2.5 Stars
Thank you to Netgalley, BookishFirst, and the publisher for an arc of this book.
This is a dark fantasy split between four pov's of people in a previously magical city. The magic has run out, and the new cycle needs to be reborn with a new king and a new maiden to have magic back. Meanwhile, cops and scientists discriminate against "monsters" throughout the city.
I was so excited for this book. I loved Rose Szabo's debut horror, What Big Teeth, and love the cover of this one. Unfortunately, this book fell really short for me.
While the world-building was decent and the plot was interesting, if a little predictable, the main problem for me was the police profiling, racism, and constant misgendering of characters.
One of the MC's is definitely nonbinary, possibly genderfluid. They can change their body to be more masculine or feminine with magic. They are definitely discovering themselves, so I understand the switching pronouns in their pov...but other characters were constantly calling them a boy and other terms even after it was clear they were not.
Another character is a trans-femme. The whole book she is referred to as a boy and a man and he he he and I flinched every time. I know this character didn't come out to some people until near the end...but it was so much, so in your face. Combined with the treatment of the other character, I just couldn't take this part.
Then we get to Jack. Jack is the supposed "Hero" of this story, but she is absolutely horrible. She is one of the major culprits of the misgendering, experiences no character growth, and the worst offense: She turns a mixed-race Black character into the already racist police for a crime she knows he didn't commit so she could save her white sister. This was awful. I know many other reviewers wrote about this same issue.
All in all, this could have been a good story if certain things hadn't been included. Unfortunately, those things were too big of issues for me to give this anymore than 2.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, and Racism, misgendering
Moderate: Fatphobia