He said you make him feel like a person again, not just a thing.

This was a dark, uncomfortable, and deeply engrossing read that reminded me of all the things I love about the series, partly addressed the problems I had with the previous book, and generally made me feel LOTS of feels. It was awesome to see all the monster-human couples from previous novels gathered in one place and interacting, and I just wish there was a way to smash this book and the previous one together, adjust the order of events, and have both stories be more… like this. I feel like Lily Mayne is at her strongest when she writes romance that happens in the middle of a community, amidst a web of other interactions. Looking back at the series, I have to admit that I’ve been having this feeling that all the couples feel same-y, but seeing them all next to each other really drove it home that no, in fact, they’re not. They often have similar dynamics at the starts of their relationships, but their personalities, motivations, and approaches to life are so different.

I’ve been curious about Lilac from the moment I first met him in *The Rycke*, and he didn’t disappoint me one bit as the MC. His head isn’t exactly a comfortable place to be in, but he really cares so much, even when he trains himself to act like he doesn’t. Seraph’s backstory absolutely broke my heart and made me hope that at some point later in the series, all the scariest monsters of this settings will get to do all the worst things they’re capable of to the military. The relationship development, especially the intimacy part, didn’t always sit right with me, but the thing is, I didn’t really expect it to. This entire situation, through no fault of the characters, was completely fucked-up, with how to give Seraph the best possible chance to get better they had to keep him in confinement closely associated with his trauma. Everything about it was deeply uncomfortable, and yet somehow, somewhere between Lilac’s determination and Seraph’s increasing lucidity and everyone else pitching in, it all worked out.

I was often frustrated with Gloam for how overcautious he was and how he seemed to downplay/underestimate Seraph’s speed of recovery. But at the same time, I empathized with him a lot because I could see he was acting that way because he felt responsible for his part in Seraph’s suffering and wanting to make things better so badly. Auri was as much of a sweetheart as ever, and I smiled every time he showed up on the page, even when things were dark. Wyn was an absolute highlight of the story, especially when Danny wasn’t around (don’t get me wrong, I love him with Danny! But I also love him when he’s not even making the barest effort to tone down his monstrousness. He’s everything I want in a monster, really, can we get more Wyn?). And even though the parts of the book that had me the most emotionally invested were the ones with Lilac and Seraph, I also loved the other monsters’ interactions with Seraph in the later part of the book. Especially that moment for which they all just had to get Edin.

My one regret was that Moth and Charlie were busy being away doing their thing from the previous book (which runs in parallel to this one) instead of being part of all this web of connections, too. Because I really feel like all these characters are helping each other shine.