This book had me hooked until the last 1/3. It’s a magical hunger games esque setting where everyone has powers related to certain elements and gods. When a defiant woman aims to dismantle the entire system the creator of the games, the God of Death returns to the mortal realm to stop a prophecy from occurring.

This book was really exciting and unique and it had high hopes for it. But when I got closer to the end it just all fell apart. There are way too many things going on and side plots that it made it a distracting read. FMC hates MMC and then all the sudden within a day she’s having sex with him? 🤨 and then she’s not really herself but a reincarnated version? And the gods are all in a huge fight to restore balance to the world? It was just like pick a single story and get on with it. Could have been a great ending if it wasn’t for all the extra stuff.

This is an incredible story that’s giving Acotar/ Hunger games vibes. I was so intrigued throughout. I felt the writing was a little clunky and had a hard time staying engaged despite being so interested. I wish it had flowed better but going off straight vibes, I loved it. Another weird thing, my bestie and I were both approved for this arc and decided to buddy read it but our books were completely different, different parts in our books, chapters were off and different, like one of us got a later edit. It was bizarre.

"Night of Death and Flowers" is a like that didn't quite make it to love for me. The beginning was good, the middle dragged, and the ending - setting up for the next story in the duet - was great. Garcia does a decent job with her world-building, and with establishing the relationships between Calista and Arabella and Calista and Drake. The introduction of Azkiel is a bit rough but still adds tension. However the initial arrival and few days on the island could have been very much condensed. And while it was obvious that Calista and Azkiel were going to be each other's love interest, there is little indication of what causes Calista to change in her emotions towards the God of Death, even just to explain her sudden lust for him.

That said, the various twists and reveals at the end, while not all entirely surprising, were fairly well done and pulled me back into the story to the point I plan on picking up the next book in this duo. 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are my own.

This was like a witchy hunger games mixed with the power of gods. I loved that Calista held onto her light so tightly, despite the darkness she was thrown into by the situation unfolding around her.

Characters surprised me, alliances shifted, and betrayals made my jaw drop. I couldn't believe how easily some were swayed by the lies of others. The bond between sisters is strong, but when the gods are involved, anything is possible.

Of course, Azkiel can't keep away from Calista once he recognizes his magic in her and the fact that he can actually touch her without turning her to ash. He will struggle greatly with his priorities, and his actions shocked me!

I was gripped with this story right from the start with the witch covens and the Harvest and it sounded right up my alley. The description of the night markets was so vivid that I felt like I was there myself. Calistas character is my favourite with her strong sense of self and determination for what she thinks is right. Deaths POV did feel slightly repetitive and I didn’t understand why he hated Drake so much for being a traitor and destroying his statue but not Calista? I felt the story dropped off once they hit the island but the twists of the prophecy had me shocked and the ending came so suddenly I wanted more. I felt like there needed to be more of a connection between Calista and Death throughout and felt a bit insta-love for myself which I’m not a fan of. I really enjoyed the premise of the story and definitely want to see how it unfolds in the second one.

I really enjoyed the idea of this book.

It follows a witch named Calista cursed with death magic that has the power to destroy anyone she touches. But she shouldn’t have been born with this type of magic, since the only other person who is supposed to be able to wield such power is the death god himself, Azkiel. He must kill her or risk a prophecy coming to pass that will destroy the witch covens and leave them vulnerable to the outside world.

I thought the characters started off pretty strong and the writing style was easy to get into. It has one of my favorite tropes-enemies to lovers-and it’s a darker fantasy, so I loved that the witchcraft was gritty and not whimsical.

That being said, this book suffers from very strange pacing, and it made it extremely difficult to stay interested. To give some context, this is supposed to be a romance, but Calista and Azkiel don’t even meet each other until about 35% into the book. I don’t think I would have minded so much if something was happening in that time, but the catalyst for the plot happens within the first few chapters, and at that 35% mark, it’s only been about two days in the story. There’s a lot of backstory and world building done through dual POV, and while it offered more insight into the characters, it also felt meandering at times. The MCs kept thinking about things they had already explained—to the point of it being extremely repetitive.

Overall I liked a lot about the book. But the pacing was just off for me and I found it difficult to stay interested for long periods of time, even though I loved the subject matter and story idea.

I would like to thank the publisher and author for allowing me to read an early copy of this book.

This story was exciting and full of action from the beginning. It sucked me in right away. The writing is beautiful, the plot is interesting, the characters are full of life, and the setting and world building were descriptive. I loved this book and am looking forward to the next!

First of all I really liked the concept of this story.

I love how we are given a vivid picture and description from each of the POVS from start to finish.
I really liked the MCS they were very well written and I didn’t find them boring at all (always a bonus)

I feel we were given a lot of world building & background but sometimes I felt like we were given too much, that we were overloaded with it which at times did bore me.

Half way through i felt like the story went on for too long although i did like the story itself it just could have been shorter.

I would say i don’t feel the connection between the MCS romantically as strong as other similar stories although i did like the characters individually just not together.

Overall a 3.5 star read for me x

This book had a lot of potential and it was all seen at the end. I like when authors include a glossary, and I’m happy this one had it at the beginning rather than the end like most books do it feels. The beginning was interesting, the middle was kind of a drag, but the end had SO much excitement. I can definitely tell that some of this was inspired by the Hunger Games arena, and that was arguably the most entertaining part of the book. A few fun, yet predictable, twists and reveals at the end to help set up the end of this duology. I wish there was a bit more spice and romance, so hopefully there’s more in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE a dual POV story and the tropes in this are exactly my cup of tea:
Touch Her and Die
Gods/Goddesses
Witches
Enemies to Lovers
Memory Loss
Slow Burn
Reincarnation
Tournament to the Death
& More

I had big hopes for this story, and it had ALL of the potential, but it fell a little short. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it though.

We follow Calista, a witch, and Azkiel, the God of Death. Azkiel has returned to stop the prophesized human witch from fulfilling their duty and releasing his siblings from the binding sleep that he previously placed them under but cannot seem to remember why. Calista carries the God of Deaths ethereal magic – decay magic – something no human should be able to possess. Is she the prophesized witch? Every ten years eleven young witches *voluntarily* enter their names in the Harvest to complete a sacrifice and determine their next Elder - all in the name of the Death of God on Tenenocti (hello, word play on all things 10) where the gods are sleeping. Ten will die and the remaining witch will be able to wield the power of the 10 dearly departed witches. Unbeknownst to the witches, their deaths also strengthen the protections in place keeping people away from the island. For some petty and some prophesized reasons Calista’s sister, Aribella, and her best friend Drake are called into the Harvest. Calista of course is having none of it and finds a way to throw herself into the mix, setting off the prophecy, and ensuring death and destruction are soon to come.

The prophecy twist got me. I figured it out maybe two paragraphs before Calista does. My mind had gone fully into the bucket of another theory I was spinning from the second they got to Tenenocti. The plot and story are GOOD. There is a TON of potential particularly with the second book. My biggest issue is that the characters kind of circle the drain repeatedly with their thoughts and feelings. A lot of things are repetitive – “the Harvest is inhumane” – “I need to stop my siblings from waking up” – talking about Azkiel’s ring – “I must protect Ari/Drake”…it bogs everything down. Another issue is the polishing, but this was an ARC so I’m sure this will be cleaned in the released version, but there were many incorrect he/she’s and there/their/they’re which caused a little bit of confusion because I had to re-read thinking “who said/did what now”? The writing as a whole is beautiful in its descriptions and paints a nice picture for the reader. I also enjoyed the world building. I don’t read glossary’s before reading the story and instead use it as a reference in the event that something becomes confusing, but this was done well enough that I did not need to cross reference. I love a slow burn romance but when Azkiel and Calista finally collide it happens VERY fast and it was shocking how Calista is unphased by how far they g when it seems like all she has previously done is kiss. I wish they kissed earlier when Azkiel tries to kill her and then we had an insane slow burn of agonizing lingering touches and “I hate you what am I feeling” before that big moment with the two of them toward the end. The sister bond was great with Ari and Calista, but I wish we had some Ari POV chapters given how important she ends up being.

All in all, I became invested in Calista and Azkiel as well as their relationship and where the story is heading. I will definitely read book two!


Review will be posted on Goodreads! I will post on Amazon and B&N on release day as well as my bookstagram and will update this feedback with links!

ARC provided by NetGalley and Victory Editing. I absolutely loved the concept and the beginning had me hooked. A true enemies to lovers plot line, and a prophecy to add a twist! Calista and a friend attempt to halt the Offering of villagers and enrages a death god in the process, hiding a critical secret that threatens everything this God knows about his powers. I found myself looking up from the book and could only read it in shorter chunks than usual, but a very solid plot line with well-woven writing and an engaging story!

Thank you for the ARC.
I loved the premise of the book and I feel that the world that has been created has so much potential (it's refreshing and well built). I give it 4/5 stars because I also found some inner dialogue and explanations repetitive. His feelings about not being able to remember and the pain, for example, were being shown in multiple paragraphs in each of his chapters without adding further or new information about it. Apart from that, I found the book really interesting and I would have loved to read more in-depth descriptions about how their world works.

Thank you to NetGalley for a eARC in exchange for a honest review.

This story had a lot of promise – an interesting outline, a creative universe, and high stakes - but ultimately struggled with the delivery. It falls apart at the introduction of the male main character’s POV, where it’s too much exposition all at once, something which would have been more effective spread throughout the book.

The female main character starts off strong, however it becomes more difficult to understand the motivations behind her actions. Although it becomes quickly repetitive that the Harvest is evil, the Harvest must be destroyed, and she has decay magic, her character depth doesn’t go much beyond that. There are tons of unanswered questions that would’ve been interesting to explore, and might have explained why the character acts a certain way, however this was not fully addressed in the book.

This weaker character development also comes into play during the set up of the love triangle between the MMC, FMC, and best friend. This is introduced as insta-attraction at first, which is fine, but it’s not believable because it fails to build beyond repetitive death threats and harmful proclamations between the two characters until the last 25% of the book.

Overall, the book had a strong promise, but would’ve benefited from a few more rounds of editing for redundancies, as well as more character building. Thank you so much for the ARC.

First it all, thank you @netgalley & @rebeccagarciabooks for this incredible beta read opportunity, I devoured it in less than a week. If you're into ancient (angry) gods, deadly trials, magic wielding witches and a cliffhanger ending that will have you counting down the days until the second installment, this book is a nonstop thrill. I telt like there were some plot jumps in the beginning, but over time blended together nicely. The writing is wonderful, the concept, (while beginning a bit slow) blends to excitement with the characters painfully, emotionally relatable. Leaving you with the only burning question remaining, what lengths would you go to save the ones you love? Or avenge to them?

I seriously loved the concept of this book, I thought it was so unique and the right level of mystery to keep you guessing but you still had an inkling of things that were coming. If you love Klaus from TVD/ The originals I think you’ll love this book!

The only downfall for me was the writing style just wasn’t personally my favourite. It was very very descriptive throughout, it was definitely tell not show, and I usually do like it when an author can trust the reader to come to conclusions and remember things on their own. Either way though I did really enjoy the different characters and learning more about them, as well as uncovering the mysteries of Azkiel’s past and what had got them to this point. I would definitely recommend just be prepared for a lot of descriptive writing.

I love a dark romantasy that has intense world-building and strong characters, and Night of Death and Flowers has just that. It is the first book of a duology and the author was kind enough to gift us with an extensive glossary and pronunciation guide, which came in handy while reading this novel. Rebecca L. Garcia takes us deep into a dark world, one creatively crafted that is filled with dark magic, blood oaths, and gods and goddesses - everything that makes a fantasy worth reading.

The Harvest is coming - a tournament where 11 witches will be killed in order to find Dahryst's new elder. Dahryst is home to witches with many different powers, ranging from dream magic to creation magic, and for Callista Bellevue, it is a place she must protect. Callista is the only one of her kind, with a magic so dark she only shares it with one other being the God of Death. Callista is determined to stop this vicious, inhumane cycle and end the tournament for good, but then she is met by Azkiel, the God of Death himself, and things take a turn.

The world-building in this book is outstanding! It is carefully crafted, slowly depicting the layers and darkness to this immersive world. The characters are all different, with unique powers that set them apart. And of course, with such strong characters, we will almost inevitably see strong character development in a book such as this one. Callista and Azkiel have an enemies-to-lovers relationship, and it is intense (with him being the God of Death). The plot was thick and escalated at a steady pace, which made this book an easy page-turner for me. I enjoyed everything about this book, however, when the plot started to take off and with every twist, I found myself continuously asking one question- did the people not know of the prophesy? It seemed a bit absurd considering how dependent the people of Dahryst were on their gods and goddesses. Aside from that, this book was entirely captivating and consumed me from the very first page! I am already anticipating the next book of this duology!

Thank you NetGalley and Rebecca L. Garcia for such a riveting read!

I loved that this was a dual pov between our main character and the god whose powers she has. Seeing both of their povs was so awesome and had me binging the book. Can’t wait for book 2

3.5 ⭐

I really enjoyed the beginning and the end of this story, but struggled a bit through the middle. That being said, I was captivated by all of the characters and their story arcs. There were definitely a few reveals I did not anticipate.

The world building is a bit intense but the glossary at the front of the book was extremely useful and well-thought out. The world and magic system felt unique, and I was intrigued by all of the rituals, gods and way of life.

The trial element in the middle of the book (the part I struggled with), gave me Hunger Games vibes and felt a little lackluster.

The FMC and MMC and their enemies to lovers chemistry + banter was enjoyable. I look forward to reading the continuation of their story.

I was lucky enough to get a ARC copy through Netgalley. This was a great mixture of hunger games and the divergent series with touches of magic! I saw down and read this within a day, I was absorbed into the world and their lives!

This story is centered around The Harvest, a battle to the death for witches who reach a certain age. The prize?? To be the next Elder! We meet Calista, her sister Arabella on the eve of the harvest. No one expected the God of Death to return this year or Calista to have similar abilities as the god himself…

Enemies to Lovers
Strong Female Lead
Self Discovery
Risking it all for family

I’m between 2 and 3 stars tbh. This book had interesting themes and great world building but I just didn’t think this one was for me. It was fairly slow but I did like the hunger games vibes that was in the book.