The Candle Was A Mistake : Book 1 Of The Underrealm Series

by Zarae Thornevale

When college student Elira lights a candle on a dare, she doesn’t summon peace, she opens a door. To him.

Bound to a charming, terrifying stranger who speaks in riddles and shadows, Elira finds herself entangled in a war that spans the human world and a cursed Underrealm. Her dreams unravel. Her memories lie. And love might be the deadliest mistake of all.

In a tale woven with possession, obsession, betrayal, and slow-burning desire, The Candle Was a Mistake is the first book in a gripping fantasy series where nothing is what it seems and everyone has something to hide.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2025

Reviews

[Sibil · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

This book should not be sold as a book. Because it is not. It is a draft. Interesting. Promising. But a draft and not a book.

[Beth Tabeart · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has promise, the use of metaphors and the emotive language starts to paint a picture. But it’s chaotic, and disjointed. It’s missing so much context, there is no consistent narrative and as the reader you spend more time struggling to understand than you are to enjoy.
This is the start of a plot with some cracking one liners - and the beginning of some interesting characters with their dynamic.
It needs an editor and a second draft.

[Rafaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait for the book to release, I'm sure I'll love it just as I have been loving it all so far
I've been following the reels on IG, and had a friend of mine hooked up too, so much so that I pre-ordered
The bonus chapter made me hot, made swoon, made me wonder
Jinu, the boy behind the mirror already has my heart, alongside with Lucien
You go, little witch!

[Tara Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I definitely got hooked by the Insta. They’re hilarious. I agree with the other reviews. The premise is very promising, but it doesn’t read like a book; it feels like an incomplete synopsis. The characters are really promising. I found Claudia to be the most interesting. I really hope that we get to hear more of her story. I found Jinu annoying, but I think that might be because who he was and why he was there was not thoroughly fleshed out, there were references without explaining his role. Also, the tortured lover boy is just boring. Who the three suitors were, with the exception of Satan, are never really explained. It could use a bit more narrative, specifically to explain the backstory a little bit more. It felt like you were watching the third episode and missed all the world building. You need the world-building. Also, Claudia, as hell’s HR, was funny, but the storyline seems almost abandoned in the middle of the story. The same goes for who Fig was, where he came from, and why the Archivist was important. I don’t want to be overly critical because I think the story could reach its full potential, and I hope it does. But I think the author needs to do a little more writing and re-release before they can continue with the story; you need the prologue. Even the whole Pinterest spell wasn’t explained. How did she get to that point? Why did she get to the point? How old was she? Where was she when she did that? What did that room look like?

[Kora Moses · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely by far the wildest book I’d read yet. It’s different from the style of writing other writers use. From reading other reviews, I can definitely say this book is either a hit or a miss for readers.
I enjoyed this book (draft? As some people are calling it) and found myself highlighting a lot of the things written. Metaphors used in this book sat right in my heart the whole time.. or my soul I should say.

Found this book on instagram and thought the clips were funny. When I started reading the book I literally said “oh.. maybe I won’t like this.” Because of the writing style but I read a little at a time and enjoyed the story line. Definitely made the top 10 reads of the year.

34th book I read this year.

[Cassie'sBookCorner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy... the concept was cool but the formatting and plot were such a mess that I couldn't follow.

This started on Wattpad and it shows. The author did absolutely NO editing/formatting to move a chaotic story into Kindle format. It was like it written in episodes that didn't really mesh together. It was hard to tell which timeline the story was in, which POV each "chapter" was in. Also, I was halfway before I realized that there were 3 love interests not including the baddie.

WTF?!

This is a first draft at best. This sucks because the concept was so good!

My rating: 1/5

[Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came across this on Instagram reels and got sucked in.

It definitely had potential, but it felt like it wasn't fully fleshed out. I was confused most of the time I was reading and felt like a lot of back story was just left out. Having said that, it was pretty decent as far as plot goes. It just could've had more background and I would've liked it a lot more.

But, I'm excited to see where the next book goes and if the author improves.

[Jamie Reeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Treasure found in an Instagram post

I was entertained by the original post (and all that have since followed) that spawned this story.

I was thrilled to see that it would find life as a story on watt pad.

I was ecstatic to learn that it was growing into a book.

The characters are relatable. The humor is perfect. The snark and sass is amazing.

I look forward to the next one.

[Fenyx Asher · Rating 2 out of 5]

wasn't really a fan of how it was laid out. I liked the premise of it, the story plot itself is well thought out.
The writing was more of a rough draft than a story, there was no flow from one thing to another, a lot of times, I found myself trying to catch up on what was happening and spent the majority of my time confused.

[Cait · Rating 1 out of 5]

unfortunately I am convinced this is an AI written book. the authors social media in no way depicts a real human. this book had promise but its a mess and reads like a script draft and is not at all an edited or properly written book. author claims to be a "content creator" yet her IG is just full of these random little books as if shes released 5 since June of this year?

[Lisa Ritter Hayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical

One of a very few books I couldn't put down. The story and characters draw you in and make you feel like you have known them all your life. Perhaps you have. If you are a fan of dark fantasy, you will love this book. I can't wait for the next one.

[Pranav Sharma · Rating 1 out of 5]

nope. just nope!

I don’t mind dark or confusing stories, but this one never provides enough structure to justify its ambiguity. By the end, I felt manipulated rather than intrigued. The only consistently understandable character was the cat.

[R · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The concept sounded fun. The execution was lacking. Time line of events were all over the place, sometimes a week after an event, next chapter is day after same event. Characters were introduced several times several ways. MC perspective jumps from 1st person to 3rd. I recommend the author use an editor or let a trusted friend give a once over before release.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

instagram had me hooked

Worth the read! Slow burn and hilatious.
Can’t wait for the second one.
Humor, wit and sarcasm wrapped up with theses characters.