This one was recommended to me by someone who knows I enjoy YA fantasy, with a caveat that it was a bit MA (and gets more explicit as the series goes on?). I was more shocked by the brutality than the sexual content.

I'm surprised that I had I hadn't picked up this series starter before.
I think I got confused by all the various "A of and " series in YA and probably thought I had read it before:-)

We'll I DID really enjoy the worldbuilding in this one.
Definitely came across to me as one of my beloved Beauty and the Beast retellings, with some Hunger Games thrown in.
I like the surprises and changed loyalties towards some key characters, both Fae and human, and hope they make an appearance in the continuation of the series. ( )

This is kinda a slow book and rather long, but it does work out because eventually the plot picks up steam a bit, characters get fleshed out, and secrets are revealed. I guess the girl starts out as a sort of Diana, and then becomes a sort of Isis-meets-Persephone. It’s fantasy, so kinda neo-mythological, even though it’s all redone /completely/ and not just a Greek re-write. I think it was pretty good, or became pretty good eventually, which is I guess all that matters. There’s no need to set your heart against it, to steel yourself with battle against the teenage girls and armor yourself in contempt and so on, just because it’s popular. I suppose it’s a bit long, and it’s the beginning of one of those long series. I suppose I might buy the first Bridgerton book after this; maybe at some point I’ll get back to the High Fae lands too, but, I’m not a huge fan person at this stage in my life. But it’s decent literary-ish popular fiction, and spirited romantic drama, you know. I probably need more of that, heat my cold, cold blood a little bit, right. 🥶

…. Well, that was certainly a very strange ending; although I guessed the riddle as soon as it was given; I could have shortened the plot considerably. 😸

It was strange, but good.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

—Oh, but wait; I can do this too! They’ll be normal and they’ll be unbearable and they’ll be from Montana and raise horses and they’ll be stupid—and, oh!—but they’ll THINK they’re So Smart because of how normal they are and they’ll sin but Auntie Mary-Beth and Uncle Scooter will give their pompous folk wisdom that basically just says when things get tough, keep your head down and obey gender stereotypes, and parrot ancient sayings you don’t understand, and betray with your quietly desperate life!

—(rolls eyes) (deep sigh) The horses I could live with.

I'll come back to the review as soon as I finished gobbling up the third book of this series. ( )

I loved it. So many twists and turns. I can't wait to read the rest of the series ( )

Nearing the end of the book I was like:


I loved this from beginning to end. The first half of the book was much better than the first, but I really did love it all. I can't wait to start the second one!

edit: don't ask ab the splatoon gif.. i was doing that boogie mentally while driving home from work this book had me so pumped ( )