I really found the first half of this book a slog and I was close to DNF at points but I am glad I persevered with it as I ended up really enjoying it. I felt there could have been more world building to draw me in.

Not a bad story. I loved the concept and after the slow start I enjoyed it more. My favorite part was the gruesome details! I am a lover of very detailed books

This wasn’t for me at all, I found it chaotic, poorly constructed, complete lack of world building and just overall misdirected in plot. I also wasn’t keen on the language used and it seemed a bit misogynistic and very patriarchal in tone, maybe that’s me misreading it, but due to lack of any explanations at all, I am not clear at all. Not for me at all.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Unlike anything I've read before. I love the writing style of these authors together and the unique take they have on the story of Fate. I also liked the gruesome detail they added to make the story feel more alive, rather than leaving the detail to the imagination.

I have a lot of thoughts about this book. I really struggled with getting through the first half or so of the book, but once I got past that I was totally hooked. I think part of my barrier was just kind of the lack of explanation surrounding the world and everything going on, especially at the beginning. The brothel situation didn't make a ton of sense to me, and neither did Fate's age/how time worked in the world. I really enjoyed Hero as a character and watching his and Fate's relationship grow was really fun. The mystery surrounding the dreams and the folklore I thought was one of the more innovative aspects of the story and the ties between dream and real were really intriguing. I really enjoyed the cliffhanger the ending left on and I'm excited to see what happens next in the series!

Big thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Fate who is forced to live in a brothel with the understanding that on her 16th birthday, she will be auctioned off to the highest bidder and the man who she called Father will be placing bids to marry her. Eventually she befriends a boy named Hero who places a higher bid and she is now planning to marry him.

This book went in a million directions without any explanation. There is a list of terms with some sort of definitions AT THE BACK OF THE BOOK but they aren't defined at all throughout the entire story. This world has different meanings for Tainted, Miasma, Royalty, Caeles, Dolls, Anima, Ancients and none of it is explained in the book. There are a lot of plot holes that just don't make sense.
Ex: Fate is taken to a brothel to learn.... something? and her brother is kept at her former 'fathers' castle as insurance that Fate follows through with the training at the brothel and so she just doesn't escape. But Fate and her brother both have free roam of the grounds and frequently meet up with each other. Why not just run away then?
A massive part of the story is people being 'Tainted', as in a disease, but there's no explanation for how or what this disease is.
I assumed this was the first in the series (of a planned *60* books?!?!?) but there is already a Grims' Truth #1 so maybe this is actually part way through the story and I didn't read the first....59?

Over all, I'm giving it 2 stars and maybe that's too much. The ONLY part I liked was the last chapter where Fate realizes that she has some power and she is more than what she seems... That turned into an entire book would have gotten more stars.

I literally read the entire story waiting for things to happen and was hoping that it would all come together.

I was instantly drawn into this story. It lived up to the intrigue of it's summary and felt so vivid and fresh. Love, love, loved it!! I cannot wait to read book 2.

This was a great start to a series, the characters were great and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this universe and the people that live in this world. It was a fun premise and I look forward to reading more in this series.