I walked into this book not knowing where it would land and it blew me away.

Broadbent’s rich and atmospheric worldbuilding transports the reader to one part of her incredibly developed world. I could see some of the cultural inspirations, making it feel immersive and real despite being fantasy. The magic system is interesting. I am a sucker for lore and myths in a fantasy book; Broadbent’s creation is intricate and delivered in a way that makes it easy to grasp, at a steady pace and when relevant instead of all-at-once approach. This diverged from some of the ‘typical’ vampire lore and I loved how unique it was. The formatting of the story was interesting – I liked the flashbacks and how the story was split up into parts. I’m interested if the second one is similar or if it has its own formatting.

Oraya has a wonderful character arc that readers have the privilege to go on. Deconstructing her own beliefs and not just because of influence from the love interest, but because of the events and new information she learns. Aside from Oraya, the rest of the cast of characters I found compelling, even a few that we only got for a small portion of the book. There were multiple turns and reveals that I did not see coming, and some that were cathartic from their build-up. The ending gave me mixed feelings but I am excited to see what the second in the duology has to offer!

Great for adults who read The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments series, with some vampires thrown in.