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The Thorns We Wear Inside
Not yet published
Expected 10 Nov 26For fans of For the Wolf and Nettle & Bone comes a dark, romantic fantasy about a witch, a monster, and the two parasitic demons who’ll stop at nothing to keep them apart.
Raye is cursed. Living things crumble at her touch, drained by the demon who clings to her like a seductive, malevolent shadow. No wonder the townsfolk want her dead. Tormented and pursued, she seeks shelter in a mysterious castle at the heart of a forest.
The castle is an eerie place. Its residents lie trapped in time like flies in amber, all save one. Mir. Mir has a demon of her own, a creature that forces her to seek and crave blood. When the two women begin to use the castle’s trove of magic to unravel their curses, their demons unite. The parasites refuse to let their hosts escape, and perhaps even more dangerously, Mir can bear Raye’s poisonous touch: the first caress either of them has felt in years.
As monster hunters close in on the forest, both Raye and Mir will have to break both the castle's curse and the binds of their twisted quadrangle before the past catches up with them.
Seductive and cinematic, this dark fantasy has teeth. Step into the castle. If you dare.
Raye is cursed. Living things crumble at her touch, drained by the demon who clings to her like a seductive, malevolent shadow. No wonder the townsfolk want her dead. Tormented and pursued, she seeks shelter in a mysterious castle at the heart of a forest.
The castle is an eerie place. Its residents lie trapped in time like flies in amber, all save one. Mir. Mir has a demon of her own, a creature that forces her to seek and crave blood. When the two women begin to use the castle’s trove of magic to unravel their curses, their demons unite. The parasites refuse to let their hosts escape, and perhaps even more dangerously, Mir can bear Raye’s poisonous touch: the first caress either of them has felt in years.
As monster hunters close in on the forest, both Raye and Mir will have to break both the castle's curse and the binds of their twisted quadrangle before the past catches up with them.
Seductive and cinematic, this dark fantasy has teeth. Step into the castle. If you dare.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication November 10, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The thorns we wear inside fits the mood of this period. Autumn, fallen leaves, darker nights and shorter days. Witches, demons, ghosts. The main setting is this beautiful, grandiose mansion hidden in the deadly woods where one of the mcs, Raye, finds herself after she runs away from a nearby town. Raye is a witch and is cursed. Not only is she followed by a demon, but whoever she touches, dies. Aside than her demon companion, only one person is safe from her touch. Like Raye, Mir has a demon attached to her. She's half alive in a house full of people whose lives are stuck like in a dream, or more of a nightmare.
What I liked the most was the atmosphere. The house and its inhabitants were well described and I felt the dread, the grief and terror of Raye and Mir as they moved around the corridors. But all the rest was too surface level to me. The characters had personality but somehow they all felt similar and a bit flat. I wanted to know more about their past. I wanted to know more of the reasons the citizens disliked Raye and the Torch and the other orders. Instead the actions and the inner monologues felt repetitive and didn't add anything new or interesting to the narration. Like the characters who repeated everything everyday, the writing was an endless recycle of the same stuff we already knew.
The slow pacing was another reason I couldn't fully enjoy this. This story is around 320 pages long, but nothing much happens for most of it. I would expect to be hooked in the first 2-3 chapters, but come 25% and even more, and nothing. Most of the resolution happens in the last few chapters and super quick.
The beautiful cover lured me in. I thought this story could be perfect for me as well, but I am afraid it didn't. It could appeal to other readers, though! Don't let my review influence you too much.
Thanks so much to DAW for the arc. Opinions are mine.
What I liked the most was the atmosphere. The house and its inhabitants were well described and I felt the dread, the grief and terror of Raye and Mir as they moved around the corridors. But all the rest was too surface level to me. The characters had personality but somehow they all felt similar and a bit flat. I wanted to know more about their past. I wanted to know more of the reasons the citizens disliked Raye and the Torch and the other orders. Instead the actions and the inner monologues felt repetitive and didn't add anything new or interesting to the narration. Like the characters who repeated everything everyday, the writing was an endless recycle of the same stuff we already knew.
The slow pacing was another reason I couldn't fully enjoy this. This story is around 320 pages long, but nothing much happens for most of it. I would expect to be hooked in the first 2-3 chapters, but come 25% and even more, and nothing. Most of the resolution happens in the last few chapters and super quick.
The beautiful cover lured me in. I thought this story could be perfect for me as well, but I am afraid it didn't. It could appeal to other readers, though! Don't let my review influence you too much.
Thanks so much to DAW for the arc. Opinions are mine.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I enjoyed this story, but I didn't like it as much as I hoped. And even though I somewhat liked it, I didn't love it.
To start with the positives, this book is so atmospheric. There's a constant dark, eerie, mysterious fairytale feeling woven throughout the pages. We have a cursed castle with ghosts where time stands still, a dark forest in which the undead are roaming around, and a witch and a monster who are both trying to lift their curses and whose touch can be lethal. There are a lot of vivid descriptions (lots of blood, death, pain, desperation, and ghosts) that add to that eerie gothic feeling. The author truly made the book come alive; I could easily picture everything because of the vivid, gorgeous, and immersive writing.
I always love a sapphic romance and a Beauty and the Beast retelling. There's a lot of yearning in this one, and I loved that. I liked Mir and Raye. Both of them were monstrous in their own way and saw each other's darkest parts, but still they fell in love with one another despite those moments, which I found beautiful.
Even though I liked the dark fairytale feeling and the sapphic romance, I was struggling with the pacing of this book. It was so slow and repetitive until past the 90% mark, and I felt like the plot was barely moving forward. In the beginning, we're thrown into the book in the middle of an action scene, and then the rest of the book was sooo slow. There are a lot of repetitive moments and scenes. Then the action picks up for the last few chapters, and the book ends. The ending felt very rushed, in my opinion, and I just wished to see more in the middle part of the book.
I felt interested in the characters, but I didn't like them that much, and I found it hard to care for them. The dialogue kept on being so repetitive. I was curious about the two demons in Raye and Mir's heads, Avexis and Shyrrin, but I felt like they didn't have that much of a presence. They got their own POV'S from time to time, but it didn't have much impact on the story and didn't change anything. There are a lot of mentions about the church and the witch hunters who are going after Raye, but they barely have any presence. They are supposed to be a threat, but where are they? Where's that threat? When the book ends, we have barely seen anything of them. It just didn't feel believable.
I feel like the idea behind this book is very promising, the cover is stunning, and the writing and characters have lots of potential. There are things that I liked, but I feel like it just missed some things, and the story didn't reach what it could have been. I feel like better pacing, more different character interactions instead of repetitive dialogue and scenes, a more impactful presence for the side characters, if the threat that would truly feel like a threat, and just a bit more story would have made this book so much better, in my opinion.
To start with the positives, this book is so atmospheric. There's a constant dark, eerie, mysterious fairytale feeling woven throughout the pages. We have a cursed castle with ghosts where time stands still, a dark forest in which the undead are roaming around, and a witch and a monster who are both trying to lift their curses and whose touch can be lethal. There are a lot of vivid descriptions (lots of blood, death, pain, desperation, and ghosts) that add to that eerie gothic feeling. The author truly made the book come alive; I could easily picture everything because of the vivid, gorgeous, and immersive writing.
I always love a sapphic romance and a Beauty and the Beast retelling. There's a lot of yearning in this one, and I loved that. I liked Mir and Raye. Both of them were monstrous in their own way and saw each other's darkest parts, but still they fell in love with one another despite those moments, which I found beautiful.
Even though I liked the dark fairytale feeling and the sapphic romance, I was struggling with the pacing of this book. It was so slow and repetitive until past the 90% mark, and I felt like the plot was barely moving forward. In the beginning, we're thrown into the book in the middle of an action scene, and then the rest of the book was sooo slow. There are a lot of repetitive moments and scenes. Then the action picks up for the last few chapters, and the book ends. The ending felt very rushed, in my opinion, and I just wished to see more in the middle part of the book.
I felt interested in the characters, but I didn't like them that much, and I found it hard to care for them. The dialogue kept on being so repetitive. I was curious about the two demons in Raye and Mir's heads, Avexis and Shyrrin, but I felt like they didn't have that much of a presence. They got their own POV'S from time to time, but it didn't have much impact on the story and didn't change anything. There are a lot of mentions about the church and the witch hunters who are going after Raye, but they barely have any presence. They are supposed to be a threat, but where are they? Where's that threat? When the book ends, we have barely seen anything of them. It just didn't feel believable.
I feel like the idea behind this book is very promising, the cover is stunning, and the writing and characters have lots of potential. There are things that I liked, but I feel like it just missed some things, and the story didn't reach what it could have been. I feel like better pacing, more different character interactions instead of repetitive dialogue and scenes, a more impactful presence for the side characters, if the threat that would truly feel like a threat, and just a bit more story would have made this book so much better, in my opinion.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received this as an e-arc from NetGalley. Thank you to the publisher, DAW for the copy!
This book started off in a very disorienting place, something that set the tone for the rest of the novel. We open knee deep in the middle of the action, as the book threw out multiple character names, plot events, and worldbuilding all in the first few pages. I found this decision puzzling and a bit concerning, that we were relying on action and momentum so early on in the narrative, and in it's more quiet moments the story may not be able to sustain itself since we had not cared to lay the foundations. Unfortunately, I found I was right, which hindered the story the most in the characters, and the romance.
After the breakneck opening, we sit in a weird slow limbo for our protagonists where i'm sitting in a high stakes situation with characters i don't know yet (who's backstory is important enough to constantly summarize, but not actually show) in a world i do not understand. It takes the two leads six chapters to meet even though they are literally in the same building. This influenced my experience with their romance, which I was only sort of invested in during the second half of the book, the other characters (who did nothing? not a very convincing love quadrangle, given how limp and irrelevant the demons are), and the plot as a whole.
Our original antagonists are the two demon's attached to the girls, Avexis and Shirryn, who had little influence on the plot and mostly spent the whole novel doing nothing, or trying to do something and failing. Avexis was more active than Shirryn, but for two characters who were the novel's main antagonists for 90% of it's runtime, they were surprisingly easy to ignore. We also got POV chapters from them on occasion, but they added very little from the narrative as a whole. This goes the same for the church, who are foreshadowed early on, only show up 90% of the way in after snippets of ominous scenes and proclamations, and are subsequently dealt with in about a chapter. The narrative felt flimsy and ephemeral, like it was constantly grasping for a book it could never quite reach.
When I learned that this was turned from a novella into a novel, things made more sense to me. It read like novella length plot with too much filler stuffed in. Ultimately, while what was on page wasn't bad, it was lacking as this book needed more. More context, more buildup, more character interactions and points o view, and overall more story in order to make this worth a full length novel.
This book started off in a very disorienting place, something that set the tone for the rest of the novel. We open knee deep in the middle of the action, as the book threw out multiple character names, plot events, and worldbuilding all in the first few pages. I found this decision puzzling and a bit concerning, that we were relying on action and momentum so early on in the narrative, and in it's more quiet moments the story may not be able to sustain itself since we had not cared to lay the foundations. Unfortunately, I found I was right, which hindered the story the most in the characters, and the romance.
After the breakneck opening, we sit in a weird slow limbo for our protagonists where i'm sitting in a high stakes situation with characters i don't know yet (who's backstory is important enough to constantly summarize, but not actually show) in a world i do not understand. It takes the two leads six chapters to meet even though they are literally in the same building. This influenced my experience with their romance, which I was only sort of invested in during the second half of the book, the other characters (who did nothing? not a very convincing love quadrangle, given how limp and irrelevant the demons are), and the plot as a whole.
Our original antagonists are the two demon's attached to the girls, Avexis and Shirryn, who had little influence on the plot and mostly spent the whole novel doing nothing, or trying to do something and failing. Avexis was more active than Shirryn, but for two characters who were the novel's main antagonists for 90% of it's runtime, they were surprisingly easy to ignore. We also got POV chapters from them on occasion, but they added very little from the narrative as a whole. This goes the same for the church, who are foreshadowed early on, only show up 90% of the way in after snippets of ominous scenes and proclamations, and are subsequently dealt with in about a chapter. The narrative felt flimsy and ephemeral, like it was constantly grasping for a book it could never quite reach.
When I learned that this was turned from a novella into a novel, things made more sense to me. It read like novella length plot with too much filler stuffed in. Ultimately, while what was on page wasn't bad, it was lacking as this book needed more. More context, more buildup, more character interactions and points o view, and overall more story in order to make this worth a full length novel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Thorns We Wear Inside is a story about two cursed women trapped in an equally cursed castle who attempt to escape while their demons conspire against them to keep them in. It's filled with sapphic longing and morally grey characters, which, by right, should have meant I'd thoroughly enjoy it. Unfortunately, it fell deeply below my expectations. For one, I didn't quite like the writing style. This is more of a subjective opinion, but the writing just felt flat and pretty cliche at times.
The relationship between the two main characters simply didn't appeal to me either, and I found myself rolling my eyes more and more towards the end, especially when they were having their whole 'epic confession of love'. To put it simply, the chemistry felt forced. There's this whole idea of two touch-starved women finding solace in one another that I should have loved, but for some reason didn't. In comparison, I was really intrigued by the relationship between the two demons haunting our main characters. I thought they had something quite interesting going on between them, fuelled by abuse and masochism. Given that the book was marketed as a love quadrangle, I was hoping to see this relationship between the demons be equally fleshed out as that of the main characters', but it disappointingly felt very surface-level. To be fair, the relationship between the main characters also didn't feel so fleshed out, so maybe I was asking for too much.
Apart from that, the ending felt way too rushed as well. I think I'm only now realising how much of a slog the rest of the book was, the kind that just drones on and on with not much happening, until something finally happens and within 20 pages the book is over. The epilogue just confused me even more, as I fear I don't see its relevance at all. We're finally introduced to the woman whom one of the main characters has supposedly been in love with for the longest time, yet nothing much is revealed about her. There's no additional insight to her character that might have necessitated her pov. Ultimately, this story just felt undeveloped from the characters to the plot, and I unfortunately grieve the time I'll never get back used to finish reading it.
Much thanks to DAW and Netgalley for the e-ARC!
The relationship between the two main characters simply didn't appeal to me either, and I found myself rolling my eyes more and more towards the end, especially when they were having their whole 'epic confession of love'. To put it simply, the chemistry felt forced. There's this whole idea of two touch-starved women finding solace in one another that I should have loved, but for some reason didn't. In comparison, I was really intrigued by the relationship between the two demons haunting our main characters. I thought they had something quite interesting going on between them, fuelled by abuse and masochism. Given that the book was marketed as a love quadrangle, I was hoping to see this relationship between the demons be equally fleshed out as that of the main characters', but it disappointingly felt very surface-level. To be fair, the relationship between the main characters also didn't feel so fleshed out, so maybe I was asking for too much.
Apart from that, the ending felt way too rushed as well. I think I'm only now realising how much of a slog the rest of the book was, the kind that just drones on and on with not much happening, until something finally happens and within 20 pages the book is over. The epilogue just confused me even more, as I fear I don't see its relevance at all. We're finally introduced to the woman whom one of the main characters has supposedly been in love with for the longest time, yet nothing much is revealed about her. There's no additional insight to her character that might have necessitated her pov. Ultimately, this story just felt undeveloped from the characters to the plot, and I unfortunately grieve the time I'll never get back used to finish reading it.
Much thanks to DAW and Netgalley for the e-ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Thorns We Wear Inside is a dark, atmospheric sapphic fantasy that sits comfortably at a solid 3.5 stars for me. It delivers an incredible gothic vibe, but it comes with a few pacing stumbles along the way.
First off, let’s talk about our leads: Raye and Mir are the definition of the grayest of morally gray characters. They aren't just brooding; they are host to literal demons and plagued by lethal curses. Raye crumbles living things with a single touch, while Mir is cursed with a hunger for blood. Naturally, when you trap them together in a creepy, time-frozen castle surrounded by a haunted forest, things get complicated.
Speaking of complicated: the publisher promises a "love quadrangle," which translates to four entities (two women, two inner demons) trapped in one grand castle. Everyone basically has an infatuation with everyone. Is it toxic? Absolutely. But honestly, when you only have four entities in an eerie, isolated estate, I guess you share?
The narrative balance tilts heavily toward Mir for a good portion of the book. Since she’s been alive much longer and carries a significantly more powerful demon, the plot naturally anchors around her misery, her curse, her deep loneliness, and her desperate bid to break free. That said, I really loved Raye. Even though she feels a bit suppressed in the narrative at times mentioned often, but kept somewhat in the background the snippets we get of her showcase immense determination, perseverance and quiet pain.
If you're here strictly for a fast-paced romance, prepare yourself for a very slow burn. A basic understanding between Raye and Mir takes ages to form, mostly because Mir is in zero rush and spends a chunk of the book hiding around the castle so she doesn't accidentally end up hurting Raye.
The book’s main hurdle is its pacing. It opens right in the thick of the action and then immediately slams on the brakes for a long, quiet middle section filled with repetitive castle roaming before hurtling toward a rushed ending.
Thanks to Amy and DAW for ARC.
First off, let’s talk about our leads: Raye and Mir are the definition of the grayest of morally gray characters. They aren't just brooding; they are host to literal demons and plagued by lethal curses. Raye crumbles living things with a single touch, while Mir is cursed with a hunger for blood. Naturally, when you trap them together in a creepy, time-frozen castle surrounded by a haunted forest, things get complicated.
Speaking of complicated: the publisher promises a "love quadrangle," which translates to four entities (two women, two inner demons) trapped in one grand castle. Everyone basically has an infatuation with everyone. Is it toxic? Absolutely. But honestly, when you only have four entities in an eerie, isolated estate, I guess you share?
The narrative balance tilts heavily toward Mir for a good portion of the book. Since she’s been alive much longer and carries a significantly more powerful demon, the plot naturally anchors around her misery, her curse, her deep loneliness, and her desperate bid to break free. That said, I really loved Raye. Even though she feels a bit suppressed in the narrative at times mentioned often, but kept somewhat in the background the snippets we get of her showcase immense determination, perseverance and quiet pain.
If you're here strictly for a fast-paced romance, prepare yourself for a very slow burn. A basic understanding between Raye and Mir takes ages to form, mostly because Mir is in zero rush and spends a chunk of the book hiding around the castle so she doesn't accidentally end up hurting Raye.
The book’s main hurdle is its pacing. It opens right in the thick of the action and then immediately slams on the brakes for a long, quiet middle section filled with repetitive castle roaming before hurtling toward a rushed ending.
Thanks to Amy and DAW for ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In this tightly written sapphic romantasy, Raye and Mir are hosts to demons that have ruined their lives but have also drawn them together in a darkly enchanted castle frozen in time. A deliciously sensual if rather slow-moving story, Avery makes great use of her major setting and minimal characters, taking us on a journey as much about love as it is about struggle, sacrifice, and survival. In a rare turn of events, the publisher’s comparison of this to For the Wolf and Nettle & Bone has a lot of merit, and, while it took me a while to settle into this, once I did, I was rewarded with a complex and nuanced romance that I would highly recommend to those who enjoy sapphic tales.
While Raye and Mir are the standout characters, their demons, Avexis and Shirryn respectively, were intriguing, and I was glad that they had a few POV chapters of their own, which allowed them to feel like full beings rather than more nebulous demonic entities. All these characters fit very well into the castle setting, and the opening sequence as Raye and Avexis explore the castle and find people literally frozen mid-action in time drew me in and kept me reading, even through the long middle. While the goals of the characters are pretty transparent, the intimate setting allows Avery space to imbue depth to their personalities and motivations.
I was disappointed with the ending, which felt rushed to the slow build throughout the book, and the epilogue was a little bit of a “shrug” that I felt could have been worked into the end of the narrative more organically. Overall, I appreciated the gradual build in Raye and Mir’s relationship, and I particularly liked that their demons actively affect how they perceive each other due to the initial power imbalance. This would be a great read for those who love atmospheric supernatural and gothic fantasy without too much worldbuilding to take away from the focal romantic relationship.
While Raye and Mir are the standout characters, their demons, Avexis and Shirryn respectively, were intriguing, and I was glad that they had a few POV chapters of their own, which allowed them to feel like full beings rather than more nebulous demonic entities. All these characters fit very well into the castle setting, and the opening sequence as Raye and Avexis explore the castle and find people literally frozen mid-action in time drew me in and kept me reading, even through the long middle. While the goals of the characters are pretty transparent, the intimate setting allows Avery space to imbue depth to their personalities and motivations.
I was disappointed with the ending, which felt rushed to the slow build throughout the book, and the epilogue was a little bit of a “shrug” that I felt could have been worked into the end of the narrative more organically. Overall, I appreciated the gradual build in Raye and Mir’s relationship, and I particularly liked that their demons actively affect how they perceive each other due to the initial power imbalance. This would be a great read for those who love atmospheric supernatural and gothic fantasy without too much worldbuilding to take away from the focal romantic relationship.
September 17, 2026
Okay… this title alone had me expecting emotional damage, and honestly? It delivered. 🖤🌹
The Thorns We Wear Inside pulled me in with that feeling of knowing you're about to get emotionally attached to characters who are carrying way more than they probably should be. And once I was invested, I was in it. The kind of book where you keep reading because you NEED to know how everything is going to unravel.
I really enjoyed the emotional weight running through this story. There’s something about characters who are wounded, complicated, and trying to navigate everything they're carrying that always gets me—and this one definitely had those moments where I wanted to reach through the pages and give them a hug… before remembering that fictional characters rarely make things easy. 😂🖤
The atmosphere had a beautiful darker edge to it, and I loved the combination of emotional tension, complicated relationships, secrets, and characters trying to survive their own inner battles. There were definitely moments that hurt in the best possible way.
I did feel like a little more depth and development in certain areas would have made the emotional payoff hit even harder, which is why I'm landing on four stars. But overall, this was a compelling and emotionally charged read that kept me invested.
If you enjoy books that make you feel everything, question everyone's choices, and quietly destroy your emotions while you're reading, this one deserves a spot on your TBR. 🌹🖤
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this ARC! 📖✨
🌹🖤 Tropes & Vibes
🖤 Emotional Romance
🌹 Wounded Characters
💔 Emotional Angst
🔥 Romantic Tension
🤫 Secrets & Hidden Pain
🖤 Complicated Relationships
🌑 Dark & Moody Atmosphere
🥀 Healing & Heartbreak
👀 Emotional Slow Burn
💫 Character-Driven Story
🩶 Inner Demons
🌹 Love Through the Pain
The Thorns We Wear Inside pulled me in with that feeling of knowing you're about to get emotionally attached to characters who are carrying way more than they probably should be. And once I was invested, I was in it. The kind of book where you keep reading because you NEED to know how everything is going to unravel.
I really enjoyed the emotional weight running through this story. There’s something about characters who are wounded, complicated, and trying to navigate everything they're carrying that always gets me—and this one definitely had those moments where I wanted to reach through the pages and give them a hug… before remembering that fictional characters rarely make things easy. 😂🖤
The atmosphere had a beautiful darker edge to it, and I loved the combination of emotional tension, complicated relationships, secrets, and characters trying to survive their own inner battles. There were definitely moments that hurt in the best possible way.
I did feel like a little more depth and development in certain areas would have made the emotional payoff hit even harder, which is why I'm landing on four stars. But overall, this was a compelling and emotionally charged read that kept me invested.
If you enjoy books that make you feel everything, question everyone's choices, and quietly destroy your emotions while you're reading, this one deserves a spot on your TBR. 🌹🖤
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this ARC! 📖✨
🌹🖤 Tropes & Vibes
🖤 Emotional Romance
🌹 Wounded Characters
💔 Emotional Angst
🔥 Romantic Tension
🤫 Secrets & Hidden Pain
🖤 Complicated Relationships
🌑 Dark & Moody Atmosphere
🥀 Healing & Heartbreak
👀 Emotional Slow Burn
💫 Character-Driven Story
🩶 Inner Demons
🌹 Love Through the Pain
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This had such a fascinating concept, and the gothic atmosphere immediately pulled me in. Two cursed women, an eerie castle filled with people trapped in time, demons attached to them both, and Raye finally meeting someone she can touch without destroying? There was so much here that should have completely worked for me.
Raye and Mir were easily the most compelling part. I loved the idea of these two women who have been denied something as simple as physical touch finding that possibility in each other. There’s an intimacy to their connection that goes beyond attraction because of what touch actually means for both of them, and I really liked exploring that alongside their individual curses.
The castle itself was another highlight. It had this strange, unsettling quality that made me want to understand what happened there, why everyone was frozen in time, and exactly how all of these pieces connected. The demons added another interesting layer, especially once their relationships with Raye and Mir became increasingly tangled.
Unfortunately, I think the execution lost me in places. There are a lot of moving pieces between the curses, demons, castle, romance, past histories, and monster hunters, and at times it felt like I was working harder than I wanted to in order to follow everything. I also wanted more time for certain relationships and emotional developments to breathe. With such an intriguing setup, some of the moments that should have hit hardest didn’t quite land for me.
I still enjoyed the darkness, the sapphic romance, and how unapologetically strange the entire story was. There are some genuinely cool ideas here, particularly around intimacy, monstrosity, and what it means to live inside a body that has become dangerous to others. I just ultimately loved the concept more than I loved the execution.
Raye and Mir were easily the most compelling part. I loved the idea of these two women who have been denied something as simple as physical touch finding that possibility in each other. There’s an intimacy to their connection that goes beyond attraction because of what touch actually means for both of them, and I really liked exploring that alongside their individual curses.
The castle itself was another highlight. It had this strange, unsettling quality that made me want to understand what happened there, why everyone was frozen in time, and exactly how all of these pieces connected. The demons added another interesting layer, especially once their relationships with Raye and Mir became increasingly tangled.
Unfortunately, I think the execution lost me in places. There are a lot of moving pieces between the curses, demons, castle, romance, past histories, and monster hunters, and at times it felt like I was working harder than I wanted to in order to follow everything. I also wanted more time for certain relationships and emotional developments to breathe. With such an intriguing setup, some of the moments that should have hit hardest didn’t quite land for me.
I still enjoyed the darkness, the sapphic romance, and how unapologetically strange the entire story was. There are some genuinely cool ideas here, particularly around intimacy, monstrosity, and what it means to live inside a body that has become dangerous to others. I just ultimately loved the concept more than I loved the execution.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"[..] it was a reminder to accept things—and people—as they come, both the pleasant and the terrible."
"I suppose we're both full of them now. The thorns we wear inside. All that pain and sharpness."
if there is anything this book has, it is that it has a fantastic concept. Even though it has been touted as a beauty and the beast retelling, the author completely transformed into something wholly theirs. The idea of a curse being in the form of a demon feeding from you is so interesting to me. I also liked how gory and bloody it got—how our beast is actually a beast with fangs that struggles to control her urges. and that in the end, everyone was their own monster. Bottom line, the book was beautifully written—very atmospheric—and I found myself completely intrigued to see what would happen next.
Unfortunately, it was the execution that I had a bit of trouble with. The book, with its compelling ideas and concepts, felt a bit too noisy. We have Raye and Mir, but also their two demons, who had their own POV chapters and agendas. There was also Aria, Mir's childhood sweetheart, who was constantly haunting the narrative. And then there were the gods and witchhunters and Torches. Everything was just all over the place; concepts were introduced but surface-level. It was so disappointing. As a result, the relationship build-up between Raye and Mir suffered.
Regardless of all these listed, I still think it was a decent read. Maybe it was not for me, but I could name a few of my friends who would eat this up!
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and not AI-generated.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me access to this book.
I really enjoyed The Thorns We Wear Inside. The four main characters were one of the strongest parts of the book for me, and I loved seeing their individual personalities, relationships and experiences develop throughout the story.
The writing itself is beautiful and incredibly visual. I could easily picture the places, characters and events being described, which made the world feel vivid and immersive. I particularly loved the ideas surrounding the demons. Some of the concepts were genuinely abhorrent, yet somehow beautiful at the same time, which made them fascinating to read about.
The pacing was slightly slower than I personally prefer in places, although I remained invested in the plot and wanted to see where the story was going. I also would have appreciated a little more variety in the romantic relationships represented, as the relationships and attraction explored within the story are predominantly between women. This is very much a personal preference rather than something that detracted significantly from my enjoyment of the book.
And then there is that ending. Phenomenal. It was bittersweet, emotional and incredibly satisfying, and easily one of my favourite parts of the entire book. It left a much bigger impact on me than I was expecting.
Overall, The Thorns We Wear Inside is a beautifully written fantasy with memorable characters, striking imagery and some wonderfully dark ideas. The slightly slower pacing kept it from being a full five stars for me, but that ending came very close to changing my mind.
I really enjoyed The Thorns We Wear Inside. The four main characters were one of the strongest parts of the book for me, and I loved seeing their individual personalities, relationships and experiences develop throughout the story.
The writing itself is beautiful and incredibly visual. I could easily picture the places, characters and events being described, which made the world feel vivid and immersive. I particularly loved the ideas surrounding the demons. Some of the concepts were genuinely abhorrent, yet somehow beautiful at the same time, which made them fascinating to read about.
The pacing was slightly slower than I personally prefer in places, although I remained invested in the plot and wanted to see where the story was going. I also would have appreciated a little more variety in the romantic relationships represented, as the relationships and attraction explored within the story are predominantly between women. This is very much a personal preference rather than something that detracted significantly from my enjoyment of the book.
And then there is that ending. Phenomenal. It was bittersweet, emotional and incredibly satisfying, and easily one of my favourite parts of the entire book. It left a much bigger impact on me than I was expecting.
Overall, The Thorns We Wear Inside is a beautifully written fantasy with memorable characters, striking imagery and some wonderfully dark ideas. The slightly slower pacing kept it from being a full five stars for me, but that ending came very close to changing my mind.
September 9, 2026
Great idea but needed a bit more time on execution.
In a frozen kingdom two women are managing their demons, both literally and figuratively, trying to find a way to break the curse that has kept them locked away and avoid persecution. When their goals align they work together but the demons they harbor have their own agenda they stop at nothing to satisfy their hunger even if the cost is too high.
On the surface I really love this idea. The concept of being trapped and becoming this monster for Mi and Raye is so real and the knowledge of what it takes to feed being something you have to control while also coming to terms with how you became this thing in the first place. I wish more went into the demons themselves as they were lust or pain driven but I really enjoyed the unlikely alliance between the two entities to achieve their own goals and staying true to their core darkness.
That being said I felt very little for our two main characters. They were a bit soft if you can believe it while following a lot of the same beats over the course of the book. I don’t feel like I really know them or felt this connection between them which made the secret a much bigger element for me because I was ready for us to get tangled into this web but it ultimately stayed locked away until the ending and even then it was lackluster with an even more confusing and I’d argue unnecessary epilogue.
Great potential which is why this is a 3 star but that’s about it.
**special thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**
In a frozen kingdom two women are managing their demons, both literally and figuratively, trying to find a way to break the curse that has kept them locked away and avoid persecution. When their goals align they work together but the demons they harbor have their own agenda they stop at nothing to satisfy their hunger even if the cost is too high.
On the surface I really love this idea. The concept of being trapped and becoming this monster for Mi and Raye is so real and the knowledge of what it takes to feed being something you have to control while also coming to terms with how you became this thing in the first place. I wish more went into the demons themselves as they were lust or pain driven but I really enjoyed the unlikely alliance between the two entities to achieve their own goals and staying true to their core darkness.
That being said I felt very little for our two main characters. They were a bit soft if you can believe it while following a lot of the same beats over the course of the book. I don’t feel like I really know them or felt this connection between them which made the secret a much bigger element for me because I was ready for us to get tangled into this web but it ultimately stayed locked away until the ending and even then it was lackluster with an even more confusing and I’d argue unnecessary epilogue.
Great potential which is why this is a 3 star but that’s about it.
**special thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (rounded up to 4 for the reviews sake)
This story follows a cursed witch named Raye. She is bound to the demon Avexis and cursed to kill anything she touches. After a night gone devestatingly awry, Raye is forced to flee into the dangerous forest at the edge of town.
She will walk into a castle that has been frozen in time. The enchanted people forever bound in place doing whatever task they were performing. There she will encounter Mir. Mir was cursed and bound to the demon Shirryn. Transformed into a monster that has an all consuming hunger for blood.
Raye, realizing all too late that she has walked into a new trap. The two women will need to work out how to break the curse holding them in place before it is too late. Raye, slowly losing her mind as the power of the curse weighs her down. Mir fighting every urge to rip Raye's throat out. While the pair struggle to survive, the church is slowly closing in on them. If they fail, they will both die.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I think it is a good book to read during the fall to winter period. It is a little bleak at times. But it will eventually pick up. I think the love between Raye and Mir was very sweet. The ending was also very satisfying!
This story follows a cursed witch named Raye. She is bound to the demon Avexis and cursed to kill anything she touches. After a night gone devestatingly awry, Raye is forced to flee into the dangerous forest at the edge of town.
She will walk into a castle that has been frozen in time. The enchanted people forever bound in place doing whatever task they were performing. There she will encounter Mir. Mir was cursed and bound to the demon Shirryn. Transformed into a monster that has an all consuming hunger for blood.
Raye, realizing all too late that she has walked into a new trap. The two women will need to work out how to break the curse holding them in place before it is too late. Raye, slowly losing her mind as the power of the curse weighs her down. Mir fighting every urge to rip Raye's throat out. While the pair struggle to survive, the church is slowly closing in on them. If they fail, they will both die.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I think it is a good book to read during the fall to winter period. It is a little bleak at times. But it will eventually pick up. I think the love between Raye and Mir was very sweet. The ending was also very satisfying!
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss+ for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
The Catastrophic Pacing Valley: While the premise of a cursed castle and a touch-starved sapphic connection held initial promise, the structural execution completely collapsed. Far too much of this book is comprised of dense, cyclic internal monologues and repetitive backstory padding that stalls the momentum dead in its tracks.
Total Character Alienation: By the 40% mark, the character writing was so heavily alienated from the reader that I actively disliked the entire cast of characters. The narrative relies on "telling rather than showing," making it nearly impossible to root for any of them.
A Chaotic, Disjointed Finale: The entire atmosphere is relentlessly dark without earning its emotional weight. The third-act climax felt completely frantic, rushed, and disjointed, rushing through a messy resolution rather than delivering a satisfying payoff.
The Catastrophic Pacing Valley: While the premise of a cursed castle and a touch-starved sapphic connection held initial promise, the structural execution completely collapsed. Far too much of this book is comprised of dense, cyclic internal monologues and repetitive backstory padding that stalls the momentum dead in its tracks.
Total Character Alienation: By the 40% mark, the character writing was so heavily alienated from the reader that I actively disliked the entire cast of characters. The narrative relies on "telling rather than showing," making it nearly impossible to root for any of them.
A Chaotic, Disjointed Finale: The entire atmosphere is relentlessly dark without earning its emotional weight. The third-act climax felt completely frantic, rushed, and disjointed, rushing through a messy resolution rather than delivering a satisfying payoff.
Did Not Finish
September 23, 2026𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺
DNF at 21%
Thank you to DAW for providing me with an ARC.
𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.
I really wanted to connect with the story, especially because the premise sounded right up my alley, but I found myself struggling to connect with the characters, the plot, and the overall atmosphere.
I kept hoping the story would pull me in as I continued reading, but I never reached that point and ultimately found myself reading without feeling invested in what was happening.
There are definitely elements of the premise that intrigued me, but unfortunately, this one just wasn't the right fit for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.
DNF at 21%
Thank you to DAW for providing me with an ARC.
𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.
I really wanted to connect with the story, especially because the premise sounded right up my alley, but I found myself struggling to connect with the characters, the plot, and the overall atmosphere.
I kept hoping the story would pull me in as I continued reading, but I never reached that point and ultimately found myself reading without feeling invested in what was happening.
There are definitely elements of the premise that intrigued me, but unfortunately, this one just wasn't the right fit for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was lucky to grab this ARC on NetGalley as it was READ NOW. Thanks to the publisher for this! DNFed at 17%
𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉:
-The setting of the story;
-I liked the description as well. Very interesting;
- The cover design tells us so much about the story by just looking at it. I loved the cover design since I design covers myself, it was very pretty.
𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖆𝖉:
- Too much repetition of the things we already know;
- The pacing was very slow and there was nothing important happening that would keep me up at night and continue reading. Honestly speaking, the writing was dragging the tension between Mir and Raye by preventing something from happening. When will the action start? Why was it taking so long (I DNFed at the start of chapter 6 bdw) for the two characters to meet?;
- Sorry, this one was very interesting, but the pacing was the problem.
𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖌𝖔𝖔𝖉:
-The setting of the story;
-I liked the description as well. Very interesting;
- The cover design tells us so much about the story by just looking at it. I loved the cover design since I design covers myself, it was very pretty.
𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖆𝖉:
- Too much repetition of the things we already know;
- The pacing was very slow and there was nothing important happening that would keep me up at night and continue reading. Honestly speaking, the writing was dragging the tension between Mir and Raye by preventing something from happening. When will the action start? Why was it taking so long (I DNFed at the start of chapter 6 bdw) for the two characters to meet?;
- Sorry, this one was very interesting, but the pacing was the problem.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2026
I definitely enjoyed many elements of this book from the atmosphere, the descriptions of everything, to the two women realizing you can be loved even in your most monstrous moments! It did lose me a bit at parts cause I am gonna be honest I did not care that much about the two demons! I know they were a big part of it with both Mir and Raye having been cursed with their own but sadly didn’t stick out to me too much! Even when they had their own POVs! It felt like there was so much talk about high stakes with the church but not much show for it! But I do love a good sapphic romance so I did have fun with that! Grateful to have gotten a chance to read this and that cover is gorgeous
Thankful to have received an eARC from DAW and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own
Thankful to have received an eARC from DAW and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Is this book a romantasy? Maybe? I feel like it might be and now I have to reevaluate my feelings towards romantasy. I've always said I wasn't a fan but maybe I just need it to be queer because this was a great read. The yearning was sooo good.
It's so beautifully written and atmospheric. It reads like a dark sapphic fairytale and I am so here for it.
Raye and Mir are trapped in a castle together and each has her own curse and demon to contend with. They're both haunted by the horrible things they've been forced to do to survive but also omg they're so cute together. I can't handle it.
We get both Raye and Mir's POVs for most of the book (so we get to read about the yearning both ways!) but a few of the chapters are from the POVs of the demons and I really like that we got to see inside their minds as they schemed.
I devoured this book like Mir wishes she could devour Raye. I wish it wasn't over.
Thanks very much to DAW for the ARC.
It's so beautifully written and atmospheric. It reads like a dark sapphic fairytale and I am so here for it.
Raye and Mir are trapped in a castle together and each has her own curse and demon to contend with. They're both haunted by the horrible things they've been forced to do to survive but also omg they're so cute together. I can't handle it.
We get both Raye and Mir's POVs for most of the book (so we get to read about the yearning both ways!) but a few of the chapters are from the POVs of the demons and I really like that we got to see inside their minds as they schemed.
I devoured this book like Mir wishes she could devour Raye. I wish it wasn't over.
Thanks very much to DAW for the ARC.
August 28, 2026
This book starts out right in the thick of it, and it’s very confusing to have so many things introduced to you simultaneously. I kept reading and instead of finding solace, I got more and more confused. The world-building is minimal at best in the introductory chapters, yet we are bombarded with information and have no idea why it’s relevant or important. Then there is an attempt to fill in the gaps as the story progresses, but it becomes a bit cyclical and stagnates the plot. I felt like an adrenaline rush was fizzling out because I was lost and trying to find my way, only to find a plateau where nothing really happens for quite some time. My interest sort of waned from that point out.
Many parts of this did work for me though. I loved the eerie atmosphere with vivid descriptions of the castle, and of course the “monstrous” women who fall in love who have demons residing within them. The cover art is gorgeous and there are bits of prose that I sincerely adored. On paper, it checks all of my boxes for my favorite type of read, but the pacing became a hurdle too great for me to overcome.
Thank you to Amy Avery and DAW for providing this eARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book will be released on November 10, 2026!
Many parts of this did work for me though. I loved the eerie atmosphere with vivid descriptions of the castle, and of course the “monstrous” women who fall in love who have demons residing within them. The cover art is gorgeous and there are bits of prose that I sincerely adored. On paper, it checks all of my boxes for my favorite type of read, but the pacing became a hurdle too great for me to overcome.
Thank you to Amy Avery and DAW for providing this eARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. This book will be released on November 10, 2026!
September 29, 2026
DNF'd at 24%. I tried with this one. It sounded spooky and different, but it's a clunky, repetitive mess. I love a moody, emotional story but the writing here felt juvenile and melodramatic. So many times, the author repeats the same phrase, the same action, the same thought and I stopped a quarter in! I can't imagine how much for the entire book.
The story as far as I read is barely there. Why this girl has run into the most obvious cursed place in existence and is surprised that it's cursed strains belief. The book blurb describes the demons as parasites, but they're more like JoJo Bizarre Adventure stands.
I would be more okay with a lot of this stuff if the book was YA, but it's not. This is a spooky season dud.
The story as far as I read is barely there. Why this girl has run into the most obvious cursed place in existence and is surprised that it's cursed strains belief. The book blurb describes the demons as parasites, but they're more like JoJo Bizarre Adventure stands.
I would be more okay with a lot of this stuff if the book was YA, but it's not. This is a spooky season dud.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Thorns We Wear Inside is a dark, atmospheric fantasy featuring parasitic demons, monster hunting, and a not-quite quad sapphic romance. I loved the propulsive, right-in-the-action start, but from there the story quickly loses steam. The pacing becomes quite slow, with a lot of repetition and exclusively internal dialogue. This is the case right up until the end, when so much is crammed in that it's disorienting. I also wanted more from the promised quadrangle - particularly on the demonic side, the romance feels underbaked. The book has a great premise, but the execution just doesn't really work for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley and DAW for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
I received an ARC and am leaving an honest review.
The Thorns We Wear Inside is a gripping Gothic Fantasy with lesbian yearning and monster-for-monster dark romance. A refreshing witchy take on the Beauty & the Beast tale for lovers of queer fantasy-horror, with curses, demons, monsters, witches, and betrayed women finding love and acceptance for the people - and monsters - they have become.
The Thorns We Wear Inside is a gripping Gothic Fantasy with lesbian yearning and monster-for-monster dark romance. A refreshing witchy take on the Beauty & the Beast tale for lovers of queer fantasy-horror, with curses, demons, monsters, witches, and betrayed women finding love and acceptance for the people - and monsters - they have become.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3 ⭐️
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts are my own.
Overall, I liked this book but just never really ended up loving it. I thought the writing was quite nice and felt natural, and the vibes were immaculate – the haunting and creepy atmosphere was definitely a major strength.
Unfortunately, I do think the plot fell a little flat for me and felt quite repetitive throughout. The characters were each just trying to do the same things over and over again with no real change, and the emotional payoff did not have enough depth to make up for it. And so, sadly, I ended up finding the whole thing somewhat boring and underwhelming. It was fine, and it definitely had elements that worked. It just never managed to be more than that for me.
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts are my own.
Overall, I liked this book but just never really ended up loving it. I thought the writing was quite nice and felt natural, and the vibes were immaculate – the haunting and creepy atmosphere was definitely a major strength.
Unfortunately, I do think the plot fell a little flat for me and felt quite repetitive throughout. The characters were each just trying to do the same things over and over again with no real change, and the emotional payoff did not have enough depth to make up for it. And so, sadly, I ended up finding the whole thing somewhat boring and underwhelming. It was fine, and it definitely had elements that worked. It just never managed to be more than that for me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received this Arc copy from net galley, and all thoughts are my own and truthful.
I DNF'd at 20%. I was really excited to read this book, it had that feel for autumn, you know? two women trapped in a castle, morally grey characters etc, and even the first page half of the writing felt good, but the other half felt clunky and hard to break through. And I found myself really not looking forward to picking up.
I do think the idea it self is great, but for me it just did not land.
I DNF'd at 20%. I was really excited to read this book, it had that feel for autumn, you know? two women trapped in a castle, morally grey characters etc, and even the first page half of the writing felt good, but the other half felt clunky and hard to break through. And I found myself really not looking forward to picking up.
I do think the idea it self is great, but for me it just did not land.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Made it about 40% in, but this was just too slow, and nothing ever happened! The two main characters barely interact!!! Based on other reviews, it doesn’t sound like it gets much better! Sad that yet another sapphic enemies to lovers story has let me down so badly.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Rating: 3.5
This book pleasantly surprised me! I thought the plot and worldbuilding were interesting - I always enjoy a good Beauty and the Beast retelling especially when it's queer. The plot was a little slow at times, but I liked the characters along with the atmospheric story and themes.
This book pleasantly surprised me! I thought the plot and worldbuilding were interesting - I always enjoy a good Beauty and the Beast retelling especially when it's queer. The plot was a little slow at times, but I liked the characters along with the atmospheric story and themes.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There were a few places where the pacing slowed down for me, but the gorgeous atmosphere and character-driven story kept me invested.
Dark, haunting, romantic, and wonderfully strange. This is a fairy tale for readers who prefer their happily-ever-afters with a little blood on them.
Dark, haunting, romantic, and wonderfully strange. This is a fairy tale for readers who prefer their happily-ever-afters with a little blood on them.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Truly a beautiful story. Quite different from my usual romantasy but gave me all things I love: a curse and fairytale vibes.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dark sapphic fairy tales and evil demon women, okay!!
Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for the e-ARC!
Full review to be posted on release date: November 10, 2026.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Started: September 8, 2026
Finished: September 9, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for the e-ARC!
Full review to be posted on release date: November 10, 2026.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
Started: September 8, 2026
Finished: September 9, 2026
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews