This novel starts strong, with an engaging and intriguing premise as young Jos tries to escape the sinister grip of a strange vampire-like family, struggling with fragmented memories of a time when her life was different. However, after her escape, the plot becomes convoluted, and the author seems to struggle with balancing the story’s complexities without revealing too much. The inclusion of LGBTQ+ elements feels forced, as the characters’ sexualities are presented outright rather than woven naturally into the narrative. It’s disappointing because the story has many compelling aspects, but it ultimately falls short of its potential.

Thank you NetGalley and H Noah for this ARC Copy!

This was an interesting read, I did not realize that it was a trilogy so I was expecting it to wrap up more completely than it did. The atmosphere was creepy and intriguing but it just felt like something was missing, the pacing was a little off, and I never really felt like we got a conclusion to the story.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book after many many attempts to finish it. Overly all it's too confusing and slow. At over 400 pages it never felt engaging enough for me to pick it up. I think there was some interesting ideas in here but just needed to give the reads some clues on what's going on.

Thank you to netgalley for the earc.

A novel with a very interesting and engaging beginning, with the young Jos trying to escape the nefarious influences of a strange family with vampire traits, of which she is more of a plaything than a member, while vague memories of a time when things were different surface in brief flashes in her mind.
Then, finally, Jos manages to escape and from there things, from a plot point of view, get complicated, so much so that the author has some difficulty in handling them. Apparently, trying to tell without revealing too much is an art them haven't quite mastered yet. The inclusion of LGBT elements seems quite forced, as the sexuality of some of the characters is 'presented' rather than made to come across naturally to the reader.
It's a shame, because there are many good points.

This book left me on the fence: on the one hand it had positives like a very creepy athmosphere and an interesting take on vampyrism interwoven with magic. I did like where the plot was going, it held my interest throughout the book and I am curious as to what happens next.
On the other side of the coin is the very detailed writing, a slow pace of the book until the ending where a lot is happening all at once and maybe some different choices should have been made. There's also the matter of a lot not making sense (yet at least), maybe that will become clearer in the next book but for now there are events, dialogue or memories that pop up and then disappear with explaining anything and it left me kind of frustrated in terms of really understanding what was happening.

Since I do see the potential and the book did keep my attention, also I was thinking about it after finishing so I will give it 3 stars. If you are more of a reader who likes fast-paced action I'd not recommend this one though.

***An ARC was received in exchange for a honest review ***

I really struggled to get into this one. I found the plot confusing and hard to follow at times, and
I really didn’t like any of the characters. However, the writing was good and the author did a great job at building a creepy and unsettling atmosphere. Despite my issues, I was really interested in finding out what happened at the end.
I wouldn’t rule out reading more from this author in the future.

This book had an awesome premise. I was really looking forward to it. Honestly, though, it was rough. The writing and thoughts were not cohesive. It didn't seem like there was much plot other than the FMC getting beat/tortured and her not being a vampire. I so wanted to love this more than I did. Such a bummer. Like really not trying to be mean at all, it was just not good.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

I am excited for the other books in this trilogy and to see how it develops. The darkness in this book was very compelling.

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC.

i think the first chapter set up the rest of the book to fail. it was a confusing chapter and that confusion followed for several chapters. i thought it was a two star read for about half of the book, but it redeemed itself just enough to be bumped up to three stars.

the horror aspect was done wonderfully and it was something i enjoyed, but everything else seemed like there was no definitive answer to be given. i’m still not sure why a lot of what happened happened.

i did like the ending and wonder where the story will go from there, but not enough to want to read the next book.

DNFed'

I didn't DNF this book because I think it's a bad book, I just don't think book is for me personally. It was a slow read for me because it was so descriptive that I felt like it almost took away from the book itself. The premise of the book was full of potential so with that being said I can see people who like slow, atmospheric horror books enjoying this read.

I hate having to give this such a low rating when parts of it are well written, but the author doesn’t follow the rules they created about how this world works. Anything can happen- and not in a good way. The vampire aspect of this just doesn’t work. Everything is painted in such broad strokes that it’s hard to understand the mechanics of what’s even happening in pivotal moments. I committed to reading this and that’s the only reason I finished. If I had gotten it from the library, I would’ve quit early on.

(I received a free NetGalley copy.)

I was vey confused at the beginning, I had no idea what was going on and why the main character was in the situation. It made me go back and re read a couple of pages to make sure I didn’t miss anything. The plot felt like it went on for too long with unnecessary details. The ending felt very rushed and forced. I really liked the idea and concept behind the story but felt like to much focus and detail was put in immediately aspects. It’s hard to see where the second book can go but I would also like to see how everything gets tied together and explained.

If you like your reads incredibly detailed and descriptive, this one is for you. I can't begin to concieve how long this must have taken to write.

It's a spin on a vampire tale, with our protaganist - Jos - pushing against the lure and expectations of her family as she approaches her 18th birthday. There is darkness and magic and much more. It is the first of a trilogy, so strap in for a long and wordy ride. I'd highly recommend if you like the genre of vampires/YA/fantasy etc.

Thank you for allowing me to read an ARC copy.

2.5 Stars.

Truthfully, it’s difficult for me to give feedback for this book, as I wholeheartedly believe I was not the correct audience for this novel. It was a rather slow start, a slower middle that wasn’t very engaging, and the ending left me a bit disappointed and confused. This could be because I was unaware that this was a series and I was expecting a fuller conclusion, but that’s on me for not properly researching.

Another thing that bothered me was the writing style. It felt slightly juvenile for it to have been written with adult audiences in mind. A lot of the events simply weren’t believable. When you read the beginning, you’ll understand. I also feel that this could go through a good line edit to remove the copious amounts of redundant sentences. I couldn’t help but notice how the author would mention something in a sentence and then reiterate it in nearly the same fashion in the next. It threw me out of the story and annoyed me, causing me to say: “I get it please move on!” multiple times.

As far as the story goes, the parts I could get engaged in were…interesting, but truthfully, a lot of what was happening went over my head because I was so unengaged. From the summary and the content warning, I thought this story would end up being more mature than it was and I was disappointed that it was not.

Overall, I would rate this 2.5 stars. I see good things in it, I simply feel it needs a GOOD polish to be great.

I have to say this wasn’t my favourite book at all, it was a very slow read I had to really push myself to read the whole thing.

this was a slow read . no offence to the author but i stoped reading at chapter 5. i know it deals with vampires but it was really hard for me to get into, may give some other books from this author a try but this one was not for me.

4 stars for this book. Loved the story. Not quite what I was expecting but such a good plot and story. Really good book.

Jos is trapped with her 'family' in a house that all the windows are boarded up and is kept in compete darkness. And her family has undergone some form of transformation.... might be vampires? Blood is involved.

Yup, Vamps of some sort. They're either gonna turn her of kill her, and they may have ate Mom.

After finally fleeing the house Jos encounters Layla and the guardians, who claim they are there to protect people from a mysterious threat.

And Jos is a LOT older than she thought. Makes sense....

Overall a pretty good book. Very dark, so there's that. Also, it's to be continued, so if that annoys you you might wanna skip.

I’ve been sitting here in shock and awe for about 20 minutes now! This story ripped my heart out of my chest and I would like it back now. Waiting for the next book has me questioning life choices now. Like how do I move on from this. Absolutely phenomenal writing and storytelling.