Vibes: Eros and Psyche but make it sapphic, urban fantasy, falling down the rabbit hole

Heat Index: 6.5/10

The Basics:

After accepting an invitation by a strange man—with her life in flux—Psyche finds herself caught between Courts... with the best option for survival lying with the mysterious Eros. Swearing a vow to Eros, Psyche must now accommodate the goddess's strange visits... and never look underneath her mask. Which, as she falls head over heels in love with her, becomes more difficult than she expected.

The Review:

I really wanted to love this one—and maybe on another pass I would like it more. There's a lot to like if you click with it: a unique take on Greek Mythology, wlw romance, MASKS, general fae court sensibilities. The setting itself reminded me a lot of earlier paranormal romances with that strong urban fantasy feel.

Where I think I ran into issue was a lack of connection with the main characters. Psych is introduced as a bit vague and lost, which is probably intentional. But it's hard for me to really get invested in her for this reason. Like, yes, it makes sense, but I need someone to invest in, especially since Eros is more opaque. Psyche has to drive this story, right? Here, I was just underwhelmed.

I also found that Eros and Psyche's relationship developed really quickly, and somehow, that made it harder for me to feel the conflict. The central conflict in any Eros and Psyche story is that hidden identity, right? The secrecy, Psyche's desire for what is ultimately stronger emotional intimacy. They were just so connected so quickly in this novel that I didn't really feel that tension.

Plus, it seemed to me that there was less mystery in Eros this time around. The story is more reliant on the mask than the fall of night. I feel like lovers of lower conflict might enjoy this, as it really is a toned down version of Eros and Psyche in a lot of ways. But for me... well. Conflict is key.

The Sex:

There isn't a TON of sex between Eros and Psyche in the book, but what you get is pretty explicit and hot. And aside from that, you see like... random orgies. Which is fun! I did really like the way gender expression was handled between the two of them on a sexual level. It's very normalizing of fluidity, which is rather refreshing.

This wasn't really for me, and I think that has to do both with stylistic and story choices. However, I wouldn't say there's nothing good here. If you're interested in a somewhat softer touch version of Psyche and Eros, or sapphic genderbent retellings, check it out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

There relationship could have got a little bit more into it. Zephyr was more interesting than the FMC but the romance selections was a little cute I still think. Nothing to sing home about BUT I do love me a good muscular woman. ( although its a bit to my interpretation that Eros in here is more non-binary/ A gender but it's labeled as sapphic so I'll leave that be.)