I loved the first two lines. Their just chilling but at the same time honest because there ARE monsters in the world, but no will ever admit because to admit would be to face a truth that no one wants but Leta faces her brother's "monster" no problem, because she loves him fiercely. The sibling dynamic right off the bat is very sweet and we already care about them and want to know how they got to where they are in present day, what choices/sacrifice have they made and if they continue to sacrifice how much of themselves are they willing to lose for the other?. I love how she cares so fiercely for her brother which makes sense as they are all the two have left. The setting is wonderfully set up in my opinion, two siblings, a curse and a mysterious person claiming to help. Let's and Arien's backstory is mysterious as we only know what Leta remembers which is very little, which leaves so many questions and hypothetical answers. Also the hypocrisy around alchemy very much intrigued me because in our world it's a normal occurrence but in Leta's world, alchemy is what they call magic(which I love, it's a very unique take) and people are afraid of it. I would love to read this book and see how everything ties in it it does at all and see the outcome of Leta, Arien, Rowan and the mysterious Lord Under.