Vermagna in the lingering aftermath of war is a city haunted, where any malcontent death might birth a ghost or a terrible curse. Mio, nonbinary and intersex and poised for a career in the opera, is the youngest child of the fallen Gianbellicci house, gentry turned criminal, his family's tenuous pos ...more
One of the predominant markers of an author’s success in drawing me into the fantasy they set out to create is to build a lush and vibrant setting out of the whole cloth of their imagination, and then translate that through rich descriptions and the complex layering of both characters and storyline. ...more
This was an interesting debut queer fantasy. There is intricate world building and strong romance but I also had some issues with the story and some aspects of the romance made me uneasy, so I ended up with mixed feelings about it.
As preface I want to say that this book has strong horror e ...more
Hm, ein für mich schwer zu bewertendes Buch. Eine Menge Dinge haben mir gefallen - die Sprache, die Atmosphäre, die Beziehungen, etc. Wirklich wirklich toll fand ich Mios sehr komplexe Beziehung zu seiner Mutter, die wunderbar eindringlich porträtiert hat wie wir manchmal unseren Abuser trotzdem lie ...more
I almost wish this had been a nice chunky fantasy novel, because the supernatural worldbuilding suffered a little from being crammed into a romance-novel space; it was all FASCINATING and I wanted it to be able to breathe! The romance was enjoyable because I liked both of the protagonists SO MUCH in ...more
Review: *I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
This was an atmospheric, expressive, eloquently written fantasy story with magic, ghosts, curses, music, and love. To be honest, I didn't fully grasp all the details about the curse and the magic, it ...more