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Okay yes, I ate this up!!! I adored ODW and TTC (and sobbed at the ending) and knew that Rachel Gillig was an auto-read author for me. The cover to this book is beautiful and I knew the story would be fabulous. This is no doubt another amazing book by her and I am so intrigued by anything she has to write.

The first thing that hooked me in this book was the setting. In a cathedral with five other sisters, Diviners, under the wing of the abbess (I promise this is not a religious book); the setting was divine. It was dark, murky, gothic, and Gillig does such a beautiful and lyrical job at describing it all. There was such a haunting melody in the atmosphere of the book that was so entrancing. The magic and “fantasy lore�� of the story was unique to me (though I loved seeing some sprinkles of LOTR inspiration) and was different from The Shepherd King books enough so it doesn’t feel like you’re reading the same story even while there are similar elements. (Though I will say, I dont really understand the magic system or the lore but I genuinely never do for fantasy books, I’m afraid). The flow of this was so great.

I loved loved loved the side characters. The gargoyles were odd to me at first but they had such caustic and humorous energy that was welcomed in the times of peril. Like the nightmare, there were just moments of levity that the characters offered that if it had been said by any other character wouldn’t have worked. There’s such a light repertoire between Sybil and her gargoyle, too, that I loved. I also loved the Diviner sisters, and I wished they hadn’t all died 😭 that was truly devastating. But I adored the found family aspect so wonderful for Sybil. The story with the gargoyle was SO SAD and I loved his place in the story so much🥺

The romance between Sybil and Rory was just absolutely romantic and beautiful. The banter between them was so good and fun and I loved their connection. Seeing those moments where we can see how he is obviously obsessed with her, and truly cares for her wellbeing despite some previous comments ;) was deliciousss. I will always be down for a nighttime swim in a spring (while naked) (while he “needs a minute�� before he gets out of it) (AHEM). Reading parts of this book felt like looking into the sunset on the beach. There were just whole, tender moments of trust and care and yearning and also for Sybil, so much self-discovery. Sybil is forced to wear a shroud to cover her eyes (because they are stone) and through the budding relationship with Rory, Sybil also is forced into finding herself, shedding the shroud, and letting go of the lies she was told. The way Rory would never push her or try to slight her by taking off her shroud before she was ready—when he IS UNTYING THE KNOT BEHIND HER HEAD BECAUSE SHE WANTS HIM TO BE THE FIRST TO SEE HER AND THE ONLY ONE TO SEE HER!!!! I AM NOT OKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WAY HE WATCHED HER TAKING IN THE VIEWS!!!!!!!!! The way he beat down her walls and was completely her safe space for her was so so beautiful. “Wake up, sweetheart. Wake up�� IM DECEASEDDD. And I loved how he was just there with her every step of the way. When she told him her name??? Stop

I feel like the reveal towards the end was a little anticlimactic, and I sort of figured who the “villain�� was due to a certain scene beforehand which kind of ruined the 5 star "feeling" that you get but it ended in an IrisRoman way that Im devastated and immediately need book 2 because there is no way I can wait this long!!!! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE WHEN THE WOMAN STAYS TO SACRIFICE HERSELF FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE LOVE OF HER LIFE!!!!!!!! IT WILL ALWAYS DESTROY ME 😭😭😭😭😭😭