i ended up dnfing this at around 30% - i just couldn’t get into it and struggled to connect with the characters or the plot.

i do think it was well-written though, and i was intrigued by the magic system - i just didn’t feel up to going further when i had picked this up. i may try to pick this up again in the future though!

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

After some weeks, I was able to access the file again after putting it down at the 40% mark. Not enough was keeping my attention in place during that first part to want to pick it back up again.

Sadly, in a slow moving book, what keeps me going is an emotional connection to the characters and in this case, there was none. The story didn't really stand out on its own, so it was forgettable. However, the writing is not bad.

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me. I struggled to get invested and gave up at 25% - I felt like the characters were just thrown together and the plot wasn’t interesting enough

The story is unique, but the pacing is very slow.

*Some slight spoilers ahead*


The main character can be quite irritating, but I 100% blame the system and her parents. Starting with this private school for Damicas, ladies with special powers were they are trained to become an important part of the society, helping influential and very important people with their insight, powers and making babies. I herd of this concept before and I think it's an interesting idea. However, Laurel is treated mostly as a problem and sedated instead of helped to control her power. On the other hand, when she shows her darker side, her father gets scared and sends her back. We later learn that he was searching for some way to help her, but in the mean time, he just left her for the wolves.

The relationships between the characters were better. I liked the friendship between her and Suzette the most.

In conclusion, the idea of the book is interesting, as well as the magic system, but the pacing makes it a bit boring. It took me a week to finish this book, which for me is quite a long time.

an incredibly impressive debut novel! i fell in love with the characters and the magic system was stunning! truly stupendous.

This is a beautiful, epic, and tragic story following a young woman, Lor, who has the power to access people's feelings and memories, but struggles to control the powers and the nightmares that accompany them. We start with her at an academy for girls with an assortment of powers. The beginning of this story is a bit confusing, partially because of the world building, but also due to the fact that Lor is kept drugged at the school in order to contain her powers. The confusion we feel in the beginning subsides slightly when Lor is no longer being drugged, but the author does a great job of maintaining this perspective throughout the story, both because of Lor's madness, and also because of her naivety.

Lor escapes the academy and her fate as the wife of a brutal general, but find herself on a long, arduous journey. Luckily, she runs into another person in the woods who can help her reach her intended destination. The terrain is rough, but they must move quickly because the general is hunting them.

There is some romance in this story, but I will warn you that it is not a happy ending, which feels very fitting of the overall story. While the ending is not a happy one, I was left satisfied in the end and I still found that romance was meaningful and beautiful.

If you are looking for a dark, tragic fantasy, I would definitely recommend that you pick this one up!

Thank you to Memento Vivere Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Thanks for Netgalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I did like the book. Though the style is heavy in adjectives, this didn't bother me and I didn't have instances that made me cringe at the style. Though I do think this is a personal thing. Other people might dislike the writing.

In think the beginning of the book is difficult because without knowing what the hell litha etc. are, it's not clear what the hell is going on or who these people are. I first thought I had accidentally skipped a few pages bc I was so confused.

It does become clear quickly what these words mean, though.

The world building was sufficient and not over boarding which I appreciated. You know enough to understand the world and it's story so that's a huge plus.

The main character can be annoying in her naivety, though I did understand why she was that way. No one taught her how to think and do things for herself. She was kept small and her learning what the world who she is, is part of the book.
It can be annoying though. :/
Her ping-ponging through her different possible identities can come off as a bit weird.

A translation of some of the italian would have been nice. I get cherissima but that's about it.

I thought it was pretty realistic how complicated the trek through the forest and the mountains actually was. Nothing comes easy in this book because nothing IS easy when you try to run from your abusive husband.

Her journey from school to the end of the book is detailed, which means that it takes a while for something to happen. Sometimes my eyes only ran over a sentence bc it was a description of Lor's inner working just to come to a halt, bc something actually happened and I didn't notice it.

The pacing is slow is what I am saying and though I didn't mind it most of the times, I think it can be difficult for people who are used to a faster pace. This seems to be a character study first and a coming of age story in a dark fantasy setting second. So if you can't stand Lor, you probably won#t like the novel because we spend the entire story in her head.

I would have liked to know that this is not a stand alone.

If it is - it's a bit weird to end a novel.

long story, short: I'm a sucker for character studies, so I liked it.

Beautiful Serpent, Restless Embers ensnares readers with its rich world-building and unique magic system, though it falters somewhat with a protagonist who struggles to find her footing. Despite these flaws, the novel's evocative writing and intriguing plot make it a worthwhile read.

Plot Summary
Laurel, the main character, finds herself in a world where magic is both a gift and a curse. Living under the oppressive control of a "school" designed to train young women to be obedient wives, Laurel's journey is marked by manipulation and abuse. Her best friend Suzette, a fellow mage, uses her magic to soothe and control Laurel, keeping her in a constant state of emotional dependency.

The story oscillates between past and present, revealing the secrets of Laurel's family and the true nature of her magical abilities. As she navigates this treacherous landscape, Laurel is often passive, guided by those around her, including the Headmaster, Suzette, and a general to whom she is betrothed. It is only after meeting a bandit in the woods that she begins to assert her independence, making her first true choice and setting the stage for potential growth in future installments.

Character Analysis
Laurel's character can be frustrating due to her naivety and lack of agency. She is kept in the dark about her own powers and her family's history, constantly made to feel like a problem rather than a person. This enforced passivity makes her come across as a shrinking violet, unable to take control of her destiny. However, this is not entirely her fault, given the circumstances and the manipulation she faces.

Despite these shortcomings, Laurel's journey is compelling. Her struggle for autonomy and the slow realization of her own strength offer glimpses of potential character development. It's clear that she has a long way to go, and readers may find themselves rooting for her to break free from the constraints imposed upon her.

Themes and World-Building
The novel excels in its world-building, presenting a magic system that is easy to grasp despite its uniqueness. The setting is richly described, with enough hints and details to allow readers to fill in the blanks without overwhelming exposition. The back-and-forth between past and present can disrupt the pacing, but it also adds depth to the narrative, revealing important backstory and context.

The themes of control, manipulation, and the search for identity are central to the story. Laurel's experiences highlight the dangers of a system that suppresses individuality and enforces conformity. Her journey towards self-discovery and empowerment is fraught with challenges, making for a thought-provoking read.

Hmm, not so interesting. The pace is slow, the writing complicated without being complex. I did not finish this book and I'm not interested in the plot or characters. Not for me, sorry.

What a gorgeous story! I loved every minute of Laurel's journey! The writing is deep and moving. The characters are vivid and engaging. This is one book you won't be able to put down until the end.

This book drew me in and I’m not sure why I was hooked because the FMC was a little irritating I won’t lie. She just came across very naive and by the end she hadnt grown much, she was still being led in directions and never really taking control of her path. This is also not her fault, she was kept in the dark about her gift and her families past, she is also made to feel like the problem constantly, she’s pushed into the role of the shrinking violet whether she likes it or not.

This book had great world building, it was easy to grasp the magic system/source even though its so unique. I did enjoy this, I do hope that the FMC finds her footing in book 2 and forges her own path.

I was interesting indeed, also surprising.. Not sure right now the right words to describe, it was intense, a lot of world building and a interesting love story but it felt like it was so much going on at the same time and I tried to focus but it was hard.. However it felt a little bit slow at some parts and it was a bit too much slow for me

This could have been great, a unique fantasy with dark powers at our MC's core, but unfortunately it was simply left feeling unfinished for me.

We see a slow bloom romance between Laurel and Bryce, with this dark general the root of both their issues alongside laurels struggles to manage her powers. Although I am sure it was a cliffhanger for a sequel, this book simply felt unfinished after the journey we went through and I feel would be better whole than as a seperate sequel that is likely to occur.

Nonetheless, it had great worldbuilding and was filled with intrigue keeping you entranced over each page that passed.

First, a trigger warning: The main character in this book — in the final 10% or so of the book — is beaten, badly. Blows to the head, a broken leg, her head repeatedly held beneath ice cold water; other characters are also raped, beaten, tortured and murdered. If this is subject matter you find upsetting, this book will not be for you. I will say the scenes aren’t overly graphic and they are all relevant to the story, but they’re still there.

The story wanders between past and present as Laurel is drugged both by the “school” she lives in as well as Suzette, her fellow mage, best friend, and someone Laurel looks to as a sister, who uses her magic to soothe, guide, and calm Laurel during any moment of emotional stress. Having never been taught to use her magic, Laurel’s magic often overwhelms her and she is often powerless because of it.

During much of the book Laurel is passive, her actions limited and guided by the Headmaster of her school — which is mostly a place where young women are trained to be obedient and loyal while the Headmistress finds husbands for them — or Suzette, or even the general she is to be wed to. She’s pushed and pulled along by the plot even as she struggles to find her own footing, and only when she meets a bandit in the woods she meekly follows him until she finally has the mental clarity and strength to make a choice.

Her first choice.

This is a sad story, with no happy ending; it does, though, have a hint of a cliffhanger. Laurel isn’t plucky, brave, clever or bold. She’s a dreamer, she’s afraid, she wants to go home. She wants her life to be what it was before she knew how awful the real world is, and if the general would just go away — or if she’d been offered to anyone else as a bride — she probably would have gone along with it and simply allowed herself to drift in a world of drugs and complacency.

She’s sympathetic, for the most part, but there were times when I very much wished she would. do more, think more, fight more. She does get better, does start standing up for herself, but the first half of the book (if not more) is simply Laurel existing. Even so, she has a clear voice and a decided point of view, which is nice.

The writing is lovely, with a languid, poetic and dreamy style that suits Laurel very well. The pace is a bit lopsided, to me, with momentum in the first half being often jostled by the constant flashbacks to Laurel’s mother, or father. The magic system is never explained, which works in the context of the world as Laurel was never taught to use it, or what it is she can actually do. Everything she does is instinct and guesswork, flailing out when she’s scared or, when she tries to use it, being thought of as crazy by everyone around her.

The world building is also a highlight, with just enough hinted at to let the reader fill in the blanks and almost no exposition dumps until the end, when the swordsman who saved her in the woods has to give his backstory — which we then see in a flashback. That’s really the one part I had an issue with, how much we see of the swordsman’s story, only to have him tell us himself, and then we go off into another vision to see even more of it. But that’s the only section that stood out to me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the writing, and want to thank Netgalley and Memento Vivere Press for giving me an ARC. (3 ½ stars rounded up to 4.)

Beautifully written prose, enthralling and gripping storyline. I enjoyed the different characters, especially Laurel’s development. Eagerly awaiting a sequel!

This book is gorgeous. The pace is wonderful and the characters interesting. I literally just couldn't put it down. I hope there's a sequel.

I LOVED EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF THIS BOOK. I RATED THIS BOOK 5 STARS BECAUSE IT WAS SO GOOD AND AMAZING.

What an interesting and unique concept for a book. So ready to get swept in this magical mystical adventure. I look forward to sharing my full thoughts and review soon.