4.5 stars

TW: everything that comes with death magic; blood; bones; gore; body horror; cancer; suicide

I might bump this up to 5 but my brain is a little overwhelmed to think with everything that happened at the very end of this book.

This is what is says on the tin (“lesbian necromancer and her lesbian guard and other necromancer nobles explore a haunted gothic palace in space”) and much more. This book is incredibly hard to explain and that’s why it’s so polarizing. It’s eerie at times. Funny (depending on your sense of humor). Bizarre. Complicated. Tragic. There’s even a clue like who-done-it mystery because people start dying while trapped in this potentially haunted gothic mansion! It’s a lot. Also, true enemies to... something? There’s continuous banter and not what I’d call a romance but there is something there for those wanting some wlw goodness. The last 50 or so pages of this are intense with a LOT of body horror so be warned.

I have no idea what direction the rest of the series will go in!

I’ll be posting a review and discussion on my channel.