This really solidified a 4 star rating around 80%. The first 3/4ths of the book kinda dragged for me and I felt like our FMC was being dumb. But then again I’ve seen these tropes before in other books and our FMC hasn’t. I felt like some of the reveals were obvious, but some mildly surprised me. However, the end made me gasp! I definitely will be reading book 2!

Let me just say right off the bat...I absolutely LOVED this book. From the interesting characters, the intriguing magic system, the vivid world building, to the lovely writing style. This book checked off so many things I enjoy in a romantasy.

Not to mention the story itself. The delicious tension and slow burn that I just ate up but then that reveal?? Heartbroken. But at the same time I’m also not cause what the hell man. Feminine rage in many ways.

I love the twists and turns it had and the Dorian Gray vibes. It had a bit of mystery to it. Who do you trust? Who’s telling lies? Is this only a half truth?

And that ending??? What a cliffhanger. I’m super excited to jump into the next book whenever it comes out. I have to know what happens!

The MC Edira is a threadmender, a healing magic that claims its price by taking time off the user's life (possibly up to years!). I thought the cost of threadmending magic was interesting and clever. The land where Edira lives is plagued by a deadly blight that even she can't heal. When her brothers catch blight, she ends up at Fernglove manor, the home of a powerful and influential family of Evers (fae like beings with insect characteristics). The Ferngloves are mysterious, dangerous, and many are cruel.

I love books with weird plants so the storyline with the blight was great, plus add in the healer main character and gothic fantasy setting and I'm sold. I'll admit, this one took me a minute to get into, but by the end I was like, yes. I get it. Edira was a bit naive especially when it came to the romance, I was rooting for her but definitely yelling at the book a bit too! I really liked her as a character, and Rorik too (insect daddy IYKYK). The end was great and I'm looking forward to book 2!

4.25/5

I am and always will be a sucker for a healer FMC and Edira was no different. However this one just fell flat for me at about 55-60%.

I know I read a lot of romantasy but it felt so painfully obvious who the bad guy was gonna be, what was gonna happen and everyone could see it *except* Edira. And even when she did realize it there was never a moment of “wow I should have seen the signs”.

It felt a bit like it lacked world building (what was the blight and where did it come from????), there wasn’t really much relationship building and again—some of the foreshadowing was so in your face that it wasn’t even fun when it came true.

Bummer all around, definitely won’t be picking up the second.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy! It’s out 4/8!

And I oop 🫣 there is something to be said about writing a whole book where 96% of the content didn’t make sense and the story setting was just a mishmash of about five other romantasy books.

I am not new to this author, I’ve read five books by her by now but I will say that this is the first time I haven’t been able to grasp the concepts she’s written out- I just feel like she had so many ideas and couldn’t execute them.

I liked the end, only because the romance went the way I wanted it too but this book has been removed from my “I wanna buy it” list

This book was fan freaking fantastic. I fell in love with the mystical beauty of Fernglove, as well as the mystery that the property provided. It was like I was transported to another world.

Edira was such a beautiful and evolving character. She’s attempting to solve the mysterious blight that has taken over her town, as she is the only threadmender that can heal others…. while also trying to figure out the peculiar members of the Fernglove family and unravel their lore.

There was a major plot twist where I had to reread the pages a few times because I was like NO FREAKING WAY. I was glued to my kindle and biting my nails. That’s how good the moments leading up to the plot twist, and the plot twist itself were.

If you like fantasy romance with a touch of mystery and thriller aspects, you’re going to love this book.

This book has drama! Fae magic, bargins, challenges on a passive aggressive manner, and force politeness. The author does a fanastic job developing the Gothic vibe and drawing you into the magical world. The intensity of the story, the journey, and the possibility of the demise of the FMC when saving someone. You will feel the turmoil and chemistry between the fmc and mmc. This story will have everything you are looking for in a romantasy series.

This was such a fun read. This should definitely be on your radar if you enjoy:
🪲 slow burn romance
🪲 animal familiars
🪲 forced proximity
🪲 trainer x trainee

Nothing is what it seems in this gothic cottagecore romantasy. The magic systems are very unique. As is the world. Imagine a moody and darker version of the Spring Court from ACOTAR. This story is full of tension and mystery and kept me intrigued the entire time. I am so excited to see where this story goes.

Now I can't forget to mention the Insect Daddy. Yep, you read that right.... INSECT DADDY. I wasn't sure how I would feel about him, but this man is a tortured soul and I easily fell in love with him.

Gothic fantasy? A deadly, incurable virus? A girl who can heal but at a cost? SAY NO MORE. I was obsessed with this book from the very first page.

Edira Brillwyn is a threadmender, which means she can heal injuries and cure diseases but every time she does, it drains her own life. So she keeps her power a secret… until the powerful Fernglove family finds out. When her brothers fall sick with the blight, a disease with no cure, she’s forced to make a deal with them to save her family. But stepping into their Ever world? Huge mistake. Because the Ferngloves have secrets, and the deeper Edira digs, the more she realizes she may not make it out alive.

🕰️ WHY I LOVED IT:
✨ The gothic, eerie vibes
🔮 The magic system is so unique
🖤 The Fernglove family? Fascinating and a little terrifying.
⏳ The suspense! The secrets!
🔥The slow-burn tension. I COULDN’T STOP READING.

This book is dark, atmospheric, and super addictive. If you love gothic fantasy with deadly bargains, morally gray families, and secrets that could ruin everything, be sure to read this one!

House of Blight was a lush, darker romantasy with an interesting magical concept.

Edira is a threadmender - a person who can view the life threads of others and stitch them back together to heal, at the cost of her own threads. Her aunt, also a threadmender, was taken by the Evers years ago and never came back. She told Edira to heal no one and she kept that promise until the day her brothers brought home their dying friend. She couldn’t heal him, as he had blight. She tried and failed and within days her brothers were dying, too. When an Ever catches her trying to heal them she makes a desperate bargain - he’ll stabilize her brothers so they do not succumb to blight if she uses her magic to try and find a cure for the blight. But with no know cure, Edira has her work cut out for her. Especially since many a threadmender had gone missing from the Evers domain before her.

Edira is as at times quite smart but also quite dense. I enjoyed that she acted like any person would when basically forced into a work contract with people she despised. She didn’t sugar coat her feelings and I found that rather believable at first. Over time her anger felt like a bit much at times, but considering how that family treated her, I’ll give her a pass. Orin felt like the stereotypical family head love interest. His family hated him, he appeared charming to Edira but had no problem ordering everyone around. He seems like a pretty on the nose love interest, similar in vibes to like Tamlin for me.

There was a love triangle, but honestly, the whole romantical plot felt a bit mechanical. The progression in both relationships felt quite stiff and I didn’t really believe in either of them. I did like Rorik more than Orin, but I always tend to root for the underdog in love triangles.

The writing was lovely and atmospheric. I enjoyed how the world was described and how things were laid out. The plot wasn’t anything too out there and I had a hunch how things were going to go after about 50% but I still enjoyed the ride. It does a good job at closing off book one and leaving it open for the next book. I’ll probably read it!

Overall I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to someone looking for a good ol gothic romantasy!

Thanks very much to HarperVoyager and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a must-read book I don't want to give any spoilers, but you won't regret getting this book, you won't put it down till you're done reading the whole this.

This book was truly a unique experience. It blended captivating storytelling with dark, atmospheric vibes. The characters are well-developed, and the narrative keeps you hooked from start to finish. This would be a great book for fans of both mystery & fantasy. This is a must-read for anyone who enjoys immersive, thrilling tales. Highly recommended!

I was at the edge of my seat the entire time, it was a magical mystery as everything unraveled. I was completely Immersed. I don't know if it's just me but I instantly didn't like Orion and on the other hand i was planning my future with Rorik. The plot was interesting, my instincts told me that something was wrong from the beginning.

What a delightful book! I usually read somewhat fast, but House of Blight was a book I simply couldn’t put down as it had me invested from the first page all the way to the end. First, I absolutely love Edira— she’s feisty and yet kind, and I personally love healers of any form. A threadmender is a very cool and unique concept to the occupation and I loved the way the book describes the terms of the power and limits it has and I’m really glad to say that she stays true to herself throughout the entire book. Second, I love the environment of the book, as both Willowfell and the Fernglove locations were described in a way that made it easy to envision in my head as I read.

Reading about the characters was also fun! Orin and his family were given more than enough screen time to where I felt like I could get to know each of them without them feeling like they were overshadowing each other, and I loved getting to know even the minor characters that had their part to play. The mysteries had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to figure out what was going on and how Edira would handle each of the scenarios she was placed in, and I was invested the entire time. Overall, I really loved this book and I’m really excited to see how the series progresses.

This was a very unique story. I have never seen anything like this story. Much of it like a magical bargain are common but so much of the rest are completely original. I read it quickly because it always held my interest but I would not say it was exactly my kind of story. The heroine Edira is a very serious person, which makes sense after all she had been through, but she makes rash decisions that seem completely out of character for her which annoyed me. It’s a very dark story for the most part with very little humor or romance. There was a lot of really fun elements but for me I wanted more of those to change the darker tone to the story. I am not sure I would read the next book. It definitely sets up the sequel but for the most part I would say it is a satisfying conclusion for those who hate cliffhangers.

This was an interesting story, I did struggle through it a bit because I just couldn’t get into the writing style/world. It was so predictable in my opinion and if it wasn’t for that I would’ve loved it a lot more.

A bargain made with Death itself begins the story. Love a good Death personified moment and this one certainly served to pull me into the magic of this world.

Fast forward from the prologue to the beginning and we meet Edira. In this tale, magic comes with a cost: she can mend the Threads of life to fix things like minor or major injuries, at the expense of taking moments from her own life and taking on the pain the injury caused. But for a humble orphaned young woman with younger brothers, Edira seems to see the cost as well worth it for those she cares for. Stepped into the caretaker role at 13 and has lived in fear of someone discovering her power. No true friendships. No lasting relationships. No trusting in others. Just her and her brothers living with a secret fearing the day she’s discovered.

But of course, the day after she eases the pain of her brothers’ friend dying of blight with her threadmender abilities (one gifted as a healer is hard-pressed to avoid the pull to heal or soothe), an infamous Ever shows up at the town market and takes an interest in her. The same one who’d taken her aunt years prior for the revelation of having the exact same gift lingering in Edira’s veins. And then the unthinkable happens leaving Edira utterly devastated and willing to make a desperate bargain.

I definitely got the gothic fantasy vibe while reading this novel. There was magic but it and the essence of the story came off eerie and mysterious. Instead of intense battles and kingdom politics, this leaned more into the mental and emotional battle of practicing magic to cure a deadly blight and existing amongst the secrets held by the Fernglove family. Yes, there are still training scenes for physical endurance and fighting that are quite delightful, don’t worry.

The additional layer with magical abilities combined with insects for a sort of bond shown by one character in particular certainly added to the quirky, eerie vibe given from this gothic fantasy. Cannot say I’ve ever read a maple moth being someone’s familiar before this book. Definitely unique.

Edira feeling as though someone’s eyes were on her, though no one around and the overall vibe of the story kept making me think of the film Crimson Peak (2015), the classic Jane Eyre, and the fairytale Bluebeard. The further into the story we go, the more hidden truths are revealed and deception uncovered. The cost and greed of immortality. The lengths those will go to in order to keep it.

Things so clear to me as the reader are evading our heroine and, while plenty of truths are revealed, some remain just far enough out of reach that they have a detrimental effect on Edira’s life. Though not all is lost as even before a cliffhanger of an ending, some truths are found. But even some truths cannot completely prevent what comes for the characters and the decisions they must make in the end.

An intriguing first half of a new gothic fantasy duology indeed with much more waiting to be revealed and resolved for the second half once it’s released. I’m intrigued to see what’s in store for these characters going forward.

This was such a fun and easy read. I was hooked from the very start.

Edira, our FMC, is a threadmender, which is a really cool style of healing magic where you pay for healing with your own lifetime (in seconds, minutes, hours, days, or even years, depending on how big the injury is). I loved this concept because it adds real consequences and naturally gets her into some pretty sticky situations.

The Evers are kind of like your typical Fae but with a twist. They have insect traits like wings and antennae, which made the already eerie, dying atmosphere even more interesting.

The romance was messy in the best way. I was constantly yelling at Edira but also cheering her on. Rorik totally stole my heart in that brooding idiot kind of way. Orin? No. Absolutely not. And Ywena the moth ended up being one of my favorite side characters.

If you're into romantasy, fae, plot twists, creepy manors, and a good slow burn, then definitely check this one out. I will definitely be checking out book two ASAP!

The world building and characters in this story had me hooked from the very beginning, and I was locked in to the end. AND THE CLIFFHANGER ENDING?!!?!!!!!! Soooooo many memorable and highlighted moments, but WOW talk about a well done fantasy. Oh. My. God. I can’t wait for the next one!

4/4.5 ⭐️ (minor spoilers)

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Maxym M. Martineau for the ARC!

This book was so good!! I was so intrigued and could not put it down.

Loved Edira and the idea of threadmending to heal people! Very curious about how much each time costs her though and am hoping we get more info on that in the next book.

The love triangle was soooo good! And I had sneaky suspicion that Orin was giving Tamlin vibes. Never trust the guy who seems too squeaky clean!

The descriptions of the blight were gross. But in the best way because I felt like the point of it being all consuming sickness was depicted really well.

Hoping we get some more insight into that awesome prologue in the next book too!

Someone please do some AI renderings of the characters! I need them in my life.