Unfortunately, this novel was not for me. I spent 75% of it wondering if I should DNF it. I didn't, I pushed through, and upon finishing the novel was *still* not for me.

There were too many concepts I didn't understand because they weren't explained well, at any point. It almost felt as though I was dropped into the second half of a 500 page novel with no idea what happened before then. I think the idea of it was interesting enough - if I'm even right on what it was! - but the execution was lacking IMO. For example, the system of magic and its properties, rules, etc., was barely explained, and when it was it was with words that didn't make sense to me. Maybe I'm not clever enough for this book, but maybe it just didn't hit its mark.

I enjoyed A Wish Too Dark and Kind a lot! The premise is absolutely amazing and it is exceptionally well-written. I found everything to be super relatable and imbued with magic.

This book might as well be my trippiest read yet. It was free-to-grab on NetGalley so after running into it some other places as well, of course I had to give it a go! And it wasn't a horrible book, but it is true that it requires more brain work than I can normally spare for my books. So for me, it was a little challenging to get through it. I'm not saying it takes away from the enjoyment of the story, on the contrary! I think there are many people out there (murder mystery fans are definitely on the top of that list) who will enjoy it to the fullest.

For me, the first 7 chapters were a mess (and a little repetitive). I think the story could have started at chapter 8 and build from there as everything that was somewhat established in the previous chapters went to the trash in an "unimportant" folder. I also felt like this book has a structural problem, trying to outsmart the reader by jumping around a lot within the individual chapters as well. We get journal entries from the past, at least 3 character POV and barely any linear context.

I definitely didn't hate it but it kind of have that vibe when you go into mirror maze and it makes you a little disoriented and lost.

On the other hand, I did enjoy the story the author was trying to tell and some of the characters were quite interesting and I'm glad I got the chance to read this book.

This was not the book I was expecting. It’s very creepy, dark and Gothic but it didn’t engage me as much as I was expecting. The mythology was too complicated for me to follow, and the characters too fantastic for my taste. The synopsis spoke of “immortals” but this is not what I had in mind. That said, I enjoyed the descriptions, the setting and the confrontations.I am just not the right reader.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Little Blackbird LLC!

This book turned out to be very surprising, and in a good way!
It was so magical and inviting I found myself to be very enthralled with the plot and the ambiance. The atmosphere was my favorite part. The entire time it was just so unnerving and suspenseful, really a great read.

This review is based on an ARC of A Wish Too Dark and Kind which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Little Blackbird LLC./IBPA).

DNF @ 41%

Well, the cover is really good...

I don't know what went wrong here, but this book just Wasn't for Me™. I couldn't get immersed, couldn't get a feel for the characters, couldn't find a sense of place or time... For the longest time I kept trying to get into the story, but I was just reading and not retaining.

The writing is really good, in a standard, textbook sense. I see many rave reviews of the book. Something with me just didn't click here.

First I was attracted by the cover then I read the premise and got interested. However I didn't understand it, I couldn't finish the book, it was kind of messy. I had a really dificult time to focus and follow the plot (wrote the names of the characters so I gotn't lost track). This book was not a good fit for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and M.L. Blackbird for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you M.L. Blackbird for allowing me to review A Wish Too Dark and Kind.

An old prince. 7 party guests. A ritual sacrifice. Each guest has their own dark history and some are connected through more than just attending the same party. When they all find out why they are really at the party, can they stop the old prince before he goes too far?

A Wish Too Dark and Kind stands out because of the intricate “magick” system that has so clearly been thought out. I enjoyed the manner in which that “magick” is connected to telluric currents and a deeper energy. It is also made clear that “magick” has consequences and I found that this made it more realistic, in the sense that it is not so far-fetched.

The characters are well developed and certainly all have secrets that they are hiding. None of them seem completely good or evil, as each of their backstories allows you to understand them. You almost feel sad when something bad happens to a character you don’t like.

However, for the first 30% of the book, I had no idea what was happening. Take this as your warning: there are two stories being told. One is Arnaud Demeure’s story, the main antagonist, and the other story tells the events of the present. At first, I wasn’t aware that this was the case. As a result, I didn’t understand what the plot was for most of the book. I feel as though it could have been made more clear as to what everyone was and what their purpose was.

Another issue I had with this novel, which is more personal, is that it involved a bit too much religion and almost biblical references. I don’t like a book having too much to do with those topics, but as I said that is just a personal feeling.

Perhaps the fault is with me and I only need to read this book again to fully understand its workings.

Overall the plot was enticing and unpredictable! The characters were real! And I would certainly recommend this book to those looking for a fantasy novel that is darker, has a realistic and beautifully designed “magick” system, and is not like many of the fantasy novels you find on ‘bookstagram/booktok’.

I think I understood the premise better than the actual book and that's probably because I'm not amongst the target audience the author had in mind while writing this book; I've barely lived life to feel the lows and highs of adulthood along with the stress that comes from abandoning your responsibilities for a wild goose chase involving magic and decades old mysteries.

However, yes, this book was really good and yes, I admit it's really cool. Longer review to come on my blog!

Review copy accessed via Netgalley.

I'm not sure where to start with 'A Wish Too Dark and Kind'.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the way it was structured, the characters were intriguing, it drew connections between histories seamlessly and tied itself together perfectly for the climax.

The characters we diverse and fleshed out enough to be interesting and have identifiable personalities. Some, like Alex and Ioan, were crucial to the story as in their roles as teachers, with experience in magic, they were able to deduce some of what was happening and explain it to Daniel who acted as the student - thereby explaining the rules of the magical world to the reader.

Structured as a kind of paranormal investigation, full of kidnapping, ritual sacrifice and coercion, 'A Wish Too Dark And Kind' was a thrilling adventure that kept me hooked even when I found myself overwhelmed by the detail in the book.

However, as much as I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I understood the story. It was complex and Blackbird created a whole mythology of magick (blood magic and tellur), immortals and dark powers that was difficult to absorb at times.

The structure of the book, one half excerpts of documents from an investigation into the events of the other half of the narrative, was clever - allowing for a slow revelation of facts and character reveals in the lead up to the climax. Little things mentioned in the early excerpts made sense as we followed the active storyline - but at the same time, when combined with the mythology of the world made the novel increasingly complicated.

By the halfway mark, I was still struggling to understand who the key characters were, what motivated them and how they fit into the plot. I knew I was enjoying the book but I wasn't sure I was understanding it in the way the author intended.

I love a good fantasy novel and have read enough to have a good understanding of magical creatures from cultures around the world, alchemy and history, and yet found myself completely lost at times while reading. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy and recommend pushing through to the second half of the book where everything rapidly starts coming together to make more sense.

Cover thoughts: this cover is dark and creepy and magical and glorious. It beautifully illustrates the creepy, haunting feel of the narrative while instantly identifying this as a book filled with dark magic, rituals and death.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book in advance!
The first three chapters seemed a bit confusing to me as it features only three different characters and then that is of little importance in the book. At first the magic system seemed quite confusing to me but little by little it is clarifying. The first half of the book has a very good rhythm I read it very quickly but with so many characters sometimes I forgot who was who and had to reread it a couple of times. It's interesting how you discover how all the characters are related and how little by little you discover the mysteries of the house and Arnaud Demeure through their diaries (which I found very ingenious). Of course, the end of the book seemed to me that it was going very fast and I had many questions to solve. I felt it all very rushed and it was not very clear to me because there were many things happening at the same time so I did not like it very much. Overall it was a very entertaining read but I wish the book had been longer so the characters could have been better known and the second half of the book didn't feel so rushed.

Unfortunately I found this difficult to engage with. I do love fantasy but this one had a confused beginning which carried on throughout. Great idea and concept but not for me sadly.

I received this arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very hard to get through and I did not finish it. I can’t even tell you exactly what it’s about because I was so confused. It started out good and I was a bit exciting Edith how twisty it was. This was with the hope that it would all make sense eventually… it didn’t.

I have really struggled with writing this review - the premise was amazing, I loved the concept, it started with so much potential, but that's about where it ended. I'm not completely sure what the author was trying to go for, but I had the hardest time getting through this book. I think it just lost steam, and I ended up really confused, the writing got really convoluted, and I was confused at who was talking, I lost track of characters, and I had trouble with a lot of the different elements.

ARC received from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.
I thought A Wish Too Dark And Kind was okay.
It didn't really leave much of an impression and I was bored at certain parts of the story.
I think the story had great promise but sadly the book did not really live up to it...

I'm leaving this three stars as I was unable to download the book before it was archived. Given that I was unable to read it, three stars seems like a fair thing to leave it on.

The cover of this book is amazing. The premise of the story intrigued me. Sadly, this book was not a good fit for me. The story seemed to follow a winding path and almost immediately I was lost. It’s almost like all the fantasy elements ever seen were thrown into this book. I thought the first chapter was captivating and then everything went down hill. Perhaps it was too many perspectives all at once or too many elements. I found it hard to focus on this story and really understand what was going on. A graph or chart of characters would have helped.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc for this book.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this. At all. The writing was confusing, there wasn’t enough context. The first chapter really had me intrigued but it only went downhill from there. I had such high hopes for this book.

"A Wish Too Dark and Kind": 2⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you to @netgalley, @mlblackbird and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

First, I'd like to stress that if I give a book 2⭐ it doesn't mean it's bad, it just isn't for me. That's what happens with this book.
The concept is phenomenal and that cover really catches your eye, but like, the second half of the book, just really never ends. It drags for so long and sometimes that isn't good.

However, I can see it being fantastic, the author just needs to add a little sparkle to it! The first half of the book was good, so if it kept its pace, it'd have been an easy 4⭐.

This book is actually interesting, both from the impressive cover and the premise which is quite promising. However, too bad that it's not well-executed and kinda messy. It was already confusing at the beginning with the short story of each character who was invited to the party with a less strong background as well. I can't feel connected to the characters because while reading I often think: “Um... who is that person again?” Maybe it's better if the plot is reversed, they meet first at the party, then start exploring the background of the characters one by one as the story progresses. About halfway through the book, I started to feel tired and give up on the seemingly endless and confusing plot and ended up skimming a lot to the end.

Another thing that really bugging me is the writing style. Some parts I think are better written with italic to distinguish the atmosphere. For example, when a letter is inserted, or when a character is listening to a recording, I think the contents of the recording should be written in italic so it won't be confusing.

Thank you for NetGalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read this eARC.