A deal for his life left Zan having to process should for the Ferryman. His 500-year sentence is almost up when he nearly ruins it all by not processing Bastian when the other boy shows up in his office - multiple times. Bastian is grieving the loss of his family, and finds himself more and more drawn to the mysterious Zan. Risking his approaching freedom for Bastian, Zan steals time with Bastian while trying to find a way to escape the Ferryman.

This felt like a unique story and take on Greek mythology. The setting is intriguing, particularly the user of memories as the space where the two main characters spend time together. At times, the pacing felt slow or repetitive.

This book was beautifully written about subjects not easy to write about - grief, sadness, guilt, death. They are heavy and must be read in the right frame of mind. It's not the type of book I generally read because I read for enjoyment and escapism, but this just brings me down and I couldn't find the joy. I struggled to finish it.

I understand the main character, Bastian, is grieving and going through turmoil but there was barely any light to balance it out. When he's with his friends in particular, he's just an a-hole. They're very saintly to continue on caring for him and drag him through his life. The other MC, Zan, is sweet, lonely and hungry for anyone to share time with. Is it a match made in heaven (hell) or just the lack of options that brings them together.

Overall, I felt it was too dragged out. I increased the speed on my audiobook just to finish it. The narrators did a good job though and the cover is beautiful. Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC. These are my honest opinions.

I wasn't sure that I'd like this book, but I was in a book rut, so I decided to try it.

I was pleasantly surprised. First and foremost, I love that it was an LGBT+ book that didn't make a big deal out of being an LGBT+ book, if that makes sense. Some of the queer books I've read lately make the BIGGEST deal out of the queer aspect. Like... the author almost loses sight of the book to showcase just how queer the book is.

That's boring to me.

This book was just another book, but it happened to have queer characters. Period. I loved that about it.

Also, the book itself was GOOD. I've kind of moved away from YA books in the past few years. I'll still read one now and then, but I just don't find the same enjoyment from them as I once did. (Of course, I AM 40, so maybe it was time. Haha.)

But this one was quite good. It didn't really read like a YA book. Yes, it featured teenage characters and, as a result, tackled common themes of adolescents and growing up. But still, it was well-written and tackled deeper themes like grief, survivor's guilt, loss, etc.

And the ending? Oof. Gutting.

A beautiful book that will tug on the heartstrings of anyone who's ever experienced profound loss. Highly recommend.

“The stars hold our stories. Never forget your roots, Alexander. Never forget the old gods.”

Well. I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. It’s got some cool ties to Greek mythology. It’s sort of a star crossed lovers situation. And it’s got traumatized sad boys. What’s not to love? I’ll tell you what, Bastian.

Let’s get into the good first.

First and foremost, this is a story about grief and healing. It’s labeled romance, but that is definitely a secondary plot line. Bastian and Dorian’s mother died in an accident and Bastian blames himself. He’s mad at everyone and the world in his grief. He is mad at his brother for being able to move on quicker. He’s not dealing with things in the right way and it’s causing him to end up in this in between area of the Styx, where we meet Zan. Zan, who has been serving the ferryman for hundreds of years in order to find his way back to his long passed family.

I feel Zan had a proper bittersweet story. He misses being human, he wants someone to talk to, he’s lonely and craving something more. I felt for him. Dorian too, just wants to reconnect with his brother after their traumatic incident and keeps getting pushed away. It’s all very sad, with not a whole lot of laughs. This may a book you’ll really resonate with if you’ve lost people close to you.

Now on the other hand. As much as this is a story about survivor’s guilt and grief and as much as everyone is entitled to grieve in different ways, I just found Bastian to be kind of annoying. He’s not a likeable character, he pushes everyone away, he makes dumb decisions and is rude to everyone. His poor brother used to be so close to him and now he’s treating him like he’s in exile. Again, people treat grief differently, but I would’ve preferred a character I could sympathize with a little more. I just wanted more Dorian most of the time because he seemed like a very interesting character.

The romance is the main other issue I have here. For over half of the book, they were said to be “connecting” and Zan kept saying “no one had ever seen him like that” or “spoken to him that way” and like, brother, he’s just being rude. I didn’t really feel the chemistry, even towards the end.

Overall, it was an okay book for a debut. I would be interested to see what the author puts out in the future. For now, for those who love a bittersweet ending and a story about dealing with grief, this one might be fire you! But don’t go into it if you’re looking for a heavy romance. Thanks to NetGalley for the early audio copy!

Absolutely nailed it with the narration. I loved this book in print and I love it even more now. I have no other notes.

the pros:

i thought this concept was really cool—not a direct retelling, but pulling from greek mythology about death including the river styx and charon while blending it in with a modern setting. i liked that the characters weren’t immediately in love and seemed to unwillingly fall for one another. i feel like the depiction of grief felt very honest insomuch that it was messy (i don’t want my depictions of grief to be neat and tidy). i like the growth that bastian went through by the end of the book and got to find a better life for himself.

the cons:

overall, the writing wasn’t anything standout to me, and at times, the decisions of the characters were questionable. also… i think the book explained this a little bit, but where are the adults in these kids’ lives? maybe i’m showing my privilege by asking that but it just felt like these two brothers were left to their own devices/choices with a huge sum of money and that just felt off to me? so i kept getting hung up on that. also the two main character voices didn’t quite feel distinct enough for me.

as for audio narration, overall it was good, but one narrator had a voice for the female friend character that grated on me, personally.

all in all, i’m glad i read it, and it was a perfectly fine book.

This is the story of two boys, Zan and Bastian, invariably linked by grief.

Honestly, I really struggled with this book. I found both boys to be rather flat. Bastian's only personality trait is that he LOVES books, and I wish I could tell you something about Zan beyond that he hates his life of servitude.

It's pretty rare that I struggle through an audiobook, but I didn't like either of these narrators. Both Dillon Sickels and Jeremy Gardner sound almost exactly the same, and neither one sounds like an 18 year old. Very poor casting on the part of the publisher.

In the end, I didn't enjoy this book, and I would not recommend it at all.

This one packs a gut punch... in the best way!

Told in dual POV, we follow two teens: Bastian, living in Portand with his twin brother and grappling with the grief of losing their mom, and Zan, a boy cursed for 500 years to help the Ferryman usher souls to the Underworld. Their paths cross when Bash appears to Zan at the River Styx but doesn't die. What follows is a journey of healing for Bastian as he travels back and forth between his life (where he's failing out of school) and Zan's world (where they travel together through memories along the River Styx). The problem? Zan has to make a choice: lead Bash to the ferryman or sign on for 500 more years.

The book is chock-full of well-developed, flawed characters whose hearts are in the right place. The author writes Bash's grief so well that my heart was breaking every time he relived the car accident that killed his mom. The book is full of remorse, regret, redemption, and sacrifice. It hits like an Adam Silvera book (and y'all know how I LOVE those books)!

Narrators can make or break an audiobook for me, and Dillon Sickels @popsickels and Jeremy Gardner complement each other well.

At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwicki is such a beautiful story. This is a poignant tale over grief, love and loneliness. Zan and Bastion have both sacrificed so much and are dealing with their own iterations of grief. Zan is working off a debt to the ferry master and helping collecting souls, Bastian is grieving the loss of his mother from an accident he survived all while alienating his friends and family. They both are dealing with loneliness and find comfort in each other. Zan is close to repaying his debt but can he really sacrifice the first person who has made him feel alive after so many years. Y’all, this story hit on so many levels, I laughed and got a bit emotional but in the end I was left smiling. It’s a really gorgeous story with many tough situations and realizations. While we deal with grief in this story there’s also a strong representation of found family and comedic relief through friends, especially Riley. This was such a good read, definitely one to check out.

I was able to listen to this audiobook narrated by Dillon Sickels and Jeremy Gardner. They both did perfectly representing these characters, their emotions and vulnerability was evident. They really added to the story and when the ferryman appears, well it was creepy! Thank you to NetGalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately this one was a but of a drag for me. once I got to the 45% mark I honestly stopped caring about the plot and the characters. The writing was good but I just was missing that connection to the story.

It is a perfect book for anyone who loved They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera very similar vibes!

Audiobook was good! I did really enjoy the narrator.

I was excited for this audiobook and then I started listening to it and was a little disappointed. It was VERY YA. Normally that is not an issue for me, but for some reason I could not get behind it with this book. The story was interesting, but I feel like it could be fleshed out more. I felt as if things happened to fast/too early on? I don't know, this just was not the book for me. I appreciate being able to listen to it though.

4.25 stars!!

perfect for those who love a cosy, greek mythology inspired ya fantasy! we follow two characters; bastian, a lost teenager following his mother’s death & zan, stuck in a 500 year curse serving the ferryman.

i absolutely adored how the story progresses, how we follow both boys as they slowly keep magically bumping into each other & how with each meeting they grow as individuals and learn about one another.

also bastian opening a bookshop is the most perfect cosy setting for all book lovers! & the cat in the store was the cutest little side character!

i absolutely adored the whole cast of characters, they were all so heartwarming & the found family was top notch!

i highly recommend the audiobook! the narrators were phenomenal, one for each pov so it’s really easy to follow!

a big thank you to the dreamscape team & netgalley for this arc!

What a lovely and original story! I was surprised at how taken I became with Zan and Bastion. While Bastion is dealing with the loss of his mother and blaming himself here on earth, Zan is almost at the end of deal he made to save his mother but assisting the ferryman for 400 years. Bastion, it seems, was supposed to have died in the accident that killed his mother, and it is Zan's job to see him over to the ferryman. But somehow, between worlds, the two form a bond that cannot last.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. There is a dual narration that works well and really enhances the perspectives of Bastion and Zan. We grow to see how each is hurting and how each plays a beautiful role in the others life. This is a sad story, but also an uplifting one and the narrator's capture that tension well. Readers should be aware going in that the plot deals with depression grief and suicide ideation. These are heavy topics, but Kulwicki handles them well and in an age appropriate way that represents the struggle deftly along with the cost. Overall this is a story about what it means to live and what makes like worth living. It is thought provoking and will likely stick with me for a long time. A reminder of how precious life is and how much of a difference our connections to each other can make.

This was like The Song of Achilles but... bad.

It was about grief and lose and this book is defiantly for some people but not me. The characters bonding over their dead mothers and not even really ending up together at the end was just not my cup of tea

content warnings: car accident, death, grief, suicidal ideation, alcohol and drug use by minors

zan has spent the past 499 years serving out a 500-year sentence to process souls for the ferryman, at the end of which he can be reborn. but if he slips up, he’ll die for good.

bastian, grieving the loss of his mother from a car accident that should have taken him, too, has bought a bookstore on the brink of collapse with life insurance money.

when bastian sleeps, the two are brought together. zan knows he should process bastian’s soul, but something’s holding him back. as zan contemplates whether bastian is worth losing his chance at life, bastian contemplates whether he wants to keep living if it means losing zan.

i am SO glad this was an owlcrate pick, as it may not have been on my radar otherwise. as soon as i read its description, i knew i would enjoy at the end of the river styx. this book did such a great job with exploring the themes of grief and mental illness, including how these affect a person both internally and externally. there were so many points at which i teared up. the romance was plenty angsty, too, seeing as one was literally in the underworld and the other was (mostly) alive.

narration: there were two narrators, dillon sickels and jeremy gardner, to reflect the dual viewpoint of the book. i thought both narrators did a great job bringing the story to life. i highly recommend this audiobook!

I tried too many times to read this one and finally downloaded the Netgalley audio version thinking this would be the kick in the butt to get into it but alas it still didn't pull me in.

There wasn't enough of a foundation to meet the characters ahead of all of the grief that was overtaking them and I'm in a rut regarding books on grief as many people get into their feelings over the characters feelings of grief but I'm not and that's a problem with an empathetic connection. There are two characters, one grieving his dead mother where he buys a bookstore with the insurance money and the other who is the Ferryman of the River Styx who has one more year to go before he's free of the curse of ferrying those across. The two of their worlds collide.

It felt like stuck spinning wheels, nothing quite happening enough but something is certainly going on. It didn't work for me.

I received a special edition of this book in my Owlcrate and knew nothing about it, but when I saw Netgalley had the audiobook I was interested in starting!

This is not something I typically read, but I did enjoy the story. I am on a roll reading books that show how people overcome loss and finding themselves. This book was such an interesting concept with the "real world" and the "mythical world" mixing. The readers in the audio book did a great job reading clearly and differentiating the voices so you could clearly tell whose POV you were reading.

The only issue I had with this book was that at times I could hear a dull ringing in the background or I could tell when the voice was stopping and starting its like the background dull noise came and went and at time it was all that I could focus on.

This is such a unique story and very different from anything I've read before. Styx bounces between the POVs of Bastian and Zan. Bastian survived a car accident where his mother died and that he feels responsible for. He's floating through life without much direction. Zan is bound to the River Styx and must deliver souls that got stuck on the way to heaven or hell for a term of 500 years; he's on year 499 at the time of the story.

These two should have never crossed paths, but Bastian keeps appearing in Zan's realm because he was actually supposed to die in the accident, too. Bastian doesn't want to die. Zan wants his freedom but doesn't want Bastian to die, either. They form a relationship while trying to sort through these things and the fact that they do not exist in the same place. This leads to an interesting perspective on grief and moving on.

I really enjoyed the audiobook version of this book. It was recorded in a dual narrator format, so Zan and Bastian both get a voice. I loved getting a voice to pair with the characters I'd read about previously; I think it helped me to get a better idea of what they were supposed to be like (for example, one voice was lower than I had originally imagined). They both speak clearly, which allows you to speed it up if that's your jam.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.