Magic, nonbinary rep, gentle romance, and caring characters.

Despite being fast, the romance was still somewhat believable for me. I could believe a connection at least, even if not the extreme strength of their feelings. And the romance was just so nice. Gentle. They were very sweet and gentle with each other and said such pretty things.

The main character was nonbinary, but it was never mentioned or explained beyond one friendly exchange with the neighbor. Just they/them pronouns. I do like books that focus on gender, but I also like finding books that have nonbinary rep without being about that rep.

I was super confused by the world and magic system for a while. I figured out some by the end, so I’ll give a bit of explanation. From what I gather, it’s a world where everyone is born with some sort of magic and/or a power. I’m not clear on how the general magic works, since apparently even machines can do magic (like printing or etching spells onto items). It can be used for protection, not sure what else. I also don’t know what other powers exist, besides necromancy and prophecy. But most people have what’s called empathy, which in this case means sensing and being able to gain others’ powers. It was a cool system of magic! I just would’ve liked a little more clarity, and sooner.

Also, the world felt sort of empty. There were five named characters in the story, but it felt like no one else was around. There must’ve been mentions of crowds at the coffee shop and customers at the tattoo parlor, but there were scenes where I was wondering where everyone else was, what they were doing, were they not noticing what was happening?

Overall though, this was enjoyable with a unique magic system, a bit of mystery, necromancy, and gentle romance.

*Rating: 3.5 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*