Since the SJTR series, I knew I would love anything Kerri wrote, and there's no surprise to find truth in that.

I loved the darkness of this one. It was tense and moody and sultry and I couldn't get enough of it all. I loved the story line and the characters and I loved how different it was from SJTR, but I also loved how Emilia possessed badass, and smart ass, qualities from Audrey Rose too. 

I wanted to fly through this one, but also wanted to take my time and let it sizzle and burn! I can't wait to continue the trilogy! 

Would totally be a 5 star but I don't really give 5 stars to firsts in a series because I feel like the story's just starting and I'm getting to know the vibes and characters. There's growth you know.

Okay I was getting some serious Cruel Prince(Holly Black) and Gilded(Marissa Meyer) vibes, both of which are some of my top 10 books so suffice to say I was really liking this story.

Emilia is badass and hot femme fatale but also scared and vulnerable and makes dumb mistakes and we love her for it honestly.

Wrath is a Drama Queen and it just might be the best thing I've witnessed this year. Truly. If drama was a sin, he'd be named that instead.

Overall we have a ton of demons and dangerous beasts and betrayal and mystery and familial love and spells and betrayal and dark princes. And the gorgeous gowns and hairstyles and gowns(!!!!)

🕯️ If you want to read this, I GREATLY recommend the audiobook. This is one that I think is made by the narrator. I'm a sucker for a paranormal/fantasy murder mystery and for slow burn enemies-to-lover so I devoured this story and thoroughly enjoyed it...UNTIL the last 10% or so.

Tuck in, little witches and surly demons. This might turn rambling like I got stuck between worlds in a scrying session.

🐍The whole time I was reading/listening to it, I was thinking this would be a 4-star read for me. Yeah, it had some problems (which I'll get into). But I loved the magic system and the setting. I loved the concept of the 7 Deadly Sins embodied as demons and the ways that their powers manipulate humans. I loved Emelia's and Wrath's banter.  (And okay, like I said, the narration really made this one.) 

🗡️ I liked the characters, too. Some people complain about Emilia being dumb, and though I definitely think there certain things she did or didn't do only for the obvious sake of the story, I don't think "dumb" is the way I'd describe her. She thought these demons and dark forces were scary stories made up her Nonna to scare little witches into saying in bed at night. She was very traumatized by seeing the brutalized bodies of people she cared about and by witnessing multiple graphic attempted murders. I don't blame her if she didn't always ask the right questions or if she fell prey to immortal beings who spend their whole lives trying to trick humans. 2 months ago, she didn't even know they existed. She's pretty adaptable, all things considered. 

I also liked Wrath and the ways that he wasn't nearly as stoic or good at hiding his emotions as he might have thought. I liked his insistence on consent and choice and the ways that the demon magic just enhances what people already feel or desire. I liked that he clearly had his own motivations and seemed genuinely ambiguous throughout much of the story. I wouldn't call him morally grey, per say, because he doesn't actually do anything bad.  Maybe morally shadowed...I'm still not totally sure what his ploy is, but I'm very curious as to where his story will go next.

💀 But oof, the ending just left so much to be desired that I had to take another star. I get that it's meant to set up the storyline for the rest of the books. But so many of the characters motivations seemed loosely strung together by the end and nothing is as well tied-up as I thought it might be. New characters are introduced up until the last few pages, but in a "better shove this in my hidden pocket before I forget it like Emilia keep forgetting her chalk" sort of way, not in a necessarily intriguing sort of way. Personalities seem to suddenly flip flop. Clues that were presented seem to now be forgotten.

And speaking for clues, I feel like I needed a Handy Dandy Notebook to keep track of the spells and symbols and other hints littered throughout, because Emilia was finding paw prints I couldn't even see (I think because they're as invisible as a umbra demon). Meanwhile, Emilia is out here just drawing connections out of thin air. She suddenly remembers seeing symbols before that I don't remember ever being mentioned (because they weren't) and is like "oh, a clue!" I feel this could have been solved by more showing and less telling in the book; more descriptions of the scenes and interactions and behaviors. In other words, I wish more clues were dropped so the audience could play detective, too.

🍝 Still, even though I didn't rank this as highly as I hoped, I'm very excited to read the next one. I borrowed this from Libby and will probably buy an actual copy of it to keep on my own shelf I liked it so much. I'm just hopeful the next ones redeem some of the ending of this one for me, otherwise I'm sending them back to the summoning circle.