….i think all this shit started because of a pigeon??

In Love Lethal, Death Divine, we follow Liana and Melia - two women with seemingly nothing in common except their marriages to Amron (at different points in time) - as they fight for what their hearts want most. At first glance it may look like love drives them, but I’d argue it’s really about freedom: for themselves and for the people they love. The story explores what we’re willing to sacrifice, and how distance from the world you came from can reshape your understanding of it and of yourself.

The world‑building is top‑tier, the prose is gorgeous yet accessible, and the incorporation of Eastern Adriatic history and Slavic folklore is a joy. The characters and relationships are well developed overall, though I do wish we’d seen more of Ferisa and Melia’s relationship as it grew.

Although Amron sits at the center of the story, I wouldn’t call romance the book’s driving force. Time travel, gods, scheming, and political intrigue join together in that role. The ending never feels fixed, which creates delicious tension throughout - and the yearning is just 🤤

My biggest gripe is the lack of time markers at the start of each chapter, which makes the opening a bit confusing. The information is eventually woven in, but later than I’d prefer.

Love Lethal, Death Divine shares a universe with Ghost Apparent and Dark Woods, Deep Water, but it absolutely works as a standalone.

If you love fantasy driven by scheming, gods, political intrigue, complex family dynamics, well‑rounded characters, and a touch of romance, this one will hit the spot.

Love Lethal, Death Divine surprised me with how much it gave me to think about. What initially pulled me in was the dual timeline and the mystery of how Liana and Melia’s stories would eventually connect, but the deeper I got into the book, the more invested I became in the larger questions underneath the fantasy.

One of the things I loved most was the exploration of free will and what we inherit. These characters carry so much that they never chose: family expectations, political loyalties, old wounds, inherited beliefs, and roles decided for them long before they had a say in their own lives. Yet the story keeps asking whether those things have to determine who they become. Watching Liana and Melia slowly move from being shaped by other people’s choices to making choices of their own was incredibly satisfying.

That also made the book’s exploration of recognition especially beautiful to me. Recognition across time, recognition of the people we love even when everything around them has changed, but also recognition of ourselves beneath everything that has been placed on us. There’s something powerful about seeing yourself clearly and realizing that you are more than the role someone else gave you. In a story so concerned with time, I loved that recognition could exist outside of it too. Some things can change completely, and yet there can still be that feeling of I know you.

The relationships were another highlight for me. Love here isn't portrayed as something that magically makes everything uncomplicated. These characters can love imperfectly, make terrible decisions, hurt each other, and still have to decide what they’re willing to sacrifice for the people they care about. I especially appreciated how love, loyalty, family, and duty constantly collided rather than existing in neat little boxes.

The political intrigue and mythology added another layer to all of this. The gods were unpredictable and often felt less like benevolent forces and more like beings playing with lives for their own purposes, which made the characters' attempts to control their circumstances feel even more precarious. I also loved the contrast between the dreamy, almost fairytale quality of the writing and how quickly it could become brutal and bloody.

The time travel structure took me a little while to settle into. The lack of clear time markers initially left me trying to piece together where we were and how everything connected, but once the rules became clearer, I really appreciated what the structure was doing. Seeing the same world through different perspectives made certain moments land differently, and watching the consequences of one character’s choices ripple into another’s story became one of my favorite aspects of the book!!

By the final stretch, I was emotionally invested. There were moments where I wanted to shake everyone involved, moments where I was genuinely stressed, and moments where I just thought, damn, these people have been through ENOUGH. 😮‍💨

This ended up being a much more thoughtful and emotionally resonant read than I expected going in. I came for the fantasy, time travel, mythology, and political intrigue, but what I’m leaving with is a story about choice, identity, love, and the complicated process of becoming your own person. If you love fantasy that blends mythology and time travel with political intrigue, complicated relationships, and questions about identity and agency, I definitely think this one is worth picking up.