This book ripped my heart out, showed it to me, and then asked me to keep reading. I had to take BREAKS. Physical, emotional breaks where I put the book down and stared at nothing because I couldn't handle what was happening to these characters.
Dianna ripped Samkiel from death itself — sacrificed part of her own soul to bring him back — and now they're both paying the price. He's weakened, barely holding together, and she's losing the last shreds of humanity inside her. Watching these two try to heal each other while the entire world hunts them? Watching them finally be TOGETHER, be soft, be vulnerable — only to have everything constantly threatening to tear them apart again? PAIN.
They made up. They fought for each other. And then Samkiel — this selfless, devoted, INFURIATING god — nearly sacrificed himself AGAIN because that's just who he is. And Dianna moved heaven and earth and threatened the very fabric of reality to keep him alive. Their love is so desperate and consuming it physically hurts to read.
And Camilla. The sassy, powerful witch who was supposed to be on the wrong side but became an absolute BADDIE. I loved her. I was rooting for her. And then she was gone and I was devastated. She deserved more. She deserved EVERYTHING.
This book was brutal. Multiple POVs, betrayals stacked on betrayals, Nismera being a terrifying villain, and a cliffhanger ending that had me staring at my ceiling questioning my life choices. I needed breaks not because it was bad — but because it was SO GOOD that it hurt.
🖤 5/5 stars. Love that costs everything. Pain that's worth every page.