if you looked up the definition of gothic fantasy, it would just be a picture of this book.
add in slow burn and this is a feast fit for a king (me, of course)

A darkly gothic tale abut obsession, hunger and the pursuit of knowledge no matter the cost. Decadently vivid prose will carry you off into a world not quite unlike our own and spins the story of ones woman’s desperate pursuit for autonomy and knowledge. There was something about this novel that will sink its teeth into you while you fight to keep the darkness bleeding out between the pages. Haunting and seething with dark desires.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐔𝐊 | 𝐎𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐲

This book is super dark and heavy...and yet I couldn't put it down. I'm a huge fan of poisons in stories and this was a unique take on the subject. Thora was a wildly complex character and my heart ached for her and Olea throughout the story.

This was just ok for me which was a matter of personal taste rather than there being anything wrong with the book. I found this a little too immature for my taste however the story was interesting and the writing was good, I’m interested in anything with botany so that was a plus. I found the pacing was even and there was enough mystery to keep me intrigued

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc