one the best gothic romances i’ve ever read✨
plot twist upon plot twist upon plot twist
if you think you know what you’re getting into by reading the blurb you are dead wrong
(hehe spoilers down below🤭)
Darcy arrives at fairydale after finding out that she was listed in the will of her dead biological father where she meets the charming caleb hale yet dreams about a totally different man, the mysterious amon✨
gothic historical fantasy⛓️🕷️🌒
creepy small town 🌝
lots of plot twists✨
lots of mystery🔮
sweet, innocent h x obsessive, dark H 🛐
“you're my only one” times 10000 😩😩
slices another guy’s face for touching her💅😭
giving her literally thousands of cute petnames and compliments <33
"my darling girl"��
"my innocent little temptation"✨
"the sweetest miracle"✨
"my lovely enchantress and fucking seductress"✨
giving her literally whatever she asks for🫶🏼
sending each other letters✉️✉️
mysterious, erotic paintings of the h🖼️
"i don't care if the world hates me as long as you love me"😭🫀
H can read minds👀
h has healing powers🤧
BDE💥
lots and lots of spice🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
dirty talk alert🦋🦋🦋
crazy monster sex👹🔥🔥
mates😫
offering the H her blood to heal him <3
him eating dead mice bc she gave them to him and he didn’t want her to be sad🥹🥹
(MINOR SPOILER….context: he was disguised as a cat)
AND DID I MENTION???
the hero was faithful to her for more than a 1000 years!!!!!🤧🤍🦋
(more on this in the spoilers!)
plus, though the author classified this as an extreme slow burn, the romance starts on pretty early in the book its just a little confusing at first but nonetheless adorably wholesome 🥹👉🏼👈🏼
so don’t back out just bc you think its an extreme slow burn its just extremely confusing lol🤧👀😫
1955 — the current timeline
here after meeting Caleb, who is enigmatic, handsome, witty, fun to be around and a gentleman✨
did i mention he calls her Darcy Darlin’ 😭😭😭
AND THIS💗
"You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you? Making everyone fall in love with you everywhere you go."
"F-fall in love?" I falter, afraid I didn't understand him right. "Yes, Darcy darlin'. That is exactly what I mean. I've fallen in love with you. Fast. Hard. So fucking deep. Like I never thought I would fall for someone," he confesses, his voice thick with emotion.
but as amazing caleb seems he is just as sus too, from finding numerous erotic paintings of herself to them suddenly disappearing when she asks about them to caleb one day losing control and almost like some obsessive psycho questioning darcy…
🌚🌚🌚
she goes back and forth with the dreams (where she sees herself as lizzie) and reality
falling for caleb in the day
and losing her heart to amon at night….
confused how she could ever have the same feelings for two guys???😶😶😶
SPOILERS
now what you might already know if you’ve read different reviews is the fact that amon and caleb are the SAME GUY
1789 — timeline from the dreams
lizzie’s story
one day after her arranged marriage has been fixed with some old guy, she meets Amon d’Artan
lordd even his name sounds downright delicious🤤😳😭
not only does he save her from her rapey fiance (by killing him ofc🫢) but he also leaves quite an impression on her
okay but come on any guy who speaks like this is bound to leave a freakin’ impression
"You called for me," he leans forward, whispering in my ear. "Your soul called for me. So make your wish.
What is it you want, Lizzie mine?"
LIZZIE MINE OMGGG🤧🤧🤧
After more than an year they finally meet again
"Have you missed me, Lizzie mine?"
um i missed you does that count!?🥺👉🏼👈🏼
AND THE WAY HE SPEAKS OMGGG😌😌
"You are the most beautiful sight I've ever seen, Lizzie," he compliments me as he draws me close.
"Never doubt that."
"I may not know everything about you, but I know your core, Lizzie mine.
And it's the most beautiful thing in existence."
🌻🌕🍯
now just as they are falling for each other and lizzie is about to have her first ever kiss with amon when her mother suddenly comes in and shoots amon……
now obviously he should’ve died but apparently he’s a demon👹👹👹
after some “recovery” time they meet yet again but this time lizzie was dancing with other men during a ball and lets just say amon wasn’t a fan🌝🌚
"You. Danced. With. Them," he says through gritted teeth, tension radiating from him. "You let other men touch you," he rasps. "Dance with you... You're killing me, Lizzie mine."
and when she asks him why he’s acting like this, what does she mean to him???
"What if I told you that you're my entire reason for being? That you're why I wake up in the morning. Every goddamn day from the dawn of time until now. What if I told you that you belong to me in a way no woman ever belonged to a man? That I might be evil personified, but you're the only one I'll ever be good to," he murmurs huskily, his voice coated with the most potent ambrosia.
who the hell gives a shit if this guy’s a demon i’d willingly sign my soul away if someone says that to me🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
and when one of the the guys from the ball gets a bit too comfortable with lizzie even though she doesn’t want it!
AMON RIPS HIM AND HIS DUMB FRIENDS APART🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
oh and their first time????
"Is that why you won't bed me? Because you're afraid to hurt me?" I ask softly. His jaw clenches as he gives me a brisk, pained nod.
so guess what this dude does???
HE PUTS CHAINS ON SO HE DOESN’T ACCIDENTALLY HURT HER⛓️⛓️🤍
and um he’s pierced✨🍆🙇♀️🦋😶
which btw is a tradition, as and i quote ”That is a symbol of my commitment to one woman for eternity.
which is just beyonddd adorableee🙌🏼🙌🏼
now bc lizzie’s mom hates amon’s guts cause he’s a demon and they are blah blah blah…so amon glamours his appearance and asks for lizzie’s hand in marriage and they both get married omggg😌😌
however sometime later lizzie’s sister and brother-in-law die in a mysterious accident leaving their 3 kids behind, who they ultimately adopt, and let me tell you if you thought amon was hot then him as a dad is just sexy times million!!!!🔥🔥🔥
and this conversation….
"May I have more potatoes?" Didi bats her lashes at me.
"Who did you learn that from?" I chuckle as I add more potatoes to her plate.
"You," she says pointedly. "You always do this when papa is around and he does whatever you say, isn't that true?"
She looks at Amon to confirm her words. My eyes widen as I turn to him too. His lips are curled up as he barely keeps his amusement in check.
"She is right, you know," he shrugs. "You only need to give me one of those looks and I'm your servant."
hjjkgdhjfjivkk😭😭😭😭😭
now fast forward a few years later where the kids are a bit grown (the sons are in their mid/early twenties and the daughter is a tween)…..disaster strikes
shit happens and well lizzie and one of the sons die (now i don’t wanna spoil this part a lot but this is what happens)
and AMON LOSES HIS MIND!!!!!!
back to timeline 1✨
darcy now remembers everything and realises that Caleb was Amon!!!!
she goes to find him and realises that he had been trapped for 200 years
and lets just say bad bitch mode activated💅🗡️🗡️
Everyone who's ever had a hand in hurting my beloved will pay. They need to suffer just as much as he has, wither in the same timeless torment that he has.
and when they meet again omgg
"That day... I was waiting for you. I kept waiting for you," a sob escapes me. "Even as my life was fading away, I was waiting for you because I knew you would always come. And you did come. You came for me." "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," he curses, and before I know it, he pulls me towards him, burying his face in the crook of my neck and hugging me to him.
AWWWW🌸🌸🌸
oh and when everything is out in the open they have this convo which just made me cackleee💀💀💀
"You have no idea how confused I was with Caleb because how could I feel the same way about two different people? Maybe I was a little slow, or maybe I didn't want to admit what was in front of me. But even then, I felt it."
"Let's not mention that name again," he grumbles. "I think I'm traumatized from hearing you say it too many times."
"Amon!" I giggle. "Didn't you just say it's the essence that matters, not the name?"
"I'm a jealous man, darling," he admits with a weary sigh.
"You'll have to get used to this small flaw of mine, but I become quite rabid if anyone dares to sniff around you."
"Small flaw, huh?" I raise a brow in a playful manner. "I promise to refrain myself from killing them just for looking," he puts a hand up. "It's the most I can do. If they put a finger on you, then all bets are off," he smiles, quite pleased with himself.
HE’S SOO ADORABLE OMGGG🌸🌸🌸
MAJOR SPOILERS
now if you’ve read the quotes you’ll realise with the way amon talks to lizzie, it seemed like he was already in love with her since the first moment he saw her and maybe even knew her from before, which…..
IS TRUEEE💥💥💥
BECAUSE
BEFORE DARCY,
BEFORE LIZZIE
THERE
WAS
🎀SELA🎀
Eons ago — timeline no. 3
amon and sela aka the og version of the h✨
shy, sheltered h x “traitor” soldier out for revenge H😮💨👀
entirely different realm🔥
oh and remember when i told you amon was a demon yeah that was all bs, amon was actually a super badass almost extinct species called Reva⚔️
sela and amon were just so adorably chaotic together!!
"You're trying very hard to convince me you're not to be trusted, lovely Sela," he chuckles. "But say you were instructed to catch me here and seduce me. You'd be doing a rather poor job of it." My cheeks flame at his insult.
"W-what do you mean?"
"You thought a sword was poking you in the backside, lass. Need I say more?" he asks, amused.
"But there was a sword..." I reply lamely, embarrassment coloring me red from head to toe.
i think we all know what the “sword” was😏🫢🤧
and he used to call her sela mina
(sela mine) which honestly just made me bawl😭🤍🌸✨
really adorable flirting😮💨❤️🔥
"But I quite like you being possessive of your male like this." "Really?" I raise a brow. "Does it inflate that already gargantuan ego you have?"
"Ah, Sela mina," he opens his mouth in a wide smile, his tongue swiping over his white, sharp teeth.
"It inflates something for sure. Something like...my sword?
"Well," I clear my throat. "I am very glad your sword reacts to me," I say, barely able to look him in the eye.
"Are you?" he raises a brow.
"It should only react to me, of course."
"Of course," he repeats, his amusement seemingly increasing by the moment. "And you'll take good care of it, won't you?" he drawls wickedly. My lips tip up in a teasing smile.
"Of course. I'll polish it quite thoroughly. First I'll use my hands. Then my tongue and..." I trail off when I note the usual change in the color of his eyes.
um chile anyways sooo👀😶
they even get married and live together for 1000s of years✨
alas obviously something horrible happens and fl dies🥲🤧😭😭😭😭
Now, while this review has almost everything spoilt there are some significant plot twists that i didn’t spoil (yeah some of em are still left lol) but it’ll be fun to discover em when you’re reading the book 💗
Safety
totally safe
dual virgins
no ow/om drama
no cheating/sharing
some of my fav quotes 💌
"Before you I was chaos and ruin," he continues to speak, hypnotizing me with his voice and squashing all my doubts. "Until you showed me the alternative. Until you showed me there was joy to be had in the most mundane moments,"
"How could I want anyone else when I am only because you are? I exist for you just as I exist because of you," he breathes harshly against me.
"I've never looked at another female in my entire existence," he answers my silent question. "Only you, my love. Before, or after. Only ever you."
"Is that what you want? To paint you choking on my cock? With it so far down your throat that tears will fall down your pretty cheeks?" I nod, my eyes on his as I get lost in the intensity of his words.
"Lass, you do know how to turn a man's fantasies to life," he continues, his eyes the deepest shade of black as he regards me. "And when I'm done, I'll fuck you in a room surrounded by all these paintings so you can see yourself taken in all ways as I lay claim to your sweet body again and again.“
"So let me get this straight. You're allowed to get jealous and consequently off people, but I'm not, because you will kill them before I can even get jealous."
"That is absolutely right," he nods.
"It's my job to protect you, and that means your mental state too."
I stare at him a little flabbergasted, yet I can't help the way my lips pull up into a smile. How is he so adorable?
"And I swear to you Lizzie mine. On my never-ending life, and on my damned soul. I swear to you that my desire for you is not conditional on the mark you bear. The only condition is you. Past, present, future. Always you,"
one of the reasons why this such an amazing book though is the fact that it feels like you’re reading 3 romances in 1, the way the author made slight changes in the way they acted/grew during the 3 lifetimes was phenomenal!!!!
literally the best read of the year🛐🛐🛐