Celine

' "It's my skin," he said eventually, his brown eyes glittering with earnestness as they met hers. "Where I used to live, people don't like the color of my skin. Life was...life was unbearable for us. Then we heard that things are better in America, so we put what money we had left towards this trip." '

I'm guessing that Darius is living in a non-African country to be saying that he lived somewhere where people didn't like him because they are racist and he is a (dark-skinned) black man. Fine whatever. But in what world would a person in 1912 living in a (presumably) European country not know of the violence black people face in America?! After centuries of chattel slavery, lynching and forced-breeding and a black man isn't aware of the conditions fellow black people have to live in in America? At least have him acknowledge that things are not better there either, but have him hopeful about the "American Dream" or something. I would've given this maybe a 2 star rating because I'm not a fan of the way the world building is done, but this little segment alone makes me give it a 1.

I appreciate the author for trying to uplift black people by having Lorelai be confused on how someone could hate someon so lovely like Darius just for his skin color. But that specific segment is just so laughable to me that I just can't take the rest of this serious.

Ignoring that, the book itself isn't really giving me anything. It is a prequel to a series that I haven't read yet (and probably won't just because it doesn't appeal to me, not because of this book). The plot doesn't lend itself well to a novella. Why is Lorelai so "infatuated" with saving and keeping Darius? Why is Darius so "in love" with a mermaid girl he just met? Why is Darius just so cool with everything? I don't know, it doesn't get explained. I guess it doesn't get explained to get people curious on the whys and read the series this book is a prequel to, but meh.

Also Lorelai being responsible for the Titanic sinking just feels kind of, idk, cringe? I don't know but her being the "owner" of the iceberg the ship rams into just feels cheap. The concept of fighting against death and a kingdom being "stuck" in time to fight against death is interesting and that should've been the focus of this novella in my opinion. The romance is completely unecessary.

While it took me longer to read this book than I would've liked (at no fault of the book), "When the Moon Hatched" had me sucked into the world and I became ravenous to know more. Why is Raeve the way she is? How did she end up where she was? Who the fuck is the Scavenger King?

I felt that the pacing of the book was good. It is a slower book that requires patience and love for slow burn. The writing is really not as pretentious as other reviewers make it out to be, or difficult in any way. This book reads like any other fantasy book I've read in my life and so I found it to be very enjoyable. The prose and syntax is easy to understand if you passed ninth grade English class and the pacing is at worst bearable if your attention span hasn't been completely destroyed by faery smut...

I like how the FMC stands her ground, but isn't too annoying with her snark or quirkiness. I really enjoyed towards the end of the book when she self-reflected on her actions, especially towards the MMC and how she is being somewhat difficult without listening to anyone. I appreciate how the MMC isn't the typical domineering "Shadow Daddy" and behaves like a sane man. I often struggle with the way a lot of female authors write men, especially male love interests. I get that to some degree, any book with a large romance element is a fantasy for many of us, but I do appreciate realistic behavior and thoughts from MMCs. Kaan is a typical man that lusts for a woman, but he is also a living being that hurts and yearns for the delicate touches from the woman he loves. He is normal and sane, doesn't just talk about how much he wants to fuck Raeve or growls at her every opportunity he gets.

I cannot believe that I have to wait a whole year before I get to read the second book, but I'll have to be patient.

Few books can ever get me to read them without closely paying attention to what page number I'm on to see how much I've read in a sitting or how much longer I have. A Fate Inked In Blood is one of those books that when I start reading, it is difficult to put back down, especially when reading after a subpar book. The writing of the characters, their emotions, their behavior, and their thoughts feel real and human. Freya isn't just some Shield Maiden, she is a woman living in a world in which women are used for the advancement of men, be it politically or for furthering the "Legacy". She carries guilt and trauma, but still has room for love towards the ones who treated her poorly or well.

The chemistry between her and Bjorn, her love interest, is great and feels real (which I feel a lot of books that center romance to any degree miss nowadays). He is playful in his flirting, serious in his love declarations, and hurt when he has an altercation with others, especially Freya. This also makes the sex scenes between them have actual passion and value, and worth actually reading. The amount of scenes is also sensible, which is also becoming a lost art with many books (which are not erotica) unfortunately.

The pacing of the book is leaning towards great, though I don't really like how quickly they travel from one point to the next, but this book isn't really high-fantasy, so it is expected. The plot is very interesting and remains so throughout the entire book. I never felt that there was a lull in the writing, even if the events happening involve minimal to no action. The writing is purposeful and real, and I'm foaming at the mouth that I have to wait until spring of next year for the second book.

I am obsessed...

When I started reading this book, my dumbass went on TikTok and saw some people either say they didn't enjoy the book or outright dnf it. I can't sympathize with that. The criticism that I see is that it starts of great, but slows down at some point. I again, cannot sympathize with that. The pacing of the book was perfect, the characters were interesting and flawed, yet weren't obnoxious or unnecessary.

The world building had me longing for more information throughout the book, keeping me excited everytime I learned something new. Especially towards the end, when the characters get to the place they were going. I didn't expect to get creeped out as I did, but it makes sense considering the state of the world the characters exist in. The mystery of who cursed Elo and why Inara's house and the people in it were burned down were welcome side plots to saving the King and finding out why Inara was bound to a seemingly unknown god who lost his memories. They didn't distract as they were intertwined to the main plot, but seemed throughout the story to be side occurrences.

I knew that going into this book that the romance wasn't going to be as heavily present like in books in the ACOTAR series. The romance was more like the one in the Folk of Air Trilogy, present, but does not take up much space. To be honest, I first started reading this book assuming that Kissen and Skedi were the romantic pairing, considering that she is a godkiller and he a god. It would've made the prefect enemies-to-lovers story. Instead, she is paired with Elo, a knight, which still works because Kissen doesn't like Knights. While I would've loved more romantic scenes and moments between the two, the scenes and moments given throughout the book had me squealing like never before. I cannot wait to see how their relationship moves forward in the next book.

I loved the character development of the characters and they were so well paced alongside the main plot. It allowed characters to have flaws that either are removed over time as they grow and mature further, or changes in a way that they become something positive and necessary for their survival. The characters are all so different from one another, each coming from a different walk of life (including wealth class), but they learn to love and care for each other. They didn't say it explicitly, but I do consider their story together as a “Found family” trope.

Another thing that I love is that the book doesn't end on a huge cliffhanger, but leaves enough plot points open that keeps you curious for more. Who is Inara Craier. Why did her mother do what she did? What will happen to the King? How long will it take for Kissen to reunited with Inara and Elo?

I cannot wait to read the sequel and look forward to future book of Miss Kaner.

WARNING I WILL MENTION WHAT HAPPENS TO NEIL AT THE END OF MY REVIEW AND RELAY MY OWN MENTAL STRUGGLES, SO BE CAREFUL I GUESS...

I don't really know how to feel about this book, though I do think I'm quiet lenient on it because of its short length and easy to read syntax. I didn't feel moved by anything in the book really, nor cried like other reviewer said they have, but I do give kudos to the book for getting me to react to the more outrageous things some of the boys did (looking at you, Knox the creep).

Don't really appreciate that Knox was able to win Chris over after he sexually assaulted her (I don't care if he meant it, he's a creepy sex pest). I know, I know. Product of its time (especially since the setting is 1959), but I couldn't really enjoy the book after that.

I recognize now that the book was never going to win me over, because I do not like poetry. Ironic isn't it, considering the plot and title of the book. I should've thought more about it before buying the book, but the movie this book is based on has Robin Williams in it so it was a no-brainer. I will definitely watch the movie!

Confession as a person who has been struggling with s*icidal ideation for 8 years. When Neil was picked up by his father and told he was going to military school, I jokingly said that Neil should ya know unalive himself as pay back to his father... I didn't mean it literally Neil. I did not want you to off yourself...but I understand I guess lol