[A quick note: I’ve probably said this before but Rebecca Ross can do no wrong. I’m slowly working my way through her catalogue of books. This one I listened to as an audiobook. Highly recommend because the narrator did a fantastic job. However, I almost wish I’d have read it too, because seeing the way the words flowed so beautifully on the page would have been a treat. I do plan to reread this at some point, so I’ll probably do it as a physical book next time.]
“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒖𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔.” —Rebecca Ross
I freaking adored this semi-cozy fantasy. The narrator was AMAZING. But the book itself, with its gorgeous atmospheric writing, characters, world building, and plot, was everything. It follows four characters: Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra. Each one has such a beautiful character arc and story. I loved seeing Torin and Sidra fall in love again, and I loved seeing Jack and Adaira fall in love for the first time.
Rebecca Ross is an auto buy author for me. Her writing is always BEAUTIFUL. She has such a way of transporting her readers into the pages. The world building was inspired by Scottish clans and gods of the north, south, east, and west. I loved the idea of two feuding clans, the Tamerlains and the Breckans, and the struggles they faced.
The ending HURT me. There was definitely a shock factor in the last ten percent, but those last couple pages just tore my heart in half. I’m so glad I don’t have to wait for the second book. I cannot wait to see where our characters go from here.
Overall, this still felt a little YA, though it’s marketed as adult. For obvious reasons: all four characters are adults. Plus, the themes are slightly more adult based, less about coming of age, and more about confronting flaws. Especially the backbone of the plot, with the missing girls. I didn’t mind that it straddled the line a bit, though. It’s definitely something that can be read by all ages.
𝑴𝒀 𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮: 𝟓⭐️