It took me quite awhile to properly review this book. The problem is that I'm no longer in the targeted audience. If I was still a 19 year old pseudo-goth, I would have absolutely adored this. My copy would have ended up in tatters from being read over & over.

It caused me to be all nostalgic for the 90s, and for the days when I loved Poppy Z. Brite books.

The author has a list of songs that she recommends one listens to while reading. I did listen to them. It helped me understand how the characters thought. It's at: http://trapdoor.lostviolet.com/soundtrac...

The love between Raven and Pegasus was so achingly bittersweet. It just tortured me. All I wanted was for them to end up together and happy.

The sex scenes were the most erotic I've read in a long time. Even the sex practices that aren't my sort of thing were hot!

The first 2/3 of the book, went quickly and I enjoyed it. The last 1/3 lost me a bit. I felt that it dragged, once Raven, Damien & Pegasus went on the lam.

Some parts and some of the reactions of the characters, I found to be rather over dramatic. A couple times I found myself thinking "Who reacts that way?"

I would have liked a clearer explanation of how Wendy & her father got to be such evil, nasty people. They were such unlikeable characters.

There is a drunken attempted rape scene, that I found to be quite traumatizing. I had to stop & take a mental break in the middle of it. There are a couple self-harming scenes that I winced through.