This had a very cool premise, and the first half I really enjoyed. Around the 60% mark though the pacing got really weird with huge leaps when discoveries were made off page, or when someone came to a conclusion that wasn’t supported by what we had in the text. I think maybe this book assumes you have a lot of background on fairy lore, especially Irish fairy lore but even as someone who reads a lot of fantasy I frequently felt like I was being asked to just nod along and roll with things.

I also appreciated how the book initially was building up the relationships (romantic and friendly) but again in the second half everything just felt rushed and unearned.

This was still an entertaining read and if you like dark academia and botanical fairy themes it’s a good time. I just wish it had stuck the landing better.

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

So cute! This was a very fun premise, and I loved that instead of just narrating the D&D gameplay, we switched into the actually story being played. That could have been clunky but was done super well.

Excellent dialogue and banter and the story was very sweet with real and relatable conflicts, while still allowing our characters some emotional maturity.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine publishing for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review