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These Shattered Spires
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Expected 10 Mar 26In a rotten and bloody world, four magical rivals are forced to work together to avoid certain death in a deadly competition. A queer, gothic fantasy YA, perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and Gideon the Ninth.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots.
Those yet to succumb to the curse of decay inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines – blood, bone, stone and botany.
The castle is thrown into chaos when the ruler of Fourspires is assassinated. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their human familiars are forced to kill or be killed in the Slaughter, a bloody fight for succession at the top of the Fifth Tower. Familiars, both servants and sources of power to arcanists, are forbidden from even speaking. For them, the Slaughter means certain death.
When Nixie, a botanical familiar, learns that her fate can be avoided and the rotting curse of Fourspires lifted, she'll stop at nothing to save herself. But she must work with familiars from across the rival disciplines – not easy when one of them is her bone witch ex-girlfriend, Taro – find four magical curse keys and climb the deadly Fifth Tower. With just 48 hours until the Slaughter begins, Nixie and Taro must forge an unlikely alliance with rival familiars Alis and Elliot. Together, the four Wyrdos must battle re-animated skeletons, poisonous and possessed plants, un-dead nuns and the deadliest enemies of all; each other.
These Shattered Spires is the first instalment of the sensational and gloriously gothic Wyrdos Trilogy.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots.
Those yet to succumb to the curse of decay inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines – blood, bone, stone and botany.
The castle is thrown into chaos when the ruler of Fourspires is assassinated. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their human familiars are forced to kill or be killed in the Slaughter, a bloody fight for succession at the top of the Fifth Tower. Familiars, both servants and sources of power to arcanists, are forbidden from even speaking. For them, the Slaughter means certain death.
When Nixie, a botanical familiar, learns that her fate can be avoided and the rotting curse of Fourspires lifted, she'll stop at nothing to save herself. But she must work with familiars from across the rival disciplines – not easy when one of them is her bone witch ex-girlfriend, Taro – find four magical curse keys and climb the deadly Fifth Tower. With just 48 hours until the Slaughter begins, Nixie and Taro must forge an unlikely alliance with rival familiars Alis and Elliot. Together, the four Wyrdos must battle re-animated skeletons, poisonous and possessed plants, un-dead nuns and the deadliest enemies of all; each other.
These Shattered Spires is the first instalment of the sensational and gloriously gothic Wyrdos Trilogy.
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 10, 2026
4 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 7, 2025
I know a lot of books comp Gideon The Ninth, but this genuinely felt like reading a YA version of it. It has queers that could not be more horrible, and yet so are incredibly endearing in their enduring of the suffering they face. The worldbuilding and plot are insane and do not care if you understand them. Just pure brilliance.
December 28, 2025
4.5! Truly chaos personified for every second and I loved it
Full review to come - thank you to Bloomsbury for providing an arc copy for my honest feedback
Full review to come - thank you to Bloomsbury for providing an arc copy for my honest feedback
November 22, 2025
📚These Shattered Spires
✍🏻Cassidy Ellis Salter
Blurb:
In a rotten and bloody world, four magical rivals are forced to work together to avoid certain death in a deadly competition. A queer, gothic fantasy YA, perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and Gideon the Ninth.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots.
Those yet to succumb to the curse of decay inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines – blood, bone, stone and botany.
The castle is thrown into chaos when the ruler of Fourspires is assassinated. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their human familiars are forced to kill or be killed in the Slaughter, a bloody fight for succession at the top of the Fifth Tower. Familiars, both servants and sources of power to arcanists, are forbidden from even speaking. For them, the Slaughter means certain death.
When Nixie, a botanical familiar, learns that her fate can be avoided and the rotting curse of Fourspires lifted, she'll stop at nothing to save herself. But she must work with familiars from across the rival disciplines – not easy when one of them is her bone witch ex-girlfriend, Taro – find four magical curse keys and climb the deadly Fifth Tower. With just 48 hours until the Slaughter begins, Nixie and Taro must forge an unlikely alliance with rival familiars Alis and Elliot. Together, the four Wyrdos must battle re-animated skeletons, poisonous and possessed plants, un-dead nuns and the deadliest enemies of all; each other.
These Shattered Spires is the first instalment of the sensational and gloriously gothic Wyrdos Trilogy.
My Thoughts:
In this YA high fantasy, four magical rivals must work together to survive a deadly competition. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Gideon the Ninth.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots. Those who haven’t yet decayed inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from the four disciplines—blood, bone, stone and botany.
But when the king of Fourspires is assassinated, the castle is thrown into chaos. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their familiars must kill or be killed in a bloody fight to the top of the Fifth Tower. For the familiars, who are the arcanists’ servants and sources of power, this will mean certain death.
Nixie, a botanical familiar, discovers that this fate can be avoided if she and familiars from each discipline find four cursed keys and take them to the Fifth Tower themselves. It’s a dangerous and deeply illegal quest, and none of them has reason to trust one another. But with just forty-eight hours until the competition begins, four tenuous allies must decide if they can bear to work together long enough to save themselves.
The inner dialogue is hilarious, the characters are complex and have a complicated history we are yet to learn more about. I can’t wait for book two.
Thanks NetGalley, Bloomsbury YA Publishing and Author Cassidy Ellis Salter for the advanced copy of "These Shattered Spires" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#BloomburyYAPublishing
#CassidyEllisSalter
#TheseShatteredSpires
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️Trigger Warnings: Body horror, Death, Torture, Blood
✍🏻Cassidy Ellis Salter
Blurb:
In a rotten and bloody world, four magical rivals are forced to work together to avoid certain death in a deadly competition. A queer, gothic fantasy YA, perfect for fans of The Atlas Six and Gideon the Ninth.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots.
Those yet to succumb to the curse of decay inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from across the four magical disciplines – blood, bone, stone and botany.
The castle is thrown into chaos when the ruler of Fourspires is assassinated. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their human familiars are forced to kill or be killed in the Slaughter, a bloody fight for succession at the top of the Fifth Tower. Familiars, both servants and sources of power to arcanists, are forbidden from even speaking. For them, the Slaughter means certain death.
When Nixie, a botanical familiar, learns that her fate can be avoided and the rotting curse of Fourspires lifted, she'll stop at nothing to save herself. But she must work with familiars from across the rival disciplines – not easy when one of them is her bone witch ex-girlfriend, Taro – find four magical curse keys and climb the deadly Fifth Tower. With just 48 hours until the Slaughter begins, Nixie and Taro must forge an unlikely alliance with rival familiars Alis and Elliot. Together, the four Wyrdos must battle re-animated skeletons, poisonous and possessed plants, un-dead nuns and the deadliest enemies of all; each other.
These Shattered Spires is the first instalment of the sensational and gloriously gothic Wyrdos Trilogy.
My Thoughts:
In this YA high fantasy, four magical rivals must work together to survive a deadly competition. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Gideon the Ninth.
Entombed beneath a tooth-filled sky, the world rots. Those who haven’t yet decayed inhabit Fourspires Castle, home to arcanists from the four disciplines—blood, bone, stone and botany.
But when the king of Fourspires is assassinated, the castle is thrown into chaos. To crown a new ruler, the arcanists and their familiars must kill or be killed in a bloody fight to the top of the Fifth Tower. For the familiars, who are the arcanists’ servants and sources of power, this will mean certain death.
Nixie, a botanical familiar, discovers that this fate can be avoided if she and familiars from each discipline find four cursed keys and take them to the Fifth Tower themselves. It’s a dangerous and deeply illegal quest, and none of them has reason to trust one another. But with just forty-eight hours until the competition begins, four tenuous allies must decide if they can bear to work together long enough to save themselves.
The inner dialogue is hilarious, the characters are complex and have a complicated history we are yet to learn more about. I can’t wait for book two.
Thanks NetGalley, Bloomsbury YA Publishing and Author Cassidy Ellis Salter for the advanced copy of "These Shattered Spires" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#BloomburyYAPublishing
#CassidyEllisSalter
#TheseShatteredSpires
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️Trigger Warnings: Body horror, Death, Torture, Blood
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is one of the few books where Gideon the Ninth actually is a fitting comp title. The whole time I was reading this I kept thinking about how reminiscent of the Locked Tomb series this book’s vibe was, and I didn’t even remember that that Gideon the Ninth was actually listed as a comp title in the blurb on Netgalley. It’s less confusing than the Locked Tomb series, especially compared to Harrow and Nona, but it definitely still captures that same feeling I got while reading the Locked Tomb books.
The characters are not especially likeable, in fact most of them are straight up assholes, but they still manage to be interesting and non-frustrating anyway. This book also doesn’t really feel a need to really explain its world-building to the reader, you just kinda have to pick up on how the magic system, the social structure, the institutions, etc. work, along the way. The humour may not be everyone’s thing, because it feels kinda tumblr-coded? I don’t know how to explain this because unlike the Locked Tomb series, These Shattered Spires doesn’t include any straight up tumblr posts, but to me, who’s been on tumblr since 2013, it still reads as very tumblr.
The book has not-exactly-necromancy-but-very-much-reminiscent-of-necromancy-magic-by-way-of-the-Locked-Tomb-books that is kinda gory and gross, occasionally veering on body horror. It’s also wonderfully queer; there’s sapphic bullshittery, MM bullshittery, and a non-binary main character who ended up being the only one who’s not an absolute asshole of a dumbass by the end (CW and minor spoiler warning about this: ).
Also, based on the ending, I’m guessing this is gonna be at least a duology, and I’m begging publishers to include that info in the description. As is, the blurb makes it sound like this is a stand-alone, but having read the book, I don’t think it is one.
----
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s for the ARC!
The characters are not especially likeable, in fact most of them are straight up assholes, but they still manage to be interesting and non-frustrating anyway. This book also doesn’t really feel a need to really explain its world-building to the reader, you just kinda have to pick up on how the magic system, the social structure, the institutions, etc. work, along the way. The humour may not be everyone’s thing, because it feels kinda tumblr-coded? I don’t know how to explain this because unlike the Locked Tomb series, These Shattered Spires doesn’t include any straight up tumblr posts, but to me, who’s been on tumblr since 2013, it still reads as very tumblr.
The book has not-exactly-necromancy-but-very-much-reminiscent-of-necromancy-magic-by-way-of-the-Locked-Tomb-books that is kinda gory and gross, occasionally veering on body horror. It’s also wonderfully queer; there’s sapphic bullshittery, MM bullshittery, and a non-binary main character who ended up being the only one who’s not an absolute asshole of a dumbass by the end (CW and minor spoiler warning about this: ).
Also, based on the ending, I’m guessing this is gonna be at least a duology, and I’m begging publishers to include that info in the description. As is, the blurb makes it sound like this is a stand-alone, but having read the book, I don’t think it is one.
----
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
(4.5 stars rounded up)
These Shattered Spires completely took me by surprise in the best possible way. This book felt unlike anything I’ve read before. It is dark, gothic, and atmospheric, with a tone that immediately pulls you into its sharp-edged world.
And the characters, oh the characters. They were witty, biting, and endlessly entertaining. Getting to live inside their inner monologues was one of my favorite parts of the story. Their frustration with their spires and the head arcanists felt so raw and real that it almost took me back to college, when I too (only a little, I promise) occasionally despised my professors. That emotional authenticity made the characters feel incredibly human, even in such a fantastical setting.
The world building deserves special praise. The spires, the magic, the literal tooth-filled sky, and the academy setting were vivid and unique, yet still easy to imagine. Everything felt intentional and immersive, and I never struggled to picture the world unfolding around the characters. On top of that, I loved how thoughtfully this book represented the LGBTQ community, while also addressing the very real stress and pressure students face within an academic system. Those themes added so much depth to the story.
I will admit that I didn’t realize this was the first installment in a trilogy until I reached the final page. Finding that out left me both thrilled and devastated. I’m thrilled because I get to spend more time in this world with Taro, Alix, Elliot, and Nixie, but devastated because now I have no idea how long I’ll have to wait to jump into book two.
All that said, I couldn’t be happier that I had the chance to read this early proof of this epic YA fantasy. Thank you to Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read and review this book early. I’ll be counting down the days until the rest of the trilogy arrives.
These Shattered Spires completely took me by surprise in the best possible way. This book felt unlike anything I’ve read before. It is dark, gothic, and atmospheric, with a tone that immediately pulls you into its sharp-edged world.
And the characters, oh the characters. They were witty, biting, and endlessly entertaining. Getting to live inside their inner monologues was one of my favorite parts of the story. Their frustration with their spires and the head arcanists felt so raw and real that it almost took me back to college, when I too (only a little, I promise) occasionally despised my professors. That emotional authenticity made the characters feel incredibly human, even in such a fantastical setting.
The world building deserves special praise. The spires, the magic, the literal tooth-filled sky, and the academy setting were vivid and unique, yet still easy to imagine. Everything felt intentional and immersive, and I never struggled to picture the world unfolding around the characters. On top of that, I loved how thoughtfully this book represented the LGBTQ community, while also addressing the very real stress and pressure students face within an academic system. Those themes added so much depth to the story.
I will admit that I didn’t realize this was the first installment in a trilogy until I reached the final page. Finding that out left me both thrilled and devastated. I’m thrilled because I get to spend more time in this world with Taro, Alix, Elliot, and Nixie, but devastated because now I have no idea how long I’ll have to wait to jump into book two.
All that said, I couldn’t be happier that I had the chance to read this early proof of this epic YA fantasy. Thank you to Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read and review this book early. I’ll be counting down the days until the rest of the trilogy arrives.
November 4, 2025
The world building in this book to stunning, the descriptions throughout the book of the fourspires and surrounding world is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It is a completely unique world from the sky of teeth to the melting walls and rotting ulcer in the basement. The description is so detailed you can imagine you are there inside the gory, creepy, gothic castle.
The introduction to the 5 spires and the main characters was a nice touch and incredibly useful. The accompanying illustrations are absolutely beautiful and continue throughout the book.
The magic system is incredibly unique, it’s made up of four disciplines stone, blood, bone and botany. Each discipline has a head arcanist that takes power from a familiar. Each morning they have to perform the suppression to stop the apocalypse.
The story follows four familiars one from each discipline Taro, Nixie, Elliot and Alis as they are forced to work together to prevent the slaughter. The slaughter is a competition between their arcanist to become the new head which will lead to most if not all of their deaths.
The relationships between these characters are complex, full of hate, love, longing and attraction. If there’s an emotion they feel it at one point or another.
The inner dialogue is hilarious, the characters are complex and have a complicated history we are yet to learn more about. I can’t wait for book two.
The book has great LGBTQIA+ representation and Handles dark themes well.
I haven’t been this excited about a book in a long time, I simultaneously didn’t want to put it down and wanted to make the reading experience last as long as possible.
Thank you NetGalley, Bloomsbury publishing and Cassidy Ellis Slater for my copy of the E-Arc.
The introduction to the 5 spires and the main characters was a nice touch and incredibly useful. The accompanying illustrations are absolutely beautiful and continue throughout the book.
The magic system is incredibly unique, it’s made up of four disciplines stone, blood, bone and botany. Each discipline has a head arcanist that takes power from a familiar. Each morning they have to perform the suppression to stop the apocalypse.
The story follows four familiars one from each discipline Taro, Nixie, Elliot and Alis as they are forced to work together to prevent the slaughter. The slaughter is a competition between their arcanist to become the new head which will lead to most if not all of their deaths.
The relationships between these characters are complex, full of hate, love, longing and attraction. If there’s an emotion they feel it at one point or another.
The inner dialogue is hilarious, the characters are complex and have a complicated history we are yet to learn more about. I can’t wait for book two.
The book has great LGBTQIA+ representation and Handles dark themes well.
I haven’t been this excited about a book in a long time, I simultaneously didn’t want to put it down and wanted to make the reading experience last as long as possible.
Thank you NetGalley, Bloomsbury publishing and Cassidy Ellis Slater for my copy of the E-Arc.
November 29, 2025
I saw this advertised on Netgalley and thought I'd give it a go. It's a bit different from my usual go to book genre; Romantasy!
I wasn't quite sure what to expect at first, this book is definitely up there in terms of unique and unapologetically strange 😂.
The world building is a lot to take in but in a good way. At the beginning of the book, readers are introduced to the Spires - Blackspire, Redspire, Greenspire and Greyspire. The illustrations of the four familiars...Taro, Nixie, Elliot and Alis from each discipline (blood, bone, stone and botany) are cool.
The story follows the four of them in the slaughter and their relationships along the way. This is suitable for all ages, nothing inappropriate, just a need for a strong stomach 😂.
For me the world was very gross, the descriptions had me feeling queasy in places. A rotting castle, I mean the sky is made of teeth (yes you heard that correctly 😂).
My favourite thing about this book was definitely the sarcasm, wit, inner dialogue and the many retorts from characters.
This book has LGBTQIA+ representation too 👏
some non context dialogue/quotes ⬇️
I hope the library cats murder you in your sleep
They won't kill me. Someone has to look after the books when the old bag is gone.
Hurry up and go for your morning nap, you total waste of bones. I have
treason to commit.
I implore the library to fall on your head and crush your spine like an accordian.
Go impale yourself.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect at first, this book is definitely up there in terms of unique and unapologetically strange 😂.
The world building is a lot to take in but in a good way. At the beginning of the book, readers are introduced to the Spires - Blackspire, Redspire, Greenspire and Greyspire. The illustrations of the four familiars...Taro, Nixie, Elliot and Alis from each discipline (blood, bone, stone and botany) are cool.
The story follows the four of them in the slaughter and their relationships along the way. This is suitable for all ages, nothing inappropriate, just a need for a strong stomach 😂.
For me the world was very gross, the descriptions had me feeling queasy in places. A rotting castle, I mean the sky is made of teeth (yes you heard that correctly 😂).
My favourite thing about this book was definitely the sarcasm, wit, inner dialogue and the many retorts from characters.
This book has LGBTQIA+ representation too 👏
some non context dialogue/quotes ⬇️
I hope the library cats murder you in your sleep
They won't kill me. Someone has to look after the books when the old bag is gone.
Hurry up and go for your morning nap, you total waste of bones. I have
treason to commit.
I implore the library to fall on your head and crush your spine like an accordian.
Go impale yourself.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What did I just read? I'm not entirely sure but I know that I am OBSESSED.
Walls that bleed? A rotting ulcer below ground? Creepy nuns of questionable origin that take great chunks out of people and get excited at the prospect of bloodshed? Teeth in the sky?
Yeah, teeth.
I am in awe of the confidence of this writing; the world that has been created is completely bonkers and it couldn't care less whether you can keep up or not. It's going to keep throwing details at you and you can like it or lump it. There's probably actual lumps in the walls somewhere.
I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book. For all of the "oh no, it's the end of the world" moments of peril, there are so many details that just make it such a fun, visual experience.
Then there's the characters. Oh, those troublesome four. The characters are beautifully flawed. They are SO easy to dislike and judge yet somehow, by the end, you are genuinely rooting for them to come together and succeed, all the while wondering: wait, when did I start to like them? I don't think I approved this change of heart?
The representation of LGBTQIA+ struggles was handled with delicacy and grace, not overplayed but written in just enough detail that your heart really goes out to them, Alix especially.
The little cliffhanger at the end as well, teasing the theme for the next book? Brilliant. Needless to say, I cannot wait for book two.
Walls that bleed? A rotting ulcer below ground? Creepy nuns of questionable origin that take great chunks out of people and get excited at the prospect of bloodshed? Teeth in the sky?
Yeah, teeth.
I am in awe of the confidence of this writing; the world that has been created is completely bonkers and it couldn't care less whether you can keep up or not. It's going to keep throwing details at you and you can like it or lump it. There's probably actual lumps in the walls somewhere.
I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book. For all of the "oh no, it's the end of the world" moments of peril, there are so many details that just make it such a fun, visual experience.
Then there's the characters. Oh, those troublesome four. The characters are beautifully flawed. They are SO easy to dislike and judge yet somehow, by the end, you are genuinely rooting for them to come together and succeed, all the while wondering: wait, when did I start to like them? I don't think I approved this change of heart?
The representation of LGBTQIA+ struggles was handled with delicacy and grace, not overplayed but written in just enough detail that your heart really goes out to them, Alix especially.
The little cliffhanger at the end as well, teasing the theme for the next book? Brilliant. Needless to say, I cannot wait for book two.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a strange, gothic, and borderline macabre story. Many reviewers compare this to another series called Gideon the Ninth but I myself haven't read that series.
The world-building delivered a unique setting - 4 disciplines of arcane magic, a tooth-filled sky surrounding the kingdom, and a curse that routinely causes the entire world to fall on the verge of apocalypse if not suppressed by the head arcanist of each arcane discipline. It took quite a bit of story to understand the main principles of this book's world, but once it clicked, I was invested.
The characters are morally grey - each has made choices that could be easily villainous or framed as survivalist in a world where everything is a struggle for them. Each main arcane apprentice (at one time or another) all have dynamic relationships with each other that feel believable. Feelings change as devastating secrets are revealed. Decisions made based upon that character's view of the other's. It was refreshing to have ambivalent characters where none of them could be classified as the hero of the story.
I'd enjoy reading more of this series.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher Bloomsbury for allowing me a chance to read and review an ARC of this book.
The world-building delivered a unique setting - 4 disciplines of arcane magic, a tooth-filled sky surrounding the kingdom, and a curse that routinely causes the entire world to fall on the verge of apocalypse if not suppressed by the head arcanist of each arcane discipline. It took quite a bit of story to understand the main principles of this book's world, but once it clicked, I was invested.
The characters are morally grey - each has made choices that could be easily villainous or framed as survivalist in a world where everything is a struggle for them. Each main arcane apprentice (at one time or another) all have dynamic relationships with each other that feel believable. Feelings change as devastating secrets are revealed. Decisions made based upon that character's view of the other's. It was refreshing to have ambivalent characters where none of them could be classified as the hero of the story.
I'd enjoy reading more of this series.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher Bloomsbury for allowing me a chance to read and review an ARC of this book.
December 8, 2025
Yesss a horror fantasy with queer characters! While it definitely has horror vibes, this book is absolutely an epic fantasy. I would recommend this for fans of Five Broken Blades. You have a ton of awesome characters who don’t really want to work together that are stuck together and relying on one another to stay alive.
It’s gothic. It’s epic. It’s full of reluctant allies tension. It’s action packed. Has very vivid descriptions. And it’s a must read for epic fantasy lovers.
It was personally a little difficult for me to keep track of things because the story is written in third person but following a bunch of characters. We’re mostly following the same throughout, but the third person just makes it feel a little more expansive.
The art for the chapter headers though…omg I love! I want to buy a physical copy just so I can admire them.
Thank you very much to Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s gothic. It’s epic. It’s full of reluctant allies tension. It’s action packed. Has very vivid descriptions. And it’s a must read for epic fantasy lovers.
It was personally a little difficult for me to keep track of things because the story is written in third person but following a bunch of characters. We’re mostly following the same throughout, but the third person just makes it feel a little more expansive.
The art for the chapter headers though…omg I love! I want to buy a physical copy just so I can admire them.
Thank you very much to Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 22, 2025
This was hands down one of my favorite reads of 2025! It's gloriously queer, filled to the brim with snarky, witty dialogue and internals that had me cackling nonstop, and messy, loveable characters (even when they're being awful). Alix has my whole heart, I am determined to give Elliot a hug, Taro is The Worst but in that way where I'm still obsessed with her/would maybe follow her into a cult? (that's talented writing right there) and I found Nixie so very relatable but omg keyboard smash. I am fully rabid for round two, like what do you mean I have to wait?!
The worldbuilding is immaculate, the setting is weird and horrific in the best way, and the vibes fully live up to the Gideon the Ninth comp.
Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me an Advanced Copy (I got the Greenspire edition with the gorgeous portrait of Nixie on the cover!)
The worldbuilding is immaculate, the setting is weird and horrific in the best way, and the vibes fully live up to the Gideon the Ninth comp.
Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me an Advanced Copy (I got the Greenspire edition with the gorgeous portrait of Nixie on the cover!)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Loved this world. A great ya fantasy for teens. I would describe the aesthetic of this book as gothic, moody, and filled with ancient magic, adventure, and self discovery. In essence, it is an adventure novel following four individuals as they explore ancient ruins and problem solve, but in a unique setting.
November 19, 2025
3.5 ⭐ (happy sigh) this was uber gay. whatever alix wants, alix should have (also elliot, my boy)
it was giving gideon the ninth x atlas six x devouring gray.
it was giving gideon the ninth x atlas six x devouring gray.
December 14, 2025
I ADORE my unhinged, mentally ill queers <3
my ability to stop thinking about this book is on par with the main character's fighting abilities......nonexistent... this book occupies my mind
*full review to come. spoiler: I loved it*
my ability to stop thinking about this book is on par with the main character's fighting abilities......nonexistent... this book occupies my mind
*full review to come. spoiler: I loved it*
May 31, 2025
IM! SO! EXCITED!! AHH
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews