first and foremost, Roman Montague is so baby girl & I love him for it lmao.

oh my goodness, did I love this book! there's angst. there's chemistry. there's tension. there's banter. there's pining, lots and lots of delicious, delectable pining, particularly from our hunky MMC. and there’s most definitely spice 🥵 this world is brimming with fun and creepy touches of gothic and dark academia elements. the history of Etta and Roman’s families are rich and detailed. their friends, especially Bennett and Cat, are funny & give our main couple some much needed perspective at times. the author ensures the characters have dimension, and that the feud feels visceral and tense as we get deeper into the plot.

Roman and Etta’s love truly steals the show 🫶🏼 growing up in a small town, these two have always circled each other. Roman knew there was something about her that stood out to him, but never understood what it was. he was told to despise her, so that’s what he tried to do. emphasis on tried. Etta, being the perfect daughter and all around good girl (iykyk), tried to maintain civility. but Roman could get under her skin like no one else. the dual POV for these two makes things so much fun for the reader. i love getting to experience the same scenes between these characters from both perspectives, because Roman’s POV.. OMG. kicking my feet, giggling, blushing, absolutely swooning over this man!!! watching his childish fascination with Etta develop into full blown self-aware obsession was achingly hot. he’s a poet. his way with words has me in a chokehold & he’s not the only one who’s feelings have evolved into something both darker and deeper. because of the alternating timelines of high school and present day, we get to witness Etta’s growth from naive girl who’s just a spectator in her own life to a strong-willed woman with a mind of her own. and the spice… oh my lanta. the mouth on Roman Montague. absolutely filthy!!! 🤭 the balance of slow burn to lovers was beautifully handled, and I really can’t tell which i enjoyed more.

this would be a 5 star read for me if it weren’t for the last 10% feeling slightly rushed. while i do really enjoy the ending, i think more focus on the background plot of the missing girls would be beneficial to the shock factor at the end, particularly because it’s such a big part of Roman’s character arc, with his sister Marcia. i think we could have played into the gothic and paranormal elements more and had a much more impactful finale for our beloved star-crossed (or is it fated?) lovers. as a whole though, the twists were certainly a surprise, but not unbelievable and felt like a satisfying enough end to this epic love story.

thank you to Kate King for providing me with eARC of this book to give my honest review!