Let me start by saying, I only read this book because of 1) the hype, 2) the cool cover, and 3) a blurb that stated “lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space”. I don’t typically read cross-genre adult high fantasy/sci-fi.

Everything about this book was unique, dark, and skillfully planned out for a series—even the potential romantic Gideon may further develop for a certain female character. Let me just say, however, that Gideon was the life of this story. I liked Harrow but I wouldn’t have cared as much about her if it hadn’t been for Gideon.

The description of the characters and settings are a bit scarce in my opinion but it did allow me imagine the characters as I would have imagined them (with the exception of the dropped hints here and there of minor things like 1/2 way though the book it’s revealed that Gideon Nav is a red head.)

The one thing I couldn’t stand (even in some of the audiobook) was how many times in the dialogue characters said each other’s names/nicknames. It seemed unrealistic how many times a character would say another character’s name.

Looking back, I will probably always remember this book because of Gideon and I highly recommend it to any that’s looking for something original and fresh.