This book was a whirlwind of action and fantasy creatures, that it had me absolutely captivated. From Fae to Pixies and then even Reapers, it's a whole magical universe set in the very human world around us.
Our main cast include:
Arlo who is an Ironborn (half fae - half human) and trying to find her place within the magical community, despite currently showing little-to-no magic. She seems to be the awkward, quiet type who just wants to get on with her life. Never wanting to get in trouble, she seems to find herself landing in the midst of it quite often.
Nausicaä, "The Dark Star", who is almost an anti-hero (she doesn't necessarily want to do good, but rather wants to clear her own name of these murders). Nos is our sarcastic, chaotic badass who isn't afraid to actively cause friction and trouble.
There's the charming Prince of the Seelie Court, Vehan - who has reason to believe these murders might find their way to him and his protector-slash-childhood-bestie, Aurelian.
These Folk live among us, concealed by magic, until out of nowhere a series of ritualistic murders happen amongst the Ironborn - pulling our four main characters together on a murder mystery adventure.
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Firstly, the description in this is beautiful. Ashley really made these characters seem ethereal and dreamy.
"He was terrible. He was beautiful in a way that was difficult to look at, but at the same time horrifyingly wraithlike in a way that disfigured that beauty entirely."
I love love love the fact that the Fae Courts were embedded into human reality. There were eight Fae Courts, each of which were spread across the human world. There were even cafes in which both magical folk and humans could visit (hello, can I mix with faeries on a daily please?). I think having it set in real places really helps to give some oomph to the story, because you're able to imagine what these places and characters would be like in your own life.
Pop culture references were littered throughout this book which I really appreciated, including quotes from Twilight and a rather big nod to Dungeons and Dragons (perfect, for reeling in us fantasy nerds!). I think these elements made it really easy to feel a connection to the characters, we were able to build upon their personalities with relatable memories.
The representation of the LGBTQ+ community in this was fantastic, with multiple queer characters and a person who's pronouns were xe/xis. There was also a scene in the story where Nos (if I remember correctly) explains that some of the Folk prefer not to be gendered and to therefore use neutral terms - this was really well integrated and smoothly placed into the story.
The characters! We saw some really great development; the banter, the love-hate relationships, the friendships that we saw building throughout. Even the characters we weren't supposed to like were so well written to be 'bad-guys' that I really did dislike them!
My main little qualm with this book is that with such a deep magical world, it sometimes felt hard to find my feet within it. And by this I mean the fact that not only were there Fae (eight courts, an entire social/political structure), but also faeries (which related to anything magical - from pixies and sprites to trolls and dwarves), Furies and then Titans.
There was just so much to keep up with. Once the pace of the book started really going, I found myself having to backtrack to remember the lore and what each type of character was/their role within the story.
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Overall, I really really enjoyed this book and for lovers of ACOTAR I'd highly recommend it.
Despite being a little confusing to follow at times, I fell so deeply into the story and in love with our gang of magical detectives. I laughed, I teared up and I couldn't shake the post-book-fog for a good few days after reading. I'm eagerly (though incredibly prematurely) awaiting the second book.
Are you a fantasy reader? Does this strike your interest?
Let me know what your favourite type of fantasy character is, I'd love to nerd out with you!
* I was kindly sent an eARC of this book in return for an honest review, a big thank you to Netgalley, Hodder Publicity and Ashley Shuttleworth.
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