A gorgeous standalone steeped in marrow-grimy gothic aesthetic and themes of coming-of-age and finding your place in the world even against what you've been told your entire life. Perfect for fans of Darkalina, UNHOLY TERRORS explores the profane, the sinful, and the monstrous through a delightfully strong-headed protagonist.

"This is the moment when I stood at the altar and bared my throat to him, all the trust between us - warden and vespertine, maiden and monster - laid out like bones on an ossuary."

Beautiful writing and imagery throughout the whole novel. Some of the descriptions were a bit repetitive and felt like they were solely used because of the "vibes" they would give the novel instead of whether it actually made sense to use. It did make for a very nice atmospheric novel.

The book felt exactly like a dream - or the moment when you look up in a Catholic church and see the stories woven throughout the stain glass windows.

I felt this way with this author's first novel, Lakesedge, but the pacing felt off? We'd be in one place and suddenly we're somewhere else and descriptions for those in-between places felt lackluster. Everytime the MC left the wall I never knew what it looked like and how she was able to leave. Is it not guarded? The world felt like a dream because it felt very small and focused more on how you feel and the imagery than anything else.

It feels like the author doesn't have a great grasp of writing in-between big scenes or moments which makes the whole novel feel pieced together. Almost like she had the outline of this novel on a Pinterest board and pieced the whole novel together based on the photos and didn't know how to connect each photo together for the inbetween moments.

Overall, I still enjoyed it. It was relatively shorter and fast-paced novel that I think a lot of people will devour, especially those that love a strong atmosphere.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the eARC!

First off thank you to Lyndall Clipstone, Macmillan, and NetGalley for this ARC of Unholy Terrors.
I didn’t know how I was going to feel coming into this considering I’ve always focused mainly on traditional and dark romance novels but oh wow was this book such a pleasant surprise.
Lyndall’s ability to create such a detailed world and characters through her writing is amazing. Her attention to detail is so beautifully immersive it almost makes me feel like I’m one of the characters in this book.
Everline and Ravel’s story of finding each other and falling for each other had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I do hope that Lyndall decides to make this into a series because she has me hooked and I already need more of Everline and Ravel in my life.
I think my only fault with this book, hence the 4 star rating, is the first half of the book felt slow moving and at times a bit repetitive.
I will 100% be picking up a physical copy when this is officially released!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Macmillan for the Arc!

I started this book at 10am and finished it by 10pm. I swallowed this book and loved every second. This book reminded me of my youth reading dark fairytales and dreaming of dangerous monsters who deserved love.

“I’ve spent so long believing my path was preordained—a fable of monsters and Saints, betrayal and fealty, written long before I ever drew breath.”

The world that Lyndall paints is so beautiful and grim. Her writing is fast paced and consuming. I have not enjoyed a world build quite like this in some time, it felt very nostalgic throughout the exploration of Everline’s world. This is easily a comfortable world to fall into for those who love dark folktales. I felt like my favorite childhood story had aged with me and this was the final product.

“There has been nothing gentle about you, warden.”

Everline is such an easy character to understand and love. I rooted for her from the very beginning. The odds are unfairly stacked against her but she doesn’t let that stop her. She holds no magic and also no real acceptance in her community. But she still strives to do what is right for herself and also for her people, even when the right choice isn’t clear to all.
Her brutal introduction to Ravel really sets into motion a true enemies to lovers story. The slow build of their love is so breath taking to watch unfold. Nothing that is meant to be is an easy road to follow.

This was a breathtaking story from start to finish. I cannot recommend it enough.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯? 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦-- 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯."
Screaming, swooning, salivating, this book is DECADENT.
I would give up my own blood & bones to read this again for the first time. I'm a big fan of Lyndall Clipstone, Lakesedge & Forestfall were gorgeous so I was super excited to read more of her work.
Necromancy, eldritch horrors, sisterhood and a sweet, vicious romance.
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳."
Ravel Severin if you see this, I am free to hang out on Thursday night. If you would like to hang out with me on Thursday night I am free to hangout.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 & 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠.

A big thank you to this book’s author, publisher, and NetGalley for sending me an early copy of this incredible book. This as actually the first ever ARC that I’ve received and what a read it was!
This book immediately draws you in to a gothic and haunting world. Where wardens must protect their world from creatures known as vespertines. The story has religious magic, dark magic, vampire like beings, ancient gods that were worshiped by a cult, love, and complicated family ties.
You will not want to miss this incredible read by one of my favorite authors!

what a gorgeous book! so lush and atmospheric, clipstone delivers a beautiful story of a feral girl and monster boy who prove that we are not our parents! i can’t wait to buy the physical copy and i’m hoping this ends up in a box box somewhere.

I thought this book was ok. I will say that the writing was really good but the story itself was just so so. My biggest issue is that it feels like nothing really happens for most of the book. I got 60% of the way through the book before anything that wasn’t in the description of the book actually happened. The characters also don’t feel very well developed and I just wasn’t that invested in the main characters journey. I think is you really like the enemies to lovers trope you might enjoy this because this was definitely more romance than fantasy.

<i> “You asked, once, if my kind has sin? Of course we do. Everline—you are my greatest transgression.” </i>

I love Lakesedge and Forestfall so much so I immediately added Unholy Terrors to my TBR. UT breathes a different vibes with Lyndall's previous duology, but it was amazing all the same!

Will probably edit the review later, but to avoid anything spoilery for now :
Female warriors with bone armors and amazing sisterhood. Monster boy(friend) who is sweet but also feral (perfect, honestly). Reluctant allies and forced proximity. Immaculate dark fantasy vibes. Flowing, lyrical, beautiful prose in Lyndall's signature writing style.

I love everything about this book!

Blood and honey, magic and bones, monsters and warriors, an unholy alliance, and a forbidden love. The perfect amount of gothic romance filled with betrayal, angst, and what it means to embrace your inner monster.
A girl who has dedicated her life to being a warden- a necromantic warrior who guards against unholy monsters known as the vespertine finds herself making unholy alliances to save those she cares for as well as uncovering her own family secret... and finding a forbidden love. Everline Blackthorn has only ever wanted to prove to her father that she is worthy, that she is a good enough warden to be looked at with love and treated like she belonged. However, after her mother left and the fact that Everline has no magic, something that all wardens have, she has been deemed tainted and treated as an outcast. Strange omens begin to occur.... as Everline encounters a vespertine that appears almost like a girl... and soon a blood moon appears, just like the one that appeared all those years ago when her mother left and the monsters breached the wall. Evelrine knows there is something deeper going on and the only way to find answers about her mother and her own life is to go beyond the wall and into the heart of the Thousandfold, the vespertine enclave protected by powerful magic where a dark saint is bound. Yet when she begins her journey her best friend is kidnapped and the only way to save her is to make the unholiest of alliances... with a vespertine boy who would sooner cut her throat than help her because the very monster she killed earlier was his sister... but they both need each other if they want to survive. Ravel may be a monster but he is the only person who can guide Everline through the dangerous lands.. and in exchange she will allow him to feed from her... yet this is the greatest sin, she is breaking all her vows just by letting him live... but the more they begin to spend time together the more the lines between enemies begins to blur and the more they realize they have in common. A warden and a monster, a dangerous quest filled with blood, magic, betrayal, and love... this was one of the best enemies to lovers, dark gothic romance I’ve read this year. There I said it. I DEVOURED THIS. I stayed up until 4 am finishing this because I couldn’t stop. I am obsessed. Monster boy meets warrior girl, both outcasts, bound by their duty to their family, raised to kill and be enemies, yet their loneliness, the fact that they can’t meet their parents expectations but have found comfort in the most unlikely person, they are everything. This book stole my heart with it’s gorgeous atmosphere, the amazing romance, and I can’t wait for it to come out. So yes, PLEASE ADD IT TO YOUR TBR IMMEDIATELY.

*Thank you Lyndall Clipstone for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*