Oh, such sadness, this book and I didn't get along as well as I'd hoped. Or at all really, if I am being honest. The premise sounded so very good, and I was thrilled to get started, but things fizzled out pretty quickly for me.
What I Liked:
- • The atmosphere was on point. I definitely felt the vibe that the author was trying to capture. The woods were eerie and held all kinds of secrets. The underground caves had a hopeless, desolate sort of feel. That part definitely worked.
- • The women in the book were so strong, and in charge. Like, these women were tough chicas. They cowered to no man. And they'd do pretty much anything to protect their fellow woman, which is cool. Especially in the friendship between Ailesse and Sabine, there was such a brilliant loyalty.
What I Didnt:
- • Holy insta-love. Oh gosh I hate insta-love, and I simply felt nothing about this romance, outside of annoyance. Especially because it seemed to me like Bastien was meant to care about his best friend, but then suddenly was swooning all over Ailesse. And look, maybe if there was chemistry, I could have gotten on board. But I didn't feel it, and I kept getting annoyed by it frankly. And then some other dude gets thrown into the mix and I just couldn't handle it anymore.
- • There were a lot of things that didn't make sense that moved the plot forward. For example, someone would do something incredibly stupid, which allowed someone else to move locations. This is hard to explain without spoilers but it was still frustrating, so there's that.
- • "This book is like 80% chasing and running". This is the note I left on my Kindle when I was frustrated beyond belief. I also left gems like "I know zero things about these people", and "am i seriously reading an entire book about bones and a flute?". What I am saying here is, I was pretty bored. I felt like really not a ton happened, and when it did, I was past the point of caring. This brings me to my next point....
- • I knew nothing about these characters. I mean, they all had their basic goals, which was fine. But beyond those, I knew absolutely zero about what kind of person they were. Bastien was hellbent on revenge, Ailesse needs to kill him to complete her ritual, and Sabine wants to save Ailesse. But what else of them? Your guess is as good as mine.
- • I also was so unsure of the world. Like beyond this coven (Idk if that's the right word but let's go with it) and the small area that Basien and his buds inhabit, what the heck is out there!? There are some French undertones (such as calling their mate "amouré", which I kept reading as "armoire", my bad). But other than that, your guess is as good as mine. There was some royalty, but they were kind of in the background. And then the dead folks who needed to be ferried over to the other side. And if that confuses you, well, me too.
Bottom Line: Cool premise that left me wanting more. Plenty of people have liked it though, so maybe check out their reviews!