manjala's reviews
209 reviews

 I think this book and its characters make a load more sense if you age up the characters to, let's say, 20+ years old. This book is definitely not one I would classify as "Young Adult", but I suppose the character's ages make it fit into that category.

I think that gives an indication of how profound this book is (which no, it really isn't that deep, but that's kind of what you'd expect from the genre). That said, I did enjoy myself surprisingly much. I was fully prepared to cringe my ass off after knowing what Jay Kristoff's writing style was like in  Empire of the Vampire . I did at some times where the appearance of our main character was repeatedly described in a kind of unnecessary way. Some tropes or themes of writing were clearly in the same vein as his newer books. Some words are just unnecessarily changed; an example of this is "sunslight" instead of "sunlight". You can expect the same edgy character interactions, but the humour in this one was much more enjoyable for me to read. Granted, I am a bit biased as one of the main characters that provides comedic relief is a talking shadow-cat... 

I really enjoyed the worldbuilding that was expanded on in the footnotes, which I also really enjoyed reading. They weren't necessary to read, like in Jenn Lyon's series, but I think because of the unreliable narration (another thing I really love in books!), they will be more important in the next two books. I feel like the reveals and action scenes were relatively well-paced and spaced out throughout the book. 

 I've been in a vampiric reading mood lately-- and  this book is exactly what I was craving all along.

This was such a poetic, powerful and moving experience.

 "You did not let me keep my name, so I will strip you of yours. In this world, you are what I say you are, and I say you are a ghost, a long night's fever dream that I have finally woken up from. I say you are the smoke-wisp memory of a flame, thawing ice suffering under an early spring sun, a chalk ledger of debts being wiped clean."

 "You turned a strong-minded girl into a pulsing wound of need."

This was such an intricate depiction of toxic behavior, covert abuse and manipulation in relationships, and an exploration of isolation and what it means to live as an undead creature. I absolutely loved the writing.

 "You made it into an art form, this quiet sort of violence. You were so far into our heads your gentle suggestions so often felt like our own thoughts."
This quote perfectly explains the relationship between our main characters. And I feel like the author didn't just write about their dynamics, but she really understood it. 
One critique I have of this book is that I just wanted more...