This was SO CLOSE to getting at least 4 stars and then...things happened. 

I absolutely love how unique of a fantasy this is. There are vampire elves, magical beasts, evil bug aliens, and witches and somehow it all comes together so well. The world, magic, and plot beats are entertaining and intriguing, which makes up for the fact that the characters are a tad lacking. But here I need to rant.

We are going to talk about Noon, and I just can't with this character. I liked her alright in the beginning; Fell witches are really interesting beings, her particular back story is one I enjoyed learning, and it's fun to watch her for a while.  The idea of her growing from scared and afraid to powerful and confident started so good but the final execution was so off. She didn't truly earn her abilities whatsoever.

Noon went straight from being scared and nervous all the time to being super confident and competent because she accidentally sucked up just the right life force. Afterwards, her whole personality grated on my nerves. And then of course she gets the most powerful beast to fall from the tree? *Eye-roll* 

Also. I'm not a big romance fan in stories unless I specifically pick up that genre, and the romance in this had me annoyed. There wasn't much, if any, chemistry and I didn't care for the whole "I can practically taste her blood when I think of her smile" stuff.

All that being said, I'm still interested in continuing the series at some point. This first book has possibly too obviously set up some of the major plot points to the later story, but I'm hopeful I would be surprised by a twist or two. Again, this is such a unique and interesting read, I'd tell most fantasy readers to give it a shot.