Laure is ballerina who will stop at nothing to become a member of the prestigious Paris ballet. When one of her fellow ballerinas introduces her to a river of blood in which she can make any deal she chooses, Laure does so in hopes that she won't be overlooked in favor of all the rich, white privileged ballerinas. What follows is a chain of events that is so horrific that Laure questions whether she made the right choice.
This book was difficult to get through. I was captivated in the beginning, which kept me wanting to read more, but maybe about halfway through I completely lost interest in the story. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, and the book gets repetitive, especially where dealings with Acheron are concerned. What's more is this book relies heavily on body horror (something I would never choose to read). At least Shea is kind enough to give you a content warning, which is in the audiobook as well, so I wasn't surprised (just really grossed out). More than the pacing and the body horror, there isn't a single likable character in this book, not even Laure herself. In fact, she's arguably the worst of all the characters since you spend the entire book in her head. Also, I struggled with where to place this. It's labeled YA and Laure is 17, but I wouldn't recommend teenagers read this book.
This book was difficult to get through. I was captivated in the beginning, which kept me wanting to read more, but maybe about halfway through I completely lost interest in the story. The pacing is excruciatingly slow, and the book gets repetitive, especially where dealings with Acheron are concerned. What's more is this book relies heavily on body horror (something I would never choose to read). At least Shea is kind enough to give you a content warning, which is in the audiobook as well, so I wasn't surprised (just really grossed out). More than the pacing and the body horror, there isn't a single likable character in this book, not even Laure herself. In fact, she's arguably the worst of all the characters since you spend the entire book in her head. Also, I struggled with where to place this. It's labeled YA and Laure is 17, but I wouldn't recommend teenagers read this book.