This was clearly a case of "I picked this book up at the wrong time" back when I read 42% of it in 2024. It's one of those books I knew I'd get back to even if I didn't state it in my review, and I'm glad I did. I ate this up! 

This second time around the book really worked for me. It's a fun murder mystery set in a fantasy world and it felt very creative and fresh while also having recognizable elements to it. For example, it made me think of Sherlock and Watson from the BBC series because of the dynamic between the two MCs. It also kinda made me think of Attack on Titan. 

I still feel like, between the 15% and 40% mark, it slows down and it gets a little repetitive sometimes, but the personality of our narrator, Dinios Kol, really carries the book in moments like that. I love him! Ana is also such an interesting character. Their interactions were so funny to me and the murder mystery plot was gripping. 

However, I'm not sure the reader is given enough clues to even get close to guessing who's behind everything. Not even Din guesses it, so it gave me a bit of whiplash when Ana reveals it all and claims to have known the answer for a long while. Still, it wasn't a deal-breaker. 

What I liked the most was the worldbuilding and magic, though. It's just a lot of fun and super interesting. I loved spending time in this world and I'm glad I have an ARC of the second book so I can get back to it ASAP. 

- June 2024 DNF review:

ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Del Rey for the access to this ebook. 

Another review that's super late, but I'm sorry to say this is a DNF at 42%. I held on as long as I could, but I just didn't like this. It shouldn't take more than 40% to get into a world or whatever's going on in the plot, so I'm bailing. This could be a me problem because most reviews are 4 or 5 stars, but that's just not the experience I'm having. 

The first 15% was great. I loved the setup of the mystery, the dynamic between Din and Ana (I agree it's reminiscent of Sherlock and Watson's dynamic), and the things that were revealed about the world. However, after that point, it starts to go at a slower-than-snail pace and it feels like nothing is happening at all. The dynamic between the characters and the worldbuilding just wasn't good enough to hold my interest and I found myself counting the minutes for the chapters to end. 

I wanted to love this because I've heard such good things and I was excited to get to it, but I could barely get to 42%.