First of all I suggest checking the trigger warnings…the author lets you know upfront what subjects to be aware of.
Jo wakes up naked and in Hell with a man she recognizes. They have none, or at least vague memories of who they were in the past. Little does she know what is in store for her and who else she may meet. Who she needs to rely on for survival. And when memories start to return, who has already destroyed her.
I honestly was surprised by this book. It took a minute for me to get into it, and at certain times I couldn’t connect with the main character, but man…once we got past all of the world building/society set up, and Jo started acting like the bad bitch she is-I couldn’t put this book down. The last half of the book had me exclaiming profanities a few times. Make sure you read the authors note at the end…this isn’t a stand alone.

what even happened here! I loved that our characters were thrust into a dystopia naked and afraid. Running for their lives all night to burn all day and the painful saga kept continuing. I think this new world was interesting and I think I would have liked more days with this new world before the big book turn. That way i can see and accept the new class system and see how day to day life looked . Also the last part of the book was a big no for me. Why? what? I really do not understand what happened there (yes i know physically what happened) but how did they get there and why?

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hoooo boy. Please make sure you really read the description on this one before you dive in. It is DARK, and it does everything it says it will in both the description and the author’s note at the beginning of the book. If you decide to dive in anyway, all I can say is, hold on for a wild ride. 😶😶😶

If I tried to list the trigger warnings, we’d be here for years. If you have any hang-ups around sexual violence and non-consent, this is not the book for you. If those topics don’t bother you in fiction and you’re down for some dark fantasy, this might be your jam.

I actually went blind into this one but wow I didn’t expect it to be this good, because I really liked and enjoyed it. I liked how layered and engaging it was. I also quite liked the pace and the word building. Moreover, the characters were a real spark-plug; making it a 4 stars read for me.

i knew that this was going to be a dark romance heading into it, so i was very excited to read this as it was something i had never seen before, especially since the synopsis intrigued me from the start.

the book starts off with jo and christopher waking up in hell, with no memories of how they got there except each other's names. however, they have a feeling that they knew each other... before, but they can't place their finger on it. together, they form an unlikely alliance to try and stay alive.

they come across a city with a patriarchal, sexist society, where women are treated as slaves. jo is immediately separated from christopher, yet they come up with a plan. together, they meet adam, who they also knew before. jo has to figure out her complicated feelings between the two men as the three of them try to escape hell.

jo wasn't my favorite character as she cried a lot, but i did like adam and their relationship. the worldbuilding was done well and the plot was super interesting. the descriptions of the world was done very well, and i could definitely imagine the setting vividly. many parts of this book were horrific and shocking, which was done well by the author as this was clearly what she was going for.

the book definitely had dark themes, which didn't bother me too much until the end, where i couldn't get past how jo forgave the man that had raped her really easily. i don't want to spoil too much, but that ending felt icky to me and personally, i didn't like that theme.

overall, the book was dynamic and a fast-paced read that i couldn't put down. i really enjoyed the unique and dark themes that the author introduced, as i've never read anything similar to this book. however, there are a few major flaws that i couldn't get past, which is why i'm rating this book 3 stars. however, i would recommend this for anyone looking for a shocking and intriguing read!

This is probably one of the darkest stories I’ve ever read and while I found the story intriguing I have to say I was more interested in finishing it just to find out the ending rather than because I was enjoying it.
The author was kind enough to give plenty of warning about the contents of this book at the beginning so I won’t say I wasn’t aware going in, but even so it did surprise me a little at just how far it went.

Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a ‘bad’ book, the writing was good and it was definitely interesting. The story flowed well and the world building was great. The main thing that puts me off giving a higher rating is the fact that it was so dark - which I know isn’t fair to the author as I was warned prior to starting! But I can’t help how I feel about it I guess…

I really enjoyed this book, I could not put it down and read it in one day (with one major caveat that I will get to later). The story was something new - which I appreciate after reading many books in this genre with the same recycled plots.

I did get a bit lost in the middle, maybe I skipped an important line somewhere - it seemed like leading up to one of the climaxes in the story things were happening so quickly that it was a bit confusing.

I loved the characters, the three main characters were likeable in their own ways - until the big reveal.

That is where I felt let down, of all the twists....why this one? There could have been something, anything else used in its place. I don't feel like it added to the story, only detracted from the feelings I had built for these characters. It was hard to come back from that, and I instantly disliked two of the main characters as well as the ending. I did appreciate the authors note at the end, but...WHY! You knew this would make readers upset!

I wish I could completely separate the ending from the rest of the book, which I really liked. I don't know if I will completely write off reading the rest of the series - this is due to the authors note basically pleading readers to keep reading, and promising the next book won't have the same theme included.

This book surprised me. At first, I thought it was a fantasy thriller with a love story intertwined. There were a few twists and turns all throughout with a major twist at the end that I did not see coming and honestly didn't like. But to be fair - it is a plot twist that really made me think and there are 3 perspectives and 3 major shifts in viewing what happened. I don't really like it or agree with it, but I can see that point of view. I definitely recommend reading the author's note at the end. It's a complicated story...would be good for a book club!

Flames of Lethe is an exhilarating and unsettling dark fantasy. This is an intense read. The writing style is fluid and easy to follow. The world building is done exceptionally well. There is never a dull moment from the first page and beyond. My palms were sweating throughout the last few chapters due to their disturbing nature.
The different mythological and religious inspirations are quite clear. They intersect very well to create a terrifying landscape for readers. I initially expected to enjoy this book more than I did. The characters are each given their own backstories to create depth. At some points the subject matter becomes significantly heavy, almost too much. This book will succeed in certain niches, but may be subject for criticism by others. I personally couldn’t put it down until I reached the end where I felt like I had finally taken a breath for the first time since chapter one. However, there were some graphic and disturbing scenes at the end that made my skin crawl and a lot of terribly misogynistic themes that felt a little over the top.

Trigger Warnings are definitely appropriate and necessary as some of the content in this book may be disturbing to some individuals.