Great story! I enjoyed the slow burn romance and introduction into the fairie and human world. This book would be great for fans of SJMaas, as I caught a lot of themes in common with the ACOTAR series.
My main issue with the book is that the writing is rather simplistic and at times the actions of the characters seemed comical or cliche. Zain is an idiot and IMO Estrid forgave him too quickly because of the bond.

Forgiving Darkness by Cat Sirota is a touching exploration of trauma and self-forgiveness. The story follows Estrid, a young woman wrestling with a painful past that continues to shape her present. Sirota’s writing is packed with emotion, capturing Estrid’s internal struggle with sensitivity and depth. The novel excels in portraying the complex, ongoing nature of healing, though the pacing can feel slow at times, it really picked up in the second half.

I adored many of the characters in this book, although I struggled with Zain, and found his character development to be sporadic. I think this was an incredible debut, and cannot wait to continue with the series!

What drew me in was the cover, but what got me to stay was the world building. The plot didn't get lost at all, which was amazing. Especially for a debut book, and for being a first in a duology.
Check this out!

Thank you to NetGalley, author, and Publisher for the eARC.

This book has the type of trope that is my favorite- girl in human world meets fae from a faerie world, and gets thrown into all their drama. The story is interesting from the first chapter, and i found myself having a lot of questions after only a few pages- so it definitely leaves you wanting to know more from the start.

I felt like the story at times did end up being a bit rushed, as we jump very quickly forward and I wish that we were left in a bit more suspense throughout the book. However, the story is very action filled all the way through, which is a big plus. The pacing did however affect how i connected with the characters, as i felt like i could not connect as deeply with them as i would like- including that i wish there was a bit more character development.

However this book does have lots of twists and turns from the very start, that will intrigue fantasy lovers. I also found myself really liking a lot of the side characters, with their banter and sass. And of course one of my favorite things about this story is Estrid's wolf companion, Rafe. Absolutely loved him. And the ending was a major cliffhanger, that will definitely leave you with lots of questions!

I would recommend this book to fantasy readers that love a fast-paced and action filled book with a cute romance, companion animals, found family, twists & turns, and fae. A solid debut novel from Cat Sirota! <3
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Cat Sirota for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was good! Thank you, NetGalley and Cat Sirota, for the ARC copy. Honestly, I waivered between a 4 and 5 star for this book because I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the twists in the plot. It was excellent, and I can't wait to see what happens in book 2. The book needed to grab me more to get to a 5-star. It's a book that I really enjoyed reading and might think about for a day or two, but it won't continue to ruminate in my brain.

Estrid and Zane work together to fight an evil that is rising, and the book ends on a cliff hangar—especially the twist between the FMC and MMC at the very end (chef's kiss). Cat Sirota gave an excellent twist on the light and shadow powers seen in many romantasy novels by making the FMC the shadow/dark magic wielder.

If you are looking for an easy read with engaging characters that involves battles with both fae and mortals, dark vs. light, and fated mates, this book is for you. It does lean teen/YA, but there are a few spicy scenes, which are tastefully written without being overly graphic for a younger audience.

The cover is so beautiful. I have got to include that with my review!

I give this book 4 stars simply for the plot. It really is a well thought out plot, my only issue,(which is personal), would be the writing. I didn’t really FEEL connected to the characters, and a lot of parts almost seemed rushed (to me).

WITH THAT BEING SAID, give the book a chance. It may not have been for me, but it could be your next best read!

-Happy Reading

Thoroughly enjoyed this story - I need to know what's gonna happen next! Definitely will be on the lookout for book 2. The writer really sucked me in with the world building and the interesting magic going on. I loved that our FMC was the one with the dark all encompassing power not our MMC. I will say this wasn't 5 star read for me because I'm not super emotionally invested in the characters or their love story. I'm more interested in some of the side character at this point. Either way this was an enjoyable book that I flew through reading and definitely want to read the next one!

I was blown away by this remarkable debut! You couldn't even tell it was a debut. The writing, the story, the characters, the world building; it was all phenomenal!

Forgiving Darkness: Book 1 in a Binary Souls Duology by Cat Sirota follows Estrid, a 19 year old witch who has run away from her father, the king. She encounters an injured male in the woods she's been hiding in. He happens to be a extremely handsome, mysterious, and has a ton of dangerous secrets. Oh, and did I mention? He's fae and has no idea how he portalled to the human realm.

This is the first installment in this dark fantasy romance duology.

I enjoyed this book so much. It was full of twists and turns and had me hooked from the first page! I liked that it wasn't the typical fae romantasy. It had many unique and surprising pieces.
It kept me interested from page 1 until the very end. And there were just enough details, that it was still surprising but easy to read and understand what was going on.

I am so excited for the next installment! Thank you to NetGalley and Cat Sirota for providing me with an ARC of this book!



Amazon & Instagram: 12/13/24

First of al thank you Netgalley and Cat for the opportunity to be one of the first to read this book.

I enjoyed myself with this book it has a good world building and that is one of the most important things for me in a good fantasy book.

I can’t wait to see more of this autor

4⭐️!

Wow! For a debut novel this was pretty damn good! (Also, bonus points because the author lives in New Zealand, where I’m from!)

To be honest, the cover art is what initially drew me in. It’s so fucking sick I love it! And then the blurb sounded interesting too and I knew I had to give this a go and I’m really pleased I did.

I like to think that world maps should be a standard inclusion in fantasy books, so I loved the fact that there was one!

What makes this a 4 star read rather than 5 is that I have a couple grievances. For starters, although I like Estrid and Zain as characters, I do think their relationship was quite rushed and because of this I didn’t really see much chemistry between them or connect with them how I would’ve liked to. I would’ve loved to hear more backstories about them. Also, for two powerful characters who have gone through some bad things, they were very trusting of each other in the start, which I felt was a bit unrealistic.

Secondly, I would’ve really liked some more development and backstory about the Courts (Shadow Court in particular) and a bit more world-building so I hope book two will deliver on this!

There were some things I also really enjoyed, like the contrast between the characters having light magic versus shadow magic, and I LOVED that it was the FMC that had the shadow magic rather than the MMC. The shadow magic is so interesting (and deadly) and I want more!

The plot was super interesting and adrenaline-filled which was super cool to read.

I will say, the first few chapters really draw you in, but then the story falls flat in the middle, before picking up again in the second half. Goddamn that second half was SO good. Infinitely better than the first half. And that battle and ending? Amazing!

I am really glad I had the opportunity to read this, and I am excited for book two!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Cat Sirota for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

ARC Review of Forgiving Darkness by Cat Sirota
* * * * *
A thrilling start to a series that taking us on a journey of redemption and chaos, magic and fae, life and death!

The start of the read had already drew me in, believing that our FMC Estrid was into so trouble, but this young woman has got power that others shoudl prepare for. She has darkness and malice, but it is also obvious she has empathy and an awareness of her actions. With her haunted past, and the present where she struggles where she progresses through her own character's evolution, her future may be not of shadows and blood and carnage.
Then we have the MMC, Zain. Hello, yes please.. When he enters a place he did not plan, and gets some unexpected help from a dark witch, he also did not expect to fall for her.
Dang they are spicy together!
There are people we want dead. There are people we want to fight and live for. Eic battles, steamy scenes, a cliff hanger that has you burning for the next read!
Plus, Rafe...can I have him?

As a debut novel I was very surprised.
The world building was good and simple.
The characters enticing and OMG the cliffhanger.
I can't wait for the next one.

I really wanted to love this one. There's so much potential to the story, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat, though I will say it got a lot better in the second half which is the reason I'm giving it 3 stars and not 2.

Estrid as the daughter of the tyrant king could have been incredibly interesting, if: the relationship between her and Rodden had been better fleshed out, we had seen more of the kingdom and generally the topic had gotten more time.

I liked Zain and Estrid both well enough on their own, but the relationship was also incredibly rushed and to be honest I didn't feel a shred of chemistry between them.

The rest of the characters just felt flat, mainly because every interesting relationship was build off-page. We never saw Del and Estrid became anything resembling friends, we were just told about it. We never saw Estrid building the friendship with that bookstore owner either, it was just suddenly there.

The first half felt very rushed to get to the second part which was a lot better. We actually got some time to process some happenings for a while, there was actually some meaningful interactions and a bit more worldbuilding. But even then, give me details about the Shadow Court! Show me the city, show me more of the people, the history, the quirky little details that make a fantasy world feel alive. I would have loved more worldbuilding in this book.

Overall, I think this book would have benefitted from either having less happen or from having a couple hundred pages more. However, I would recommend giving this a go if you are just looking for a quick, fun fantasy read with fae.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

✨Forgiving Darkness - Cat Sirota✨

“So, you two seem to be better then?”

Okay, I’m internally screaming right now! This debut book by Cat Sirota is everything. I had the privilege of reading Forgiving Darkness as an ARC, and let me tell you! This is why I sometimes loath unfinished series, that Cliffhanger! Absolutely Wild, buttt totally worth it! 😅😏

We follow Estrid, a nineteen year old runaway with some deep secrets and regrets. She’s trying to atone for past deeds while staying out of reach from those who want to use her. Her quiet life of solitude gets totally thrown a curve ball when she encounters a wounded fae during a hunting trip in the Dark Forest. Oh, and did I mention he’s dangerous….and smokin hot?🥵

This book is the first in the Binary Souls duology, and let’s just say I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for more. The good news? You won’t have to wait long to jump into this world! Forgiving Darkness officially drops on Friday, 13th December 2024!

Tropes:
✨Magic
🧚‍♀️Fae
🖤Dark Romance
🗡️Baddass FMC

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/out of 5
🌶️🌶️/out of 5

- Will be posted on GoodReads, Fable, Instragram, My Website and Amazon over the course of the next few days. I included the GoodReads and Fable links as they are up currently

“Forgiving Darkness,” by Cat Sirota

I liked this book, but I wasn’t overly attached to the characters or plot. I’m not quite sure why it didn’t hit me in the right place, but I was just along for the ride. It does have a stunning cover though, one of the best I’ve seen this year. I’m going to read book 2 when it comes out and hope that I feel more invested in the story. 3 out of 5 stars.

-Fae
-Magic
-Mages

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

This is the first book in a new duology - a debut from this author! - and I had so. much. fun with this book. I enjoyed the immediate connection between Estrid and Zain; the world building and the character development felt well-paced from beginning to end, and the descriptions were perfectly balanced (not too much description to be boring and dragged out, but just enough description to keep me interested and able to visualize the scenes). I felt a whirlwind of emotions for both Estrid and Zain, and the things they both went through separately and together. I think what I was most intrigued by was the magic system, the light and dark magic that was wielded by the characters. Admittedly, that isn’t something new - nor was the seasonal courts in the Fae Lands and the Shadow Court, etc. BUT what I did find intriguing was the fact that Estrid was the one to wield the shadow magic. Usually we see the male protagonists as the ones to wield this power - the Shadow Daddys of fantasy literature - so something about having Estrid as the shadow magic protagonist was a breath of fresh air. I absolutely look forward to picking this up when it’s released & adding it to my collection; and I look forward to rereading it before book two comes out because that’s cliffhanger? Oh my goodness.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book.

While I absolutely loved the premise and know this book might be amazing, I couldn’t get past the issues that I found to get through it.

The writing style is very simple. There are very little details in the writing to give me something to grab onto and the word choices became repetitive to the point of noticing it. The sentence structures were lacking complexity and I hate to say this, but it feels unedited. I hardly enjoy using that word as I know we are all human and authors might not be able to afford official editors, which is valid, but there is a flow with the way books are written that is just missing.

Due to the above concern, I found myself unable to connect with the FMC. She comes across stilted and one dimensional. Granted, I might not have gotten far enough into the story for her to flesh out, but I couldn’t push past this enough to keep going.

I hope this book finds its audience, and from the few reviews I’ve seen by others, I feel that may be the case and wish this author the best!

I enjoyed this ARC from NetGalley. I thought the story was great. I enjoyed the world building and characters. The plot was great. I can’t wait to find out what happens in book 2!

The only reason it’s not a 5 star read for me is I just didn’t get emotionally bonded to the characters or their struggles. I needed more depth to be drawn in.

Again I enjoyed it, it was just missing something for me to be in love. I can’t quite put my finger on it.