I attempted to pick up this book a few months back, but couldn't seem to get into it, but I'm happy I waited to start again. I decided to take the audio route and wow!! I was hooked from the beginning and found I was flying right through it. Fantasy concept with shapeshifters, paranormal, ghosts, souls, and 'deathcasters'. sounds interesting enough?

You meet Anora, who recently moved to a new town after telling her mother she can see dead people... One can only imagine how that conversation will go... hey mom uh, I can see the dead... yeah you get that point

So Anora moves to a new town to escape what she was accused of and start over with a new life, only it doesn't quite happen this way. Of course, every school has gossip, but this school has something called the roundtable where an anonymous person posts other classmate's secrest for everyone to see... By the end of the first day, somehow Anora has claimed the soul of a dead girl on campus and lost a coin that contains the soul inside. How does she do this? welp I don't want to give any secrets away so you'll have to read to find out.

Along with Anora, the other main character is Shy *cute name* only he's more than what he says he is. hence the romance part in the book :) every young adult book needs some sort of romance and I felt the build-up in this book was spot on. I'm not a fan of instalove and I was nervous that was going to happen, however the author did an excellent job at explaining the world-building and what was happening. Only some parts, I wish there was a bit more background, but that could have been because I choose to listen to the book.

Overall, I loved the action from the beginning, the guessing of who did what, paranormal aspects, and slight romance involved. I'll have to find the 2nd book somewhere, but at the same time I'm not desperate to get my hands on it.

Reading this, I had no clue it was an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, which is one of my favorite myths. And even though, it really is a YA story, I was hooked from the beginning. I love Anora, and while her relationship with Shy, was more pg. than I wanted, I really didn't mind, because I was so immersed in their world, that it didn't really matter too much. The only bad thing is that now I have to wait for the sequel. Sigh. lol

I so want to like St. Clair's writing but it tends to miss the mark for me. I think her stories are so interesting but I just always leave feeling slightly dissatisfied.

This was not necessarily bad but not very good either. I found it to be a combination of extremely cliche YA fantasy/romance elements and actually unique details, which frustrated me. In my opinion, the thought was there but the execution was not.

Gorgeous writing and amazing that will give you the feels!
I adore this author’s worlds and vivid storytelling with a passion.

Recommended!

I wanted this to be something with more ooompf and closure. I was hooked, then it dragged, then it ended? It was dark and creepy and totally gruesome, if you’re into that.

This book is going to be a popular one amongst my high schoolers-calling it now. Lots of fun to read, great paranormal romance-very fun and entertaining!

3/5 stars
I did enjoy the reading experience overall, but unfortunately I was expecting more from this book. I'm willing to continue on with the series to see what it's develops into. I’m hoping that the author can flesh more things out and really make the story her own. I feel like I would have really enjoyed this in my teens, but crave more development and change within the book to keep me invested. And I believe there’s a lot of potential for that here!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. If she ever gets to write book 2, she might take the story out of YA-which I would love!
This is a good book for the fall season. It's spooky, there's a bit of mystery, a blooming romance, magic, and shape shifting. I really liked the MC's growth by the end of the book, I could see her really taking charge in the next book.

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

I didn't realize going into this book that it was actually published years ago. knowing that, it seems obvious that this is her early work. in general YA isn't always my favorite, and that was the case here. immature characters with predictable plot lines. not for me.

Anora Silby can see the dead and turn spirits into gold coins, two things she would prefer to keep secret as she tries to lead a normal life at her new school. When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Scarlett St. Clair is magnifysent and amazing writer.I cannot wait to read more of there books.Keep up the great work.You should definitely read this books.Can't wait for the next book

I am in love with this story. Scarlett St Clair has a fun way of writing that grips you and makes you read and read and read straight through till the end.

This story is a griping fantasy and love story mixed into one. Anora and Shy are such interesting counterparts. Shy is top tier high school popular boy, while Anora is the shy and awkward girl just trying to make it through. They go so perfect together.

The mythology of this world is also so unique. The Valryn specifies is a unique bird/ human hybrid shifter and it was fun to figure out the myths.

I did have a little bit of an issue with this book because I couldn’t figure out some of the stories that the characters were invested in and the conversations they were having. It was fun to figure out the myths of their world with Anora, but also kind of frustrating to not know what was going on.

This story was still such a fun world that keeps you wanting more. Knowing that it is an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling is heartbreaking, but I keep wanting more.

I absolutely loved this book. I didn’t read the synopsis so I had no idea what to expect going in. Scarlett St.Clair did not leave me disappointed. I am currently looking for the next book in this story line. I fell instantly for the main characters and their storyline. It is one of my top reads so far for the year. Way to go!!

A reimagining of Orpheus & Eurydice that comes with an interesting magic system! This was a fun and quick read that was mostly just in one sitting. I do however feel like in would have made more sense if the characters were older. However, I did enjoy the story!

I'm actually very conflicted on this because I adore the first half but the second half...not so much. I'll start with the good though:

first, I love how the characters are introduced and how the story is set up along with its mysteries. When I started this book, I'd been craving something that deviates from the norm of fantasies because I was kind of sick of the exact same plots repeatedly, so Anora with her ability to see the dead and everything else surrounding her was a breath of fresh air.

I mean I usually have a hard time getting into books, I know very well that for the first, say, ten chapters I need to push through and then I'll get the hang of it but no this book dragged me instantly. A very rare, but nice thing.

I liked how the characters came into the picture, it felt natural (except for Shy but I'll come back to this later actually). I liked even more how the author kind of makes it clear with a particular scene early on in the book that they're okay with pushing limits <spoiler> (at least that's what I thought from the first half) </spoiler>

The pacing felt good, the plotline felt smooth, I was understanding everything in real time without anything blowing up at me and I was invested.

Thennn the halfway point came and some cracks started appearing. Prior to that, I was sure this book would be a four or five-star from my side. The plot, while still there, felt convulated, the pacing strange. Certain things happened earlier than I would have wanted them, and certain scenes <spoiler> like the kissing scene </spoiler> were more telling than they were showing, and it just added to how I already didn't vibe with the romance.

The first half was good, but the second half was kind of a mess. It needed to flow out more to be honest, there were more words and chapters needed to flesh it out, in my opinion.

So for the next part, I have to go into spoiler territory but I do have certain nitpicks
<spoiler> as much as I like a good soulmate story, the only reason Shy seemed to care at all about Anora was the bond, and there wasn't nearly enough development there. We're mostly just led to believe he has a connection so he's instantly in love or something. Part of the reason why I liked Anora's interactions with Thane so much was because it gives both characters the time to be fleshed out while moving the plot forward (btw Thane betraying Anora is very predictable although not a criticism of the writing, just something I'd point out).

In my opinion, something similar should have been done with Shy to show us why we should root for him, and why we should root for him and Anora. There had to be more.

And my point with that kind of became obvious during the kiss scene. If you're going to let a couple burn together for some time without admitting their feelings, I imagine it has to be a little more than "I kissed her twice" when they finally get together. You need more than that, and you need more development towards the kiss.

Then with the characters, I feel like, a good basic of them was established but there was room for more, and I want to see that more, especially with regard to character development and motivation.

Staying on the character topic I do think Anora's "they will bow" line at the end seemed very suddenly out of character. Anora hasn't been very assertive throughout the entire book and then that scene comes along and suddenly she just is? It's a little confusing.

I didn't like the ending much either. As I already said the second half felt rushed. There should have been more I think, more clues, more problems, more development. </spoiler>

Anora moves to a new town because of something that happened at her old school.
Her mom thinks she is making up that she can see dead people.
But this school isnt as it seems.
This is supposed to be another Greek retelling but I don't see it.

I didn't think that I was going to really enjoy this one. After trying her other books and loving book one of King of Battle and Blood and then hating book two. I wasn't holding out much hope for this one. But man was it good!! I was drawn in and really wanting to know what happens. I can not wait for book two. The dual POV worked well in this story although I kind of wonder how the story would have gone if we would have been left in the dark. But all in all I really loved it.

Scarlett St. Clare has done it again. I was immediately pulled into the story and wanted to keep reading. This was one of those books that was hard for me to put down. I hope she writes more in this universe!

When I hear folklore retelling I'm always on board so this was a no brainer for me, add in that it's Scarlett St Clair and I could not be more on board.

This story centres around Anora Silby, a girl who can see the dead and turn spirits into gold coins, two things she would prefer to keep secret. Problem is someone has stolen her coin and she needs to find out who before more lives are lost. This is a quick YA fantasy read and if you're a fan of Scarlett St Clair's adult works, I still think this is a great choice to check out, it's fast paced, fun, and has a great mystery at its centre that will keep you engrossed.