I had an excellent time reading House of Blight!
The tense, eerie, alluring atmosphere bursts onto the scene and I relished every single moment in it. Heightening the tension is the magic system at play. This is one of intrigue, possessing a uniqueness all of its own. From its emergence my fascination of it continuously grew. I so easily immersed myself in this tale, the narrative keeping my attention captive to the very end. The magic fed into the world-building marvelously. It also jumpstarted the plot brilliantly. Then there's the romance-- a romance full of surprise, twists, and turns. 4.5

Simply stated: I'm all in for this spectacular tale unfolding.

Our heroine Edira is a wonderful lead to follow. I matched her every step in her journey, I rooted for her heartily all the time, and admittedly wanted to shake some sense into at other times. I cried every time she used her magic, knowing what she is sacrificing. The narrative does not shy away at all over what is at stake, and that includes Edira's very life hanging in the balance. As much as I loved Edira, I did become exasperated by her one too many times. For a character as intelligent and aware as she, it became overly frustrating to see her continuously harbor mistrust and hate towards the one character who was rather overtly trying to help her. While on one hand I do understand her stance, on the other hand it's a stance unevenly dealt, as she eases her tension towards other characters who arguably deserve the same level (if not more) of spite. Nevertheless, I will always appreciate a lead who is not without flaws. It's easy to root for Edira regardless of shortcomings, because she remains at her heart a character willing to learn, to try, and to make the right choices (even if some choices must be course corrected). She's a heroine I'm so very happy to follow to the very end.

The romance was one of my favorite facets of the narrative! If you read the synopsis, there is definitely a certain level of expectation heading into this tale. At least I certainly felt it. But from the onset something never quick connected the way as anticipated. In fact, I think the narrative sways the reader away from that initial expectation subtly yet cleverly. And it directs the eyes onto another, and once they land on him-- they won't be so easily turned. The less I say the better, because this is a narrative choice I wholly embraced and what I will be most eagerly anticipating as the journey continues!

Overall, House of Blight is setting up something very special. Already in this first book I have found much to delight in, from its tantalizing magic system, it's spine-chilling setting, it's slowly burning romance, and its clever plot. I'm seated for that sequel, consider me first in line for that release!

Thank you to The Nerd Fam, Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

Edira is a Threadweaver, a human with magic in which she is able to heal many ailments, but at the forfeit of the threads of her own life. She has never been able to heal the incurable disease, Blight, that has taken the lives of many around her. When her brothers contract Blight, she strikes a deal with an Ever named Orin, a fae like leader from the Fernglove family who controls her town. In this gothic Manor setting, there is secret after secret and Edira finds herself sucked into more trouble than she bargained for.
Overall this was an excellent read! Slow start but wow did it take off! So many secrets and revelations had me at the edge of my seat! With unique and cool features such as beast forms and special insects (Ywena the moth was my fave 🦋).

Amazingg cliffhanger, I am curious to see where the next book will take us!

If you like
🪲 slow burn romance
🪲dark secrets
🪲action packed cliffhanger
You’ll love this!!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, the Nerd Fam and Harper Voyager US for the eARC :)

4.75 💫 rounding up for GR

This is a VERY solid gothic fantasy romance.

🥀 Why this caught my eye on The Nerdfam website: “The first novel in an eerie, darkly creative, and romantic new gothic fantasy duology from Maxym M. Martineau, for readers of Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig.” Like HELLO this book rec was THROWN at me.

“HOUSE OF BLIGHT is a slow burn gothic romantasy about a woman who can stitch the threads of life, a powerful immortal family with secrets, and a creeping blight that refuses to be stopped—perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rachel Gillig. Brimming with gardens, tension, and mystery, this book gives Spring Court vibes but darker, or what I’ve been calling ‘moody cotttagecore.’” - Lara Báez, HarperCollins

🐞 The writing in this is just so poetic, all my highlights are just beautiful writing (and some killer quotes too tbh). I absolutely subscribe to this being moody cottagecore. One second you’re cozy and the next you’re learning something truly terrible 💀 I love a gothic moment and this was just done exceptionally well. There doesn’t always have to be something insane going on for the story to grip you and this book excels at that. I also have to say, cliffhanger endings are no one’s favorite BUT this one is just so juicy 🙂‍↕️ I’ll be sitting back with my feet up and eating popcorn while booktok/booksta/book world experience what I just did 👀

🥀 Plot twists, head turns, kindle put down moments, feet-kicking, giggling, wall-staring, pretty much ALL the workings of an iconic read and ALL can be found in this book.

Things we see:
🐞 female rage
🥀 beast forms
🐞 training scenes
🥀 insane family dynamics
🐞 familiars
🥀 forced proximity
🐞 slow burn romance
🥀 unique magic system
🐞 perfect world building
🥀 touch her and you die
& insect daddy, yes you heard ME.

Ah, I just can’t wait for the book world to get its hands on this one 😌

Thanks so much to HarperCollins, The NerdFam & NetGalley for the eARC of HOUSE OF BLIGHT by Maxym M. Martineau (on sale April 8, 2025)! 🦋🥀🐞 my review is 100% honest.

Wonderfully Gothic! I loved the world Maxym has created, everything is described beautifully with that underlying creepy factor. As far as the story goes it was slightly predictable however this didnt stop me from enjoying every minute. Looking forward to seeing where book 2 will take us! Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the early copy!

If you read a lot of romantasy this book is what I like to call pleasantly predictable. I had a good idea of where the book was headed fairly early on, but boy was the journey to get there fun! I was able to figure out a lot of the “twists” but there were a several that surprised me. And honestly getting to say “I knew it!!!” When I figure something out and find out I’m right is half the fun. I really loved the main character Edira. She was a delightful contradiction in that she was so smart and mentally strong, but she still acted like a love sick teenager at times and occasionally knowingly made poor choices, and I think most of us identify with that. She is the only character I really feel like I got to know so I am definitely looking forward to getting to know the other characters better in book 2! The pacing was initially a bit slow, but I wasn’t bored. The vibes were a cross of ACOTAR and Six Scorched Roses. I really enjoyed the creepy and suspenseful undertones. This was very “Victorian girl goes to help a wealthy family and strange things start happening in the manor” so it may feel like not much is happening at times but that is when the suspense is building. Now let’s talk about that ending!!! This was a solid 4 star book but that ending is absolutely worth 5 stars. I knew this was the first book in a duology, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get a satisfying ending that allowed for another book. But OMG that ending WAS satisfying! I can’t really say more to avoid spoilers but let’s just say book 2 will be pre-ordered the moment it’s available. Also Ywena is my second favorite character and I hope she has ALL the plot armor!

I was given an eARC for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley!

House of Blight is a gothic fantasy/romance. The female protagonist can heal others, but in doing so her life is shortened. I love books with healers, so this was right up my alley. I found the fantasy part of the story more enjoyable than the romance. I normally enjoy love triangles and this one didn’t disappoint, but I wish it had a little more angst. Instead I felt more drawn to one of the two love interests, which makes the story a little less exciting IMO.

I enjoyed the world building and the characters. It was an easy, relaxing read that kept me engaged throughout. If you like books such as The Cruel Prince and ACOTAR then you most likely will enjoy this!

🥀House of Blight 🥀
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Vivid world building, unique magical abilities and an unexpected twist ending had me on the edge of my seat for this incredible first book in an upcoming duology by Maxym M. Martineau.

Edira is the latest threadmender in her family, and has been hiding her abilities in order to avoid being forced to work for one of the powerful Ever families. When her brothers become tainted by the mysterious blight that has been devastating the surrounding countryside, Orin Fernglove promises to help save them in exchange for her services for his grandmother. The following tale twists and turns with Fae wiles, family secrets locked away by powerful magic, with the healthy dose of forced proximity and slow burn romance.

I wasn't able to put this book down; I consumed it in one afternoon! Edira the FMC has so many excellent traits for a romantasy lead: healthy skepticism of the people in power, a genuine understanding of how her world works and speaks up for herself, and even when she is becoming romantically involved with someone doesn't allow her feelings for them to color what is actually happening. There was only one part of the plot that I predicted, and I was very happy to see it come true. 😉 This was my first Maxym M. Martineau novel and I will be reading the next book in this series, as well as her other books.

This book!!! What an incredible read! This new gothic romantasy is fantastic, I was unable to put it down!

I absolutely love Edira, the FMC. She's a little naive at times but she's strong, brave, kind and smart! She's also caring and loves her family fiercely. She has an awesome power but it but each time she uses it, it removes time from her life. I really enjoyed watching her learn more about it.

There are others in the book with power as well, called Evers. Each house has unique powers that present differently in each member. Most of the population is human though, and boy do they like to fawn over the Evers.

There is a sort of love triangle situation that's a lot of fun, and although it's a little predictable, I still greatly enjoyed this story. There were still instances where I was surprised by the events unfolding.

My favorite character is Ywena, the sweet, sassy little moth. I need her 🥹

The ending has me sad and intrigued and I'm excited for the next installment of this duology!

I really enjoyed this unique romantasy book. I liked the main character, Edira, in this story and enjoyed follow her as she worked to try to cure the blight. I loved the author’s writing style and how she created an atmospheric world. There were a lot of twists and turns throughout this book and I can’t wait to see how it continues in the next book.

Read this if you like:

📖 Gothic romantasy
📖 Forced proximity
📖 Unique magic system
📖 Slow burn romance

Thank you to Harper Voyager for the gifted arc.

I absolutely loved this book and all the characters in it, from our supposedly knight in shining armor here to save the day all the way down to the smallest of bugs (literally).

House of Blight is a refreshing and unique take on the romantasy format we are used to reading. The story follows Edira, a human with the ability to heal almost any ailment at the cost of her own life, who makes a deal with an "Ever" after he walks in on her trying to save her brothers from the 'Blight', a plague guaranteed to kill anyone it touches and which Edira is not able to cure on her own. The Evers are these magical beings who own the little town that Edira grew up in, and after making a deal with the Ever, she ends up going to live with them on their expansive estate while she researches a cure.

This book has a love triangle that is pretty obvious but I thought it was extremely well done. Talk about a golden boy and the black sheep, that is how you should be doing it. But where this book really shines is in the details. It is extremely descriptive, from what the doors look like to what rooms smell (or don't) smell like, and tidbits of the lore being dropped. Those points are extremely important in this book and made the reveals that much more impactful because nothing was done without a purpose. Edira's interactions with all the Evers keeps you at the edge of your seat as you are constantly questioning motives and intentions. There were parts of the story where we knew Edira was making the wrong decision but I also couldn't keep my eyes away. I read this book in just two sittings.

If you enjoy a well executed love triangle, dark fantasy, magical vows, betrayals left and right, and well thought out lore - I think you will love this story!

Thank you Nerd Fam and Harper Voyager US for this eARC!

Initial Thoughts: OH.MY.GOSH - it is actually torture that this book isn't out yet and that I can't tell everyone and their mother to go read this. It stuck the landing. This was just so good. Like don't get me wrong, it didn't reinvent the wheel but it was so refreshing to have such a unique take on a setup that is familiar. There were tears shed in the final chapters. Full review coming later because I've been reading this book non stop for hours because I couldn't put it down. Just wow. Wow wow wow.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book. The pacing, the story, and the relationships are all wonderful. The plot is engaging and fresh. The blight feels like its own living, breathing character. Everyone has a secret (or two or three) and you are left guessing right up until that grand finale where you’re headed. Every character is complex - no one dimensional characters here. You will love this world and its characters. I highly recommend for fans of Sarah J. Maas and other similar authors

3.5/5 stars.

If you are looking for something to recapture your attention and emotions after finishing something like A Court of Thorns and Roses, or From Blood and Ash, this is a good place to start.

What I liked:
- interesting magic and main conflict. Edira is a threadmender, a special kind of magic that heals. The cost? Pieces of her own life threads - the more she heals, the more of her own life she gives. The main conflict centers around a "blight", a disease that has been ravaging populations in this world and one Edira is desperate to solve.
- interesting cast of characters. I think this is the first romantasy where I've seen characters across a range of ages/maturity. We have the classic young adult woman and ageless immortal men, but also some family dynamics within the immortal race (sisters/brothers, grandparents and their children). The sibling and family rivalries feel like some of the most realistic elements to how these characters interacted, and I wish we had gotten a little more of those interactions than we did.

What I didn't like:
- predictability. While I know that tropes exist and are popular for a reason, the result in this story is a bit formulaic. We spend most of book with Edira being clueless to basically everything, and then the last 50-100 pages things move insanely fast. Do we trust the first love interest? Who is the dark haired MMC?
- timeline. This definitely falls into some insta-love/lust. The timeline is also incredibly unclear - based on the events of the story and the patterns of training/studying/recovery, it seems like Edira's time in the Evers is over the course of at least 6 months, but then it turns out to have only been 8 weeks? In which Edira went from HATING the Evers to falling in love with one, with no real in-between?
- repetitive word choices - it was easy to see how some of the popular and established romantasy stories had a influence, with very specific and repetive word choices. How many times do we need to read about eyes "darkening with desire".
- spotty world building. From the outside, the world building is built on a gothic romantic aesthetic - a fancy old house, small village, big parties and marketplaces. However, looking just a little closer, a lot of things don't really make sense. Exactly what is the relationship between the Evers and the regular humans? Why have humans let themselves be subjugated by the Evers (I don't need like a fully history lesson, but I spent most of the book thinking that most humans did not like the Evers either, but then all the villagers show up at the estate party). We also once again (cause we've seen it a gazillion times before) get a situation where with very little real training (I'm sorry, its gotta be more than just breath control) or understanding, our main character is suddenly a master of her magic.

All that said, I found the ending of this book somewhat interesting in its take on the final common tropes, so while I won't be rabid for the next one, I'll probably check it out once it comes.

Wow, this book. Just wow.

- gothic romantasy
- magic
- slow burn
- forced proximity

The world building- so good. Its dark, spooky, intriguing, mysterious, twisty and turny. I was captivated the entire time, read it in 1 sitting because I literally could not stop.

Edira, the FMC, is sassy as crap and I loved it. She is so caring and giving too, even when it is to her own detriment.

The Fernglove family is insane, but it was perfect, and their insanity had me laughing at times.

And the ending- holy crap. I absolutely can't wait for the next book.

The House of Blight is a dark, addictive read that pulls you right in with its atmospheric world and intriguing characters. The story follows Edira, a young woman who can heal others by sacrificing her own life force. When her brothers get sick with the Blight, a deadly disease ravaging their world, Edira makes a risky deal with Orin Fernglove, an immortal with his own secrets, to save them in exchange for helping him find a cure.

The world-building is detailed and immersive, with the Fernglove family’s eerie magic and hidden motives adding plenty of mystery. The slow-burn romance between Edira and Orin is filled with tension, and the plot is fast-paced yet deep, with twists and a magic system that keeps you guessing.

I sometimes found the pacing a bit quick at times, however the story’s mystery and character dynamics are totally engaging. The gothic vibes are complemented by a touch of cottagecore, and the adorable sidekick, Ywena, adds some charm. If you’re into dark fantasy, magical bargains, and complex family drama, this book will hook you—and the cliffhanger will leave you impatient for the next one.

Thank you Nerd Fam for the ARC!
Gothic Romantasy? Moody Cottagecore? Say less! House of Blight is the first in the Threadmender series and it hooked me from the very beginning! I love when magic comes with a cost so the careful line our FMC walks while racing against time had me hungrily turning those pages in turn! The blight felt like a character in itself, its eerie presence always lurking as Edira and the Evers try to find a cure. There’s a sense of foreboding that’s woven throughout the story and I had so much fun speculating like crazy. While sometimes a bit predictable (all of my theories were correct), I still had a great time and the fast paced plot didn’t make me wait long to confirm any suspicions I had. Also can we just talk about the moth companion Ywena??? SO CUTE. I very much enjoyed this trip to the sinister spring court of Fernglove and will absolutely be visiting again for book two!

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review!

2.5 stars, rounded up to a 3 for the purpose of this review. I had so much hope for this book, the premise sounded so intriguing but sadly it ended up falling pretty flat for me. I saw the plot twist coming so it left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. :( Very much gave ACOTAR vibes with the “blight”.

House of Blight definitely wasn’t a bad book, 2.5 stars is still an average rating overall but I just wanted more from the story! I will say, the author does a beautiful job of describing the threadmending magic. It was very ethereal and a really cool take on healing life threads!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this ARC early! To start, this was a quick read for me. I found that I was turning the pages to eagerly get deeper into this story but it never really got there. The romatasy aspect hooked me but was also frustrating. The characters definitely felt a little flat, and wanting further development. I started off having high-hopes for the main character but she didn't hold up as the book progressed. The focus on the relationships seemed to take over and as much as I appreciated the atmosphere and setting, the story itself just fell flat. I sort of felt like the prologue made sense but also not really? Her brothers healing felt like a flash compared to the slow-burn of the romance and I had a hard time believing she really wanted to heal them? It just felt like more of an erotica focus than I was expecting, and although I generally enjoyed the story, I was left disheartened in the end. Maybe it just wasn't exactly my cup of tea but I would recommend it to readers of rom-fantasy.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for an e-arc of this book!

I let this one sit on my shelf for WAY too long and now I regret it because this was so good!! I went into House of Blight by Maxym Martineau with no expectations or ideas. I think I requested this on NetGalley because it sounded cool and I liked the cover.

What a great premise! The magic system was so cool. Edira is a Threadmender with a magic that can help heal people but it takes some of her life as well. But when her brothers get sick with the Blight, she will do whatever she can to help heal them. Only problem, no one knows how to heal the Blight and even with Edira’s powers, she can’t heal them. But then Orin, a beautiful and powerful Ever comes in and promised to help Edira figure out how to save them and learn to heal the Blight! So she moves in with the Fernglove Evers hoping to learn and heal her brothers.

I mean the Threadmender magic is so cool but then the Fernglove magic being this like earthy magic? So cool! I couldn’t get enough and I just want to learn more. I think that Ediras magic - which of course she can’t share… is so complex but really keeps her isolated.

This book kept moving and it was well paced for me to not lose interest. I was riding on the relationship that Edira was building with Orin and the other Fernglove (looking at you Rorik… 👀).

Okay, I’ll say it, I was obsessed with Rorik, from the start. Literally from when we met him, I was like - I like him. And I loved how their relationship evolved throughout the book. Rorik felt like someone who just cared for Edira and wanted to push her but not for the same reasons that Orin did.

The twist though… 😩 I was surprised and yet not surprised and I LOVED IT. I couldn’t get enough. The ending was exactly what I wanted but knowing that it’s a Duology and I can’t wait to read more about Edira and her journey and relationship.

Also, Orin… yeah. I see you. 🫣

Definitely recommend if you like fantasy, magic, and some romance. Very excited to read more!

An easy 5 stars! The author's way with captivating language and imagery at times had me feeling like I could actually see, taste, and smell what was going on in the pages. Truly felt like I got to be a part of this beautiful, dark, captivating yet repulsive world. I felt the overall pace was good. I lived for the banter and tension. There is some skippable spice (one open door scene, not too graphic) and a bit of course language throughout. I will be thinking about this story for a while. I can't wait for more!

*I got to read this book early and my opinion is my own and freely given.

I received this book as a gifted eARC and loved it. The author's writing created a beautiful world with an ugly secret that makes you pay attention to what's going on. Medium paced story line with a love triangle to peek your interest, family drama, plus the cutest companion 💕