I was recently going through some e-books from my library and came across this one! It’s been on my TBR for the absolute longest time, and I never really thought to read it until now. But, I am so glad I did and this has to be one of my favorite reads of the year so far. Like my heart absolutely shattered when I realized there wasn’t a sequel to this because it ended on such a good note and I am not ready for this book to be over (I want more Silas!).
In the beginning, I actually found the first few chapters kind of confusing. I loved that it dived right into the story and the action, but it threw me off a bit. It took me a chapter or so to really understand what was happening with the living books and the “maleficts” but once I did, it made everything 100 times better. I absolutely loved the idea of books being alive and just being real. They’re so powerful and the entire world crafted was beautiful. The sorcery and the magic added an interesting layer of fantasy that made the book special. Magic has to be one of my favorite YA tropes and the fact that hate-to-love was thrown in there too made it so much better.
I loved the relationships in this book. The relationships between Silas and Nathaniel added a nice touch to this book, and I actually liked it more than the primary relationship between Nathaniel and Elisabeth. I loved that Silas truly cared for him despite the fact that he was a demon and his species wasn’t meant to be like that. With Nathaniel’s family dead, he was the only one who was there to care for him, and the friendship/bond between them was heartwarming to read about. It was really sad to know that Nathaniel was alone outside of him, and I think that fact made their relationship even more meaningful.
I did also like the relationship between Elisabeth and Nathaniel. I love hate to love relationships and if you threw me a book with that in it, I am almost certain it’s going to be a good read. I liked Nathaniel’s witty humor, and I like that it’s not insta-love and that they grow closer and closer over time. I did find that Elisabeth was kind of awkward and strange at times, like when she bit Nathaniel’s hand (like is this not supposed to be weird?), but that didn’t stop me from liking their relationship. I also think that she didn’t really comprehend some of the information given to her, and there were definitely moments where I was like “why are you not getting this!” Like when she read that sorcerers carried demons next to them and wondered where Nathaniel’s demon was, I just thought that it was way too obvious to not get and it made her a little less real.
As for Nathaniel himself, I loved his backstory, and I think that it’s why I liked him so much as a character. He constantly doubts himself and blames himself for all the deaths in his family, and it’s really sad. He’s always alone and he’s dragged down by the horrible acts of necromancy that his ancestors did. It made me feel really bad for him and it kind of worked itself into the present. There were so many moments that connected to his backstory, and it made him so much more real. I love him with all my heart and
I did feel like some of the plot was repetitive, but I didn’t have too much of a problem with it. They have so many attempts against Ashcroft, and I feel like it can be repetitive at times. However, I do think that the characters made this small defect better and it made me want to continue on and read more. I’ve seen reviews that also talk about how the book is too quick at the end, and I sort of agree. I just wish there would have been more to it, but I do like how it contributed to Silas’s character.
Overall, this was such a good read. I want more of this world and I would recommend it to anyone reading this review right now. I am so glad I picked this book up and while it does have its faults, I’m pretty satisfied at past me.
Happy reading everyone!
-Allison