anyway i hated him for most of the book icl, sir really needs to do some self reflecting, but he was yet another victim of his father’s feud with the antonova matriarch and for that i cry for him.
💼 the bridge – another comedic relief because again, boy did we need it! a lawyer slash fae slash dealer of information slash advice giver slash ruthless man? his scene with roma talking about the rusalka is actually unmatched idc it was so funny 😭 i wish we explored him a little more but i still loved him and laughed at half the things that came out of his mouth.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the writing
you guys were not lying when you said olivie blake’s writing is one of a kind! it was just so ... pretty. so lyrical and beautiful and, well, as a non-english major/literary expert, that’s about all i can think to say of it. but i loved it and it’s got me wanting more like, now.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ and if none of this expressed how much i adore this book, this tragic and deeply emotional bookit’s a romeo and juliet retelling idk what i expected, then let me leave you with some quotes that will simply never leave my head.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ quotes
it felt like drama of the vastest heights, his kiss the overture of all the greatest operas – the summit of every landscape’s peak, a rush of tides and fates and furies – and she melted in his arms, warmed by more than just the spell at the tips of her fingers.
sasha: do people ever tell you you’re impossible?
lev: from time to time
lev: i take it as a compliment
lev: don’t you? it’s so easy to be possible.
lev: seems silly to limit myself to that
sasha: you’re impossible
lev: stop
lev: i’m blushing
“why didn’t you let me choose you?” he asked hoarsely. “i would have gone to you, masha, if you’d asked. you would’ve only had to ask, and i would have chosen you over everything.”
at best, dimitri federov was marya antonova’s greatest weakness. at worst, she was his.
sasha i swear to fucking god nobody will ever hurt you, i will never, ever, let anyone hurt you, i won’t let them touch you, i’ll burn the world down myself before anyone ever lays a hand on you
“write me a tragedy, lev federov,” she whispered to him. “write me a litany of sins. write me a plague of devastation. write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. write it over and over, lev, until we both know the pages by heart. isn’t that a story too?”
“i fell in love with you, didn’t i, sasha antonova?” his laugh, the set of her jaw, they both said i love you, it’s over, we’re doomed. “i was always going to be trapped.”
“you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. you are you, an entire whole, all on your own. if you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it – you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
she wasn’t afraid, of him or of love or of anything, and for that he capitulated to her, kissed her. bent his head and pressed his mouth to hers, to prove that he was strong for her, because he could be weak. because she wanted him to love her, and because he would, without fear, for as long as he lived. for as long as his heart still beat beside hers, and for long after. for all of the afters, happily or not.
“you’re testing me, aren’t you? you think i won’t remember, but i remember everything. every detail. test me all you want, sasha antonova. believe me, i’ll pass.”
“i can’t imagine having found you only to let you go now. i couldn’t do it. not for anything. i’d learn to hate every shred of everything, of every person who’d kept me from you.”
he had known it like the voice of his soul, the sanctity of every prayer. with certainty equal to the changing of seasons, borne on devotion as relentless as the tide. he had known he loved her like he knew he would rise each day, like knowing his lungs would fill with each breath, like knowing he could bleed with every puncture.
“why, what do you think my love language is?” asks sasha.
everything, and everywhere, and all the time, thinks lev, who knows he is lucky to have earned a love of such agonizing softness.
------------
just give me a minute to stare at the wall ... rtc ❤️🩹
for a moment, the words freeze in lev’s throat, and sasha looks at him, just looks, and suddenly he remembers. he remembers everything. every moment, every pulse, every triumph and loss that brought them here ... he is struck by the knowledge that she is here, that he is hers, that none of this was a given.
i think i’ve been utterly, irrevocably changed by this book, my brain chemistry altered. it’ll undoubtedly take up a solid part of my thoughts for the foreseeable future. and ... drumroll please ... i am happy to announce i’m now a proud member of the olivie blake fan club!!!
alright, now let me try to put what i’m feeling into words.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the plot
a romeo and juliet retelling featuring rival witch families in modern day new york? sign me right up! the history of bad blood and feuding between the antonovas and federovs was so intricate
there’s so many different wires being crossed and threads being woven throughout the entire story, with different characters and different motives, that really kind of make your brain work. i’m not complaining per se, but i just felt like the ... miscommunication i guess? was unnecessary at some points. with that being said, it also kept the story interesting and let all those previously mentioned betrayals and surprises happen.
and there’s magic! which i will say isn’t ever really explored, like where does it come from? how does it work? why do these witches and fae exist? but nonetheless it is so much fun. give me the materializing out of thin air! the shadows answering to you! the reviving of lives! yes please!
i won’t spend any time on the world building because, well, there wasn’t any. obviously we don’t really need any because it’s modern day new york but still.
also can we talk about the plot holes? and/or the unanswered questions? i won’t go into this either because it’s spoiler free but i wish there was some clarity on certain things.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the characters
💋 masha antonova – such. a. badass. truly i want to be her when i grow up
💐 sasha antonova – another girl boss we love her!!! everything that my girl went through tore my heart to shreds, but to see her grow and thrive through it made me cry happy tears. she deserves her happy ending more than anything.
✨ dima federov – the sun, the moon, and the stars. another character that deserved so much better. he really screamed oldest child and it was interesting to read the dynamics he had with his family (especially lev), but all he really wanted was to be with the girl he loved.
🃏 lev federov – the mercutio of our story
‼️ roma federov – the um ... really testing my memory of romeo and juliet here ... tybalt of the story? anyway i hated him for most of the book icl, sir really needs to do some self reflecting, but he was yet another victim of his father’s feud with the antonova matriarch and for that i cry for him.
💼 the bridge – another comedic relief because again, boy did we need it! a lawyer slash fae slash dealer of information slash advice giver slash ruthless man? his scene with roma talking about the rusalka is actually unmatched idc it was so funny 😭 i wish we explored him a little more but i still loved him and laughed at half the things that came out of his mouth.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the writing
you guys were not lying when you said olivie blake’s writing is one of a kind! it was just so ... pretty. so lyrical and beautiful and, well, as a non-english major/literary expert, that’s about all i can think to say of it. but i loved it and it’s got me wanting more like, now.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ and if none of this expressed how much i adore this book, this tragic and deeply emotional book
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ quotes
it felt like drama of the vastest heights, his kiss the overture of all the greatest operas – the summit of every landscape’s peak, a rush of tides and fates and furies – and she melted in his arms, warmed by more than just the spell at the tips of her fingers.
sasha: do people ever tell you you’re impossible?
lev: from time to time
lev: i take it as a compliment
lev: don’t you? it’s so easy to be possible.
lev: seems silly to limit myself to that
sasha: you’re impossible
lev: stop
lev: i’m blushing
“why didn’t you let me choose you?” he asked hoarsely. “i would have gone to you, masha, if you’d asked. you would’ve only had to ask, and i would have chosen you over everything.”
at best, dimitri federov was marya antonova’s greatest weakness. at worst, she was his.
sasha i swear to fucking god nobody will ever hurt you, i will never, ever, let anyone hurt you, i won’t let them touch you, i’ll burn the world down myself before anyone ever lays a hand on you
“write me a tragedy, lev federov,” she whispered to him. “write me a litany of sins. write me a plague of devastation. write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. write it over and over, lev, until we both know the pages by heart. isn’t that a story too?”
“i fell in love with you, didn’t i, sasha antonova?” his laugh, the set of her jaw, they both said i love you, it’s over, we’re doomed. “i was always going to be trapped.”
“you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. you are you, an entire whole, all on your own. if you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it – you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
she wasn’t afraid, of him or of love or of anything, and for that he capitulated to her, kissed her. bent his head and pressed his mouth to hers, to prove that he was strong for her, because he could be weak. because she wanted him to love her, and because he would, without fear, for as long as he lived. for as long as his heart still beat beside hers, and for long after. for all of the afters, happily or not.
“you’re testing me, aren’t you? you think i won’t remember, but i remember everything. every detail. test me all you want, sasha antonova. believe me, i’ll pass.”
“i can’t imagine having found you only to let you go now. i couldn’t do it. not for anything. i’d learn to hate every shred of everything, of every person who’d kept me from you.”
he had known it like the voice of his soul, the sanctity of every prayer. with certainty equal to the changing of seasons, borne on devotion as relentless as the tide. he had known he loved her like he knew he would rise each day, like knowing his lungs would fill with each breath, like knowing he could bleed with every puncture.
“why, what do you think my love language is?” asks sasha.
everything, and everywhere, and all the time, thinks lev, who knows he is lucky to have earned a love of such agonizing softness.
------------
just give me a minute to stare at the wall ... rtc ❤️🩹
May 30, 2023
Update: upon further reflection, I think it’s more fair to say this is a 2.5⭐️
—————
Never did I think I'd read an Olivie Blake book and not really like it 😭
One for My Enemy wasn't a bad book, and it isn't like I went into it expecting anything in particular.
But it's Olivie Blake we're talking about. This didn't feel like it had her signature je ne sais quoi, replete with big themes and big ideas.
-----SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT-----
—————
Never did I think I'd read an Olivie Blake book and not really like it 😭
One for My Enemy wasn't a bad book, and it isn't like I went into it expecting anything in particular.
But it's Olivie Blake we're talking about. This didn't feel like it had her signature je ne sais quoi, replete with big themes and big ideas.
-----SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT-----
December 1, 2023
༊*·˚ “I���ll keep it safe,” he swore, his pulse and hers in synchronicity, in truth beneath her palm, “ and in return, you’ll have my heart, forever, until someone cuts it out of my fucking chest.”
4.5 stars
i absolutely loved this book! It was definitely something different from what i have been reading lately. although i have had really good reads in the past week, i needed angst and tension!! and boy, this book served me up and gave me a three-course meal.
we set the stage with this modern-day take on romeo & juliet in new york, two rival witch families, the antonova sisters and the fedorov brothers are constantly finding ways to strike back at each other for reign over the underground illegal scene.
out of the seven antonova sisters,
to keep this spoiler free, masha is in charge of her mother's (baba yaga) business, while dima is in charge of his father's(koschei). masha learns that someone is cheating her by stealing her potions so she visits dima, we learn that they had once been lovers who had to cut ties. there she tricks dima into taking a drug that reveals whether or not it was him, she almost kills him and this leads to the start of a large conflict.
from this point we switch to our other main characters, sasha meets lev at a bar, and without knowing who exactly they are, they share a moment of pure romance and lust. until that is when lev figures out who sasha is and his brother convinces him to figure out her family secrets. they start to see each other more and more, and although conflict still persists you can tell they each want different things.
“I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die— and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you, Masha. Only you, forever, I promise.”
dima and misha ❤️🩹, when i was reading this i thought they were side characters at first but THEY ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS. their love was so pure and although masha was married and had not spoken to him in 12 years, you could tell how much love they have and will always have for eachother. it was so pure and blissful. dima just knew what to say to masha, he would have given up everything for her 🥹
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Pedrov," she whispered to him. "Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart.”
sasha and lev were really cute together. i cannot lie and say it wasn't very insta-lovey which i typically do not enjoy. but i still really thought they were sosososo cute, i think they replicated romeo & juliet a lot in the way they acted and how they spoke to each other. their devotions to each other still made me tear up, and lev and dimitri were so similar it was adorable to see how much brotherly love they had toward each other.
i have not mentioned the middle brother roma, just bc i didn't like him 😐 although he would have sacrificed his entire life for his family, it broke my heart to see his own father pick any other brother over him 💔 but i'm forever laughing my ass off bc sasha would put shiny body oil on and haunt him to make him think he was going insane 🤭
overall, i see why people did not like this book because it reads like a play with a character list, staging, and a random inventory list. i think if you enjoy the story of romeo & juliet and the remakes of it you will definitely enjoy this. even though i did not give this a five star i truly did love this book so much and my heart is forever w these characters ❤️🩹
also i would like to add it does dive deep into the backstory of their feud and the backstory of each of their parents, i am just too lazy to talk about it 🫣
quotes:
“Dimitri Fedorov, I already gave you my useless heart. Now, have everything else that matters. Have my loyalty, my right hand. Have everything that was once my mother’s and give me everything you once swore to Koschei. Give me all of you, take everything of me, and let’s see who stands against us then.”
Hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin.
..she wore her love like a shield, like armor, and he ached for her; for what she was to him; for what they might have been.
"I fell in love with you, didn't I, Sasha Antonova?" His laugh, the set on her jaw, they both said I love you, it's over, we're doomed. "I was always going to be trapped."
"I would burn down the world for this love, Dima," she said, "so maybe I'll help you. Maybe I won't. Don't tell me what you're planning," she warned, "and let me have my secrets, too."
"I thought I was weak for you, Dima, but I was wrong. I'm Marya Antonova,” she told him, meeting his eye, "and I am loved by Dimitri Fedorov, and for that, I could never be weak."
“We can’t curse all the men in the world, can we?” “Not in a single day, at least,”
August 5, 2024
.𖥔 ݁ 3 stars
🖇 ┊ urban fantasy retelling
⤿ trigger/content warnings: suicide, alcohol consumption, drug use, and violence
i think that this is one of the cases where i finished it and i feel such strong emotions about it that i give it a high rating but the more i think about it, i realize that it isn't that memorable for me. there were a lot of things that i loved but a lot of things that i also disliked.
in one for my enemy, olivie blake takes romeo and juliet to a modern retelling filled with witches,fae, and other magical creatures. this story follows the feud between the antonovas and the federov who are rival witch families residing in new york. there's betrayal and heartbreak that come from both sides of the family.
i think the biggest flaw in this book is that olivie blake tried to do so much in one book. it ended up being slightly messy, overwhelming, and confusing. not to mention the plethora of plot holes that were made because of how much she tried to fit into this book. this could have worked better as a duology so olivie blake has more space to fit all the storylines and make it more cohesive.
marya, or masha, who is the oldest of the 7 antonova sisters, is baba yaga's (the antonova matriarch) "lieutenant" so she is in charge of the affairs that take place in the baba yaga business. she pays a visit to dima, the eldest of the federov brothers, because she learns that koschei - the federov's business - have been reselling baba yaga's products for a more expensive price. through this interaction, we learn that masha and dima were lovers who had to cut ties because of the blood feud.
the scene switches to alexandra, or sasha antonova and levka, or lev federov, who are both the youngest in their respective families. they get tangled into a night filled with lust before they discover each other's identity. they get pulled into the conflicts that come with the rivalry between the antonovas and the federovs in which they have to pick where their loyalty resides.
the writing is probably one of my favourite aspects of this book. olivie blake's writing is so lyrical and the prose just flowed in a gorgeously poetic way. there were so many quotes in this book that stuck out to me because of how beautifully it was written. i'm seriously so in love with her writing so i will be reading more from her. but i understand why some are not a fan of her writing because she tends to focus a lot more on characters than plot which makes her writing very dense for some people. as for me, it's just the overall storyline that i struggled with but her writing is one of my favourites and i adore it so so much.
i absolutely loved all the characters (besides eric) and they have a lot of depth and weren't so one-dimensional. the character dynamics and relationships were very interesting and were written in such a lyrical way.
star-crossed lovers to (kinda) enemies to lovers. their story was so heartbreakingly beautiful that i was so unwell. i wanted angst and got so much from these two.
masha antonova is such a strong character and i relate to her in a lot of levels. she's conflicted between familial loyalty and her loyalty to her heart. i love how she's aware of her powers and how strong she is.
dima federov who's also the eldest sibling. this man had some of the most romantic quotes ever and i was literally so in love.
i was not the biggest fan of them because i am insta-love's no. 1 enemy. they were still very cute and i adored the dynamic but everything just happened so fast. i wanted more tension, some pining, and a little bit more angst. but this is a loose romeo-juliet retelling so insta-love was expected. they were still cute just not my faves.
if you told me that my fav character would be the morally-grey-anti-hero i would have told you that you're lying. i wasn't expecting to love and adore him as much i do but here we are. this boy just deserves so much better. he is not strong enough by boygenius personified. if i were him i would want to take down the antonovas too because he was never his father's favourite but worse when his own brother favoured the antonovas over him.
i wish there was more of the antonova sisters because they had such interesting magic. i love how they were all different and unique so it was upsetting when they weren't explored much.
bridge was probably my second fav character because he just went along with the plans, especially when sasha was "haunting" roman, that segment was one of my faves. he provided a lot of comedic relief but i want to know more about him and how he's fae and the complexities of all that.
- as for stas, he needs to stand up because what is that man doing? your wife clearly does not love you like that so please leave her alone for everyone's sake.
i won't be talking about it in depth because i don't want to spoil the whole book but the ending did leave me feeling underwhelmed. i wasn't satisfied with how the book ended but again there was a lot of ground to cover within this one book. as much as olivie blake tried to tie every plotline together, there were a lot of questions that were left unanswered which left me with even more questions. again, if this was a duology then all the themes and storylines would be concluded in a much more satisfying way, in my opinion.
⤿ bottomline. i enjoyed a lot of aspects in this book but there are some that i heavily disliked. i feel like if olivie blake didn't try to fit every storyline and idea that she had into this book then it could have been executed better. the writing and mashadima were my favourite parts. i encourage everyone to read olivie blake books because her writing is so lyrical and gorgeous and i will definitely read more from her.
so if you love stories about star-crossed lovers with a hint of magic then this book is definitely for you.
# all reviews are opinions of my own and you should experience a book before giving your own. happy reading! 💌
fin. ꗃ 01 | 16 | 24
🖇 ┊ urban fantasy retelling
⤿ trigger/content warnings: suicide, alcohol consumption, drug use, and violence
𖥻 “ hate and love were so very similar. both were intestinal, visceral. both left scars, vestiges of pain. hate could not be born from a place of indifference. hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin. ”
i think that this is one of the cases where i finished it and i feel such strong emotions about it that i give it a high rating but the more i think about it, i realize that it isn't that memorable for me. there were a lot of things that i loved but a lot of things that i also disliked.
in one for my enemy, olivie blake takes romeo and juliet to a modern retelling filled with witches,fae, and other magical creatures. this story follows the feud between the antonovas and the federov who are rival witch families residing in new york. there's betrayal and heartbreak that come from both sides of the family.
i think the biggest flaw in this book is that olivie blake tried to do so much in one book. it ended up being slightly messy, overwhelming, and confusing. not to mention the plethora of plot holes that were made because of how much she tried to fit into this book. this could have worked better as a duology so olivie blake has more space to fit all the storylines and make it more cohesive.
marya, or masha, who is the oldest of the 7 antonova sisters, is baba yaga's (the antonova matriarch) "lieutenant" so she is in charge of the affairs that take place in the baba yaga business. she pays a visit to dima, the eldest of the federov brothers, because she learns that koschei - the federov's business - have been reselling baba yaga's products for a more expensive price. through this interaction, we learn that masha and dima were lovers who had to cut ties because of the blood feud.
the scene switches to alexandra, or sasha antonova and levka, or lev federov, who are both the youngest in their respective families. they get tangled into a night filled with lust before they discover each other's identity. they get pulled into the conflicts that come with the rivalry between the antonovas and the federovs in which they have to pick where their loyalty resides.
the writing is probably one of my favourite aspects of this book. olivie blake's writing is so lyrical and the prose just flowed in a gorgeously poetic way. there were so many quotes in this book that stuck out to me because of how beautifully it was written. i'm seriously so in love with her writing so i will be reading more from her. but i understand why some are not a fan of her writing because she tends to focus a lot more on characters than plot which makes her writing very dense for some people. as for me, it's just the overall storyline that i struggled with but her writing is one of my favourites and i adore it so so much.
𖥻 “ i will always love you, i will love you until the day i die - and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt that you will not have turned me away. i will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as i always have. ”
i absolutely loved all the characters (besides eric) and they have a lot of depth and weren't so one-dimensional. the character dynamics and relationships were very interesting and were written in such a lyrical way.
— mashadima ⊹ "you would’ve only had to ask, and i would have chosen you over everything.”
star-crossed lovers to (kinda) enemies to lovers. their story was so heartbreakingly beautiful that i was so unwell. i wanted angst and got so much from these two.
masha antonova is such a strong character and i relate to her in a lot of levels. she's conflicted between familial loyalty and her loyalty to her heart. i love how she's aware of her powers and how strong she is.
dima federov who's also the eldest sibling. this man had some of the most romantic quotes ever and i was literally so in love.
— sashalev ⊹ "write me a litany of sins. write me a plague of devastation. write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. write it over and over, lev, until we both know the pages by heart. isn’t that a story too?”
i was not the biggest fan of them because i am insta-love's no. 1 enemy. they were still very cute and i adored the dynamic but everything just happened so fast. i wanted more tension, some pining, and a little bit more angst. but this is a loose romeo-juliet retelling so insta-love was expected. they were still cute just not my faves.
— roman federov ⊹ "because of you, i am haunted... because of all i've done for you, and now you say i'm not enough?”
"i could have been enough if you had ever let me.”
if you told me that my fav character would be the morally-grey-anti-hero i would have told you that you're lying. i wasn't expecting to love and adore him as much i do but here we are. this boy just deserves so much better. he is not strong enough by boygenius personified. if i were him i would want to take down the antonovas too because he was never his father's favourite but worse when his own brother favoured the antonovas over him.
— others ⊹ "my daughters are diamonds, as yaga so often said. nothing is more beautiful. nothing shines brighter. and most importantly, nothing will break them.”
i wish there was more of the antonova sisters because they had such interesting magic. i love how they were all different and unique so it was upsetting when they weren't explored much.
bridge was probably my second fav character because he just went along with the plans, especially when sasha was "haunting" roman, that segment was one of my faves. he provided a lot of comedic relief but i want to know more about him and how he's fae and the complexities of all that.
- as for stas, he needs to stand up because what is that man doing? your wife clearly does not love you like that so please leave her alone for everyone's sake.
i won't be talking about it in depth because i don't want to spoil the whole book but the ending did leave me feeling underwhelmed. i wasn't satisfied with how the book ended but again there was a lot of ground to cover within this one book. as much as olivie blake tried to tie every plotline together, there were a lot of questions that were left unanswered which left me with even more questions. again, if this was a duology then all the themes and storylines would be concluded in a much more satisfying way, in my opinion.
⤿ bottomline. i enjoyed a lot of aspects in this book but there are some that i heavily disliked. i feel like if olivie blake didn't try to fit every storyline and idea that she had into this book then it could have been executed better. the writing and mashadima were my favourite parts. i encourage everyone to read olivie blake books because her writing is so lyrical and gorgeous and i will definitely read more from her.
so if you love stories about star-crossed lovers with a hint of magic then this book is definitely for you.
# all reviews are opinions of my own and you should experience a book before giving your own. happy reading! 💌
fin. ꗃ 01 | 16 | 24
October 19, 2023
This book is my enemy.
November 29, 2023
"Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov. Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn't that a story, too?"
rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
❤️🔥🥀🗡️💔✨
Olivie Blake continues to mesmerise me with her brilliant mind. I could live in her words, forever lulled by the beautiful melody her writing creates. It's poetry. It's agony and despair, beauty and heartbreak. One minute you're being tenderly soothed, the next you're gasping for breath, feeling the impact of her words on your very bones. Blake's writing isn't just stunning, it's impactful, every word imbued with meaning.
One for my Enemy spectacularly weaves together a tale of love and heartbreak, grief and loss, murder and betrayal, magic and power. It's a Romeo & Juliet retelling unlike any other I've read, but rivalry, hatred and heartbreak are still to be expected. And not just one, but two, all-consuming love stories that are both beauty and pain. The romance was perfect, I felt every bit of it, it really is a tale of star-crossed lovers struggling against all odds to find a way to love freely in a world set out to tear them apart. The angst, the tension and the longing between both couples were so beautifully written.
[I have to say, one of the romances gives off some insta-love vibes, however, in the context of the story and seeing as it is a R&J retelling, it makes sense. At least to me it does]
The characters are deeply flawed. In my opinion there are no heroes or villains in this story and I love how every character pays the price for their actions. This is not a fairy tale where magic is used freely and love conquers all. Everything has a price, be it magic, power or love. Everything has consequences.
I won't go into detail about each character, but I found them all so interesting. Masha, Dima, Sasha and Lev won my heart immediately, especially Dima. He really is the sun, the moon and the stars.
ೃ⁀➷ You are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it—you don't become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.
Female rage makes my heart sing and the women in this story provided the most beautiful melody. Consumed by grief and rage, they set out to destroy the world and everyone who has wronged them. And what I love most is how this inevitably robs them of something vital. Nothing good can come from hatred, it's a corruption of the soul, and Blake isn't afraid to show how these characters' actions come back to haunt them throughout the story. It was frustrating and painful and it hurt, but it was done beautifully.
Something else that stood out for me were the family dynamics. The conflict amongst the Fedorovs and the Antonovas was so interesting to read about and the story delves deep into the feud between the two families and all that has led them to where they are today.
ೃ⁀➷ Hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin.
The plot is a bit chaotic and I must admit that at times I was confused and didn't quite understand what was happening, but did this dampen my enjoyment of the story? No, because the focus is on the characters. It's about them and their relationships.
The ending was perfect, I couldn't have wished for a more satisfying conclusion to this story. Like all great tragedies, it was beautifully devastating.
ೃ⁀➷ "Sometimes an end is just a cleverly disguised beginning."
All in all, Olivie's atmospheric and poetic prose, the enchanting romance, the touch of fantasy and the wonderful cast of characters resulted in an absorbing and achingly beautiful tale of love and hate. There's so much I could say about this book, but I think it's best to go into it without knowing too much about the story. Blake's books may not be for everyone, but I'm glad they speak to me.
🥀 ೃ࿔*: more quotes, because they’re too beautiful not to share (in case you don’t want to know who the couples are, then don’t read them)
-"Masha, my Masha. Is it really such a failing that you couldn't find it in yourself to kill me? Many people in love have failed to kill each other before, you know."
-"I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die and if you're the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you Masha."
-"I would burn down the world for this love, Dima," she said, "so maybe I'll help you. Maybe I won't. Don't tell me what you’re planning" she warned, "and let me have my secrets, too. Give me nothing. Deny me everything."
-"I thought I was weak for you, Dima, but I was wrong. I'm Marya Antonova," she told him, meeting his eye, "and I am loved by Dimitri Fedorov, and for that, I could never be weak."
-"Each time we bid farewell to a piece of ourselves we become different than we were. But each time we rise again in the morning, it's a victory"
-"I'm your enemy in the morning," he whispered.
"I'm your enemy tonight," she said, and kissed him.
-"I fell in love with you, didn't I, Sasha Antonova?" His laugh, the set of her jaw, they both said I love you, it's over, we're doomed. "I was always going to be trapped."
-"Is it too late to love you, Lev Fedorov?" she asked him, her hands finding his, and he laughed, pulling her with him. "Sasha, it's never too late for us."
-This one is not for you, he knew, but please, please, may I borrow her from someone else's fate? May I have her until her stars change, or mine? May I worship her until I die, and may I give her all of me, for better or worse, or worse, or surely worse? this made me cry. I didn’t care much about him, but imagine having someone loving you this much? Can’t relate 😭
🥀🖤 ೃ࿔*:･pre-review:
I have no idea what to expect from this book, other than beautiful writing and probably pain, seeing as this is a Romeo & Juliette retelling 😭😂 but I’m excited!!! I’m a fan of Blake’s writing.
rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
❤️🔥🥀🗡️💔✨
Olivie Blake continues to mesmerise me with her brilliant mind. I could live in her words, forever lulled by the beautiful melody her writing creates. It's poetry. It's agony and despair, beauty and heartbreak. One minute you're being tenderly soothed, the next you're gasping for breath, feeling the impact of her words on your very bones. Blake's writing isn't just stunning, it's impactful, every word imbued with meaning.
One for my Enemy spectacularly weaves together a tale of love and heartbreak, grief and loss, murder and betrayal, magic and power. It's a Romeo & Juliet retelling unlike any other I've read, but rivalry, hatred and heartbreak are still to be expected. And not just one, but two, all-consuming love stories that are both beauty and pain. The romance was perfect, I felt every bit of it, it really is a tale of star-crossed lovers struggling against all odds to find a way to love freely in a world set out to tear them apart. The angst, the tension and the longing between both couples were so beautifully written.
The characters are deeply flawed. In my opinion there are no heroes or villains in this story and I love how every character pays the price for their actions. This is not a fairy tale where magic is used freely and love conquers all. Everything has a price, be it magic, power or love. Everything has consequences.
I won't go into detail about each character, but I found them all so interesting. Masha, Dima, Sasha and Lev won my heart immediately, especially Dima. He really is the sun, the moon and the stars.
ೃ⁀➷ You are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it—you don't become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.
Female rage makes my heart sing and the women in this story provided the most beautiful melody. Consumed by grief and rage, they set out to destroy the world and everyone who has wronged them. And what I love most is how this inevitably robs them of something vital. Nothing good can come from hatred, it's a corruption of the soul, and Blake isn't afraid to show how these characters' actions come back to haunt them throughout the story. It was frustrating and painful and it hurt, but it was done beautifully.
Something else that stood out for me were the family dynamics. The conflict amongst the Fedorovs and the Antonovas was so interesting to read about and the story delves deep into the feud between the two families and all that has led them to where they are today.
ೃ⁀➷ Hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin.
The plot is a bit chaotic and I must admit that at times I was confused and didn't quite understand what was happening, but did this dampen my enjoyment of the story? No, because the focus is on the characters. It's about them and their relationships.
The ending was perfect, I couldn't have wished for a more satisfying conclusion to this story. Like all great tragedies, it was beautifully devastating.
ೃ⁀➷ "Sometimes an end is just a cleverly disguised beginning."
All in all, Olivie's atmospheric and poetic prose, the enchanting romance, the touch of fantasy and the wonderful cast of characters resulted in an absorbing and achingly beautiful tale of love and hate. There's so much I could say about this book, but I think it's best to go into it without knowing too much about the story. Blake's books may not be for everyone, but I'm glad they speak to me.
🥀 ೃ࿔*: more quotes, because they’re too beautiful not to share (in case you don’t want to know who the couples are, then don’t read them)
-"Masha, my Masha. Is it really such a failing that you couldn't find it in yourself to kill me? Many people in love have failed to kill each other before, you know."
-"I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die and if you're the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you Masha."
-"I would burn down the world for this love, Dima," she said, "so maybe I'll help you. Maybe I won't. Don't tell me what you’re planning" she warned, "and let me have my secrets, too. Give me nothing. Deny me everything."
-"I thought I was weak for you, Dima, but I was wrong. I'm Marya Antonova," she told him, meeting his eye, "and I am loved by Dimitri Fedorov, and for that, I could never be weak."
-"Each time we bid farewell to a piece of ourselves we become different than we were. But each time we rise again in the morning, it's a victory"
-"I'm your enemy in the morning," he whispered.
"I'm your enemy tonight," she said, and kissed him.
-"I fell in love with you, didn't I, Sasha Antonova?" His laugh, the set of her jaw, they both said I love you, it's over, we're doomed. "I was always going to be trapped."
-"Is it too late to love you, Lev Fedorov?" she asked him, her hands finding his, and he laughed, pulling her with him. "Sasha, it's never too late for us."
-This one is not for you, he knew, but please, please, may I borrow her from someone else's fate? May I have her until her stars change, or mine? May I worship her until I die, and may I give her all of me, for better or worse, or worse, or surely worse? this made me cry. I didn’t care much about him, but imagine having someone loving you this much? Can’t relate 😭
🥀🖤 ೃ࿔*:･pre-review:
I have no idea what to expect from this book, other than beautiful writing and probably pain, seeing as this is a Romeo & Juliette retelling 😭😂 but I’m excited!!! I’m a fan of Blake’s writing.
May 29, 2023
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
in the year 2023, no one is writing longing, yearning, and angst like olivie blake. every book i pick up by her, vast in different concepts, the writing and one liners she is able to string together just rendered me speechless. what a gift to the literary world and the lyrical prose readers (me).
this story is a mash up reimagining of Romeo and Juliet and A midsummer Night’s dream, which is a really insane combination. we get to see two different families, two different worlds, and two different timelines of power, love, and betrayal. this is a story about family, and sibling bonds, and love that feels too big too much of the time. but everything is also filled with magic, and fae, and secrets. i really did adore this, and it was very impressively crafted. i loved seeing all the different powers, and u think i lost part of my own heart upon finishing this epilogue.
trigger + content warnings: a lot of talk of drugs + selling drugs + drug use, alcohol, vomiting, blood, murder, death, loss of a loved one (a lot too), grief, brief mention of bullying in past, magical compulsion, violence, gore, suicide.
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
The Atlas Six ★★★★
Alone With You in the Ether ★★★★★
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.”
in the year 2023, no one is writing longing, yearning, and angst like olivie blake. every book i pick up by her, vast in different concepts, the writing and one liners she is able to string together just rendered me speechless. what a gift to the literary world and the lyrical prose readers (me).
this story is a mash up reimagining of Romeo and Juliet and A midsummer Night’s dream, which is a really insane combination. we get to see two different families, two different worlds, and two different timelines of power, love, and betrayal. this is a story about family, and sibling bonds, and love that feels too big too much of the time. but everything is also filled with magic, and fae, and secrets. i really did adore this, and it was very impressively crafted. i loved seeing all the different powers, and u think i lost part of my own heart upon finishing this epilogue.
trigger + content warnings: a lot of talk of drugs + selling drugs + drug use, alcohol, vomiting, blood, murder, death, loss of a loved one (a lot too), grief, brief mention of bullying in past, magical compulsion, violence, gore, suicide.
blog | instagram | youtube | kofi | spotify | amazon
The Atlas Six ★★★★
Alone With You in the Ether ★★★★★
April 23, 2023
When i first started reading this book i thought it would be a good read. It had good writing, promising worldbuilding and some kind of intriguing characters with intense dynamic but as i went on reading i realized that the author is horrible at executing what i believed would be delivered at first.
The writing style was good, the dialogues were dramatic but still engaging what i found terribly lacking was the worldbuilding (it was flimsy and messy) the characters (they had no depth whatsoever) and the plot (it genuinely did not make any sense) i felt like the author just made up things to make up her word count. There were characters that just??? Like the story is about two main rival houses. There is this guy who terrifies everyone, characters constantly talk about him like he is this scary villain who can't be bested but there is not one scene showing why he's so horribly powerful there was only talk the author did a lot of talking and next to zero showing and i want authors to know that your readers know how to read, you do not have to spell it out for us show your readers the characteristics you want your villainous characters to have and i promise you the readers will themselves deduce that this said character IS bad.
Anyway plot wise character wise this book sucked, it would have been good if the author invested more time studying her world.
The writing style was good, the dialogues were dramatic but still engaging what i found terribly lacking was the worldbuilding (it was flimsy and messy) the characters (they had no depth whatsoever) and the plot (it genuinely did not make any sense) i felt like the author just made up things to make up her word count. There were characters that just??? Like the story is about two main rival houses. There is this guy who terrifies everyone, characters constantly talk about him like he is this scary villain who can't be bested but there is not one scene showing why he's so horribly powerful there was only talk the author did a lot of talking and next to zero showing and i want authors to know that your readers know how to read, you do not have to spell it out for us show your readers the characteristics you want your villainous characters to have and i promise you the readers will themselves deduce that this said character IS bad.
Anyway plot wise character wise this book sucked, it would have been good if the author invested more time studying her world.
July 10, 2023
I think the real takeaway is that I don't like Romeo and Juliet...
I adore Olivie Blake and will continue to pick up everything she even breaths in the vicinity of. But this couldn't keep my interest. It's a short story expanded into a novel and it shows. There's too much happening while also being boring. It was convoluted and tropey with it's love declarations. But, that is Romeo and Juliet, in which this book is a retelling of. So, I guess it succeeded in that respect.
The writing is beautiful, as per Olivie Blake's norm. And the character illustrations were 🤯✨ out of this world. So, I don't want to discourage anyone from picking up this author. I just think this one particular book is a pass.
I adore Olivie Blake and will continue to pick up everything she even breaths in the vicinity of. But this couldn't keep my interest. It's a short story expanded into a novel and it shows. There's too much happening while also being boring. It was convoluted and tropey with it's love declarations. But, that is Romeo and Juliet, in which this book is a retelling of. So, I guess it succeeded in that respect.
The writing is beautiful, as per Olivie Blake's norm. And the character illustrations were 🤯✨ out of this world. So, I don't want to discourage anyone from picking up this author. I just think this one particular book is a pass.
August 24, 2021
“Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov. Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation.”
olivie blake knows exactly how to captivate readers' attention span while consistently emotionally draining us. one for my enemy genuinely took the oxygen out of my lungs and wrenched my heart at numerous points throughout this story. blake's writing is just staggeringly beautiful with not just dialogue but with creating the secret setting of witches in a modern era so atmospheric with the new york location, a dash of politics and of course focus on two rivaling witch families grappling for power in the criminal underworld. she executed weaving in the lore of koschei and marya and romeo & juliet retelling perfectly to me as a reader, especially in the structure of this story as well as in build-up and pure angst. the multi-perspective of this book had readers anticipating when characters' would find out what we knew which was brilliant. the skill in taking time to build on the persona of every single character in this book with their feelings and motives. with this, we were able to see the sibling dynamics and their innermost thoughts on their roles in their respective families along with how they grew up resulted in the people they are in the present timeline. my only critique was the pacing with how the plot felt dragged out by the end with the conflict taking long to resolve.
went into this thinking lev and sasha would take a place in my heart, but it wasn't just them, dima and masha took me by surprise in the best way possible. wow marya antonova the daughter of baba yaga, best known as masha, her character development stood out the most to me. she grew up groomed to be a mirror of her mother, which her mother was successful in. yet it was satisfying to see how masha came to the realizations of being her own person and making her own choices, quite literally following her heart, as her eyes were opened to everything that was taken away from her. sasha my beloved, i adored her and felt everything she had to go through in a span of a short time with falling in love, losing people close to her, all the while trying to stay strong on a surface level. her conniving traits that grew even more with the events that occurred was intriguing to follow. in terms of the romance, it definitely took my heart with dimasha's history and the whirlwind of levsasha. the words exchanged between both pairings truly poetic felt straight out of a jane austen novel with their declarations. would highly recommend this to anyone in need of an agonizing, exhilarating read. the last fifty pages, just no words, had me on the edge of my seat and heart-racing in anticipation and terrified of what was to happen.
“Hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin.”
“You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you are richer for it; you don't simply become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
olivie blake knows exactly how to captivate readers' attention span while consistently emotionally draining us. one for my enemy genuinely took the oxygen out of my lungs and wrenched my heart at numerous points throughout this story. blake's writing is just staggeringly beautiful with not just dialogue but with creating the secret setting of witches in a modern era so atmospheric with the new york location, a dash of politics and of course focus on two rivaling witch families grappling for power in the criminal underworld. she executed weaving in the lore of koschei and marya and romeo & juliet retelling perfectly to me as a reader, especially in the structure of this story as well as in build-up and pure angst. the multi-perspective of this book had readers anticipating when characters' would find out what we knew which was brilliant. the skill in taking time to build on the persona of every single character in this book with their feelings and motives. with this, we were able to see the sibling dynamics and their innermost thoughts on their roles in their respective families along with how they grew up resulted in the people they are in the present timeline. my only critique was the pacing with how the plot felt dragged out by the end with the conflict taking long to resolve.
went into this thinking lev and sasha would take a place in my heart, but it wasn't just them, dima and masha took me by surprise in the best way possible. wow marya antonova the daughter of baba yaga, best known as masha, her character development stood out the most to me. she grew up groomed to be a mirror of her mother, which her mother was successful in. yet it was satisfying to see how masha came to the realizations of being her own person and making her own choices, quite literally following her heart, as her eyes were opened to everything that was taken away from her. sasha my beloved, i adored her and felt everything she had to go through in a span of a short time with falling in love, losing people close to her, all the while trying to stay strong on a surface level. her conniving traits that grew even more with the events that occurred was intriguing to follow. in terms of the romance, it definitely took my heart with dimasha's history and the whirlwind of levsasha. the words exchanged between both pairings truly poetic felt straight out of a jane austen novel with their declarations. would highly recommend this to anyone in need of an agonizing, exhilarating read. the last fifty pages, just no words, had me on the edge of my seat and heart-racing in anticipation and terrified of what was to happen.
“Hate and love were so very similar. Both were intestinal, visceral. Both left scars, vestiges of pain. Hate could not be born from a place of indifference. Hate was only born from opposite sides of the same coin.”
“You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you are richer for it; you don't simply become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”
July 27, 2024
⊹ ݁ ˖
“i will love you until the day i die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt that you will not have turned me away. i will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as i always have.”
there was so much going on, honestly a bit much for a standalone. the ending was also kind of melodramatic, it wasn’t exactly bad, it just wasn’t as good as it could have been. the best part the mashadima angst, it was so well-written!
there was so much going on, honestly a bit much for a standalone. the ending was also kind of melodramatic, it wasn’t exactly bad, it just wasn’t as good as it could have been. the best part the mashadima angst, it was so well-written!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2024
★★★★★/5
5 dazzling stars/5
Spoiler Free.
-
: ̗̀➛ “Sashneka,” Marya said, “you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you are richer for it; you don't simply become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.” ૢ
-
Plot
╰┈➤One For my Enemy by Olivie Blake is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet with two witch boroughs. The Antonovas and the Fedorovs. Koschei the deathless sired three sons, Lev, Dima and Roma. Baba Yaga sired seven daughters, all witches and all with varying degrees of power. The families have been entwined and at eachothers throats for over twelve years and history keeps repeating itself. Lives and power are at stake and in the end, who will remain standing?
-
Characters
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart.”
SashaLev One Federov, One Antanova. You'd think they'd stray far away from the other but instead, they come colliding together like the opposite ends of a magnet. Despite the ongoing treachery amongst their family lines, they always made time for eachother. Wicked sighs under a sheet or pleas while being shoved up against the walls of a bar. I fell in love with their love, the way they were so devoted to eachother from the beginning--even if they didn't quite see it at first. Getting to read their story was one that made me gasp, grip the pages of the book and become desperate to know how their story ends.
₊˚ෆ “I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you, Masha.” ₊˚ෆ
DimitriMarya the way Dimitri would wax poetic at Marya's feet...if there's one thing that Olivie Blake writes exceedingly well, it's a man desperate. Dimitri would've gladly burnt the world down and then some if it meant he got to keep Marya next to him for the next lifetime and the one after that. Dimitri would simply cease to exist without Marya. The same goes for her. The secret meetings without the other family knowing. The secret plot. How in the end, they were always on the same wavelength even if they didn't know it. I'm happy with how their story came to be. Everything about it was so beautiful.
˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ “My daughters are diamonds, as Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.” ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
KoeschiBabaYaga two tortured souls who loved power just a little too much in the end.
-
Honorable Mentions
Bridge In the end, he was a friend and then some.
Eric I hope Sasha slaps you again just because I thought it was funny.
-
Overall
ೃ⁀➷ I was very excited for this book. I am a huge fan of Olivie Blake's writing. There's just something about it that is timeless and scratches at the forefront of my brain. Everytime I read something from her, I want to get it tattooed. I want to erase my memory just so I can crack her books open again and read it front to back--and then repeat the process again. I'll never get my fill. I cannot wait to dive into the rest of her book. I have the feeling that I will fall in love with them as well.
Rest of the Olivie Blake Ratings
Alone with you in the Ether ★★★★★ 5/5
Masters of Death ★★★★ 4.6/5
5 dazzling stars/5
Spoiler Free.
-
: ̗̀➛ “Sashneka,” Marya said, “you are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you are richer for it; you don't simply become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.” ૢ
-
Plot
╰┈➤One For my Enemy by Olivie Blake is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet with two witch boroughs. The Antonovas and the Fedorovs. Koschei the deathless sired three sons, Lev, Dima and Roma. Baba Yaga sired seven daughters, all witches and all with varying degrees of power. The families have been entwined and at eachothers throats for over twelve years and history keeps repeating itself. Lives and power are at stake and in the end, who will remain standing?
-
Characters
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ "Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart.”
SashaLev One Federov, One Antanova. You'd think they'd stray far away from the other but instead, they come colliding together like the opposite ends of a magnet. Despite the ongoing treachery amongst their family lines, they always made time for eachother. Wicked sighs under a sheet or pleas while being shoved up against the walls of a bar. I fell in love with their love, the way they were so devoted to eachother from the beginning--even if they didn't quite see it at first. Getting to read their story was one that made me gasp, grip the pages of the book and become desperate to know how their story ends.
₊˚ෆ “I will always love you, I will love you until the day I die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have. Only you, Masha.” ₊˚ෆ
DimitriMarya the way Dimitri would wax poetic at Marya's feet...if there's one thing that Olivie Blake writes exceedingly well, it's a man desperate. Dimitri would've gladly burnt the world down and then some if it meant he got to keep Marya next to him for the next lifetime and the one after that. Dimitri would simply cease to exist without Marya. The same goes for her. The secret meetings without the other family knowing. The secret plot. How in the end, they were always on the same wavelength even if they didn't know it. I'm happy with how their story came to be. Everything about it was so beautiful.
˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ “My daughters are diamonds, as Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.” ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
KoeschiBabaYaga two tortured souls who loved power just a little too much in the end.
-
Honorable Mentions
Bridge In the end, he was a friend and then some.
Eric I hope Sasha slaps you again just because I thought it was funny.
-
Overall
ೃ⁀➷ I was very excited for this book. I am a huge fan of Olivie Blake's writing. There's just something about it that is timeless and scratches at the forefront of my brain. Everytime I read something from her, I want to get it tattooed. I want to erase my memory just so I can crack her books open again and read it front to back--and then repeat the process again. I'll never get my fill. I cannot wait to dive into the rest of her book. I have the feeling that I will fall in love with them as well.
Rest of the Olivie Blake Ratings
Alone with you in the Ether ★★★★★ 5/5
Masters of Death ★★★★ 4.6/5
May 25, 2023
—🕯3.25 stars🕯—
“We are only witches, Dima. Not gods.”
————about the book————
Age: NA/A
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Witches, Paranormal, Fantasy Romance
Writing: 7/10
Quotes: 8/10
World building: 5/10
Characters: 7/10
Romance: 8/10
My rating: 7/10
———my thoughts———
The Antonova sisters are beautiful, cunning and ruthless, and their mother—known as Baba Yaga—is a elusive supplier of intoxicants.
Their adversaries, the Fedorov brothers, serve their crime boss father.
Named Koschei the deathless, his influence dominates magical Manhattan.
For twelve years, the families have maintained a fragile pact...until now.
As fate draws a brother and a sister from each side together, the enmity between families and the power struggles between siblings could destroy it all...
The first hundred pages of so, I was adamant that this would be a five star read.
I mean...it had sisters and magic and a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and I was loving it...
But sadly no.
The sparkle began to wear off.
I’ve found before (when I was reading The Atlas Six) that while there are so many plotlines, nothing is happening.
I found it repetitive and slightly boring.
I don’t think this is the writing itself, I just think I simply prefer a little more action.
It’s me, not the book.
And I did like parts of it!
The quotes in particular were stunning.
Especially in the first half, but the declarations of love were my favourite.
The banter between Sasha and Lev was also pretty cute—I lived for their text banter and adorableness.
So far as the romance goes...I liked it.
It was a little insta-love-y in one case, but everything else made up for it.
There were characters I liked and characters I didn’t, but my main issue is how fleshed out the brothers were compared to the sisters.
Yes, there’s only three of them in comparison to seven, but almost all of the sisters were just there as a backdrop.
While I like Sasha and Marya, I wanted more from the other sisters.
I wanted more interactions between them, I wanted to know more about their powers (which was never explained) and more about them.
It doesn’t seem fair that the three brothers all get POVs and their own agendas, while more than half of the Antonovas get nothing.
Baba Yaga and Koschei were interesting as well, and I wanted more from them too.
I liked the nod to Slavic folklore with their names, and I wish that tied into the magic a little...it kind of does, but most of the magic here is what I’d call hexes or curses.
Designed to inflict pain.
Sounds fun to me.
But I do wish the magic was explained a little more clearly, as I’m still not entirely sure how it works.
The power plays and politics were another bit I liked, and it all had this deliciously tense feeling to it.
All in all, this would have been better 100 pages shorter, or 200 pages longer.
I’ll let you figure out what I mean by yourself.
————quotes————
“Baba Yaga was going soft.
But Marya Antonova could not be broken.”
“But if I can only have you as a fire, Sasha, as a flame of what you are, then I want you to burn for me.”
“I will always love you. I will love you until the day I die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have.”
“She is called Baba Yaga, and of all of her many trinkets, her daughter remains the greatest treasure of them all.”
———random extra thoughts———
The art is absolutely STUNNING.
Thanks for reading! ❤️
“We are only witches, Dima. Not gods.”
————about the book————
Age: NA/A
Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Witches, Paranormal, Fantasy Romance
Writing: 7/10
Quotes: 8/10
World building: 5/10
Characters: 7/10
Romance: 8/10
My rating: 7/10
———my thoughts———
The Antonova sisters are beautiful, cunning and ruthless, and their mother—known as Baba Yaga—is a elusive supplier of intoxicants.
Their adversaries, the Fedorov brothers, serve their crime boss father.
Named Koschei the deathless, his influence dominates magical Manhattan.
For twelve years, the families have maintained a fragile pact...until now.
As fate draws a brother and a sister from each side together, the enmity between families and the power struggles between siblings could destroy it all...
The first hundred pages of so, I was adamant that this would be a five star read.
I mean...it had sisters and magic and a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and I was loving it...
But sadly no.
The sparkle began to wear off.
I’ve found before (when I was reading The Atlas Six) that while there are so many plotlines, nothing is happening.
I found it repetitive and slightly boring.
I don’t think this is the writing itself, I just think I simply prefer a little more action.
It’s me, not the book.
And I did like parts of it!
The quotes in particular were stunning.
Especially in the first half, but the declarations of love were my favourite.
The banter between Sasha and Lev was also pretty cute—I lived for their text banter and adorableness.
So far as the romance goes...I liked it.
It was a little insta-love-y in one case, but everything else made up for it.
There were characters I liked and characters I didn’t, but my main issue is how fleshed out the brothers were compared to the sisters.
Yes, there’s only three of them in comparison to seven, but almost all of the sisters were just there as a backdrop.
While I like Sasha and Marya, I wanted more from the other sisters.
I wanted more interactions between them, I wanted to know more about their powers (which was never explained) and more about them.
It doesn’t seem fair that the three brothers all get POVs and their own agendas, while more than half of the Antonovas get nothing.
Baba Yaga and Koschei were interesting as well, and I wanted more from them too.
I liked the nod to Slavic folklore with their names, and I wish that tied into the magic a little...it kind of does, but most of the magic here is what I’d call hexes or curses.
Designed to inflict pain.
Sounds fun to me.
But I do wish the magic was explained a little more clearly, as I’m still not entirely sure how it works.
The power plays and politics were another bit I liked, and it all had this deliciously tense feeling to it.
All in all, this would have been better 100 pages shorter, or 200 pages longer.
I’ll let you figure out what I mean by yourself.
————quotes————
“Baba Yaga was going soft.
But Marya Antonova could not be broken.”
“But if I can only have you as a fire, Sasha, as a flame of what you are, then I want you to burn for me.”
“I will always love you. I will love you until the day I die—and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a doubt that you will not have turned me away. I will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as I always have.”
“She is called Baba Yaga, and of all of her many trinkets, her daughter remains the greatest treasure of them all.”
———random extra thoughts———
The art is absolutely STUNNING.
Thanks for reading! ❤️
April 3, 2023
One day I hope I can love one of Blake's book without any complicated or mixed feelings about it. But we've yet to have that day, it seems.
Having said that though I think this is the closest I've gotten so far? Maybe? It's certainly less pretentious and academic, with an ensemble I sometimes like but often times don't, than THE ATLAS SIX (and it's sequel); and certainly less pretentious and strange than ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER, and.. well, that sums it up.
ONE FOR MY ENEMY is a little more straight-forward and other than being a classic retelling there isn't much pretension at all. Plus not only was it Shakespearean at it's core but it also had the delightful bonus of Russian/Slavic folktales with the inclusion of the Baba Yaga and Koschei monikers. So that was fun. Oh, also? Witches. There's a lot of good going on here. And we open with quite a bang.
But.. I'll admit things did get a little too drawn out, too same-y (take a shot every time someone meets up with The Bridge for a deal.. wait don't that happens every other page), and even though there was a bit of a wind-up for a big reveal at the end, this big grand master plan, I felt we'd lost too much momentum right before it all came clear. So it kind of pfft fell flat.
Admittedly, too, I only felt invested in two characters. Masha and Dima were everything. The antagonists were successfully antagonists and that's good, sure, fine, but everyone else we were supposed to like or root for (mostly Sasha, Lev was okay) I just.. didn't. Maybe because it was insta-lovey? And they were very dramatic. Which I guess ties into the whole R&J angle. And now that I think about it I wonder if Masha and Dima were Blake's way of writing a better R&J story. Because it was. It was so much better.
So the set-up and all the references or homages? Good. The unique take so it didn't feel like a direct retelling? Even better. The twisty familial ties and bonds? Fun because neither side were the "good" guys. And those aforementioned characters? Insert heart here. But it was definitely too long, or too drawn out, and there was too much death and too much not death (IYKYK).
Also I feel like halfway through the story I had forgotten Baba Yaga's whole motivation slash enterprise goal unless it was just general New York/world dominion. Which kind of ties into the whole what was known to the world vs not when it comes to magic and creatures. As much as it felt like there was a setting, though not really in the sense that I always knew this was happening in New York (often I would convince myself this was in Moscow because of all the names and fairytale references), I'm not sure I really grasped the world.
But of all the Blake titles referenced above? This might be the one I would recommend. It's the one book I've left feeling more good than not about.. even if I rambled complaints and confusions for the last few paragraphs. For all that I wasn't sold on all the bits, it still manages to pass the vibe check.
3.5 stars
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
Having said that though I think this is the closest I've gotten so far? Maybe? It's certainly less pretentious and academic, with an ensemble I sometimes like but often times don't, than THE ATLAS SIX (and it's sequel); and certainly less pretentious and strange than ALONE WITH YOU IN THE ETHER, and.. well, that sums it up.
ONE FOR MY ENEMY is a little more straight-forward and other than being a classic retelling there isn't much pretension at all. Plus not only was it Shakespearean at it's core but it also had the delightful bonus of Russian/Slavic folktales with the inclusion of the Baba Yaga and Koschei monikers. So that was fun. Oh, also? Witches. There's a lot of good going on here. And we open with quite a bang.
But.. I'll admit things did get a little too drawn out, too same-y (take a shot every time someone meets up with The Bridge for a deal.. wait don't that happens every other page), and even though there was a bit of a wind-up for a big reveal at the end, this big grand master plan, I felt we'd lost too much momentum right before it all came clear. So it kind of pfft fell flat.
Admittedly, too, I only felt invested in two characters. Masha and Dima were everything. The antagonists were successfully antagonists and that's good, sure, fine, but everyone else we were supposed to like or root for (mostly Sasha, Lev was okay) I just.. didn't. Maybe because it was insta-lovey? And they were very dramatic. Which I guess ties into the whole R&J angle. And now that I think about it I wonder if Masha and Dima were Blake's way of writing a better R&J story. Because it was. It was so much better.
So the set-up and all the references or homages? Good. The unique take so it didn't feel like a direct retelling? Even better. The twisty familial ties and bonds? Fun because neither side were the "good" guys. And those aforementioned characters? Insert heart here. But it was definitely too long, or too drawn out, and there was too much death and too much not death (IYKYK).
Also I feel like halfway through the story I had forgotten Baba Yaga's whole motivation slash enterprise goal unless it was just general New York/world dominion. Which kind of ties into the whole what was known to the world vs not when it comes to magic and creatures. As much as it felt like there was a setting, though not really in the sense that I always knew this was happening in New York (often I would convince myself this was in Moscow because of all the names and fairytale references), I'm not sure I really grasped the world.
But of all the Blake titles referenced above? This might be the one I would recommend. It's the one book I've left feeling more good than not about.. even if I rambled complaints and confusions for the last few paragraphs. For all that I wasn't sold on all the bits, it still manages to pass the vibe check.
3.5 stars
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
November 3, 2023
i am now aware of two things:
1) i live for the messy, witchy family drama
2) i'm now officially convinced ruel wrote the line “watching it all fall apart, we've been falling from the start” for mashadima
1) i live for the messy, witchy family drama
2) i'm now officially convinced ruel wrote the line “watching it all fall apart, we've been falling from the start” for mashadima
November 25, 2023
W końcu jest dramat i tragedia!
April 10, 2024
"What exactly is your connection to Marya Antonova, Dimitri Fedorov?" She is my entire soul, Dimitri didn't say.
One for My Enemy is a modern Romeo and Juliet retelling centering around two powerful Russian witch families in New York, specifically focusing on the relationships between the youngest and eldest sons and daughters and their love stories.
One on side, we have Lev Fedorov and Sasha Antonova, two young kids who run into each other by chance and form a relationship. This pairing is a beautiful representation of young love and their banter made me so giggly. They are the classic Romeo and Juliet. Both of them are hesitant to take on their family role and had already started to question the authority of their parents before their fated meeting. They are each other's catalysts and, therefore, they are their eldest sibling's catalysts.
On the other side we have Dimitri Fedorov and Marya Antonova, who separated 12 years ago due to their parents' feud. They are the Romeo and Juliet that chose their family instead of their love. Here we see the heartbreaking love of a pair who has tried their hardest to forget about each other, but never will. We see the eldest of two powerful families have to come to terms with their youngest siblings being potentially pulled away like they were and question whether or not their family dynasty is worth it. In them we see sacrifice and pain and unending love (for each other and their siblings).
Family loyalty was the second piece of this book, and it was handled incredibly with all three of the Federov brothers, but I do wish we got to see a little more of the inner turmoil of the seven Antonova sisters. In this regard, Marya and Dimi play the same role as the loyal heirs who have had enough of their parents and Sasha and Lev play the role as the youngest who have never been fully loyal to their parent's cause. The most interesting exploration of family to me was with Roma Federov, the middle son. His unwavering loyalty to his family when he wasn't receiving any loyalty in return really struck a cord with me and, while his actions were by no means justifiable, they made perfect sense for him.
All of the pieces of this fit together so brilliantly. It felt like a Romeo and Juliet retelling, but stood on its own enough that I couldn't forsee the ending. I loved the added references to Russian folklore (specifically with Koschei the patriarch and Baba Yaga the matriarch.) I also really loved how she depicted fae in this world in their classic, trickster ways. Blake's writing is some of the most lyrical I have read from a contemporary author, and I think that this book is worth it if only to read her words.
This is a really well done and beautiful Romeo and Juliet retelling and makes me want to do a reread of the play.
One for My Enemy is a modern Romeo and Juliet retelling centering around two powerful Russian witch families in New York, specifically focusing on the relationships between the youngest and eldest sons and daughters and their love stories.
One on side, we have Lev Fedorov and Sasha Antonova, two young kids who run into each other by chance and form a relationship. This pairing is a beautiful representation of young love and their banter made me so giggly. They are the classic Romeo and Juliet. Both of them are hesitant to take on their family role and had already started to question the authority of their parents before their fated meeting. They are each other's catalysts and, therefore, they are their eldest sibling's catalysts.
On the other side we have Dimitri Fedorov and Marya Antonova, who separated 12 years ago due to their parents' feud. They are the Romeo and Juliet that chose their family instead of their love. Here we see the heartbreaking love of a pair who has tried their hardest to forget about each other, but never will. We see the eldest of two powerful families have to come to terms with their youngest siblings being potentially pulled away like they were and question whether or not their family dynasty is worth it. In them we see sacrifice and pain and unending love (for each other and their siblings).
Family loyalty was the second piece of this book, and it was handled incredibly with all three of the Federov brothers, but I do wish we got to see a little more of the inner turmoil of the seven Antonova sisters. In this regard, Marya and Dimi play the same role as the loyal heirs who have had enough of their parents and Sasha and Lev play the role as the youngest who have never been fully loyal to their parent's cause. The most interesting exploration of family to me was with Roma Federov, the middle son. His unwavering loyalty to his family when he wasn't receiving any loyalty in return really struck a cord with me and, while his actions were by no means justifiable, they made perfect sense for him.
All of the pieces of this fit together so brilliantly. It felt like a Romeo and Juliet retelling, but stood on its own enough that I couldn't forsee the ending. I loved the added references to Russian folklore (specifically with Koschei the patriarch and Baba Yaga the matriarch.) I also really loved how she depicted fae in this world in their classic, trickster ways. Blake's writing is some of the most lyrical I have read from a contemporary author, and I think that this book is worth it if only to read her words.
This is a really well done and beautiful Romeo and Juliet retelling and makes me want to do a reread of the play.
July 29, 2024
Un bon roman Young adult. Ici nous avons une réécriture de Roméo et Juliette. J’ai un faible pour cette pièce.
J’ai particulièrement aimé la structure du livre l’autrice a divisé son livre en acte et en scène ce qui donnait du rythme au roman. On trouve aussi beaucoup de référence à d’autres pièces Macbeth bien sûre avec les sœurs de Marya ou l’ambitieux Roma mais aussi une référence à Hamlet le meurtrier poursuivit par sa victime…
J’ai particulièrement aimé l’histoire d’amour entre Marya et Dima.
Le seul reproche que je ferais à ce roman c’est d’avoir utilisé les mythes de baba yoga et de Korchei l’immortel mais juste à cause de la nationalité des deux familles j’aurais apprécié qu’on développe ce recours. J’aurais aimé que l’autrice developer plus leur magie. Nous explique leur particularité.
Bref un bon roman de Young adult mais que j’aurais préféré plus dense en plusieurs volumes.
J’ai particulièrement aimé la structure du livre l’autrice a divisé son livre en acte et en scène ce qui donnait du rythme au roman. On trouve aussi beaucoup de référence à d’autres pièces Macbeth bien sûre avec les sœurs de Marya ou l’ambitieux Roma mais aussi une référence à Hamlet le meurtrier poursuivit par sa victime…
J’ai particulièrement aimé l’histoire d’amour entre Marya et Dima.
Le seul reproche que je ferais à ce roman c’est d’avoir utilisé les mythes de baba yoga et de Korchei l’immortel mais juste à cause de la nationalité des deux familles j’aurais apprécié qu’on développe ce recours. J’aurais aimé que l’autrice developer plus leur magie. Nous explique leur particularité.
Bref un bon roman de Young adult mais que j’aurais préféré plus dense en plusieurs volumes.
April 26, 2024
❣❣❣
"𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚��𝐥."
❣
i absolutely devoured this book, ate it up so quickly. there's just something about olivie blake's novels that hold my attention even when i don't particular love a plot point or a character or the pacing gets too slow.
➵ marya and dima absolutely own my entire heart, their tragic lives make what they found at the end so much more beautiful. i think marya is my favourite character here, that eldest daughter who has the world on her shoulders for her mother and younger siblings, and has the right to go a little batshit sometimes <3
➵ the comedy works most when the bridge is on the page, it was so funny to watch him as witches burst into his office left right and centre, my man was so done with them all.
➵ i did not really care for sasha, there still isn't a strong reason i can pick out for this, i did not vibe with her character for the most part and often found her annoying, and i would have loved more depth for the rest of her siblings rather than a strong focus on her.
➵ the development for most characters worked really well for me, in particular roman - with his second-born son complex that drives him to extreme actions - and marya.
➵ the plot relies on the relationships between the two main families of the story, the antonova sisters and the fedorov brothers. the conflicts between these factions were nuanced and ran deep from decades of hatred - hence the romeo and juliet retelling - and made reading the book very easy and enjoyable.
➵ not always the most beautiful prose, but when referring to some of the relationships blake does a good job of showing their devotion to each other with her words.
❣
"𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞."
"𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐚��𝐥."
❣
i absolutely devoured this book, ate it up so quickly. there's just something about olivie blake's novels that hold my attention even when i don't particular love a plot point or a character or the pacing gets too slow.
➵ marya and dima absolutely own my entire heart, their tragic lives make what they found at the end so much more beautiful. i think marya is my favourite character here, that eldest daughter who has the world on her shoulders for her mother and younger siblings, and has the right to go a little batshit sometimes <3
➵ the comedy works most when the bridge is on the page, it was so funny to watch him as witches burst into his office left right and centre, my man was so done with them all.
➵ i did not really care for sasha, there still isn't a strong reason i can pick out for this, i did not vibe with her character for the most part and often found her annoying, and i would have loved more depth for the rest of her siblings rather than a strong focus on her.
➵ the development for most characters worked really well for me, in particular roman - with his second-born son complex that drives him to extreme actions - and marya.
➵ the plot relies on the relationships between the two main families of the story, the antonova sisters and the fedorov brothers. the conflicts between these factions were nuanced and ran deep from decades of hatred - hence the romeo and juliet retelling - and made reading the book very easy and enjoyable.
➵ not always the most beautiful prose, but when referring to some of the relationships blake does a good job of showing their devotion to each other with her words.
❣
"𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞."
August 19, 2024
“i will always love you, i will love you until the day i die— and if you’re the one to kill me, then by all means, you should know without a trace of doubt you will not have turned me away. i will have spent the final beat of my heart loving you, just as i always have. only you, masha. only you, forever, i promise.”
my thoughts are mainly just dimamasha dimamasha dimamasha. the only couple that truly matters here.
i expected to give this book a higher rating because the first two parts were 10/10 but idk then the book quite literally lost the plot nothing even made sense or was explained after that point. it was very confusing and weird and made me feel disconnected from the book.
anyways this book was straight vibes and the writing is so pretty. but we can expect nothing less from the olivie blake
p.s. am i the only person that likes roma?? he had potential :(
my thoughts are mainly just dimamasha dimamasha dimamasha. the only couple that truly matters here.
i expected to give this book a higher rating because the first two parts were 10/10 but idk then the book quite literally lost the plot nothing even made sense or was explained after that point. it was very confusing and weird and made me feel disconnected from the book.
anyways this book was straight vibes and the writing is so pretty. but we can expect nothing less from the olivie blake
p.s. am i the only person that likes roma?? he had potential :(
March 29, 2023
I never have a bad time reading an Olivie Blake book and this was no exception. One for My Enemy feels like a modern mashup of Romeo and Juliet, Russian mythology, and Practical Magic. It has Shakespearean levels of melodrama, enemy families that are deeply intertwined, magical drugs, death that may or may not last, starcrossed lovers, and wonderfully vicious women.
It's a wild ride with lots of twists, complicated relationships, and big feelings. If that sounds like your cup up tea I do recommend it. I had a great time with it, though occasionally the emotional drama was so over the top as to feel campy. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
It's a wild ride with lots of twists, complicated relationships, and big feelings. If that sounds like your cup up tea I do recommend it. I had a great time with it, though occasionally the emotional drama was so over the top as to feel campy. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.
August 13, 2023
olivie blake absolutely NEVER lets me down. this was so good. i mean, rival witch gangs and romeo & juliet vibes, what more can a person possibly need? nothing, that's what.
loved the family vibes in this one, although i wish we got to see even more of the antonova siblings besides marya and sasha!
and the romance was ofc fantastic, as is always the case with olivie blake. and the ending >>>>> so satisfying. i was scared because of the whole romeo and juliet thing but UGH it was so good.
*4.5
my carrd ❦
loved the family vibes in this one, although i wish we got to see even more of the antonova siblings besides marya and sasha!
and the romance was ofc fantastic, as is always the case with olivie blake. and the ending >>>>> so satisfying. i was scared because of the whole romeo and juliet thing but UGH it was so good.
*4.5
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
my carrd ❦
January 2, 2024
4 stars ☆
HOLY FUCK MY GRIEF AND PAIN ARE IMMEASURABLE!!! This was quite possibly my favorite read of 2023. I'm not even going to attempt at writing a proper review because no words can express how much of a life-altering experience reading this was. There is something so achingly beautiful about the way Olivie Blake writes. I'm truly amazed by her ability to breathe life into her characters and beautifully capture their experiences, dreams, flaws, and struggles. I have never adored a set of characters more in my existence, and I found myself genuinely rooting for their ambitions and relationships. They are all so so precious, and I love each of them in my own way sfm. I swear not many things have made me cry, but within the first few chapters of this book I became a sobbing hysterical mess. I shed tears for their pain as if it were my own.
It's very subjective, but in my eyes, I did not view anyone as the villain. No character was written to be perfect, and they all shared individual flaws that made them so incredibly relatable. They were each selfish and greedy, but at the end of the day, despite their separate agendas and self-serving motivations, family, love, and loyalty always came first.
The ending!!!! I could not have asked for a better conclusion. Just as I thought that there would be hope for a future and happiness for the characters I adore, Olivie Blake stabs me in the heart and not only breaks but FUCKING DESTROYS MY HEART AND EVERY LAST BIT OF TRUST AND MENTAL SANITY IN MY BODY. The characters descend into insanity and fall victim to the flaws of their own personality. No character is safe, and each pays the price of their own actions. MY GOSH. MY DOWNFALL ARC LOVING HEART HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER. I swear books with characters that become unhinged and corrupted AUTOMATICALLY own my heart. There's just something so satisfying about that trope that scratches all the right parts of my brain.
DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE I WILL INSTANTLY BREAK INTO TEARS. DimaMarya and SashaLev BROUGHT ME BACK TO LIFE. This book made me miserable because I know I will never find love like DimaMarya's and SashaLev's. The way Olivie Blake managed to write the type of love between characters that ignites your soul and runs through your body and veins, but also the type of love that is unspoken with LOTS OF YEARNING AND TORMENT. She WROTE NOT ONLY ONE, BUT TWO ROMANCE STORIES WITHIN THE SAME BOOK THAT ARE UTTER PERFECTION. I aspire to be this woman. DID I MENTION THERE IS FRIENDS TO LOVERS TO ENEMIES TO LOVERS ?????
And also, the female rage and vengeance arcs of certain characters were executed SO well and made me feel proud but at the same time, frustrated with some of the decisions they made.
I wanted to delve deeper into the characters because this book definitely has some of my favorite I have ever read about.
!!!MINOR SPOILERS!!!
“My daughters are diamonds, as Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.”
--- ★ MARYA ★ ---
“Then she vanished in place, leaving only a berry-red imprint on the lip of her empty glass.”
“She was Marya Antonova, and she was power personified.”
➴ I love Marya Antonova with every fiber of my being, and I WILL DEFEND HER ACTIONS UNTIL MY DYING BREATHE. I think Marya had the best character downfall in this book, and it was especially satisfying watching her become consumed by grief and vengeance and finally reach her full potential. She is the embodiment of female rage and could stab me in the heart, and I would still fall on my knees and praise her entire being.
--- ★ SASHA ★ ---
"We can't curse all the men in the world, can we?"
➴ Oh my sweet Masha. I think Masha's ending may have been the most bittersweet for me. Her grief and pain felt so deep and incredibly real. She deserved so much and got so little, and that completely ruined me. I'm glad she managed to find herself in the end rather than being completely lost to insanity. I'm happy that she at least got somewhat of a happy ending. Emphasis on somewhat.
--- ★ LEVKA ★ ---
➴ Oh Lev. I'll try to keep this brief because If I don't, I know I'll end up rambling on about my love and pain for sweet Lev. Lev was the best of the Fedorov brothers and imo all the characters in general.
--- ★ DIMITRI ★ ---
“Dimitri Fedorov was the sun, the moon, and the stars.”
“Dima, you never look around to realize the world goes on around you, outside you, in spite of you.”
“Marya would not be able to kill Dimitri; Dimitri, too, would be unable to oppose Marya. At best, Dimitri Fedorov was Marya Antonova’s greatest weakness. At worst, she was his.”
"After all, who would threaten him? None who wished to live a long life, that was for certain."
➴ Dima is one of my favorite characters. He was the character I felt the most for, and I have nothing more to say other than that he is perfection incarnate. I love SashaLev SO SO MUCH, but there's just something about Dimitri and Marya that fills my heart deeply. The love they have is the type of love that will only ever be found in fictional books, and that fucking breaks my heart BECAUSE I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE BITCH.
--- ★ ROMAN ★ ---
➴ I DO NOT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS ABOUT MY BABY ROMA. I AM A ROMAN APOLOGIST, AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND HIS ACTIONS. All Roma did was for his family, even though he was always the least favorite Fedorov son. Yes he had flaws, made mistakes, but at the end of the day, Roma is the only one who would ever truly sacrifice love and all he has for family, and how could I ever despise him for that?
➴ Eric and Bryn, I do not care what anyone says because I love you. They were both funny and entertaining and misunderstood. On a surface level, all the other characters despised them, but whenever we got glimpses of their backstories, my heart ached for them sm.
I am just at a loss of words for this masterpiece. Someone please bury me with this book when I die.
“Sasha leaned forward, lips against his cheek. “Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.”
HOLY FUCK MY GRIEF AND PAIN ARE IMMEASURABLE!!! This was quite possibly my favorite read of 2023. I'm not even going to attempt at writing a proper review because no words can express how much of a life-altering experience reading this was. There is something so achingly beautiful about the way Olivie Blake writes. I'm truly amazed by her ability to breathe life into her characters and beautifully capture their experiences, dreams, flaws, and struggles. I have never adored a set of characters more in my existence, and I found myself genuinely rooting for their ambitions and relationships. They are all so so precious, and I love each of them in my own way sfm. I swear not many things have made me cry, but within the first few chapters of this book I became a sobbing hysterical mess. I shed tears for their pain as if it were my own.
It's very subjective, but in my eyes, I did not view anyone as the villain. No character was written to be perfect, and they all shared individual flaws that made them so incredibly relatable. They were each selfish and greedy, but at the end of the day, despite their separate agendas and self-serving motivations, family, love, and loyalty always came first.
The ending!!!! I could not have asked for a better conclusion. Just as I thought that there would be hope for a future and happiness for the characters I adore, Olivie Blake stabs me in the heart and not only breaks but FUCKING DESTROYS MY HEART AND EVERY LAST BIT OF TRUST AND MENTAL SANITY IN MY BODY. The characters descend into insanity and fall victim to the flaws of their own personality. No character is safe, and each pays the price of their own actions. MY GOSH. MY DOWNFALL ARC LOVING HEART HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER. I swear books with characters that become unhinged and corrupted AUTOMATICALLY own my heart. There's just something so satisfying about that trope that scratches all the right parts of my brain.
DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE I WILL INSTANTLY BREAK INTO TEARS. DimaMarya and SashaLev BROUGHT ME BACK TO LIFE. This book made me miserable because I know I will never find love like DimaMarya's and SashaLev's. The way Olivie Blake managed to write the type of love between characters that ignites your soul and runs through your body and veins, but also the type of love that is unspoken with LOTS OF YEARNING AND TORMENT. She WROTE NOT ONLY ONE, BUT TWO ROMANCE STORIES WITHIN THE SAME BOOK THAT ARE UTTER PERFECTION. I aspire to be this woman. DID I MENTION THERE IS FRIENDS TO LOVERS TO ENEMIES TO LOVERS ?????
And also, the female rage and vengeance arcs of certain characters were executed SO well and made me feel proud but at the same time, frustrated with some of the decisions they made.
I wanted to delve deeper into the characters because this book definitely has some of my favorite I have ever read about.
!!!MINOR SPOILERS!!!
“My daughters are diamonds, as Yaga so often said. Nothing is more beautiful. Nothing shines brighter. And most importantly, nothing will break them.”
--- ★ MARYA ★ ---
“Then she vanished in place, leaving only a berry-red imprint on the lip of her empty glass.”
“She was Marya Antonova, and she was power personified.”
➴ I love Marya Antonova with every fiber of my being, and I WILL DEFEND HER ACTIONS UNTIL MY DYING BREATHE. I think Marya had the best character downfall in this book, and it was especially satisfying watching her become consumed by grief and vengeance and finally reach her full potential. She is the embodiment of female rage and could stab me in the heart, and I would still fall on my knees and praise her entire being.
--- ★ SASHA ★ ---
"We can't curse all the men in the world, can we?"
➴ Oh my sweet Masha. I think Masha's ending may have been the most bittersweet for me. Her grief and pain felt so deep and incredibly real. She deserved so much and got so little, and that completely ruined me. I'm glad she managed to find herself in the end rather than being completely lost to insanity. I'm happy that she at least got somewhat of a happy ending. Emphasis on somewhat.
--- ★ LEVKA ★ ---
➴ Oh Lev. I'll try to keep this brief because If I don't, I know I'll end up rambling on about my love and pain for sweet Lev. Lev was the best of the Fedorov brothers and imo all the characters in general.
--- ★ DIMITRI ★ ---
“Dimitri Fedorov was the sun, the moon, and the stars.”
“Dima, you never look around to realize the world goes on around you, outside you, in spite of you.”
“Marya would not be able to kill Dimitri; Dimitri, too, would be unable to oppose Marya. At best, Dimitri Fedorov was Marya Antonova’s greatest weakness. At worst, she was his.”
"After all, who would threaten him? None who wished to live a long life, that was for certain."
➴ Dima is one of my favorite characters. He was the character I felt the most for, and I have nothing more to say other than that he is perfection incarnate. I love SashaLev SO SO MUCH, but there's just something about Dimitri and Marya that fills my heart deeply. The love they have is the type of love that will only ever be found in fictional books, and that fucking breaks my heart BECAUSE I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE BITCH.
--- ★ ROMAN ★ ---
➴ I DO NOT CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS ABOUT MY BABY ROMA. I AM A ROMAN APOLOGIST, AND I FULLY UNDERSTAND HIS ACTIONS. All Roma did was for his family, even though he was always the least favorite Fedorov son. Yes he had flaws, made mistakes, but at the end of the day, Roma is the only one who would ever truly sacrifice love and all he has for family, and how could I ever despise him for that?
➴ Eric and Bryn, I do not care what anyone says because I love you. They were both funny and entertaining and misunderstood. On a surface level, all the other characters despised them, but whenever we got glimpses of their backstories, my heart ached for them sm.
I am just at a loss of words for this masterpiece. Someone please bury me with this book when I die.
December 23, 2021
reading loose retellings of romeo and juliet is bad for my mental health
February 28, 2023
maybe shakespeare was onto something
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