Look. No one wanted to love this story more than me. I admire the premise of Bindery Books Publishing who promotes reader communities to choose books they’re passionate about. This book was chosen by someone I personally follow on IG, who has many a time recommended reads I’ve enjoyed.  Sadly, this was not a win.

Just like the blurb says, Saika is grieving her dead sister and arrives at Ash Gardens to finally lay her remains to rest.  There, she’s pulled in with the denizens who reside at the sanctuary and finds a place of belonging and redemption. Everything else in between missed the mark.

When I don’t like a book, the last thing I want to do is nitpick it to death but inevitably a review must review.  This book promised healing and found family but really fell short for me.  Most of the characters were clueless as to what was going on around them which made no sense if this “family” truly cared for one another, and many were not at all likable, often coming off antagonistic and abrasive which also included the main character.  The sapphic romance was not believable, mistaking insults for flirty banter and desire, and don’t get me started on the multitude of secrets everyone is keeping from each other.  It didn’t help at all that Saika jumps from first person pov to a stream of consciousness dialogue to her dead sister constantly, and it was absolutely jarring everytime she did this, ruining storytelling flow and momentum.

I will concede that the magical system was interesting, and I liked the variety of fantastical beings that were included.  Each character had their own tragic grief that they dealt with separately and that did nudge me a little in the feels. Otherwise, I was mostly bored and impatient to get conclusive answers to all the issues, challenges, problems that Saika and her “friends” were confronted with, and when the reveal and solution finally came, it just didn’t satisfy my particular self in its simplistic incongruous answers. 

Overall, my unimportant opinion in the grand scheme of things is minuscule, as the vast majority who has read thIs book emphatically adored it. I just wish I was one of them.

Thank you to Bindery Books via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a honest review