“Trying to kill one another doesn’t equate to dating.” I beg to fucking differ.
Jesus fuck, I love me some hate-fueled sex. Throw in a dark academia a“Trying to kill one another doesn’t equate to dating.” I beg to fucking differ.
Jesus fuck, I love me some hate-fueled sex. Throw in a dark academia aesthetic, queer witches, and necromancy? Fuck me sideways - that's good shit.
I love when an enemies-to-lovers is a true enemies-to-lovers. The pages were practically dripping with murderous intent and I reveled in it. I FUCKING LOVE CASH with my whole heart. He's the epitome of dark academia and a brilliantly talented necromancer to boot. He's the black cat to Graeme's golden retriever. Graeme could cry and scream and try to legitimately kill Cassius all he wanted; he'd still be following him around like a lost puppy dog and it was adorable. I fucking love books where Character A sees Character B and is like "I don't know if I want to stick a knife in you or my dick in you but either way I need to be as close to you as humanly possible until I figure it out."
Now as much as I do love this book, I do still have a couple of small critiques that are holding me back from a 5-star rating.
First off, I got so fucking annoyed every time Graeme was like "Maybe Cassius isn't that bad" and then the tiniest thing would happen and suddenly it's like "PSYCH, Cassius is evil incarnate I must kill him." I feel like Cash had to prove himself one too many times like DAMN SON, he's just beautiful spirit-summoning angel boi who has a cold exterior but deep down just wants to be loved - GET WITH THE PROGRAM, GRAEME. I get that some of that was totally necessary for the plot and the centuries-long-Romeo-and-Juliet-family-fued thing but it was just a bit too much and just made Graeme look ignorant af. Still love him to death tho.
Second, and this isn't a huge issue, but there was something about the pacing of the story that threw me off. Instead of a steady incline towards a climactic scene, it was just moderate events in short bursts that made the story feel chaotic. Does that make sense? Things kept happening and while I enjoyed the hell out of them, I feel like there was an undertone to the story that had me waiting for this big reveal/climax at the end that didn't really happen. There was a bit of a reveal at the very end, but it was fairly predictable and something that I had already guessed early on in the book. But I digress.
At the end of the day, still very much enjoyed this and I look forward to the next in the series!...more
She's here for the vibes & aesthetic, and I'm not mad about it.
This was heavy in mood and atmosphere. I'm talkin' thick-pea-soup-fog-can-barely-see-yoShe's here for the vibes & aesthetic, and I'm not mad about it.
This was heavy in mood and atmosphere. I'm talkin' thick-pea-soup-fog-can-barely-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face atmosphere. And like, almost to a fault? I love a sexy and dark gothic read as much as the next person, but it was so rich that it was borderline stifling.
BUT, it definitely scratched an itch in the deep recesses of my brain because I think a younger Sarah would have found the prose much more enticing. Hear me out: yes, there is lots of R-rated adult smut (like, wow, an almost surprising amount) and it's very well-written, but there's a level of drama in the writing that is an easier sell to someone in their late-teens/early-20s. Which, obvi, cause our FMC is 21. But there's something about the fall-hard-fall-fast obsessive nature of Corvina and Vad's relationship layered with some of the borderline cringey/repetitive one-liners that makes this feel like an all-encompassing passionate teen romance. E.g., Vampire Diaries.
Because the story is very much insta-lust, I kind of had trouble getting invested in their relationship but like, I'm not gonna lie, the sex was hot af so I'm not gonna complain. I loved how addicted they were to each other - I just wish I had a bit more of a foothold to really feed the addiction.
As far as the plot goes, I really enjoyed it! I loved the setting, the characters, the way the mystery unfolded - I even liked that there's some huge questions left unanswered. It definitely matches the vibes of the book to let the air of mystery continue far after the story has ended.
If you're looking for a book shrouded in darkness, soaked in mystery, and dripping with lust, take a little trip to Verenmore.