I hadn’t read Krystal Sutherland’s previous work (though House of Hollow has been on my TBR for too long), so I wasn’t sure what to expect from her going into this. She definitely lives up to the hype with this one.
All three main characters were fun to read about. They had strong and distinct character that was fully shown through both the dialogue and their narration.
The magical elements of this world were incorporated well and managed appropriate darkness and grittiness without going into excessive edginess. I liked that the demons, while undoubtedly inscrutable and mystical, behaved like real animals not just monsters.
The twists aren’t spectacular, though (spoilers, kind of?) Jude’s perspective and biases were compelling enough to actually build some doubt. I think everything with her family and especially her brother worked more in the same vein as Zara’s quest to resurrect her sister as a doomed dream and a source of tension for the reader even if it’s not a shocking reveal. The characters' inability to see/accept the disaster coming still feels realistic regardless of when the reader guesses what’s coming.
All three main characters were fun to read about. They had strong and distinct character that was fully shown through both the dialogue and their narration.
The magical elements of this world were incorporated well and managed appropriate darkness and grittiness without going into excessive edginess. I liked that the demons, while undoubtedly inscrutable and mystical, behaved like real animals not just monsters.
The twists aren’t spectacular, though (spoilers, kind of?) Jude’s perspective and biases were compelling enough to actually build some doubt. I think everything with her family and especially her brother worked more in the same vein as Zara’s quest to resurrect her sister as a doomed dream and a source of tension for the reader even if it’s not a shocking reveal. The characters' inability to see/accept the disaster coming still feels realistic regardless of when the reader guesses what’s coming.