I don’t know if it was because it was an audiobook or the story itself but I couldn’t finish the story. No matter how many times I had tried it was difficult to get into the book. I typically prefer reading so it may be for me that it was an audio instead of a text. I just couldn’t finish the book either way.

DNF at 12%

The main character is unbearably annoying and vain. She’s either feeling sorry for herself or describing how beautiful she is and I can’t take any more of it. I’m really bummed because I loved Furyborn, but this is completely different.

2/5 ⭐️
DNFed at 25%
I initially was excited to be approved for an arc of this audiobook, it sounded right up my alley. Blood feuds, gods, magic, a bargain with a handsome rival. Unfortunately, I realized kind of early on that this style of writing was not going to be for me. But I continued, hoping I would grow used to it. I sadly didn’t. I kept finding myself dragging my feet to continue listening, finding excuses to listen to other books and podcasts.
I agree with some other reviewers that the main character was kind of unlikeable. But I was ready to like her despite my initial annoyances. She seems vain and self centered, in a sort of similar way Sansa Stark was. However, I think paired with a slightly juvenile voice (a different kind of juvenile than like middle grade books, a little more like early fanfiction), I found I couldn’t keep listening. In addition, there were a fair amount of scenes I would’ve recommended cutting, finding them repetitive and a tad annoying.
However, I would still recommend this book to other people. There are definitely other books I’ve read or attempted to read that share a similar style of voice that obviously are popular with other people. It just wasn’t for me
Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for providing an advance reader copy of this audiobook for my honest revie

I couldn’t even get through a few minutes before I had to stop it. Narrators voice was annoying and I couldn’t stand it

Much thanks to Claire Legrand, Evelyn Rose, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Sigh. DNF 14%. I'm sorry, I try not to quit NetGalley books, but once in a while I just can't stand the thought of spending my time listening to more of a book I don't like. Especially when it's a significant time commitment! 14% doesn't sound like much, but it's a long book, over 21 hours, so 14% is nearly 3 hours of listening. I figure if I haven't gotten into a book after listening to 3 hours of it, I'm not going to.

What was so bad about it? The story was boring, at least to that point, and the MC was unlikable. Legrand did her damnedest to make Gemma sympathetic, but unfortunately the execution was more in the way of pathetic. She was a woe-is-me, poor little rich girl type, vain, snobby, self-centered, arrogant. She'd been dealt a rough hand in some aspects, sure, but not in others; instead of appreciating those others and having a good attitude, though, she dwelt on the rough and had a bad attitude. Is a glass-half-empty outlook perhaps more realistic? Sure, but that doesn't mean I want to spend 21+ hours listening to it. She also lacked charisma. Just not a good MC.

Then the story itself didn't feel like it was going anywhere. They went to visit her sister, and when the alarms sounded I thought, Oooo a battle! That's why we started here. But no. No battle. Just some verbal abuse and talk about mystical stuff I didn't understand, then home to throw a boring party. Nothing was happening, Gemma was getting on my nerves, I failed to believe that Talon guy could actually be interested in her, and I gave up. Damn it.

Nothing against the narrator, I thought she did well enough with the material she had.

I didn't see that this was marketed as adult before I read it, so I had no expectations of "adult writing" and was not at all disappointed that it is more YA with some very adult bits thrown into it. (Also, seriously don't understand what people have against YA?!) I found the world with its dead gods, magic gifted from them, demons, mysterious and mythical monsters, etc. to be very fascinating. I love fantasy worlds and mythology! There are a few different storylines blending together and varied pacing that may not be for everyone, but I think it's great and keeps things interesting. I love the serious mental and physical health issues that are represented here as well. I inhaled this book in one day and now I'm going to be sulking waiting months and months for the next one....

This novel was epic. It lays out a broad world full of magic, lore, rivalries, passion, friendship, sisterhood and darkness. We follow Gemma, immersed in her high society life, as she discovers the actual world she’s been living in — the one beyond her restricted life at Ivy Hill estate. Talan, a mysterious man trying to regain his family’s honor, and a cryptic interaction with her sister, Mara, are the catalysts for Gemma’s awakening. What follows is a series events that pull the reader into this intensely deep world.

I enjoyed this audiobook of the novel. The narration was well done and added to the passion of the characters as they all have something very near and dear to them at stake. The novel itself did a fair job of revealing the expansive world as the story progressed. At times I was a bit lost when a new idea was introduced, but quickly caught up on how it wove into the novel. I am very interest in where we go next in book two. The set up definitely leaves the reader wanting the next installment. 4 stars.

Review based on a Advanced Audiobook provided by Dreamscapes Media and NetGalley. Thank you!

I have loved Legrand's Furyborn series and has high hopes for this one. Sadly it disappointed me as the writing wasn't like her other books. The pacing made it hard to read as there will be scenes that didn't need to be focused on too much and there were scenes that did need to be focused on more but weren't. The beginning was way too slow in my opinion and it took me a while to get into the story. I did enjoy the world-building as it made up for the book in some ways as I love unique fantasy worlds. Legrand can write some wonderful words and I love them for it. I do have to say the writing did feel a bit more YA than adult but in this case I didn't mind it so much. The conflicts were well planned out in this book with great plot twists that kept making me want to read this book.

The main character in this book is Gemma who I didn't enjoy so much. She was a great character but I just didn't feel connected with her story. I did enjoy her development in the book but I loved her sisters more as I feel their stories are going to be great. The side characters were well-written and I loved them more than the FMC. I felt that they had more of a story potential and that I will enjoy their povs a lot more. The romance is instant love which isn't my favorite trope as I love to see the relationship and tension buildup. I do see the couple being endgame but at the same time could see it not happening more as a potential romance plot twist. There are some spicy scenes so be ready for that!

The ending isn't a HEA and the other books I heard are written from the sister's pov. I'm excited to see how it will play out as I believe I will enjoy the second book a lot more than this one. I feel as though Legrand's writing has changed after writing for what feels like a while. I also listened to the audiobook version which made the story better for me as I feel without it I would have DNFed it at the beginning. I do believe there is potential for book 2 so I will be reading that one. This book is perfect for fans of ACOTAR and Bridgerton.

Believe me, no one is more surprised than me.

What in the world happened?? With a pitch that is Bridgerton meets ACOTAR written by Claire Legrand, author of one of my all-time favourite epic fantasies, this should have been a home run. I mean, everything was screaming my name and instead I am left incredibly disappointed.

This felt like two separate books crammed together without any sort of seamless transition. I <I>loved</I> the first half. Like, that was what I wanted. It was Bridgerton glamour and romance with a fantasy twist. Gemma and Talan have an instant attraction that leads them to team up to a) help him restore respect to his family name and business and b) help her figure out a way to spy on the Basks and allow her family to win the feud that has raged between them. There was room for them to get to know each other and fall in love, all while travelling through magical portals and disguising their appearances to get one over on the Basks. It was fun and sweet and worth spending 500 pages on.

And then everything just sort of ... unravelled. It took about four turns that suddenly dropped the story into full ACOTAR territory, and not in a good way. And it was quickly after this point that the book felt unnecessarily long and I lost interest. There was a bigger mystery coming to light, monsters, undead allies, new magic—and none of it excited me. <I>WHAT HAPPENED?!</I> Gemma came into her own with self-discovery and taking control and it felt very (lord forgive me) Mary Sue.

Honestly, I question why Gemma had to be the first character to focus on for this series. What I liked most about her was the chronic pain rep Legrand invested in her. For some reason, Gemma not only doesn't have magic of her own like the rest of her family, but the magic around her actively harms her. She has to limit where and who she spends time with to avoid being on bedrest for several days. But she is not weak or whiny, and that is what makes it so wonderfully and respectfully done. She is a strong individual even on her worst days. But personality-wise, the girl was not pleasant. Gemma is the youngest of three sisters, and it kind of shows in how she behaves. She is rather vain, somewhat selfish and dismissive of others if it doesn't suit her, and is often focused on appearances, and not just of her own. Normally, I wouldn't have an issue with an unlikeable character like this, especially when part of their arc is to turn those traits to good, but there was something about her that felt off and made me not want to be with her. The whole time, I wanted to be in her sisters' heads instead.

Speaking of which, Farrin and Ryder. They better be the next book because I will eat that sh!t up. I mean, I was practically chomping at the bit with the tiny glimpses we got. And the fact that those little blips were more interesting than the romance between Gemma and Talan? Dead. If I have to say "is this really the time?" with every steamy scene, something is wrong. I admit, I didn't really trust Talan after a few scenes and thought Gemma deserved better. In hindsight, what he did makes sense, but it kind of soured him for me. What I did like about him, though, ties into Gemma's chronic pain. For one, he was respectful as f*ck about it, but he also served as a way to soothe her pain as an empath. It created an interesting dynamic between them of how much Gemma needed to be clear-headed or with him and managing her pain as is.

I think I'm getting to the point that I am going to swear off romances from Sourcebooks. There are a few more authors I'm going to keep with, but I no longer trust this imprint. I have read so many flops that feel as though no editor dug into the story to help the author shape it into what it needs to be, and I'm over being constantly disappointed.

I was provided both a print and audio ARC of this book via the publisher and Netgalley. As always all opinions expressed in my review are my own.

As you can see from the synopsis this follows Gemma, the youngest of a noble family blessed with magical abilities. Gemma is the only one who does not have magic, and when she spends time around those with magic, she suffers great pain and panic attacks. When Gemma meets charming and handsome Talan at one of her lavish parties, she is immediately smitten. In Talan she is able to forget about her constant pain and he helps her with her panic. Gemma and Talan strike a deal to help each other navigate high society in exchange for gaining revenge against those who have wronged their families. In their quest for vengeance they uncover curses, demons, and other unsavory things.

This was a unique adult fantasy romance. This has all of the elements of a regency romance mixed in with the fantasy romance you expect from FBAA or ACOTAR. I really enjoyed the fantasy elements, and hope that the author flushes out the magic system a bit more in the next book. I look forward to reading about what the sisters find out about their magic in the next installment. I thought the worldbuilding was good and there was a good mix of fantasy creatures and lore present. I hope that continues to expand in the next book as well.

This has quite a few adult romance scenes. They aren't overly graphic as some romance books, however there are a good amount of them. Gemma suffers from a sickness that causes her pain when she is around magic. Being that she is surrounded by magic most of the time, she uses intimate relations as an escape from the pain and the isolation her condition brings with it. In the beginning I felt Gemma was immature and spoiled, and a bit unlikable. She is quite aware that she is spoiled but as the story progresses she comes into her own as she learns about her affliction and starts to take control. I thought her relationship with Talan was a bit instalovey and she forgave him too quickly and trusted him too easily after she uncovers some damning information about him. Love conquers all I guess. I did really enjoy the sister relationship between Gemma, Mara, and Farrin.

I felt this was a big on the long side. There are long periods where the plot isn't advancing and the characters aren't really making headway in any particular direction. Then all of a sudden lots of things happen all at once. If you liked Furyborn series, I think you'll enjoy this. The writing style and characters feel very similar, but it has alot more adult content.

2.5

girl what was this. the writing was ridiculously juvenile seeing as she’s written one of the best, most compelling trilogies i’ve read to date (furyborn remains superior) so i was SO hyped for this..and it did not deliver

first of all, it’s written like a YA when this is being promoted as new adult. hate to break it to the publishers, but swearing up the wazoo and weird sex scenes aren’t gonna cut it. this still reads like a YA

the characters were also kinda insufferable, specifically our fmc. the romance was also underdeveloped and muy insta lovey- no thanks

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook.

The description of this book sounded so promising but unfortunately, I found the main character, Gemma, to be very unlikable. She is shallow and pretentious. I did appreciate her struggle with likely panic disorder but not enough to overlook the rest. I'm sure many won't be bothered by her but she is not the kind of FMC I like to read about.
The audiobook is preformed really well!

I saw this compared to ACOTAR, and a bit to Bridgerton so I had high hopes.

We meet Gemma Ashbourne, the youngest of three daughters. She appears to live a fabulous life, but reality is not as it appears. She suffers and is always in pain, as her body reacts negatively to magic. And it is everywhere. She meets Talan and they make a deal. She will help him navigate high society, and he will help her find a demon that started the blood feud between her family and another.

This book was very long. I liked it but never felt fully invested and don't find myself on the edge of my seat for the next installment in the series.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Dreamscape Media for both an ARC and ALC of this one!

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me the audiobook and eARC copy of this book!

3/5 Stars

When I found out Claire Legrand was coming out with a new series, I was so excited as Empirium series is one of my favourite series. Her world building and thought process throughout that trilogy was impeccable, which is also maybe why I did not love this book as much. As I went into this with high expectations. While the world in which Claire creates for the first book in Middlemist trilogy is very interesting, it doesn’t have as much detail as I was expecting. Although were it really fell apart for me was the romance plot, I did not feel the connection between Gemma and Talan. I found their relationship lacking chemistry and felt cringy at times. I found myself wanting to skip their chapters. As of right now I don’t think I will continue on with the series, unless I hear better things with the sequel.

Audio narrator was great. Very easy to listen to.

I either love Legrand's books or am left scratching my head over why she wrote them. This was the latter unfortunately.

A big part of the issue here was the MC. For what it's worth I thought the portrayal of someone with anxiety and a dedire to self harm manifesting itself through a self involved preoccupations with her beauty and swinging towards self loathing was fairly believable (although obviously not the only way these qualities manifest). However while extreme loneliness, chronic illness and anxiety made Gemma pitiable, they did not make her intetesting. I didn't dislike her but neither was I rooting for her. She was exactly the sort of energy sapping, selfish and vacuous person I would avoid in real life. I felt a bit sorry for her but it was outweighed by the scorn she excited.

Legrand is very good at makung you react to a character even when you don't like them but I had no desire to spend anymore time in the MC's head. Coupled with a thin story and flimsy world building and this just didn't hold my attention. I'm certain there will be readers who really click with the MC and they'll probably love this, but I just wasn't one of them.

That said, the book seemed like it would be fine for those who want less complicated plots and more insta love romantasy. My only real issue (that wasn't a matter of personal taste) was the love interest being able to aleviate the MC's pain and anxiety. This bothered me because of the unhealthy way that reliance could be used in a relationship. Maybe the point was to show a developing co-dependance? But I just didn't want to stay and find out. Not for me despite the cool concept and solid writing. Consider this unrated even though I am awarding 3 stars to avoid negatively impacting the rating.

This was a very anticipated read for me. While I believe the hype wasn’t fully accurate to what I listened to, it was still a good time. But this won’t be making any of my top 10 lists.

It’s very much a political fantasy and the writing is decadent, but it is decadent like fondant rather than your favorite icing or a delicious pastry. It’s beautiful, but not very filling and doesn’t leave you suddenly wishing there was infinitely more.

I did really like the fantasy aspect, though it took a bit too long to get there and I struggled with the pacing many times. But I can really dig some fae and demons. Gemma was sweet and I liked that she was equal parts manipulative but also thoughtful and I appreciated the illness representation. Talan was complex and a big cinnamon roll around Gemma, which we Stan.

I don’t think this lived up to the hype, but it was good.

I loved the Empirium trilogy by this author, so I was excited to see her come out with a new series. Unfortunately, I absolutely hated this book. It is trash. The only reason I finished it is because it's a review copy.
I don't remember ever disliking a main character as much as I disliked Gemma. I was hoping someone would kill her within the first chapter. I can't say one good thing about her. The narrator made it even worse with the whine in her voice when Gemma was talking.

I was aware there was going to be romance in this, but not trashy smut. This was not written well at all. Even though I loved the Empirium trilogy, this was so bad that I don't think I will ever read anything else from this author.

Legrand has always been an author I devoured, but this one fell short for me. I'm not sure if it's because I wasn't able to connect with the characters, but it just didn't pop.

This was supposed to be an adult debut but felt juvenile in its delivery. I really don't have a lot of good things to say and I'm pretty bummed about it.

The characters were blah. The plot was sporadic, and the pacing was just off.

Thank you, Netgalley for an ARC for my honest review. Just a bummer that it wasn't a better one.

Gemma is the youngest of three daughters in a wealthy and powerful family. Her family was anointed by the gods with magic - all except her. Gemma not only cannot perform magic, but others performing magic in her presence makes her ill and causes her pain. She meets Talan at one of her many lavish parties and he asks to team up with her in a plot where he helps her destroy a rival family and she helps him re-enter the high society he and his family were banished from. To sweeten the deal, Talan reveals he is an empath and can ease her pain and illness brought about by the presence of the magic around her. They discover secrets along the way about themselves and each other and must decide if loving each other is what is destroying them or making them stronger.

I really enjoy Claire Legrand's writing and world building and this book was no different. This book had magic and adventure and battles and otherworldly enemies. However, I did not like Gemma for much of the book but she definitely grew out of much of her selfish, shallow and spoiled behaviors and attitudes. I didn't trust Talan for most of the book. I also felt that not much happened during the first 50-55% of the book. Yes, world building and character development took place but I feel like it would lost no depth or story had half of that been cut. The narration was good, especially in Gemma's voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off interesting and I was impressed with how Gemma was written. Her self loathing and the way she speaks of it was well done. There was a lot that was going on in the book which made it hard to keep up with at times. Overall I think the plot was interesting and the system of magic was as unique. I look forward to seeing where this goes in the next book.