i would like to make one thing clear- i am a hater first, and a human being second. i legitimately can not believe that i’m typing this review out in DEFENSE of a book. i’m almost repulsed. I’M HOOKED. I have read this book 3 times since it was released. The second time was because the plot twist is massive (one of several) and the type that makes you immediately want to re-read to see how you could have missed it. The third time, I re-read because I missed the world. Also, because I learned this was going to be a movie, so I wanted to experience it again. How do I find exclusive, special and limited edition books? Advice from a long-time collector. Introduction I knew very little about this book’s origins before I started reading it. All I knew was that it had blown up on TikTok and was being made into a movie. Because the plot was so reliant on not only the reader understanding all the worldbuilding elements (which were often very convoluted; the MC jumps to a lot of random conclusions), but to care about them as much as the MC does, when the big reveal happened, I kept needing to rewind to make sure I got what was going on. I’m still not fully sure I did. Essentially, a lot of rules were created for this fantasy world plagued by curses, and one of the characters broke and twisted a bunch of the rules to ruin the lives of others. That’s it. So if you’re not super invested in the world created here, you’re likely to feel a bit disappointed in the whole thing by the end. If you fall in love with the world, you’ll probably really like the book.

this was disappointing on SO many levels, i don't even know where to start. i almost screamed when i got the audio-arc thingy cause this was on my "anticipated releases" tbr and all, but now i regret even requesting this book on netgalley (it was probably an auto approve arc anyway lol). i've been following alex aster for a while now and she seemed like a really nice author, replying to my messages, and i have nothing against her but alex, really? i mean, come on. this book wasn't even good. hell, this book didn't even contain the TROPES and QUOTES that we were promised, you know, the ones she posted on tiktok for the purpose of PROMOTING her book. ironic, right? in general i consider myself a fantasy reader and while i’m not immune to a good love story, at the very least i’m immune to the edgy, dark-boy fantasy love interest that populates the genre’s most popular offerings (think rhysand, casteel?? crescent city guy, cardan, whoever that is in fbaa, that character named wrath??) if you’re similarly immune, i regret to inform you that grimshaw is exactly that type. it’s simply excruciating to read about him. his dialogue is awful, he’s taken with isla from his first introduction and then just skulks around the periphery because oh yeah, this is a love triangle! oro was fine, he’s the betty to grim’s veronica. i had not a strong feeling about him, nowhere to be seen! if you look at their character art they’re giving very much nikolai and the darkling which is dumb bc mal supremacy. let’s move on, the romance was underdeveloped and didn’t engage me. Throughout the book, Isla keeps asking herself, "What is love?" (baby don't hurt me), Grim brings up the value of pain, and they both examine being a source of life and a destroyer of life, a simultaneous cure and poison. Examine is a strong word. I feel like these ideas were raised with no real commitment to exploring them. The book does not have much to say about love or pain or the cure/poison other than reflecting how Isla loves, how Grim feels pain, and uhhh. Uhhhhhhh. I'm actually not sure about the last one, but maybe that's a next book thing. It's obviously supposed to be a big deal but the symbolism doesn't have any root to an idea or an emotion. Maybe how Isla is self-destructive? If that's it it's really flimsy. I know that sometimes just having ideas only serves the romance works fine in books, but I really kept expecting to have at least something meaningful come out of the book, and for how often those ideas were introduced, I thought that'd be it. Alas.

Success!

Miss girl was honestly very dumb, but she and Oro were the most interesting characters in this whole book.

I rarely use GoodReads, but because I received an advanced copy of the book, I thought it best to distribute this review across all platforms where I have an account. You can find me over on the storygraph, username bean. Thanks for the arc btw! The Average Citizen. Isla actually talks to average citizens in this book, but they're all single minded and one note it feels weird. These people don't have interiority or conflicting feelings. They are simply on Isla's side or they are not. Sometimes they switch between the two, but yeah, there isn't much more beyond that. This is especially true when she meets her own Wildling people. Then there’s the logistical issues, such as a half a dozen bridges connecting these islands made of rope (???) that people have to cross on foot (??????) and where exactly these foreign realms that people fled to actually are. And sorry Skylings, Imma let you finish, but your curse being that you can’t fly anymore when Starlings drop dead at 25 and Wildlings have to do cannibalism is absolutely INSANE. Maybe I missed the second part of their curse, but they seem kinda chill with the whole arrangement on the whole.Nightbane was a very anticipated read for me and I am so so forever grateful I was sent a copy. Because nightbane did not only NOT DISAPPOINT, but also EXCEEDED my expectations.