Where the Light No Longer Follows

Blue Fairytales #3

by Wendy Heiss

Time no longer exists. At least not to Silene.

Serving under the God of Death as a Reaper, she finds herself stepping between life and death every day, collecting souls and guiding them towards the afterlife. When the brother of Death begins interfering in her duties, she begins to question her existence and purpose.

And the closer she comes to finding her answers, the further her current reality sinks deeper.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Novella, Fantasy Romance, Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers

149 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2024

About the author

Wendy Heiss is a indie author debuting with a new adult fantasy trilogy, Winter Gods & Serpents, the first book in The Auran Chronicles. She has graduated with a Forensics Science degree in the United Kingdom, but literature has been one of her passions since she could manage to read and write. Despite being severely tempted to ride the Agatha Christie route to crime novels, she chose to follow the Tolkien path to fantasy. She forwent fingerprint powder for ball pen ink inevitably forgoing her parents hope for a good life and becoming what they always feared...a figuratively starving artist, which is why she won't quit her day time job any time soon.

Reviews

[Clace]

4.15!

"Come out of the damn house and glare at me, shout at me, come out and throw rocks at me, and tell me every single thing you hate about me, just come out."

I have been putting off this review because I really don't know what to say. It was written beautifully, the dialogues and the prose had me breathless because it was denying any attempt I made to put this book down. It is no surprise that I love the way Wendy writes and the themes discussed in this book were very dark, very deep, almost similar to A little life in a way and it was hard to read so I would recommend that you check it's Trigger Warnings but besides that it was a wonderful experience.

"I quite like it down here. Have come to realise why humans get on their knees to pray. Certain things do look like quite something to behold from here"

Silene I wanted to give her a massive hug because what she went through and how she looked at herself broke my heart. She was a very well written character imo and yk that she's well written when you can feel for the characters in the span of 180 pages. Gabriel, the way he called Silene his ruin, his damnation, his demise was so cute. He was such a flawed character and his relationship with his brother Azriel was depicted so well!! Though both of them are really well written characters, I just did not love them as much as I loved the characters from the previous books.

"I want to give you everything, Silene. Let me give you everything."

The romance, it was the sweetest thing that I have ever read, both had undergone such trauma, dealt with such grief and the way they found peace in each others arms and how they longed to see each other and touch each other when they knew that they couldn't AHH. I just wished we had more time with them.

Overall, another great addition to this series but my least favorite as I had problems with the connection with the characters and the time it took for the romance to progress but it is still a book worthy enough to get four stars! I also can't wait to read the next one!

*Thank you to the author for sending me an E-ARC

[Hoda]

” have my heart wounded, sick or scarred. In your hands not stolen or gifted but surrendered. Because a half when it met yours, so in the eyes of gods let it become whole again,”

I have no words. Only tears and heartache and a small victory that buket theory was wrong 😌. It was so good. It was so wonderfully and poetically written just like Wendy others novellas. I’m so addicted to them now i don’t know what i will do when she stops writing them 😭

”you would not understand. You will never understand if i told you how my soul has been tied to yours in ways no soul should ever be tied to another’s, for a while i could not understand myself. I couldn’t understand anything at all. I had to make peace with the fact that’s I’d be longing for you forever before I even knew you”

Gabriel and silene are my favorite forbidden/tragic couple so far 🥹 i knew that this was going to hurt but i didn’t expect it to hurt like this 😭 Wendy when i catch you Wendy 🔪 But at least had buket with me so 🫂 ( just ignore the fact that we had been reading this for over a month now)

beautiful

”You’re perfect. How can you fit so perfectly in my hold yet be the only thing I can’t hold onto forever? How can you be made for me so perfectly yet be the one thing I cannot have?”

“Why did you kiss me?”
“Why did you?”
“Because,I finally get to know how it feels to be alive.”

“ if i could steal anything— anything at all, I’d steal just a kiss from your lips”

“Would you stop looking at me?”
“Gods and Fates have tried, and they both have failed to make me do so. But you can give it a try, too, my pretty desolation.”

“I was more afraid of living. It is such a burden we are given. Life is such a burden.To keep living is a burden when you find no meaning in it, to keep watching years go by as you rot away body and soul with the only thing that could hurt you intact all the way through. If I’d lost my mind, it might have been easier. It would have been a kindness, you know, for you to have granted me that at least.”


—————————————————————————
ME AND BUKET GOT THE ARC AAAAAAAAA 🤍🤍

[Isadora]

Who knew yearning could be done so well in under 200 pages! Now let me warn you, while the romance in this story is the prominent focus there are lengthy discussions about physical abuse, rape and suicide. If those are topics you’re uncomfortable reading about maybe skip this :) The philosophical, flowery writing is taken to the max here with lots of questions surrounding life and carrying on despite hard times. The overall story is perfect for fans of Five Feet Apart and those that love themselves some good banter 🤭

The characters in this were both so cinnamon roll they were adorable! We have Silene who works as a grim reaper for Azriel from the first novella (expect a lot of cameos #yum) While she is sensitive and gentle, she also has a mouth on her and is able to come up with the most laugh out loud combative responses. For example, when asked if her breath was being taken away after taken a sharp deep inhale her reply was “maybe you stink” MY GIRL MY GIRL 👏 Gabriel is by far the most down bad man from this series! Like yearning for 500 years down bad. He has an ego on him but it leads to the funniest jokes and don’t worry, this man will put himself down at the end of the day just to lift Silene up. He’s protective and most of all willing to (listen closely) get down on his knees for her SEVERAL times I might add (when me 😿) Truly super fun and beautiful characters to read and learn about.

The romance between the two is tension filled especially considering the amount of yearning, the best friends brother and touch and SHE dies we have going on. Gabriel really shines with his persistence in getting Silene and he doesn’t stray from letting the reading know either. “How many more nights must I mourn you” is just a glimpse of how much he needs Silene like humans need air. I definitely loved the romance but I do think Silene fell almost a little too hard after disliking him for so long. I wish we kinda got a bit of a slower burn on her side but that’s my only qualm with this.

Definitely recommend if you want a golden retriever and black cat story that will both have you giggling and maybe a little depressed… just a little…

[buket]

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥.
𝐇𝐞'𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

crying count: one(1). i started crying in the first chapter and didn’t stop until the last sentence🤗 (it’s unfortunately not a joke)

highlight count: 124

i’ll be working day and night just to pay my therapy bills after this book. wendy, my favorite author, my worst enemy. i can’t stay away from her books even though they hurt me the most.

🥀“𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞. “𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”

🍂𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

🌾“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”
“𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲.”

🪽“𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐈?”
“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨.”
“𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮?”
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦.



thanks to Wendy, for the arc she’s literally the sweetest person🥹🤍


~~~~~~
WE GOT THE ARC AHHH MY HEARTTTTT😍😍😍😍 HODA MY LOVE BE READY FOR OUR BUDDY READDDDD

~~~~~
i’m sorry for the person i will become when i finally read this on april 20‼️

[Laura (Hiatus)]

I am ruined.
___
I am ready to be ruined.

[Youssra {very busy-review slumping}]

Reread this because I wanted to cry, and well.. mission accomplished😭😭
-----------

I don't wanna talk about it😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[Zeph rose]

RTC

[Noi (in & out)]

I admit I didn't think there would be a book in this 'series' I wouldn't finish. But this is such a sad and depressing book. Don't get me wrong, it's really good and I highlighted the life out of what I read, but like the sadness is on a whole other level.

Also, the TW - Suicide, death, mention of rape, mention of abuse and assault.
------------------------
Stopping at 27% because I need to space this out or something.

[Flora (Helia's version)]

bitch?? this was like a slap on my face (in a good way)

[Natalie]

Update :
Content warnings: severe abuse, sexual violence, suicide, death, trauma, and an absolutely deranged commitment to making sure nobody gets a fucking break.

My optimism about this book is officially dead in a ditch. I walked in ready to get wrecked by the most delicious agonizing yearning imaginable with a warm fuzzy payoff at the end, but instead the author just took a baseball bat directly to my mental health. Not a single gentle landing was provided, no cute little reward for my troubles, just the plain 'ol emotional damage and a face that looked like a swollen potato from crying.

Grab a drink because I need to rant about this tragic mess: Silene is a Reaper. She died like five hundred years ago after a life that was genuinely horrific, like the content warnings ain't playing around, this girl went through hell on earth. Silene's human life was a living hell from start to finish, her own father sold her body to any man who'd pay for his next drink, she got raped and beaten and violated over and over while the whole village knew and did absolutely nothing except spit on her and blame her for it, her father would beat her half to death and then cry like he was the victim, she starved and bruised and bled and still got up to fix her little brother's torn clothes and feed him whatever scraps she could find cause he was the only light she had, and when she finally couldn't take another second she tried to take them both out with poison so he wouldn't inherit her cursed fate but it didn't kill her so she had to finish it herself by slicing her own throat with the same knife she'd cooked his last meal with, and then she found out he didn't even die from her poison, he died a day later avenging her, so she carried that guilt into death and got sentenced to five hundred years of servitude, unable to be touched or looked at or spoken to without flinching cause none of that had ever been a choice for her before.

Now she works for Death, collecting souls, and she's got this whole thing where she can't touch anyone cause her touch kills. She's lonely, she bakes and knits and gardens for a house nobody visits, and she's just counting down her service so she can finally disappear. Then there's Gabriel. God of Life. Literally the guy who makes things grow and breathe. And this man has been in love with her for centuries. Watching her from across the river that separates life and death. Never able to get close. The whole book is them dancing around each other, the ribbon thing, the glass window scene, shadows touching where their bodies can't, all of it. Naturally you assume all this tension builds toward an actual tender payoff because basic storytelling logic dictates that suffering should eventually lead to a reward instead of a middle finger!!

Instead of a payoff we get robbed blind because nothing actually materializes. They grab a pathetic excuse for twenty-four hours after she cuts some miserable deal, finally getting to skin-to-skin touch and loving each other like living people instead of ghosts across a river, and then boom she gets yanked backward into total amnesia. She completely forgets his face, his name, his entire existence. Meanwhile that poor man gets stuck watching her brain reset into a blank slate over and over and over through centuries of endless torture. Every single spring she wanders back in like a stranger meeting him for the first time, and every single night the universe wipes her clean while he stands there dying inside. That endless psychological meat grinder is the climax. That repetitive loop of forgetting is the grand prize. That absolute garbage setup is the final curtain call.

The epilogue tries to soften it with some whispers about their love being eternalised and a child and hope and light but fuck that cause It's giving cope. It's giving maybe this maybe that, tales are kind but fates are not. Ambiguous as hell and I don't trust it!! Don't tell me maybe they got a happy ending, either they did or they didn't and you're being real vague about it so I'm assuming the worst!!

The absolute worst knife to the gut is how both of them deserved a million times better than this garbage fire. Silene survived literal physical hell for decades on mortal ground only to face eternal punishment simply because she tried to escape a living nightmare. Gabriel spent half a millennium bleeding out inside his own chest, loving a woman he could never physically hold, never save from her fate, and never even properly mourn because her cursed spirit kept returning with a completely wiped hard drive. Both victims are trapped in a permanent holding cell of misery while committing zero sins to warrant such cosmic sadism.

Failing to check the warning labels beforehand was entirely my own dumbassery. Spying the words touch-starved yearning and impossible love tricked my brain into believing I was signing up for a delicious little emotional gut punch that actually landed on a proper happily ever after. Instead this one just punched me in the throat and kept kicking my corpse. Zero redeeming qualities exist here. Absolutely nothing good came out of this disaster. Begging the universe for these two poor souls to finally catch a break only resulted in a multi-century groundhog day of brutal amnesia, where she remembers, she forgets, and then they start the torture cycle all over again.

I might crack open another book from this series eventually, but only if someone pinky swears and provides a notarized receipt that everyone gets a happy ending because my patience for relentless emotional torture porn is completely dead. I don't want my characters to suffer just for the sake of suffering. How utterly twisted is it to put characters through that kind of staggering agony, dragging their broken bodies through literal mortal torture for decades, only for them to finally find each other in death and get completely shafted by the author? Real deep guys!! Not cruel at all!!Truly the Bard is weeping in his grave with envy at this level of joyless misery... And I am just supposed to sit here and swallow some garbage two sentence hint in the final pages that maybe, maybe, things turned out okay. Complete crock of absolute shit!!!! They trudged through every single circle of hell and deserved to walk out of it with a damn marching band, not a half-assed shrug!!

So yeah, my heart is completely wrecked, the writing was brilliant enough to carve it out, and I am giving it a two-star rating just because I keep picking up books that break me. I am going to lie down now....

“But some also say that the Reaper fell in love one last time after her five hundred years of her service ended. Whispers had it that it was the last love for the God of Life, too. One he'd waited for so long, one he never let go of.

And that their love was eternalised.

That she never would leave his side.

That their love also bore fruit.

A child so loved by the both of them.

Nor human, nor God.

An omen so dear, so pure and gentle that humanity loved her, too. One that grew bright in the darkest moment. Something akin to hope and light.

And such some would say.

But tales are kind. So kind.

And fates were not.”

(WHAT DO YOU MEAN FATES WERE NOT?? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?? YOU CAN'T JUST DANGLE A CHILD AND ETERNAL LOVE AND HOPE AND LIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND THEN GO "lol but fates tho"....MISS, FATES WEREN'T EVEN IN THE ROOM, THAT WAS JUST YOU AND YOUR KEYBOARD AND YOUR CRUEL, CRUEL IMAGINATION!!)

Her lips parted and she made to speak words she merely couldn't recall. Her teeth dug on the corner of her trembling mouth as she struggled with the words, "I know you, don't I?"

His heart painfully pounded against his ribs, begging to be let out, begging to be handed back onto her gentle hold. "You do."

She swallowed, a tear escaping from her eye, and she sucked in a shaky breath, her lip quivering. "Who are you?"

And he'd introduced himself to her again, for the hundredth and hundredth of times. On a spring morning like many spring mornings before over the years. And like every other time, when day would fade, when light would start to disappear into midnight, she'd forget him. And once again, he'd be a stranger to her, and she'd be the creation he'd beheld with such violent hands.

(with all the love in my heart, what the FUCK was your problem writing this 😭💔)

Pre-read : My work bestie said this one's got peak yearning for 500 years all crammed into barely 150 pages, and I'm talking the touch-starved, can't-even-hold-hands-because-she'll-rot, ribbon-between-them, glass-window-separating-them, shadows-doing-the-flirting-for-them kinda yearning! Bestie said jump and I already asked how high, so once I close the last page of my current love(Eyes of silver) and then it's me, this book, and a pint of something strong😌
Inject thizz Bleed-out-no-doubt-trapped-in-the-page-with-a-heart-breaking-goth-broth-potion right into my veins, Mamacitaaaah!!!😌
Let's fucking gooooo!!!! 😈🔥🥂🔥

[｡.•*¨*•♬✧maeve ✧♬•*¨*•.｡]

⭐️4/5 well, im bawling once again😭 these love stories are so beautiful- i just cant take it!!!!! the fantasy, yearning, slow burn, and anticipation is just so so good!!! ugh i can’t wait for the next 3 books to be released!!!!! i didn’t give 5 stars bc i was confused too long for my liking in the beginning……

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

🌶️2/5 since this is a slow burn novella, there is really just one big smut scene but i promise it delivers!!!!!!

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

romantasy novella
slow burn
god of life x grim reaper
forbidden love
morally gray mmc/bargains
stalker vibes
yearning
etc.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

his touch is the only thing that can kill her😩


⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆


ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴏᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀꜱ ʙᴇᴇɴ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀ 500 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘꜱ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ ɢʀᴀᴠᴇ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ɴɪɢʜᴛ🥹


⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

+100 points for the stunning cover!!!!!!

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾𖤓 ⋆⁺₊⋆

i recommend this to anyone who needs a beautiful but heartbreaking, quick, romantasy read!!! message me if you want to chat🖤

[Dahlia]

๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑  ๋ ࣭"If I gave you a dream, any dream, what would you want to dream about?" he murmured, eyes fluttering from sleep. "I will give it to you."
"Too late," she whispered. "I got my dream." ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑

𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖4.25 🌟
You can't know how many times this serie made me cry , and tbh am not ready to let go of it 💔
This book was as good as the other ones , the trauma in this one made me want to grab Silene and never let her go , and Gabriel? THE MAN HE IS 😩🙏( and let's not forget that we got to see Az again 🤭)

As always the endings break my heart , WHY CANT THEY JUST HAVE A DAMN HAPILLY EVER AFTER 😩😭 they deserve it so much

⌗yes again quotes 😃

๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑ . "Have my heart wounded, sick, or scarred. In your hands not stolen or gifted but surrendered. Become a half when it met yours, so in the eyes of God let it become whole again," she said, dropping her gaze from his and blinking in at her surroundings. "I think that's how it goes." ๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑


๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑  "No one," he said in an almost whisper, "no one deserves that heart. I forbid you to offer it to anyone."
She was sure each pulse jumped over the other, every beat erratic as she stared up at him.

"No one would have it even if I gave it to them for free."
"Smart little creatures humans are. To know of their worth. But wretched, for what they don't deserve, they have sought to ruin." ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑


๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑ Something cool rested under her chin, and she jolted when she looked down at the tip of a butter knife against her skin. Gabriel used it to gently turn her head in his direction. "I'm not beyond slaying any demon, human or not, if you ask me to, my ruin. Just ask me. Tell me what is hurting you and I will hurt them back two-fold." ๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑


๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑  ๋ ࣭"I've come to realize that I do not regret the life I had. It is the life my little brother loved me in," Silene admitted. "But I know I will regret the next one. Neither of you will be in it. I will remember neither of you either."

"Silene-"
"Please," she begged, and he stood, shaking his head. "You cannot leave me. You still have not given me my last demand."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Fishing? Are you really thinking about fishing at this moment?"
"I have no other tricks up my sleeve, Gabriel. How do I fool around any other way?"
"You will be happy, my ruin. You will be so happy, I promise you."⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑


๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑"I don't know what I am without them," she admitted. "I don't know what I am without the violence."

"You're Silene. My beautiful Silene with the gentlest, kindest hands. It wasn't the violence that made you gentle, my ruin, it wasn't the violence that softened you. You were kind and soft and gentle despite it. You won over all. In spite of all, you won. They could not change you, nor your heart—your kind, gentle heart. What they could not change, they hurt. So let me take it away. Let me rip apart those memories for you."

Silene held onto that offer and his words like the most precious thing she owned. "Maybe, maybe I will let you take them away."  ๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑


๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑ Tales would follow for years, and they would tell their stories each with a different path, but always the same ending. That Gabriel had loved the ghost of a woman Silene had been after her bargain with Death for endless years, and that she had never loved him back for longer than a day.

Despite it, no one would speak of what the fates had decided for them at the end of her second curse. They only knew that life had gone on, and that he'd never quite forgiven himself for that. ๋ ࣭ ⭑๋ ࣭ ⭑

WHY WHY WHYYYYY 😭😩😩

----
I dont want to finish this serie 💔

[Saskia [University era]]

✧.* 4 star read
╰┈➤ ❝ Do you know what I've done tonight, my ruin, to have just one moment with you, like this? The waters I've poisoned, the air I've stolen, the stars I've bewitched, the Gods I've lied to?
----------♡----------
WENDY WHAT IS THIS FOR HEARTBREAK
----------♡----------
🖤 female reaper x god (Life)
🖤 yearning
🖤 Poetic writing
🖤 good book to read during the fall 🤭
----------♡----------
“I was more afraid of living. It is such a burden we are given. Life is such a burden.To keep living is a burden when you find no meaning in it, to keep watching years go by as you rot away body and soul with the only thing that could hurt you intact all the way through. If I’d lost my mind, it might have been easier. It would have been a kindness, you know, for you to have granted me that at least.”
----------♡----------
🌻 She loves the colour yellow
🌻 He lets her have a wedding scene, in a wedding dress because that is her dream
🌻 He keeps ''stealing her'' time 🤭
----------♡----------
🌻 ''Death sleeps. Fates sleep. Every existence there is asleep. Only you and I are awake tonight.''
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
🌻 '' I don't want to scare you.''
''I might scare you, too.''
''There is nothing more I want,'' he said, hauling her onto his lap and letting her straddle his hips. ''Make me afraid. Terrify me. I still have not made my peace with this fate. I don't think I ever will. So make me fear. Help me fear it for I know the pain will forever haunt me if I don't make peace with it. Tell me why did you miss me.''
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
🌻''Silene was merely a presence. An augur. Half a soul made up entirely of death, the very essence of dying. One made a Reaper, a servant of Death, when she'd died a few hundred years ago in a realm almost as miserable as this one. Her touch was perhaps the most lethal out of all the one's soul.''
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
🌻''A pretty Grim Reaper with a strange, strange fetish for lace who looks like she wants nothing but to stab me to death.''
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
🌻''Sweet dreams, my ruin.''
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
🌻"Come out of the damn house and glare at me, shout at me, come out and throw rocks at me, and tell me every single thing you hate about me, just come out."
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
"I want to give you everything, Silene. Let me give you everything."
‘let me be just a ghost only to haunt you for i can no longer love you.’
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
”You’re perfect. How can you fit so perfectly in my hold yet be the only thing I can’t hold onto forever? How can you be made for me so perfectly yet be the one thing I cannot have?”
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
“Why did you kiss me?”
“Why did you?”
“Because,I finally get to know how it feels to be alive.”
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
“ if i could steal anything— anything at all, I’d steal just a kiss from your lips”
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡
“Would you stop looking at me?”
“Gods and Fates have tried, and they both have failed to make me do so. But you can give it a try, too, my pretty desolation.”
𐙚‧₊°💛✩₊°☁️⊹♡

[Aaron]

While this may not be my favourite out of the series, I still managed to love this. The way she writes the characters and how she is able to give them so much depth within just 150-200 pages is insane and the romance and build up is also amazing. This one was a little heavy and slow around the edges which made me take my time around this but other than that I loved it.

4-4.35ish stars

[Anne 'E']

My heart is so full right now!! Wendy just knows how to deliver short sob worthy stories in such a beautiful way. This will definitely stay with me for a while.

[Ash ꣑ৎ (quit)]

"I want to give you everything, Silene. Let me give you everything."

This is my third book I've read by Wendy Heiss (it's the third in the blue fairytale series) and it still never fails to shock me how much I love Wendy's writing. All of the books are novellas and are all less than 200 pages, yet she makes me more attached to all of the characters than a 500+ page book can. Also, I have no idea how Wendy never fails to make me sob multiple times throughout every one of her books??

Out of the three books this is definitely the darkest/most traumatic, so if you're considering reading, please check the trigger warnings, which if I'm being honest is why I have been putting off reading it for so long. Ngl there was one or two times where if I was going to have to soft dnf purely bc of some of the topics that the book dealt with, but I am very happy that I finished it, even if I broke myself in the process (don't worry this was expected)


.ೃ࿐⁀➷ Characters

❥ Seline: Honestly, I loved Seline literally from the first page. She is such a complex character and the more you learnt abt her the more I cried and wanted to give her a huge hug 😭😭🫂🫂 Also I just wanted to point out how even after everything terrible that had happened in her life didn't stop her from being so bright and cheerful.

“I was more afraid of living. It is such a burden we are given. Life is such a burden.To keep living is a burden when you find no meaning in it, to keep watching years go by as you rot away body and soul with the only thing that could hurt you intact all the way through. If I’d lost my mind, it might have been easier. It would have been a kindness, you know, for you to have granted me that at least.”

❥ Gabriel: It may have taken me a little bit longer to fully fall in love with Gabriel's character than it did with Seline. I feel like he is the least morally grey of all the mmc so far but surprisingly I didn't mind. I think that what made up for it was how absolutely obsessed he was with Seline, and he was not afraid to show it 🤭🤭

"Come out of the damn house and glare at me, shout at me, come out and throw rocks at me, and tell me every single thing you hate about me, just come out."

Also, there are no words to describe how happy I was to get an Az cameo!! Whilst we may not have gotten both Az and Winter cameo, I can't complain 🥰🥰

.ೃ࿐⁀➷ Romance

❥ Seline + Gabriel: The romance was literally the most wholesome, sweet, cute thing ever 🥹🥹 For the better half of the book I was worried abt how it was going to work as Gabriel can't touch Seline without hurting and potentially killing her, but Wendy never fails to exceed expectations and gave us such a raw vulnerable relationship that pulled at my heartstrings. I still stand by what I said in At The End There Was you, being that I personally don't believe the spice is necessary, but overall, I still absolutely adored these two ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹


.ೃ࿐⁀➷ My rating of the series so far

1. At The End There Was You - ★★★★★
2. Where Light No Longer Follows - ★★★★★
3. The Last War We Ever Fought - ★★★★☆.35


* 。 • ˚ ˛ * 。° 。 • * 。 • ˚ ˛ * 。° 。 •

.ೃ࿐⁀➷ Preread

Ready to sob 😭😭 Also it says the mmc is the brother of death so please please please let there be a Winter and Az cameo 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Yasmine Van Den Meersch]

Wendy did it again… writing something so special, so rare and heartbreakingly beautiful. This series is beyond anything you have ever read, and I can’t recommend it enough ❤️

[๑ seungchaccomin ๑]

average rating: ••••.25

‘let me be just a ghost only to haunt you for i can no longer love you.’

you thought that rowan and elijah's story will make me cry? nope, you're wrong (but the ending got lighten me up a bit, thank you very much) 😁

besides, if azriel and rowan called their fmc's only one endearment, gabriel called silene a lot of endearments (as in, A LOT) 🤭

but i will never forget that one part wherein gabriel granted silene's wish after she said that if she never died, she always want to be a bride. got me teared up though 🥹

and at this point, this is my favorite among the 3 novellas in this series 🤭

───────────────────────

pre-read:

‘this is for whoever finished the last war we ever fought, and wanted seconds.’

yep, that's me. i'm whoever 🙋🏻‍♀️

also, since gabriel mentioned in the first two books of this series, i'm excited to read his story 🤭


at the end there was you - ✮✮✮
the last war we ever fought - ✮✮✮✮
where the light no longer follows -✮✮✮✮.25

[jess]

“My taunting eidolon, my lovely apparition, my beautiful phantom,” he murmured as a wet drop fell against the glass frame. “How many more nights must I mourn you?”

gabriel and his ruin, his damnation, his demise and his misfortune. silene had the saddest backstory from the three, my heart broke for her.

“You’re perfect. How can you fit so perfectly in my hold yet be the only thing I can’t hold onto forever? How can you be made for me so perfectly yet be the one thing I cannot have?”

“You’re Silene. My beautiful Silene with the gentlest, kindest hands. It wasn’t the violence that made you gentle, my ruin, it wasn’t the violence that softened you. You were kind and soft and gentle despite it. You won over all. In spite of all, you won. They could not change you, nor your heart—your kind, gentle heart. What they could not change they hurt. So let me take it away. Let me rip apart those memories for you.”

“Didn’t know the heavens had a smell.” “Mine does.” “Also didn’t know you owned one. But then, you seem to own many things.” “I don’t own her,” he said, reaching for a veil and pinning it at the back of her head. “But she does own me.”

[⋆ ༻ Rue ༺⋆]

My week started it with reading the first page and crying and it ended with me closing this book and crying.

[mika ⭑.ᐟ]

wendy heiss the typa author to say 'ignore any spelling or grammatical errors, english isn't my first language' and then proceed to drop the most earth-shattering lines known to mankind

[carolina (semi ia)]

↳ You never would understand if I told you how my soul has been forever tied to yours in ways no soul should ever be tied to another’s.

Wendy Heiss, you will pay for your crimes! How dare you break my heart like this? 😭 I cried so much, my soul is crushed. This novella ended me, I'm utterly destroyed. This was very painful to read, grief followed me from beginning to end, and although much of it was beautiful and joyful and so very sweet, I knew it wouldn't have the happy ending I wanted.

「 "Have I told you," he said, moving her billowing hair out of her face with the gentility of the wind. "How much I love how you say my name? Like you wish to gut me and eat me alive. I'd let you feast on every single bone. Pull me apart however you'd like.” 」

Still, I couldn't recommend it more. The characters are fascinating, the romance is sickeningly sweet and tender, I felt it deep in my bones. Wendy's writing is a gift, it's absolutely stunning.

°˖➴ quotes I want engraved in my soul:

"I think I wasn't made capable of hate. All of it might have been easier if I had just found a way to hate. If I had clung to it, I might have found some meaning in living."
"And love? Did you not love?"
"I did. To the point of suffocation. I should have loved a little less, maybe I could have been able to hate more.”

He wanted to remember her. Everything about her. He wanted everything about her engraved on his skin, for the ink to take root on his bones, for them to feed into his marrow.

"Any other request, my great misfortune, my beautiful demise?" he asked, no longer holding back his grin. "Or can I have you for another day?"

"I quite like it down here. Have come to realise why humans get on their knees to pray. Certain things do look like quite something to behold from down here."

No colour had ever mattered to Gabriel. Colours were just colours. But her eyes. Oh, her eyes. The moment he'd looked into them long ago, every existing thing had held a breath with him in acquiescence.

"You're Silene. My beautiful Silene with the gentlest, kindest hands. It wasn't the violence that made you gentle, my ruin, it wasn't the violence that softened you. You were kind and soft and gentle despite it. You won over all."

Her heart could never be hollow or narrow enough not to fit him. It was but a wretched thing, blackened by misery and bruised by hopelessness, but she would behold him like a beacon.

[paige]

“To know of their worth. But wretched, for what they don’t deserve, they have sought to ruin.”

[Velina]

never have I ever wanted to thank someone for breaking my heart for the 3th time and excitedly waiting for the 4th time.
So, Wendy go on break me, wreck me, throw me around the room, break my bones, spill all of my blood, i've fallen so low on this app I won't even notice 🤪

[Nilaaa]

“He wanted to remember her. Everything about her. He wanted everything about her engraved on his skin, for the ink to take root on his bones, for them to feed into his marrow.”

[Eva Rian ☾]

3.5 ⭐️

[Sarah]

“And love? Did you not love?”“I did. To the point of suffocation. I should have loved a little less, maybe I could have been able to hate more.”

“What am I to do with a heart I cannot use to love her, Silene?”

“Gabriel?” she asked, smiling when she heard his pulse quicken.“Yes, my beautiful ruin?”

“Deny me, my ruination,” he called as she stepped into the boat over Lethe. “It makes begging all the more enjoyable.”

Something about these books just hit different like they make me feel things like i want more of these characters and i feel like these characters are real people and not fictional🧍🏻‍♀️

This one isn’t my favorite but i did still like it, i loved the mcs sm and their bond was so special!! I also absolutely loved how the mmc loves the fmc like i want someone to love me like that too😔 but i still wouldn’t say this one is my favorite bc i do prefer the first and the second book!! (Still liked it tho and i would totally recommend this trilogy!!)

These books are soo unique I’ve never read anything like them and i want more books in this universe like i can’t get enough!! The writing is soo beautiful in all 3 books, the author really knew how to write beautiful yet heartbreaking stories in books less than 300 pages!! She also succeeded at getting me attached to the characters!!

[Selena]

6⭐

Never have I experienced a story that has made me cry for 90 percent of the book while also holding my heart captive through it all. Never has anything hurt so much while being so deeply moving and beautiful. Never have I suffered with another's pain and trauma and healed along their journey with this much fervor. Never have I been this devastated.

I have cried the first time on page 10 and the last time after the last page had already faded and I was writing this review.

I might have been torn in the beginning, but no spelling error or doubled word could ever take away from the emotional impact and deep poetic resonance this novella has evoked.

What I loved most about this story
♥️ The pain both characters feel is palpable in every single sentence
♥️ The snippets we learn from their past offer a slow understanding of their dynamic without being overwhelming or oversharing
♥️ The persistence of the MMC (in any way, shape or form)
♥️ Sacrifice for the sake of a moment, even if it fades

This book is a love song to giving up everything just to be able to love for a moment. A homage to thigs that are eternal while only happening in the blink of an eye.

[earth to vivie']

"𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

: ̗̀➛ time no longer exists, at least not to silene, serving under the God of death as a reaper, she finds herself stepping between life and death every day, collecting souls and guiding them towards the afterlife, when the brother of death begins interfering in her duties, she begins to question her existence and purpose, and the closer she comes to finding her answers, the further her current reality sinks deeper.

“𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯,”

: ̗̀➛ as heartbreakingly beautiful as the first two novellas, i was a fool to expect a more happy ending but the ending was magnificent as always (this author is such a genius), i absolutely adored this series, the stories are so unique that it makes you fall in love with everything in it

“𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪 𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴"
"𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

: ̗̀➛ i have no words only heartache, never have i ever wanted to fall in love with LIFE as badly as i do rn, i would desperately like to thank wendy for breaking my heart for the third time, I'm forever grateful for these painfully beautiful novella's 📖'

"𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘮 𝘪 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦?”

"𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘪 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥.”

"𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳?"

[Minna]

"You're the only thing that doesn't die by my touch."

"And you're the only thing that dies by mine."

CUT THE CAMERAS. CUT THE MF'ING CAMERAS. I apologize if I am so annoying with these reviews for this series with all my screaming and crying, but no I am absolutely not fine after finishing this, thanks for asking. if you value your sanity, do not read this series back to back in the span of two days. Absolutely don't do it, because I feel like my heart is broken and tattered after finishing this one. I was an ugly crying mess reading this book and my eyes are still puffy and swollen.

Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I already wanted to go back and reread this. The writing is beautiful, and my heart was hurting so much for Silene and Gabriel. I can't even begin to describe this book with any adequate words. I just need more people to read it, and feel this pain with me 😭

“You’re asking me to let go of something I love just because they wish to be let go.”

“It isn't for you to choose.”

“How is it not? If they let me love them, why won’t they let me save them?”

I won't say too much, but he slept at her grave for FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. The amount of yearning in this damn book. I know it wasn't going to be a happy ending, none of these books are, but did you have to rip my heart out and stomp on it too 😭😭😭 Let me have a dang word with these so called Fates 😭