What do you think?
Rate this book
How Does It Feel?
336 pages, Paperback
Published March 26, 2024
59 people are currently reading
1882 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews
July 8, 2024
kinda like acotar if you got it off temu
March 6, 2024
What the Heck did I just read!!!! 😱
This book was such a crazy and insane read. This book is VERY DARK Fantasy Romance so please check your trigger warnings. This was a fast paced book that doesn’t let up. I really liked this book. At some points I was WTF just happened!!😳 There were a few times I think it was going too fast and I had to go back and reread it again. Very addicting story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jeneane O’Riley, and Bloom Books for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.
March 4, 2024
So we all saw the booktok review right? That’s definitely why I came to read this book 🤣
And it was definitely an interesting read..
The first 25-30% was a fun cutesy story about a young scientist with a love for animals (who seem to be equally obsessed with her), who befriends the town outcast who is labelled as crazy for his outlandish tales of magical beings and sinister evils.
And then our FMC finds herself trapped somewhere otherworldly with the unseelie who despise humans and wish her harm as she attempts to find an escape.
Here is where it took a turn for me, although the fantastical elements and world building was unique and interesting, there where honestly multiple gross and unnecessarily disturbing parts.. I didn’t even get disturbed reading “haunting & hunting Adeline” but some scenes here gave me the absolute ick. I also don’t think it necessary to be using the C word in books, I’m here for a good time not to have my brain assaulted 🤣.
That being said.. there’s still a lot I did like about this book. I liked the quirky FMC, I liked the animal elements, the 9 tail princes assassin, the interesting facts about science and moths etc. So I proceeded onward refusing to allow the multiple icks to deter me from finishing the book.
My rating would be 3.5. I would recommend the read with generous prewarnings that some scenes may make your stomach turn.. This book definitely could have benefited from some editing but I still had a fun time reading for the majority of the book.
Thank you to sourcebooks, Jeneane Oriley and NetGalley for a free copy!
And it was definitely an interesting read..
The first 25-30% was a fun cutesy story about a young scientist with a love for animals (who seem to be equally obsessed with her), who befriends the town outcast who is labelled as crazy for his outlandish tales of magical beings and sinister evils.
And then our FMC finds herself trapped somewhere otherworldly with the unseelie who despise humans and wish her harm as she attempts to find an escape.
Here is where it took a turn for me, although the fantastical elements and world building was unique and interesting, there where honestly multiple gross and unnecessarily disturbing parts.. I didn’t even get disturbed reading “haunting & hunting Adeline” but some scenes here gave me the absolute ick. I also don’t think it necessary to be using the C word in books, I’m here for a good time not to have my brain assaulted 🤣.
That being said.. there’s still a lot I did like about this book. I liked the quirky FMC, I liked the animal elements, the 9 tail princes assassin, the interesting facts about science and moths etc. So I proceeded onward refusing to allow the multiple icks to deter me from finishing the book.
My rating would be 3.5. I would recommend the read with generous prewarnings that some scenes may make your stomach turn.. This book definitely could have benefited from some editing but I still had a fun time reading for the majority of the book.
Thank you to sourcebooks, Jeneane Oriley and NetGalley for a free copy!
April 24, 2024
lol the twist wasn’t even that good tbh
March 2, 2024
This book….just wow.
This is genuinely one of the best books I’ve read in long time. The way the author was able to write a protagonist that we sympathized for and invested in was brilliant. I will not give the plot away but please PLEASE read this book. When I tell you I was shocked, stunned, flabbergasted, aghast, astounded, all of the words at the conclusion, it is not an understatement. I even went out and bought TWO physical copies of the book because I needed proof I read this amazing story on my shelf.
All that to say- read this book.
Thank you Jeneane O'Riley and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. It is truly great.
This is genuinely one of the best books I’ve read in long time. The way the author was able to write a protagonist that we sympathized for and invested in was brilliant. I will not give the plot away but please PLEASE read this book. When I tell you I was shocked, stunned, flabbergasted, aghast, astounded, all of the words at the conclusion, it is not an understatement. I even went out and bought TWO physical copies of the book because I needed proof I read this amazing story on my shelf.
All that to say- read this book.
Thank you Jeneane O'Riley and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. It is truly great.
September 30, 2025
~2.75~
This book was so weird. It’s extremely poorly written and makes no sequential sense. I genuinely don’t understand how the twist at the end works if we were in Callie’s head the whole time… like should we not know her actual motives??? It’s so weird getting a new angle from the person you’re in the head of!!!! And the “love” between her and Mendax… like where in the world did that come from??? This book GENUINELY made almost no sense and was a complete dumpster fire.
HOWEVER, it still very much so held my attention??? And I was curious to see what was going to happen throughout the whole thing… so there’s an 80% chance I read the next one lol. So we’ll see I guess!
This book was so weird. It’s extremely poorly written and makes no sequential sense. I genuinely don’t understand how the twist at the end works if we were in Callie’s head the whole time… like should we not know her actual motives??? It’s so weird getting a new angle from the person you’re in the head of!!!! And the “love” between her and Mendax… like where in the world did that come from??? This book GENUINELY made almost no sense and was a complete dumpster fire.
HOWEVER, it still very much so held my attention??? And I was curious to see what was going to happen throughout the whole thing… so there’s an 80% chance I read the next one lol. So we’ll see I guess!
May 17, 2024
DNF at 70%
it baffles me this book got published
it baffles me this book got published
March 22, 2025
4.5 ⭐️ I devoured this in one day. This book had me feeling all the things. The plot twist at the end?! WTF. 🤯
September 22, 2024
this was so damn cringy, but so damn addictive at the same time. i DEVOURED this book
March 6, 2024
I did not know much going into this book other than it being popular on Booktok. Let me just say, I was not expecting that. Do not go into this book thinking you will get a lighthearted story with Fae. Read the trigger warnings!
The crazy thing about this book is that basically until the last chapter you are thinking one thing, all for it to be a complete lie. That last chapter I was shocked. I did not expect for Callie to be who she was, or Earl for that matter. I also did not see myself sympathizing so much for the villain.
Callie is a scientist who we do not know much about. All we know is that animals love her and her family is dead. We also know she has a mystery friend Eli. Callie finds herself caught up with the fae, and accused of trying to assassinate the prince. She is adamant throughout the book that she is a simple human who ended up there by accident. All I can say is that Callie might be the best liar and she deserves an Oscar.
Immediately the Unseelie Prince is obsessed. At first it is a dark obsession as he just wants her dead. Soon that obsession turn to love. All I can say is that I am rooting for him.
The end of the book was a total cliffhanger. Not only is Callie, who is actually Calypso, finally getting to go to the Seelie Court, but we know that the prince is in fact not dead and will do whatever it takes to get her back.
Overall, this was a dark read that I found myself enthralled by. Very excited to see where the rest of the series goes.
Thank you Bloom Publishing ang and Jeneane O'Riley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
The crazy thing about this book is that basically until the last chapter you are thinking one thing, all for it to be a complete lie. That last chapter I was shocked. I did not expect for Callie to be who she was, or Earl for that matter. I also did not see myself sympathizing so much for the villain.
Callie is a scientist who we do not know much about. All we know is that animals love her and her family is dead. We also know she has a mystery friend Eli. Callie finds herself caught up with the fae, and accused of trying to assassinate the prince. She is adamant throughout the book that she is a simple human who ended up there by accident. All I can say is that Callie might be the best liar and she deserves an Oscar.
Immediately the Unseelie Prince is obsessed. At first it is a dark obsession as he just wants her dead. Soon that obsession turn to love. All I can say is that I am rooting for him.
The end of the book was a total cliffhanger. Not only is Callie, who is actually Calypso, finally getting to go to the Seelie Court, but we know that the prince is in fact not dead and will do whatever it takes to get her back.
Overall, this was a dark read that I found myself enthralled by. Very excited to see where the rest of the series goes.
Thank you Bloom Publishing ang and Jeneane O'Riley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
July 23, 2024
Here it goes….there’s a high possibility that I would have enjoyed the book better if it was a novel about how Callie scientifically saved the moths and was hero to the environment. But alas! This is a fantasy book.
While I did finish the story and quite enjoyed the twist, there were things that made this book rough.
1. Callie’s internal dialogue was so repetitive. It felt like 50% of the book was her repeating how much she wanted/loathed Mendax.
2. There is nothing in a book that gives me more of an ick than stupid phrases. These phrases occurred one right after the other over a few pages, then never mentioned again. “What the fork?” “holy esophagus” “poop” “crap on a cracker”.
3. Mendax went from 0-100 in loving her. I could get it if they were mates. But they weren’t. And they weren’t even bonded yet.
4. There were quite a few oddly structured sentences. There were many times where I needed to reread the sentence just to make sure I understood it.
5. The Bog was the grossest weirded thing ever. It was so vile and completely unnecessary to the story. The sexual arousal scenes at her fear was actually pretty disgusting.
Overall, not an awful read but also not amazing. I will read the next one because I bought it blindly expecting this series to be phenomenal.
While I did finish the story and quite enjoyed the twist, there were things that made this book rough.
1. Callie’s internal dialogue was so repetitive. It felt like 50% of the book was her repeating how much she wanted/loathed Mendax.
2. There is nothing in a book that gives me more of an ick than stupid phrases. These phrases occurred one right after the other over a few pages, then never mentioned again. “What the fork?” “holy esophagus” “poop” “crap on a cracker”.
3. Mendax went from 0-100 in loving her. I could get it if they were mates. But they weren’t. And they weren’t even bonded yet.
4. There were quite a few oddly structured sentences. There were many times where I needed to reread the sentence just to make sure I understood it.
5. The Bog was the grossest weirded thing ever. It was so vile and completely unnecessary to the story. The sexual arousal scenes at her fear was actually pretty disgusting.
Overall, not an awful read but also not amazing. I will read the next one because I bought it blindly expecting this series to be phenomenal.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2024
Was very entertained. Kept me thinking about this book whenever I was at work. I will say, I did not like that the author used such a degrading vocabulary for the some of the things said about humans such as (wh@re and s!ut) and the whole monster thing with the forest bog. I kind of got annoyed that the prince was constantly claiming that she was trying to kill him. But I also loved him. Bro he still loved her even when she like semi killed him. But like the last chapter gave me insane whip lash. Pulling an Aelin I see. I thought there would be more an in depth explanation of why she attracted animals. But was hooked with the romance and plot itself. Just some minor critiques. I will be buying the next book ASAP though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2024
Ngl I'm usually spot on with guessing plot twists and presuming what will happen, but this book rearranged my whole brain, that ending was insane 🤯 I was reading the last couple of chapters mouth agape and constantly grabbing my boyfriends leg in disbelief. He actually paused his video game (must be love, I know) to watch me read because he thought my reactions were so funny 😭😂
June 23, 2025
Wow, this was SO bad. The writing was awful. It felt like the plot was like the Walmart version of ACOTAR. The characters were not interesting. The FMC is an idiot. Who goes into the woods wearing a short black dress and heels? And she’s supposed to be an extremely intelligent scientist? This was the worst book of 2025 for me so far. Save yourself some time and don’t read this one.
May 15, 2024
lol this was so bad
October 28, 2024
Finally finished this after trying to read it for 3 weeks 🫣 2.75 ⭐️
October 29, 2025
so, ok... wow. where do I begin...? the whole first half of this book is weird and goofy and then there's a total tone change and gets really going... and then it throws you off a cliff. final thoughts: it was... definitely not what I expected going in blind... but it definitely got interesting at the end when they just threw the whole damn story in the fire. I was surprised. this story has balls.
October 1, 2025
Yoooo WHAT?!?! I was listening to it in my car, and I was audibly yelling “WHAT?!?!” At the ending. The mfc did have me rolling my eyes a lot, I liked her, but I felt like she overused the “I’m so small and pretty, and I’m a scientist!” line. 😹
⭐️Possible spoilers in…3…2…1…⭐️
but you wouldn’t have had to convince me to be Mendax’s queen. ARE YOU KIDDING ME CALLIE?! I’m all about a villain/bad guy. 👀 I really enjoyed this one, and I’m looking forward to finishing this series!
⭐️Possible spoilers in…3…2…1…⭐️
but you wouldn’t have had to convince me to be Mendax’s queen. ARE YOU KIDDING ME CALLIE?! I’m all about a villain/bad guy. 👀 I really enjoyed this one, and I’m looking forward to finishing this series!
September 21, 2025
Honestly, the first book isn't at all what I was expecting it to be. The first half of the book is completely different from the second half, almost like the author decided to make a completely different story halfway through.
The intensity of the characters and the relationships between them becomes clearer as the story progresses and we learn more about them. It becomes much clearer why the series is called "infatuated fae" towards the end of the book.
Infatuated is a very appropriate word for the way the MMC expresses his emotions for the FMC but the line becomes very blurry as the author begins to romanticize this association. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell if our villain is in fact the main antagonist of the story.
As lines become blurred and relations hazy and unstable it is nearly impossible to trust the direction the plot is headed towards. There is a decent amount of plot twists, more so in the next books and as the story progresses
The story starts out pretty slow and mundane and I will say the book isn't that great. But, there is something about it that compels you to pick up the next book in the series, just to see whats to come
The intensity of the characters and the relationships between them becomes clearer as the story progresses and we learn more about them. It becomes much clearer why the series is called "infatuated fae" towards the end of the book.
Infatuated is a very appropriate word for the way the MMC expresses his emotions for the FMC but the line becomes very blurry as the author begins to romanticize this association. It becomes increasingly difficult to tell if our villain is in fact the main antagonist of the story.
As lines become blurred and relations hazy and unstable it is nearly impossible to trust the direction the plot is headed towards. There is a decent amount of plot twists, more so in the next books and as the story progresses
The story starts out pretty slow and mundane and I will say the book isn't that great. But, there is something about it that compels you to pick up the next book in the series, just to see whats to come
March 8, 2024
Wow wow wow!!! First I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bloom books for this advanced readers copy.
I’m giving this book 5 stars bumped up from 4.5 because I can’t get it out of my head.
Plot: Callie Peterson a dedicated scientist and animal lover searches in the woods for a rare mushroom in hopes that it would save the Luna moth population. She finds herself in a faerie portal and falls into the unseelie court lands, home to viscous creatures and wicked fae.
Mistakenly taken for an assassin after landing on Prince Mandex from the portal (prince of the unseelie court) she taken taken to the castle where she is imprisoned and to defeat three trials if she wishes to prove her innocence and return home to the mortal realm.
Thoughts: The world building in this book I found to be quite easy and not too intimidating. It leaves you the vision of how things work in the realms but leaving for more information to be shared in future books. I liked the characters in this book though there were certain things I felt needed more detail. I absolutely love the dynamic between Callie Mandex. You can see where the author left little clues and bread crumbs trails to his changing feelings for her. Though he’s done terrible things, I found myself rooting for prince mandex. I think there’s more to his story and I’m very interested in finding out what that entails. And our fmc Callie is definitely more than meets the eye. Especially after that plot twist of an ending!! I’m so confused!! I need more information. This left me on such a big cliff hanger, I need the next book immediately!! I liked the description of the areas that the story took place, I found myself easily able to picture what they looked like, which is important in the reading experience for me. All in all, I loved this book, I breezed through it and couldn’t wait to pick it back up again.
Favorite quote:
"How does it feel?"
"To know that I love you and that you have doomed me? That you and only you have the power to disarm and debilitate me. That you, a human, have dismantled every part of me and rebuilt it as a shrine in your honor."
Final thoughts:
I highly recommend this book to any romantasy lover. An enemies to lovers fae romance dream. Caution though! Be sure to check trigger warnings!
I’m giving this book 5 stars bumped up from 4.5 because I can’t get it out of my head.
Plot: Callie Peterson a dedicated scientist and animal lover searches in the woods for a rare mushroom in hopes that it would save the Luna moth population. She finds herself in a faerie portal and falls into the unseelie court lands, home to viscous creatures and wicked fae.
Mistakenly taken for an assassin after landing on Prince Mandex from the portal (prince of the unseelie court) she taken taken to the castle where she is imprisoned and to defeat three trials if she wishes to prove her innocence and return home to the mortal realm.
Thoughts: The world building in this book I found to be quite easy and not too intimidating. It leaves you the vision of how things work in the realms but leaving for more information to be shared in future books. I liked the characters in this book though there were certain things I felt needed more detail. I absolutely love the dynamic between Callie Mandex. You can see where the author left little clues and bread crumbs trails to his changing feelings for her. Though he’s done terrible things, I found myself rooting for prince mandex. I think there’s more to his story and I’m very interested in finding out what that entails. And our fmc Callie is definitely more than meets the eye. Especially after that plot twist of an ending!! I’m so confused!! I need more information. This left me on such a big cliff hanger, I need the next book immediately!! I liked the description of the areas that the story took place, I found myself easily able to picture what they looked like, which is important in the reading experience for me. All in all, I loved this book, I breezed through it and couldn’t wait to pick it back up again.
Favorite quote:
"How does it feel?"
"To know that I love you and that you have doomed me? That you and only you have the power to disarm and debilitate me. That you, a human, have dismantled every part of me and rebuilt it as a shrine in your honor."
Final thoughts:
I highly recommend this book to any romantasy lover. An enemies to lovers fae romance dream. Caution though! Be sure to check trigger warnings!
March 17, 2024
A kind nerd biologist, falls into a cruel world that wants to break her or kill her.
A fae prince decided to kill this human, an assassin after his life.
Highlights 📖
A trickster dark fantasy romance that will try to lure you into wrong judgments.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5
🍆🍆 of 5
@ ARC (this is my honest opinion)
Genre 📖
Dark Fantasy romance #1
Summary 📖
My Achilles is a nerd scientist that sees beauty in nature and is obsessed with solving its puzzles. This book gives me all that and more, since it takes its time to introduce us to Callie and her daily life as a biology researcher.
But when she falls into the Unseelie Fae prince, time warps. He set out to kill her, to accuse her of being an assassin. And then the darkness kicks in. Don’t read it if you like to fall for the MMC on the first book. This will be a delicious slow burn series.
Feels 📖
Well, you could call Callie a snowflake, or a nerd trying to find a place to fit in. You can call the fae king a monster or start to believe in him. Or you can just enjoy the ride and watch the cliffhanger dropping with a smirk on your face.
Content Warnings 📖
Violence, deæth of family member, scientific community patriarchy (this a trigger of mine), torture, etc.
Series 📖
Series, #1
POV count 📖
2 (audio w/ 2 narrators)
A fae prince decided to kill this human, an assassin after his life.
Highlights 📖
A trickster dark fantasy romance that will try to lure you into wrong judgments.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5
🍆🍆 of 5
@ ARC (this is my honest opinion)
Genre 📖
Dark Fantasy romance #1
Summary 📖
My Achilles is a nerd scientist that sees beauty in nature and is obsessed with solving its puzzles. This book gives me all that and more, since it takes its time to introduce us to Callie and her daily life as a biology researcher.
But when she falls into the Unseelie Fae prince, time warps. He set out to kill her, to accuse her of being an assassin. And then the darkness kicks in. Don’t read it if you like to fall for the MMC on the first book. This will be a delicious slow burn series.
Feels 📖
Well, you could call Callie a snowflake, or a nerd trying to find a place to fit in. You can call the fae king a monster or start to believe in him. Or you can just enjoy the ride and watch the cliffhanger dropping with a smirk on your face.
Content Warnings 📖
Violence, deæth of family member, scientific community patriarchy (this a trigger of mine), torture, etc.
Series 📖
Series, #1
POV count 📖
2 (audio w/ 2 narrators)
April 24, 2024
How does it feel? By Jeneane O’Riley
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I have tried to write this review so many times over the past few days and still struggle to put my thoughts on this book into words. The first 50-65% of this book is absolute torture. There were so many times that I was going to DNF but then I kept looking at the 5 star reviews and had to finish to know HOW people could rate it that high. The next 20-25% of the book were pretty good, I really enjoyed the trials and relationship between Mendax and Carrie (although their relationship was so bogus but the tension was incredible) and then the last 15% of the book took me by surprise and I really enjoyed it and it definitely surprised me. I just wish that the majority of the book was better.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I have tried to write this review so many times over the past few days and still struggle to put my thoughts on this book into words. The first 50-65% of this book is absolute torture. There were so many times that I was going to DNF but then I kept looking at the 5 star reviews and had to finish to know HOW people could rate it that high. The next 20-25% of the book were pretty good, I really enjoyed the trials and relationship between Mendax and Carrie (although their relationship was so bogus but the tension was incredible) and then the last 15% of the book took me by surprise and I really enjoyed it and it definitely surprised me. I just wish that the majority of the book was better.
January 9, 2025
Warning, this review is most unhelpful. Sorry in advance.
I have no idea how I feel about this book. It started as a fun and easy read. There was even some banter that made me laugh out loud. I liked it. Then I nearly DNFed it because of some disturbing scenes that didn’t sit right with me. I figured I’d keep going since it was still early in the book. Several chapters later, I was starting to like it again. But then I became fiercely annoyed with the characters. And then the ending blew my mind. (In a good way? I’m undecided.) And now I’m just confused.
I have no idea how I feel about this book. It started as a fun and easy read. There was even some banter that made me laugh out loud. I liked it. Then I nearly DNFed it because of some disturbing scenes that didn’t sit right with me. I figured I’d keep going since it was still early in the book. Several chapters later, I was starting to like it again. But then I became fiercely annoyed with the characters. And then the ending blew my mind. (In a good way? I’m undecided.) And now I’m just confused.
June 5, 2024
Honestly don’t really know what i just read with that whack twist at the end. Also why did it take so long for Callie to even get in the fae world, and why is his name Mendax? He also sucks and tried to kill her 100000 times, but who am I to judge.
June 12, 2024
I could see why people did not like this book so early on, and why a majority of the bad reviews are DNF, but I ATE this up. And the ending?! The ending makes this go from 3-4 stars to 5 stars bc i was like WHAT?!
February 3, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Ughhhh I get the hype!! I loved this book so much. It was easy read and I feel we like in love with the characters very easily. Though I saw the ending coming a bit I was still shocked like Callie I was rooting for you ugh. I can’t wait to read book two!! 🫶🏾
Ughhhh I get the hype!! I loved this book so much. It was easy read and I feel we like in love with the characters very easily. Though I saw the ending coming a bit I was still shocked like Callie I was rooting for you ugh. I can’t wait to read book two!! 🫶🏾
February 18, 2025
3★/ 17+/1🌶️
Um, in all honesty, what did I just read? What a weird book! I wish we would’ve gotten more POV from Mendax. Best part of this book was the last five chapters. Also, this definitely could’ve been edited down to less chapters.
Scientist assassin & fae.
Um, in all honesty, what did I just read? What a weird book! I wish we would’ve gotten more POV from Mendax. Best part of this book was the last five chapters. Also, this definitely could’ve been edited down to less chapters.
Scientist assassin & fae.
April 5, 2024
This book was so unhinged and not in a fun way. 😵💫
I need to stop trusting the BookTok hype. 😭
I need to stop trusting the BookTok hype. 😭
May 1, 2024
One of my favorites now! I need the next one immediately
Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews