When I finished this book, I was not okay. Like, not even a little bit.
This is one of those quiet books that sneaks up on you. I saw the Goodreads rating was sitting around 3.75 and went digging to see why, because I adored this. What I found was a lot of DNF reviews saying it was too slow. The pacing, for me, was part of what made it so good. It’s immersive and reflective. It lingers in emotion and grief and guilt and longing. It felt almost cozy at times, even though it’s about some really heavy stuff.
The main character, Oneira, is a former battle sorceress who’s done horrific things in service to her queen. She’s finally bought her freedom and just wants to disappear. That’s where the story begins, with someone who’s spent her life breaking things trying to figure out if she’s even allowed to rest. That hit me hard. She isn’t written as sweet or haunted by a tragic backstory. She’s deeply flawed. She questions whether she’s even a person worth loving. I loved her for that.
Reading about older characters in a romantasy made such a difference for me. As a middle-aged reader, it felt like someone finally wrote a story that spoke to where I am in life. The romance here is quiet and intense. There’s one scene that I highlighted like five pages of because the emotion was so raw and beautifully written. It was one of the most emotionally intimate things I’ve ever read.
The writing is gorgeous. The author doesn’t hold back on vocabulary. I had to look up a few words, but I loved that. The prose is rich and layered without ever feeling heavy. I stayed fully engaged the whole way through.
The ending broke me. I cried hard. I’ve heard the author already has a sequel written, and I’m holding on to that like a lifeline because I’m not ready to leave this world or these characters behind.
If you’re into character-driven fantasy that leans into emotional depth and slow unraveling, this one is something special.I cried through the ending and then just sat there blinking at nothing. It’s been a while since a book hit me like this. The last time was probably Blood Over Bright Haven, which absolutely gutted me, so. That’s the emotional neighborhood we’re living in here.
This is one of those books that starts quiet and slow and then destroys you while smiling softly. I’d seen the Goodreads rating hanging around 3.7 and went digging to figure out why, because I loved it. Most of the lower ratings I found were people saying it was too slow. Which, sure, it takes its time. But for me, that was part of the magic. It’s immersive and reflective. It lets you sit with grief and guilt and longing instead of rushing past it. And somehow it still manages to feel cozy at times, even though it’s dealing with some really heavy stuff.
The main character, Oneira, is a former battle sorceress who’s done horrifying things for her queen. She’s finally bought her freedom and all she wants now is to disappear. That’s where the story starts. Not with redemption, not with revenge, but with a woman who’s been a weapon for so long that she’s not sure what it means to just exist. That hit me hard.
She’s not written to be likable or tragic or softly broken in a way that’s easy to root for. She’s complicated. She questions whether she even deserves love. And honestly, I loved her for that. She felt like someone who’s lived a full, messy, brutal life and is still trying to figure out who she is under all that history.
Also, huge thank you to the author for writing older characters in a romantasy. As a middle-aged reader, I didn’t even realize how much I needed that until I was in it. The romance here is intense but quiet. There’s one scene that was so emotionally intimate I ended up highlighting something like five straight pages. It was raw and vulnerable and beautifully written.
The prose is rich and layered without feeling heavy. I had to look up a few words, which I honestly loved. It didn’t feel showy, just smart and deliberate. I was fully engaged the whole way through.
And then the ending. I cried. A lot. It wrecked me. Not in a cheap or manipulative way, but in a deep, soul-squeezing kind of way. I’ve heard there’s a sequel already written and I’m hanging onto that information like my emotional support blanket because I’m not ready to leave this world behind.
If you love character-driven fantasy, if you want something that feels emotionally honest and beautifully slow, this one is special. I’m still thinking about it. And probably will be for a while.
Member discussion