ARC obtained from BookExpo in exchange for an honest review.
I really think this is going to be one of those books you’ll either love or hate. Fans of Bardugo will pick up on how perfectly she personifies each character, but please be warned, this is not young adult. This book is very much about healing from past traumas while trying to also survive in a society that’s filled with so much death and darkness.
I will say that I was a bit confused in the beginning because this book jumps a lot between two timelines (the past winter, and the present which is spring.) We follow Alex, a girl who attends Yale University and ends up being recruited into a secret society. Alex has a supernatural ability which makes her a unique society member of Lethe House. Yale also has eight other secret societies where each one deals with their own paranormal/supernatural “specialties.” We get glimpses into each society and learning about them was interesting, yet a bit tedious, at times for me.
The murder of a local woman sets the story in motion as Alex suspects one of the societies is involved. But she’s also dealing with the disappearance of her friend and society “mentor”, Darlington. The story weaves both mysteries together, and at times it would be a bit too slow for my liking. However, I was so immersed in the dark mysteries surrounding the cases and the occult that I still enjoyed reading this very much!
Honestly, I would rate the overall story itself four stars. But once we began peeling back the layers of Alex and Darlington’s characters… I just fell in love with the book. The characters are so well written and, in true Bardugo fashion, their backstories really punched me in the gut. Also? There are ghosts. So that’s major bonus points for me!
I found myself very slowly chipping away at this book just so I could absorb all the information about the societies. But also please use caution as the themes are very dark and heavy. Bardugo said she wrote about her own experiences (and that this book is her way of healing) and she is valid and unapologetic. She does not hold back.
Trigger/content warnings: rape of a minor, drug use, cutting, bullying, gore/medical procedures, sexual assault of a minor, sexual acts under the influence of magic/drugs, parental neglect/abandonment, talks of cancer.
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A Court of Crowns and Quills 
Great review, I absolutely cannot wait to read this one!
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I can’t wait to read this😆 great review!
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Ooh this sounds so good. I love character driven stories and Leigh Bardugo does that so well. Thanks for the review!
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OH it makes me so happy to hear that the characters made this book a 5 star read! I’m kind of a slut for good characters lmao and I definitely would rate a book 5 stars for them even if the plot was only solid 😎 Lovely review!! 💕
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Wow, this is totally not what I was expecting the book to be! I was kinda on the fence about reading this before your review but secret societies & paranormal sounds right up my alley – it sounds very Mara Dyer 😂 And Leigh Bardugo definitely knows how to write characters that I become WAY too emotionally invested it, so you’ve got me hooked 😉
💛 Ngoc
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Wonderful review, love! I have heard that this one is far darker than Bardugo’s young adult works, but I’m equally as fascinated by it! I’m really glad that the characters had many layers, and fantastic backstories! It’s also nice to hear that Bardugo didn’t hold back when discussing some of the heavier topics. I can’t wait to read this one! ❤
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I completely agree with all your statements regarding this book. I loved it I think more than any other of her works, but at the same time I didn’t love it until around the halfway mark, until we really understood Alex’s background, I was so lost and slightly bored but as soon I understood what had happened from Winter to Spring, well I was obsessed and burned through it.
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