All I do is scream reading this romantic ass book like??? HELLO????? THEY’RE SO IN LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dora and Elias… my beloveds 💖 they absolutely scratched the itch for a Howl and Sophie-esque romance and even reminded me of the romance in Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, which I also adored.

I really only have two qualms with the book: the fast paced romance (wish it was prolonged just a little bit longer) and not at all subtle monologuing of Elias’ talking about the disenfranchisement of poor people, specifically children and the wealth disparity. It was a bit hamfisted, and while it’s great the orphans were being taken care of, the larger issues that Elias talks about are never truly taken care of or actively worked against i.e. the incredibly large wealth disparity across ALL of England. Instead, we get a lecture but no actual action to the larger systemic issues aside from the orphanage. If we’re going to have a lengthy discussion about wealth disparity, then it should be address further down the line within the text. If it’s not going to be addressed, there was no reason to include it.

Otherwise, I had a great time!