I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did! Before starting it I read that it was long and a bit boring, but luckily I didn’t feel that way.

As a kid, I harboured a deep obsession with fairies and that sort of magical world, and I could never get into fae literature in the present because it was not at all how I had imagined it as a kid. But this one hits right on the nail, and getting immersed in it was like a hit of nostalgia from childhood and a splash of magic in my ordinary adult life.

I admit I loved Emily, but I did have some personal difficulties with the character at some points. Probably because, as I’ve been reading around, she might have been on the neurodivergent spectrum and viewed everything rather logically at first, whereas I am an exaggerated empath who gets emotional over everything. Reading the contrary would sometimes frustrate me, but this is more of an observation than a critique. In the end, I loved Emily, and that is why I kept reading.

Wendell as a character felt so refreshing! Part of the reason I started this book is because it was recommended on an “if you liked Howl’s Moving Castle, you will enjoy these…” list, and for the first time with these lists I was not disappointed. I am so tired of reading about brooding, moody, dark male characters. I need more Wendells and Howls in books right now!

I am excited for the next one!

Perhaps I built this book up to be something it wasn’t even before I started it, so when I began reading, it felt disappointing. I think there was much more potential in a story like this, but it got stuck in caricature-like characters and too much repetition for emphasis.

Also it reads as one of those stories that feels like it only moves forward because the plot needs it to. It’s like Lukov had to be nice to Jasmine, then he had to become her friend, and then everything follows a predictable checklist instead of feeling natural

Kinda sad cause I wanted to like it

PS: One of the biggest turn-offs was the way Jasmine is 26 and Ivan is 29 yet they behave like unprofessional teenagers. You would think that someone as highly trained as they are would be able to keep things professional when it came to the banal arguments they kept having. And that is another issue altogether, because even though this is a long book, the relationship did not feel developed enough. It just felt like a poster of what the author wanted it to be, with no real depth.

I do not mind people in their twenties or thirties behaving immaturely sometimes, but here it was just very annoying.