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Fox & Wit Book Box April 2024 Feature Indie Ink Award Nominee 2024 At Adraredon Academy, fervent passion, contemporary companionship, and forbidden desires intertwine with tall gothic spires, ancient halls, and centuries of history. Veaer Rosell can't imagine a better place to satiate her craving for beauty, knowledge, and art. Yet senior year shatters her illusion of tranquillity and civil intellect when she witnesses the headmaster's daughter murder another student and is confronted by an unthinkable choice: avenging her fallen peer or taking this secret to the grave, one way or another. But fate laughs at Veaer's expense when the headmaster's daughter requests her aid. Driven by an all-consuming thirst for answers, Veaer becomes an untimely partner in solving a murder they both know the answer to, unaware of the intricacies that come with learning the bigger picture and playing with death. Chrysalis & Requiem is a haunting thriller of tragic obsession and relentless grief, weaving two young, queer women in a spiral of clandestine violence and illicit love.
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**I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**
DNF @46%
I have been trying so very hard to love this. I am a fast reader. Like I read over 400 books a year fast reader. This 310 page book has taken me 11 days to reach 46%. And I simply can't anymore.
Full disclosure: I have already purchased this book in a special edition from Fox and Wit. I won't be keeping it when it arrives regardless of how pretty it is. And that is what originally appealed to me about this book. Queer dark academia. Fantasy. Lovely cover. Queer author. All key things I love. Which is the only reason I have pushed this far. I wanted to initially DNF around 14% and have kept trying.
I enjoy the representations of queerness both in sexuality and gender identity. I love the concepts of the world that are hinted at, though they are never fully explained in the first half of the book. I was happy with the plot and trying to push to see it resolved.
The characters are insufferable. Yes, this is a hallmark of dark academia. However, there tends to be something that binds you to the characters and makes you care. Even when their choices are horrible. Even when their personalities are privileged and elitist, there's nearly always something that allows a reader to lock in. I couldn't find that for me in this book.
The writing is... well beyond words. It is thick and convoluted, which is made no simpler to understand by the fact that we are moving forward and back in Veaer's time at school. I really thought I was just struggling due to personal busy-ness in my life. But I, in desperation, checked reviews and saw that a lot of people felt the same way I do about the writing. Many of their reviews say it better than me accompanied by the fact that it doesn't get better until the last 15ish% of the book. For me, I'm not the person to read a book to only enjoy the last 15%.
Best wishes to Quinton Li. I sincerely hope this book finds its audience, and am beyond sad that it turns out I'm not the reader for this book.
0I got to 25% and honestly still have absolutely 0 clue what is happening. It feels like the book started already halfway through a story. Everything is so overly wordy but absolutely nothing is explained. There was a couple large events that happened including a murder but like, I have no idea why that murder was done and not in a "ooh mystery" but a "what the hell is happening and why is any of this happening" way. I can't even tell you most of what happened because I straight up don't remember so much. It's not that memorable at all and mixed with how overly wordy everything is, it's just tiring to read.
I can't even work out if the "princess" is actually a princess or if it's just a kinda creepy nickname the MC uses.
The synopsis does sound interesting though, and through the writing there does feel like there's something there. But in my opinion it just needs to spend a bit longer being worked on in all honesty.
0I'm struggling to articulate my thoughts for this book.
Overall I see why some people found the way it was structured very confusing, but I found that worked for me, and I absolutely loved the twins and Tychon, I found their characters incredibly interesting.
I went from hating Elise to just feeling sorry for her.
Certain aspects of Veaer's character were quite endearing at times, but mostly I was just concerned for her welfare.
This all in all isn't a book I'd recommend to everyone, but I certainly know people who would quite enjoy it!
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