In this gripping tale, a family's tragic murder drives the lone survivor on a relentless quest for revenge. The narrative weaves themes of vengeance, love, betrayal, and personal growth into a compelling tapestry. Despite its low spice rating, the story compensates with richly descriptive world-building and intricate character development. The chemistry between characters is palpable, adding depth to the narrative. Overall, this dark historical fantasy has earned its place as one of my favorite reads of the year

this was an absolute joy to read. It was well paced, strong writing and a good solid plot. Characters were well developed with a lot of work going into creating them.

I wish I like this more. The synopsis made the premise sound so interesting but I found it really slow to get into and I didn't really care for any of the characters. This book really would have benefiting with a little bit more character building and development.

Atticus would be great for anyone who like historical fantasy and slow burn romance. And lots of steamy scenes!

DNF about halfway through.

This book had a really interesting premise that I really wanted to get invested in, but no matter how much I tried I just couldn't connect with the protagonist. It's been sitting on my bedside table untouched for months now, so I think I have to admit defeat.

From my memory, this book suffered really badly from pacing issues in the beginning. One prologue to establish setting and history is fine, <i>two</i> prologues are too much. By the time the story <i>actually</i> began, it was hard to actually get invested because I was waiting for another time jump to come along and render everything that had just happened irrelevant backstory.

I also found the character of Atticus insufferable. There's no question that someone with his childhood would be messed up, but the way it manifests as... hardly seeing other people as human at all just makes him fundamentally unlikeable, and then there's his awful sexuality piled on top of that. Promiscuous characters can be a lot of fun, but there's nothing interesting about the way Atticus's sexuality is handled. Hes just a sexy sex god who's super good at having sexy sex and he has huge muscles and everyone wants to fuck his sexy muscles if he looks at them for more than a second because he is just that sexy and obviously every single person alive is going to just automatically want to fuck that. Obviously. It's boring, unrealistic, and doesn't serve to enhance the story or character in any way.

At the point I got up to in the book, I think there was the beginning of a plot starting to emerge at last. But I was somewhere near the halfway mark, and that's FAR too much investment for FAR too little payoff. An unenjoyable reading experience from start to finish. Two stars, because I'm willing to entertain the possibility that it got better after the point I gave up.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well well well… I have to say I didn’t spect to like this book so much. Historical fantasy is not usually my go to but the plot intrigue me enough to give this one a try and OMG was this a goo one!

ATTICUS is our MMC an his is looking for revenge but in his quest he finds something else or let’s rather say someone else, our sweet Dominic. This slow/medium burn will have you at the edge of your seat. The romance/spice is delicious and the plot is spectacular.

#Atticus by Abelia Sumpter is everything you want if you enjoy dark historical romantasy. Is there a happy ending? Maybe does Atticus grow as a character? Sure but is it dark or light that he leans towards? Also please note if you aren’t okay with sexuality diversity please do everyone a favor and skip this because we don’t need to hear how you are so offended with blah blah because Abelia Sumpter did a fantastic job of including more than one sexuality into this piece.

This book was very hit or miss for me and I go back and forth on my rating for it. I loved the world building. It was in-depth and I understood it completely. I loved Atticus and his development. He was a very interesting and you definitely feel connected to him. However, there were just some things about the story that I couldn’t get past. The pacing was off for me and seemed unbalanced between the different aspects.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This book is one of the best I've read so far!! I loved the story that manages to involve the reader and keep him glued to the pages until the end. The book is quite short and very enjoyable to read, and the characters are great. Everything is well structured and the world building is crazy. I can't wait to read more from this writer!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All in all, I think the author has a great idea but we've only scraped the surface of where this novel could go! My biggest wants are more imagery, a deeper analysis of each character, and a much more flushed out world.

I was excited by the premise of this book, but quickly found it does not quite fit my tastes. That being said, please take my review with a grain of salt, knowing my reading preferences.

The beginning of the book seemed very promising, but I found as the novel continued that the sexual relationships between characters began to take precedence over the plot. I found myself wanting more backstory and understanding of the world but was continually bombarded with Atticus's exploits. I am sure his actions are intended to show the way he deals with trauma, but after the 8th or 9th escapade it felt repetitive and didn't seem to add anything to the plot. Lust is clearly an important character trait of his, but I think I hit a point where it took up a lot of space that I feel could have been used to expand upon other key plot points or exposition. Only when he began sleeping with Dominic did it finally feel like the plot was moving forward.

There was a lot of dialogue and a lack of imagery in what characters were thinking, feeling, seeing, experiencing. I wanted more showing than telling. I also believe we lost a lot of what makes Atticus seem so dark and mysterious by reading from his POV. Seeing him solely from Dominic's view or a third party may have delved deeper into the way he is perceived in this new world. When we are inside Atticus's head, he seems to lack personality aside from lust and revenge.

I think the characters have so much untapped potential and would love to see them become more multidimensional. I could say the same about the world, as well. I am still rather confused about the magic system, the setting, Atticus's relationship with Vec, etc. I feel sort of dropped into things out of nowhere and I do not see the lines connecting everything together.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
The book grabs your attention form the very beginning and the morally grey main character just adds the sparkles to the story! The story enters deeply in the theme of revenge from its birth through its growing and has very unique magic system, which gets expanded on the further you go with the story, so the reader learns something exciting and new with every chapter! Probably the steamy scenes weren't my cup of tea and I would prefer if they missing, but I just skipped them entirely.

A story about a character that you will either hate or love. I loved him a lot!

This book is about Atticus who loses his family to a group of immortals, magic being that can only die if they themselves choose to. He swears revenge on them and finally sees a chance several centuries later, after sleeping for most of this time. His chance lies in the magic of Dominic. Who he plans to get close to, to acquire his magic.

I absolutely loved this story from the first chapter. Atticus is somewhere between vigilante hero and straight up villain, which makes his character one of the most interesting ones I have read about in quite a while.

On top of that, I am a huge fan of the magic system and the way it chances over time, which at first was surprising. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, that magic, like everything else, evolves over time.

The plot itself was also gripping! I couldn’t put this book down, whenever I had time to pick it up.


The only two things that kept me from giving this book a full 5*, were the sex scenes that sometimes did not exactly kept the same tone. They somewhat flip flopped between hot and steamy and lyrical and aesthetic, which did not set a cohesive mood.
The other thing were some conflicts that were solved really fast and rather conveniently.
So in the end it is between a 4 and 4.5 for me.


Thank you to NetGalley and Abelia Sumpter for giving me the chance to read this book as an eARC.
All of the opinions are my own.

a light, fun read, but ultimately somewhat forgettable - i finished it a couple of days ago and the plot and characters barely stayed with me at all.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book early.

While an inventive story with an interesting magic system, the at times choppy world building took me out of the story a little too often. I enjoyed the story more once Atticus woke up in Victorian England—it’s always a fun concept when the main character is dropped into an unfamiliar (to them) environment.

A fun slow-burn for an afternoon of reading.

For people who don't mind reading first person narrative. A fantasy novel full of magic and romance.

eARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"I was only twelve when I came to the conclusion that I could never be a god. For if I were a god, the beings I deemed wicked would find hell to be a mercy.”

Hinted to be like a game of chess, Atticus is a revenge story at its heart, preparing for his moves ahead and predicting his opponent's next. Suppressing his grief with all the sex and alcohol, Atticus stops at nothing to get what he wants.

The pacing can be a little off and unbalanced in places, the quick mentions of sex add up so those words could have gone into expanding important aspects. The romance and more of the 'action' were squished at the end of the book so some balancing edits would make this story stand out as the bones and concept are great. I look forward to seeing what this author does next.

Potential spoilers in incoming!
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I tried to steer clear of too much info on This book was such a fun read! It was fast paced and I finished it in two sittings. (I have a soft spot for achedemia and slow burn fantasy though 🤭)

The head first dive into dealing with trauma and how it effects you differently over the years felt raw and authentic

I loved the magic systems in it. They were well thought out and seemlessly intergrated .

The slow burn was very much a SLOW burn that it eventually had me screaming at my Kindle but it was worth it in the end.

The only criticism I have on this book is that I wish things were dissected a little more. A deeper dive into the magic systems. Really fleshing out characters perspectives. I get that it would have very much changed the pacing but I just wanted to keep learning more about these characters and their world!

Would absolutely recommend this book and feel so honoured to be chosen to read it before release! Will absolutely be getting a copy for my trophy shelf on release date!! 💜💜

I really, really enjoyed this one. I love a good fantasy novel, and this one hit all the right beats for me. The world building wasn't overly complicated and the urban fantasy aspect of the 1890s was great, the magic system made sense and was properly explained, and the characters themselves were fantastic.

I loved Atticus, he's full of angst and that's exactly how I like a protagonist. Dominic was great as the love interest, and the way their relationship grows and evolves over the course of the book was fantastic.

It's a pretty straightforward book, which I appreciated it. It starts with a bang and keeps going strong up until the conclusion. There's no earth shattering plot twists, just a straightforward adventure from point a to point z. The university setting also added a fun aspect to the overall story.

I fully recommend this if you're looking for a fun, quick, magical fantasy m/m read.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this arc.

4.5 stars / 5 stars

Things I loved:
Amazing plot and world building
Loved that it was set in past, showing up magic was developed
Impossible to put down
Magic aspect was definitely enjoyable
Things I didn’t love:
Didn’t overalls enjoy atticus as a character

I am trying to wrap my head around this book! Because… wow? Good? Great? …Weird? Maybe a little bit of everything?

"I was only twelve when I came to the conclusion that I could never be a god. For if I were a god, the beings I deemed wicked would find hell to be a mercy.”

To start things off strong, I love how the author has trigger warnings on their website. Not only are they detailed triggers, but they do not disclose any information about the plot or spoil anything. It’s a nice inclusion I really appreciated.

Plot/Worldbuilding

The storyline Abelia Sumpter weaves is mesmerizing! First off, it’s unique in a way that’s memorable. A young magician voluntarily “sleeps” for 400 years just to get revenge for his family? Pretty nice. I enjoyed the “before” parts a lot, especially how she showed us a taste of how herbal magic works. We got to see it in action before it became a thing of danger in the future.

Atticus and Dom’s adventures in getting all the ingredients for a spell is so much fun. It’s obviously not a heist book, but many aspects of it reminded me of a heist. I could picture Roche University very vividly it felt like I was there.

The main thing I disliked about the plot is how it doesn’t explain how magic just fundamentally changes to be passed on by choice and not in blood? That’s a pretty significant change in the last 400 years and it’s just entirely overlooked on how that happened. It’s actually half of the entire reason Atticus was woken up in the first place! I would like to know how magic changed so fundamentally instead of the reason “it just did.”

Characters

I hate to say it, but I hated Atticus the entire book. In my interpretation, he’s not supposed to be a likable character. He does have a background to act the way he does (i.e. seeing his literal family murdered) but he was unbearable to me. Even when he started being soft on Dom, he was still just overwhelming, arrogant, and annoying at best.

There are certain scenes with Atticus that I would describe as dubious consent. They weren’t necessarily sexual in nature (see the scene where Dom goes to Atticus’s house when he can’t find him) but they felt.. Off to me. Touching anyone without explicitly getting their permission just feels gross to me, whether it’s in bed or not. Again, not sexual in nature but just gross overall. I really didn’t like them and if this wasn’t a dark romantasy book I would have put it down. I think Atticus was intentionally written to be difficult.

Dom! Complete opposite opinion than Atticus! I loved this man. He seemed so genuine and sweet not to mention he was over Atticus’s shit the minute he met him (same lol). I really liked his character and I think the way he fell for Atticus, his reaction to everything throughout the book, and just his struggles independently were relatable. I would read another entire book if he was the main character.

For the side characters, I think they were okay! The Immortal, Vec, that took on Atticus when he was a child is a favorite for sure. I liked how even though he took on Atticus, he didn’t try replacing his dad. He was a genuine and trustworthy friend the entire book, but he wasn’t a golden retriever. As for the crazy girl… I don’t have much to say. She was well written, but I honestly didn’t like reading the parts with her in it.

Spice

The spice was…. Interesting? This is a New Adult book and has a lot, like a lot, of sex in it. It was just.. The sex was bland? Don’t get me wrong there are some spicy tropes in here: professor x student, referenced bondage, public sex, etc. but they were SOO quick. There were so many sex scenes, like one every four pages or something, but the sex scene would be maybe three lines. It would be Atticus sleeping with anyone within a 5 ft. radius of him, but the author describes the sex in like one line. It was just a couple sentences about how he was having sex and then the plot would immediately pick up.


I think if this book either took out half the sex scenes and kept the rest it would be fine. Or, something I would prefer, is if the author expanded on them! You don’t have to write hardcore smut by any means, but just a couple more sentences to explain it would be better! It’s almost jarring by how short the scenes are because they don’t feel as if they fit in? If they were longer or more detailed but fewer, it would work better with the plot.

Ultimately, I would give this book 3/5 stars and I would recommend this book to other people. I think if I liked Atticus more it would have been a 4 star read. It was a super short read and I will be looking out for this author in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley, Rose and Lavender Press, and Abelia Sumpter for this ARC.