Anna

I really enjoyed my time with this book. There were themes of found family and finally finding a place where you belong and can truly be yourself. Which was really wonderful. It felt like just the right cozy fantasy romance I wanted to read.

But then came the third act breakup, and that kind of soured the experience for me. Third act breakups have a tendency to do that for me, and this book was actually a good example as to why they often do. The reason for the breakup was well set up, but I felt that the reaction by our protagonist was a little overblown and, therefore, made the reconciliation just a couple of days (or pages) later a little bit difficult to believe. If there were a better explanation as to why she changed her mind and came back, that might have helped, but there was too little of that for my taste. In my opinion, many third act breakups (or arguments) tend to have that problem when the book still ends with a happy end.

I enjoy the Emily Wilde series as a nice and relaxing read.

Steve Erikson's writing is dense, which is why it always takes me quite some time to get through his books and Deadhouse Gate is no exception. But what keeps me going is the world building which is done so well. Every person, every tribe you encounter feels so alive, like there is a whole set of stories written about its people and folklore. It makes the world feel so alive and vibrant.

At the same time so much of this story takes place in the desert, and it can feel like it is dragging on a little bit. I also feel like this book was setting up a lot of what is to come. Especially in terms of character building but also in terms of the story. Suffice it to say I'm excited to see where the story will go.

I'm a sucker for a well executed wallflower story and I also quite enjoy the fake dating trope. So this book was right up my alley.

This book started off as a really whimsical fairytale story. Our protagonist comes home for her father's funeral and is unexpectedly chosen as heiress to the family estate during an ancient magical ceremony.

Over the course of the book, several mysteries regarding the estate and the ceremony have to be unveiled by our protagonist, and for my taste, that was just a bit much considering this is a relatively short book. For this reason, the whole story felt rushed, and it felt like none of the mysteries got quite enough room to breathe. Part of this might be as there are set up for the remaining series, but after this first book, I'm unlikely to continue with the series.

*Heavy spoilers*

There was one part of the book that really left me fuming. Why in heaven's name is our protagonist unable to call the police on anyone? Her brother is being blackmailed for being gay. That same man then causes a severe head injury to our protagonist's sister, and she sends the perpetrator off with a slap on the wrist? A family heirloom is stolen, which is essential for the ceremony meant to choose the next heir. She finds it, and the thief again gets nothing but a slap on the wrist? I was so mad and would have stopped reading the book altogether if that wasn't literally the end of the book.