It didn't live up to the hype for me

I'd heard that this book was amazing and life-changing. For me, it just didn't land that way, unfortunately. It was alright, overall, but I found all of the allusions and flowery language a bit pretentious and distracting. I think I would've loved this novella when I was a teenager or in college, but at this point in my life, it was a bit tiring. And the relationship between the two main characters was a bit too twee (ironically, given their murderous ways) for my taste as well. The world building was somewhat interesting, but the way the story jumped around centuries and millenia meant that I never got immersed. I appreciated the short chapters and overall short length, as it meant I didn't spend as much time in this world as I otherwise would have, but, again, the tone and language level meant that it took longer to read than an under-200-page book normally would.