Scan barcode
cass_cgallegos's review
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
meat_muffin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Not to mention that both main characters were absolutely infuriating. You’re 60% of the way into the book before they have AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION - this isn’t even a miscommunication trope, this is body-betrayal-means-we-only-hate-fuck-and-never-say-anything-meaningful. Pissed me the hell off.
Super interesting plot, I liked learning about magic systems from another culture (El Salvador!), but the lack of an editor shone through so obviously it was tough to enjoy 😬
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Torture, Trafficking, Stalking, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Deportation
kittykels's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
The FMC was a bit annoying, but by the end I was wondering if her naivety (to put it nicely) was intentional, before embracing her full self (phrased this way to avoid spoilers). She doesn't seem as dumb and naive by the end at least, but she very much was for most of the book.
A lot of people have complained about Sal and how he's forcing himself on her the whole time, so that's what I was prepared for going into this book. I was even prepared to DNF if it was too much. However, I didn't find this to be the case at all. Sal is dominant and brutal, but Xochi loves that about him from the beginning, despite it bristling her at first due to her whole shitty life she's lived until now.
So while I was expecting the sex to be the uncomfortable part, it wasn't at all and it was actually the gore for me, especially towards the end. If you're looking to avoid triggers, I'd be more worried about the gore and violence.
I think this is a series, but I honestly don't know if I'll continue reading it, especially if they're all long like this. I like long books but this one definitely could have been shortened. Some basic interactions took several pages to complete.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia and Panic attacks/disorders
avniavnipatel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, and Cannibalism
Minor: Body shaming, Rape, and Murder
domnicmtz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
leonalikesliterature's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The first thing I loved was the world building and fantasy elements in this book. The fantasy is so beautiful and greatly represents Latine Indigenous mythology and culture. I loved the cadejos! Their powers and communities were so interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before, it was like a twist on werewolves but also so much better!
Next, the writing was beautiful. Although I started to get frustrated with the pacing as it was really, really slow, the descriptive imagery was very poetic.
Onto the things I hated.
The relationship between Xochi and Sal was painful to read. Although I liked Sal at the start of the book, the more I read, the more I disliked him.
The sex stuff was getting WAY out of hand for me. Xochi and Sal were sooooo cringe sometimes. They would be arguing with some literal random person and share the most graphic, pornographic details about their sex life as a flex? and I was so confused why. 😭 It was so painful to read. Not even to mention that they literally
There’s too much going on in this book that just gets dropped, which was disappointing and frustrating, especially for how damn long this book is. There are multiple subplots
I was frustrated that this was called a Dark Fantasy Romance because I think that led to confusion for me. I would have preferred this to be a romance with dark fantasy elements, rather than a dark romance with fantasy elements. I think the dark romance was what I hated the most about this book. Anyways, I am just glad this book is over. I feel like 2.5 stars is generous. There was a lot I really liked, despite what I hated. I think I would’ve really loved this book if like 4-5 scenes were just taken out of it.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Sexual violence
ninabest's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Deportation
ireadinbed's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think the prose is lovely. This reads so naturally and sucks you right in, just like you want from a dark romantasy!
The characters are really well done. Its super easy to fall in love with this cast (and easy to hate the villains which is a nice change of pace for me! Lol). The main characters are flawed people but no less lovable for it and i adored the large supporting cast.
The setting really transported me and i love the authors descriptions. It definitely inspired me to look up the myths that inspired the unique worldbuilding!
The spicy scenes are intense and compliment the dark elements of the book perfectly.
Tread carefully! There are TWs on the authors site :)
Honestly it would be a 5 for me except there were a few sections that i think could have used a bit of trimming (or it could have been two books and been expanded!) Because i found myself getting lost or skipping ahead. Also some of the ADHD related talk was a bit too close to indigo children type theory for me. But not so upsetting i couldnt move past it to keep loving the book!
I definitely want to continue the series and I am excited for the next one coming out soon.
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cannibalism, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Stalking
Minor: Fatphobia
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Mention of: deportation, genocide, and colonialism.
"...be a good girl, be a bad girl. I'll enjoy it either way. Though good girls get treats, and bad girls give me treats. You pick, beloved."
~Sal
Gah damn. This book...is just incredible. The amazing history and lore along with the passion of the two MCs...and the way our leading lady learns to love herself and finds her strength *chefs kiss*
This book does cover really heavy and dark subjects along with a lot of blood and violence so don't go into this without checking content warnings.
Don't read this if you "can't relate" to brown women🙄 ...this book is filled with beautiful and rich history, lore, and tradition...the story of a woman finding her strength, her truth, and love she didn't know she could have for herself, her culture, and for others. A woman who's always felt out of place...finally finds the place she truly belongs.
A freaking incredible book and I cannot wait to read the books that continue this series!
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Genocide, Colonisation, and Deportation
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Now. Having said that. It took me a really long time to actually like and want to root for Sal to be honest. Both he and Xochitl were so all over the place for the first half of the story (maybe intentional? Idk). Sal goes from being this sort of suave, mysterious figure when we first meet him to overbearing, immature, and volatile so suddenly it gave me whiplash. The literal ONLY CHARACTER I liked from the moment they appeared on page to the very end and formed any sort of deep emotional attachment to was César, and I’m so glad that it looks like the next book will center him more (if the final chapter is any indication).
I also feel like there were a lot of plot threads that got dropped in the end (Xochi’s father/grandparents? The neighboring totoco? The broken goddess?) Are these all questions that will get resolved in future books? I know the series will include more, but I’m unsure whether those will be standalones centering different characters or if they’ll be continuations of this particular story.
As far as what I loved about this book, I have to say: it’s like 550 pages long and I managed to read it in basically two days, so. That’s saying something, lol. There was something about this story that had me wanting to keep turning the page, even when I felt tempted to skim, so it definitely managed to capture and hold my attention.
The sex scenes were really good, I’ll say that. And as an avid monster smut reader, the scene where Xochi and Itzatecuani do it while he’s in his spirit form was *chef’s kiss*.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Colonisation and Deportation