A small-town teen learns they're the reincarnation of a vicious god — and their past lovers and enemies have come to settle scores.
- Score
- 77.4
- Spice
- 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Sweet
- POV
- first
- Ending
- HEA / HFN
Tropes
Content warnings
Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.
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What readers think
Readers consistently praise Edgmon's fearless, intersectionally diverse cast and the book's willingness to sit with messy, ugly emotions — particularly its nuanced trans and nonbinary rep, the inventive 'no cis het gods' pantheon concept, and the deeply chaotic polyamorous love story. Critics of the book frequently point to pacing problems: a slow first half heavy on exposition and high-school mundanity before the supernatural plot accelerates, world-building lore that some find unclear despite lengthy explanation, and a 'book one setup' quality that leaves the story feeling incomplete. The prose style — direct, raw, darkly witty — wins devoted fans but alienates readers expecting a more traditional YA voice.
Read it if
- · Readers who want unapologetically queer YA fantasy with trans and nonbinary protagonists front and centre
- · Fans of dark mythology and morally grey gods-in-human-bodies stories with emotional depth
- · Those who enjoy chaotic polyamorous romance woven into high-stakes paranormal adventure
Skip it if
- · You need a fast-paced plot from page one — the first half is slow and exposition-heavy
- · You prefer clean, well-defined magic systems; the lore is deliberately tangled and sometimes unclear
- · Heavy content warnings (body horror, off-page sexual violence, suicide ideation) are a barrier for you
If you liked this
- · For fans of Maggie Stiefvater's morally grey ensemble casts, but queerer and darker
- · Like Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows but set in small-town Georgia with reincarnated gods instead of heist thieves
- · For fans of The Witch King (also by Edgmon) who want more mythological scope and a polyamorous romance
- · Like Strange the Dreamer in emotional intensity and chosen-one deconstruction, but with a rawer, angrier voice
Which dark romantasy heroine are you? Five choices in a forest that wants you dead.
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