Callie is a small town Biologist who is determined to find Actias luna (or luna moths), when she discovers a mushroom is the answer to all her questions she sets out to find this rare alluding mushroom in the forest. Callie indeeds finds the mushroom, but also finds herself falling into a strange new world and on-top of the moral grey and disturbed Unseelie Prince. 
Callie must fight to survive or she will never return home.

WOW
I must say I was SCARED to read this book after the hype around it on booktok, but I am so glad I picked it up, this is my first 5 star read of 2024! It is slow to start but honestly what Fantasy book isn't, you have to build the story. 

What I liked
-Duel POVs
-Developing characters
-Easy to follow fantasy 
-Morally Grey MMC
-Strong willed FMC
-Plot twist 
-Adventure and Action Packed 
-Spicy
-Enemies to Lovers??

Overall I enjoyed this story! I found that it was a little slow to drop into the main plot as we were introduced to Callie. Mendax started as pretty 2D and most of his chapters were just hornier renditions of Callie’s previous ones. However, in the later half of the book his chapters moved the plot along just as much as Callie’s and gave important context of Fae World we were experiencing.

What an ending!! Excited for book #2 to be out soon. 🧚🏻‍♀️✨

Spice Rating: 🌶️ 🌶️ .5

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I'm really glad I did this as a buddy read and had friends who pushed me on with this one because I think the twist is what saved the book a *little* bit for me.

Callie is a scientist living in the middle of nowhere studying luna moths and the parasite that is slowly killing them. As a small, beautiful blonde woman, Callie's life is ROUGH (cough, sarcasm, cough) because she's quirky and single. One day, Callie discovers the mushrooms that might save the luna moths from the parasite, but when she tries to harvest them (in spite of multiple warnings not to), she's swept into a portal to the underground world of the Unseelie fae. Callie lands on the Unseelie prince, who is known for his hatred of humans, leading the Unseelie to believe she is a trained assassin sent to kill the prince. In order to make her way home, Callie has to survive three trials and try not to fall for the Unseelie prince--after all, he is the bad guy... as we are repeatedly reminded.

The good: The twist at the end did have me. I was ruminating on some theories throughout my read, but I enjoyed learning what really happened.

The bad: This book heavily relied on archetypal characters, overused tropes, and cheap shock value. The writing was predictable and just... not very good. I felt the characters were underdeveloped and shallow. Though the twist was interesting, I wish the book would've focused on those revelations and background (IYKYK) instead of the "relationship" between Callie and the Unseelie prince, which was basically insta-lust. 

I don't think this book was for me, but I can completely understand why people enjoy this book. It was almost like a Wish version of ACOTAR, which seems to be common in the romantasy genre. 

I did, however, preorder book 2 because I'm morbidly curious to see what happens. 🤷‍♀️ 

This book. THIS BOOK. Omg yall, this book was a wild ride. The pace is slow in the beginning, but don't let that fool you! There is so much more to this book, so pay attention. 

Callie was a strong, albeit two dimensional, fmc to go through everything that she went through in the Unseelie realm, and still be determined to fight. Even though I really don't know much about science, I appreciate all that we learned through Callie and her job, and how she used that knowledge to her advantage. I do feel like the struggles and friendships that she had in the human realm were superficial, until Earl, but that is explained later so I don't really feel like it counts. There definitel  was a missed opportunity to bring more depth to Callie and her background. If we would've gotten some povs of the people that she left behind in the human realm when she got trapped in the Unseelie Fae realm, that would've added an interesting layer to the story.

Now, Mendax. Oh, Mendax. I don't even know how to feel about him. He's gorgeous, unrelenting, murderous, and tortured by his attraction to Callie. Their back and forth was so good, but I wish there was more tension and a slow burn instead of insta-lust. I do like how possessive he got over Callie and was willing to do anything to keep her safe, despite being the one trying to get rid of her. The dual pov was great to be able to see Mendax's internal struggle.

So, I'll be honest, the writing style does leave much to be desired, however I feel like it might've been done purposefully. It reads as a mundane book at first, which I believe sets you up because, then BAM, the ending knocks you off your feet! I was shocked. I was running around my living room. The scream I scrumpt. The ending literally flips the whole book upside down and makes you question everything. Let's all get our clown makeup out because Ms. Jeneane was playing right in our faces and we didn't even see it coming! Those last two chapters ROCKED me. I am waiting on pins and needles for the next book because I NEED to know what happens next. I should've listened to the dedication because I am definitely finished.

this absolutely read like an ao3 story, posted in chapters but then scooped up together and published with a few intro chapters to set up the world. the writing isn't the best and it would have benefitted from an editor review in terms of typos and grammar. it also should not have been written in first person - the twist at the end was interesting but it was too out of pocket for the whole book to have been in first person and the reader not having seen any foreshadowing. 
all that said, the plot and story itself are interesting. the cliffhanger does make me want to read the sequel when it comes out, but unless the writing is a bit better and the characters a bit more dynamic, ill probably pass. i read it in a day so definitely and easy and quick read if thats what you're looking for. 

I didn’t realize how much I loved this book until I got to the end. HOLY. I NEED BOOK 2 NOW. Definitely getting the e-book in Feb, no way am I waiting for the physical copy in April