Nic

I am still getting used to contemporary romances but this was very cute and very sweet. It was set in the real world in the early 2000's and what a time to be. The penultimate scene with both men having to get over their own fear and insecurity and lean in to someone else was so sweet and was genuinely so nice to read.

Because grief drowns reason.

I have... thoughts about this books. The book begins with an almost 1:1 Empire of the Vampire rip. Similar opening scene, similar premise. The singular thing this book has over Empire is the lack of Interview-style formatting. The magic system is genuinely good, I love where using magic has a physical consequence. The 'Godless' are given a magic and each of them have a corresponding physical component that they have to give up. Azrael kills people with a physical manifestation of fear and he has to give up his ability to feel anything.

That's about the best part of this book, though. It's marketed as a 'dark gritty fantasy' and... sure? I guess that's true? There's plenty of death and violence but it doesn't make the world feel gritty and dark.

Thhe women in this book are a joke. The only time they're included are to service men. Azrael is awful towards women. He only interacts with them if he gets something from them - whether that's sex or for them to further his own power/goals.

There is also an obscene amount of hints and pokes about queerness. There's almost an entire chapter in the latter half about how gross pegging is and how it makes the person receiving lesser than. On top of the bad women writing, it's just another thing to add.

All in all - it was fine? I don't really care to finish reading the series when they're released. The best part of the book has been thoroughly explored (the magic).

“Don’t leave me.”

Who would have thought Sapphic western romance would be my thing? I went in completely blind and did not realize that it was a rewriting of a Bly Manor fanfic. I enjoyed the banter between Abby and the children involved. It wasn't too deep and I don't mind it. Not everything has to be the most in-depth manuscript. I think it was well worth a read.

She didn’t want to see that poor animal, cursed by its own beauty, butchered and plated for consumption by small men made angry when beautiful things dared to exist outside of their possession.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

4.75 stars rounded up!

This book's blurb mentions "The otherworldly religious conflict of Dune, the cosmic strangeness of Gideon the Ninth, and the heart-pounding action of Red Rising converge in this horror-tinged epic science fantasy debut" and I do not think that is wrong in the slightest. The stakes are cosmic and somehow that still does not feel wide enough in scope. I was sold this book as a horror sci-fantasy and it does not lack in any aspect. From the beginning, you are sold this dark and gritty world where the gods are real and they demand a continual sacrifice. As things unfold and the truth is revealed, your jaw will hit the floor and never recover. There are plenty of moments in this that make the Red Wedding feel like a birthday party at McDonald's. If morally grey characters are your thing and there is no clear 'good' guy, this will be for you.

In the Scar, this was simply the way of things. To hate what had made you. To love what destroyed you.

Addiction was dangerous. Heather was fatal.

This book was awful (complimentary). I went in basically completely blind and only knew "what if horror romance" and that is basically what it is.

The book intends to make the reader feel gross and creeped out, uneasy, and queasy. It hit that on it's HEAD. There's not much thought needed, which is totally fine - not everything needs to be a think piece of philosophy.

She was used to the pain. She enjoyed the pain.

I think the personalization of the monster was incredible. The details given and how gross and slimy every detail was truly makes it sink in. The overall plot of the novella was pretty simple to follow but it was very fitting for the setting and tone conveyed.

She had tried to forgive Heather, but mercy always rotted.

Overall, if you're a fan of CG Drews and/or Andrew Joseph White, you'll very much enjoy this.

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Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to review an advanced copy of this.