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Mothsblood
Not yet published
Expected 13 Oct 26Step into the heart of Paris with this lush and thrilling dark academia fantasy that follows a young alchemist running from a dark past.
When Larkspur Lee arrived in Paris, it was with nothing more than the ambition in her veins and the magic under her skin.
As a student of Meurdrac, one of the few remaining alchemical universities, she burns to prove herself, but lacking the wealth, privilege and connections of the other students, she has to fight twice as hard - and be twice as cunning - if she wants to be considered worthy of immortality.
So when Petronelle Flamel, the Grand Magistra of Meurdrac and Third amongst the Deathless, begins searching for an apprentice, Lark decides she'll do whatever it takes to be selected. Failure is not, and never has been, an option.
But after a shocking death, she instead finds herself at the heart of an impossible crime - one where the only evidence whispers of Lark's past. And matters are further 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 investigation begins and the mysterious Knight assigned to the case, Violaine, becomes convinced that more sinister works are responsible for the murder, 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.
And as everything around her delves into chaos, Lark has no choice but to decide if the power she desires is truly worth the price.
The thrilling new dark academia fantasy full of magic and mystery, the perfect gothic read for fans of BABBEL and NINTH HOUSE.
When Larkspur Lee arrived in Paris, it was with nothing more than the ambition in her veins and the magic under her skin.
As a student of Meurdrac, one of the few remaining alchemical universities, she burns to prove herself, but lacking the wealth, privilege and connections of the other students, she has to fight twice as hard - and be twice as cunning - if she wants to be considered worthy of immortality.
So when Petronelle Flamel, the Grand Magistra of Meurdrac and Third amongst the Deathless, begins searching for an apprentice, Lark decides she'll do whatever it takes to be selected. Failure is not, and never has been, an option.
But after a shocking death, she instead finds herself at the heart of an impossible crime - one where the only evidence whispers of Lark's past. And matters are further 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 investigation begins and the mysterious Knight assigned to the case, Violaine, becomes convinced that more sinister works are responsible for the murder, 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.
And as everything around her delves into chaos, Lark has no choice but to decide if the power she desires is truly worth the price.
The thrilling new dark academia fantasy full of magic and mystery, the perfect gothic read for fans of BABBEL and NINTH HOUSE.
384 pages, ebook
Expected publication October 13, 2026
About the author
Lynn D. Jung
2 books194 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 242 reviews
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?
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
September 8, 2026
4,5⭐️
Ohhhh wow masterpiece de las academias con alquimia, transmutaciones etc etc
Me ha gustado mucho muchísimo. Lo oscura que es la prota?? Bffff perfecta, toma decisiones egoístas constantemente pero que es TAN REAL
La ambientación me parece otro de los puntos fuertes, esta súper lograda. Creo que lo peor puede ser que es algo complicado de entender al principio sobre todo, y hay cosas del sistema de alquimia que me hubiera gustado entender mejorrrr
Que sea lento es necesario porque los personajes tienen una construcción brutal. Ojo los trigger warnings, y les añadiría que tiene escenas un poco repugnantes. No llega a gore pero si que da repelus
Nosequemadecir, la trama ha trameado, todo bien hilado y con sentido sisisisisi
Lo único por lo que no pongo las 5 es por eso de que se hace a veces algo complicado y denso peeeero que es la vida sin complicaciones?
Epílogo OBLIGATORIO de leer 🖤
Ohhhh wow masterpiece de las academias con alquimia, transmutaciones etc etc
Me ha gustado mucho muchísimo. Lo oscura que es la prota?? Bffff perfecta, toma decisiones egoístas constantemente pero que es TAN REAL
La ambientación me parece otro de los puntos fuertes, esta súper lograda. Creo que lo peor puede ser que es algo complicado de entender al principio sobre todo, y hay cosas del sistema de alquimia que me hubiera gustado entender mejorrrr
Que sea lento es necesario porque los personajes tienen una construcción brutal. Ojo los trigger warnings, y les añadiría que tiene escenas un poco repugnantes. No llega a gore pero si que da repelus
Nosequemadecir, la trama ha trameado, todo bien hilado y con sentido sisisisisi
Lo único por lo que no pongo las 5 es por eso de que se hace a veces algo complicado y denso peeeero que es la vida sin complicaciones?
Epílogo OBLIGATORIO de leer 🖤
tbr-physical
January 20, 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☕️🕯️🍂 If someone wants to slip an arc my way, I would not be mad about it🙏🏼
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!
September 8, 2026
4.25 stars. Wow I am shocked that this is a debut novel. Incredibly lush and poignant writing. This is a dark academia fantasy that felt unique within the genre. We are thrown into the crowded, rainy streets of Paris and into a world renowned Parisian alchemical school of magic called Meurdrac. The headmistress is Petronelle Flamel, an undying magician with dark secrets, and we follow our main character Larkspur, who is incredibly complex and comes from a very dark past.
This book has everything you could want in a dark academia fantasy - the shadowy, eerie vibes, a murder mystery, a class competition, buried secrets, institutional corruption, abuse of power, and tons of moral ambiguity. Jung’s writing style was so immersive, I felt I was present within this story rather than watching it unfold from the outside. And I truly believe she nailed the moody atmospheric setting and developing a reader-character connection.
That being said, the plot itself at times had a choppy pace. It made it difficult to transition from scene to scene or connect different parts of the book together, which is the main reason this wasn’t a higher rating for me.
Overall, this was a really well-done debut. Please be aware that this book is quite dark and contains heavy subject matter, so check content triggers before reading: grooming of a minor, SA, coercive power, and significant drug and alcohol use.
This book has everything you could want in a dark academia fantasy - the shadowy, eerie vibes, a murder mystery, a class competition, buried secrets, institutional corruption, abuse of power, and tons of moral ambiguity. Jung’s writing style was so immersive, I felt I was present within this story rather than watching it unfold from the outside. And I truly believe she nailed the moody atmospheric setting and developing a reader-character connection.
That being said, the plot itself at times had a choppy pace. It made it difficult to transition from scene to scene or connect different parts of the book together, which is the main reason this wasn’t a higher rating for me.
Overall, this was a really well-done debut. Please be aware that this book is quite dark and contains heavy subject matter, so check content triggers before reading: grooming of a minor, SA, coercive power, and significant drug and alcohol use.
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!
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.
Did Not Finish
September 10, 2026DNF at 35%
I tried my best... Sadly after reading so much I still had no real connection or emotional attachment to story and characters. Mothsblood is character driven story in climatic Paris that is the cradle of alchemy.
My biggest issue was writing - use of (too many) metaphors, very flowery descriptions with narration written in past tense gave such weird mix! I understand that this was attempt to made atmosphere more "french", gothic, mysterious and magical, but for me it clearly missed the mark.
What stole my heart? Each scene where alchemy was put into use it felt more than just magical and I really loved read these paragraphs - one of the most interesting parts of the story!
I am not saying this book is bad, just doesn't fit my tastes and looking at other reviews I can tell other people will give it love it deserves!
Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for arc in exchange for my honest review
I tried my best... Sadly after reading so much I still had no real connection or emotional attachment to story and characters. Mothsblood is character driven story in climatic Paris that is the cradle of alchemy.
My biggest issue was writing - use of (too many) metaphors, very flowery descriptions with narration written in past tense gave such weird mix! I understand that this was attempt to made atmosphere more "french", gothic, mysterious and magical, but for me it clearly missed the mark.
What stole my heart? Each scene where alchemy was put into use it felt more than just magical and I really loved read these paragraphs - one of the most interesting parts of the story!
I am not saying this book is bad, just doesn't fit my tastes and looking at other reviews I can tell other people will give it love it deserves!
Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for arc in exchange for my honest review
Read
September 3, 2026RTC
April 30, 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 at the time of reading. 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 at the time of reading. 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)
October 1, 2026
If you're here for an unlikeable FMC and extremely moody Parisian dark academia vibes, without too many boring bits sitting around in classrooms and libraries -- have at it (and skip the rest of this review.)
Personally, I wasn't expecting the unlikeability, and though I am entirely here for the woes of a disaster human from time to time, Lark was unappealing to me because she was So Passive. She's taken one really big action before the book starts, and even that takes way too long to be explained in the story, given how much it is teased. But now she's now at the premier school for alchemy where she, and I quote, "breezes through her classes" and is top of her class, and is working on her own project -- but all the intensity is told, not shown. A heap of plot happens near her, she makes as few decisions as possible, mostly letting the story shove her along, and then we get to some actively bad and painful actions. Yeah, zero redeeming "watching the carcrash" moments here.
Add to that the whiplash of some genuinely lovely turns of phrase, mixed up with excessively fancy words used wrongly or awkwardly, and I really did struggle. Some examples (that I'll delete if they turn out to be gone from the release copy, I can but hope!): a prettily-described pâtisserie paragraph, followed by "Against this rather puerile backdrop" ... what was 'childish', exactly? "The café sits on an innocuous corner", surely most corners are innocuous, in fact, I'm not sure I can picture a menacing corner. A "near-omniscient cloud of cigarette smoke" -- I hope that's 'omnipresent' or else this is a completely different level of horror to the one marketed. By the time I got to the "black mold gestating on the ceiling" and shouting at my tablet, 'that is biologically wrong and metaphorically weird', this book and I were thoroughly done. Shoutout for a reasonable level of closure at the end, at least.
Rating: 13/20
This review is based upon a complimentary advance review copy provided by the publisher at NetGalley.
Personally, I wasn't expecting the unlikeability, and though I am entirely here for the woes of a disaster human from time to time, Lark was unappealing to me because she was So Passive. She's taken one really big action before the book starts, and even that takes way too long to be explained in the story, given how much it is teased. But now she's now at the premier school for alchemy where she, and I quote, "breezes through her classes" and is top of her class, and is working on her own project -- but all the intensity is told, not shown. A heap of plot happens near her, she makes as few decisions as possible, mostly letting the story shove her along, and then we get to some actively bad and painful actions. Yeah, zero redeeming "watching the carcrash" moments here.
Add to that the whiplash of some genuinely lovely turns of phrase, mixed up with excessively fancy words used wrongly or awkwardly, and I really did struggle. Some examples (that I'll delete if they turn out to be gone from the release copy, I can but hope!): a prettily-described pâtisserie paragraph, followed by "Against this rather puerile backdrop" ... what was 'childish', exactly? "The café sits on an innocuous corner", surely most corners are innocuous, in fact, I'm not sure I can picture a menacing corner. A "near-omniscient cloud of cigarette smoke" -- I hope that's 'omnipresent' or else this is a completely different level of horror to the one marketed. By the time I got to the "black mold gestating on the ceiling" and shouting at my tablet, 'that is biologically wrong and metaphorically weird', this book and I were thoroughly done. Shoutout for a reasonable level of closure at the end, at least.
Rating: 13/20
This review is based upon a complimentary advance review copy provided by the publisher at NetGalley.
August 5, 2026
Soul shattering, haunting and beautifully flawed, Moothsblood is the kind of book that leaves a lasting impression.
Our FMC is complex and hard to grasp at times, but she has so many layers to her that explain the precise nature of her character. I felt her unease and confusion so clearly through her contradicting actions, and it kept me invested in her character because I was desperate to understand why she was the way she was.
Moothsblood is about dismantling a system that is wrong on so many levels. It’s a journey of discovery, where we, alongside the main character, find out just how wrong our perception was towards the magical system and the hierarchy within it.
The ending was phenomenal. Full of tension, secrets that are revealed and rage that makes us boil, and, amidst it all, a quiet yet very persistent love that was there all along. In absolute awe with the way this story unfolded and with where it brought us readers at the end.
Tears were shed. Hearts were broken and chests were left hollowed out, a feeling that can only be experienced when an incredible story comes to an end.
Our FMC is complex and hard to grasp at times, but she has so many layers to her that explain the precise nature of her character. I felt her unease and confusion so clearly through her contradicting actions, and it kept me invested in her character because I was desperate to understand why she was the way she was.
Moothsblood is about dismantling a system that is wrong on so many levels. It’s a journey of discovery, where we, alongside the main character, find out just how wrong our perception was towards the magical system and the hierarchy within it.
The ending was phenomenal. Full of tension, secrets that are revealed and rage that makes us boil, and, amidst it all, a quiet yet very persistent love that was there all along. In absolute awe with the way this story unfolded and with where it brought us readers at the end.
Tears were shed. Hearts were broken and chests were left hollowed out, a feeling that can only be experienced when an incredible story comes to an end.
August 8, 2026
I honestly don’t even know how to coherently formulate my thoughts, what a whirlwind of a book, of a story.
In this debut, we follow an alchemist that find herself in the middle of a murder at her university. Where a dark with dark secrets past resurfaces & entangle itself in the present.
I have mixed feelings about this book. There are some things that I enjoyed, and while also thinking it might not 100% be the book for me. Our FMC is an unlikeable character, it was hard for me to form an opinion on her.
One of the biggest things that was hard for me, is that it was difficult to connect to the story and characters, and found myself confused and lost a lot. For a standalone, there were also quite a lot of plot holes and things left unanswered (the moths being a major one!), which frustrated me in the end.
This story is definitely intriguing and will leave you guessing for the entirety of the journey. It is dark & twisted, and oh so gothic and dark-academia coded! Which I did enjoy.
With all of that being said, it may not have been the perfect fit for me, but I do appreciate the author’s depth that she put into this story and the details for the alchemy-based magic set up.
Thank you to NetGalley & Bloomsbury for the earc and the chance to read this book early 🫶
In this debut, we follow an alchemist that find herself in the middle of a murder at her university. Where a dark with dark secrets past resurfaces & entangle itself in the present.
I have mixed feelings about this book. There are some things that I enjoyed, and while also thinking it might not 100% be the book for me. Our FMC is an unlikeable character, it was hard for me to form an opinion on her.
One of the biggest things that was hard for me, is that it was difficult to connect to the story and characters, and found myself confused and lost a lot. For a standalone, there were also quite a lot of plot holes and things left unanswered (the moths being a major one!), which frustrated me in the end.
This story is definitely intriguing and will leave you guessing for the entirety of the journey. It is dark & twisted, and oh so gothic and dark-academia coded! Which I did enjoy.
With all of that being said, it may not have been the perfect fit for me, but I do appreciate the author’s depth that she put into this story and the details for the alchemy-based magic set up.
Thank you to NetGalley & Bloomsbury for the earc and the chance to read this book early 🫶
Read
June 2, 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.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
DNF
I really need to stop trusting publishers/apps when they label books as "lesbian" and thats totally on me. This was very bisexual and I love that for the baddie bi's.
But please stop saying a books is prominently lesbian when most of the book has M/F sex.
This is in no way me being negative towards the author as I know they have very little to no control over how things are labeled/marketed.
I think other people will love this one! However it is, unfortunately, not for me.
I really need to stop trusting publishers/apps when they label books as "lesbian" and thats totally on me. This was very bisexual and I love that for the baddie bi's.
But please stop saying a books is prominently lesbian when most of the book has M/F sex.
This is in no way me being negative towards the author as I know they have very little to no control over how things are labeled/marketed.
I think other people will love this one! However it is, unfortunately, not for me.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
UPDATE: decided to be nice and give mothsblood an extra half star. still think part of this was written by AI but at least the author isn't being an asshole about it and shading me on threads and plotting with her friends to report my account ahh the bar is underground these days.
Original review: 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
Original review: 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
Did Not Finish
October 1, 2026Thank you Raincoast books for the paperback arc and Librofm for the alc 🫶
DNF @ 48%
This book sounded so good and I had high hopes but sadly it just didn’t work for me. I was liking it for the first 15-20% but then it just kinda fizzled out for me. I felt like the story was kind of meandering and I just wasn’t that interested in where it was going. I wasn’t particularly invested in the characters. I also felt like certain terms and world building concepts weren’t explained at all and that left me feeling a bit disconnected.
DNF @ 48%
This book sounded so good and I had high hopes but sadly it just didn’t work for me. I was liking it for the first 15-20% but then it just kinda fizzled out for me. I felt like the story was kind of meandering and I just wasn’t that interested in where it was going. I wasn’t particularly invested in the characters. I also felt like certain terms and world building concepts weren’t explained at all and that left me feeling a bit disconnected.
July 19, 2026
So an arc of this got sent to the store specifically for me, I’d never heard of it but it sounded interesting enough so I took it home, and ultimately I’m glad I did.
I am a huge sucker for urban/contemporary fantasy, and I appreciate when things billed as “dark academia” actually decide to interrogate the privileges academia is actually built on and isn’t just Sparkling Tweed, and this has both of those. The juxtaposition of the old world magic with the modern setting made for a fascinating atmosphere that I had a lot of fun getting immersed in. I looked forward to seeing what new and horribly magical thing the book was gonna throw at me next!
It was also an incredibly tough read for me personally, as it’s a lot of chapters of this ostensibly queer girl getting groomed and spiraling into self destruction while the aforementioned insular academic privilege closes in on her. It’s SUPPOSED to be icky but oof.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. There are a couple things I still wonder about so if the author wanted to write a sequel I’d read it, and I’ll also keep an eye out for whatever else she writes.
Also a quick note, the queerness was a bit of a pleasant surprise. As I read I was like “am I reading too much into this?” Especially since there is a scene of “girls getting it on at a party while I douchey guy is there like 👀” which made me roll my eyes, but by the end it’s abundantly clear that Lark is some kinda queer, even if exact labels aren’t used on page. Hell, I don’t think the character herself knows! Just that she loves this woman enough to want to move the world for her.
I am a huge sucker for urban/contemporary fantasy, and I appreciate when things billed as “dark academia” actually decide to interrogate the privileges academia is actually built on and isn’t just Sparkling Tweed, and this has both of those. The juxtaposition of the old world magic with the modern setting made for a fascinating atmosphere that I had a lot of fun getting immersed in. I looked forward to seeing what new and horribly magical thing the book was gonna throw at me next!
It was also an incredibly tough read for me personally, as it’s a lot of chapters of this ostensibly queer girl getting groomed and spiraling into self destruction while the aforementioned insular academic privilege closes in on her. It’s SUPPOSED to be icky but oof.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. There are a couple things I still wonder about so if the author wanted to write a sequel I’d read it, and I’ll also keep an eye out for whatever else she writes.
Also a quick note, the queerness was a bit of a pleasant surprise. As I read I was like “am I reading too much into this?” Especially since there is a scene of “girls getting it on at a party while I douchey guy is there like 👀” which made me roll my eyes, but by the end it’s abundantly clear that Lark is some kinda queer, even if exact labels aren’t used on page. Hell, I don’t think the character herself knows! Just that she loves this woman enough to want to move the world for her.
February 20, 2026
Review to come but GOD this was so good
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
A strong debut from the author, Mothsblood is a dark academia that is slightly let down by an unlikeable main character. There were also darker themes than I expected so I would recommend checking trigger warning as it was uncomfortable reading at times.
The blurb will have the reader believe this a murder mystery, but that isn’t the main focus of the plot at all which I was slightly disappointed by. The focus of the story really is on Lark and her past which has followed her to Paris. She has suffered a lot of trauma in her life which is slowly uncovered through flashbacks and reveals as the book progresses. Despite feeling some sympathy for her and what she has suffered, she is still very unlikeable - something I wish I had known before picking the book up. The other characters could have used some more development (although this could be as we are only in Lark’s pov), particularly the knight Violaine who is so pivotal to the plot.
The descriptions and world building was where the writing excelled for me. The author was able to conjure up a moody Paris in my mind, and it felt very atmospheric. I also thought the second to last climactic scene was incredibly well written as one character got their comeuppance (IFYKY) and I did find myself smiling once they realised they were in trouble. The pacing was a bit hit and miss but overall I would say the story kept me invested.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.
A strong debut from the author, Mothsblood is a dark academia that is slightly let down by an unlikeable main character. There were also darker themes than I expected so I would recommend checking trigger warning as it was uncomfortable reading at times.
The blurb will have the reader believe this a murder mystery, but that isn’t the main focus of the plot at all which I was slightly disappointed by. The focus of the story really is on Lark and her past which has followed her to Paris. She has suffered a lot of trauma in her life which is slowly uncovered through flashbacks and reveals as the book progresses. Despite feeling some sympathy for her and what she has suffered, she is still very unlikeable - something I wish I had known before picking the book up. The other characters could have used some more development (although this could be as we are only in Lark’s pov), particularly the knight Violaine who is so pivotal to the plot.
The descriptions and world building was where the writing excelled for me. The author was able to conjure up a moody Paris in my mind, and it felt very atmospheric. I also thought the second to last climactic scene was incredibly well written as one character got their comeuppance (IFYKY) and I did find myself smiling once they realised they were in trouble. The pacing was a bit hit and miss but overall I would say the story kept me invested.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.
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
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!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars (rounded up)
Mothsblood is an atmospheric and eerie adult dark academia fantasy following Larkspur Lee, an ambitious alchemist running away from her dark past who finds herself embroiled in a mysterious murder that should not have been able to happen, set in the backdrop of a rain-soaked Paris.
Jung’s prose is lyrical and haunting, and I adored how atmospheric every scene was. At the core of the novel is the question: where do we draw the line between ambition, knowledge, and the pursuit of power? I thought that Jung does such a great job interrogating how institutional systems of power (particularly within academia) becomes twisted and grotesque under a guise of a pursuit of knowledge, and how academia continues to be propelled by these elitist and misogynistic systems.
Larkspur was definitely such a messy and complex character, she’s morally grey, ambitious and oftentimes selfish, but it is also clear how she is very much a character whose been shaped by the trauma’s of these abusive systems and I couldn’t help but root for her every step of the way. The only reason this didn’t end up being a five star read for me was that I ultimately wished we got to know more about the the other characters, I would have loved to see some of the side characters to be a bit more fleshed out.
All in all, what an absolutely amazing debut and I cannot wait to see what’s next from Jung!
Thank you to Raincoast Books and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC. All opinions in this review are my own.
Mothsblood is an atmospheric and eerie adult dark academia fantasy following Larkspur Lee, an ambitious alchemist running away from her dark past who finds herself embroiled in a mysterious murder that should not have been able to happen, set in the backdrop of a rain-soaked Paris.
Jung’s prose is lyrical and haunting, and I adored how atmospheric every scene was. At the core of the novel is the question: where do we draw the line between ambition, knowledge, and the pursuit of power? I thought that Jung does such a great job interrogating how institutional systems of power (particularly within academia) becomes twisted and grotesque under a guise of a pursuit of knowledge, and how academia continues to be propelled by these elitist and misogynistic systems.
Larkspur was definitely such a messy and complex character, she’s morally grey, ambitious and oftentimes selfish, but it is also clear how she is very much a character whose been shaped by the trauma’s of these abusive systems and I couldn’t help but root for her every step of the way. The only reason this didn’t end up being a five star read for me was that I ultimately wished we got to know more about the the other characters, I would have loved to see some of the side characters to be a bit more fleshed out.
All in all, what an absolutely amazing debut and I cannot wait to see what’s next from Jung!
Thank you to Raincoast Books and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC. All opinions in this review are my own.
August 28, 2026
Mothsblood is a brilliant debut, the story is well weaved with a MC that is complex and flawed it left me not knowing where she would end up and unsure of what I actually wanted her outcome to be.
The story has a dark tint to it edges that I enjoyed, while it has vibes of Blood Over Haven its very much its own story.
There's plenty of tension throughout and you get a real sense for the injustice of the situations through the MC eyes. She's really been through the ringer and its left her sharp but also a little damaged and I like that the author did not shy away from the effects this would actually have on their character. It made it feel more real, and yes she made some bad decisions but I think that really added to the whole self destruction element she was clearly trying to battle through.
Over all I really enjoyed this one. The ending was satisfying, I maybe would have liked a bit of a darker ending but that's just my tastes.
Thank you so much to Del Rey for gifting me an arc copy of this.
The story has a dark tint to it edges that I enjoyed, while it has vibes of Blood Over Haven its very much its own story.
There's plenty of tension throughout and you get a real sense for the injustice of the situations through the MC eyes. She's really been through the ringer and its left her sharp but also a little damaged and I like that the author did not shy away from the effects this would actually have on their character. It made it feel more real, and yes she made some bad decisions but I think that really added to the whole self destruction element she was clearly trying to battle through.
Over all I really enjoyed this one. The ending was satisfying, I maybe would have liked a bit of a darker ending but that's just my tastes.
Thank you so much to Del Rey for gifting me an arc copy of this.
February 7, 2026
Screaming crying throwing up, I can't wait for this story to come out!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
i'm really quite annoyed with this book because it was not bad. but it missed the mark over and over again, and it could have been really fantastic, especially if it had had the time it needed to mature into a good duology.
let me start with the strengths because i think the author shows a lot of promise, especially because the most challenging parts of the writing were a success. regardless of my complaints, i think it's so impressive that a debut is this well-written on a line level and from a world-building level. it's rich, it's well-planned, it's explored and explained but not too much. i loved the paris setting, and it was obvious the author has experience to back up their world, even if this is an urban fantasy novel. the characters felt real and fleshed out, the premise was interesting, and the writing was very propulsive and quick. even when i felt like the plot was dragging, the writing itself was fast and compelling. by all accounts, this should be a nobrainer, should be an easy 4+ stars.
that's why i think i am so frustrated to give it 3.25 stars.
on the surface, this book feels like an interesting amalgamation of samantha shannon's the bone season and the dark academia worlds of r.f. kuang. there's a lot of parallels to be drawn to katabasis and babel, and that's a huge bonus in my book. as you get deeper into the story, it's clear that jung is incredibly original. this is darker than kuang and shannon in some ways, and i think part of what made larkspur a compelling character is that she's more selfish, more unlikeable than most female characters on average. she makes questionable decisions and hurts decent people, and that makes her interesting. she's complex. she drinks away her problems and deals drugs and enjoys sex when she can and she's queer. hallelujah. and yet. the issue i have with lark is the same issue that plagues the entire novel: i don't really care.
people in the reviews go on about how there isn't a lot of emotion in this book...that it's difficult to connect on a deeper level to the story, to the characters, and i agree with this for the most part. there are certain points in the story when i cared briefly, but the underlying heart of this book was just uninspiring to me personally. i felt disconnected for a lot of it, even when it's clear the author was trying to impart some emotion on the page. i felt like there was almost no chemistry between the two love interests, perhaps even like it was a bit forced (cough cough), and yet somehow their relationship was supposed to be a central part of the narrative.
but i think my biggest issue here is that a lot of this could have been solved if the author had more page time (and maybe a different editor). had this been a duology, or hell even a trilogy, i think it would've been a knock out. there's a lot of really interesting perspectives in here - whether it's commentary on the horrors of academia, the grooming that happens with older male academics and young women students, classism and racism in academia, or even just the atrocities that arise because of powerful men - and the writing itself IS compelling. i think if the story had time to breathe, time to explore the characters more, to really flesh out everything rather than rushing through a 1) murder mystery plot 2) competition for an academic internship of sorts 3) transfigurations gone wrong 4) a secret evil cult that is trying to come to power all in one book that's less than 400 pages....perhaps it would've achieved what it set out to do. it was not nearly long enough and it was trying a little too hard to be smart and a little too hard to be everything all at once in a dark academia setting. had the author simplified things a little for one book it could have been stronger.
i do also mourn shane and violaine and whatever that whole thing was. could have been a really wonderful reveal / arc / exploration / plot point but it felt really half-baked and i just wanted more from it even though i see what the author was attempting to do. as with most of this book, it tried to give me everything when i really just wanted one thing to give me its all. alas. twas not meant to be.
at the end of the day, i really respect the author and i want to give her some credit because she managed to make a really complex fantasy world into something digestible and easy to read, and that is not an easy feat. i just want her to get a better editor and a bigger book deal in the future i think.
let me start with the strengths because i think the author shows a lot of promise, especially because the most challenging parts of the writing were a success. regardless of my complaints, i think it's so impressive that a debut is this well-written on a line level and from a world-building level. it's rich, it's well-planned, it's explored and explained but not too much. i loved the paris setting, and it was obvious the author has experience to back up their world, even if this is an urban fantasy novel. the characters felt real and fleshed out, the premise was interesting, and the writing was very propulsive and quick. even when i felt like the plot was dragging, the writing itself was fast and compelling. by all accounts, this should be a nobrainer, should be an easy 4+ stars.
that's why i think i am so frustrated to give it 3.25 stars.
on the surface, this book feels like an interesting amalgamation of samantha shannon's the bone season and the dark academia worlds of r.f. kuang. there's a lot of parallels to be drawn to katabasis and babel, and that's a huge bonus in my book. as you get deeper into the story, it's clear that jung is incredibly original. this is darker than kuang and shannon in some ways, and i think part of what made larkspur a compelling character is that she's more selfish, more unlikeable than most female characters on average. she makes questionable decisions and hurts decent people, and that makes her interesting. she's complex. she drinks away her problems and deals drugs and enjoys sex when she can and she's queer. hallelujah. and yet. the issue i have with lark is the same issue that plagues the entire novel: i don't really care.
people in the reviews go on about how there isn't a lot of emotion in this book...that it's difficult to connect on a deeper level to the story, to the characters, and i agree with this for the most part. there are certain points in the story when i cared briefly, but the underlying heart of this book was just uninspiring to me personally. i felt disconnected for a lot of it, even when it's clear the author was trying to impart some emotion on the page. i felt like there was almost no chemistry between the two love interests, perhaps even like it was a bit forced (cough cough), and yet somehow their relationship was supposed to be a central part of the narrative.
but i think my biggest issue here is that a lot of this could have been solved if the author had more page time (and maybe a different editor). had this been a duology, or hell even a trilogy, i think it would've been a knock out. there's a lot of really interesting perspectives in here - whether it's commentary on the horrors of academia, the grooming that happens with older male academics and young women students, classism and racism in academia, or even just the atrocities that arise because of powerful men - and the writing itself IS compelling. i think if the story had time to breathe, time to explore the characters more, to really flesh out everything rather than rushing through a 1) murder mystery plot 2) competition for an academic internship of sorts 3) transfigurations gone wrong 4) a secret evil cult that is trying to come to power all in one book that's less than 400 pages....perhaps it would've achieved what it set out to do. it was not nearly long enough and it was trying a little too hard to be smart and a little too hard to be everything all at once in a dark academia setting. had the author simplified things a little for one book it could have been stronger.
i do also mourn shane and violaine and whatever that whole thing was. could have been a really wonderful reveal / arc / exploration / plot point but it felt really half-baked and i just wanted more from it even though i see what the author was attempting to do. as with most of this book, it tried to give me everything when i really just wanted one thing to give me its all. alas. twas not meant to be.
at the end of the day, i really respect the author and i want to give her some credit because she managed to make a really complex fantasy world into something digestible and easy to read, and that is not an easy feat. i just want her to get a better editor and a bigger book deal in the future i think.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vibes + Experience:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: Minor scenes, sex is often discussed.
Would I recommend? Absolutely!
Trigger warnings: Classism, elitism, coercive control of a minor, drug/substance abuse
character-driven • dark academia • Korean-American MC • bisexual rep • trials • murder mystery • secret society
Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for letting me read the eARC of Mothsblood by Lynn D. Jung. This review is my own opinion, and I have not been paid to post it.
Larkspur Lee has escaped her past and arrived at Meurdrac University in Paris determined to prove that she deserves immortality. As a Korean-American student attending on scholarship, Lark is constantly competing against students who have the wealth, privilege and connections she doesn't. But when the immortal wife of Nicholas Flamel, and Grand Magistra of Meurdrac, announces that she is searching for an apprentice, Lark decides that she will do whatever it takes to be chosen. Failure isn't an option. Then a murder occurs, and suddenly, Lark's chance at immortality is at risk.
I loved this so much.
Normally, this would probably be a 4-star read for me, but the way I connected with Lark and her journey of confronting and understanding her past really spoke to me and earned that extra half star. But I know not everyone would connect with a character like that or have experienced similar scenarios, so it might not feel like the character spoke to you.
Nevertheless, Lark's character arc is INSANE.
She's messy. She's ambitious. She's selfish. She's not always particularly likeable, but I absolutely loved that about her. It made her feel real. Her choices aren't necessarily good, but they make sense. Her backstory explains so much about who she's become without feeling like an excuse for her behaviour. And throughout the story, she's repeatedly given opportunities to take the easier path. She does take it sometimes, but she also grows, learns and starts to understand herself in the process.
I genuinely loved watching that happen.
My only real complaint is that I wanted more depth from some of the other characters, particularly Violaine, Matthieu and Kareem. Lark is so thoroughly developed that some of the surrounding characters felt a little less fleshed out in comparison.
Otherwise, the pacing was SO good for a standalone. I never felt like I was struggling to get through it, and the story balanced the mystery, character development, magical elements, and Lark's past without dragging. I am a HUGE fan of interludes, and I love how these were incorporated to dive into Lark's past!
I also really enjoyed the magic system. Alchemy and witchcraft exist as separate magical entities, with alchemists using lithmus through metals such as gold, iron, silver and mercury to power their workings. There are also historical references to figures like Nicholas Flamel, which added another layer to the whole academic/alchemical atmosphere.
And the ending??? Phenomenal. These days, I feel like some books have lost the art of letting the ending just exist, and not needing a solid finale for everything. I miss having that tiniest little glimmer of maybe we're getting a complete happy ending??? Anddd, I may have giggled to myself a little at that.
Overall, this was exactly the kind of dark academia fantasy I wanted: atmospheric, mysterious, ambitious, morally messy and centred around a protagonist whose flaws are just as important as her strengths.
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vibes + Experience:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: Minor scenes, sex is often discussed.
Would I recommend? Absolutely!
Trigger warnings: Classism, elitism, coercive control of a minor, drug/substance abuse
character-driven • dark academia • Korean-American MC • bisexual rep • trials • murder mystery • secret society
Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for letting me read the eARC of Mothsblood by Lynn D. Jung. This review is my own opinion, and I have not been paid to post it.
Larkspur Lee has escaped her past and arrived at Meurdrac University in Paris determined to prove that she deserves immortality. As a Korean-American student attending on scholarship, Lark is constantly competing against students who have the wealth, privilege and connections she doesn't. But when the immortal wife of Nicholas Flamel, and Grand Magistra of Meurdrac, announces that she is searching for an apprentice, Lark decides that she will do whatever it takes to be chosen. Failure isn't an option. Then a murder occurs, and suddenly, Lark's chance at immortality is at risk.
I loved this so much.
Normally, this would probably be a 4-star read for me, but the way I connected with Lark and her journey of confronting and understanding her past really spoke to me and earned that extra half star. But I know not everyone would connect with a character like that or have experienced similar scenarios, so it might not feel like the character spoke to you.
Nevertheless, Lark's character arc is INSANE.
She's messy. She's ambitious. She's selfish. She's not always particularly likeable, but I absolutely loved that about her. It made her feel real. Her choices aren't necessarily good, but they make sense. Her backstory explains so much about who she's become without feeling like an excuse for her behaviour. And throughout the story, she's repeatedly given opportunities to take the easier path. She does take it sometimes, but she also grows, learns and starts to understand herself in the process.
I genuinely loved watching that happen.
My only real complaint is that I wanted more depth from some of the other characters, particularly Violaine, Matthieu and Kareem. Lark is so thoroughly developed that some of the surrounding characters felt a little less fleshed out in comparison.
Otherwise, the pacing was SO good for a standalone. I never felt like I was struggling to get through it, and the story balanced the mystery, character development, magical elements, and Lark's past without dragging. I am a HUGE fan of interludes, and I love how these were incorporated to dive into Lark's past!
I also really enjoyed the magic system. Alchemy and witchcraft exist as separate magical entities, with alchemists using lithmus through metals such as gold, iron, silver and mercury to power their workings. There are also historical references to figures like Nicholas Flamel, which added another layer to the whole academic/alchemical atmosphere.
And the ending??? Phenomenal. These days, I feel like some books have lost the art of letting the ending just exist, and not needing a solid finale for everything. I miss having that tiniest little glimmer of maybe we're getting a complete happy ending??? Anddd, I may have giggled to myself a little at that.
Overall, this was exactly the kind of dark academia fantasy I wanted: atmospheric, mysterious, ambitious, morally messy and centred around a protagonist whose flaws are just as important as her strengths.
September 29, 2026
I fear I must be transparent in the fact I was a little nervous going into this. I've watched Jung's writing content sporadically over the years, and I am always a little nervous anytime I go into a book knowing that the author is BookTube/AuthorTube adjacent. But really what had me nervous was the alchemy....
I've been out of the loop the past few years, not really engaging in the online book community to the degree I once did and in that time it feels like alchemy has become the magic system du jour... I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about that?
Magic system aside I really did enjoy this story. I don't think the who did the killing of this woman ultimately factored into the narrative nearly as much as I assumed that it would. I also think that we spend a lot of time just getting to the point where the narrative is going beyond the bounds of what is laid out in the synopsis which is roughly the first half of the book. It's a shame because that first half is the stronger of the two in some ways, at least for me. It leaves the second half to feel a little loose. Some of the elements don't hit nearly as hard as I think that they were intended and some of what are supposed to feel like a threat doesn't really pan out? Maybe more importantly at times it felt like if this is what the Deathless are okay with then does anything matter at all?
The beginning of the book also leads one to believe it will be more a plot focused endeavor than it really is when by the end it really is a story about family and connection and crossed lines and whether a person can come back from the things that they have done. The external realities of the plot are not a second thought, but really just a means to an end when the real conclusion is something far more internal in nature?
I don't think that this a knockout of a debut novel, but I do think that it's a perfect fall read; in part because of the campus novel aspect but also the way that some body horror elements are incorporated into the narrative. I do think it's strong and a lot of what worked is what just appeals to me personally as a fantasy reader. Other people mileage may vary. I also do wish it were a tad bit longer just to really chew on some of the ideas presented more, but also so that the getting of characters from point a to point b didn't always feel as clunky as it sometimes did; both physically and emotionally.
I've been out of the loop the past few years, not really engaging in the online book community to the degree I once did and in that time it feels like alchemy has become the magic system du jour... I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about that?
Magic system aside I really did enjoy this story. I don't think the who did the killing of this woman ultimately factored into the narrative nearly as much as I assumed that it would. I also think that we spend a lot of time just getting to the point where the narrative is going beyond the bounds of what is laid out in the synopsis which is roughly the first half of the book. It's a shame because that first half is the stronger of the two in some ways, at least for me. It leaves the second half to feel a little loose. Some of the elements don't hit nearly as hard as I think that they were intended and some of what are supposed to feel like a threat doesn't really pan out? Maybe more importantly at times it felt like if this is what the Deathless are okay with then does anything matter at all?
The beginning of the book also leads one to believe it will be more a plot focused endeavor than it really is when by the end it really is a story about family and connection and crossed lines and whether a person can come back from the things that they have done. The external realities of the plot are not a second thought, but really just a means to an end when the real conclusion is something far more internal in nature?
I don't think that this a knockout of a debut novel, but I do think that it's a perfect fall read; in part because of the campus novel aspect but also the way that some body horror elements are incorporated into the narrative. I do think it's strong and a lot of what worked is what just appeals to me personally as a fantasy reader. Other people mileage may vary. I also do wish it were a tad bit longer just to really chew on some of the ideas presented more, but also so that the getting of characters from point a to point b didn't always feel as clunky as it sometimes did; both physically and emotionally.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I think somehow this man managed to manipulate me through the pages of a book. And if that doesn’t tell you how well Mothsblood is written, I don’t know what will.
Lark’s relationship with her former mentor is one of the most disturbing and fascinating parts of this story. She met him when she was only twelve, and looking at how he shaped her, influenced her ambitions and made himself such an enormous part of her life, the grooming and manipulation are impossible to ignore. He doesn’t simply want her to succeed. He wants to possess her.
What impressed me most was how much I felt his influence myself. For most of the book, he seemed almost superhuman: always one step ahead, always in control, someone Lark could never truly escape. Even knowing what he had done, I caught myself before the final confrontation actually wondering whether going against him was the right decision. Excuse me?! Apparently I had been manipulated too. And seeing that larger-than-life image gradually crack towards the end was incredibly satisfying.
I think that says so much about the writing in general. I felt completely inside Lark’s experience, almost like I was breathing alongside her. Her ambition, her desperation to belong and her determination to earn a place in a world of wealth and privilege she wasn’t born into made her such an interesting character. There is also so much here about being a woman navigating power and dependence, and about the difference between technically having a choice and actually feeling free to make one.
And I loved the entire world around her: the alchemy, dark academia, murder mystery, pursuit of immortality and all the ugliness hiding beneath these prestigious institutions. It has that beautiful polished surface with something deeply rotten underneath it, and there are so many small details that give the world its own identity.
The writing itself is beautiful too. I marked so many passages simply because I wanted to go back to them. It’s clever and atmospheric without losing the actual story, and I was captivated from beginning to end.
It seems dark academia might be even more my thing than I thought. Give me ambitious people, alchemy, murder, morally questionable academics and beautiful institutions hiding terrible things, and I’m in.
Mothsblood was dark, clever, uncomfortable, beautifully written and just SO good. And while I could absolutely imagine another story in this world, I’d also be completely happy if it remains a standalone.
Lark’s relationship with her former mentor is one of the most disturbing and fascinating parts of this story. She met him when she was only twelve, and looking at how he shaped her, influenced her ambitions and made himself such an enormous part of her life, the grooming and manipulation are impossible to ignore. He doesn’t simply want her to succeed. He wants to possess her.
What impressed me most was how much I felt his influence myself. For most of the book, he seemed almost superhuman: always one step ahead, always in control, someone Lark could never truly escape. Even knowing what he had done, I caught myself before the final confrontation actually wondering whether going against him was the right decision. Excuse me?! Apparently I had been manipulated too. And seeing that larger-than-life image gradually crack towards the end was incredibly satisfying.
I think that says so much about the writing in general. I felt completely inside Lark’s experience, almost like I was breathing alongside her. Her ambition, her desperation to belong and her determination to earn a place in a world of wealth and privilege she wasn’t born into made her such an interesting character. There is also so much here about being a woman navigating power and dependence, and about the difference between technically having a choice and actually feeling free to make one.
And I loved the entire world around her: the alchemy, dark academia, murder mystery, pursuit of immortality and all the ugliness hiding beneath these prestigious institutions. It has that beautiful polished surface with something deeply rotten underneath it, and there are so many small details that give the world its own identity.
The writing itself is beautiful too. I marked so many passages simply because I wanted to go back to them. It’s clever and atmospheric without losing the actual story, and I was captivated from beginning to end.
It seems dark academia might be even more my thing than I thought. Give me ambitious people, alchemy, murder, morally questionable academics and beautiful institutions hiding terrible things, and I’m in.
Mothsblood was dark, clever, uncomfortable, beautifully written and just SO good. And while I could absolutely imagine another story in this world, I’d also be completely happy if it remains a standalone.
September 22, 2026
3.5 🌟
The only way I can truly describe this book is that it is a whirlwind. Maybe even a drug induced fever dream
This book was not what I was expecting, and not necessarily in a good or bad way. There were parts I really enjoyed and others that didn’t really hit for me. It’s definitely a very dark read & I advise you to check your trigger warnings before reading — specifically grooming and drug use, which are very prevalent in this
I was really hooked in the beginning. An academic institution for alchemists, rebellious students on psychedelics, and a murder mystery had me really intrigued and from there things spiraled a little out of control and I had a hard time differentiating between what was real and what was a hallucination—which I’m not sure I still fully comprehend
I did enjoy the character development in this book and the imperfections of the characters we encounter. They’re real and raw and make poor decisions that make you want to shake them but I’d prefer that over a perfect and polished character any day.
I also thought the dynamic of the power men hold, especially men with prestige was painfully relevant. How they get away with anything because of the power they hold and how they influence young women because of their status
I was waiting for a bigger “aha” moment or revelation than what we got. I don’t think the ending was bad, per say but it just wasn’t that satisfying either
The only way I can truly describe this book is that it is a whirlwind. Maybe even a drug induced fever dream
This book was not what I was expecting, and not necessarily in a good or bad way. There were parts I really enjoyed and others that didn’t really hit for me. It’s definitely a very dark read & I advise you to check your trigger warnings before reading — specifically grooming and drug use, which are very prevalent in this
I was really hooked in the beginning. An academic institution for alchemists, rebellious students on psychedelics, and a murder mystery had me really intrigued and from there things spiraled a little out of control and I had a hard time differentiating between what was real and what was a hallucination—which I’m not sure I still fully comprehend
I did enjoy the character development in this book and the imperfections of the characters we encounter. They’re real and raw and make poor decisions that make you want to shake them but I’d prefer that over a perfect and polished character any day.
I also thought the dynamic of the power men hold, especially men with prestige was painfully relevant. How they get away with anything because of the power they hold and how they influence young women because of their status
I was waiting for a bigger “aha” moment or revelation than what we got. I don’t think the ending was bad, per say but it just wasn’t that satisfying either
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