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��:*:･ﾟ⁀�� 4/5 ��

OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD 🤭🤭 Leigh Bardugo never disappoints- i loved this sm!! 🥹🖤

�� “Mors irrumat omnia. Death fucks us all.��

Tropes:
🕯️Dark academia
🕯️University setting
🕯️Adult fantasy
🕯️Dual timeline

The grishaverse novels have such a special place in my heart, so i was so intrigued to try leigh bardugo’s adult series. And it did not disappoint- i ate this book up! 🫶

Before I get into the review, be warned that this book is very dark and mature and i would highly recommend checking the trigger warnings before going in (i’ve put a few of them below). There is quite a lot of upsetting subject matter, so i think it’s important to know that before going in.

⚠️ Trigger warnings: drug dealing, graphic descriptions of death & corpses, overdose, racism, self-harm, sexual assault (flashbacks), rape (including statutory and child, graphic), forced consumption of human waste⚠️

Now let’s get into my thoughts! 🕯

ೃ⁀�� Writing & plot:

Leigh Bardugo’s writing style has got to be one of my all time favs bc it is just SO. STUNNING. 😩😩 It definitely had a darker tone in this book than in her ya books, but it was still so good! The descriptive style of writing developed the atmosphere in this book PERFECTLY. Because it was set against the backdrop of a university with lots of creepy magic & murder, the dark academia vibes were immaculate ✨️ This is the kind of book that absolutely requires a cosy sweater, cup of tea and rainy weather while reading it 🕯

And the plot was so good!! It did take me a little bit to get into it and be warned, the first 150 pages or so are very confusing as you’re being introduced to a very complicated magic system & tons of characters. But after that, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. The murder mystery plot was really interesting and the ending was crazy too!! I’m running to start the sequel 🏃‍♀��

�� “I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me.��

ೃ⁀�� Characters:

The characters in this book were soo interesting. They did a lot of very questionable things & weren’t necessarily likeable, but they were just so layered and well-developed ✨️

�� Alex: she was honestly such an interesting fmc. She definitely made some choices that i didn’t agree with and is sometimes very difficult to root for, but at the same time, the circumstances in her life have definitely shaped her. She has been through sm trauma and her backstory is so horrific that it makes sense that she isn’t the most moral or likeable person. Her character had so many layers and I’m intrigued to see what she does in book 2.

�� Darlington: tell me why he was barely in this book and yet i’m still kinda obsessed with him�� 👀🤭 i can’t even tell you why, but he was such a fascinating and almost magnetic character. I was eating up all the scenes he was in and i need more of him in hell bent!! The picture of this disgustingly overeducated, dark-haired man in my head was so attractive tho- 😮‍💨😮‍��

�� “That was what magic did. It revealed the heart of who you'd been before life took away your belief in the possible. It gave back the world all lonely children longed for.��

ೃ⁀�� Romance:

The romance in this book was literal CRUMBS but i need more of them!! If you’ve read the second book, pls tell me if there’s more romance bc i need them to get together asap 😫

�� “I let you die. To save myself, I let you die.
That is the danger in keeping company with survivors.��

�� “But would it have mattered if she’d been someone else? If she’d been a social butterfly, they would have said she liked to drink away her pain. If she’d been a straight-A student, they would have said she’d been eaten alive by her perfectionism. There were always excuses for why girls died.��

ೃ⁀�� In conclusion:

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! 🥹🥹 I would highly recommend if you’re looking for:

✔️ Stunning writing
✔️ Interesting plot
✔️ Layered characters
✔️ Dark academia

I will definitely be reading the sequel asap 🖤✨️

�� 2024 Challenge: Book 67 of 115 ��

��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ

ೃ⁀�� pre-review:

�� wait how was this so good?! 🤭🤭 i loved the dark academia vibes sm and the story was soo interesting 🖤✨️ plus that ending was insane, i need the second one asap!! 😩

rtc 🕯

��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ��:*:･ﾟ

ೃ⁀�� preread:

�� I love the grishaverse sm, so I'm super excited to read something else by Leigh bardugo! 🫶🫶 Here for those dark academia vibes 😚🖤