I read this book today expecting to lose myself in the gothic atmosphere. Maybe I got the blurb wrong and it was never gothic, but it is more like a weird mix between YA fantasy and a strong urge of writing poetry.
I found the magic system interesting. A spirit of the woods, a greedy king, magic in cards that will give their power to anyone. The concept of nothing is free it’s not new, but it made for an interesting read.
I deeply disliked the FMC, maybe she needed to have more backstory?
After I while I started feeling like the whole book was written in prose, asking myself if I was going crazy. Please, tell me it was me and not that the author spent their energy making each sentence rhyme.
I would have read the next book if it was about Elm and Emory. Two side characters that gave me more joy and intrigue than the main characters I dragged myself reading about.