Thank you to Netgalley for sending me the
E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

House of Blight was a dazzling read! It follows Edira Brillwyn, a young woman with an innate ability to heal others. When her younger brothers unexpectedly fall ill with the blight that is ravaging local townsfolk, she makes a bargain with Orin, the head of a powerful, magical family. He will slow her brothers' decline in exchange for her help on his estate.

This book captured my interest from page one. It's mysterious and atmospheric but also humerous enough to balance it out. The magic system feels authenic and original. The romance and angst I crave in a novel is there. The heroine is actually likeable! I really rooted for her throughout and grew to care for her.

And Ywena. She was the star.

I cannot wait to read the second installment!

House of Blight was an incredibly fun and engaging read. From the very beginning, I found myself hooked, eagerly flipping pages to see what would happen next. Martineau does an excellent job building tension and keeping the story's momentum going, which made it hard to put the book down.

One of the highlights for me was the love triangle, which added an interesting layer of emotional complexity to the story. I'm particularly drawn to Rorik, who is described as "a brooding harbinger of malcontent"—and honestly, what's not to like about that? His dark, brooding nature combined with the undercurrents of vulnerability made him a standout character. Rorik’s intensity really carried a lot of weight in the love triangle dynamic, and I found myself rooting for him the whole time.

However, I had some frustrations with Edira, the main character, and her decision-making. She often seemed blind to the obvious, particularly when it came to Orin's betrayal. The signs were all there, and it felt frustrating as a reader to watch her miss what seemed so clear. This predictability, unfortunately, lessened the impact of what could have been a more shocking twist. Because of Edira’s lack of awareness and the rather predictable nature of Orin's betrayal, I found myself docking some points from my overall rating.

Despite these issues, I really enjoyed the book. It was an entertaining read with a fast-paced plot, a solid romantic conflict, and characters that, while flawed, still kept me invested in the outcome. While I’m giving it a 3-star rating, I would still recommend House of Blight to fans of fantasy romance, especially those who love a bit of drama and tension in their love triangles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Sarah J. Maas meets Rachel Gilling in a gothic fantasy that will leave you in desperate need for the next book!

House of Blight was hard to put down with its captivating blend of heartache and magic. It was filled with intrigue and compelling characters that will immediately draw you into the story.

Maxym M. Martineau certainly knows how to keep their readers engaged, promting us to take upon reflection of just how far we might go to protect the ones we care for most.

I’m excited to see where the story will lead us in the finale.

Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm very torn on this one. I liked the story and a lot of the fantasy elements that were sprinkled throughout the book, but it ultimately felt far too familiar to other romantasy books out there.

What I liked: I loved the unique magic that our FMC has. The history behind the Evers and their world was super fun to read about. The detailed imagery that the author creates is stunning.

What I didn't like: A large portion of the book felt like the author recycled scenes from other popular romantasy titles. So much of the book is just court politics (e.g. dinner conversations, balls) and very little of the unique magic that was introduced at the beginning of the book. The FMC irritated me.

Overall, I think this would be great for someone that wants to start reading romantasy! However, if you are someone that regularly reads in the romantasy genre, you may find yourself a little disappointed.

This book really took me by surprise. The gothic vibes were perfect for October. I love the concept of magic and threadmenders. It’s interesting how every time she heals someone she loses a piece of herself to the sickness. Then her brothers fall ill and she can’t save both she strikes a deal with someone she hates. You should really try this one out. It will not disappoint.

This book follows our fmc through a world filled with magic and disease. There are beings called Evers who are like fae. They have magic and are immortal beings. The Mc must try to help cure an ever in exchange for saving her brothers. There is a bit of smut.
The book is open to another, and I assume there will be at least one more book.
While I liked this book, I didn't love it. I see a few plot holes and saw the story twist coming from very early on. The themes are much like we have seen in many popular fantasy books as of late.

I was intrigued from the beginning and could barely put it down! Super excited to read the next book!
I've never read anything by this author but I will definitely check out her other work.

This is a tough book to rate for me. I enjoyed the story, thought that it was well written, and kept my interest throughout. I enjoyed the magic of the main character and her healing abilities and the dilemma that came along with it. However, as the story progressed, I was constantly thinking about how similar the story was to ACOTAR. At first, it felt like a Gothic retelling of beauty and the beast and then eventually a retelling of (ACOTAR). I felt like I was able to guess pretty accurately what was going to happen throughout the book because of it. The main character was a little frustrating for me because she came off as intelligent, however, was infuriatingly ignorant when it came to dealing with anything romantic, I guess they call it gaslighting for a reason. I just had a hard time believing rationalizations, especially in such a short period of time. In that way it kind of felt rushed. That being said, I did enjoy reading it enough that I plan on reading the sequel.

I couldn’t finish this book. I got 40% of the way through and had to stop because I was getting annoyed. I really wanted to love it. The magic system was promising but fell flat.
The Ferngloves are unbearable. The petty, childish behavior made it impossible to keep reading without getting mad. Orin’s behavior both cringed and creeped me out. He barely knows Edira and he randomly made a comment of saying he wishes getting her measurements was more hands on. I feel like the interaction between Orin and Edira are supposed to cute but they left me cringing. Most of the notes on my kindle were either “ew” or “this is awful and cringy”.
Also, the Ferngloves have powers but none of them have used them besides Orin. Maybe they use their powers later in the book but I feel like they would have used them even partially by 40%.
Edira says that she’s gonna put up a mask and not let people in the house know who she is. She was brought there because she’s a threadmender! They already know who she is! The stuff that Edira said could be frustrating at time.

I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced reader copy of House of Blight! I immediately ordered a copy upon finishing this book!

This book was a fun read. The world wasn’t super complex, so it was easier for me to figure out what was going on than it is in some other fantasy books.
I enjoyed the quick progression and timeline of this book too, I never felt like it was dragging on.

I was really a fan of how the sort of love triangle played out, and I felt like I knew it was gonna happen with it pretty early on which thrilled me.

I’m assuming the Evers are Fae of some sort, that’s what I Gathered from reading this. I really liked the different take on Fae and their powers and how they cohabitate with humans.

I liked Edira as a main character for the most part. She was easy to understand, and it was easy to understand what drove her throughout the book. Some of her decisions I didn’t get, and I felt like she was fooled pretty easily, but by the end, she sort of redeemed herself in my eyes. Part of the love triangle gave me the ick, but that also redeemed itself by the end and I was happy with that outcome.

We start Out with Edira being a Threadmender in secret and hiding her powers, because Threadmenders are coveted by the Evers, and she didn’t want to be taken from her family. But then her brothers fall ill, and one of the Evers promises to help her save them in exchange for her help. We quickly see that the Evers aren’t being completely honest and there’s more to the story, which slowly reveals itself throughout the book. And by the end Edira has some pretty big decisions to make in order to come out alive and save her brothers.

I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book! Especially if you like A Court of Thorns and Roses

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Edira is a threadmender, which is someone who can heal others at the cost of their own mortality. Healing a broken leg could cost months of one's life. Edira has been living in fear of being found out since her aunt (also a threadmender) was kidnapped and taken to an immortal family's home. She has kept her secret until tragedy strikes and she must make a bargain she cannot refuse.

I enjoyed Martineau's world building in House of Blight. There were immortal families, mythical beasts, mystery, magic, glamors, and a pervading sickness. Edira was believable as a character and you could feel the love and dedication she has to her family. I cannot wait for the second book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 rounded up. I could not put this book down. Though I predicted several of the twists and it echoed some of my favorite fantasy books, I was happy to be along for the ride. The names in this book are slightly insane but once I got into it, I couldn’t stop reading. Ywena was my favorite character by far.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for a honest review.

Edira is a threadmender, a magical healer, hiding her abilities from everyone in her village. If they knew, they’d sell her out to the Evers, the magical immortal family who oversees the town. One day, her brothers come home infected with the blight, a cursed illness that will kill them in minutes. Moments later she’s offered a bargain by one of the Fernglove Evers: come work with him to cure the blight and he’ll stop the illness from progressing in her brothers. Edira agrees and sets down a dangerous path.

I thought this was really well done but I need authors to stop foreshadowing the second love interest so heavily. At this point I think we’ve all read ACOTAR and can see it coming a mile away. That was, however, one of the few twists I anticipated. Everything else fit with the plot but was actually surprising. I also found this really hard to put down. It was a very interesting magic system with a clear starting point outlined in the prologue that I really enjoyed, and I’m very eager for the second book.

Overall, I loved this book, it was so good I couldn’t believe it. It’s a medium paced book, but it will keep you absolutely hooked. The book has an ending that could go either way of a sequel or standalone. I think either way it’s good. A second book would be awesome.

House of Blight by Maxym M. Martineau follows threadmender Edira as she tries to use her magic to cure the blight effecting the land. Edira finds herself entwined with the elites, the Evers, to find a cure.

Fantasy. Romantasy. Gothic. Open for a sequel.

I enjoyed the world tremendously. I love the range of characters. Edira, Vora, and Rorik *so much*. The authors description of the sickness was very realistic, if you have a sensitive stomach, but the description of Edira’s magic created a stunning visual. I hope there is a sequel.

Absolutely enchanted with this first book in a new fantasy series! The world, the characters, the magic - it was a beautiful blend.

Plot: a young woman of little means lives a perfectly normal existence as an apothecary, making and selling salves and tinctures to support herself and her two young her brothers. Well, mostly normal...except for the fact that she's hiding a secret from the world. She was born with a rare type of healing magic that she has hidden from everyone outside her family since she was a small child. The healing comes with a cost - she gives up a small piece of her life with each healing.

Once a powerful and extremely magical family (the Ferngloves) discover her secret, she is brought into a world of power, wealth, and intrigue that she could barely believe existed. Her brothers contract blight and in order to save them, she has to serve the Ferngloves to try and rid the world of blight once and for all. But nothing is what it seems and in a place filled with danger and desire, she will have to learn that the only one she can truly trust is herself.

This book was beautifully written and the pages practically dripped with actual magic. Looking forward to the next book!

Wow just wow. This book was amazing in every way! I couldn’t put it down! The last 100 pages really had me on the edge of my seat. It’s the perfect amount of romatansy. If you like Sarah j Maas and want something similar to her books this is definitely it. I’m now super bummed that I have to wait so long for the next book! I can’t wait!
Thank you Harper Collin’s publishing for allowing me to read the advance readers e-proof!
Read through NETGALLEY.

Thank you so Much to @netgalley and @maxymmckay for this eARC!!! I truly appreciate this opportunity to read and review this beautiful novel!!

- To be a Moth and Beetle dancing under the stars 🖤

“You’re brighter than the moon and just as steady” - Rorik 🤤

Genre: Romantasy
Spice: 🌶️
Rate: ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Release date: April 8th 2025

Review: I would love to tell everyone that this is definitely a book you need to be in the mood for because you NEED to read in-between the lines. Nothing is surface level about this read. I had to put the book down for a moment because I couldn’t tell if it was me or the book it was definitely a ME problem lol.
The author beautifully put together families and secrets every family shares within its little circle. The magic system is SUPER interesting especially with threadmending - I liked that with power comes an equal exchange of that power. To know power is to think outside of it in itself and not just see it and use it. To think.
This whole story is thinking, is rage, power and the little beauty that is within even under blistering decay.
I didn’t give this a five star because I needed more details and wanted to know more about the magic, world and characters. I feel however the Author is purposefully holding that back from us to go into it fully in the second book. You get to meet the characters now, see what’s on the surface and peaks underneath the glamour of it all. I am excited for the release and that I’ll get to have a physical copy plus what the future holds within this world.

I loved how this book transported me to another world. Maxym's descriptive writing truly immerses you in her universe—if you enjoy vividly detailed settings, this is perfect for you! We’re introduced to a strong female lead, a woman who sells tonics trying to make ends meet with her two brothers, while secretly hiding her special power. As she’s forced into a deal with an untrustworthy family, secrets begin to unravel, and trust is the last thing that might develop. The story isn’t overly complex, but it’s a great read, and I’m excited to see how the next book unfolds, especially for a bit more romance!

Rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 1/5
This was definitely a SLOW-BURN.

Wow wow wow! I absolutely LOVED this book and cannot wait for more from this author. The plot as a whole was so intriguing and left you yearning for another book to dive into.

Maxym Martineau delivers a gripping and immersive tale in House of Blight, blending gothic fantasy, intrigue, and complex relationships seamlessly. The story follows a cast of vibrant, well-drawn characters navigating the dangerous and power-hungry world of blight-wielding magic, which is as dark as it is captivating. Martineau’s world-building shines, pulling readers into a richly detailed and menacing environment where tension, secrets, and treachery are the norm.

What stands out most is the emotional depth of the characters. Each has a unique struggle, whether it’s with power, trust, or identity, making them feel relatable and fully human amidst the fantastical setting. The pacing is well-crafted, keeping the mystery and tension high while allowing for moments of reflection and personal growth.

The only slight drawbacks are that there isn’t much romance, I would haven’t loved more spice between Rorik, Orin, and Eidra. The prologue didn’t really make sense in the story unless more is to be delivered in additional books to explain the bargain with death. Also, the complexity of the magic system feels underdeveloped, leaving you alittle confused about the rules and limitations of blight magic. However, this is a minor issue in an otherwise compelling narrative. Martineau balances action with emotional stakes beautifully, ensuring that readers are not only enthralled by the plot but deeply invested in the characters’ fates.

In short, House of Blight is a dark, enchanting journey that fans of complex fantasy will love. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a mix of magic, danger, and emotional depth.

Thank you NetGalley, Maxym Martineau, and HarperVoyagerUS for this eARC 🖤