Innamorata by new to me author Ava Reid, published by Del Rey / Random House, is the first book in the House of Teeth Duet.
A" gothic fantasy about necromancy, vengeance, and soul-consuming love " the publisher.
Adele-Blanche is the head of family and as she deceased, her granddaughter Marozia becomes her heiress and new leader. She and her cousin Agnes are the last of the House of Teeth and both have their own agenda.
I startec reading and was pretty soon confused. There are lots of plottwists, characters that are need introductions and a storyline I found quite difficult to follow.
All in all an ok read, 3.5 stars.

So, I just read Innamorata and honestly, it’s a really solid pick if you’re into gothic fantasy with a side of forbidden romance. The world-building is super atmospheric. lots of gloomy, moody settings that make you want to curl up with a cup of tea and just sink in.

The main character, Agnes, is interesting. She’s very quiet and kind of withdrawn at the start, but as you read on, you see her start to grow and get more confident. There’s some nice character development there, and her relationships (especially with her cousin and the love interest) feel pretty real and sometimes complicated, which I liked.

The romance isn’t light and fluffy, though it’s definitely on the intense, slightly messy side. Not in a cringe way, but more like “okay, things are about to get complicated” kind of way. There’s also a fair bit of darkness to the story, with some heavier themes and a few scenes that are a little graphic, so just a heads up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book.

Ok honestly I struggled what to rate this. The book is good, it's a dark gothic horror and the world building is so top tier. Ava's writing style is stunning and sucks you in. The story is unique and the court intrigue and romance are well done. You can definitely feel the love they have for each other and the lengths they are willing to and do go to.
Here's where it gets tricky. TRIGGER WARNINGs, I am not squeamish. This is a book you'll absolutely want to read the warnings and be aware of them before you start. The ending, it's just well, I just finished bleaching my brain but the cliff hanger also has me yearning for book two and hopefully a righting to some of these wrongs. It's DARK. Be prepared and have a cutesy hallmark style rom com to palate cleanse with after.
& Also I know this is just petty
but the names in this book are all just god awful. I ended up just referring to everyone as lady a, lady m, L etc
砂 thanks
to netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc

Garishly dark, gothic, and unique.... Innamorata is nothing like what the talented Ava Reid has brought us before. And as a warning to any readers potentially wanting to pick this up, this uniquely beautiful, haunting dark gem is grim, and it is a work of gorgeously morbid gruesomeness that reads like some long-forgotten eldritch tale longing to be reawakened again...
Hail the House of Teeth...
Once, they were the most powerful of the Seven Houses, the best in practicing the necromantic arts... The rulers of this island of death... until the Seraph came and toppled their way of life. Burned their secrets... killing their rulers... stamping out their powers....
With the death of Madame Adele-Blanche, now all that remains of the once-powerful House of Teeth are two.
The ever-beautiful Marozia, heir apparent to the House of Teeth, and her fair cousin, Agnes...
Agnes... who has been quiet for seven years...
Agnes, the anointed... the one secretly charged with ensuring the future of the House of Teeth.
With ensuring the will of Adele-Blanche is carried forward... and with that comes one rule, she may never find love.
Until she does, and all that she once knew, all that she once carried out is swept away as she suddenly finds herself in love with the one person who she had least expected to find love with. The prince who is meant to be her cousin's husband....
Weaving hints of necromancy, forbidden magic, vengeance, and soul-burning romance... with a good amount of cheek-reddening romance... (Yes... there is a FAIR BIT more spice than I had expected when I got approved for this.) ... Reid takes this book and quite literally runs with it, throwing in the perfect dash of beautiful chaos to end this book in a fiery finish. With the expansive world-building, the drama, and the relationship that seems to grow tenser with each page of this novel, I am now eagerly waiting for book 2... be warned again though, this book may not be for you due to its grisly nature...

This feels both new and a bit of a return to what I love about Ava Reid. It’s definitely hitting some of the gross gothic vibes of what I love about ‘Juniper and Thorn’ but with grand world building and a lot of political drama. Of course it has a romance at the centre of it as well.

I think readers will really need to take heed of the influences Reid has said they’re pulling from and the warnings being given, this will really not be for everyone. Honestly at time it wasn’t for me. Perhaps the addition of some in book content warnings would be good? It gets really gross.

I think the plot was super compelling but was somewhat left to the side by the romance and sex (omg there was a lot of it). That may be a draw for some people but it was quite different from what I normally expect form Reid. The main male character fell a bit flat for me, I wasn’t really connecting to him and he was feeling a bit one dimensional in his actions. We kept hearing about how multifaceted he was but I don’t think it was ever fully shown. I think the drama and relationship between the two cousins was much more compelling, every development between them had me so engaged in the story, but that was also pushed to the side a bit.

Reid’s writing is as always my favourite part it’s extremely atmospheric and really gets you into the world and characters. Unfortunately this book did feel long, far too many longing looks of doomed love and not enough necromancy in my opinion.

Overall I did enjoy it and I'm hoping book 2 really delivers on everything that has been set up. I think this book is bound to be divisive, especially if people are not fully prepared for the full extent of the grossness. I feel like nothing could’ve quite prepared me for that ending though.

Thank you Del Rey and NetGalley for the ARC.

I honestly don't even know where to start. I ate it up, mostly, but let’s just say I had to choke down a few bites.

Agnes starts off as this muted, gray-swaddled wallflower, like she’s auditioning for the role of “human cardigan.” Then BAM! Trauma hits about 40ish percent and suddenly she’s blooming into this vibrant, loving, technicolor chaos agent. It’s like watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly, except the butterfly’s got a chip on its shoulder and a penchant for drama. Her transformation is the heart of the book, and Reid nails the messy, human shift from shrinking violet to someone who’s ready to set the world on fire... or at least her deceased grandmother's plans. The tension with her cousin Marizoa relatable... Like family reunion where everyone’s smiling but someone’s definitely hiding a knife. It’s juicy, it’s layered, and it kept me flipping pages to see who’d throw the first punch.

Now, the romance with Liuprand. Hoo boy. At first, it’s all cute glances and “oh, you’re my Seraph soulmate” vibes, which sounds like it should come with a sparkly sticker and a terms-and-conditions pamphlet. Problem is, this soulmate custom is tossed in like a half-baked plot coupon and never really explained. Like, what’s the deal, Ava? Did the Seraphs get a PowerPoint on soulmate rules, or are we just supposed to nod and go with it? Anyway, the insta-love is forgivable because it’s kinda sweet for a minute. Liuprand’s got that puppy dog devotion thing going on. But then years pass, and… oof. Their love flattens out like a pancake under a steamroller. Liuprand’s entire personality becomes “Agnes’s #1 Fan,” and I’m over here begging for him to have a hobby, a quirk, something. Maybe he collects rare coins or secretly knits? Nope. Just worships Agnes. Yawn.

Speaking of Agnes, she’s a hot mess, and I don't think many will find her likable very often. She’s self-obsessed in that way that feels painfully real, like she’s starring in her own Oscar-worthy biopic. But when she goes from adoring Marizoa to basically ghosting her while Marizoa’s stuck in her own tragic subplot? Ouch. Agnes, babe, maybe check on your cousin instead of practicing your dramatic monologues in the mirror. It’s a flaw that makes her compelling but also makes you want to shake her until her necklace rattles iykyk.

The ending, though? Wow. Did not see that coming, and I’m not spoiling it, but let’s just say it’s like Reid decided to yeet the rulebook out the window and I respect the chaos. It bumped my rating up half a star because I love when a book takes a swing and actually lands it.

So why four stars and not five? I enjoyed the flaws of characters, even the several different POV (even the short chapter from a insects POV??) but occasionally feels like it’s trying to flex too hard, like it’s auditioning for a Tolkien biopic. And Liuprand’s lack of… anything outside of Agnes made me want to send him to character development bootcamp. Still, this book’s got heart, guts, and just enough mess to keep you hooked. Read it if you like your fantasy with a side of family dysfunction and a sprinkle of “what the eff just happened.”

Ava Reid’s Innamorata is as lush, unsettling, and gothic as promised, a story of necromancy, vengeance, and ruinous love. From its opening pages, with their macabre ceremonies and whispers of forbidden magic, the novel conjures an atmosphere dripping with decay and decadence. The world of Drepane, haunted by the legacy of the seven necromantic houses, feels vivid and grotesquely beautiful, a place where every feast tastes spoiled and every shadow hides a secret.

At its center is Agnes, mute and molded by her grandmother’s cruelty into a vessel for vengeance. Her bond with her cousin Marozia is one of the book’s strongest threads, intimate, fraught, and tinged with both devotion and rivalry. Their dynamic is complex and often more compelling than Agnes’s central romance. Because for all the promises of death magic and revenge, Innamorata ultimately places its heart in forbidden love: Agnes and Prince Liuprand, the golden heir of her family’s enemies. Their passion is meant to be treacherous, all-consuming, and it does carry a haunting inevitability, though at times it overshadows the richer gothic elements of the story.

Reid’s prose is, as always, remarkable; ornamented, visceral, and often deliberately grotesque. The atmosphere alone is intoxicating, and the final chapters deliver a shocking, grisly climax that lingers long after turning the last page. Yet the journey there can feel uneven. Long stretches of romance slow the pacing, and Agnes, for all her potential as an avenger steeped in death magic, sometimes drifts more as a passive figure than the active architect of her fate. The necromantic lore, teased so vividly at the start, is too often pushed aside in favor of yearning glances and doomed love.

Still, Innamorata succeeds as a gothic fantasy steeped in blood and beauty. It’s a story of women hemmed in by power, of love as both salvation and destruction, of vengeance twisted into something more fragile and more dangerous. While not without flaws, it’s undeniably atmospheric. Its ending, brutal and unforgettable, ensures I’ll be curious to see where the duology goes next.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I love Ava Reid's writing so I was super excited to get this ARC. I was a little worried in the beginning because it started pretty slow, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it.

It was a bit more of a political drama set in a fantasy world than her previous works. I think some of her fans will be disappointed if they go into it expecting the same.

I did really love the world building, the book started super gruesome from page 1.

I think people will really enjoy this if they're going into it with the right expectations, so it might help to rework the description and tags a bit.

Ava Reid is one of my favorite authors, which is why I had high hopes for this one. Sadly, a scene rather at the beginning of the book (the thumb-sucking, really?) just really threw me off and couldn’t really get back in. This book was not for me, I’m sure it will be amazing for other readers though!

Innamorata was a surprising departure from Ava Reid’s previous works. While it’s marketed as a gothic fantasy, which it technically is, it felt more like a dark, twisted political drama, almost like War of the Roses meets Game of Thrones, but with disturbingly gruesome family dynamics. Each family revolves around a different body part or function, which adds an eerie and visceral layer to the world-building.
I was completely drawn in by the beginning and captivated again by the final pages. However, some plotlines felt underdeveloped or abruptly dropped Agnes’s sudden shift in motivation, for example, left me puzzled. This novel also features significantly more explicit content than Reid’s earlier books, and some of the sex scenes are graphic, even unsettling.
And that ending, what a gut punch. It was brutal and revolting, yet somehow still left me wanting more. Reid’s ability to provoke such intense reactions is undeniable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey / Random House Worlds / Inklore for the advanced copy!

Ava Reid’s books are ones I automatically pick up - and this book did not disappoint. Her lyrical prose developed the atmosphere perfectly. Her world building is absolutely flawless, with the tension between the main characters being so intense. I struggled to put the book down, being drawn in immediately. Innamorata was haunting, beautiful, and atmospheric - gothic at its finest.

Innamorata is a deeply gothic tale with gorey, horror-esque elements written in a lush, worldbuilding-rich style almost synonymous with Ava Reid. Its synopsis and early pages promise a tale of violence, manipulation and courtly intrigue, all delivered through the hands of our main character, Agnes, but ultimately put into motion by the ever-present Adele-Blanche.

That is not entirely how this book felt to me, though.
In fact, it's not how it felt at all beyond the first 20 to 30%.

While the worldbuilding is saturated from the very first page (<spoiler>ceremonious desecration of a corpse, for hells sake? Delicious!), as we enter the world of Drepane and the noble house of Teeth, meeting both Agnes and Marozia, and while Agnes is by all accounts the driven, single-minded woman we'd expect, we quickly realise that this is not the story of <i>Innamorata</i>.

The story is not of conquest, or victory by the FMC. Yes, she succeeds in her initial endeavours, but eventually she too, falls victim to what appears to be the central plot of this story: love trumps all reason, all determination. Love is ruin, and love is ruin. Even before you catch onto this trend (with horror, might I add, as you do long for Agnes' and her lover's happiness by the end), it's a recurring thread through the lives of side characters Agnes encounters. Love has killed countless, but the lack of it has done equal evil.

Yes, the yearning between Agnes and her lover, Liuprand, is wonderful. Yes, their love is forbidden, which adds a layer of danger many can find appealing. Yes, she tears free of her grandmother's wretched hold, and discovers her own identity - her own autonomy - and regains her voice. She breaks free from her abusers, but she does so on the wings of love; this ruinous love. Love causes all, and love ruins all, in the end; and it is love that is the main character of this story, not Agnes. Agnes, in fact, feels like a bystander. A boat, swept along on the tide of love (in this way, she echoes every other royal woman in the story, caught up in the games of men, which was a sombre realisation), with no mast or rudder to steer it.

This current sweeps her into increasingly violent, and gorey situations. Rarely, she feels as if she's taking any real initiative (in fact, a majority of her <i>choices</i> seems to be choosing not to react to something). This, and the odd pacing (a 9-month timeskip and a 6-year timeskip) make the story feel strange, detached; the reader is continuously waiting for Agnes to do something, to remember the magic we were promised in the opening, and somehow seize that power into her own hands (for we have long learned that Adele-Blanche is not our hope in this matter, and she shouldn't be). So little (almost nothing, to be honest) happens, but the prose makes it feel like it is monumental.

And then, in marches the ending. The ending we should have seen coming from the first time Agnes regained her voice, yet did not want to believe. It is the snowball that has been rolling down the hill since Agnes' arrival in Castle Cruele (though through little action of her own, and rather due to things that others - men - decided to do to her), and has now turned into a boulder. It's horrible, savage, and precisely the sort of thing befitting this book; grim, gorey, and hopeless.

In reality, Innamorata is a highly violent and gore-y (seriously.), dark (SERIOUSLY) tale which recounts its events in a manner typical of gothic novels: frankly, with little room for gasps and affront. I would strongly advise any readers to search for trigger warnings prior to reading due to on-page violence, sexual assault, death etc.

While the worldbuilding, stand-out moments and (of course) lush prose keep it from dipping below a respectable three-star, its pace and lack of real agency on Agnes' part mean that it cannot receive a four-star rating from me. This is not to undermine its worth as a story of women suffering at the hands of men, and of the dangers of blind love, but it just failed to deliver. Additionally, the ending put into question my desire to pick up the second book in the duology upon release. My final rating is a pleasant 3.5 stars.

🖤✨ 10/10: This book devoured me

I don’t even know where to start—Innamorata is dark, romantic, and completely hypnotic. Gothic fantasy at its finest. Agnes and Marozia? I was obsessed. The tension, the betrayal, the magic that feels like it’s stitched into your skin. Ava Reid’s writing is so lush and haunting, I kept rereading lines just to feel them again.

It’s about power, art, obsession, and love that hurts. I finished it and just sat there, stunned. If you love morally gray women, cursed libraries, and prose that feels like a spell—this one’s for you.

I’m so grateful to have received this ARC (thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and of course Ava Reid). Ava Reid is an auto-read author for me, and Innamorata just proved why.

The world of Innamorata pulled me in immediately. Dark, lyrical, and brimming with atmosphere. Reid’s prose is as sharp as it is gorgeous, and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the slow burn of the story, and it’s now a new favourite.

I can’t believe I have to wait so long for book two!!! If you love dark, gothic fantasy, this is definitely one to add to your list. 🥀🦷✨

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time getting into the story, couldn’t really connect with it, and the pacing was extremely slow. I did give it three stars for the originality of the premise and for the fact that some of the writing is simply beautiful.

Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

An incredibly gothic and dark book full of twists and turns that left me staring at my wall. Ava Reid’s prose are stunning and truly set the scene here. Her characters and nuanced and the themes are handled expertly. The secrets, the drama, the plot twists, and the unexpected turns this book took had me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading more from Ava Reid.

Thank you Del Rey and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

This was one of the darkest books I’ve read. Wary be the reader of desecration, mutilation, and an abhorrent disrespect for the dead. But inside this book, you’ll also find a gothic castle filled with secrets, complicated relationships, love, and medieval politics, as Lady Agnes and her cousin, Lady Marozia, infiltrate the King’s castle for missions of their own: marriage, and to uncover ancient secrets.

This story took twists and turns I didn’t expect, and at times I even felt guilty for cheering on my favorite characters, which is a unique talent of Ava Reid’s.

Though this book is lengthy, much of the plot moved forward in the last twenty pages. I would have liked to see a bit more from the characters who moved the plot forward from behind the scenes, but maybe that will be seen in Book Two.

I feel gross and scared, and am excited for the second book to close this gothic chapter.

Ava Reid has been one of my dearest friend’s like favourite authors for ages, and this is the first book I’ve picked up of theirs.

Safe to say I’m left with no questions on why she’s so beloved.

Halfway through this I happened to StoryGraph the book, and was warned by the personalised feature that I wouldn’t like it because it was romance centric. My genuine response was… is it??!

THIS BOOK WAS SO WELL WRITTEN I DIDN’T REALISE IT WAS MY LEAST FAVOURITE GENRE.

Everyone clap, this was character development.

A huge part of this was just how masterful Reid is at knowing when to let the story breathe and when to add conflict and drama. Just as you begin to feel safe she has a way of ramping up the tension like no author I’ve ever read before. Court politics usually bore the ever loving daylights out of me but here Reid makes them both thrilling, realistic and honestly a bit terrifying. The world building definitely had the airs of modern day… everywhere it feels like sometimes, and it’s a fairly basic system. But Reid sees in enough imaginative notes to really let the reader sink their teeth into. The relationships not just between the individual characters but the institutions of this world weren’t something I’d have expected to love, but it never read like a history lesson.

At one point, I texted the aforementioned friend asking if Reid is always this macabre. To paraphrase the response it was essentially LMAO, yes. But for all it is gory the prose is both beautiful and purposeful. There were some incredibly dark themes here (beyond the err cannabilism) but each was treat with absolute care and precision, never did a single word feel like shock value, and I really appreciate the kind of effort that takes in a novel this size.

Particularly I loved the development and falling apart of Agnes’ and Marozia’s relationship. It was genuinely stunning and a little heartbreaking at just how realistic it was written. Watching both mourn what the other has and letting that get into the books and crannies of a friendship was just GORGEOUS.

This was home to some genuinely chilling villains, having quite a few of them would make me worry that they’d become one note or 2D. Though while they all carry the same rhythm of “boo women” or “women good for babies” Ava does a really good job of fleshing out individual motivation. Even the characters that initially read as good have a beautiful moral ambiguity that makes this really meaty.

Never did I think I’d fall in love with a cannibal, but here I am proven a fool. Agnes was incredible. As were Marioza and Ninian but I found Agnes a true standout. Following her development across the story, from someone timid to a grown strong woman in her own right, but still somehow gentle (still a cannibal but we support women’s rights and women’s wrongs in this house) was addicting.

I won’t lie this was an extremely slow read, but the pacing never drags. You want to spend those beats with these characters in these heads.

Oh and side note this book made me decide ADOPTION IS THE WAY FOR ME because OUCH.

The final line genuinely made my jaw drop like something you’d see in a Sunday morning cartoon. I’m readying the sacrifices to the gods to get book 2 to come quicker.

No one speak to me I’m going to go raid my local bookstore for the rest of Reid’s repertoire and don’t plan on seeing daylight again til the end of it.

This is the perfect book for the lovers of dark and Gothic fantasy ( must confess it was the first one for me ☺️)

* Core Plot: A necromancer must get revenge on the conqueror who destroyed her family, but things get complicated when she starts to fall for his son. 💀

* Writing Style: The prose is lush and atmospheric, like a haunted house that's also a high-stakes family reunion. It's not a light read; it's the kind of book that will follow you into a dark room and whisper its secrets.

* Key Strengths: The world-building is incredibly rich and unique, with a magic system that involves death and teeth. The atmosphere is a perfect blend of gruesome and romantic.

Negative Points (for me)
* Pacing: The story is a slow, methodical burn. If you're looking for a quick, action-packed plot, this isn't it. It's more of a long, dramatic stare across a ballroom.

* Tone: It's dark and heavy. Don't expect witty banter; this book is more of an angsty, brooding, "stare out the window at the rain" kind of vibe.

Final Evaluation: If you've ever thought, "I want a romance where the heroine's main hobby is necromancy and her family's honor is tied to a giant pile of teeth," then congratulations, your very specific wishes have been answered. It's a gorgeous and dark ride that will make you feel things you probably shouldn't.
This is a perfect book for the lovers of dark romance, Netgalley it was a different read for me, thanks for given me the opportunity to read and review it

I finished this ARC nearly as soon as I got it and have been sitting on this review for weeks, wanting to make sure I understood what I read, what the author aimed for, and what I’m feeling. I’m feeling that this is an ambitious book with exquisite potential, but unfortunately the character work wasn’t able to support the weight of the themes and especially that ending. Given what happens to these characters, and the brutal if beautiful world they inhabit, I needed to care about them and understand their motives (as they often make unpopular or disastrous decisions). This felt a bit like it wanted to be gothic romantic Game of Thrones (cool!), but rushed the character work and some of the world-building as well.