I have mixed feelings. Why? Because this book had so much potential. I truly wish I'd enjoyed it more as it started amazingly.

The main problem for me was the continuous repetitions played throughout the book. Okay if you said it once, okay if you say the same thing twice. Even thrice I can understand. But after? No, it hindered the reading enormously for me.

Another small problem that I found was how the glossary was made. Okay with the name and pronunciations- but all the small extras? I would have preferred learning about this world as I turned page, instead of having a lore being dumped from page one like that.

This truly had so much potential. A better version of Lightlark in terms of plot and maybe even writing (which taking out the fact that it was wayyy to much repetitive was even a bit too flowery where maybe a dialogue would have been better). This isn't a bad book. And I'll probably read book two when it comes out. I just hope that all the small things I found that hindered my experience while reading will have been taken care off.

There were even come editing mistakes. But I blame this on the ARC as it's not the finally copy that will be released to the public.

Loved this story!! Well written with an immersive world building aspect! I can not wait for the second book to come out! Had me on the edge of my seat every step of the way and the twist did not disappoint!

"Night of Death and Flowers" is a dark fantasy featuring gods, witches, and a deadly tournament. While the world-building initially required some adjustment, the glossary at the beginning helped clarify important details. The story itself was compelling with intriguing plot twists. I particularly enjoyed the evolving dynamics of the main characters. It's the first book in a duology, ending on a suspenseful note that leaves readers eagerly anticipating the sequel.

Thank you so much for the ARC!
Overall 2.5 stars. This really has so many elements that I love in stories: gothic atmosphere, gods, magic, death… However, the writing really needs a few more rounds of editing. It’s very much tell not show, which made it so hard to immerse into the story and connect to the characters. The middle really lost me and felt so repetitive, and the spice scene went from 0 to 100, so much so that I was left so confused. This has so much potential!

This was just not for me. It was way too "Hunger Games" but with magic, which was not what I expected. I also couldn't really get invested in either of the main characters. They just both didn't do it for me, and their inner monologues were really repetitive (particularly Azkiel's).

Not only is the title beautiful but it’s a stunning book I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I was absolutely ecstatic when I got my hands on this arc! However, after finishing it today I came away with a few mixed feelings, which is a shame given how much I was looking forward to this read.

I’ll be honest with you, this book had SO much potential and I really mean it when I say this. There was SO much to love about it. It had all the tropes and themes I enjoyed; slow burn, enemies to lovers, gifted magic from gods, the eerie worldbuilding, some mild horror, a stabby bad-ass MFC and a Brooding Grumpy Morally Grey MMC. However, this just wasn’t enough to detract from the hiccups that occurred when I was reading it.



Firstly, let’s touch on the world building. The world building for me, personally was great. I loved this whole dark and eerie vibe that was going on, and it all felt quite haunting to me. One of the things that intrigued me most was the magic system and it did have a uniqueness to it which I did enjoy. There are six witch covens and each are gifted powers from one of the Gods they are chosen by (so a fraction of their power should we say) and this is then passed on to live through generations. Every Ten years a sacrifice is made during the Harvest where people are selected to compete to determine a new elder. Elders earn the power of all 6 covens which makes them powerful enough to protect the land from humans (our enemies in this case) who persecute witches. I did like how this was set out very early on in the book because it does set the scene for some things that follow. However, too truths can exist at the same time. Although I loved it, I did find it somewhat info dumpy as we do jump into how events unfold quite quickly in this book.




Throughout the story we focus on four main characters - Azkiel, Calista, Arabella and Drake. It’s worth mentioning that this book is a duel POV so we experience through Azkiel and Calista. However, I do wonder if we would’ve benefited from having a POV from Arabella or even Drake, given how intertwined the four of them end up being within the narrative. We do get introduced to some side characters, although I feel that some of them weren't that necessary to explore to expand the story. However, saying this, there were some side characters that I felt we needed to know more about. For example; Calista's father plays an important role, especially in the connection with the Elders and I don’t think we explored that enough. Also, do ALL the Elders agree with this sacrificial harvest in the first place? This all seemed a bit unclear.



Unfortunately, there were a few things that I found myself having hiccups about. The pace itself was a little bit inconsistent, there were times certain scenes felt really rushed. I also felt the enemies to lovers was a bit disjointed? In addition to this, there were several moments were more telling than showing was going on. I often felt we were being 'told' how the characters felt which became a bit too descriptive rather than being shown what the character was experiencing? This at times made me feel really emotionally uninvested in the characters, which was such a shame because I actually really thought Azikiel and Calista were characters that contrasted each other really well with their differences. They could both be externally deep characters with lots of showing rather than thinking. To me, they just weren't fleshed out enough in terms of being able to experience how the characters felt rather than being told.


As other people have also mentioned, one thing I found myself getting really irritated with is HOW in their head these characters were? There was just so much poetic prose that it just got too repetitive. For example, every other chapter there were certain thoughts or reflections that either Azkiel or Calista would have and they would be repeated again and again and again to the point that it would become a bit overwhelming and would pull me out of the story. There was just so much more internal monologuing going on than external monologuing which caused the story to drag as it did not contribute towards any character development. Also, whilst I do not typically let grammatical errors impact how I read an ARC there were just too many in this ARC for me that I found myself having to go back and re-read some pages. Others have also mentioned this as well, particularly pronoun switching which just felt unpolished even though it’s easy to resolve.



When we get to island, it starts all feeling a bit Hunger Games and there were so many moments I was immersed when the action started to ramp up. However, between these action moments there were just back and forth internal monologues that happens through Azkiel and Calista POV. This impacts any external dialogue because it feels so little around all the internal monologuing going on. This makes the plot unfold at such a slow pace, once again - so much telling and not enough showing.

 The magic, the world building and the plot DOES have potential - the plot itself is well thought out, it just lacks the execution it deserves to make it feel polished.

The tropes as I’ve said above are literally some of my favourite tropes. I unfortunately just kept getting drawn out of the story because of the chaotic internal monologuing that kept happening, which made the plot keep losing direction.

I did feel the chemistry between Calista and Azkiel. I felt like they were to people who’d been destined their whole life just to find each other. They were both starved of things in their own lives in different ways. They had this magnetic energy between them, not just because of the magic but who they were as people and because of the experiences each of them had. That’s not to say I didn’t have issues with Calista’s character at times - there were moments where she was a little TOO headstrong, and is very determined to not accept help but on the flip side to this Azkiel also has that essence about him, the tough bravado that nobody can crack his exterior and see the person that he really is (this once again comes down to being told about it and him not actually giving us his experience). There were moments were it ventured into the ‘insta-lust’ which I do feel could’ve been avoided. The slow burn was…very very slow to be fair!



Also there were a lot of ‘falls asleep’ or ‘fade to black’ moments to transition into the next chapter which I didn’t think was great because things tended to jump a bit after those moments happened.

 To be honest, I’m still really undecided about Calista’s sister. I feel like I didn’t learn anything about her at all, even during the chapters she was in so I’m hoping her character fleshes out in the next book to be honest.

I will definitely be picking up the sequel of this book because I really do what to know how it unfolds, and I’m interested enough in the story overall. Like I’ve said, most of my comments are really around elements that can be tweaked and polished. I’d also like to state that this review is entirely based on the ARC I received, so I do not know whether any of these things were amended in the final publish.

I usually don’t love witchy books but I loved this!! I enjoyed the duel POV, especially Azkiel. His entrance alone I loved. His plot line was very intriguing and the while entire reason I continued the book. While I did enjoy this, it felt a little slow with lots of worldbuilding.

Calista and Death’s story was exciting from beginning to end. Witchy books are not typically my go to books but this one’s story intrigued me. Glad I chose to read it. I received an ARC of this book. I would recommend this book to romantasy readers, especially those who love the enemies to lovers trope.

I loved it! I enjoyed the dual pov between Calista and Azkiel. In the middle, for a second I felt a bit bored, but I still enjoyed, it was good :) I don't want to spoil anything, but if you are a fan of (spicy) romantasy, you will love this book for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my own opinion.

I absolutely loved this book, a dark romance between witches and vengeful gods. The world development and the characters were beautifully done, and the glossary at the beginning of the book was the perfect touch. The beginning of the book was a slow burn, but well worth sticking through. I found Calista's character to be refreshing as she was a bad ass but still had a moral compass. I love a book that has me invested in each of the characters and this book truly draws you in. Even as I began putting the pieces together I couldn't wait to see how it was played out, now I just have to wait for book two. But in the meantime I will definitely be checking out more of Rebecca L Garcia's books! Night of Death and Flowers is definitely one of my favorite books I have read this year.
Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

ARC Book Review: Night of Death and Flowers by Rebecca Garcia ✨🖤

I absolutely loved this book, the vibes were immaculate and I loved the story. This book is filled with magic, prophecies, witches and gods - all of which I am obsessed with!

The story is set within a safe haven for Witches Darhyst - where every ten years, a tournament takes places to declare a new elder.

This book has dual-POV between Calista - an anti-heroine witch from Darhyst and, Azkiel the God of Death. If you’re looking for a new shadow-daddy Azkiel has just joined the group!! 🖤 Night of Death and Flowers is a dark, fantasy romance with amazing world building and storytelling which just keeps you engaged!

Themes from the book:
✨ Unique magic system
🖤 Dark fantasy romance
🌶️ Spice
❤️‍🔥 Witches and gods
📖 Amazing world building
🔮 Prophecies

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

I really loved this one. At times it was a bit more difficult for me to focus, but the story itself, to me, was nice and fresh. Keep on writing, you're doing great. ♡

It took me a few chapters to really get into this book but once I’d adjusted my reading style preferences to vibe better with the authors writing style.. What a story!

I really enjoyed the unique world Rebecca has created and Cali is the most wonderfully flawed but badass FMC. I will absolutely be picking up the next book! It’s an absolute NEED to see how Calista and Azkiel get out of the unholy mess they’re in!

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebecca L Garcia and Victory Editing for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC for my honest review.

This was intriguing to me but it just didn't land with me right now. I don't know if it is just not my reading vibe currently but I will pick it up again at a later date and retry it.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC. It was alright. I was intrigued by the tournament, but it just was not for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book and am so sad it ended the way it did without the next book readily available. :( This book is a dark fantasy about witches/warlocks and gods and is a dual POV following Callista and "Death" Azkiel. It definitely threw me for a loop towards the end and I am anxiously on the edge of my seat while waiting for the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my own opinion.

When you hold the power of a god that you shouldn't have, it's usually best to keep it a secret. But when one mistakes forces Calista to use her power in order to save her best friend, the future as she knows it is turned upside down.

When the vengeful God of Death, Azkiel, learns he cannot use his powers to kill Calista, he goes out of his way to make her as miserable as possible. But when he selects Calista's sister for the Harvest, a competition to the death every ten years, he doesn't anticipate Calista joining those on the island with the intention of saving her sister.

These two love to hate each other with every fiber of their being. The tension is definitely there. Neither can stand to be away, but they can't stand each other's presence, either. As they journey through the competition with the intent of stopping a long foretold prophecy, everything changes among them and their cohorts. Will they stop the prophecy? Will everyone make it out? Are they going to actually express their interest in one another? These are questions that continued to spiral during my read.

Dual points of view? Check
Slow burn? Check
Twists and betrayal? Check
God magic? Check

Complex world building and compelling characters - this is a great read for fans of Sarah J. Maas "Throne of Glass."

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review !

I wanted to love this, and I did at times, but there were times where it fell flat.


What I liked:

- The plot was SO good. I was extremely into the plot - who is the one in the prophecy? how were they going to figure out how to save that one? who was the person / people to trust? I loved that the book kept me guessing.

- This read like a short book. I finished this book so quickly.

- I did enjoy the world building. I didn't actually find it to be info dumpy as most reviews are complaining about. I thought the author did a great job blending it all in in the beginning,

- There was decent banter at times!


What I didn't like so much:

- I couldn't connect to the characters. I was like ALMOST there with the MFC and MMC. They share starvation for affection that neither of them have ever gotten, and I appreciated their backstories,

- The MMC was morally grey, and his redemption ARC was kinda there ? But I still wasn't swooning or really rooting for him.

- I also didn't get how we got from enemies to lovers - yeah they have trauma, but where was the yearning?? Where was the chemistry? I didn't get either of those.


Overall, I honestly still enjoyed the plot so much, I hope with the second book we get a bit more development in the characters and more chemistry.