{2,5}


I was immediately drawn to this book thanks to its cover! The characters and compositions looked wonderful, so I was very excited to read it and I'm disappointed in my reaction to the book, as I wanted to love it much more than I did. This was a queer, dark academia story in a fantasy world with religious cults and women obsessed with each other to the point of murder. And as much as I loved that idea, it simply didn't get to its max potential.

I'm sad to say I had a few difficulties reading it. I thought it was due to the fact that English isn't my first language, but by reading some other reviews I saw that a lot of other native speakers had that issue, so I felt a bit better.

I absolutely loved the idea of it though, so the plot definitely had me. Veaer witnesses the girl she's in love with murder someone and battles with the moral choice of speaking up vs protecting her crush; an interesting premise! I liked the fantasy aspect of this since it's incredibly unique, but I wished it was explored some more. I was left with lots of questions about it.

Unfortunately, those really amazing parts aren't enough to make up for the rest of this book. I think that with some rearranging and fleshing-out, this book could truly be something spectacular.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and also North Star Edition for giving me the opportunity to read this great book in advance!

Unfortunately I had to dnf C&R about 1/3 in. I tried to pick it up again and tried to read pages further into the book but I couldn't get into the writing. It felt all over the place. I adore the author as a person and will follow their writing career. I feel like this book would have profited from more editing by professional editors. The plot felt all over the place and I can't justify this with the POV of the MC anymore.

"Chrysalis and Requiem" presents a compelling blend of mystery, passion, and forbidden desires set against the backdrop of Adraredon Academy. The narrative intricately weaves together elements of Gothic architecture, contemporary companionship, and centuries of history to create a rich and immersive world.

Veaer Rosell, the protagonist, finds herself thrust into a world of turmoil and moral ambiguity when she witnesses a shocking murder at the academy. The novel expertly explores themes of loyalty, revenge, and the consequences of one's choices in the face of adversity.

The character development is particularly noteworthy, with Veaer grappling with difficult decisions and moral dilemmas as she navigates the complex web of secrets and lies within the academy's walls. The dynamics between the characters are well-crafted, adding depth and intrigue to the storyline.

While the plot unfolds at a steady pace, there are moments of suspense and unexpected twists that keep the reader engaged until the very end. However, some aspects of the narrative could have been further developed to enhance the story's overall impact.

Overall, "Chrysalis and Requiem" is a captivating read that appeals to mystery and dark academia fans. With its atmospheric setting and complex characters, it offers a thought-provoking exploration of morality and the consequences of one's actions.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for the eARC I received of this book. I’ll start by saying that for the most part I do enjoy it. I liked the characters, loved the unique names of the characters and all the twists and turns this story took. However, I often found myself questioning if this book was a series because there was so many things that were mentioned without any type of background. The author just assumed the reader would know and it got confusing. The magic system was not explained, the school they attended could have been explained a lot better as well as the cult that ends up being a main part of the plot of the book. My reading was thrown off a bit by this but overall it was good.

With a very hard heart I have to DNF this book, it sounded really good at first but the way it's built it was very confusing and hard to follow for me. I might give it a try If an audiobook comes out.

Chrysalis and Requiem breaks out of dark academia standard fare with some awesome concepts (angel cults!!) and and enjoyable unhinged characters. They are doing wrongs the right way. Religious symbolism galore. I would describe a lot of this book as "delicious", if you catch my drift. What held it back for me, from being something I absolutely loved, would be the pace and the way (or lack of how) information is delivered to the reader. I don't need things spelled out, but there were plenty of instances I just had no idea what was going on, and was just along for the ride. But, I think some of this is by design, or at least I hope it was.

For the first 150 or so pages, I loved this book. Like, the first half is STRONG. Easily a solid 4 star read. Unfortunately after that point my enjoyment started to decline, and imo things got pretty messy with regard to narrative construction. Lemme try and explain...

This is probably a strange topic for my first paragraph, but one of my favourite elements of Chrysalis and Requiem was the representation. We have autism rep and lots of queer characters, and it all felt so empathetic. Too often in books we see diversity just for diversity's sake, but that was absolutely not the case here; as a queer, autistic person myself, all the representation felt authentic and thorough, and I really really appreciated it.

Another element which I fell in love with right away was the writing style. It balances accessible writing with beautiful descriptions - of people, places, emotions, literally everything - in such a lovely way. We're also very much inside Veaer's head which, for someone like me, felt like home.

However, the characterisation wasn't too strong. And that is SUCH a shame, because these characters seem like some of the most interesting ever?? But alas, unfortunately I just didn't feel like we got to know... really anything about them🤧.

Additionally, the romance lacked a little smth smth for me. It was very instalovey, which makes sense because the characters already know each other when we meet them, but as a reader it was about as impactful as my next door neighbours (whom I have never spoken to) romantic pursuits.

Finally, the ending. Or, perhaps more accurately - the ending????? There was just so much left unresolved. To me, it seemed as if we were missing at least 3 chapters wherein we find out how everything plays out. I mean we do get an epilogue, but we kind of just have to accept that things must have worked themselves out, and there are still several glaringly unanswered questions.

Despite my critiques, I would recommend this book. It has an interesting storyline, vibes for days, and representation that I believe lends it a lot of value. Also keep in mind that I read it as an arc, so who knows? Maybe the things I've said here will become totally null and void before it's published🤷‍♀️.

Chrysalis and Requiem by Quinton Li was one I enjoyed.
A dark academia that was well written and intriguing.

Thank You NetGalley and Victory Editing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. for giving me the ARC's of this book.

I decided to give this book 3 stars because the truth I can't connect with the book at all. It has a good premise, I like the interaction of each character (it has a mysteriousness), and its description of the world-building. But it lacks something that can intrigue someone (especially me) to continuously read it, aka it isn't a page-turner. The feel is bland and I don't get excited when I should. So yes, I can't connect with them.

Despite all of that, I like its plot!

Well. I think that some people will feel this book in their soul, and I am truly happy for those people. Unfortunately, that was not me.

I do applaud the author for the work they attempted. Their acknowledgements said they were going for murder lesbians on a gothic campus, which like, good vibes. But there was so much meandering and ever stranger (and less believable) additions to this core good idea that the book lost me along the way. The secret societies, obsessiveness, characters talking to themselves (and/or to ghosts?), weird angel rituals, etc., just didn't come together and were sometimes painful to read through.

There are a long list of content warnings at the top so readers should heed those.

2.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book the premise sounded right up my street but after multiple stop and starts this just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the plot but unfortunately not the characters or the writing so I couldn't enjoy it like I wanted to. Maybe it was me not getting the writing but either way I struggled through this especially at the start when I felt like a lot of words were thrown at us with very little explanation.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 20%

I really really tried my best, but I could not continue with this book.

The whole premise of the synopsis sounds really interesting, but reading it play out is just terrible. I'm not sure how to fully articulate it, but the best I can describe is watching a play with really bad actors, and an even worse script.

I know this book is an ARC so the editing wouldn't be complete, but there were so many moments of weird or awkward phrasing that I can't believe that this book has even been edited at all. If the writing style is a deliberate choice, I don't know what the intention for it would be, unless it was to make the reader confused or frustrated.

I also kind of resent the characters. I have a pretty high tolerance for annoying characters, IMO, but in this instance, I found myself getting legitimately miffed at them, which is made worse by that fact that I don't think the author intended for them to be annoying. I get the sense that the main character is supposed to come off as intelligent and morally grey, but she does not show it; her introduction where she breaks into whatever restricted part of the school does not indicate any kind of brilliance or planning, and her reason for going to all the trouble of doing so is to, I don't even know, creep on her crush? And the fact that she calls her "princess" gives me the ick. I could understand if she was saying it in a mocking or ironic way, but she seems dead serious about it, which is just awful, especially since she's supposed to be 16 or 17, and not a kid on the playground. And I didn't get to read much about her LI, but the bits that I did were just cringe, the way she talks is like the author wants us to think that she's a mysterious brilliant philosophical person, but her dialogue is so lacking that she reads like a try-hard who wants to sound smart but isn't.

Another issue is the worldbuilding. I hadn't realised from the synopsis that this book was set in another world, but even so, the author introduces way too many brand new concepts, without even explaining them. Like, I didn't even know that the main character wasn't human until a few chapters in, and the author barely explains what kind of creature she is before moving on. (Apparently her species has vibrant hair in a variety of colours, and she has a wolf persona thingy, and sometimes has wolf ears and a tail, which leads me to believe she is a furry.) There are also a bunch of new made up gods, which are cool, I like made up gods, but the author doesn't explain them much, just mentions them and moves on. Which there's nothing wrong with; presumably they will be explained later. But the pacing moves so fast that there is so much new unexplained information, which just makes it exhausting to read.

The worst part of this book is that I sense a better book somewhere in it; this book has a lot of the trappings of a really good story, a dark academia magic school in an alternate realm inhabited by different creatures who worship a variety of gods, a shocking murder, a sinister conspiracy, an—enemies? They seem more like acquaintances or something— to lovers romance between two morally grey leads.

I hated to DNF this book. I was excited to read it based on the premise, but I felt that it was far overshadowed by the writing. I do enjoy a bit of prosaic and fluffy writing, but in multiple chapters I felt like I had no idea of the mechanics of what was going on. It made me feel like it was running solely on vibes, which was disappointing to see. I feel that the book itself could have definitely taken off well based on the description of the setting and atmosphere, and on the character’s descriptions, but I would need much more of the plot and action to be made clearer. The writing unfortunately is muddy and difficult to wrap one’s mind around.

This book could’ve been so much more, so much better but it fell flat for me.

I think to start the structure in the first few chapters was way off, the world building was very choppy and wasn’t established in a way that could be built upon. It just felt very thrown together especially information that is used throughout the book like the senti and caemi. The pacing was also a bit off, it was kinda hard to follow this story because it would slow at times making it harder engage with it.

Unfortunately, the characters also just didn’t do it for me, they felt incredibly one dimensional. Veaer’s motivations and obsession for staying by Elise’s side were confusing and not established in a way that made sense, at least to me.

The writing was okay, there were times I would highlight a sentence that I thought was well written and beautiful. But, there were other times I was scratching my head trying to make sense of it. There were other times that I found myself cringing at the writing. There was just a lot of inconsistencies with the writing that made this book hard to read because I just didn’t know what was going on in the story. The inclusion of the angels made the story a bit more interesting than the first half but also again, the events that follow after that especially with Elise’s “development” just had me standing in utter confusion.

I really wanted to love this book, reading the synopsis had me excited to read this book. But it just was incredibly difficult to follow along and I was hoping to get to that point where it all clicks together as is the case sometimes in books. Yet that never happened, I started the book confused and finished the book….even more confused.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

DNF 15% of the way through.

I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t follow most of what was going on, I didn’t understand the setting really at all, and the language was hard to parse at the best of times, impossible at the worst. I wanted to like this story, but I just couldn’t fight my way through it.

It pains me to say this, but I physically couldn't finish this book. Chrysalis and Requiem was such an anticipated read of mine, but I really, really didn't like this. The writing was stilted and had absolutely no discernible flow. I tried to lose myself in the story like I usually do, but some of the phrasing and weird uses of exclamation marks completely threw me off. The world was confusing and overtly complicated which is unfortunate, because I think that the premise of this novel had SO much potential.

What could have been an exploration of toxic relationships against an academia background became a muddled, disinterested story that left me bored and confused.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I don't know if this is the book for me, i didn't really enjoy the narration style or the story. I sadly couldn't connect wirh the characters and found them grating at times.
I wish i liked this book, because it sounds like something i would like on paper.

This book had all the right elements to make me love it, but I struggled to get into the story because of its slow pace and at the end I found myself still having a lot of questions about what happened .. and plus I struggled to empathize with the characters . In any case I enjoyed the plot and the settings so the 3 stars deserves it all.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I took some time after this book to reflect on how I feel about it, this is a story about a character who has found themselves transfixed by a terrible person. I would akin this story to Devilman Crybaby in some ways as the main character is caught in this fixation of the love interest for no clear reason (explained later in the book).

Even when we are given the reason why she likes Elise, it isn't satisfactory, in fact, I found it even more annoying that she seemed to double down on her love for Elise after finding out the truth of why she likes Elise so much. It is like watching an abused puppy getting hurt over and over, and Elise has no redeeming qualities, other than the occasional affection that Elise gives the main character.

I struggled to finish the book, and I was forced to trudge through it faster than I wanted to due to a limit on the DRM of this book. I am a bit miffed at the fact that the ARC was given to me under some timeline, I don't know if this is common or just an one off circumstance, but it really annoyed me being pushed to finish the book faster when I was already burnt out on reading it.

The drugging and writing style struggled to hold my attention and often times, I could not figure out what was going on. I still don't understand what Senti and Caemis are exactly and why their magic is the way it is. This honestly should be labeled as a book dependent on the debut of the author, if it weren't for the other reviews I saw. I would have no idea that the book was founded in the same world as the author's debut. I left the book feeling, confused, I think grey romance is fine, but this felt like it condoned a very abusive and one sided relationship and while I wished for the main character to get free of her abuser, by the end I was so bogged down by how one-dimension she was, I didn't even care.

I hope that the author knows that you can write a book, but you need to make sure it all connects and people need to know what is being talked about. You can't skip on explaining things just because you explained it in a different book that isn't part of a series.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I got to 25% and honestly still have absolutely 0 clue what is happening. It feels like the book started already halfway through a story. Everything is so overly wordy but absolutely nothing is explained. There was a couple large events that happened including a murder but like, I have no idea why that murder was done and not in a "ooh mystery" but a "what the hell is happening and why is any of this happening" way. I can't even tell you most of what happened because I straight up don't remember so much. It's not that memorable at all and mixed with how overly wordy everything is, it's just tiring to read.
I can't even work out if the "princess" is actually a princess or if it's just a kinda creepy nickname the MC uses.

The synopsis does sound interesting though, and through the writing there does feel like there's something there. But in my opinion it just needs to spend a bit longer being worked on in all honesty.