I’m surprised at all of the mixed reviews on this. Maybe it’s because I’ve read such terrible romantacy lately that I didn’t go into this with great expectations but the writing was a pleasant surprise. Here’s my spoiler- free review: The protagonist is a refreshing rebellious foul-mouthed badass. Love that she’s curvaceous and resourceful unlike all the fragile and frail female protagonists I’ve encountered in some recent popular fantasy I’ve read. I loved the relationship she has to nature and the balance of magic that takes place in the book that a lot of witchcraft books seem to lack. The writing also had great pacing and description, evoking some gorgeous imagery of the setting and plant life. The way magic was associated with all the elements had some good world-building and lore creation, and the spicy content did not hold back. Definitely really hot with the ownership / enemies to lovers angle with a really surprising ending. My rating is still a 4/5 despite how much I enjoyed reading this because I feel like we only got a fleshed out character build of the protagonist. The peripheral characters were so intriguing, both Vessels and other students alike with not much attention given to them. I would have loved for more interaction than just the two love interests but maybe the sequel will have that. I’m starting the second one today because I’m totally invested in this story!

This is one of the best horrors I’ve read in a while, just the pacing alone makes for an engrossing read. From start to end there’s never a lull in the storytelling and two of the female protagonists, one being a black lesbian cop in a small vacation town, has some of the best inner narratives I’ve read in a long time. The ending was also so surprising! Highly recommend if you’re looking for a cozy but gory winter horror