I really liked this! I think the Fallen Gods series shows great promise — it’s my second book by Simper, and while I’m still not a great fan of her writing style, I kind of loved the story itself. The worldbuilding was on point, the MCs were nicely fleshed-out and original. Flowridia was a bonafide ‘flower child’ here, what with her perpetually bare feet and flowers braided in her hair, and while she was a little too meek for my liking, I foresee that changing real soon. That scene with Sora and Demitri showed she has absolutely no scruples when it comes to protecting her own, and I loved that about her, how protective she was of her little wolf familiar. Likewise, the flashbacks to her life with her mother Odessa the Swamp Witch were truly horrifying. That girl went through so much shit it’s crazy.

I was very excited when the love interest, one sexy Ayla Darkleaf, turned out to be an undead ‘monster’ with a vicious temper and D/s leanings, but as her relationship with Flowra progressed, it became pretty clear that their dynamic was unhealthy, too intense, toxic even. Flowra was too soft; Ayla held all the power, and something had to change. Luckily, it did and it made everything better. I’m shipping them so hard now. If someone can soften Ayla’s demeanor and show her what being loved feels like, it’s Flowridia.

The first book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I liked the way it circled back to the beginning, when the ‘red-eyed demon’ first appeared. Pretty clever, that. ( )

This IS a dark fantasy.
It is NOT a romance.
It is the story of an abusive and twisted relationship--it's just an F/F take on the old "fixing your lover" plotline. It's not better here than it is anywhere else.

Now, the story seems to understand that this relationship is twisted. But it never seems to do anything with it. At times it even seems to be celebrating it, which is disturbing.

Worse, by the end of it you realize that our main character hasn't grown or developed at all. She is the same person at the end as she was at the beginning.


Writing's good though. ( )