"The Immortals' Riddle" by M. L. Blackbird is a mysterious and intriguing tale set among immortals. Arnaud Demeure, a man known for his ability to fulfill wishes or conjure nightmares, sends eight invitations to eight immortals, gathering them for a special event. However, the purpose of their gathering remains a mystery—will it be a celebration or a sinister fate that awaits them? In the realm of magic, a party can also be a ritual to bring about the end of the world.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

Was not expecting this story. Eight Mortals get invite to a party hosted the immortal Arnaud Demeure who can grant wishes and nightmares. Are they attending are party or apart of a twisted ritual? It was darker then expected, it kept me guessing all the way through. The story ran away at times and I got a little lost but found my way back to it easily. I enjoyed the storyline, I felt the middle dragged a little too long but I enjoyed the ending and story overall.

This is an intriguing and a pretty creative read. It was a little confusing at first but it came together with the suspenseful environment and interesting characters.

The writing and world-building is so strong, but I almost feel like it all went over my head? I absolutely enjoyed reading it, and the characters were so interesting, but the plot did lose me a little and I'm still not entirely sure what the villain's endgame actually was.

Marking it down for a re-read in the future, to see if I can understand more, because - as mentioned - the writing is wonderful.

Unexpectedly violent in places, which doesn't bother me but may be an issue for others.

I really struggled with this one. The premise sounds phenomenal and I was expecting something dark and twisty. It was that, but it was also hard to follow and took quite a while to get into.

Eight immortal creatures receive an invitation to a party no one can refuse to attend. Very early on you start to understand that there is something sinister going on. Why these specific people? And what is the purpose of this party?
The book jumps timelines and perspectives in each chapter. But I will say that I never had any trouble keeping up with the story and the characters. The writing style is great, with the heavy emphasis on atmosphere. Alex was my favorite character. I loved how she could not care less about whether people like her or not and how she was always ready for hard decisions. If you like fantasy with murder mysteries you should check this out.
The one thing I didn't like is how confusing the plot got towards the end. I'm still not quite sure I understood everything that happened. And it felt too open for an ending. I checked but it doesn't seem to be a series so that is unfortunate. But overall I still enjoyed most of this book and now want to read something with similar vibe.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and M.L. Blackbird for giving me access to this book!

A Wish Too Dark and Kind is definitely a weird book. It might take you a bit to get into it but I would say it's worth it. The main premise sounded great on paper but it took a while for me to actually be able to get it in the book.

Its definitely filled with magic and eariness, feeling sometimes like an old and dark fairytale. I think the mayor problem I had with it was that I wasn't able to get into the writing style, but if you are feeling it do not hesitate in giving it a try!

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*

This felt like "Atlas Six" but much more confusing. I had trouble following the plot, the world building remained obscure as did the ritual that the characters are trying to prevent? Parts were even kafkaesque. I disliked how the women were written and I did not really grow to like any of the characters. Overall an exhausting read but my somewhat harsh verdict might also be due to my COVID brain. Maybe the complexity was just beyond me.

2.5 stars

#A Wish Too Dark and Kind is a fantasy novel. And is also a mystery. It has twist’s to entertain and keep you guessing….
Thank you for the advance copy,
# Netgalley, # M.L Blackbird

Delightfully creepy with very intricate plotting. Sometimes too intricate, as I was left a little confused by some aspects of the world the author built and the final outcome. But I loved the characters and the world-building. I would love to read more stories set in this universe.

A Wish Too Dark And Kind by M. L. BlackBird is a fantasy book. The book also gave a little bit of impression of Harry Potter. But, after a few pages it was going nowhere. I felt that I was missing out a lot. Characters were suddenly popping out which I could not process. Maybe the book was not for me. And, it is totally my opinion that I could not understand the book.

I would like to give the book, 3 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

It was a brillant book. It had me from the first sentence up to the last. It was intriguing and also mysterious and felt like you could miss something if you don't keep reading. It was a little confusing at the beginning but came together pretty well. Loved it!

A Wish Too Dark And King is exactly the book I hoped it would be. There's very slight problems with of some plot holes, but between the excellent writing, the nuanced, skillful character work (especially the heroine), I was all in.
There are notes here of some urban fantasy and the gothic WTFery is definitely present, but it's something entirely its own.
Full review to come on YouTube.

DNF at 10%

The ideas were great. The magic system was interesting but I wish the approach was a bit different. It became a bit meandering and I lost interest.

It was the best of times and the worst of times. There were some aspects that were done really well by the author, and others not so much. To be honest, I spent much of the novel thinking should I DNF it as I couldn’t enjoy it. I persevered anyway, and was able to decide fully that this novel wasn’t for me
What I liked:
The creepiness
The realistic magic system
The morally grey characters
The strong voice of the narrative
Hauntingly insightful prose

What I didn’t like:
The complexity of it all, I unfortunately do not understand what happened with not only the entire plot but a few of the background stories as well. This was the reason I felt so unsure about finishing the book.
I felt that there were so many characters that many of them weren’t fully realised so it was hard to root for anyone other than Alex.
It contained so many ideas and so many characters going by multiple different names that it all got way too convoluted and I quickly lost interest
There were so many aspects that weren’t fully explained, inner wolves, dark gifts, the box house, these are a few examples of many.

Overall, I have to rate it a 2, but I’ve seen on Goodreads that so many readers have loved it. And it seems like one of those novels that needs to be read multiple times to be fully understood, maybe. However, I feel no inclination to do so as I did not enjoy my first run through.

A wild ride where the description led me to believe it might be like a paranormal Clue or paranormal Agatha Christie as there is a party, magic, and murder. However, what I read was a crumpled-up road map doused in dark academia and burned with the writer's mind. It made sense once the destination was reached, but the journey there was too convoluted for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Blackbird LLC for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

I worry I am not the intended audience for this book, or perhaps this is just too cerebral a read for me. Whichever the case, I couldn't finish and gave up half-way through. That said, the writing here is superb and even lyrical at times, and I enjoyed the world Blackbird has created here... it's just that the whole of it didn't work for me. I would still recommend it to readers who want fantasy that's a little more artful in its storytelling, or those who enjoy meta reads (not because this is that type of story, but because it has a similar feel).

Eight invitations to a party are sent to eight immortals who have no idea what they are doing there or what the Prince's intention is in inviting them. A prophet, a witch, a boy, a dandy, a nun are some of the guests and those who must prevent this evil ritual from taking place.

The book features many characters. Not only these eight guests but also the Prince, his past, his servants, the relatives. There are many stories and the book at first can be a bit heavy to read (several times I went back because I couldn't remember which character the book was talking about). But then when you meet all of them it's simple and easy because they're different from each other.

The magick part is explained in a way that's kind of difficult to follow, but if you don't like 'quantum' things it's ok because that is not sooo relevant (but I hardly recommend to read it again and try to understand). There are things that are not explained but it is not necessary either (such as immortality and the particularity that the Immortals have). So, the writing is very good and I didn't feel that I was missing something.

I read it quickly because I really liked it, so I hardly recommend this book. It has magick, immortals, love, betrayals, wolves... What else do you need? If you like the genre, you're going to like it!

2.75 STARS
I really loved the premise of this book and I feel like it is definitely for a certain type of reader, but that reader is not me.
No matter how much I tried to like this book I was too confused most of the time to understand what was actually happening. I really loved the first chapter or two, but then I was lost.
There was a lot of jumping back and forth between time periods and characters, and in the end I never connected with the book.
I do feel like fans of The Historian or Deadly Education should give this one a shot though because I feel like it is meant for a specific reader out there!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an Ecopy of this book to read.