Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley, but I also fought in the TRENCHES for this at NYCC 2022 and that must be acknowledged.
Synopsis:
Lady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She’s young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin—embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family—often forget Gemma exists.
Worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong.
Then she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan d’Astier. His family destroyed themselves, seduced by a demon, and Talan, the only survivor, is determined to redeem their honor. Intrigued and enchanted, Gemma proposes a bargain: She’ll help Talan navigate high society if he helps her destroy the Basks. According to popular legend, a demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families’ blood feud—slay the demon, end the feud.
But attacks on the Middlemist are increasing. The plot against the Basks quickly spirals out of control. And something immense and terrifying is awakening in Gemma, drawing her inexorably toward Talan and an all-consuming passion that could destroy her—or show her the true strength of her power at last.
My Review:
First things first, I don’t think this book is for everyone. That goes for both triggers and writing, to be honest. I really liked this book, but I can’t really say if that’s due to my unconditional love for Claire Legrand and everything she writes or the actual craft of it. It didn’t meet my (frankly unreasonable) expectations, but I did truly enjoy ACOIAG and its writing and characters.
Now onto the actual meat of the review! To begin with, I had mixed thoughts on the characters most of the time. I often didn’t like their personalities or occasional naivete, but I did like how they were developed and how they interacted with one another, which I’ve always considered a strength of Legrand’s. One of my favorite aspects of this was the similarities between these new characters and her old ones. A lot of this that I saw was more in dynamics, but I loved that some traits were much like that of characters from the Empirium Trilogy, but I still didn’t find them insanely predictable.
Next up, relationships of all sorts. First of all, I do think that this is one of those fantasy romance books where it’s both fantasy and romance, but it leans so heavily on the romance in the beginning that you get frustrated that there isn’t enough fantasy. The novel starts off with a huge, world-changing event with the Middlemist, but for the first half, all Gemma ever thinks about is Talan and occasionally her social status. I wished it was more fantasy there, but it definitely leans into the heavier aspects later. In terms of Talan and Gemma, I actually really liked them, but not /all/ the time. They’re that couple where you need them to see straight, but you absolutely appreciate their acceptance of one another regardless. Even when I’m wary of a Legrand character, I always love how much respect and affection they show to those close to them. The friendships later in this book were really when the relationships shone for me. I don’t want to spoil, but we met some characters that I really loved, and they were so amazing to one another.
Lastly(ish), plot and world-building. I didn’t find the world the most digestible, but I was on page with the plot and world until like the last few chapters. Otherwise, there was a lot of great content. Was it the fastest? Not really. I pride myself on fast, one-sitting reading, and that didn’t really pan out here. However, I didn’t think the book was tremendously hurt by it. The world was so rich, and I loved the complexity of the demons and politics and greenways and the like.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. Every book Legrand writes feels new even with their similarities, and that’s why I’d say those who only like the Empirium Trilogy should stay away. It wasn’t the perfection I wanted or even that similar to its comp titles, but I loved it and can’t wait for book two!
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/5
The Fiction Feature 