Rachel Fallon

My jaw was on the floor for most of this book! The second part was what really made this book a five star read for me, especially the last ten percent or so. The first part is definitely slower, with more world building and laying a lot of ground work that pays off later. It was kind of heavy to be honest, with the constant threat of Cyrus showing up and suffocating every scene he is in. My hatred and disgust for him made me physically / mentally tense up, and there was a heavy sense of show more despair. Definitely check your trigger warnings before you read this book! There is on page assault and sexual manipulation.

There is so much I want to say about part two, but I don't want to spoil anything. I think I kind of knew from the beginning how a lot of things fit together (my mind is always trying to solve puzzles), but it was a fun journey to the end and having everything unveiled. There were still a lot of surprises and shocking moments. But Calix absolutely has my heart! There's a lot of great shadow daddies (I always laugh when I type that), and he has to be in my top three. He's gorgeous, strong, kind, loyal, and will do anything to protect Asteria. I loved him from his first appearance. I really appreciated how strong Asteria was from the beginning, and even though she had moments of weakness, she pulled herself out of it. She didn't give in to despair completely. Even after everything that she went through in part one, it made me really happy to see her start to open up to more people and make real friends. What made my heart ache the most was the struggle that Calix and Asteria went through. I don't know of anything that makes me sadder than two lovers wanting to be together, but they can't due to circumstances or fate.

I also have to say that the scene at the end of the festival set the pages on literal fire! What a build up to that moment and what a great payoff! I cannot wait for book two. I kept turning to the next page wanting more after all those revelations and it ended with Cyrus. Boo! (lol!)

I'm writing this as an aside because I don't want it to take away from the great story. Some of the explanations / descriptions were kind of repetitive, especially at the beginning. It definitely got better as it went along, but it did sometimes take me out of the story or made me annoyed hearing the same things over again. If some of this was trimmed out, I think it would make part one go a little faster and smoother.

Thank you to the author for allowing me to read this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily. show less