Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing this book as a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.
One-Sentence Summary:
After multiple partners and the loss of the trust of those around her, Alessa, a girl with the ability to kill those she touches, must find a way to hone her powers and gain the loyalty of potential spouses before she defends her island from apocalyptic beetles.
My Review:
I absolutely loved this book. I knew I’d like it, but it was beyond amazing. First of all, characters! They were all so deep and dynamic, which I absolutely loved. Alessa, the main character and Finestra, discovers so much about herself throughout the story. She doesn’t compromise her values, but she becomes more powerful than ever before, and she doesn’t need anyone to do it, even though her actual magic does need practice with others. The love interest, Dante, is the kind of mystery I actually wanted to read about. He never made Alessa feel anything less than amazing, and he would do anything for her, even when he did have secrets to keep. The background characters, specifically Kaleb, also made so much progress and I loved them all by the end. In terms of plot and pacing, this was still amazing. There was a clearly timeline from about halfway through, but I was caught up in what was happening, not waiting for the action to hit constantly. I read this book in less than a day because I was so totally engrossed in the story. This world was inspired by Italy, which I was pretty neutral on, except for the “old language”. I didn’t hate that they used an old language, I just thought it was hilarious that it was literally modern Italian and I could translate it on my kindle as I was reading the ebook. Basically, READ THE BOOK. It somehow captures the vibes of both Shatter Me and Beyond the Ruby Veil in the best way possible, and I loved every second. There’s healthy romance, dynamic characters, and a plot that’ll have you totally enthralled to the very end. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Fiction Feature 