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A review by inkdrinkers
Entranced by the Basilisks by Lillian Lark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
"Family is family wherever you go, but you only have one life and that's for happiness and adventure."
Emilia Rivera was just a book restoration artist before she was plunged into the world of magic. When she's kidnapped by witches as a way to blackmail her best friend, she doesn't know how to reconcile her sudden knowledge of the paranormal world. Everything gets so much more difficult when, while restoring a book one day, she's cursed by the snake Goddess and finds herself with snakes for hair and a deadly gaze. Luckily, her boss is a snake-kin and knows a friend who might be able to help.
Lillian Lark the WOMAN YOU ARE. This novel was so good. I want to throw myself back to page one. I thought I loved Stalked by the Kraken and Deceived by the Gargoyles but Ensnared really, really hit all my loves. Emilia is such a strong, relatable character. The growth she has during these pages is absolutely phenomenal and I loved her anxiety rep. I feel like so often anxiety in books isn't generalized anxiety - there are reasons for characters to have panic attacks - but Emilia's general anxiety around everything felt comforting to read about. Also Jasper's tactic of "I'll just hold your throat and command you to calm down" would 100% work on me, I'm sat.
Ari and Jasper are by far my favorites of Lark's love interests. (Sorry Broderick, you got the gentle boot) I loved how they had their own multi-layered backstory with each other and Emilia truly fell into the third side of their triad in a realistic way. I will only be fantasizing about laying on a bunch of pillows while being worshipped by two hot men from now on, that's my chosen way to die happily.
Content warnings: Sexual content (it's so good), Bullying/Violence (Jasper's story heavily), Panic attacks/disorders (wonderful rep), Gaslighting (it's light, we're ignoring it), Classism, Death of parent/ Abandonment/Grief (rolling these warnings into one because it's mostly past, but grief is handled extremely well)
Emilia Rivera was just a book restoration artist before she was plunged into the world of magic. When she's kidnapped by witches as a way to blackmail her best friend, she doesn't know how to reconcile her sudden knowledge of the paranormal world. Everything gets so much more difficult when, while restoring a book one day, she's cursed by the snake Goddess and finds herself with snakes for hair and a deadly gaze. Luckily, her boss is a snake-kin and knows a friend who might be able to help.
Lillian Lark the WOMAN YOU ARE. This novel was so good. I want to throw myself back to page one. I thought I loved Stalked by the Kraken and Deceived by the Gargoyles but Ensnared really, really hit all my loves. Emilia is such a strong, relatable character. The growth she has during these pages is absolutely phenomenal and I loved her anxiety rep. I feel like so often anxiety in books isn't generalized anxiety - there are reasons for characters to have panic attacks - but Emilia's general anxiety around everything felt comforting to read about. Also Jasper's tactic of "I'll just hold your throat and command you to calm down" would 100% work on me, I'm sat.
Ari and Jasper are by far my favorites of Lark's love interests. (Sorry Broderick, you got the gentle boot) I loved how they had their own multi-layered backstory with each other and Emilia truly fell into the third side of their triad in a realistic way. I will only be fantasizing about laying on a bunch of pillows while being worshipped by two hot men from now on, that's my chosen way to die happily.
Content warnings: Sexual content (it's so good), Bullying/Violence (Jasper's story heavily), Panic attacks/disorders (wonderful rep), Gaslighting (it's light, we're ignoring it), Classism, Death of parent/ Abandonment/Grief (rolling these warnings into one because it's mostly past, but grief is handled extremely well)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment