In offering my perspective on The Tearsmith by Erin Doom, I respectfully acknowledge that while it may resonate with other readers, it didn't quite align with my personal preferences. Though I recognize its potential appeal to a different audience, I found that it didn't capture my interest in the way I had hoped.

I am sorry to have to do this but I got to 50% through this book and I had to DNF. I don't know if something was lost with this story when it was translated from Italian to American but it was very confusing and the flow of the book didn't feel right. I couldn't not understand their love situation and everything about it just felt very weird to me. I am not going to be able to rate this book since I DNF it.

Nica and Rigel are both raised in an abusive orphanage and both are impacted differently by the experience. Nica is scarred, timid, and eager to please. Rigel is hardened, controlling, and violent. Their relationship to each other and the world intensifies when they are both adopted into the same family. Will something beautiful come from their shared ugly past?

This book was a very strong “meh” for me and I will admit to skimming some of it. It is well written, but it is also unnecessarily long. I like a slow burn as much as the next person, but this slow burn moves at a glacial pace for me. I thought it ended well and it took forever to get there. I also had a hard time connecting to any of the characters in this book. They all seemed so shallow and unlikable in general.

This wasn’t the book for me and it is worth a shot if you like slow burn dark romances.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book. It was dark and twisty but interesting and had a few twists. When I thought the book was closer to the end I realized I still had 40% left of the book. It jumps 3 years which was great but sort of dragged on a bit. I felt some things could have been left out and it would still have been a great story.

This was a journey for me. It took me a while to figure out what felt different about this to me. Doom, in making these characters deal with the worst things ever, didn't make me depressed per se. I think the harrowing trauma and triumph over that was well earned.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and Netgalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc. I formally apologize to everyone who wrote fan fiction on Wattpad because you all deserve better than this. The Tearsmith has broken my brain in a way that hasn't happened in a while; the book's opening starts in the same way that every 'I was sold to One Direction' meme does. Nica is told to pack her bags as she has a new family, who are very wealthy and have a mysterious son named Rigel. It's not long before the two begin a relationship that, in my eyes, is doomed to place them in therapy for the next six years.
Nica is a bland self-insert that makes watching paint dry interesting; like all self-insert characters, her primary trait is that she is pure and untouched by a man. Meanwhile, Rigel is very creepy and would make any human cover their drink within six feet of him. Doom may have been going for enemies to lovers with how their relationship starts, but enemies to lovers don't work when one-half of the pairing makes the reader want to vomit when he makes a move.
I also must include the crimes this book commits: Rigel refers to Nica over half the time as a "little moth," which, as a moth enjoyer, made me very uncomfortable; Doom cannot write romance, and much like Colleen Hover may need to switch to the thriller genre, and finally the worst crime The Tearsmith commits is that the book is almost 600 pages, there is no world in which a romance novel needs to be the same length as The Secret History and Crooked Kingdom.
For the love of your eyes and brain cells, please skip The Tearsmith.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

I wish I liked this book more, but I just couldn't connect with the characters. I hope the Netflix show helps sort this out.

This book was an absolute mess. It was unnecessarily long with so many random subplots that did not need to exist and some did not make any sense at all. The editing was dismal. This felt like some kind of wattpad self-published nonsense. While I did finish the book, it felt like a waste.

Before I get to my review, I would like to say that this is a translated book, it was originally written in Italian. I wanted to point this out because I saw some reviews saying it had a lot of typos and misspelled words, it doesn’t, it’s just translated to British English and not American English.

I’m conflicted on whether or not I actually liked this book. I thought it was a fantasy and sped through the first 150 pages excepting something to happen and it never did, about halfway though the book it becomes clear that nothing big is going to happen. I would have been fine with that if it was a 300 page or less book however it is 550 pages. However, I feel like a lot of that could have been cut out, it is a very repetitive story. For the first half of the book we hear over and over how much Nica doesn’t like Rigel, different words but same sentiment. The second half of the book is Nica telling us how in love she is with Rigel over and over, much of this could have been cut without changing the story. My biggest issue with the book is that both of Nicas love interests have huge red flags. Rigel is violent and possessive, and Lionel was controlling and jealous. I would have less of an issue of there was any character development with Rigel and he changed even a little but he doesn’t and there is no mention, by the author or any of the characters in the book about how wrong his behavior is.

I would only recommend this book if you are into dark romance, however I do think it’ll make for a good Netflix teen drama.

There was so much in this story. There were some aspects that I absolutely loved. Then there was one big aspect that I just couldn’t get over, and I fully realize it is a personal problem. This relationship is just too close to a brother/sister relationship for me. I know, I know….it isn’t one. But unfortunately for me, it was too close for comfort.

Well, I just couldn’t get through this one. The story sounded so good but I just couldn’t connect with the story at all. I think I’m just not the target audience for this one!

This was an interesting story. I liked reading Nica and Rigel story. This was my first book that I read by Erin. Definitely an emotional and deep read

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I just couldn’t get into it!! I couldn’t stay interested in the the book. It just wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Erin Doom for a copy of the arc!

Wow. Everything about this book was so good. I loved the psychological aspect of the love story. It was like the romance version of a psychological thriller.

I’ve met the tearsmith he was in my room when I was trying to finish this book. As soon as I realized he was the golden boy who adults thought did no wrong and that he was secretly evil to her I knew I wouldn’t like the book even when everything starts to change I couldn’t get it out of my head Him continually whispering to her “stay away from me!” The fact that it was just on spec him for no reason at all just made me dislike him from the beginning so needless to say even had the writing been perfect I don’t think I would’ve still like this book I did like her but it took me over a week to finish because I had no interest in this book once I got to the 1/3 of the book. Some parts of this book were entertaining but for the most part I didn’t like it. It just wasn’t my style plus angry boys turn into angry men and I just can’t swoon with the rest of the world when a verbally abusive boy starts being nice to a sweet girl. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

🩷🩶🖤The Tearsmith🖤🩶🩷

*Before you read this book, please read the trigger warnings

“Only those who have known darkness, grow up seeking the light”

“The wounds you can see are the only ones that go away”

“We were the end and the beginning of a single story - eternal and inseparable”

These are just some of my favorite quotes from The Tearsmith, a heartbreakingly beautiful dark romance. From enemies to lovers, to forbidden love, this was an angsty romance with an entirely unique storyline. Trust me, you will fall painfully in love with Nica and Rigel.

An international bestseller and available in bookstores today, I’m excited it was finally translated into English. It’ll also be coming to Netflix so if you’re like me, read the book before you watch the movie!

Thank you @penguinrandomhouse for the preapproved E-arc.

#evesbookishreads #bookstagram #bookreviewerforfun #reading #books #igreads #igbooks #booklover #instabooks #bookaddict #bookaholic #bookstagramfeature #thetearsmith #erindoom #penguinrandomhouse

I really really wanted to like this book and it did have some interesting elements that I didn't mind so much. It just for the most part I felt it was very hard to stay connected and interested in the book.

Didn't really connect with any of the characters. The plot seems to be a lot of dribs and drabs of information that never really fully connected it seemed.

A lovely Dark YA fantasy. You can definitely feel for the characters. I did notice that the translation does always feel right, but it might just be that I'm from the southern US and can tell when writers aren't native to the area. All in all and emotional read. Thank you for allowing me to read this!

This book is about to hit Netflix and is an international best seller. The plot of the story is very interesting and the other loves to dive into fancy and dramatic descriptions, but the translation struggles a bit. It’s supposed to be set in Alabama, but is told in a British dialect, as long as you can get past that it’s a very enjoyable story.
The MMC is dark and twisted. He fell first and hard but had no idea what to do or how to express it. The FMC was broken and hurt and yearned for love so she had the strong feeling that she had to hide. The two of them find each other in their brokenness and have to figure out how to be together when the world wants to tear them down and tear them apart.

💙💙💙💙
NA Romance: Dark Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Forbidden/ Taboo, Orphans
Published in the US Feb 6, 2024
First Person, Present Tense, Dual POV

"The Tearsmith" by Erin Doom is a captivating contemporary dark romance following Nica and Rigel, two teens adopted by the same couple. The characters are beautifully crafted, evolving realistically without compromising their essence. The emotional journey is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, with incredible writing that had me immersed and attached to the characters.

The narrative, told through flashbacks and perspective switches, delves into heavier themes like PTSD and personal struggles, handled with sensitivity. Content warnings for on-the-page depictions of child abuse and violence are present but treated with respect.

While the character development is top-notch, opinions on the plot vary, with some finding it lacking. The slower pace contributes to the immersive experience, making it suitable for readers seeking a character-driven contemporary story.

In summary, "The Tearsmith" is a phenomenal, emotionally rich read, ideal for those drawn to darker love stories with a focus on character depth.