Dark academia meets cottagecore?! Sign me up!🤭 this story has everything I wanted dark academia romance with a bit of horror! The characters and story was very well written and the first chapter had me hooked ! If you’re a fan of salt burn if definitely has that vibe with its own gothic aesthetic romance 🖤✨🦢

If you’re into:
✨“Who did this to you?” energy
✨ 2M/F/F polycules that ache
✨ Secret history vibes and soft girl heroines
✨ A dark, seductive, and myth-soaked tale..
Definitely give this a go!

Whimsical, emotional and so beautiful. Stunning prose that hits you right inbthe heart. If you love dark academia and LGBTQ books, you need to read this.

3 stars
——————

I really wanted to like this one more than I did.

What I really enjoyed was the atmosphere of the book and how it’s established and created. It was vivid in my mind and really drew me into the story. The author does such a great job at establishing mythology for this world and I was fascinated by it. I like how the story was told in flashbacks and now. The past is just as important in this one, so seeing it explored really helped to establish the present for me. But the bulk of the book, the actual story, just didn’t catch me.

The premise was interesting but the actual story just sort of fell apart. The pacing is on the slow side and it took me a bit to get into it. The concept of a marriage to a God and the resulting fall out set up a really good story but the actual one told didn’t do anything for me. It felt very disjointed. I wasn’t connected to any of the characters and I found the polyamorous relationship, despite the representation it presented, really “icky” with two siblings involved. And while I loved the exploration of the past, I found a lot of Lark’s relationship with Damson to just be unnecessary, a bit like filler to bulk out the book. I just don’t think it was necessary to spend so much time establishing that storyline when it just sort of sitters out anyway in the end.

I really have mixed feelings about this one, thus the more neutral rating. I can see it having its audience, it just wasn’t for me.

Tenderly, I Am Devoured was strange and unlike any romantasy I’ve read (although I haven’t read many). It was beautifully written and had a fairy tale quality to it. I’ve read and enjoyed all three of Clipstone’s other books and this was no exception.

As always, Clipstone’s writing was vivid and lyrical. I absolutely loved all the descriptions in this book, from sights to smells, down to what the characters were wearing. I felt full immersed in the world of Verse, especially because I was also listening to the audiobook. At times I felt like I was right there with the characters at Saltswan, looking out at the sea. The author stated that they were inspired by Saltburn and I can definitely see how it influenced this book. Tenderly, I Am Devoured stands on it’s own, though.

The book wasn’t super plot heavy, it was more about the emotional journey the characters go on. The story goes from the present to different points of Lark’s past. I really enjoyed the time spent with Lark at Marchmain Academy and I would have liked if we had gotten more. I wanted to spend more time during the beginning of the relationship between Lark and the Felimath siblings as well. I found the salt priests and gods to be interesting and would have liked to know more, especially about Therion. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Lark’s world.

The book includes a romantic plot involving polyamory which isn’t something that I’ve often seen depicted. Kudos to the author for representing poly relationships. The intimate scenes were handled very well and weren’t graphic. The book was more about Lark finding herself so I didn’t think any more intimate scenes were needed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you’re looking for a summer read you can get lost in while you listen to the ocean waves or drink some tea, this is it. I’d recommend this to readers who like romantasy with a dash of horror (this author is known for writing flower threaded horror). Also, if you’ve never read Lyndall Clipstone’s other books I highly suggest you do. My suggestion is to read Unholy Terrors next! Thank you to the author and Mcmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC for review.

AUDIOBOOK:
As far as the audiobook goes, the narrator did an excellent job of bringing the book to life. I really liked listening to the story. Each character had their own distinct voice. I particularly liked the voiced used for Therion. The way Therion would say “Lacrimosa” was just perfect. I’d recommend listening to the audiobook while reading the physical or ebook at the same time. I’d like to thank the author and Spotify Audiobooks for providing me with an ALC of the audiobook.

As one of my most anticipated releases of the year, Clipstone absolutely did not disappoint! The gothic overtones in this book made me feel uneasily cozy; this book reads like the smell of the ocean, smoke, liquor and a dash of strawberry all at once. I loved the big three; Lark, Camille and Alastair all have their own draw and make the story feel larger than life. I loved learning about Verse and the rest of the somehow dreary yet vibrant world Tenderly, I Am Devoured takes place in. As a big fan of gothic literature, this book will now and forever have a very special place in my heart!

So atmospheric and so gothic. Just right up my alley! The story is dark and complex, with just enough mystery to keep me captivated. Thank you so much to the author and publisher for an advanced copy!

Lyndall Clipstone @lkclipstone
7/1/2025
Henry Holt & Co @henryholtbooks

Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone is a dark, atmospheric story that feels like a gothic fairytale—both eerie and beautiful, like a dream teetering on the edge of a nightmare. Clipstone’s lyrical prose wraps each scene in mist and longing, drawing you into a world where love and monsters blur together. The romance is raw and aching, with characters who are both haunted and haunting, exploring desire, fear, and identity with quiet intensity. It’s a story that lingers long after the final page—perfect for readers who crave emotion, mystery, and beauty tangled with darkness. I will admit, I felt as if I was too old for this book, but I needed a pallet cleanser so to speak and to change things up and this worked perfectly.

I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have received an advanced copy of Tenderly, I Am Devoured from the author, and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group| Henry Holt & Co (BYR)! 🫶

Tenderly, I Am Devoured is a beautiful masterpiece and I loved every minute I spent reading this story! 🥹💕 I have never read a book that was anything remotely like this and it just was so lyrical and magical in every possible way! 🫶

Lyndall Clipstone writes in such a way that you want to just grab a highlighter and highlight the entire book because the book writing style just grabs you in from the very first line! 😍 One line was better than the next and the whole story just grabbed me in and I couldn’t let go until I finished this beautiful story. The FMC Lark has my whole heart! 🥹 I just wanted to give her the biggest hug. If you imagine Alice from Alice in Wonderland combined with Anne from Anne of Green Gables those are the vibes I get from Lark. She was bullied and it broke my heart just how badly she was! 💔 She also was so smart and intelligent and gave her all to school but it didn’t love her back and she got expelled! 😭 Other characters I happen to love are Alistair and Camille. They both are such complex characters with so much on their shoulders and I just felt so much for the both of them. Seriously Lyndall Clipstone should create a masterpiece for how to invoke emotions from readers because I was crying with how attached I got to the characters! 🫶

If you love dark academia meets cottagecore vibes, horror, M/F/F romance, touch him/her and ☠️, mystery, and a book that will forever remain in my heart then this is the book for you! 🫶

When you make a comparison to Saltburn, I will be anticipating something fun and unhinged! This did not lean into that aspect enough for me, so I left feeling mildly disappointed. This was an okay read though, definitely one I'd recommend for a fall time TBR.

This book felt addicting. It had just enough folk lore to not be overpowering, and the romance was unlike what I have ever experienced before. I'm thankful that this book was my introduction to poly romances in literature.

3.5 ⭐️

I have some mixed thoughts on this one so I think the easiest way to go about this review is to list what I really enjoyed about this book and then where it also fell flat for me!

Things I Enjoyed:
🤍 the atmosphere - the dismal seaside vibes were everything, the descriptions of the setting were beautifully done and I felt super immersed
🤍 the flashbacks - I am partial to flashbacks that are interspersed into a book and reveal things to us slowly but surely as we progress in a story, I really enjoyed the university flashbacks & the flashbacks between Alastair and Lark as it helped paint the picture of their relationship
🤍 the world-building surrounding the deity Therion & how/why he was worshipped by our characters - this was a super unique god & concept that I’ve never read anything similar about before
🤍 I really enjoyed our character Alastair, even though flawed in his relationship with Lark, I think his relationship with his father & trauma explains a lot and made me feel for him

Things That Fell Flat For Me:
🌊 I wasn’t super invested in the poly relationship between Lark, Camille, Alastair and then Therion? I’ve seen some reviews say that Camille’s character development was pretty flat and we didn’t get to truly know her so it affected the intensity of the chemistry we felt between Lark and Camille and I definitely agree. If Camille was a little more fleshed out, I think I could’ve enjoyed their bond more
🌊 Pacing was a little bit slow at times
🌊 There was some repetitive phrasing that kept getting recycled and I hate to be nit-picky about things like this but it was starting to impede on my reading experience after a while
🌊 I didn’t feel super connected to our MC Lark, so it made it difficult to stay fully invested in the story

Overall, I think you should definitely give this one a go if you’re looking for a folklore horror poly YA romance because the concept is unlike anything I’ve ever read & the atmosphere is super immersive! Thank you so much to the author for an ARC copy 🤍

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Tenderly, I am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone

This book was a chthonic fever dream laced with moonlit waters and heartbreak. An ethereal world with cathartic scenes filled with longing, grief, seaside cliffs and flower crowns. Lyndall really knows how to immerse the reader into the world of the story she tells with her descriptive prose.

Amazing. I really loved this book. I found that each character was layered and I found them to be interesting and engaging. I think the story was well paced and developed.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

tenderly, i am devoured was a fantastic queer, dark academia novel with an emphasis on art and a mythical chtonic god called therion.

the only thing i couldn’t wrap my head around? — the polyamorous couple including siblings… that aspect was not for me at all.

as for the audio — the narrator did a great job!

have you ever read a book you were completely engulfed by? where the story is so beautiful, dark, and whimsical that you can’t help devour it all in one sitting like it’s the very air you breathe?

Tenderly, I Am Devoured was that book for me.

It is incredibly immersive, intriguing, and atmospheric. If you enjoyed books like A Study in Drowning or House of Hollow, I feel like you’d love this one as well!
this book was unique and really refreshing to read. it was unlike any gothic romantasy I’ve read before and the vibes were truly perfect in my eyes. swans, salt mines, cliffs by the ocean, magic, combined with flashbacks of boarding school and old libraries, YES PLEASE🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️
the characters were all so interesting to learn about. I loved how Lark was quiet, dreamy, and observant yet is courageous for those she loves. Camille, Therion, and Alastair were so different from each other but they all showed up for Lark in such meaningful ways despite hurt they had caused in the past. the chemistry they had with Lark was everything to me. 🤌🏻✨
the writing was phenomenal and made me feel like I was truly apart of the story. I could almost smell the brine of the ocean, taste sea-dark liquor, and feel the cool salty breeze tangling my hair like ribbons.

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

if you want to be transported to another world full of secrets, love, magic, and betrayal, definitely look into this book!

thank you @netgalley and @henryholtbooks for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!

The cover is incredible. If only the actual book was the same! This is one of those reads that isn't necessarily bad, but it's got enough plot issues that I was just so disappointed.

The good:
🌲Setting and atmosphere that really made this book enjoyable despite its flaws
🏳️‍🌈Every character in the book is queer, so queerness is the societal normative standard
🕯️Excellent characterization and dialogue, I never got anyone confused
🌊Ritualistic magic and horror elements were perfectly creepy

The disappointing:
🌲There was a lot of world-building that didn't go anywhere, or need to be there, to tell the story. This could easily have been set in an isolated coastal town on earth somewhere, and the essential plot points would still have worked.
🏳️‍🌈Lark's polyamorous relationship is with full biological sibs (brother and sister), so there was a constant underlying ick factor for me. I also don't understand the point of the bacchanal, which wasn't even a bacchanal?, and it didn't do anything to help or hurt Lark's situation anyway?
🕯️I don't understand why Lark's boarding school experiences took up so much real estate. We only really needed to know that she didn't live at home for a number of years to set up the plot and her history with Alistair and Camille.
🌊 Lark is intrinsically linked to Therion, but there needed to be a ritual to link them?
🌲The book just ended but I'm not sure if anything in Lark's life was really resolved? Now that the debt to the Felimaths is paid, that's just it? Lark and her family go about their merry way doing what?

Overall, this book was all about the vibes and sexual tension but if you look at it too closely, there is a lot of filler that doesn't contribute to the plot whatsoever, and the climax is just weird and ends up being anti-climactic after all the build up that went nowhere. When I finished it, I realized I still don't know if there was even a clear central theme.

📚Book Tour📚
⭐️4.2⭐️

Thank you so much to the amazing @talesandteacupspr and @lkclipstone for providing me with a copy of this amazing book!
First off I loved how fast of a read this book was, lately I’ve been so tired of reading 600 page books and just want something smaller and this gave me that and more! I really loved the dark academia and horror elements throughout this book. I really loved Lark and seeing her work through so much emotional trauma and reading her journey. I think every character was written really well but Lark was written extremely well. I’m so excited to read more from this author and definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a fast read!

Tropes:

-Dark Academia🖤
-YA Romanatsy❤️‍🔥
-Poly Relationship💕
-Queer🌈
-Horror🔪

The writing is this is as beautiful as the cover! I was transported to a gothic seaside! This was just what my autumn heart needed this summer! The balance between salty sea air and dark gothic horror was done so well. The atmosphere, mystery, writing and characters really made this book for me. I would say the only thing I didn’t love was the romance. I don’t think love triangle are my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

the first time i was interested in reading this book was when I heard what the title would be, and then i was even more excited when I saw the cover. the author has done an amazing job on this book and I couldn't be happier with being able to read it early. I am a little late to posting a review due to some personal things but I dont regret reading!!

this is a young adult Gothic romantic fantasy with amazing world building and very cool characters. I absolutely loved the folklore throughout the novel and would love to see maybe more spinoffs with folklore.

with the main character, Lark (Lacrimosa) Arriscane offering herself to the chthonic god, Therion to her being saved by the Felimath sibling, there were so many cool things about this book. if you haven't already, I recommend picking up a copy!!

What a fantastic read! I devoured this unputdownable book in 9ne weekend. The world build is incredibly real. The characters are vividly portrayed and endearing. The storyline woven into this well-written page-turner is phenomenal. I highly recommend reading this book. I don't do spoilers because it takes away from the story but the blurb gives you an idea of what you are going to get. One-click now and enjoy it!