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Mothsblood: Deluxe Limited Edition
Not yet published
Expected 13 Oct 26An ambitious alchemist must uncover her university's dark secrets while trying to escape from her mysterious past in this electrifying debut.
On a rain-soaked night in modern-day Paris, Larkspur Lee and her academic rivals find themselves at the center of an impossible crime-the murder of their university's headmistress, the immortal Petronelle Flamel.
In the aftermath of Flamel's death, the school devolves into chaos. The mysterious investigator assigned to the case, Violaine, believes a cult known as the Promethean Genesis is responsible for Flamel's murder. But Lark, who knows all too well what kind of horrors that the Prometheans commit, will do anything to stay out of the cult's reach. Matters are complicated when the mentor she crossed an ocean and a continent to escape re-enters her life, enticing her to his side once again while secretly wielding an agenda of his own.
As the Prometheans' plans come to fruition and the university's dark history comes to light, Lark has no choice but to decide whether the power she desires is truly worth the price.
On a rain-soaked night in modern-day Paris, Larkspur Lee and her academic rivals find themselves at the center of an impossible crime-the murder of their university's headmistress, the immortal Petronelle Flamel.
In the aftermath of Flamel's death, the school devolves into chaos. The mysterious investigator assigned to the case, Violaine, believes a cult known as the Promethean Genesis is responsible for Flamel's murder. But Lark, who knows all too well what kind of horrors that the Prometheans commit, will do anything to stay out of the cult's reach. Matters are complicated when the mentor she crossed an ocean and a continent to escape re-enters her life, enticing her to his side once again while secretly wielding an agenda of his own.
As the Prometheans' plans come to fruition and the university's dark history comes to light, Lark has no choice but to decide whether the power she desires is truly worth the price.
352 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 13, 2026
About the author
Lynn D. Jung
2 books149 followersLynn D. Jung is a speculative fiction writer from southern California. She has since dwelled in France, Costa Rica, and Thailand, but she is currently based in the Midwest.
Lynn loves to write about complex women, haunted scenery, and strange magic. You can find her most often out amongst the trees or through the videos on her eponymous YouTube channel, where she discusses her writing and her publishing journey thus far.
Lynn loves to write about complex women, haunted scenery, and strange magic. You can find her most often out amongst the trees or through the videos on her eponymous YouTube channel, where she discusses her writing and her publishing journey thus far.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
oh my buttery bagels
you are not ready
Stunning. full review when I have calmed down
you are not ready
Stunning. full review when I have calmed down
April 10, 2026
Oh my god?????
Mothsblood is an utterly brilliant debut - truly, I am so blown away by Lynn’s ability to weave (or perhaps I shall say transform) syntax into something equal parts lyrical, heartrending, and transportive - Lynn took us to the heart of Paris with her lush descriptions of the cityscape.
When does the pursuit of knowledge become the pursuit of power?
This is the question that Mothsblood wrestles with, and it is the question that each character must separately contend with. It truly reads like a novels-length power struggle, casting a critical eye on elitism and power hierarchies within the institution of academia. It is almost disconcerting how the hunger for power transforms and alters individuals into something unrecognizable and even grotesque, and we are forced to watch as each character clamors over the others in a desperate bid to be the one to come out on top.
Mothsblood follows Larkspur Lee, who has traveled to Paris to attend Meurdrac, the world renowned institution for alchemical studies. Lark is an alchemist, and she plans on making her name in the world of alchemy known - what better way to do this than to win the contest for apprenticeship under Petronelle Flamel, one of the Deathless alchemists who have cheated death through the use of the Philosopher’s Stone?
However, immortality remains a fickle and imperfect science, and Lark soon finds herself in the middle of Petronelle’s murder investigation. Who killed Petronelle, and how? And why does Lark’s former mentor from California appear at the academy shortly after her death?
And most importantly, what is the price of ambition, and at what point does it become too steep?
Mothsblood is an utterly brilliant debut - truly, I am so blown away by Lynn’s ability to weave (or perhaps I shall say transform) syntax into something equal parts lyrical, heartrending, and transportive - Lynn took us to the heart of Paris with her lush descriptions of the cityscape.
When does the pursuit of knowledge become the pursuit of power?
This is the question that Mothsblood wrestles with, and it is the question that each character must separately contend with. It truly reads like a novels-length power struggle, casting a critical eye on elitism and power hierarchies within the institution of academia. It is almost disconcerting how the hunger for power transforms and alters individuals into something unrecognizable and even grotesque, and we are forced to watch as each character clamors over the others in a desperate bid to be the one to come out on top.
Mothsblood follows Larkspur Lee, who has traveled to Paris to attend Meurdrac, the world renowned institution for alchemical studies. Lark is an alchemist, and she plans on making her name in the world of alchemy known - what better way to do this than to win the contest for apprenticeship under Petronelle Flamel, one of the Deathless alchemists who have cheated death through the use of the Philosopher’s Stone?
However, immortality remains a fickle and imperfect science, and Lark soon finds herself in the middle of Petronelle’s murder investigation. Who killed Petronelle, and how? And why does Lark’s former mentor from California appear at the academy shortly after her death?
And most importantly, what is the price of ambition, and at what point does it become too steep?
2026-releases
February 6, 2026Update: We have a cover reveal! The target audience being for those who loved Ninth House and Blood Over Bright Haven, oh my dark academia fantasy heart cannot be contained☕️🕯️🍂
I've had my eyes on this since stumbling on Lynn D. Jung's WIP on Twitter/X. Have been following Jung's writing journey on YouTube ever since, and so excited we've reached this point!
I've had my eyes on this since stumbling on Lynn D. Jung's WIP on Twitter/X. Have been following Jung's writing journey on YouTube ever since, and so excited we've reached this point!
February 24, 2026
Unfortunately I think I wasn’t the right reader for this book! The world building, set up, and magic based on Alchemy was true exciting and innovative. Even the dynamics that the school creates is fascinating and it was a very good take on the elitism and “social capital” necessary to make it through elitist institutions.
For some reason, I couldn’t get hooked on the story, and some aspects of the storyline were confusing for me. Thank you NetGalley and Cornerstone for the ARC.
For some reason, I couldn’t get hooked on the story, and some aspects of the storyline were confusing for me. Thank you NetGalley and Cornerstone for the ARC.
Read
June 3, 2026I really wanted to love this and I mostly did - it grappled with a lot of themes similar to RF Kuang's Katabasis and Babel, and was extremely atmospheric and eerie. Unpacked the unbalanced power structures of academia hidden within of universities and mentorships, picked at threads of misogyny, emotional manipulation and abuse, substance abuse, sexual violence, and how being 'the other' particularly the racial discrimination faced as a Korean in Paris, worked to unsettle and unseat our deeply problematic protagonist. I loved her at times (yay for messy bisexuals) but god she needed a break.
It was fascinating and I enjoyed the body horror inherent in the alchemy of it all - transformation big important vibe here - but I was disappointed by the momentum in the middle, where all our energy was sapped. Important context sadly did bog us down, and this felt long.
It was fascinating and I enjoyed the body horror inherent in the alchemy of it all - transformation big important vibe here - but I was disappointed by the momentum in the middle, where all our energy was sapped. Important context sadly did bog us down, and this felt long.
February 20, 2026
Review to come but GOD this was so good
February 11, 2026
Screaming crying throwing up, I can't wait for this story to come out!!
May 22, 2026
There’s no denying that this is beautifully written. Lynn D. Jung is an absolute wordsmith, crafting a rich, deeply immersive academic world layered with a dark, gothic atmosphere. Set in a modern-day Paris that somehow feels suspended in a bygone era, Mothsblood leans fully into its dark academia roots, complete with lectures, thesis work, and a tangible sense of intellectual obsession. If you want your dark academia to actually feel academic, this delivers. Entomology lovers especially will enjoy this.
I loved the alchemical university setting at Meurdrac and the intricate, well-researched worldbuilding. The integration of alchemical sciences into a contemporary setting was fascinating, and the inclusion of historical figures will be a treat for anyone familiar with the history of alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone. The atmosphere is easily one of the book’s strongest elements: moody, gothic, and almost suffocating at times.
Thematically, this explores identity, elitism in academia, the pursuit of knowledge, the abuse of power, blind ambition, and who ultimately pays the price for it. There’s also a sapphic romance subplot woven through the story, which I really enjoyed, but wish had been a little more developed.
That said, this is where my experience became more conflicted. The pacing felt inconsistent, and at times the heavy focus on atmosphere and verbose prose came at the expense of narrative momentum. I found it difficult to stay connected to both the plot and the characters, and certain threads were introduced with weight but never felt fully resolved (Petronelle’s journal, the automatons, and the contention between magic and alchemy).
The murder mystery initially hooked me with a compelling setup, but it seemed to resolve surprisingly early, which left the latter half of the book feeling somewhat directionless. I’m usually able to build theories about where a story is going, but here I felt a bit lost until the end. The final 15% was the most gripping part, finally delivering the tension and momentum I had been waiting for, though getting there was a struggle at times.
There is also this surreal, fever-dream quality to parts of the narrative. While likely intentional, it made it difficult to fully trust what was real or stay grounded in the story. Between alchemised substances, alcohol, hallucinations, mentions of black mould, and body horror, I often found myself questioning how reliable Lark was as a narrator.
Lark herself is a complex and flawed FMC, clearly shaped by her trauma and abuse. Her self-destructive coping mechanisms make her feel real and layered, but also, at times, difficult to like and root for. Outside of her dynamic with her mentor/abuser, which is one of the more developed and disturbing relationships, many of the side relationships felt underexplored, making it hard to form a deeper emotional connection with her peers, romantic interest, and teachers.
I do want to highlight that the eARC I received did not include content warnings, which significantly impacted my reading experience. I also could not find any listed on the author’s website either. Had I been aware beforehand, I likely would have made a different choice about picking it up. While I think the abusive relationship and its impact on Lark was handled well and realistically, the fawning and subsequent abuse were difficult to read.
There were aspects I genuinely loved, but ultimately this just wasn’t the right fit for me 💔 Despite my mixed feelings, I still think this is an incredibly strong debut. It is ambitious, atmospheric, and clearly written with a lot of care and intention. I can absolutely see this resonating with readers who love richly detailed dark academia, gothic fantasy, and morally complex characters, especially if you do not mind slower pacing and heavier subject matter.
Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers at Random House UK, Del Rey for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings: (mild spoilers)
I loved the alchemical university setting at Meurdrac and the intricate, well-researched worldbuilding. The integration of alchemical sciences into a contemporary setting was fascinating, and the inclusion of historical figures will be a treat for anyone familiar with the history of alchemy and the Philosopher’s Stone. The atmosphere is easily one of the book’s strongest elements: moody, gothic, and almost suffocating at times.
Thematically, this explores identity, elitism in academia, the pursuit of knowledge, the abuse of power, blind ambition, and who ultimately pays the price for it. There’s also a sapphic romance subplot woven through the story, which I really enjoyed, but wish had been a little more developed.
That said, this is where my experience became more conflicted. The pacing felt inconsistent, and at times the heavy focus on atmosphere and verbose prose came at the expense of narrative momentum. I found it difficult to stay connected to both the plot and the characters, and certain threads were introduced with weight but never felt fully resolved (Petronelle’s journal, the automatons, and the contention between magic and alchemy).
The murder mystery initially hooked me with a compelling setup, but it seemed to resolve surprisingly early, which left the latter half of the book feeling somewhat directionless. I’m usually able to build theories about where a story is going, but here I felt a bit lost until the end. The final 15% was the most gripping part, finally delivering the tension and momentum I had been waiting for, though getting there was a struggle at times.
There is also this surreal, fever-dream quality to parts of the narrative. While likely intentional, it made it difficult to fully trust what was real or stay grounded in the story. Between alchemised substances, alcohol, hallucinations, mentions of black mould, and body horror, I often found myself questioning how reliable Lark was as a narrator.
Lark herself is a complex and flawed FMC, clearly shaped by her trauma and abuse. Her self-destructive coping mechanisms make her feel real and layered, but also, at times, difficult to like and root for. Outside of her dynamic with her mentor/abuser, which is one of the more developed and disturbing relationships, many of the side relationships felt underexplored, making it hard to form a deeper emotional connection with her peers, romantic interest, and teachers.
I do want to highlight that the eARC I received did not include content warnings, which significantly impacted my reading experience. I also could not find any listed on the author’s website either. Had I been aware beforehand, I likely would have made a different choice about picking it up. While I think the abusive relationship and its impact on Lark was handled well and realistically, the fawning and subsequent abuse were difficult to read.
There were aspects I genuinely loved, but ultimately this just wasn’t the right fit for me 💔 Despite my mixed feelings, I still think this is an incredibly strong debut. It is ambitious, atmospheric, and clearly written with a lot of care and intention. I can absolutely see this resonating with readers who love richly detailed dark academia, gothic fantasy, and morally complex characters, especially if you do not mind slower pacing and heavier subject matter.
Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers at Random House UK, Del Rey for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings: (mild spoilers)
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review of an Advanced Reader Copy.
Thank you to Random House UK and Lynn D. Jung for the opportunity to discover this story early in exchange for my honest review !
Mothsblood follows the path of Larkspur, a young Alchemy student fighting to find her place in a community corrupted by wealth and legacy. Despite being a one in a generation talent and brain, Lark quickly realized that the only way for it to be worth something in this world is to play the game. When her ticket to recognition gets murdered under her own nose and her past suddenly comes back to haunt her, what (and who) will she choose..?
"She's fairly certain she's about to die, something she never intended for herself, and it never occured to her until then that dying alone is a terrible fate."
"Lark is sick of people trying to help her, not when she cannot be saved."
RATING : 4/5.
This is one of those reviews which are kinda hard to write. I finished the book a couple days ago, I'm sitting at my computer, gathering my thoughts about it and no constructive criticism immediately jumps to me. Yet, it was not a five stars read. So how do I explain this ?
I personaly found Mothsblood to be quite character driven. Yes, there's a plotline building through the entire book and yes, it is major and quite interesting. Yet, I do not think you can appreciate said book if you're not willing to get to know its characters, especially Lark.
Lark is NOT your typical fantasy FMC. She's realer, she's uglier. She does have the usually traumatic backstory, and the author will show you exactly how that affected her. Reading through the early reviews, I saw a few people saying that the big revelation about what happened to Lark came too late for the reader to actually connect with her. I could not disagree more. I think her backstory is carefully and cleverly sprinkled through the story. I think you get the perfect amount of informations early enough to grasp the general idea of what Lark went through and that was enough to get me on her side. I loved that the author chose to do it in a way that felt aligned with her character. Lark is anything but someone who opens up easily or quickly. She is driven, hungry, selfish, sometimes mean, even to people who did not deserve it, but most of all she's guarded and I believe that's the key part of her. I'll say it, I firmly believe most of the discourse that might happen surrounding Lark will stem from deeply routed sexist thinking. If you hated Lark, ask yourself how you would have felt if she was written as a male character and... do with that what you will.
Maybe I would have liked to know a bit more about a few other characters, I'm thinking especially Kareem, Violaine and Victor. You really only see things through Lark's perspective and, well, you can't say Lark is much of a people person. I feel like their feelings and experiences of the story would have been a really interesting aspect to see but I also get that it was not the point the author was trying to make. While Lark was beautifully executed, maybe it took a bit too much from those side characters. Some, like Kareem and Violaine, I wanted to see more involved in the plot. Others (I obviously won't say who) had a big part to play but felt too underdevelopped for it to flow well. Some felt just kinda there, hi Sasha and Matthieu. Kang, in my opinion, was the perfect balance of page time and personal background for his part and relevance to the story.
Story wise, again, I liked it. It's well done. I will say though that you need to love diving into the psyche of the characters to enjoy this story to its full potential. There's a huge part of the plot that stem from a particular type of interpersonnal connection (which, again, I obviously won't name). If you often find yourself not caring that much about the dynamics between characters, Mothsblood is definitely not for you. The book is being marketed as a Dark Academia and while, yes, it definitely is, I'm worried some people could go in with the wrong expectations... I think Alchemy and more generally Academia are a tiny bit less central than I was led to believe based off the book description. Actually, I do not think that the blurb (or any reviews really) manage to capture exactly the essence of Mothsblood. That was not something I minded, I even believe it to be the sign of both a complex story and cleverness (can you tell I'm exhausted to have every tiny trope written out in a book promo?). Still, it might be a little jarring to readers going in with clear and set expectations, you just have to open yourself up to the story and to Jung's words. I do not know how to describe it other than Mothsblood reads like a book from another era of publishing, before the tropification and tiktokification of books, stories and writing. I loved the writing in this.
So, why is it not 5 stars ? Guys, I have no fucking idea. All I can say is that it had everything to make me fall in love with it, I just didn't. May I say that it's not the book, it's me..? I feel like it might be me. I definitely think that you should give it a try. Please, remember that no review can replace the personal experience of reading, and the most meaningful opinion you can form is the one you build for yourself!
Thank you to Random House UK and Lynn D. Jung for the opportunity to discover this story early in exchange for my honest review !
Mothsblood follows the path of Larkspur, a young Alchemy student fighting to find her place in a community corrupted by wealth and legacy. Despite being a one in a generation talent and brain, Lark quickly realized that the only way for it to be worth something in this world is to play the game. When her ticket to recognition gets murdered under her own nose and her past suddenly comes back to haunt her, what (and who) will she choose..?
"She's fairly certain she's about to die, something she never intended for herself, and it never occured to her until then that dying alone is a terrible fate."
"Lark is sick of people trying to help her, not when she cannot be saved."
RATING : 4/5.
This is one of those reviews which are kinda hard to write. I finished the book a couple days ago, I'm sitting at my computer, gathering my thoughts about it and no constructive criticism immediately jumps to me. Yet, it was not a five stars read. So how do I explain this ?
I personaly found Mothsblood to be quite character driven. Yes, there's a plotline building through the entire book and yes, it is major and quite interesting. Yet, I do not think you can appreciate said book if you're not willing to get to know its characters, especially Lark.
Lark is NOT your typical fantasy FMC. She's realer, she's uglier. She does have the usually traumatic backstory, and the author will show you exactly how that affected her. Reading through the early reviews, I saw a few people saying that the big revelation about what happened to Lark came too late for the reader to actually connect with her. I could not disagree more. I think her backstory is carefully and cleverly sprinkled through the story. I think you get the perfect amount of informations early enough to grasp the general idea of what Lark went through and that was enough to get me on her side. I loved that the author chose to do it in a way that felt aligned with her character. Lark is anything but someone who opens up easily or quickly. She is driven, hungry, selfish, sometimes mean, even to people who did not deserve it, but most of all she's guarded and I believe that's the key part of her. I'll say it, I firmly believe most of the discourse that might happen surrounding Lark will stem from deeply routed sexist thinking. If you hated Lark, ask yourself how you would have felt if she was written as a male character and... do with that what you will.
Maybe I would have liked to know a bit more about a few other characters, I'm thinking especially Kareem, Violaine and Victor. You really only see things through Lark's perspective and, well, you can't say Lark is much of a people person. I feel like their feelings and experiences of the story would have been a really interesting aspect to see but I also get that it was not the point the author was trying to make. While Lark was beautifully executed, maybe it took a bit too much from those side characters. Some, like Kareem and Violaine, I wanted to see more involved in the plot. Others (I obviously won't say who) had a big part to play but felt too underdevelopped for it to flow well. Some felt just kinda there, hi Sasha and Matthieu. Kang, in my opinion, was the perfect balance of page time and personal background for his part and relevance to the story.
Story wise, again, I liked it. It's well done. I will say though that you need to love diving into the psyche of the characters to enjoy this story to its full potential. There's a huge part of the plot that stem from a particular type of interpersonnal connection (which, again, I obviously won't name). If you often find yourself not caring that much about the dynamics between characters, Mothsblood is definitely not for you. The book is being marketed as a Dark Academia and while, yes, it definitely is, I'm worried some people could go in with the wrong expectations... I think Alchemy and more generally Academia are a tiny bit less central than I was led to believe based off the book description. Actually, I do not think that the blurb (or any reviews really) manage to capture exactly the essence of Mothsblood. That was not something I minded, I even believe it to be the sign of both a complex story and cleverness (can you tell I'm exhausted to have every tiny trope written out in a book promo?). Still, it might be a little jarring to readers going in with clear and set expectations, you just have to open yourself up to the story and to Jung's words. I do not know how to describe it other than Mothsblood reads like a book from another era of publishing, before the tropification and tiktokification of books, stories and writing. I loved the writing in this.
So, why is it not 5 stars ? Guys, I have no fucking idea. All I can say is that it had everything to make me fall in love with it, I just didn't. May I say that it's not the book, it's me..? I feel like it might be me. I definitely think that you should give it a try. Please, remember that no review can replace the personal experience of reading, and the most meaningful opinion you can form is the one you build for yourself!
May 13, 2026
This was such an atmospheric and intriguing debut. The dark academia setting in modern-day Paris was one of my favorite parts of the book, it felt moody, immersive, and full of secrets, which perfectly matched the mystery surrounding the murder of the headmistress. I especially enjoyed the alchemy elements and the layered university politics, which made the world feel unique and compelling.
Lark was an interesting main character, and I liked following her as she navigated her complicated past, dangerous secrets, and morally gray choices. Her internal conflict about power, ambition, and who she can trust added a lot of depth to the story. The mystery kept me invested, and I appreciated how the darker aspects of the plot slowly unraveled over time.
My only reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that some parts felt a little dense, particularly with the lore and pacing in certain sections, which occasionally slowed the momentum for me. But overall, this was a strong debut with an original premise, rich atmosphere, and plenty of twists. Definitely a great pick for readers who love dark academia, secret societies, and fantasy with mystery elements.
Lark was an interesting main character, and I liked following her as she navigated her complicated past, dangerous secrets, and morally gray choices. Her internal conflict about power, ambition, and who she can trust added a lot of depth to the story. The mystery kept me invested, and I appreciated how the darker aspects of the plot slowly unraveled over time.
My only reason for giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is that some parts felt a little dense, particularly with the lore and pacing in certain sections, which occasionally slowed the momentum for me. But overall, this was a strong debut with an original premise, rich atmosphere, and plenty of twists. Definitely a great pick for readers who love dark academia, secret societies, and fantasy with mystery elements.
April 11, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for an ARC of this book.
The premise of this book was great and so intriguing, however the execution was a bit choppy and chaotic. I couldn’t really grasp Lark’s bitchiness, towards characters like Kareem and Céline, while I understand the intentions, her character just lacked the ability to channel this and made her seem childish (from her own words) throughout a lot of the book.
The alchemy components though were well thought out and gave a great gothic element to the story.
The ending was probably my favourite part, it was perfectly paced, well executed, while slightly predictable, it was a great end to an otherwise slightly above average book.
The premise of this book was great and so intriguing, however the execution was a bit choppy and chaotic. I couldn’t really grasp Lark’s bitchiness, towards characters like Kareem and Céline, while I understand the intentions, her character just lacked the ability to channel this and made her seem childish (from her own words) throughout a lot of the book.
The alchemy components though were well thought out and gave a great gothic element to the story.
The ending was probably my favourite part, it was perfectly paced, well executed, while slightly predictable, it was a great end to an otherwise slightly above average book.
April 15, 2026
This book is if Donna Tartt wrote “Ninth House” and added a splash of “The Umbrella Academy” 😍
Genuinely this is a STUNNING debut with lyrical prose and all the gothic/dark academia vibes! Highly recommend!!!
Full disclosure, the author sent me an advanced copy ahead of publication, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!
Genuinely this is a STUNNING debut with lyrical prose and all the gothic/dark academia vibes! Highly recommend!!!
Full disclosure, the author sent me an advanced copy ahead of publication, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!
Want to Read
January 27, 2026very very curious to learn more about this book and looking forward to its release!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
=> Dark Academia
=> Gothic Fantasy
=> Murder Mystery
=> Morally Grey Characters
=> Toxic Mentor Relationship
🕯️Okay what the hell was in this book because I finished it and genuinely just sat there staring at my ceiling for a while. Mothsblood is one of those books that is honestly really hard to review because technically it has almost everything I usually love in a story, and yet I still can’t fully explain why it didn’t completely hit for me emotionally. Like objectively? This is an incredibly strong debut. The writing alone had me losing my mind every few pages. Lynn D. Jung can WRITE write. The prose is lyrical without trying too hard, atmospheric without becoming unreadable, and the entire book feels drenched in this dark, suffocating gothic energy that completely pulls you in.
The Paris setting was honestly perfect for this story too. Everything felt old and decayed and beautiful at the same time. Meurdrac as an alchemical university was probably one of my favorite parts of the book because it actually felt academic. Like this isn’t the fake aesthetic version of dark academia where someone wears a blazer and drinks coffee in one scene and suddenly it’s “academia.” This book is filled with lectures, research, thesis work, intellectual obsession, elitism, legacy, and people literally destroying themselves in pursuit of knowledge and power.
🦋 The story follows Larkspur Lee, an alchemy student who comes to Paris hoping to earn recognition at Meurdrac and compete for an apprenticeship under Petronelle Flamel, one of the Deathless alchemists who achieved immortality through the Philosopher’s Stone. But then Petronelle gets murdered, Lark gets dragged into the investigation, her abusive former mentor suddenly reappears, and everything spirals from there.
At its core, this book really feels like a massive exploration of ambition and power. Like when does wanting knowledge stop being about curiosity and start becoming obsession? And what kind of person do you become when your entire life revolves around proving yourself worthy of recognition? Every character in this book is clawing for power in some way and it gets genuinely uncomfortable to watch sometimes.
🩸 Lark herself is SUCH a complicated character and honestly I think whether this book works for you or not depends heavily on whether you can connect with her. She’s not a “likable” fantasy FMC in the traditional sense. She’s selfish, emotionally closed off, self-destructive, obsessive, mean sometimes, and deeply damaged by her trauma and abuse. But that’s exactly why she felt real to me. I actually really liked the way her backstory was revealed because it matched her personality. Lark is not someone who opens up easily, so having everything dumped on the reader immediately would’ve felt wrong.
And honestly some of the criticism I’ve seen toward her already feels a little… questionable. Because I genuinely think if Lark was written as a man, people would call her “complex” instead of annoying. But anyway.
🕸️ Atmosphere-wise this book absolutely eats. There’s this fever dream quality running through the entire story where you constantly feel slightly disconnected from reality alongside Lark. Between the hallucinations, alchemised substances, body horror, alcohol abuse, black mold imagery, and general decay, everything feels unstable in a way that really worked for me.
But this is also where some of my issues started showing up.
The pacing is definitely inconsistent. There were moments where I was completely locked in and then other sections where I felt like the atmosphere and prose were overpowering the actual narrative momentum. The murder mystery setup hooked me immediately, but it weirdly resolves earlier than I expected, and after that the story started feeling a little aimless until the final stretch. That last 15% though??? Easily the strongest part of the book for me. Suddenly everything became tense and emotionally gripping in the way I’d been waiting for the entire time.
🥀 I also wish some of the side characters had more development because a few of them were genuinely so interesting. Kareem, Violaine, and Victor especially felt like characters I wanted way more from. Since everything is filtered so heavily through Lark’s perspective, some relationships ended up feeling underdeveloped emotionally, including parts of the sapphic romance subplot, which I really liked but wanted more depth from. The mentor relationship was genuinely disturbing in a way that felt painfully realistic. The manipulation, dependency, and emotional damage were written VERY well, almost too well at times.
🖋️ Honestly, I think this is one of those books where I can completely understand why some people are going to adore it and why others might struggle with it. This is a very character-driven story that cares more about psychology, obsession, atmosphere, and interpersonal dynamics than constant plot movement. If you need fast pacing or super clear answers at all times, this probably won’t work for you.
But if you love dark academia that actually feels academic, morally messy characters, gorgeous prose, gothic atmosphere, and stories that feel slightly haunting even after you finish them, then I really do think this is worth reading.
And honestly? I kinda love that this book feels like it came from an older era of publishing before every single story started sounding like it was written specifically to become a TikTok aesthetic. It feels weird and ambitious and genuinely confident in what it wants to be. Even with my mixed feelings, I still think this was an insanely impressive debut.
=> Gothic Fantasy
=> Murder Mystery
=> Morally Grey Characters
=> Toxic Mentor Relationship
🕯️Okay what the hell was in this book because I finished it and genuinely just sat there staring at my ceiling for a while. Mothsblood is one of those books that is honestly really hard to review because technically it has almost everything I usually love in a story, and yet I still can’t fully explain why it didn’t completely hit for me emotionally. Like objectively? This is an incredibly strong debut. The writing alone had me losing my mind every few pages. Lynn D. Jung can WRITE write. The prose is lyrical without trying too hard, atmospheric without becoming unreadable, and the entire book feels drenched in this dark, suffocating gothic energy that completely pulls you in.
The Paris setting was honestly perfect for this story too. Everything felt old and decayed and beautiful at the same time. Meurdrac as an alchemical university was probably one of my favorite parts of the book because it actually felt academic. Like this isn’t the fake aesthetic version of dark academia where someone wears a blazer and drinks coffee in one scene and suddenly it’s “academia.” This book is filled with lectures, research, thesis work, intellectual obsession, elitism, legacy, and people literally destroying themselves in pursuit of knowledge and power.
🦋 The story follows Larkspur Lee, an alchemy student who comes to Paris hoping to earn recognition at Meurdrac and compete for an apprenticeship under Petronelle Flamel, one of the Deathless alchemists who achieved immortality through the Philosopher’s Stone. But then Petronelle gets murdered, Lark gets dragged into the investigation, her abusive former mentor suddenly reappears, and everything spirals from there.
At its core, this book really feels like a massive exploration of ambition and power. Like when does wanting knowledge stop being about curiosity and start becoming obsession? And what kind of person do you become when your entire life revolves around proving yourself worthy of recognition? Every character in this book is clawing for power in some way and it gets genuinely uncomfortable to watch sometimes.
🩸 Lark herself is SUCH a complicated character and honestly I think whether this book works for you or not depends heavily on whether you can connect with her. She’s not a “likable” fantasy FMC in the traditional sense. She’s selfish, emotionally closed off, self-destructive, obsessive, mean sometimes, and deeply damaged by her trauma and abuse. But that’s exactly why she felt real to me. I actually really liked the way her backstory was revealed because it matched her personality. Lark is not someone who opens up easily, so having everything dumped on the reader immediately would’ve felt wrong.
And honestly some of the criticism I’ve seen toward her already feels a little… questionable. Because I genuinely think if Lark was written as a man, people would call her “complex” instead of annoying. But anyway.
🕸️ Atmosphere-wise this book absolutely eats. There’s this fever dream quality running through the entire story where you constantly feel slightly disconnected from reality alongside Lark. Between the hallucinations, alchemised substances, body horror, alcohol abuse, black mold imagery, and general decay, everything feels unstable in a way that really worked for me.
But this is also where some of my issues started showing up.
The pacing is definitely inconsistent. There were moments where I was completely locked in and then other sections where I felt like the atmosphere and prose were overpowering the actual narrative momentum. The murder mystery setup hooked me immediately, but it weirdly resolves earlier than I expected, and after that the story started feeling a little aimless until the final stretch. That last 15% though??? Easily the strongest part of the book for me. Suddenly everything became tense and emotionally gripping in the way I’d been waiting for the entire time.
🥀 I also wish some of the side characters had more development because a few of them were genuinely so interesting. Kareem, Violaine, and Victor especially felt like characters I wanted way more from. Since everything is filtered so heavily through Lark’s perspective, some relationships ended up feeling underdeveloped emotionally, including parts of the sapphic romance subplot, which I really liked but wanted more depth from. The mentor relationship was genuinely disturbing in a way that felt painfully realistic. The manipulation, dependency, and emotional damage were written VERY well, almost too well at times.
🖋️ Honestly, I think this is one of those books where I can completely understand why some people are going to adore it and why others might struggle with it. This is a very character-driven story that cares more about psychology, obsession, atmosphere, and interpersonal dynamics than constant plot movement. If you need fast pacing or super clear answers at all times, this probably won’t work for you.
But if you love dark academia that actually feels academic, morally messy characters, gorgeous prose, gothic atmosphere, and stories that feel slightly haunting even after you finish them, then I really do think this is worth reading.
And honestly? I kinda love that this book feels like it came from an older era of publishing before every single story started sounding like it was written specifically to become a TikTok aesthetic. It feels weird and ambitious and genuinely confident in what it wants to be. Even with my mixed feelings, I still think this was an insanely impressive debut.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Mothsblood is the type of book that haunts the reader, the imagery and lessons you can’t shake no matter how hard you try.
I believe this book will really surprise people in the genre of dark academia, it is not what many readers have become accustomed too. Mothsblood’s version of dark academia is not a mood school background with no mention of the subjects being studied, just a background to the plot. No this is one of the most to the letter execution of being both a very dark story and being extremely academic. Both of which may not necessarily appeal to everyone. My closest comparison I can come up with is the darkness of Ninth House, with the academia of Babel type of story. But truly no book compares. It’s a debut that carves out an entirely new narrative within the dark academia/ fantasy genre.
Set in Paris at a secret alchemist university, there are dark plot lines, deep discussion and themes of academic hierarchies, students being viewed as disposable for prof’s research purposes and at its core does the advancement of science or in this cause alchemy, really outweigh the potential for damage. In the words of Dr Ian Malcom (yes jurassic park) ‘you were so focused on it you could, you never stopped to ask if you should’. The same ethical/ moral debate that always sits at the centre of advancement just like with Oppenheimer.
I predict this book will be very divisive for readers not expecting the darkness and scientific discussion for example of insects. I for one found it thrilling to have such a different story told and such a different complex female character. It clears the fmc at the beginning of the book is quite numb from some sort of trauma and the way she behaves is a great representation of reality. The moment she manipulated the rich guy who is smitten with her at the beginning to get what she wanted, I knew I was hooked.
I’m not sure if there is a clear listing of trigger warnings anywhere but it is definitely worth checking for some more senestive plot points. However I felt it was dealt with very well.
This book does have a romantic plot however this is not a spicy/ smutty/ graphic book. As is appropriate I think, if the author had written scenes that we are used too in romantasy it would have taken away from the book and felt out of place. I am very pleased the author wasn’t pressured into writing scenes like that.
I will be looking forward to getting a special edition of this book for my shelf, I believe Illumicrate will be doing it. Partly as a trophy and partly to enjoy the story without the formatting and arc errors that were present in the edition I read. Although I am obviously grateful to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
P.s. final note readers may be surprised by the language used throughout this novel, it is perhaps different to standard vocabulary in similar level books. I would say I am pretty well educated and I had to check the definition of many words! I couldn’t decide if a thesaurus was over used but in the end settled on the that’s just the way the author is and good for them, they have a very impressive vocabulary. However for some this may be distracting from the story.
………….
Larkspur Lee is a, 20 something, 1st year student at a secretly alchemy university Meurdrac in Paris. She is american which the rest hate and on scholarship- so your usual dark academia setting. But one thing sets Lark apart and it’s her mentor at Hunt university, california. This gives her a seemingly better foundation that the rest on the sciences of alchemy. Although the relationship and how it soured is all shouted in mystery.
It was refreshing to have so much academia in a fantasy dark academia book I must admit. Often it’s just the eerie setting for books rather than the subject matter. But Mothsblood really gets into the science of it all, not for the faint of hearted if academia is not your thing. There is A LOT of talk about bugs, insects and as you can imagine moths!
One very unusual thing was the writing or rather word choice. I was torn on whether this is actually how the author sounds and writes and is slightly pretentious or had overused the thesaurus. But as many of the word choices derived from french I think it’s the french influence which would make sense with it being set in paris however it really does take you out of the book often to look up the meaning of words. Many of which I had never heard off. Everyday is a school day.
Lark was a really interesting and different fmc than I have ever read. A very different type of complex character and morally grey. I can’t think of many other examples of the fmc using men the way she does to get what she wants and I was totally here for it.
A mystery that just kept going.
The cover is stunning and can’t wait to see what special editions are done
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I believe this book will really surprise people in the genre of dark academia, it is not what many readers have become accustomed too. Mothsblood’s version of dark academia is not a mood school background with no mention of the subjects being studied, just a background to the plot. No this is one of the most to the letter execution of being both a very dark story and being extremely academic. Both of which may not necessarily appeal to everyone. My closest comparison I can come up with is the darkness of Ninth House, with the academia of Babel type of story. But truly no book compares. It’s a debut that carves out an entirely new narrative within the dark academia/ fantasy genre.
Set in Paris at a secret alchemist university, there are dark plot lines, deep discussion and themes of academic hierarchies, students being viewed as disposable for prof’s research purposes and at its core does the advancement of science or in this cause alchemy, really outweigh the potential for damage. In the words of Dr Ian Malcom (yes jurassic park) ‘you were so focused on it you could, you never stopped to ask if you should’. The same ethical/ moral debate that always sits at the centre of advancement just like with Oppenheimer.
I predict this book will be very divisive for readers not expecting the darkness and scientific discussion for example of insects. I for one found it thrilling to have such a different story told and such a different complex female character. It clears the fmc at the beginning of the book is quite numb from some sort of trauma and the way she behaves is a great representation of reality. The moment she manipulated the rich guy who is smitten with her at the beginning to get what she wanted, I knew I was hooked.
I’m not sure if there is a clear listing of trigger warnings anywhere but it is definitely worth checking for some more senestive plot points. However I felt it was dealt with very well.
This book does have a romantic plot however this is not a spicy/ smutty/ graphic book. As is appropriate I think, if the author had written scenes that we are used too in romantasy it would have taken away from the book and felt out of place. I am very pleased the author wasn’t pressured into writing scenes like that.
I will be looking forward to getting a special edition of this book for my shelf, I believe Illumicrate will be doing it. Partly as a trophy and partly to enjoy the story without the formatting and arc errors that were present in the edition I read. Although I am obviously grateful to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
P.s. final note readers may be surprised by the language used throughout this novel, it is perhaps different to standard vocabulary in similar level books. I would say I am pretty well educated and I had to check the definition of many words! I couldn’t decide if a thesaurus was over used but in the end settled on the that’s just the way the author is and good for them, they have a very impressive vocabulary. However for some this may be distracting from the story.
………….
Larkspur Lee is a, 20 something, 1st year student at a secretly alchemy university Meurdrac in Paris. She is american which the rest hate and on scholarship- so your usual dark academia setting. But one thing sets Lark apart and it’s her mentor at Hunt university, california. This gives her a seemingly better foundation that the rest on the sciences of alchemy. Although the relationship and how it soured is all shouted in mystery.
It was refreshing to have so much academia in a fantasy dark academia book I must admit. Often it’s just the eerie setting for books rather than the subject matter. But Mothsblood really gets into the science of it all, not for the faint of hearted if academia is not your thing. There is A LOT of talk about bugs, insects and as you can imagine moths!
One very unusual thing was the writing or rather word choice. I was torn on whether this is actually how the author sounds and writes and is slightly pretentious or had overused the thesaurus. But as many of the word choices derived from french I think it’s the french influence which would make sense with it being set in paris however it really does take you out of the book often to look up the meaning of words. Many of which I had never heard off. Everyday is a school day.
Lark was a really interesting and different fmc than I have ever read. A very different type of complex character and morally grey. I can’t think of many other examples of the fmc using men the way she does to get what she wants and I was totally here for it.
A mystery that just kept going.
The cover is stunning and can’t wait to see what special editions are done
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was one of my most anticipated reads after first hearing about it. The premise immediately grabbed me, and I was beyond excited when I got the NetGalley approval email. Now that I’ve finished it… if I had to sum it up in one sentence: it’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just… nice.
The story follows Larkspur Lee, who arrives in Paris armed with ambition and a gift for alchemy. As a student at Meurdrac, one of the last remaining alchemical universities, she’s determined to prove herself worthy of immortality despite lacking the wealth and connections of her peers. When Petronelle Flamel, the Grand Magistra, begins searching for an apprentice, Lark is willing to do whatever it takes to be chosen.
However, after a shocking death, Lark becomes entangled in an impossible crime that seems tied to her past. As the investigation unfolds, and with the reappearance of a former mentor she tried to escape, her carefully constructed life begins to unravel. Alongside the mysterious Knight, Violaine, she must navigate dark secrets, both within the university and herself, and ultimately decide whether the power she craves is worth the cost.
There’s a lot here to like: alchemy, a secretive and cut-throat academic setting, hints of cultish intrigue, angst, queerness, and moments of wonder. That said, the execution didn’t quite land for me. Lark herself was frustrating as a protagonist; she often came across as whiny and passive, and due to the mystery aspects of the book, I didn’t really understand her motivations as a character until much later on, which made it difficult to fully connect with her journey.
While the prose is undeniably beautiful, the story takes far too long to get going. It wasn’t until around the 60% mark that things really began to pick up, and closer to 80% before everything started to make sense. The narrative style, which unfolds largely in real time with only sparse flashbacks, left me feeling more confused than intrigued. Instead of building tension, it often made me feel disconnected and, at times, bored.
There were also noticeable inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story. One moment in particular (Chapter 24) stood out, where Lark is described as wearing a robe after a shower, only for her shirt to suddenly reappear within the same scene. Small errors happen, but something so immediate was jarring. Another scene in Chapter 29 of the book also felt tonally off, with characters pausing for intimacy in the face of immediate danger, which undermined the tension.
That being said, I did enjoy the final portion of the book. From around the 65% mark onwards, the story became much more engaging, and the ending was satisfying. Unfortunately, it just took too long to get there for me to fully overlook the earlier issues.
Ultimately, I think this may simply not have been the book for me. I sometimes struggle with dark academia unless the story is particularly gripping, and this one didn’t quite reach that level. I wouldn’t want to discourage others from picking it up though, as I can definitely see it working better for other readers.
It’s not a bad book by any means… just a bit underwhelming.
That said, the cover is absolutely stunning, and I’m very curious to see what special editions might look like, because I imagine they’ll be beautiful.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own
The story follows Larkspur Lee, who arrives in Paris armed with ambition and a gift for alchemy. As a student at Meurdrac, one of the last remaining alchemical universities, she’s determined to prove herself worthy of immortality despite lacking the wealth and connections of her peers. When Petronelle Flamel, the Grand Magistra, begins searching for an apprentice, Lark is willing to do whatever it takes to be chosen.
However, after a shocking death, Lark becomes entangled in an impossible crime that seems tied to her past. As the investigation unfolds, and with the reappearance of a former mentor she tried to escape, her carefully constructed life begins to unravel. Alongside the mysterious Knight, Violaine, she must navigate dark secrets, both within the university and herself, and ultimately decide whether the power she craves is worth the cost.
There’s a lot here to like: alchemy, a secretive and cut-throat academic setting, hints of cultish intrigue, angst, queerness, and moments of wonder. That said, the execution didn’t quite land for me. Lark herself was frustrating as a protagonist; she often came across as whiny and passive, and due to the mystery aspects of the book, I didn’t really understand her motivations as a character until much later on, which made it difficult to fully connect with her journey.
While the prose is undeniably beautiful, the story takes far too long to get going. It wasn’t until around the 60% mark that things really began to pick up, and closer to 80% before everything started to make sense. The narrative style, which unfolds largely in real time with only sparse flashbacks, left me feeling more confused than intrigued. Instead of building tension, it often made me feel disconnected and, at times, bored.
There were also noticeable inconsistencies that pulled me out of the story. One moment in particular (Chapter 24) stood out, where Lark is described as wearing a robe after a shower, only for her shirt to suddenly reappear within the same scene. Small errors happen, but something so immediate was jarring. Another scene in Chapter 29 of the book also felt tonally off, with characters pausing for intimacy in the face of immediate danger, which undermined the tension.
That being said, I did enjoy the final portion of the book. From around the 65% mark onwards, the story became much more engaging, and the ending was satisfying. Unfortunately, it just took too long to get there for me to fully overlook the earlier issues.
Ultimately, I think this may simply not have been the book for me. I sometimes struggle with dark academia unless the story is particularly gripping, and this one didn’t quite reach that level. I wouldn’t want to discourage others from picking it up though, as I can definitely see it working better for other readers.
It’s not a bad book by any means… just a bit underwhelming.
That said, the cover is absolutely stunning, and I’m very curious to see what special editions might look like, because I imagine they’ll be beautiful.
Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*4.5
I received this as an e-arc on NetGalley. Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for the copy!
Mothsblood is a contemporary dark academia fantasy set in Paris, France following Larkspur Lee, a Korean American first year alchemist who gets caught up in a murder mystery plot that seems to lead back to her former mentor at the center of it.
I have gone on record more than once stating that dark academia is far from my preferred genre. I still maintain that stance, but reading Mothsblood has me reconsider being more open to the genre. The plot summary, I feel, makes this book sound rather plot and action driven. Jung included her fair share of twists and turns plot wise, but I would say that you should expect a very introverted narrative going into this. The plot is important and well sketched, especially for a debut author, but the books thematic focus is on Lark's development and actions. Around the 40% mark, the book begins to move from a standard murder mystery plot to a critique of academia as a whole and an examination of what it looks like to be a POC at a PWI institution, and the damage of molded into something by someone else before their own benefit. So, big trigger warnings for student x teacher dynamics, grooming, and SA.
Lark is difficult, though I assume not an unfamiliar character for dark academia fans, the young ambitious academic, though Lark is driven by the need to prove herself in an institution that almost explicitly caters to the privileged children of the various alchemical families. As a fellow POC deep in the pits of hell that is academia, I found her familiar to me, the constant ruminations on money, an obsessive focus on an idealized future to justify a less than ideal present, the various snubs at your background, heritage, behavior, and abilities from you privileged peers and ignorant superiors, constantly fraying at the edges, etc. Lark felt like a real person who I have and could encounter in my day to day life and she stressed the hell out of me. I get her, but good god girl.
I think my one complaint about the novel would be it's prose. I respect a fellow purple prose girl, but I think there are times where we have to look at what we are saying rather than finding the prettiest way to say it. The book was compulsively readable for me, but I can easily see other people finding it overwhelming or unneeded and putting the book down. At times I feel like the prosaic style overpowered the story more than serving it, especially in pivotal moments, where I feel like Lark's internal narrative and development was shrouded and abstract because of the language. The plot / driving forces behind her behavior was believable, but I don't think we quite connected it to her internal self when we needed it too, so her changes in behavior could come off as hazy or abrupt when it was meant to be a culmination of her character development.
Overall, I really enjoyed myself with this one! I'm looking forward to what Lynn D. Jung comes up with next.
I received this as an e-arc on NetGalley. Thank you to Bloomsbury USA for the copy!
Mothsblood is a contemporary dark academia fantasy set in Paris, France following Larkspur Lee, a Korean American first year alchemist who gets caught up in a murder mystery plot that seems to lead back to her former mentor at the center of it.
I have gone on record more than once stating that dark academia is far from my preferred genre. I still maintain that stance, but reading Mothsblood has me reconsider being more open to the genre. The plot summary, I feel, makes this book sound rather plot and action driven. Jung included her fair share of twists and turns plot wise, but I would say that you should expect a very introverted narrative going into this. The plot is important and well sketched, especially for a debut author, but the books thematic focus is on Lark's development and actions. Around the 40% mark, the book begins to move from a standard murder mystery plot to a critique of academia as a whole and an examination of what it looks like to be a POC at a PWI institution, and the damage of molded into something by someone else before their own benefit. So, big trigger warnings for student x teacher dynamics, grooming, and SA.
Lark is difficult, though I assume not an unfamiliar character for dark academia fans, the young ambitious academic, though Lark is driven by the need to prove herself in an institution that almost explicitly caters to the privileged children of the various alchemical families. As a fellow POC deep in the pits of hell that is academia, I found her familiar to me, the constant ruminations on money, an obsessive focus on an idealized future to justify a less than ideal present, the various snubs at your background, heritage, behavior, and abilities from you privileged peers and ignorant superiors, constantly fraying at the edges, etc. Lark felt like a real person who I have and could encounter in my day to day life and she stressed the hell out of me. I get her, but good god girl.
I think my one complaint about the novel would be it's prose. I respect a fellow purple prose girl, but I think there are times where we have to look at what we are saying rather than finding the prettiest way to say it. The book was compulsively readable for me, but I can easily see other people finding it overwhelming or unneeded and putting the book down. At times I feel like the prosaic style overpowered the story more than serving it, especially in pivotal moments, where I feel like Lark's internal narrative and development was shrouded and abstract because of the language. The plot / driving forces behind her behavior was believable, but I don't think we quite connected it to her internal self when we needed it too, so her changes in behavior could come off as hazy or abrupt when it was meant to be a culmination of her character development.
Overall, I really enjoyed myself with this one! I'm looking forward to what Lynn D. Jung comes up with next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Mothsblood:
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Review:
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC of Mothsblood in exchange for my honest opinion! Mothsblood is a whirlwind of gripping plot, multifaceted characters, and amazing diversity. This book places you straight into a French dark academic setting with great attention to detail with every scenic descriptor, placing you so well into the main characters eyes you feel transported into the streets of stormy late nights and stuffy college apartments. For a debut author/novel I genuinely think Lynn D. Tung nailed so many different points that some seasoned authors sometimes overlook. Every single character felt so flushed out and unique, with their own personalities, moral compasses, desires and styles. I could easily imagine them all in their own light, instead of them solely feeling like space fillers they felt like real day to day people you may run into at school or work or maybe even on a night out.
Our MC Larkspur (Lark) is currently an alchemical student at Meurdrac University in Paris, France. One of the most renowned and sought after schools for young alchemists and known for their immortal and famous headmistress Petronelle Flamel. The wife of the late creator of the Philosophers stone, and the head of the “Deathless”, somehow ends up gruesomely murdered with only Lark and a mysterious knight named Violane to find out the truth of who murdered the headmistress and why. But little do they both know that this door opens up to answers about not just the murder, but their own dark truths aswell.
This book is more unique to anything that I’ve read before. From the plot twists to the cadence of the main character and her relationships with everyone in her orbit. There was so much intention and purpose in every single interaction, some that you don’t even realize until the middle or end that mean so much more than you might initially think. There weren’t any stones unturned, no open-ended plot holes, no random details that feel as if they should mean something but end up being nothing in the end. I think that that was my favorite part of reading this book. Every suspicion or confusion had an answer or reason after all of the intensity and turmoil.
The character development was amazing and we really truly got to see what made Lark how she is and gives so much reasoning as to why she makes the decisions that she blindly makes. She grows so much out of the shell that her and others put her in. Other characters in the book also have a lot of development in terms of their own growth and understandings of the world around them and the reality that everything is set into.
This is an amazing read that will easily keep you immersed in the life of someone you didn’t know you knew.
Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Review:
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC of Mothsblood in exchange for my honest opinion! Mothsblood is a whirlwind of gripping plot, multifaceted characters, and amazing diversity. This book places you straight into a French dark academic setting with great attention to detail with every scenic descriptor, placing you so well into the main characters eyes you feel transported into the streets of stormy late nights and stuffy college apartments. For a debut author/novel I genuinely think Lynn D. Tung nailed so many different points that some seasoned authors sometimes overlook. Every single character felt so flushed out and unique, with their own personalities, moral compasses, desires and styles. I could easily imagine them all in their own light, instead of them solely feeling like space fillers they felt like real day to day people you may run into at school or work or maybe even on a night out.
Our MC Larkspur (Lark) is currently an alchemical student at Meurdrac University in Paris, France. One of the most renowned and sought after schools for young alchemists and known for their immortal and famous headmistress Petronelle Flamel. The wife of the late creator of the Philosophers stone, and the head of the “Deathless”, somehow ends up gruesomely murdered with only Lark and a mysterious knight named Violane to find out the truth of who murdered the headmistress and why. But little do they both know that this door opens up to answers about not just the murder, but their own dark truths aswell.
This book is more unique to anything that I’ve read before. From the plot twists to the cadence of the main character and her relationships with everyone in her orbit. There was so much intention and purpose in every single interaction, some that you don’t even realize until the middle or end that mean so much more than you might initially think. There weren’t any stones unturned, no open-ended plot holes, no random details that feel as if they should mean something but end up being nothing in the end. I think that that was my favorite part of reading this book. Every suspicion or confusion had an answer or reason after all of the intensity and turmoil.
The character development was amazing and we really truly got to see what made Lark how she is and gives so much reasoning as to why she makes the decisions that she blindly makes. She grows so much out of the shell that her and others put her in. Other characters in the book also have a lot of development in terms of their own growth and understandings of the world around them and the reality that everything is set into.
This is an amazing read that will easily keep you immersed in the life of someone you didn’t know you knew.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.75/5 ⭐ This is a stunning debut that is lyrical, haunting and quietly powerful. It is more atmospheric than action, but that doesn't stop this from being a wonderfully executed story. Mothsblood is intellectually rich and almost gothic in its dark academia theme, and it's the kind of book that will linger with me for quite some time.
The story follows Larkspur Lee, an ambitious alchemist studying at an elite Parisian institution, where power, knowledge, and secrecy intertwine. From the outset, there’s a strong sense of tension beneath the surface across personal, academic, and philosophical junctions. The themes of identity, ambition, and transformation are woven throughout in a way that feels thoughtful rather than heavy-handed, and the story brilliantly explores the idea of morality and pushing too far with science.
The prose is beautiful, truly. Lynn has a way with words that is rich and intricate and mesmerising, but never felt overdone or flowery. The dark academia setting is equally immersive, with the world of alchemy brought to life in a way that feels both grounded and surreal. At the same time, this is very much a slow, introspective read. The plot sometimes takes a backseat to atmosphere, and this can make it feel like a slower read, where there are long stretches focusing more on mood and character psyche that on narrative progression. I loved this book and my reading experience was being completely absorbed in the writing, but when I stepped back, I also realise that I'd read 100 pages and not much had actually even happened.
Character-wise, Lark is compelling but not always easy to connect with. She’s sharp, ambitious, and shaped by her past in ways that make her feel real, but also emotionally distant at times. Her complexity was certainly authentic and I loved her development over the course of the story. The supporting cast adds layers of intrigue and tension, but some relationships could have been explored more deeply to fully land their impact. I certainly wasn't expecting the plot twists, even with the hints along the way, and it blew my mind and tore out my heart and stomped all over it. Beautiful, gut-wrenching and twisted, and I have to say that the quiet intensity that builds over the course of the book really drove this home.
Overall, Mothsblood is a beautifully crafted novel that prioritises language, mood, and theme over action. It won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy slow-burn, introspective dark academia with truly gorgeous prose, it’s an incredibly rewarding read, even if it occasionally feels like it’s drifting rather than driving forward.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the eARC of this book!
The story follows Larkspur Lee, an ambitious alchemist studying at an elite Parisian institution, where power, knowledge, and secrecy intertwine. From the outset, there’s a strong sense of tension beneath the surface across personal, academic, and philosophical junctions. The themes of identity, ambition, and transformation are woven throughout in a way that feels thoughtful rather than heavy-handed, and the story brilliantly explores the idea of morality and pushing too far with science.
The prose is beautiful, truly. Lynn has a way with words that is rich and intricate and mesmerising, but never felt overdone or flowery. The dark academia setting is equally immersive, with the world of alchemy brought to life in a way that feels both grounded and surreal. At the same time, this is very much a slow, introspective read. The plot sometimes takes a backseat to atmosphere, and this can make it feel like a slower read, where there are long stretches focusing more on mood and character psyche that on narrative progression. I loved this book and my reading experience was being completely absorbed in the writing, but when I stepped back, I also realise that I'd read 100 pages and not much had actually even happened.
Character-wise, Lark is compelling but not always easy to connect with. She’s sharp, ambitious, and shaped by her past in ways that make her feel real, but also emotionally distant at times. Her complexity was certainly authentic and I loved her development over the course of the story. The supporting cast adds layers of intrigue and tension, but some relationships could have been explored more deeply to fully land their impact. I certainly wasn't expecting the plot twists, even with the hints along the way, and it blew my mind and tore out my heart and stomped all over it. Beautiful, gut-wrenching and twisted, and I have to say that the quiet intensity that builds over the course of the book really drove this home.
Overall, Mothsblood is a beautifully crafted novel that prioritises language, mood, and theme over action. It won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy slow-burn, introspective dark academia with truly gorgeous prose, it’s an incredibly rewarding read, even if it occasionally feels like it’s drifting rather than driving forward.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the eARC of this book!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of Mothsblood. I'm rating it a slightly generous 3.5 stars.
Mothsblood is a queer dark academia fantasy novel tackling themes of the abuse of power, grooming of children, sexuality, and identity. Our Korean-American protagonist Lark has fled to Paris, where she wants two things: success in her field; and to escape her abusive professor and ex-boyfriend, who had been grooming her since she was 12. Enrolled in an elite secret university of alchemy, and paying her way through selling drugs to rich and well-connected students, she struggles to integrate due to her nationality, ethnicity, and class background. And then, when she's on the cusp of achieving her goals, a professor at her university is murdered.
I enjoyed the focus on alchemy and the famous historical figures that kept popping up in the story. The author clearly did her research! And, I liked the book's epilogue. It wrapped up the story in a way that felt satisfying and hopeful while still acknowledging all the things that had happened in the story.
However, I found the prose to be overwritten and full of overly esoteric language. Particularly in the first half of the book, I found myself constantly exiting my e-reader app to use Google Translate or look up niche words that the dictionary describes as having become obsolete centuries ago. I'm all for a rich vocabulary, but including some context clues would have helped a lot!
I was also hoping for more from the setting, but it felt like I was reading about a tourist's version of Paris. On the other hand, I really liked reading about Lark's Korean-American background and how her relationship with grandmother and mother affected her.
Like in many dark academia books, Lark is a flawed and messy character who isn't always particularly likeable. Her flaws make sense given her experiences of abuse and backstory in general, and we see a character arc from her. At the same time, even though I normally adore queer rep in books, I had mixed feelings about it here. Lark falls into the stereotype of a seemingly bi woman who will sleep with men but is also disgusted by them and treats them pretty badly. On page, we see her have sex with three different men and three different women, and I kind of wanted to shout at her to just stop getting involved with the men.
Still, Mothsblood could be a good choice for readers looking for a queer, diverse dark academia novel with philosopher's stones, bodily transmogrification, nods to Frankenstein, and ancient societies full of overly powerful immortals.
Mothsblood is a queer dark academia fantasy novel tackling themes of the abuse of power, grooming of children, sexuality, and identity. Our Korean-American protagonist Lark has fled to Paris, where she wants two things: success in her field; and to escape her abusive professor and ex-boyfriend, who had been grooming her since she was 12. Enrolled in an elite secret university of alchemy, and paying her way through selling drugs to rich and well-connected students, she struggles to integrate due to her nationality, ethnicity, and class background. And then, when she's on the cusp of achieving her goals, a professor at her university is murdered.
I enjoyed the focus on alchemy and the famous historical figures that kept popping up in the story. The author clearly did her research! And, I liked the book's epilogue. It wrapped up the story in a way that felt satisfying and hopeful while still acknowledging all the things that had happened in the story.
However, I found the prose to be overwritten and full of overly esoteric language. Particularly in the first half of the book, I found myself constantly exiting my e-reader app to use Google Translate or look up niche words that the dictionary describes as having become obsolete centuries ago. I'm all for a rich vocabulary, but including some context clues would have helped a lot!
I was also hoping for more from the setting, but it felt like I was reading about a tourist's version of Paris. On the other hand, I really liked reading about Lark's Korean-American background and how her relationship with grandmother and mother affected her.
Like in many dark academia books, Lark is a flawed and messy character who isn't always particularly likeable. Her flaws make sense given her experiences of abuse and backstory in general, and we see a character arc from her. At the same time, even though I normally adore queer rep in books, I had mixed feelings about it here. Lark falls into the stereotype of a seemingly bi woman who will sleep with men but is also disgusted by them and treats them pretty badly. On page, we see her have sex with three different men and three different women, and I kind of wanted to shout at her to just stop getting involved with the men.
Still, Mothsblood could be a good choice for readers looking for a queer, diverse dark academia novel with philosopher's stones, bodily transmogrification, nods to Frankenstein, and ancient societies full of overly powerful immortals.
May 15, 2026
3.5 stars if I could (thanks goodreads 🙄)
I have very mixed feelings about Mothsblood, there’s a lot here that I really admired even though I’m not entirely sure it was 100% the book for me personally.
First of all, this book is DEEPLY character-driven. If you love messy protagonists and stories that really dig into the uglier sides of trauma, grief, obsession, and survival, I can absolutely see this hitting incredibly hard!! Lynn D. Jung clearly had a very specific vision for these characters and committed to it fully.
Lark especially is SUCH an interesting protagonist because she is not written to be easily lovable. She’s sharp-edged, guarded, selfish at times, angry, deeply affected by everything she’s been through, and the book never tries to smooth those traits over to make her more palatable. I actually really respected that. Her trauma feels woven into the way she thinks and reacts rather than existing as backstory decoration, which made her feel very real.
That said, I also think this was part of why I struggled to fully connect emotionally at times. Because the story is so tightly rooted in Lark’s perspective and inner world, some of the side characters ended up feeling less developed than I wanted them to be. Characters like Kareem and Violaine especially fascinated me, and I kept wishing we had a little more time with them outside of how Lark perceived them.
The writing itself is beautiful in a very dark, atmospheric way. The whole book has this heavy, almost suffocating tone that completely immerses you in the world and the emotional state of the characters. There’s a constant sense of tension and unease simmering underneath everything that I thought was really well done.
I think where the book slightly lost me was that sometimes the interpersonal dynamics and emotional subtext seemed to take precedence over plot momentum. Which is obviously intentional!!! But it did mean there were points where I felt more intellectually engaged than emotionally invested.
Still, even though this wasn’t a perfect fit for me, I can absolutely appreciate what the author was doing here. It’s ambitious, emotionally raw, and refreshingly uninterested in making its characters “easy.” I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books people either completely adore or bounce off hard.
Thank you to Lynn D. Jung, Cornerstone, and NetGalley for the eARC!
I have very mixed feelings about Mothsblood, there’s a lot here that I really admired even though I’m not entirely sure it was 100% the book for me personally.
First of all, this book is DEEPLY character-driven. If you love messy protagonists and stories that really dig into the uglier sides of trauma, grief, obsession, and survival, I can absolutely see this hitting incredibly hard!! Lynn D. Jung clearly had a very specific vision for these characters and committed to it fully.
Lark especially is SUCH an interesting protagonist because she is not written to be easily lovable. She’s sharp-edged, guarded, selfish at times, angry, deeply affected by everything she’s been through, and the book never tries to smooth those traits over to make her more palatable. I actually really respected that. Her trauma feels woven into the way she thinks and reacts rather than existing as backstory decoration, which made her feel very real.
That said, I also think this was part of why I struggled to fully connect emotionally at times. Because the story is so tightly rooted in Lark’s perspective and inner world, some of the side characters ended up feeling less developed than I wanted them to be. Characters like Kareem and Violaine especially fascinated me, and I kept wishing we had a little more time with them outside of how Lark perceived them.
The writing itself is beautiful in a very dark, atmospheric way. The whole book has this heavy, almost suffocating tone that completely immerses you in the world and the emotional state of the characters. There’s a constant sense of tension and unease simmering underneath everything that I thought was really well done.
I think where the book slightly lost me was that sometimes the interpersonal dynamics and emotional subtext seemed to take precedence over plot momentum. Which is obviously intentional!!! But it did mean there were points where I felt more intellectually engaged than emotionally invested.
Still, even though this wasn’t a perfect fit for me, I can absolutely appreciate what the author was doing here. It’s ambitious, emotionally raw, and refreshingly uninterested in making its characters “easy.” I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books people either completely adore or bounce off hard.
Thank you to Lynn D. Jung, Cornerstone, and NetGalley for the eARC!
March 24, 2026
4.5 stars rounded up. Lynn D Jung, this is a CRAZY debut.
There were so many moments in this book that genuinely shocked me whether it be the horror, the traumas, or the crazy plot twist at the end, so shocked I felt like I needed to break the 4th wall and talk to someone about this. One con about reading this as an ARC, I have no one to talk to this about!!
God this book is visceral. You can feel every gross, bloody, and beautiful thing in this book and I loved it. I don't find too many adult fantasy novels with descriptions this vivid. I think the genre like to have the reader imagine the scene for themselves, to leave it to their imagination. But I loved seeing and feeling what Jung wanted me to see and feel. It was a full experience.
I loved the trauma aspect. I loved how messy it was and how Lark took so many missteps in her healing journey. It's SO relatable for me and I felt like I really came to understand why Lark's history make her the way she is. She is truly really unlikeable and I don't agree with many of her actions but I also get it. We all have a history. That's the point.
One con that I have and why this book isn't perfect for me is also what I loved so much about the novel. Much of Jung's prose albeit beautiful, scenic, morose, is academic. This is truly a dark ACADEMIA book. A lot of the language in this book is academic and reminiscent of me studying for the GRE, which in itself is traumatic for me. I can confidently say that's the point of the book. Its discussion of academic elitism and bioethics requires academic level writing to be successful. On page and in practice, it was perfectly applied, it's just not to my preference. It felt very overdone. Maybe we could have simplified a few of those words no one but academics use. I felt many of the esoteric and lofty words took me out of the story. Many of the descriptors, while beautiful and reminiscent of literary fiction, were simply too much for the story.
I also commend Jung for how much I hate myself for being so into Victor. Dang that man is charming. I seriously need to talk to someone about this.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read this ARC--my most anticipated read of 2026. I need to buy this book asap
There were so many moments in this book that genuinely shocked me whether it be the horror, the traumas, or the crazy plot twist at the end, so shocked I felt like I needed to break the 4th wall and talk to someone about this. One con about reading this as an ARC, I have no one to talk to this about!!
God this book is visceral. You can feel every gross, bloody, and beautiful thing in this book and I loved it. I don't find too many adult fantasy novels with descriptions this vivid. I think the genre like to have the reader imagine the scene for themselves, to leave it to their imagination. But I loved seeing and feeling what Jung wanted me to see and feel. It was a full experience.
I loved the trauma aspect. I loved how messy it was and how Lark took so many missteps in her healing journey. It's SO relatable for me and I felt like I really came to understand why Lark's history make her the way she is. She is truly really unlikeable and I don't agree with many of her actions but I also get it. We all have a history. That's the point.
One con that I have and why this book isn't perfect for me is also what I loved so much about the novel. Much of Jung's prose albeit beautiful, scenic, morose, is academic. This is truly a dark ACADEMIA book. A lot of the language in this book is academic and reminiscent of me studying for the GRE, which in itself is traumatic for me. I can confidently say that's the point of the book. Its discussion of academic elitism and bioethics requires academic level writing to be successful. On page and in practice, it was perfectly applied, it's just not to my preference. It felt very overdone. Maybe we could have simplified a few of those words no one but academics use. I felt many of the esoteric and lofty words took me out of the story. Many of the descriptors, while beautiful and reminiscent of literary fiction, were simply too much for the story.
I also commend Jung for how much I hate myself for being so into Victor. Dang that man is charming. I seriously need to talk to someone about this.
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read this ARC--my most anticipated read of 2026. I need to buy this book asap
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I recently thought I was starting to grow tired of Dark Academia, but Mothsblood completely pulled me back in. Such a wonderful debut novel!
The novel follows Larkspur, a young woman drawn into the dangerous inner circles of an elite magical academic world where knowledge, immortality, and power are go hand in hand. Petronelle Flamel, the Grand Magistra of Meurdrac and Third amongst the Deathless, begins searching for an apprentice, and Lark really wants the position. When murder and dark secrets begin surfacing, she becomes entangled in a web of manipulation, ambition, forbidden desires, and shifting alliances where nobody can truly be trusted.
I devoured this book from beginning to end. The pacing is excellent, the tension keeps building in exactly the right way, and the mystery works incredibly well. The identity of the murderer genuinely surprised me, and several plot twists completely blindsided me in the best possible way.
At its core, this is a story about power — who gets to wield it, how it corrupts, and especially how women are forced to navigate deeply unequal academic structures. Even though the setting is fantastical, the dynamics feel painfully recognizable. The charming, charismatic professor who manipulates women who struggle with their background until real damage is done is once again present here, but the fantasy elements allow the story to push the question of power and control to much darker and more extreme places.
What I loved, is how layered the characters are. Larkspur and Violaine are fascinating and emotionally complex, Karim is the fellow student we all know, and Mathieu adds another compelling layer to the tangled relationships and shifting loyalties. The power struggles among the Deathless and Victor are especially gripping and give the story an almost intoxicating atmosphere of paranoia and ambition.
Mothsblood manages to be both an addictive murder mystery and a sharp exploration of gender, manipulation, and institutional power and I loved reading it. Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for the ARC!
The novel follows Larkspur, a young woman drawn into the dangerous inner circles of an elite magical academic world where knowledge, immortality, and power are go hand in hand. Petronelle Flamel, the Grand Magistra of Meurdrac and Third amongst the Deathless, begins searching for an apprentice, and Lark really wants the position. When murder and dark secrets begin surfacing, she becomes entangled in a web of manipulation, ambition, forbidden desires, and shifting alliances where nobody can truly be trusted.
I devoured this book from beginning to end. The pacing is excellent, the tension keeps building in exactly the right way, and the mystery works incredibly well. The identity of the murderer genuinely surprised me, and several plot twists completely blindsided me in the best possible way.
At its core, this is a story about power — who gets to wield it, how it corrupts, and especially how women are forced to navigate deeply unequal academic structures. Even though the setting is fantastical, the dynamics feel painfully recognizable. The charming, charismatic professor who manipulates women who struggle with their background until real damage is done is once again present here, but the fantasy elements allow the story to push the question of power and control to much darker and more extreme places.
What I loved, is how layered the characters are. Larkspur and Violaine are fascinating and emotionally complex, Karim is the fellow student we all know, and Mathieu adds another compelling layer to the tangled relationships and shifting loyalties. The power struggles among the Deathless and Victor are especially gripping and give the story an almost intoxicating atmosphere of paranoia and ambition.
Mothsblood manages to be both an addictive murder mystery and a sharp exploration of gender, manipulation, and institutional power and I loved reading it. Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
When Larkspur Lee arrives at Meurdrac, one of the last alchemical universities, she’s searching not only for ambition but also an escape from her past. Determined to prove herself, Lark sets her sights on becoming the apprentice of Petronelle Flamel, the Deathless Grand Magistra. But when a brutal murder throws her plans into disarray, Lark must wrestle with both the university's dark secrets and her own as the life she’s meticulously built for herself begins to unravel. She’s forced to question the true price of power…and whether it’s worth it.
I really loved this book, it felt genuinely unique and the writing was beautiful!
It’s not the easiest read, some parts of the plot (especially the alchemy) can be a bit complex to follow in places, but it’s so worth it! The writing is descriptive and immersive, and the world-building is incredibly vivid. It’s low fantasy, which I really enjoyed, and the way the alchemy and the setting are described felt imaginative.
The characters have a lot of depth and the way they’re written is so tangible and engaging. Lark herself is complex, she’s not necessarily the most lovable and it’s fair to say she has some demons but she definitely grows on you as more of her story unfolds! The interludes give glimpses into her childhood, adding a nostalgic layer. I liked that she has secrets and that the reader slowly gets to uncover them over time.
The dark academia vibes were top tier, the descriptions of Meurdrac are beautifully gothic and atmospheric! I also liked that Lark doesn’t live at the university, which balances the darker academic setting with some more contemporary elements outside of it.
The first half of the book was easily five stars for me, I was completely absorbed in the atmosphere and the more character-driven storytelling. The second half becomes darker, grittier, and more plot-driven. I still enjoyed it, but it did feel like a bit of a shift in tone.
A really unique and immersive dark academia read - great for fans of Ava Reid!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC.
I really loved this book, it felt genuinely unique and the writing was beautiful!
It’s not the easiest read, some parts of the plot (especially the alchemy) can be a bit complex to follow in places, but it’s so worth it! The writing is descriptive and immersive, and the world-building is incredibly vivid. It’s low fantasy, which I really enjoyed, and the way the alchemy and the setting are described felt imaginative.
The characters have a lot of depth and the way they’re written is so tangible and engaging. Lark herself is complex, she’s not necessarily the most lovable and it’s fair to say she has some demons but she definitely grows on you as more of her story unfolds! The interludes give glimpses into her childhood, adding a nostalgic layer. I liked that she has secrets and that the reader slowly gets to uncover them over time.
The dark academia vibes were top tier, the descriptions of Meurdrac are beautifully gothic and atmospheric! I also liked that Lark doesn’t live at the university, which balances the darker academic setting with some more contemporary elements outside of it.
The first half of the book was easily five stars for me, I was completely absorbed in the atmosphere and the more character-driven storytelling. The second half becomes darker, grittier, and more plot-driven. I still enjoyed it, but it did feel like a bit of a shift in tone.
A really unique and immersive dark academia read - great for fans of Ava Reid!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This fantasy was wildly fascinating, a dark academia in the same vein as Katabasis and Blood Over Bright Haven in its attention to detail to magical logic and rules and its brilliance in intimately speaking to human and sociocultural experiences.
Mothsblood follows Larkspur Lee, a student at the Université Meurdac in Paris who will let nothing get in the way of her one goal: apprenticing under the eternal Petronelle Flamel. She has been arduously studying at this ancient alchemical school as a scholarship student, feeling like an outcast due to her class and race while struggling with the demons of her past. However, her final examination and trial into apprenticeship take an unexpectedly gruesome turn, and events spiral out of control— leading dangerous investigations and grisly murders, as Lark’s secrets and scars slowly and painfully become excavated.
In Mothsblood, we piece together Lark’s painful past through snippets of cryptic flashbacks to help uncover the greater mysteries at work. We meet the mysterious Violane with extraordinary power who helps Lark on this journey. And we unearth Lark’s traumas of a toxic relationship with her previous mentor, seeing the effects of grooming and emotions manipulation impact her present.
I found the magical system of lithmus to be fascinating, as was the world building of a modern day yet secretive magical society. The shrouds of mystery and building anticipation were well done and effectively page-turning, though I found the final act to be a bit lackluster with some questions left unanswered. Overall, Mothsblood was a truly incredible and unique dark fantasy— Lynn D. Jung’s writing was beautiful and poetic, and I commend her for creating such vivid and deeply vulnerable characters. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
Mothsblood follows Larkspur Lee, a student at the Université Meurdac in Paris who will let nothing get in the way of her one goal: apprenticing under the eternal Petronelle Flamel. She has been arduously studying at this ancient alchemical school as a scholarship student, feeling like an outcast due to her class and race while struggling with the demons of her past. However, her final examination and trial into apprenticeship take an unexpectedly gruesome turn, and events spiral out of control— leading dangerous investigations and grisly murders, as Lark’s secrets and scars slowly and painfully become excavated.
In Mothsblood, we piece together Lark’s painful past through snippets of cryptic flashbacks to help uncover the greater mysteries at work. We meet the mysterious Violane with extraordinary power who helps Lark on this journey. And we unearth Lark’s traumas of a toxic relationship with her previous mentor, seeing the effects of grooming and emotions manipulation impact her present.
I found the magical system of lithmus to be fascinating, as was the world building of a modern day yet secretive magical society. The shrouds of mystery and building anticipation were well done and effectively page-turning, though I found the final act to be a bit lackluster with some questions left unanswered. Overall, Mothsblood was a truly incredible and unique dark fantasy— Lynn D. Jung’s writing was beautiful and poetic, and I commend her for creating such vivid and deeply vulnerable characters. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really wanted to love this, but it didn’t quite land for me.
The concept is strong, dark academia set in Paris with alchemy, secrets and a murder at the centre of it all, which should have been right up my street. The setting and overall vibe are definitely there.
But the pacing felt quite slow, especially in the first half, and there was a lot going on which made it harder to fully connect with the story, with dark academia there is a lot of well academia so when it's relating to alchemical themes it can be complex at bits. Lark as a main character was ok, but not especially likeable, which probably made it harder to stay invested, I feel like Violane was a good character but also would have liked more of their relationship. For some reason until nearer the end I also didn't pick up that Shane was female.
Some parts also felt like they could have been cut back, particularly some of the heavier world building. There was quite a bit around things like automatons which felt important in shaping the story, but didn’t feel as involved as I expected as they were important to show the creepiness of some of the practices that were going on.
It only really started to come together for me in the last 100 pages, where things picked up and became more engaging.
I did enjoy the general plot and where it ended up, but I think I just wanted a bit more focus and momentum earlier on as the plot itself isn't overly complex.
Still worth a try if you like dark academia and slower, more detailed world building with a murder mystery and a bit of romance, but it didn’t fully hook me. Sorry
The concept is strong, dark academia set in Paris with alchemy, secrets and a murder at the centre of it all, which should have been right up my street. The setting and overall vibe are definitely there.
But the pacing felt quite slow, especially in the first half, and there was a lot going on which made it harder to fully connect with the story, with dark academia there is a lot of well academia so when it's relating to alchemical themes it can be complex at bits. Lark as a main character was ok, but not especially likeable, which probably made it harder to stay invested, I feel like Violane was a good character but also would have liked more of their relationship. For some reason until nearer the end I also didn't pick up that Shane was female.
Some parts also felt like they could have been cut back, particularly some of the heavier world building. There was quite a bit around things like automatons which felt important in shaping the story, but didn’t feel as involved as I expected as they were important to show the creepiness of some of the practices that were going on.
It only really started to come together for me in the last 100 pages, where things picked up and became more engaging.
I did enjoy the general plot and where it ended up, but I think I just wanted a bit more focus and momentum earlier on as the plot itself isn't overly complex.
Still worth a try if you like dark academia and slower, more detailed world building with a murder mystery and a bit of romance, but it didn’t fully hook me. Sorry
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Mothblood is a brilliant debut. I was expecting a different kind of novel based on the blurb and some of the reviews and tags I’d seen, and although everything mentioned does appear, there are plenty of pleasant surprises.
One of the main complaints I see about the novel is Lark, the protagonist. Many complain that she is a character it is difficult to empathise with, but I strongly disagree. Of course, she isn’t a ray of sunshine; she is ambitious and selfish, but her story is very human, and I found her to be an incredible protagonist. I was rooting for her, though there were moments when I thought she was hateful. She and I wouldn't be friends.
The dark academia is brilliant. I’m tired of seeing dark academies that are schools of dark magic, which is why the setting of the alchemy university in the novel has really excited me. I think it captures the genre very well and grabs you and doesn’t let go. The alchemy here is wonderful, super interesting, and fits perfectly with the plot.
The story is fast-paced, and I love that the main plot is resolved so quickly, because what comes next is completely unexpected. There are some very grotesque and dark parts in the novel that I wasn’t expecting, and I absolutely loved them. Oh, and the ending is just perfect.
I’m going to be following the author very closely because she has really taken me by surprise.
So thank you so much, Netgalley and Publisher, for allowing me to read this excellent arc! I can't wait to grab my copy.
One of the main complaints I see about the novel is Lark, the protagonist. Many complain that she is a character it is difficult to empathise with, but I strongly disagree. Of course, she isn’t a ray of sunshine; she is ambitious and selfish, but her story is very human, and I found her to be an incredible protagonist. I was rooting for her, though there were moments when I thought she was hateful. She and I wouldn't be friends.
The dark academia is brilliant. I’m tired of seeing dark academies that are schools of dark magic, which is why the setting of the alchemy university in the novel has really excited me. I think it captures the genre very well and grabs you and doesn’t let go. The alchemy here is wonderful, super interesting, and fits perfectly with the plot.
The story is fast-paced, and I love that the main plot is resolved so quickly, because what comes next is completely unexpected. There are some very grotesque and dark parts in the novel that I wasn’t expecting, and I absolutely loved them. Oh, and the ending is just perfect.
I’m going to be following the author very closely because she has really taken me by surprise.
So thank you so much, Netgalley and Publisher, for allowing me to read this excellent arc! I can't wait to grab my copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I thought this dark academia fantasy was a promising debut for Lynn D. Jung. The writing is lushly descriptive and atmospheric with a sense of foreboding. The city of Paris and Meurdrac University really came to life and we explore the murkiness beneath the glossy façade. Paris felt like its own character.
The lead character, Lark, is a flawed, messy complex individual and we really got under skin. Her selfishness, cowardice, self-hatred, desire, ambition, resilience, deceitfulness, and her guilt are interwoven throughout and make her compelling, unlikeable at times, and yet she remains sympathetic.
Lark is so fully realised that the other characters feel somewhat one-note and underdeveloped in comparison. The romance subplot had potential but doesn’t feel like it goes anywhere and gets shoved aside for the larger narrative. The resolution of the mystery was anti-climactic, and the plot twists were somewhat predictable.
I thought the book had a powerful opening and the introduction to the alchemical magic system was intriguing but there are so many ideas thrown in as the story goes on, the magic system is not always fully explained, and the tension dissipates in the second half, so not everything works for me, but it was worth reading for the lyrical writing style and morally ambiguous main character.
I would be interested in reading the author’s next work.
Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The lead character, Lark, is a flawed, messy complex individual and we really got under skin. Her selfishness, cowardice, self-hatred, desire, ambition, resilience, deceitfulness, and her guilt are interwoven throughout and make her compelling, unlikeable at times, and yet she remains sympathetic.
Lark is so fully realised that the other characters feel somewhat one-note and underdeveloped in comparison. The romance subplot had potential but doesn’t feel like it goes anywhere and gets shoved aside for the larger narrative. The resolution of the mystery was anti-climactic, and the plot twists were somewhat predictable.
I thought the book had a powerful opening and the introduction to the alchemical magic system was intriguing but there are so many ideas thrown in as the story goes on, the magic system is not always fully explained, and the tension dissipates in the second half, so not everything works for me, but it was worth reading for the lyrical writing style and morally ambiguous main character.
I would be interested in reading the author’s next work.
Many thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I want to say I'm not the audience and someone else might enjoy mothsblood, but I truly question anyone who reads this book and is able to root for the main character. tw: bullying. the main character remind me so much of one of my high school bullies, who is unnecessarily mean, even when other people try so hard to be nice to her. I findthe main character to be very narcissistic and only cares about herself, and is deeply selfish, and rude, and just MEAN! unless you have a kink for a narcissism and enjoy watching mean girls bully her fellow students, I would not recommend this book. I made it 32% before dnfing. maybe the book gets better later on, but at 32% nothing has happened. the book is very meandering, and nothing makes sense. the writing is also TERRIBLE. so bad I questioned multiple times whether some lines were written by AI because it did not make sense!!!!!! i wonder if the author put lines into an ai software and asked it to rewrite it, and it spew out the most thersaurus nonsense anyone has ever read. has anyone read that meme where the original line is the tree is green and looks up on thersaurus and comes out with the tree is photosenthesis? this is what reading this book felt like.
free copy from edewleiss all opinions are my own. I am not a professional reviewer and do this in my spare time so please be nice
free copy from edewleiss all opinions are my own. I am not a professional reviewer and do this in my spare time so please be nice
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Did I know anything about alchemy going into this? No. Did the author do her research (and literally provide citations on Instagram)? Yes. Did it pay off? Extremely well.
This is a slower paced book, with a lot of intense descriptions especially towards the start. I think the word choices added to the overall academic / moody atmosphere well, but if you're someone who wants a more casual read then this may not be for you. The plot comes along in bits and pieces until about halfway through when things really start going (which is where I found myself not wanting to put the book down), but you are given breadcrumbs and little hints of something more to come from early on.
It's also a very character driven story, with their wants and needs and flaws being a main focus alongside the plot. I found it extremely interesting to be inside Larkspur's head and see how her wants and loyalties (and lack thereof) affected her decision making, and the overall plot.
I would definitely recommend this book to someone who likes to read multiple books at once, I think this would be a great palate cleanser while dealing with chaos in another story or to offset a more casual, low stakes story.
I received an eARC of this book via Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley. Mothsblood releases on October 13, 2026, or you can request an eARC on NetGalley! This is my honest, voluntary review 🖤
This is a slower paced book, with a lot of intense descriptions especially towards the start. I think the word choices added to the overall academic / moody atmosphere well, but if you're someone who wants a more casual read then this may not be for you. The plot comes along in bits and pieces until about halfway through when things really start going (which is where I found myself not wanting to put the book down), but you are given breadcrumbs and little hints of something more to come from early on.
It's also a very character driven story, with their wants and needs and flaws being a main focus alongside the plot. I found it extremely interesting to be inside Larkspur's head and see how her wants and loyalties (and lack thereof) affected her decision making, and the overall plot.
I would definitely recommend this book to someone who likes to read multiple books at once, I think this would be a great palate cleanser while dealing with chaos in another story or to offset a more casual, low stakes story.
I received an eARC of this book via Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley. Mothsblood releases on October 13, 2026, or you can request an eARC on NetGalley! This is my honest, voluntary review 🖤
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