🌊🦢 Tenderly, I am Devoured 🦢🌊

• Lyndall Clipstone 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tenderly, I am Devoured follows Lacrimosa Arriscane, who, upon returning from a prestigious boarding school in disgrace, finds her family’s finance in disarray. Willing to do anything to save them, she makes a deal with a chthonic demon. But when the betrothal isn’t anything like she imagined, and she begins to be pulled from the mortal realm, she has to seek help from her neighbours (and her family’s creditors) the Felimaths. Alastair, the broody and brilliant boy who was Lark’s first heartbreak, and Camille, her oldest friend. 

Firstly, let me state what seems to be contentious issue from the Goodreads reviews… I didn’t love the romance in this. I thought it would have worked much better if it wasn’t a love triangle situation between Camille, Alastair and Lark. Another thing that irritated me was that Lark was pretty much in love with everybody in this book – another two characters called Therion and Damson, included. Plot-wise, it was meandering and slow and occasionally, the flashbacks to Lark’s days at school in the city felt defunct and didn’t really add much to the story. The prose was beautiful though, and the gothic atmosphere was alluring and decadent. 

The bacchanalia was ever-so-slightly underwhelming – I was expecting full-on Secret History level of weirdness – and I think this was a missed opportunity. It’s desolate coastal towns meets folklore, god worshipping and ritualistic sacrifices. There were a few elements I didn’t love, but a gothic horror will never be a total miss from me. I loved some of the themes that were heavily explored – love, grief, abuse, gods and magic. The coastal setting was also amazing and intoxicating; can we start a petition for more sea-based fantasies? I felt like I could physically taste the salt.

Do you like gothic horror? Let me know some of your favourites! 

Thank you to @bonnierbooks and @netgalley for the digital arc!