susanpevensie's reviews
587 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

⭐️ i received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review ⭐️

when i heard that olivia atwater’s releasing a new book, nobody was more excited than me. i discovered her regency faerie tales series last august and devoured her whole catalogue in less than a week. i loved her writing that much.

i will say though, while atwater’s writing is just as beautiful and her wittiness comes through in TWK, it is ultimately a different kind of book from her books in the RFT series. the tone, the overall atmosphere is just different. as it is a gothic romance, it was dark with themes that could be triggering (i have listed out some of them down there so beware for minor spoilers)

winnie was an admirable character and i loved how she carried herself throughout the book. she came off as cold and unperturbed by everything she has seen but it’s only because her eyes have seen too much. i loved her trusted companion oliver, i loved her relationship development with robert. i loved all the adventures they had. again, atwater’s such a good author that there were several scenes where i literally felt hairs on my arms standing up. they were so eerie.

mr. quincy was a peculiar one—it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that we have a male lead with red eyes, rat tail and the scent of blood following his wake. i shuddered just visualising him at first. but as the book progressed, i grew to love him and his cleverness. as individuals, i enjoyed both winnie and mr. quincy. as a romantic pair, they were sweet and had chemistry as they worked together.

however, the romance in book is extremely minor i would say, so if you’re looking for romance, you’re better off looking for it elsewhere—perhaps atwater’s RFT series. another thing i’d like to note is that this book makes several references to RFT series. while this book can be perfectly read a standalone, i feel like the RFT series read is a must to enjoy it in its full experience. even as a person who has read that series, i felt a little bit confused while trying to recollect old memories. if you have zero clue, you’d definitely feel like you’re missing out on a lot of things.

finally, while i enjoyed this book immensely, i’d say that there was only one thing that i didn’t like about the book: the overemphasis on winnie’s beauty. her beauty was mentioned several times throughout the book to the point of my annoyance. everyone who saw her couldn’t help but to comment on it. it’s like, yes we get it she’s extremely beautiful! a model! a beauty queen! can we move on? beautiful in the stereotypical sense—pretty blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes, pink lips. it’s not only that, the story posits that her beauty was the reason why she was preyed by the men in her life. and honestly that was kind of insulting, in my opinion? the idea that winnie was so beautiful that men couldn’t help but to do wicked things to her. women who aren’t beautiful get harassed too, you know?

maybe that was the point—that she was so beautiful that men coveted to keep her, but i simply hated the idea, i’m sorry.

Content Warnings