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To Dream in Darkness
Not yet published
Expected 27 Oct 26Two gods strike a bargain that leads them on a journey with devastating consequences in this lush historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Ann Liang.
China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing―and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands―she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.
Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.
Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths―and rising―to restore the balance Rujia's disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning...
China in the age of brilliance, where gods freely wander the three realms. Amongst them is the cruel and beautiful Death God, who has never failed to collect a soul on time. Until now. For when he seeks out Rujia, the noble god of healing―and the only god he is fated to kill with his own hands―she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: she will help lift the excruciating, century-old curse placed upon him if he gives her a one-month reprieve.
Rujia knows she isn’t as noble as everyone believes. Her deal with Death is merely an excuse to buy herself time while she figures out an escape plan. But when her plan causes the Celestial Palace’s collapse and the beloved crown prince’s disappearance, she and Death are both held responsible. The only way to avoid the wrath of all the other gods is to travel across the realms and safely retrieve the crown prince themselves.
Yet the journey proves far more treacherous than expected. As the unlikely alliance between them blooms into more, and Death’s resolve to kill Rujia weakens by the day, neither can outrun their intertwined fate without devastating consequences: A mysterious plague. An empire-destroying flood. A thousand deaths―and rising―to restore the balance Rujia's disrupted. And if Rujia continues to live despite the will of the Heavens, this is only the beginning...
368 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 27, 2026
About the author
Ann Liang
16 books16.2k followersAnn Liang is the New York Times and Indie bestselling author of the critically acclaimed YA novels This Time It’s Real, If You Could See the Sun, and I Hope This Doesn't Find You. Her books have sold into over twenty foreign territories. Born in Beijing, she grew up traveling back and forth between China and Australia, but somehow ended up with an American accent. She now lives in Melbourne, where she can be found making overambitious to do lists and having profound conversations with her pet labradoodle about who’s a good dog.
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.45 stars!
Welcome to the world where even Gods can die.
The decree is absolute- the Healer must die so the world may live. Rujia, the Goddess of Healing, has spent centuries clawing her way to the apex of the heavenly hierarchy. Power, glory and the realization of her ultimate ambition are finally within her grasp. But the cosmos has a ceiling for how high a mortal-born can climb, and Rujia has finally hit it. Now, the gods want her pulled down before she cracks the glass and to prevent catastrophic calamities that would slaughter thousands of innocents, she must die.
Now comes Keran, the God of Death. He is the loyal executioner of the cosmos, bound by duty and incapable of mercy. Except Rujia refuses to go quietly into the night. Desperate to buy time and find a loophole in the celestial law, Rujia offers Keran a deal he cannot refuse. She demands one month of life. In exchange, she will use her astonishing healing arts to break his 500-year-old curse that has agonizingly decayed Keran’s immortal soul.
Now, Death is harbouring his own target. As the clock ticks down, the healer and the reluctant executioner must live under the same roof. But as Rujia tries to heal Keran and begins to dismantle the walls around his heart and Keran realizes that the more he breathes life into her, the more impossible it becomes to deliver her death.
・・・・・・・
𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
・・・・・・・
I'll admit that the execution in the beginning fell a bit short for me. It took the first few chapters to truly find my footing in this book. However, once the story got its hooks into me, I was completely invested. Ann Liang’s writing is really meticulous. The scenery and atmosphere were beautifully captured painting vivid pictures that make the world feel lush and immersive. At times, I found myself laughing at Rujia's sheer audacity. The way she boldly interacts with the Death God had me laughing out loud. I could never, because I simply do not have that kind of guts! The 2nd part of the book actually made me enjoy the book. It perfectly handled these hilarious, witty interactions with the story's most emotionally hard-hitting moments.
Despite everything I enjoyed, it wasn’t a perfect read, which finally dragged down my final rating. However, the book trips over its own logic with some massive plot holes I just couldn't look past. It's so frustrating when a story spends ages hyping up a massive detail, only for it to never matter again. You sit through chapters of agonizing build-up, completely stressed out about how the characters will survive, only for the writer to wave a magic wand and fix everything in two seconds. It completely kills the vibe.
⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪
pre-read:
I GOT THE ARC!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: 27 Oct 2026
Welcome to the world where even Gods can die.
The decree is absolute- the Healer must die so the world may live. Rujia, the Goddess of Healing, has spent centuries clawing her way to the apex of the heavenly hierarchy. Power, glory and the realization of her ultimate ambition are finally within her grasp. But the cosmos has a ceiling for how high a mortal-born can climb, and Rujia has finally hit it. Now, the gods want her pulled down before she cracks the glass and to prevent catastrophic calamities that would slaughter thousands of innocents, she must die.
Now comes Keran, the God of Death. He is the loyal executioner of the cosmos, bound by duty and incapable of mercy. Except Rujia refuses to go quietly into the night. Desperate to buy time and find a loophole in the celestial law, Rujia offers Keran a deal he cannot refuse. She demands one month of life. In exchange, she will use her astonishing healing arts to break his 500-year-old curse that has agonizingly decayed Keran’s immortal soul.
Now, Death is harbouring his own target. As the clock ticks down, the healer and the reluctant executioner must live under the same roof. But as Rujia tries to heal Keran and begins to dismantle the walls around his heart and Keran realizes that the more he breathes life into her, the more impossible it becomes to deliver her death.
・・・・・・・
𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
・・・・・・・
I'll admit that the execution in the beginning fell a bit short for me. It took the first few chapters to truly find my footing in this book. However, once the story got its hooks into me, I was completely invested. Ann Liang’s writing is really meticulous. The scenery and atmosphere were beautifully captured painting vivid pictures that make the world feel lush and immersive. At times, I found myself laughing at Rujia's sheer audacity. The way she boldly interacts with the Death God had me laughing out loud. I could never, because I simply do not have that kind of guts! The 2nd part of the book actually made me enjoy the book. It perfectly handled these hilarious, witty interactions with the story's most emotionally hard-hitting moments.
Despite everything I enjoyed, it wasn’t a perfect read, which finally dragged down my final rating. However, the book trips over its own logic with some massive plot holes I just couldn't look past. It's so frustrating when a story spends ages hyping up a massive detail, only for it to never matter again. You sit through chapters of agonizing build-up, completely stressed out about how the characters will survive, only for the writer to wave a magic wand and fix everything in two seconds. It completely kills the vibe.
⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪⡞⠳⣄⣀⣠⠞⢷ ֹ۪
pre-read:
I GOT THE ARC!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: 27 Oct 2026
Currently Reading
July 21, 2026I got the arc HEHEHE
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
➴ ∞/5 stars
Honestly? This is the kind of book that makes you wish someone would wipe your fucking memory clean just so you could experience it all over again for the very first time. That's how good it was. I am so serious.
I was hooked before I even finished the first chapter. Hell, I don't even think it took that long. The first few pages had me in a chokehold. From that moment onward, I was absolutely done for.
The premise? Fucking brilliant.
We have mythical creatures, celestial realms, gods, a literal God of Death, a God of Healing, ancient powers, destiny, sacrifice like, how was I not supposed to fall head over heels for this? It had every single thing I love wrapped into one beautiful story, and I ate it the fuck up.
People have been hyping Ann Liang for ages, and while I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book I read by her, one thing I've always admitted is that this woman can write. She has this magical way of pulling you into a story where suddenly the outside world doesn't exist anymore. You're not reading anymore you're living inside the pages. And this book? It proved exactly why everyone keeps talking about her writing.
If exams weren't breathing down my neck, I would've devoured this entire thing in a single day. No exaggeration. I genuinely had to force myself to put it down and study because every single chapter ended with me saying, "Okay... just one more." And then another. And another. Before I knew it, I had read half the damn book.
This is honestly one of the best books I've read all year. I've been waiting for a story that would completely consume me, make me cry, make me stop reading just to stare at the ceiling and process what the fuck I had just read. This was that book.
The story follows Ruija, the God of Healing, who's destined to die. Desperate for more time, she bargains with the God of Death himself, asking for one single month before she willingly surrenders her life. He agrees and from that moment onward, everything changes. Their lives, their beliefs, their fates, everything gets thrown completely off course.
And excuse me who the fuck would've thought I'd be reading about the God of Death kneeling before the God of Healing? Because I certainly did not.
The emotional damage this book caused should honestly be illegal.
Can we please talk about the God of Death for a second? Because holy shit that man absolutely shattered me. At first, he's exactly what you'd expect cold, distant, terrifying. But the more you learn about him, the more impossible it becomes not to love him. His backstory absolutely destroyed me. I genuinely sat there thinking, "Leave this poor man alone." He was carrying the weight of everyone's hatred simply because he was doing the one job nobody else wanted to acknowledge.
There was this line that completely wrecked me:
"Death doesn't kill you. Life does."
I have not stopped thinking about that quote ever since.
Because it's true, isn't it? Death isn't hunting us every second of the day. Life simply reaches its end one day, and somehow we blame Death for doing the only thing he was ever created to do. That realization hit me like a truck, and suddenly everything about his character made so much sense. No one, not a human, not a god, not anyone deserves to carry that much loneliness.
And then there's Ruija.
God, I adored her.
She was kind without being weak, compassionate without losing her strength, and hopeful in a way that never felt unrealistic. She had this quiet resilience that made her impossible not to root for. Every decision she made felt so painfully human despite her literally being a goddess.
Honestly, every single character in this book felt alive. Every single one.
...Well.
Except Jun Yi.
Fuck Jun Yi.
That's all I'm going to say because I'm keeping this spoiler-free.
One thing I absolutely loved was how the story wasn't trapped inside a single perspective. We get to see both sides of what's happening, understand everyone's motivations, and watch the emotional tension build from every angle. If this had been only one POV, I genuinely don't think it would've hit nearly as hard. Knowing what both characters were feeling while they stubbornly danced around each other made every interaction ten times more painful and ten times more addictive.
The chemistry?
Absolutely fucking insane.
The banter?
Chef's kiss.
The tension?
OH MY GOD.
When I say enemies to lovers, I mean actual enemies to lovers. Not "he looked at me funny once five years ago." I'm talking about real conflict, impossible circumstances, slow emotional unraveling, stolen moments, unbearable yearning, and enough tension to make you scream into your pillow.
This book had me giggling one minute, crying the next, then kicking my feet like an absolute idiot before emotionally destroying me all over again. Just know that the second this book officially releases, I'm rereading it. No hesitation. No questions asked.
⚘ "Overall, if you're looking for a book that will completely consume your thoughts, emotionally ruin you in the best possible way, make you laugh, cry, scream, kick your feet, and leave you staring at the wall questioning your entire existence! pick. this. freaking. book.
If you love enemies to lovers with actual chemistry, unbearable tension, celestial gods, mythology, heartbreak, healing, beautiful writing, and characters you'll carry in your heart long after you turn the last page.
Congratulations.
You've just found your next obsession.
And trust me!!!
You're not ready for the emotional damage." 💌
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
౨ৎ pre-read:
⤿ started - 29 July , 2026
Enemies to lovers? ✔️
Mythical fantasy? ✔️
Gods? ✔️
What more could I possibly ask for??
— Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly? This is the kind of book that makes you wish someone would wipe your fucking memory clean just so you could experience it all over again for the very first time. That's how good it was. I am so serious.
I was hooked before I even finished the first chapter. Hell, I don't even think it took that long. The first few pages had me in a chokehold. From that moment onward, I was absolutely done for.
The premise? Fucking brilliant.
We have mythical creatures, celestial realms, gods, a literal God of Death, a God of Healing, ancient powers, destiny, sacrifice like, how was I not supposed to fall head over heels for this? It had every single thing I love wrapped into one beautiful story, and I ate it the fuck up.
People have been hyping Ann Liang for ages, and while I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book I read by her, one thing I've always admitted is that this woman can write. She has this magical way of pulling you into a story where suddenly the outside world doesn't exist anymore. You're not reading anymore you're living inside the pages. And this book? It proved exactly why everyone keeps talking about her writing.
If exams weren't breathing down my neck, I would've devoured this entire thing in a single day. No exaggeration. I genuinely had to force myself to put it down and study because every single chapter ended with me saying, "Okay... just one more." And then another. And another. Before I knew it, I had read half the damn book.
This is honestly one of the best books I've read all year. I've been waiting for a story that would completely consume me, make me cry, make me stop reading just to stare at the ceiling and process what the fuck I had just read. This was that book.
The story follows Ruija, the God of Healing, who's destined to die. Desperate for more time, she bargains with the God of Death himself, asking for one single month before she willingly surrenders her life. He agrees and from that moment onward, everything changes. Their lives, their beliefs, their fates, everything gets thrown completely off course.
And excuse me who the fuck would've thought I'd be reading about the God of Death kneeling before the God of Healing? Because I certainly did not.
The emotional damage this book caused should honestly be illegal.
Can we please talk about the God of Death for a second? Because holy shit that man absolutely shattered me. At first, he's exactly what you'd expect cold, distant, terrifying. But the more you learn about him, the more impossible it becomes not to love him. His backstory absolutely destroyed me. I genuinely sat there thinking, "Leave this poor man alone." He was carrying the weight of everyone's hatred simply because he was doing the one job nobody else wanted to acknowledge.
There was this line that completely wrecked me:
"Death doesn't kill you. Life does."
I have not stopped thinking about that quote ever since.
Because it's true, isn't it? Death isn't hunting us every second of the day. Life simply reaches its end one day, and somehow we blame Death for doing the only thing he was ever created to do. That realization hit me like a truck, and suddenly everything about his character made so much sense. No one, not a human, not a god, not anyone deserves to carry that much loneliness.
And then there's Ruija.
God, I adored her.
She was kind without being weak, compassionate without losing her strength, and hopeful in a way that never felt unrealistic. She had this quiet resilience that made her impossible not to root for. Every decision she made felt so painfully human despite her literally being a goddess.
Honestly, every single character in this book felt alive. Every single one.
...Well.
Except Jun Yi.
Fuck Jun Yi.
That's all I'm going to say because I'm keeping this spoiler-free.
One thing I absolutely loved was how the story wasn't trapped inside a single perspective. We get to see both sides of what's happening, understand everyone's motivations, and watch the emotional tension build from every angle. If this had been only one POV, I genuinely don't think it would've hit nearly as hard. Knowing what both characters were feeling while they stubbornly danced around each other made every interaction ten times more painful and ten times more addictive.
The chemistry?
Absolutely fucking insane.
The banter?
Chef's kiss.
The tension?
OH MY GOD.
When I say enemies to lovers, I mean actual enemies to lovers. Not "he looked at me funny once five years ago." I'm talking about real conflict, impossible circumstances, slow emotional unraveling, stolen moments, unbearable yearning, and enough tension to make you scream into your pillow.
This book had me giggling one minute, crying the next, then kicking my feet like an absolute idiot before emotionally destroying me all over again. Just know that the second this book officially releases, I'm rereading it. No hesitation. No questions asked.
⚘ "Overall, if you're looking for a book that will completely consume your thoughts, emotionally ruin you in the best possible way, make you laugh, cry, scream, kick your feet, and leave you staring at the wall questioning your entire existence! pick. this. freaking. book.
If you love enemies to lovers with actual chemistry, unbearable tension, celestial gods, mythology, heartbreak, healing, beautiful writing, and characters you'll carry in your heart long after you turn the last page.
Congratulations.
You've just found your next obsession.
And trust me!!!
You're not ready for the emotional damage." 💌
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈
౨ৎ pre-read:
⤿ started - 29 July , 2026
Enemies to lovers? ✔️
Mythical fantasy? ✔️
Gods? ✔️
What more could I possibly ask for??
— Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
★彡 4.5 stars 彡★
-ˋˏ✄┈┈ What is girlhood if not:
𝟷) 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜
𝟸) 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎
𝟹) 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎.
So, yeah. Don’t mind me!
I’m just a girl (☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞
I am just girl speaking from the 7th stage of depression -
[Live Footage Of Me Typing Out This Review]
In fact, I hereby recommend this book to anyone who’s too happy with their lives. Why go seek out depression in the form of men, marriages, politics and academics… when this book is a shorter route to whatever trauma you’re seeking?
Do yourselves adisservice favor and come fucking read it. I want to see you be as miserable as I was after this jolly little epilogue.
Let me help wipe that grin off of your face. So feel free to believe me when I advertise this book as a sparkling sweet romantasy and as that ONLY ⎚-⎚
Let’s be fucking miserable together, why don’t we? (# `Д ‘)
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
⋮ ⌗ ┆ ᏖᏒᎧᎮᏋᏕ ᏗᏖ ᏇᎧᏒᏦ ⋮ ⌗ ┆
⋆☀︎. Mythological Fantasy
࣪ ִֶָ☾. Star-Crossed Lovers
⋆☀︎. Death God X Healer God
࣪ ִֶָ☾. Touch Her And Die
⋆☀︎. Forced Proximity
࣪ ִֶָ☾. DrAgOnS
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
⋮ ⌗ ┆ ᎷᎩ ᏖᏂᎧᏬᎶᏂᏖᏕ ⋮ ⌗ ┆
: ̗̀➛ 🅣🅗🅔 🅢🅣🅞🅡🅨 & 🅣🅗🅔 🅕🅔🅔🅛🅢: The story is centred around Rujia - a healer god who aspires to become the esteemed Celestial Healer by working her way up the ranks. And after all these centuries of being invisible and disregarded, she is finally so close to restoring people’s perceptions of her and her bloodline. She will make sure they finally see her…
But alas, fate has had different plans all along.
As the heavens have decreed her to die, she crosses paths with the notoriously feared Death God, Keran.
He wants her soul. And she wants time.
She can’t die now… not when she’s so close _
I haven’t watched the c-dramas this books seems to have taken inspiration from, so rest assured that it was all very novel to me.
And, I fell in love.
From the get-go, the fantasy elements of it were written in a barely-there, subtle albeit dreamy way.
While I’ve always said this about Ann Liang writing, that it’s lyrical and poetic in the most minimalistic kind, I think it especially deserves a mention now more than ever.
It was lowkey offensive to me how beautiful the writing paired with the lush atmosphere of the book was -
Celestial realms, dragons, heavenly beings and just the pure idea of something so close to magic in the form of words strung together = this book in a nutshell .✦ ݁˖
I have zero complaints about the setting because I won’t ever tire of saying that this was ethereally atmospheric and the writing did it that damn justice ( • ̀ω•́ )✧
Excuse me if I sound too hyperbolic. And gushy.
This was super NEW to me so if this is what some of these c-dramas be serving THEN HELL YEAH I AM HOPPING ON ദ്ദി( •̀–•́ )
Okay, now I guess I have to honestly talk about the pacing. And I have to be really honest (⊙ _ ⊙ )
Then I admit that the first half of the book made me want to settle on a 3 star-adjacent rating.
*self-consciously checks the ACTUAL rating*
The first half was excruciatingly slow, so much so that I had a difficult time getting into it.
Not only was the pacing sluggish, I also felt very disconnected from the characters.
This might the only reason I docked that 0.5 off the rating, and it pains me still ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽
It took me so damn long to feel the emotional attachment to them.
Did I like our MCs from the moment I met them? YES.
Did I still feel like an outsider watching their story unfold throughout the first half? Also YES.
It was almost as if an invisible switch flipped the moment I reached the 50% mark and the tides shifted Σ(°ロ°)
VISIBLY SO.
Therefore, kudos to that Godzilla-sized shift because here we are ¯\_ (ᵕ—ᴗ—)_/¯
Fuck that ending, btw 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜
I hope authors stop normalizing such behavior, is all I’m asking -
Since when do we treat readers like they have no emotional capacity at all? Since when do we assume the readers are all fucking loaded, huh?
I am broke, I cannot afford a therapist. SHOULD I BE SORRY ABOUT BEING BROKE OR HAVING TRAUMA? You tell me, Ann Liang.
You tell me.
With Ann Liang books, they’re either therapy or the reason I need to get therapy.
No in between.
I can confidently say To Dream In Darkness was the latter ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)
: ̗̀➛ 🅡🅤🅙🅘🅐: The most interesting thing about her character was the fact that she was described to possess a “disarmingly kind face”…
You know, the kind of face that instinctively makes you lower your guard because otherwise (even in your thoughts) you would feel like a monster?
It was hilarious to me how she used it to her advantage every damn time (╥﹏╥)
#MyKindaGal
I also liked that her inherent need to always help and be kind was layered with the want for power as well.
She had many dimensions to her character and in this economy having your romantasy FMC have any ounce of flavor to her is a great feat ×͜×
I found this girlor goddess or whatever so adorable.
What especially hurts is how she wants some good company and friendships BUT THOSE SELFISH-ASS GODS ONLY COME TO HER WHEN THEY NEED HER AND THEN FORGET EVERYTHING?
I will be your friend, Rujia. I’m more fun to keep around than those self-centred pricks anyways ˙𐃷˙
: ̗̀➛ 🅚🅔🅡🅐🅝: You know the bar for men is in the deepest darkest dredges of hell when Death becomes delicious ‹𝟹
I would like to order Death with a side of fries.
You know why?
Because the Death God is a pookie (╥﹏╥)
This is a dream man so he can have my soul any day!I’m free on Thursday, babe
I don’t know why but dude would make me blush saying and doing the most normal stuff ever. I don’t know if that’s concerning (ㆆ_ㆆ)
….
….
Anyone else?
Just me?
…
Whatever (⸝⸝⸝-﹏-⸝⸝⸝)
Anyways, from the very moment I was dumped inside his head, I just knew he was going to be an icon.
Sure, the first half had him writhing in pain and dying under that annoying curse so he didn’t have time to crack jokes as much BUT BOY DID HIS HUMOR SHINE IN THE SECOND HALF ᐠ( ᐛ )ᐟ
Him being a rude little shit was a balm to my heart because I value humor over morality, you see ¯\_ (ᵕ—ᴗ—)_/¯
The duality on this man is crazy because when he’s not busy being a bitch or scolding a cute baby dragon, he’s the master YEARNER.
He really yearns ~
He’s a straightforward kinda dude.
*cracks knuckles and brings out the quote-monster*
I think this quote is incentive enough to read the book already.
No? Tough crowd (≖_≖ )
Hold up, how about this:
I bet YOUR man never told you that. Real men don’t. They aren’t eloquent enough (⊙ _ ⊙ )
They don’t makemen Death Gods this fine anymore（ꐦ𝅒_𝅒）
One last quote please OR I WILL EXPLODE:
And so I rest my case.
: ̗̀➛ 🅙🅤🅝🅨🅘: …
✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡
₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾
(˶ᵔᗜᵔ˶)ﾉﾞ
ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)
»»——★ fιnαℓ тнσυgнтѕ ★——««
➳ If you want to subject yourself to a good dose of depression, be my guest and read this book.
That’s exactly why I tempted you with the flashy Keran quotes. DO YOU FEEL COMPELLED ENOUGH TO TORTURE YOURSELF?
Check the box that best reflects your poor decision making skills:
YES ☐
NO ☐
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆To My Emotional Support Gurlies Nancy & Aivy ⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ
𝔑𝔢𝔵𝔱 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢, 𝔩𝔢𝔱’𝔰 𝔭𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔞 𝔅ℜ! ♥︎
Thank you to Ann Liang and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
ﾒ𝟶ﾒ𝟶
｡･ﾟ♡ﾟ･｡｡･ﾟ♡ﾟ･｡
❝ I want your soul to know mine, as I would know yours from a thousand miles away. ❞
╰───────────╮
♫ [Love Wins All - IU] ♫
0:58 ─〇───── 4:30
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
╰───────────╮
-ˋˏ✄┈┈ What is girlhood if not:
𝟷) 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜
𝟸) 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎
𝟹) 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎.
So, yeah. Don’t mind me!
I’m just a girl (☞ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞
I am just girl speaking from the 7th stage of depression -
[Live Footage Of Me Typing Out This Review]
In fact, I hereby recommend this book to anyone who’s too happy with their lives. Why go seek out depression in the form of men, marriages, politics and academics… when this book is a shorter route to whatever trauma you’re seeking?
Do yourselves a
Let me help wipe that grin off of your face. So feel free to believe me when I advertise this book as a sparkling sweet romantasy and as that ONLY ⎚-⎚
Let’s be fucking miserable together, why don’t we? (# `Д ‘)
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
⋮ ⌗ ┆ ᏖᏒᎧᎮᏋᏕ ᏗᏖ ᏇᎧᏒᏦ ⋮ ⌗ ┆
⋆☀︎. Mythological Fantasy
࣪ ִֶָ☾. Star-Crossed Lovers
⋆☀︎. Death God X Healer God
࣪ ִֶָ☾. Touch Her And Die
⋆☀︎. Forced Proximity
࣪ ִֶָ☾. DrAgOnS
⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖
⋮ ⌗ ┆ ᎷᎩ ᏖᏂᎧᏬᎶᏂᏖᏕ ⋮ ⌗ ┆
: ̗̀➛ 🅣🅗🅔 🅢🅣🅞🅡🅨 & 🅣🅗🅔 🅕🅔🅔🅛🅢: The story is centred around Rujia - a healer god who aspires to become the esteemed Celestial Healer by working her way up the ranks. And after all these centuries of being invisible and disregarded, she is finally so close to restoring people’s perceptions of her and her bloodline. She will make sure they finally see her…
But alas, fate has had different plans all along.
As the heavens have decreed her to die, she crosses paths with the notoriously feared Death God, Keran.
He wants her soul. And she wants time.
She can’t die now… not when she’s so close _
◯ ☽ ◑ ● ◐ ❨ ◯
I haven’t watched the c-dramas this books seems to have taken inspiration from, so rest assured that it was all very novel to me.
And, I fell in love.
From the get-go, the fantasy elements of it were written in a barely-there, subtle albeit dreamy way.
While I’ve always said this about Ann Liang writing, that it’s lyrical and poetic in the most minimalistic kind, I think it especially deserves a mention now more than ever.
It was lowkey offensive to me how beautiful the writing paired with the lush atmosphere of the book was -
Celestial realms, dragons, heavenly beings and just the pure idea of something so close to magic in the form of words strung together = this book in a nutshell .✦ ݁˖
I have zero complaints about the setting because I won’t ever tire of saying that this was ethereally atmospheric and the writing did it that damn justice ( • ̀ω•́ )✧
Excuse me if I sound too hyperbolic. And gushy.
This was super NEW to me so if this is what some of these c-dramas be serving THEN HELL YEAH I AM HOPPING ON ദ്ദി( •̀–•́ )
⋆.˚✮☽ ☯︎ ☾✮˚.⋆
Okay, now I guess I have to honestly talk about the pacing. And I have to be really honest (⊙ _ ⊙ )
Then I admit that the first half of the book made me want to settle on a 3 star-adjacent rating.
*self-consciously checks the ACTUAL rating*
The first half was excruciatingly slow, so much so that I had a difficult time getting into it.
Not only was the pacing sluggish, I also felt very disconnected from the characters.
This might the only reason I docked that 0.5 off the rating, and it pains me still ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽
It took me so damn long to feel the emotional attachment to them.
Did I like our MCs from the moment I met them? YES.
Did I still feel like an outsider watching their story unfold throughout the first half? Also YES.
It was almost as if an invisible switch flipped the moment I reached the 50% mark and the tides shifted Σ(°ロ°)
VISIBLY SO.
Therefore, kudos to that Godzilla-sized shift because here we are ¯\_ (ᵕ—ᴗ—)_/¯
⋆.˚✮☽ ☯︎ ☾✮˚.⋆
Fuck that ending, btw 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜
I hope authors stop normalizing such behavior, is all I’m asking -
Since when do we treat readers like they have no emotional capacity at all? Since when do we assume the readers are all fucking loaded, huh?
I am broke, I cannot afford a therapist. SHOULD I BE SORRY ABOUT BEING BROKE OR HAVING TRAUMA? You tell me, Ann Liang.
You tell me.
With Ann Liang books, they’re either therapy or the reason I need to get therapy.
No in between.
I can confidently say To Dream In Darkness was the latter ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)
: ̗̀➛ 🅡🅤🅙🅘🅐: The most interesting thing about her character was the fact that she was described to possess a “disarmingly kind face”…
❝ Guileless. Sweet, even when I am not smiling. I have never been more grateful for such deceptive softness. ❞
You know, the kind of face that instinctively makes you lower your guard because otherwise (even in your thoughts) you would feel like a monster?
It was hilarious to me how she used it to her advantage every damn time (╥﹏╥)
❝ Trust is for fools. But the trick to fooling anyone is to make them lower their guard first. ❞
#MyKindaGal
I also liked that her inherent need to always help and be kind was layered with the want for power as well.
❝ I will rise from all this. Take power by the cup and drink it. I will become the Celestial Healer, and my brilliance will be such that it will obliterate the past and blaze forth into the future. ❞
She had many dimensions to her character and in this economy having your romantasy FMC have any ounce of flavor to her is a great feat ×͜×
I found this girl
What especially hurts is how she wants some good company and friendships BUT THOSE SELFISH-ASS GODS ONLY COME TO HER WHEN THEY NEED HER AND THEN FORGET EVERYTHING?
I will be your friend, Rujia. I’m more fun to keep around than those self-centred pricks anyways ˙𐃷˙
: ̗̀➛ 🅚🅔🅡🅐🅝: You know the bar for men is in the deepest darkest dredges of hell when Death becomes delicious ‹𝟹
I would like to order Death with a side of fries.
You know why?
Because the Death God is a pookie (╥﹏╥)
This is a dream man so he can have my soul any day!
I don’t know why but dude would make me blush saying and doing the most normal stuff ever. I don’t know if that’s concerning (ㆆ_ㆆ)
❝ You smell like flowers.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Terrible,” he murmurs. ❞
….
….
Anyone else?
Just me?
…
Whatever (⸝⸝⸝-﹏-⸝⸝⸝)
Anyways, from the very moment I was dumped inside his head, I just knew he was going to be an icon.
Sure, the first half had him writhing in pain and dying under that annoying curse so he didn’t have time to crack jokes as much BUT BOY DID HIS HUMOR SHINE IN THE SECOND HALF ᐠ( ᐛ )ᐟ
Him being a rude little shit was a balm to my heart because I value humor over morality, you see ¯\_ (ᵕ—ᴗ—)_/¯
The duality on this man is crazy because when he’s not busy being a bitch or scolding a cute baby dragon, he’s the master YEARNER.
He really yearns ~
❝ She is the only god I worship. ❞
He’s a straightforward kinda dude.
*cracks knuckles and brings out the quote-monster*
❝ If she wanted to use him, he would become the bridge beneath her feet. ❞
I think this quote is incentive enough to read the book already.
No? Tough crowd (≖_≖ )
Hold up, how about this:
❝ Even if all the gods are gone, and all the stars have fallen, I will always pray to you. ❞
I bet YOUR man never told you that. Real men don’t. They aren’t eloquent enough (⊙ _ ⊙ )
❝ I will hold up every piece of the sky. And if the Heavens want you dead, then I will tear down the Heavens myself. ❞
They don’t make
One last quote please OR I WILL EXPLODE:
❝ It is an honor,” he says, eyes blazing, “to be ruined by you ❞
And so I rest my case.
: ̗̀➛ 🅙🅤🅝🅨🅘: …
✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡
₍₍⚞(˶˃ ꒳ ˂˶)⚟⁾⁾
(˶ᵔᗜᵔ˶)ﾉﾞ
ദ്ദി(ᵔᗜᵔ)
»»——★ fιnαℓ тнσυgнтѕ ★——««
➳ If you want to subject yourself to a good dose of depression, be my guest and read this book.
That’s exactly why I tempted you with the flashy Keran quotes. DO YOU FEEL COMPELLED ENOUGH TO TORTURE YOURSELF?
Check the box that best reflects your poor decision making skills:
YES ☐
NO ☐
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆To My Emotional Support Gurlies Nancy & Aivy ⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ
𝔑𝔢𝔵𝔱 𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢, 𝔩𝔢𝔱’𝔰 𝔭𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔩𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔲𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔷𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔞 𝔅ℜ! ♥︎
Thank you to Ann Liang and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
ﾒ𝟶ﾒ𝟶
｡･ﾟ♡ﾟ･｡｡･ﾟ♡ﾟ･｡
Want to Read
December 19, 2025ann makes me SO proud of my culture 😭 i'm shaking with anticipation for this book 🤧.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
──⟡⋆˙✩ 3.75 stars ✩ ⋆˙⟡──
꧁ᬊᬁ “𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨,” 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙨. “𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩.”ᬊ᭄꧂ツ
I’m sorry did the laptop die down or did the printer go out of ink or did the TREES FUCKING GO EXTINCT CAUSING A SHORTAGE OF PAPER? Would it have SEVERELY NEGATIVELY impacted the world economy if we got ONE MORE chapter?
Just one more. Just one more.
I can’t do this anymore. I’m so THROUGH with abrupt endings.
“You already know me.”
OKAY AND?! AND THEN WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT YOU DUNDERHEAD? (to clarify, I’m calling the Death God a dunderhead, not the author)
I should calm down. I finished this hours ago and have had enough time to spiral and kill someone to vent my rage. Don’t worry I disposed of the body quite well. No one will find out as long as YOU ALL don’t tattle.
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𓍯𓂃
This is a love story between the Healer God, Rujia, and the Death God, Keran, who must kill her. And I mean must. Because that is what the heavens have decreed, and one must always follow the path laid out by the heavens or there will be imbalance in the world, causing calamities and killing thousands of innocents.
But of course Rujia doesn’t want to die. She has spent years working for power and glory and it is finally within reach. How can she readily obey the will of heaven?
So she strikes a deal with Death: give her one month before he kills her, and in exchange she will cure him of his century-old curse.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙗 𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙚.
I have to admit, I was bored for the first half of this book. Rujia and Keran, while great characters individually, seemed to have almost no chemistry together, and I had a difficult time becoming invested in their budding romance.
And romance is supposed to make you feel. You read it to giggle and blush and kick your feet like your soul has temporarily become a caffeinated hummingbird.
But none of those feelings made themselves known to me while reading this.
I didn’t hate it, no. But I lacked any kind of emotional connection to the story. I didn’t ache alongside them. I didn’t hold my breath as they got closer. Their romance felt more like watching candle smoke curl toward the ceiling than being burned by the flame itself.
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 𝐁𝐮𝐭... 𓍯𓂃
𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩.𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙖 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚.𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮.
The second half was much better. More entertaining. I even started anticipating their moments together.
Keran got softer and unexpectedly funny, and my heart genuinely went out to him. Meanwhile Rujia became more lovable the longer the story went on.
The HIGHLIGHT of the book:
➽ She slaps him and he smiles at her
➽ She tucks a flower into his hair
➽ She calls him beautiful and he blushes
➽ He defies fate for her
Like YES. YES. Inject that directly into my bloodstream.
(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ・Ꮖᥒ Ꮯꪮᥒᥴᥣᥙ᥉เꪮᥒ・
Basically, it was a good read.
But I kept waiting for it to become great. To become mindblowing. Which unfortunately never happened.
Maybe I’ve simply watched too many cdramas because a lot of the story beats felt familiar rather than exciting. The star-crossed immortals, the heavenly decrees, fate versus love, the doomed yearning. I’ve eaten this meal before. Delicious meal, yes. But I could already predict the seasoning.
Still, despite my complaints, I did enjoy myself by the end.
➽ I had a wonderful time buddy reading this with Dawn and Aivy
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
꧁ᬊᬁ “𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨,” 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙨. “𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩.”ᬊ᭄꧂ツ
I’m sorry did the laptop die down or did the printer go out of ink or did the TREES FUCKING GO EXTINCT CAUSING A SHORTAGE OF PAPER? Would it have SEVERELY NEGATIVELY impacted the world economy if we got ONE MORE chapter?
Just one more. Just one more.
I can’t do this anymore. I’m so THROUGH with abrupt endings.
“You already know me.”
OKAY AND?! AND THEN WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT YOU DUNDERHEAD? (to clarify, I’m calling the Death God a dunderhead, not the author)
I should calm down. I finished this hours ago and have had enough time to spiral and kill someone to vent my rage. Don’t worry I disposed of the body quite well. No one will find out as long as YOU ALL don’t tattle.
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𓍯𓂃
This is a love story between the Healer God, Rujia, and the Death God, Keran, who must kill her. And I mean must. Because that is what the heavens have decreed, and one must always follow the path laid out by the heavens or there will be imbalance in the world, causing calamities and killing thousands of innocents.
But of course Rujia doesn’t want to die. She has spent years working for power and glory and it is finally within reach. How can she readily obey the will of heaven?
So she strikes a deal with Death: give her one month before he kills her, and in exchange she will cure him of his century-old curse.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙜𝙤𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙗 𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙚.
I have to admit, I was bored for the first half of this book. Rujia and Keran, while great characters individually, seemed to have almost no chemistry together, and I had a difficult time becoming invested in their budding romance.
And romance is supposed to make you feel. You read it to giggle and blush and kick your feet like your soul has temporarily become a caffeinated hummingbird.
But none of those feelings made themselves known to me while reading this.
I didn’t hate it, no. But I lacked any kind of emotional connection to the story. I didn’t ache alongside them. I didn’t hold my breath as they got closer. Their romance felt more like watching candle smoke curl toward the ceiling than being burned by the flame itself.
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 𝐁𝐮𝐭... 𓍯𓂃
𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩.𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙖 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚.𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮.
The second half was much better. More entertaining. I even started anticipating their moments together.
Keran got softer and unexpectedly funny, and my heart genuinely went out to him. Meanwhile Rujia became more lovable the longer the story went on.
The HIGHLIGHT of the book:
➽ She slaps him and he smiles at her
➽ She tucks a flower into his hair
➽ She calls him beautiful and he blushes
➽ He defies fate for her
Like YES. YES. Inject that directly into my bloodstream.
(*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ・Ꮖᥒ Ꮯꪮᥒᥴᥣᥙ᥉เꪮᥒ・
Basically, it was a good read.
But I kept waiting for it to become great. To become mindblowing. Which unfortunately never happened.
Maybe I’ve simply watched too many cdramas because a lot of the story beats felt familiar rather than exciting. The star-crossed immortals, the heavenly decrees, fate versus love, the doomed yearning. I’ve eaten this meal before. Delicious meal, yes. But I could already predict the seasoning.
Still, despite my complaints, I did enjoy myself by the end.
➽ I had a wonderful time buddy reading this with Dawn and Aivy
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Want to Read
April 18, 2026⤿🌹17/04/26
*screaming* OMG I'M FREAKING OUT HERE!! I might have scared my neighbours in my building with the scream I scrumpt 😭 I kept checking netgalley everyday to see if the book was available to request, and now what do you mean I got invited to read this???🥺 That too a day before my birthday?! Seriously the BEST EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER 🥹😭❤️ I love you so much Ann, I'm so ready to get wrecked by this book 🤧🫶🏻
*screaming* OMG I'M FREAKING OUT HERE!! I might have scared my neighbours in my building with the scream I scrumpt 😭 I kept checking netgalley everyday to see if the book was available to request, and now what do you mean I got invited to read this???🥺 That too a day before my birthday?! Seriously the BEST EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER 🥹😭❤️ I love you so much Ann, I'm so ready to get wrecked by this book 🤧🫶🏻
Want to Read
May 24, 2026got the arc 🤭
Want to Read
July 13, 2026── 🍋🟩🐈⬛ ᝰ .ᐟ pre-read.
I GOT THE ARC, I GOT THE MF ARC ON MY BIRTHDAY, OMGGGGG, BEST GIFT EVER. I'M LITERALLY CRYING DFGHJKLDKGDFKJ
I GOT THE ARC, I GOT THE MF ARC ON MY BIRTHDAY, OMGGGGG, BEST GIFT EVER. I'M LITERALLY CRYING DFGHJKLDKGDFKJ
![Profile Image for vxmpslibrary [hiatus].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1786018920i/123295506._UX200_CR0,33,200,200_.jpg)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
.🌌4.25 stars.
- publishing date: Oct 27th, 26
To Dream In Darkness by Ann Liang follows Rujia, God of Healing whose fate is written to be ended by the hands of the Death God, to escape him, she strikes up a bargain to help him find a cure while secretly planning to escape. When the crown prince Junyi, ends up missing, it's up to both of them to bring him back to where he belongs.
I love watching xianxia cdramas a lot, so I was really surprised when I heard this is a xianxia novel. This book is truly a heartache, it's devastating, their destiny is woven, and nothing they do can stop it. But isn't the destiny supposed to be written by ourselves?
I ended up feeling so disheartened by this book, in a way I was unable to focus on everything (it's like kinda in a good way like it broke me). I figured out the plot in 100 pages when I read a quote for this book in someone's review, but this review will be spoiler free for everyone here❤️🩹.
The writing style is poetic, it's something that I really liked, however I was really into the world building, the different gods, and how their power seem to work. Albeit the book doesn't focuses much in that, I hope she writes a book which is full fledged into it!💗.
It took me awhile to get into this book, for the first 100 pages or even more than that, but when I was immersed, I could only focus on this book and not anything else particularly. The most impact it had on me was because of the characters. Raw, hopeful, aching in a sense that when they bonded together I was in love, but Ann Liang manages to make that love shatter into so many tiny pieces that maybe picking them up would be something I cannot do.
˚₊‧꒰ა .characters. ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
▫️Rujia,
She was such a hopeful character, and she didn't deserve anything the heavens had written for her. I am simply heartbroken by the fact she had to suffer a lot and will continue to suffer in some other way.
Death God♠️
I know his name is all over everyone's feed, but I won't still name him so that it doesn't somehow manages to take out the surprise of getting to know the name. I simply loved him so much! I wanted to hug him and console him because Ann Liang manages to break him so much that I am in agony, my heart is paining. He suffered for the power he didn't even want for CENTURIES. His fate was something I hated so much, I wish he could have lived a simpler life than this. Why is he to live for an eternity and suffer the wrath of everyone?
The romance was simply beautiful, they had so many loveable moments and they somehow yearned. They both were yearners in a sense that I am so heartbroken about how what will happen now the book ends. There are so many awesome scenes that I cannot wait for you guys to read about it.
The part 3 or 4 i don't remember broke something inside me, I was anticipating the ending, but not what happened before that. I WAS SHOCKED. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I simply wanted to think I misread because that couldn't have happened. I am so sad now, it's something that only the people who will read the book know. And there were so many moments in the part before where I was laughing too which genuinely was so funny but somehow it manages to make the upcoming parts so much more awful to bear.
I talked to Dawn (DD) afterwards about how this book just managed to only bring heartbreak to us, and how thinking about it makes us even more awful (and I feel like I made her more miserable by giving her a few more points ; though check out her review below she makes it so convincing, funny and loveable in so many ways!
DD's enchanting review🫧
🫧. final thoughts. - This is indeed a beautiful book, if you love xianxia novels or cdramas, you may love this one!! I wish we had more moments of them because somehow I miss them a lot and there's a gap that I don't know what will fill it.
🍷 thank you, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review
౨ৎ .preread.
I have my last test on Monday Woohoo! but sadly afterwards I have mid-term starting from 3rd of August so it's just me on hiatus again :( i would be a lot busy so I won't get to interact a lot (I'm trying to prioritise my health more because everything is stressing me out) so I hope everyone understands💗 I'm really excited and scared to read this book I'll try to give some updates mwah💗.
OF COURSE I will get to read one page today and then again I am off to studying BAHAH so this will take me days to finish because of my busy schedule
12/7/26
I HAVE THE ARC it took me 6 business days to understand OH I have the arc for the heartbreaking book-
6/7/26
st martin saw me banging at their door and decided to give me one copy
.pre-release
ann liang be gentle to my heart
- publishing date: Oct 27th, 26
To Dream In Darkness by Ann Liang follows Rujia, God of Healing whose fate is written to be ended by the hands of the Death God, to escape him, she strikes up a bargain to help him find a cure while secretly planning to escape. When the crown prince Junyi, ends up missing, it's up to both of them to bring him back to where he belongs.
I love watching xianxia cdramas a lot, so I was really surprised when I heard this is a xianxia novel. This book is truly a heartache, it's devastating, their destiny is woven, and nothing they do can stop it. But isn't the destiny supposed to be written by ourselves?
I ended up feeling so disheartened by this book, in a way I was unable to focus on everything (it's like kinda in a good way like it broke me). I figured out the plot in 100 pages when I read a quote for this book in someone's review, but this review will be spoiler free for everyone here❤️🩹.
The writing style is poetic, it's something that I really liked, however I was really into the world building, the different gods, and how their power seem to work. Albeit the book doesn't focuses much in that, I hope she writes a book which is full fledged into it!💗.
It took me awhile to get into this book, for the first 100 pages or even more than that, but when I was immersed, I could only focus on this book and not anything else particularly. The most impact it had on me was because of the characters. Raw, hopeful, aching in a sense that when they bonded together I was in love, but Ann Liang manages to make that love shatter into so many tiny pieces that maybe picking them up would be something I cannot do.
˚₊‧꒰ა .characters. ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
▫️Rujia,
She was such a hopeful character, and she didn't deserve anything the heavens had written for her. I am simply heartbroken by the fact she had to suffer a lot and will continue to suffer in some other way.
Death God♠️
I know his name is all over everyone's feed, but I won't still name him so that it doesn't somehow manages to take out the surprise of getting to know the name. I simply loved him so much! I wanted to hug him and console him because Ann Liang manages to break him so much that I am in agony, my heart is paining. He suffered for the power he didn't even want for CENTURIES. His fate was something I hated so much, I wish he could have lived a simpler life than this. Why is he to live for an eternity and suffer the wrath of everyone?
The romance was simply beautiful, they had so many loveable moments and they somehow yearned. They both were yearners in a sense that I am so heartbroken about how what will happen now the book ends. There are so many awesome scenes that I cannot wait for you guys to read about it.
The part 3 or 4 i don't remember broke something inside me, I was anticipating the ending, but not what happened before that. I WAS SHOCKED. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I simply wanted to think I misread because that couldn't have happened. I am so sad now, it's something that only the people who will read the book know. And there were so many moments in the part before where I was laughing too which genuinely was so funny but somehow it manages to make the upcoming parts so much more awful to bear.
I talked to Dawn (DD) afterwards about how this book just managed to only bring heartbreak to us, and how thinking about it makes us even more awful (and I feel like I made her more miserable by giving her a few more points ; though check out her review below she makes it so convincing, funny and loveable in so many ways!
DD's enchanting review🫧
🫧. final thoughts. - This is indeed a beautiful book, if you love xianxia novels or cdramas, you may love this one!! I wish we had more moments of them because somehow I miss them a lot and there's a gap that I don't know what will fill it.
🍷 thank you, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review
౨ৎ .preread.
I have my last test on Monday Woohoo! but sadly afterwards I have mid-term starting from 3rd of August so it's just me on hiatus again :( i would be a lot busy so I won't get to interact a lot (I'm trying to prioritise my health more because everything is stressing me out) so I hope everyone understands💗 I'm really excited and scared to read this book I'll try to give some updates mwah💗.
OF COURSE I will get to read one page today and then again I am off to studying BAHAH so this will take me days to finish because of my busy schedule
12/7/26
I HAVE THE ARC it took me 6 business days to understand OH I have the arc for the heartbreaking book-
6/7/26
st martin saw me banging at their door and decided to give me one copy
.pre-release
a doomed love story...
ann liang be gentle to my heart
Currently Reading
August 3, 2026𝜗ৎ ℘re-read ᝰ.ᐟ
i got the arc 🥹
🪻┆special thanks to netgalley for the advanced reader copy ꨄ︎
⟢ 7.31 to . . . ᵎᵎ
i got the arc 🥹
🪻┆special thanks to netgalley for the advanced reader copy ꨄ︎
Review of advance copy
੭୧ 5 stars . ۫
“ It is an honor to be ruined by you. ”
overall thoughts — To Dream in Darkness reminded me why I love mythology fantasy so much. As a major Asian mythology enthusiast, I can confirm this was everything!! Gods, fate, curses, yearning, devastating romance, gorgeous atmosphere - Ann Liang KNEW exactly what she was doing. Someone check in on her because she keeps releasing hit after hit.
The story follows Rujia, the god of healing, who is fated to die by the hand of the God of Death. She ends up in the Night Realm, where she makes a bargain with the Death God himself to heal him from his curse, and in return, he won't kill her for a month. As they grow closer, histories unravel, wounds reopen, and Rujia begins to learn that underneath the Death God's cruel exterior is a wounded, lonely soul carrying far more pain than anyone realizes.
If there is one thing I love, it is a tragic doomed love story, and this gave exactly that and more. The premise of Death falling in love with life had me in a chokehold, and Ann truly did not disappoint. "And suddenly, there was beauty in everything." Yes people I cried.
The relationship between Rujia and the God of Death was so beautiful and tender. They are such a red string theory couple <3 The God of Death was perfection incarnate. Bring back men who yearn. Bring back men who worship the ground their woman walks on. But most importantly, bring back men who can be VULNERABLE. I empathized so much with his grief and anger. It's quite ironic how he's viewed as monstrous, but to me, he felt the most human.
The atmosphere of this book alone deserves all the stars!! I absolutely adore how grief, vulnerability, and loss are woven into the story. I have no complaints about the ending!! It delivered the tragedy that was promised but also healed my fragile, broken heart 🥹
final thoughts — To Dream in Darkness is a stunning, atmospheric, and absolutely heart-wrenching read. I cannot wait for you guys to discover Rujia's and Keran's stories. Add this to your tbr asap!!
Thank you to Ann Liang, Amelia Beckerman, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! To Dream in Darkness releases October 27, 2026.
CW: torture, death, murder
────
update: 04/20/26
the publisher just featured my review 😛😛😛 this is a big deal to ME!
────
finished: 04/18/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
my heart is in pieces 😭 i'll be crying myself to sleep now.
pre read: 04/17/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
currently hyperventilating and starting this asap!!! i will read anything ann liang writes, but this book especially was literally crafted for me. beyond grateful that i get to read one of my most anticipated reads from one of my fave authors 🥹 i am ready to be devastated 😖
“ It is an honor to be ruined by you. ”
overall thoughts — To Dream in Darkness reminded me why I love mythology fantasy so much. As a major Asian mythology enthusiast, I can confirm this was everything!! Gods, fate, curses, yearning, devastating romance, gorgeous atmosphere - Ann Liang KNEW exactly what she was doing. Someone check in on her because she keeps releasing hit after hit.
The story follows Rujia, the god of healing, who is fated to die by the hand of the God of Death. She ends up in the Night Realm, where she makes a bargain with the Death God himself to heal him from his curse, and in return, he won't kill her for a month. As they grow closer, histories unravel, wounds reopen, and Rujia begins to learn that underneath the Death God's cruel exterior is a wounded, lonely soul carrying far more pain than anyone realizes.
If there is one thing I love, it is a tragic doomed love story, and this gave exactly that and more. The premise of Death falling in love with life had me in a chokehold, and Ann truly did not disappoint. "And suddenly, there was beauty in everything." Yes people I cried.
The relationship between Rujia and the God of Death was so beautiful and tender. They are such a red string theory couple <3 The God of Death was perfection incarnate. Bring back men who yearn. Bring back men who worship the ground their woman walks on. But most importantly, bring back men who can be VULNERABLE. I empathized so much with his grief and anger. It's quite ironic how he's viewed as monstrous, but to me, he felt the most human.
The atmosphere of this book alone deserves all the stars!! I absolutely adore how grief, vulnerability, and loss are woven into the story. I have no complaints about the ending!! It delivered the tragedy that was promised but also healed my fragile, broken heart 🥹
final thoughts — To Dream in Darkness is a stunning, atmospheric, and absolutely heart-wrenching read. I cannot wait for you guys to discover Rujia's and Keran's stories. Add this to your tbr asap!!
Thank you to Ann Liang, Amelia Beckerman, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! To Dream in Darkness releases October 27, 2026.
CW: torture, death, murder
────
update: 04/20/26
the publisher just featured my review 😛😛😛 this is a big deal to ME!
────
finished: 04/18/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
my heart is in pieces 😭 i'll be crying myself to sleep now.
pre read: 04/17/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
currently hyperventilating and starting this asap!!! i will read anything ann liang writes, but this book especially was literally crafted for me. beyond grateful that i get to read one of my most anticipated reads from one of my fave authors 🥹 i am ready to be devastated 😖
May 28, 2026
well, surprisingly I have a lot to say about this book... rtc
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ౿ 🪽 ⊹ ࣪ ˖ preread .ᐟ
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ I GOT THE FUCKING ARC. oh my god!! to believe there was a time i found ann liang’s books mid (well i still do, but she knows how to write a good fantasy and i LOVED a song to drown rivers). im sensing a five stars guys
೯ . . .thank you to author and netgalley for an eARC
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ౿ 🪽 ⊹ ࣪ ˖ preread .ᐟ
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ I GOT THE FUCKING ARC. oh my god!! to believe there was a time i found ann liang’s books mid (well i still do, but she knows how to write a good fantasy and i LOVED a song to drown rivers). im sensing a five stars guys
೯ . . .thank you to author and netgalley for an eARC
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC!
🌟🌟🌟/5
Was this a perfect book? Not really. Far from it, in fact. But one thing's for sure: Ann Liang's storytelling is addictive, and this book might just have gotten me out of a major reading slump.
“But death always wins, in the end,”he says softly. There is no trace of arrogance to his voice, only resignation. “Staying alive is one of the most difficult things in the world. It requires constant, active effort from the very beginning, an alignment of the right circumstances and luck. But dying? Dying is so terribly easy. There is nothing you need to do, nothing that can be done. No matter what happens, I will be there, waiting with my palms outstretched.”
'To Dream in Darkness' started off as a typical romantasy. We follow Rujia, the god of healing, who has been living alone on an island (like Circe) ever since her parents were exiled to the Mortal Realm. The Death God comes to collect her soul one day, because the Heavens have dictated that she must die. Rujia strikes a deal with him. He'll let her live for another month, in exchange for which she will try to find a cure to his curse. I don't like the enemies to lovers trope, but I'm especially annoyed when the 'enemies' bicker in a childish manner all. The. Time. Mercifully, there was no insta-love. I was also glad to see a romance between two gods, instead of a barely adult woman and a centuries-old immortal man. I kept going because of the promise of a devastating love story, and the chapters from the POV of Crown Prince Junyi and how they tied into the main story was interesting. Soon enough, I was hooked.
The second part took a great turn. I wasn't a fan of the momentary lovers(?) to enemies to lovers transition at its beginning, but it had some amazing moments. They really made my unfeeling heart flutter, which doesn't happen often. I'd have loved it even more if the buildup towards it had been better. The second part was well-written and also had some hilarious moments. It was also where the most emotionally hard-hitting moments happened. Ann Liang's descriptions of the landscape and food were fabulous.
Defying fate is one of the main themes the book explores. Is everything pre-determined? If it's Fate that controls everything, should we even bother to do anything by ourselves? Does love triumph over fate? Fans of doomed love stories will probably love this.
As I said earlier, this wasn't a perfect book. There were quite a few logical inconsistencies and glaring plot holes which I just couldn't overlook. Some elements were introduced and later forgotten about. Challenges that seemed insurmountable for a long time were resolved too conveniently. The ending wasn't my cup of tea.
Overall, 'To Dream in Darkness'' was a decent one-time read. I gave 'A Song to Drown Rivers' 5 stars when I first read it. I don't think I'd be as generous with my rating if I were to read it now, but it remains my favourite Ann Liang book. Perhaps it's the utter tragedy of it that appealed to me. I'd say that fans of Sue Lynn Tan's Celestial Kingdoms duology might enjoy this one.
Pre-read:
OMG the publisher granted me early access to this book!!!😭😭 Very excited to read this after my great experience with ASTDR! Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan!!
🌟🌟🌟/5
Was this a perfect book? Not really. Far from it, in fact. But one thing's for sure: Ann Liang's storytelling is addictive, and this book might just have gotten me out of a major reading slump.
“But death always wins, in the end,”he says softly. There is no trace of arrogance to his voice, only resignation. “Staying alive is one of the most difficult things in the world. It requires constant, active effort from the very beginning, an alignment of the right circumstances and luck. But dying? Dying is so terribly easy. There is nothing you need to do, nothing that can be done. No matter what happens, I will be there, waiting with my palms outstretched.”
'To Dream in Darkness' started off as a typical romantasy. We follow Rujia, the god of healing, who has been living alone on an island (like Circe) ever since her parents were exiled to the Mortal Realm. The Death God comes to collect her soul one day, because the Heavens have dictated that she must die. Rujia strikes a deal with him. He'll let her live for another month, in exchange for which she will try to find a cure to his curse. I don't like the enemies to lovers trope, but I'm especially annoyed when the 'enemies' bicker in a childish manner all. The. Time. Mercifully, there was no insta-love. I was also glad to see a romance between two gods, instead of a barely adult woman and a centuries-old immortal man. I kept going because of the promise of a devastating love story, and the chapters from the POV of Crown Prince Junyi and how they tied into the main story was interesting. Soon enough, I was hooked.
The second part took a great turn. I wasn't a fan of the momentary lovers(?) to enemies to lovers transition at its beginning, but it had some amazing moments. They really made my unfeeling heart flutter, which doesn't happen often. I'd have loved it even more if the buildup towards it had been better. The second part was well-written and also had some hilarious moments. It was also where the most emotionally hard-hitting moments happened. Ann Liang's descriptions of the landscape and food were fabulous.
Defying fate is one of the main themes the book explores. Is everything pre-determined? If it's Fate that controls everything, should we even bother to do anything by ourselves? Does love triumph over fate? Fans of doomed love stories will probably love this.
As I said earlier, this wasn't a perfect book. There were quite a few logical inconsistencies and glaring plot holes which I just couldn't overlook. Some elements were introduced and later forgotten about. Challenges that seemed insurmountable for a long time were resolved too conveniently. The ending wasn't my cup of tea.
Overall, 'To Dream in Darkness'' was a decent one-time read. I gave 'A Song to Drown Rivers' 5 stars when I first read it. I don't think I'd be as generous with my rating if I were to read it now, but it remains my favourite Ann Liang book. Perhaps it's the utter tragedy of it that appealed to me. I'd say that fans of Sue Lynn Tan's Celestial Kingdoms duology might enjoy this one.
Pre-read:
OMG the publisher granted me early access to this book!!!😭😭 Very excited to read this after my great experience with ASTDR! Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan!!
Want to Read
May 18, 2026˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀
pre-read: bless the girlies on Threads who post the latest 'Read Now' books! i was able to snag a copy 💙
pre-read: bless the girlies on Threads who post the latest 'Read Now' books! i was able to snag a copy 💙
Want to Read
January 5, 2026I'm sold. The blurb is blurbbing😍.
Want to Read
April 17, 2026huge gigantic thanks to netgalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this in advance for an honest review.
🌹💙 I GOT INVITED TO READ THIS !? HELLO !? no one talk to me im literally freaking out.
this cover is genuinely insanely stunning i have forgotten all words.
ann liang my queen 💗
🌹💙 I GOT INVITED TO READ THIS !? HELLO !? no one talk to me im literally freaking out.
this cover is genuinely insanely stunning i have forgotten all words.
ann liang my queen 💗
![Profile Image for Ashley is in europe (permanent [?] semi-hiatus).](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1776041277i/168400322._UX200_CR0,30,200,200_.jpg)
Want to Read
January 14, 2026is ann gonna redeem herself in the fantasy realm??
Currently Reading
May 18, 2026☆*: .｡. 𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 .｡.:*☆
It's been a while since I read a romantasy book, and I think it's time to get back into it
It’s my first book by Ann Liang, and the story looks so good. I hope it delivers.🤞🏼❤️
It's been a while since I read a romantasy book, and I think it's time to get back into it
It’s my first book by Ann Liang, and the story looks so good. I hope it delivers.🤞🏼❤️
Want to Read
May 31, 2026why not
Want to Read
January 13, 2026if ann liang keeps this consistency up shes gonna get kissed
THANK YOUU
THANK YOUU
Want to Read
April 19, 2026how is life realllll actually???? 😭😭😭😭😭😭 i cried when i opened the email and saw ‘you’re invited to read “to dream in darkness” by ann liang’ I DAMN NEAR PASSED OUT. have read every single book of hers (except icgytm—soon) and loved every single book of hers so they must just know 🥹💝 i know this will EAT !
THANK YOU PUBLISHERS THANK U SM
THANK YOU PUBLISHERS THANK U SM
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
꒰ જ⁀➴ 4.5 devastating stars ☆ ┆ tropes: red string theory 🪽, death x healer ꒱
leave it to ann liang to break my heart on a random friday!! im such a huge sucker for historical fantasies and having my favorite author write a doomed love story between death and life itself literally could not be more perfect. this book was filled with the most gorgeous atmosphere and writing that felt like i was transported into the realm of the gods, and enough yearning and angst to fill up an ocean (aka my tears after i finished reading this). the story tackles grief, love and loss, and vulnerability so well i genuinely am sick and i fear i will never be normal ever again!!
˚₊‧꒰ ♯ now playing ▸loml, taylor swift ↻ ꒱ ‧₊˚
꒰🪷꒱ ➷ rujia
a healer god who has spent her entire life trying to appease to the other gods and become the most revered healer has her entire world shattered when death himself comes to collect her. she makes a bargain with him to spare her for a month in order for her to heal his century long curse. rujia has a character was someone with such an aspiring goal but the goal is unfortunately deeply rooted in being a people pleaser (REAL omfg). however even as she's running out of time, rujia never gives up and stubbornly trying to find a way to continue to live. i think i found that the most beautiful as we followed her story with death. i absolutely adored how ann wrote her character and i loved seeing her continue to fight so hard to prove the other gods wrong and to live; even if the literal fate of the heavens was against her.
꒰🌑꒱ ➷ the death god
omfg my poor baby. literally he deserves the world like i will personally riot for his happiness. the death gods past was so heartbreaking, like i dont even blame him being cold and cruel because he had every right to. hes the definition of worships the ground you walk on and would burn the world for you and i fear this reignited my love for villains and complicated/misunderstood mcs 🙈 as his relationship with rujia grew closer and closer, i genuinely loved seeing how he opened up more to her and became more vulnerable, #welovevulnerablemen, but also BRO JUST LET HER LOVE YOU PLEASE YOU DESERVE IT 😭😭 okay anyways i am totally normal about him and i want to give him a big fat hug please and thank you.
꒰🖇️꒱ ➷ red string theory
the literal definition of the red string theory couple, i actually adore them so much. if there are 10 tragic doomed love story fans, i am in that 10, and if there is only 1 fan, that fan is me, and if there are none then i am dead. rujia and the death god's love story was so beautiful and heartachingly tender, i literally just want them to be happy please i beg 😭 ann liang actually delivered the most devastating love story that physically made my soul ache because what do you mean death fell in love with life?? the tension and yearning and ANGST in this book is so well written like i was giggling and kicking my feet during the tense moments but also internally crying throughout the entire book when ann decided that happiness isn't in her historical fantasy vocabulary! we are bringing back men who yearn one ann liang male love interest at a time i swear. despite knowing that the their love was doomed by the heavens, ann wrote their story so well that you can't help but hope anyway for rujia and the death god to be happy because who doesn't deserve it more than the gods who were shunned and outcasted their entire life?
꒰🪽꒱ ➷ final thoughts
IM GOING TO BE SICKKKK - the ending actually broke me and i am genuinely so unwell; i remember texting a friend and crying about the ending (ty maddie ily) which honestly was so much fun despite me losing my mind. the overall writing and atmosphere of this book was so beautiful and it genuinely reminded me of how much i adore asian mythological stories. all the feelings of love and loss were woven throughout the book so well and it made reading this as wistful as it was heartbreaking. i do wish that we had more answers as to why certain things happened and i do admit that the first half of the book felt a bit slow and it did leave me wondering what the story was getting to. however, the second half of the story completely sucked me in and i remember binging the other 70% of the book in a day when i was avoiding studying for my summer calc 2 midterm (worth it btw 😛). ann liang delivers a stunning historical romance fantasy that is equal parts tragic as it is heartwarming. probably my most heart wrenching read of 2026 so far, i couldn't recommend it more.
thank you to the ann liang, amelia beckerman, and st. martins press for the arc <3
to dream in darkness comes out in oct. 27, 2026 🪐
leave it to ann liang to break my heart on a random friday!! im such a huge sucker for historical fantasies and having my favorite author write a doomed love story between death and life itself literally could not be more perfect. this book was filled with the most gorgeous atmosphere and writing that felt like i was transported into the realm of the gods, and enough yearning and angst to fill up an ocean (aka my tears after i finished reading this). the story tackles grief, love and loss, and vulnerability so well i genuinely am sick and i fear i will never be normal ever again!!
˚₊‧꒰ ♯ now playing ▸loml, taylor swift ↻ ꒱ ‧₊˚
⤿ 💌: who's gonna tell me the truth, when you blew in with the winds of fate
and told me i reformed you? ໒꒱⋆.˚
꒰🪷꒱ ➷ rujia
a healer god who has spent her entire life trying to appease to the other gods and become the most revered healer has her entire world shattered when death himself comes to collect her. she makes a bargain with him to spare her for a month in order for her to heal his century long curse. rujia has a character was someone with such an aspiring goal but the goal is unfortunately deeply rooted in being a people pleaser (REAL omfg). however even as she's running out of time, rujia never gives up and stubbornly trying to find a way to continue to live. i think i found that the most beautiful as we followed her story with death. i absolutely adored how ann wrote her character and i loved seeing her continue to fight so hard to prove the other gods wrong and to live; even if the literal fate of the heavens was against her.
꒰🌑꒱ ➷ the death god
omfg my poor baby. literally he deserves the world like i will personally riot for his happiness. the death gods past was so heartbreaking, like i dont even blame him being cold and cruel because he had every right to. hes the definition of worships the ground you walk on and would burn the world for you and i fear this reignited my love for villains and complicated/misunderstood mcs 🙈 as his relationship with rujia grew closer and closer, i genuinely loved seeing how he opened up more to her and became more vulnerable, #welovevulnerablemen, but also BRO JUST LET HER LOVE YOU PLEASE YOU DESERVE IT 😭😭 okay anyways i am totally normal about him and i want to give him a big fat hug please and thank you.
꒰🖇️꒱ ➷ red string theory
the literal definition of the red string theory couple, i actually adore them so much. if there are 10 tragic doomed love story fans, i am in that 10, and if there is only 1 fan, that fan is me, and if there are none then i am dead. rujia and the death god's love story was so beautiful and heartachingly tender, i literally just want them to be happy please i beg 😭 ann liang actually delivered the most devastating love story that physically made my soul ache because what do you mean death fell in love with life?? the tension and yearning and ANGST in this book is so well written like i was giggling and kicking my feet during the tense moments but also internally crying throughout the entire book when ann decided that happiness isn't in her historical fantasy vocabulary! we are bringing back men who yearn one ann liang male love interest at a time i swear. despite knowing that the their love was doomed by the heavens, ann wrote their story so well that you can't help but hope anyway for rujia and the death god to be happy because who doesn't deserve it more than the gods who were shunned and outcasted their entire life?
꒰🪽꒱ ➷ final thoughts
IM GOING TO BE SICKKKK - the ending actually broke me and i am genuinely so unwell; i remember texting a friend and crying about the ending (ty maddie ily) which honestly was so much fun despite me losing my mind. the overall writing and atmosphere of this book was so beautiful and it genuinely reminded me of how much i adore asian mythological stories. all the feelings of love and loss were woven throughout the book so well and it made reading this as wistful as it was heartbreaking. i do wish that we had more answers as to why certain things happened and i do admit that the first half of the book felt a bit slow and it did leave me wondering what the story was getting to. however, the second half of the story completely sucked me in and i remember binging the other 70% of the book in a day when i was avoiding studying for my summer calc 2 midterm (worth it btw 😛). ann liang delivers a stunning historical romance fantasy that is equal parts tragic as it is heartwarming. probably my most heart wrenching read of 2026 so far, i couldn't recommend it more.
thank you to the ann liang, amelia beckerman, and st. martins press for the arc <3
to dream in darkness comes out in oct. 27, 2026 🪐
જ⁀➴ "it is an honor to be ruined by you" ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
June 7, 2026
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!
୧ ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡ [ To Dream In Darkness ] ♡⋅☁️ ˚₊‧ ୨
ੈ✩‧₊˚»The Prophecy
- Taylor Swift «
0:00 ─〇───── 0:00
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
rating: ★★★★★
genre: Fantasy,Romantasy
tropes: ↳ Enemies-lovers ↳ Doomed Love
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ⟡ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧
୨୧ ‧₊˚ Summary: fantasy that meets Romeo and Juliet. When the God of Death comes to claim the soul of Rujia, the Goddess of Healing, she bargains for a one-month reprieve by promising to cure his century-old curse. But when a force brings these two mortal enemies into an uneasy alliance, they must journey across dangerous realms together—sparking a forbidden romance that threatens to rewrite fate and unleash chaos across the mortal world.
୨୧ ‧₊˚ characters ✦
𝓡𝓾𝓳𝓲𝓪: She is a healer god and the "lowly daughter of exiles," isolated and living in a cottage; however, I sympathize with her because she heals everyone, but who heals her? She so badly wants to be a celestial healer to make her parents proud and be approved by other gods to prove them wrong. In my eyes and the god of death's eyes, she is so much more than a healer and she deserves better. I love how she refuses to let fate dictate her life, you will find yourself rooting for her.
𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓖𝓸𝓭:
He is always described as a scary immortal in folktales as he is someone who has never once failed to collect a soul on time. However, what makes his character fascinating is the deep weariness and isolation that comes with his divinity. He isn't cruel for the sake of being evil; he is bound by a painful curse.
𝓒𝓻𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮: had to add him because all i gotta say is, damn you really do lose them in every lifetime.
୨୧ ‧₊˚ favorite quotes
❝It is an honor to be ruined by you.❞
❝But who does a god pray to? ❞
❞I cannot bring you flowers,Rujia. I can only bring death.❞
Final Thoughts: Ann Liang you did it once again, you made me fall in love with your books. I enjoyed reading this and going on a journey in all realms with Rujia and the death god.
Love, Avrielle <3
post read: ₊˚⊹ ᰔ : ANN LIANG UR PAYING FOR MY THERAPY and rtc!! 💞🌷
୧ ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡ [ To Dream In Darkness ] ♡⋅☁️ ˚₊‧ ୨
ੈ✩‧₊˚»The Prophecy
- Taylor Swift «
0:00 ─〇───── 0:00
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
rating: ★★★★★
genre: Fantasy,Romantasy
tropes: ↳ Enemies-lovers ↳ Doomed Love
✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ⟡ :･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧
୨୧ ‧₊˚ Summary: fantasy that meets Romeo and Juliet. When the God of Death comes to claim the soul of Rujia, the Goddess of Healing, she bargains for a one-month reprieve by promising to cure his century-old curse. But when a force brings these two mortal enemies into an uneasy alliance, they must journey across dangerous realms together—sparking a forbidden romance that threatens to rewrite fate and unleash chaos across the mortal world.
୨୧ ‧₊˚ characters ✦
𝓡𝓾𝓳𝓲𝓪: She is a healer god and the "lowly daughter of exiles," isolated and living in a cottage; however, I sympathize with her because she heals everyone, but who heals her? She so badly wants to be a celestial healer to make her parents proud and be approved by other gods to prove them wrong. In my eyes and the god of death's eyes, she is so much more than a healer and she deserves better. I love how she refuses to let fate dictate her life, you will find yourself rooting for her.
𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓖𝓸𝓭:
He is always described as a scary immortal in folktales as he is someone who has never once failed to collect a soul on time. However, what makes his character fascinating is the deep weariness and isolation that comes with his divinity. He isn't cruel for the sake of being evil; he is bound by a painful curse.
𝓒𝓻𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮: had to add him because all i gotta say is, damn you really do lose them in every lifetime.
୨୧ ‧₊˚ favorite quotes
❝It is an honor to be ruined by you.❞
❝But who does a god pray to? ❞
❞I cannot bring you flowers,Rujia. I can only bring death.❞
Final Thoughts: Ann Liang you did it once again, you made me fall in love with your books. I enjoyed reading this and going on a journey in all realms with Rujia and the death god.
Love, Avrielle <3
post read: ₊˚⊹ ᰔ : ANN LIANG UR PAYING FOR MY THERAPY and rtc!! 💞🌷
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 ☆ ! ⛩️
⤿ i absolutely loved this book! definitely a romantasy rather than a fantasy with romance if anyone was wondering. needless to say i ate it upppp! i did anticipate the sad ending, but it made me savor the happy parts more while reading 🥹 keran and rujia really said opposites attract! their dynamic was precious i miss them already. ann's books are always so bingeable, even though it took me a few days to read this it went by so fast! i want to share quotes of the gorgeous writing but alas i cannot. also the dual storyline of sorts made the ending a double-edged sword, im not okay 😭
thank u netgalley, for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
☆*⁀‧₊˚
⤿ i absolutely loved this book! definitely a romantasy rather than a fantasy with romance if anyone was wondering. needless to say i ate it upppp! i did anticipate the sad ending, but it made me savor the happy parts more while reading 🥹 keran and rujia really said opposites attract! their dynamic was precious i miss them already. ann's books are always so bingeable, even though it took me a few days to read this it went by so fast! i want to share quotes of the gorgeous writing but alas i cannot. also the dual storyline of sorts made the ending a double-edged sword, im not okay 😭
thank u netgalley, for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
☆*⁀‧₊˚
to-be-released
December 19, 2025NEW ANN LIANG !! so so excited for this omg
July 31, 2026
“You already know me.”
You know those books that make you feel like, “I will love you in a thousand lifetimes?” Yeah… this is one of them.
When the God of Death falls in love with the God of Healing, you already know it’s going to hurt. there love cant be simple, no not when she is destined to die. The Death God must take her soul as he did thousand other lives! She makes him a bargain she’ll heal the pain he’s carried for centuries if he lets her live a little longer. And from there… the story completely takes off, but I felt it did not fully take off until the second part of the book where went to the moral world.
The writing was beautiful, the romance was slow, and the longing between them was there. I appreciated how she saw him for who he was, and not fear him the way everyone else did. Not claim him to be the Grim reaper everyone hates, she even made him a statue in honor of him. And when he went by her statue, he said “She is the only god I worship.”
“Even if all the gods are gone, and all the stars have fallen, I will always pray to you.”
You know those books that make you feel like, “I will love you in a thousand lifetimes?” Yeah… this is one of them.
When the God of Death falls in love with the God of Healing, you already know it’s going to hurt. there love cant be simple, no not when she is destined to die. The Death God must take her soul as he did thousand other lives! She makes him a bargain she’ll heal the pain he’s carried for centuries if he lets her live a little longer. And from there… the story completely takes off, but I felt it did not fully take off until the second part of the book where went to the moral world.
The writing was beautiful, the romance was slow, and the longing between them was there. I appreciated how she saw him for who he was, and not fear him the way everyone else did. Not claim him to be the Grim reaper everyone hates, she even made him a statue in honor of him. And when he went by her statue, he said “She is the only god I worship.”
“Even if all the gods are gone, and all the stars have fallen, I will always pray to you.”
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I kept forgetting that I’m reading an Ann Liang book not an Elizabeth Lim book. And if you know me you know that I LOVE Elizabeth Lim’s books, and that shows how much I enjoyed myself reading it. I loved the storyline, the characters but the thing I loved most is the audiobook. Every time the narrator said the characters' name I felt an itch in my brain, her pronunciation is so great -mind you I know nothing about Chinese.
⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
Can you believe that this is my first Ann Liang and I was lucky enough to have not only the eARC but also the ALC?! Thank you so much Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio 💙❤️💛
⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆
Can you believe that this is my first Ann Liang and I was lucky enough to have not only the eARC but also the ALC?! Thank you so much Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio 💙❤️💛
Want to Read
July 13, 20267/13/26
SHUT UP NO WAY I GOT THE ARC?! SCREAMING CRYING SQUEALING JUMPING IN JOY
5/24/26
i'm telling you i will eat up ANYTHING that she write pls pls pls
SHUT UP NO WAY I GOT THE ARC?! SCREAMING CRYING SQUEALING JUMPING IN JOY
5/24/26
i'm telling you i will eat up ANYTHING that she write pls pls pls
Want to Read
May 26, 2026edit: I WAS RIGHT I WAS RIGHT THE COVER IS *FAINTS* and DEATH falling in love with LIFE?? I FEAR OCTOBER WILL NOT COME SOON ENOUGH😆
JUST GIVE IT TO ME ALREADY QUEEN THE TITLE IS ABSOLUTE GOLD AND I ALREADY KNOW THE COVER WILL BE
JUST GIVE IT TO ME ALREADY QUEEN THE TITLE IS ABSOLUTE GOLD AND I ALREADY KNOW THE COVER WILL BE
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