I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Dark and atmospheric, I swear I could smell the salty sea air as I devoured Lyndall Clipstone's latest release.
It was so interesting with the dual timelines to explore the characters and how they've changed over time.
I adore that this is a standalone and I'd love to see more epic standalone books like this make it to our shelves.
Perfect for fans of Ava Reid's "A Study in Drowning."

A haunting narration from Emily Lawrence.

the premise <i>sounds</i> like something I would love:
eighteen year old Lacrimosa “Lark” Arriscane returns home after a violent scandal, only to find her family teetering on the edge of ruin. desperate to save them, she binds herself in a marriage contract to a chthonic god named therion. but the ritual goes wrong, she starts to fade from the mortal realm, and she turns to the mysterious siblings camille and alastair felimath for help. cue: hedonistic folklore, dangerous rituals, and a doomed romance. oh, and something darker lurking beneath it all. sounds rich, right? dark, seductive, high
stakes. but nothing worked for me.

when you promise me gothic, I expect atmospheric. moody language that drips with rot and beauty. but this writing was paper dry. bleak, flat, nothing rooted me in the story. I wasn’t pulled in I technically read the whole thing in one sitting, and not because i was consumed 🤣

for the first half the book was spinning in circles, stuck in some kind of vague, melancholic purgatory. then suddenly, in the last third, it dumped plot all over the place like it had just remembered it was supposed to have a storyline. I love character driven books. so it’s not like I need nonstop action. but this book didn’t give me anything. just confusion until it tried to cram plot into the last 30%.

The audiobook narrator does such a wonderful job of creating a dreamy atmosphere. I really enjoyed Clipstone’s beautiful poetic prose and though it is a slow paced read it helps to linger in the gothic and creates tension.

Overall, Tenderly, I Am Devoured was an enjoyable read. I loved the beautiful writing and gothic, mysterious atmosphere was 10/10. The narrator also has a beautiful voice, I really enjoyed her narration and I thought she did an excellent job bringing the story to life. I loved that it was poly and bi, but I thought it was a strange choice to make the two love interests brother and sister - I would have preferred a different choice, since this made me feel a bit weird even if nothing happened between them. The plot itself was a bit lacking, it was okay but not the most gripping or exciting thing - definitely vibes over plot, which was alright since the vibes were immaculate. I enjoyed my time and would recommend this book to those searching for a gothic horror with LGBTQIA+ rep and ocean vibes.

I love the world-building; the descriptions are vivid and well set, allowing me to visualize them. This novel explores the love, betrayal of friendships, child abuse at the hands of a parent, as well as the relationship between siblings. The "why chose" element was tasteful, the characters likable, and the spice was on point; it went smoothly with the storyline.

I would like to first thank NetGalley for my e-ARC/DRC. However, for some reason it will not allow me to post my review on NetGalley’s app/website. I tried on multiple devices, and contacted support before giving up.

So here it is:

I was highly anticipating this novel. I was in love with the cover.

The reality was it was a weird combination of the original Dark Shadows, Cruel Intentions, Salt Burn, and the hard slap (pun intended) of romantasy genre on it. It had a semi-gothic literature vibe that was overshadowed by the chthonic gods, pseudo incestuous triad.

This book had so much going on that a coherent and enjoyable story was just not going to happen. I’m really disappointed in this one.

The one positive thing I will say is that the narrator of the audiobook was exceptional. More audiobook narrators should take a lesson from her “book”.

Amazing vibes and story. The author's advertising of it was on POINT! Overall I highly enjoyed it, I just think the characters and plot could have been slightly more developed.

This is more than a pretty cover! Very emotional, at times sexy and such deliciously creepy vibes.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for the ALC

Let’s start with that cover—absolutely stunning!! It's a perfect visual intro to the haunting beauty of the story inside. I was obsessed before I even hit play.

I wasn’t aware I needed romantic horror in my life until this. It’s a seductive, salty fever dream. The story unfolds slowly, steeped in a moody atmosphere, sea gods, salt priests, and ancient lore. Our protagonist, Lark, becomes entangled with the Felimath siblings (Alastair and Camille), and from there, things only grow more deliciously complicated.

I loved how rich and layered the world felt, especially the folklore surrounding Therion, the underworld god worshipped by Lark’s coastal town. The vibe is pure gothic perfection.

Around the halfway point, the first major twist hit—and wow! I definitely didn’t see it coming. The second half unravels with family secrets, long-buried betrayals, and passionate, morally messy relationships that practically smolder off the page.

Read this if you love:
✨Dark academia
✨Complex, emotionally charged relationships
✨Moral ambiguity & divine bargains
✨Lush, tangled romance—including sapphic threads

I am obsessed with this book. I read it and didn't think it could get any better but thoroughly enjoyed the audio book!

Even though there wasn't really much going on in this book other than a moody atmosphere, I enjoyed it. My main complaint is that the F/F is severely underdeveloped compared to the M/F, and could have been removed without affecting much of anything. It just felt tacked on in order to make this a little more interesting, but I found it frustrating. I also expected there to be more of an emphasis on art since that's supposedly the MC's passion. All the ocean vibes were perfect though.

This was not the normal kind of fantasy I read. It is a story of girl trying to save her family's house and land. She goes to an extreme to save it. I haven't read a book where a character to drawn to both guy and his sister. To me that felt gross. The book is beautifully written.

Thank you @booksforwardpr for the #gifted copy and especially Layne for getting me the audio while my eyes are being funky. Savior!

First off, this cover!! It could definitely hang on my wall as artwork. So beautiful.

But then, you turn the page and the prose is just as beautiful. Lush, gothic, and so atmospheric that you can taste the salt and feel the sea breeze. The world building was phenomenal if a bit slow.

Lark has had a heck of a time. Her school made being a dork at a cliquey all girls school seem like mini golf. What she endured only to come home and find out her whole life has been turned upside down yet again.
Rival families, a betrothal to a chthonic demon, a scandalous love triangle, and all the folklore make this one you won’t want to put down.

The audio was atmospheric and felt gothic. The narration was perfect.

What you’ll find:
🌊For fans of: Aquaman, Saltburn, Midsommer
🌊Sapphic
🌊Poetic prose
🌊Rituals and Gods
🌊Slow burn
🌊Complicated relationships

Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone is great for those looking to read…
🩶Gothic Romantasy
🩶M/F/F Polycule
🩶Flower-threaded Horror
🩶Saltburn Vibes
🩶Betrothal to a Swan God
🩶Dark Academia Meets Cottage Core
🩶Heartbreak to Lovers

I was unaware of some of the specifics of this going into & unfortunately this just wasn’t the book for me. I thought the writing style was very pretty & lyrical however.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Spotify for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Ahhhh this is a tough one for me to rate. There were elements I liked about it, but also elements I didn’t. Overall I can see myself recommending it to others in certain situations, but I think maybe overall it’s not quite my kind of book. I’ll break down my thoughts below!

The things I liked:
- the vibes!! I’ve seen it described by some readers as romantasy (which I guess technicallyyyy it is because it involves gods) but I feel like that description doesn’t quite fit… It is very much a flower threaded, gothic, cottagecore, dark academia esque story. It felt very whimsical and the setting was incredible too, I could very vividly imagine what Lark’s cottage would be like and the surrounding area as well as Alastair and Camille’s house!
- I quite liked Lark as a character. She very much gives soft feminine vibes while still being a strong and smart FMC. I also enjoyed her love for art and that even though her dreams were ruined in a way, she still found a way back to it in the end
- I thought the storyline was very interesting and unique to anything else I’ve read! I definitely expected to see more of Therion (considering a bulk of the marketing for this book focused on Lark’s engagement to him) but I think the story played out in a satisfying way.

The things that left me wanting more:
- Alastair and Camille. As the two love interests in this story, I kind of just wanted more depth from them..? I was thinking this the whole way through, but now that I’ve finished the book I really just feel like I know basically nothing about these two characters outside their relationship to Lark. (and in Alastair’s case, his relationship with his father) it honestly makes me wonder if I’ve missed something?? They just feel like empty shells of characters with no real substance. Which made it real hard to root for any sort of a relationship unfortunately
- the relationship…. I guess this kind of builds upon that last point. I found it really hard to even want a relationship to grow between any of these characters. But beyond that, this book includes a polyamorous relationship (which to be honest might just not be my cup of tea to begin with) but the thing that really got me is that two of the members of this relationship are siblings??????? Like, that just kind of makes me uncomfortable… nothing ever necessarily happened between the two of them, but having them both involved in the same polycule just felt icky to me😭

Because this author is local to me, I really really wanted to love this one, but it didn’t quite work for me unfortunately. I could potentially see myself recommending this to others in certain situations (depending on the other person’s taste in books) but it wasn’t for me unfortunately.

This is a great forced marriage to solve a crisis tale, but fantasy world-building plus great characters. I love the cover and was intrigued by the lore. Will recommend to those who love romance.

Read this on ebook and wanted to snag the audiobook to listen to! The narrator does not disapoint and really brought the characters to life!

A dark gothic romance and a cover so beautiful! But sadly, this one was not for me. I found it quite boring, altough it sounded promising. The brother - sister thing was too weird for me. But my biggest issue was the narrator. Her style of reading might be great for others but I could not handle that.

Tenderly, I Am Devoured introduces us to Lark, the youngest sister, who returns home after being kicked out of school, finding her family's farm on the brink of being sold due to mounting debts. Desperate to save her family, Lark agrees to a marriage of convenience with Therion, the chthonic god worshipped by her isolated coastal hometown. When their betrothal is interrupted, Therion is banished from her world, but Lark still feels him connected to her and lurking, waiting to pull her back in. She was ready to make the sacrifice to marry him and go to his world for the salt season, but things did not go to plan and now she has to find out how to live her life in peace. Her only hope lies with Alastair, her arrogant first heartbreak, and his older sister, Camille. As this trio delves into ancient folklore, Lark finds herself ensnared in a fervent romance with the Camille AND Alastair. They perform ancient rituals to try and connect safely with Therion and explain what went wrong and to find a solution that saves them all. The story weaves between past events, revealing why Lark was expelled and her history with Alastair, and the present with working out how to survive.

This book was so uniquely beautiful and amazing. When I thought it was going in one direction, like a Hades/Persephone retelling, it took a totally different path, which I really enjoyed. The mystical world presented here was unique but never felt overcomplicated, making it easy to immerse myself. It explored great themes of family, love, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. The narration was excellent, and I particularly loved Therion's creepy, deep voice, which added so much to the atmosphere.

Thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 7/1/25.