✨Arc Review✨
Thank you to the author Lyla Andrews for sending me this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
-All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Liminal by Lyla Andrews is a dark, emotionally charged paranormal romance that plunges you into a harrowing psychological labyrinth the moment page one unfurls. The novel centers on a heroine who, after a failed suicide attempt and a desperate escape from an abusive marriage, finds herself drawn to a mysterious man haunting her dreams. This shadowy figure—revealed to be an immortal predator named Ambrose—pulls her into a secluded Appalachian cabin where her wits and will are tested like never before.
The tension is relentless. Trapped in isolation and faced with a chilling ultimatum—sacrifice her own life, or become his hunter—the heroine's internal struggle becomes the novel’s beating heart. Andrews excels at building claustrophobic suspense: every whisper, every creak of the cabin floorboards becomes a nail-biting moment, and you can feel the heroine’s pulse racing with every word. Ambrose himself is a masterclass in dangerous allure—devastatingly handsome, wickedly witty, and emotionally confounding, he embodies the very question the book poses: “In trying to survive, am I becoming the monster?”
The strength of Liminal lies in its ability to blur moral lines. As the heroine is drawn further under Ambrose's spell, boundaries between victim and accomplice, predator and protector, begin to melt—and not in a comforting way. If emotional suspense is your jam, the novel’s dark, seductive power will grip you tight.
That said, Liminal isn’t flawless. At times, the pacing drags under the weight of its internal monologues and emotional intensity. A tighter edit might’ve sharpened the suspense’s edge even further. And while Ambrose’s dark charm is magnetic, some readers may wish for deeper insight into the heroine herself—into her motivations beyond survival, or the flickers of resistance that keep her from fully succumbing.
Ultimately, Liminal is a haunting, immersive ride for readers who crave morally murky romance wrapped in gothic suspense. It may lean on intensity, but when it works—and it often does—the emotional and psychological impact lingers long after the last page is turned.