I received an advance copy of Death of the Glass Angel, and I really wanted to love it. The story seemed intriguing and fun, but once I started the book, it felt short. The idea, the world, the magic, and the main character had good premise, but all of it was almost convoluted and confusing. Sometimes, it felt like the story dragged on, especially at the beginning, and other times, I felt like it didn't flow and was lacking information. The jump in time lines didn't seem right either, but I understand they are needed to continue the story along.
The characters' "romance" felt forced and no real spark with an awkward love triangle. I unfortunately DNF the book after 81% or so along.

This story was sadly all over the place. It seemed to overcompensate limited world building and character development by throwing too much at the readers. The shifts in POV and flashbacks just left me confused for the majority of the novel. Though the first 100 pages held my interest it quickly shifted and I realized I was not engaged with the characters and their stories. The story could have benefited from more strict editing. It read as if only the author knew what was happening leaving the readers lost in a world that wasn’t fully fleshed out.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the e-arc!

This story drew me in so quickly and I found no issues following along with the different point of views or throw backs.

This story follows Janus and a shadow self Des and the different lives and interests between the two. Janus proves to be stronger, in my opinion, than what others believed her to be. I loved getting a little bit of a slow-burn romance but that plot is what had me. The characters all lead to have their own secrets and as a reader trying to see what you can piece together was so fun!

There are twist and turns, unexpected heartbreaking betrayal, and so much more. I am so thankful for being given the opportunity to read this and can't wait for book 2!

I was really excited to receive the ARC for Death of the Glass Angel, as the description promised a unique and thrilling fantasy experience. The story grabbed my attention right from the intense opening scene, and there were several moments throughout that pulled me back in with genuine hooks.

That said, I found the pacing a bit uneven at times. The narrative switches between multiple POVs, which, for me, made the story feel somewhat jumbled and disconnected. This made it challenging to stay fully immersed in the world and deeply engaged with the characters.

However, I do see a lot of potential here--the blend of slow burn, rich world-building, and fresh fantasy elements could really resonate with readers who enjoy those aspects. Overall, I appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC and look forward to seeing how the author’s storytelling develops in future works.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for an advanced copy of this book. I want to state upfront that I did DNF this book at 52% after realizing | was not the intended audience for it, and continuing to try to read it was not good for my mental health.

At 52% I really had no clue what was going on. I would read a chapter and realize I was mostly skimming just to get through it I was so bored and confused. One character randomly had multiple personalities suddenly. Another was hearing voices. I like a little mystery, but there weren’t any good hints as to what was going on so everything was just a big question mark, and for ME personally, that makes it hard to stay interested.

I have zero problems with a slow burn, love it actually. Especially when there’s TENSION, YEARNING. In this book, we don’t get much of anything in terms of romance for the first 50%, which would be fine if the story was keeping me interested. Unfortunately I was too confused about what was going on to be at all invested in the storyline or the characters. If there had been any romance at all, I might have been able to push through until maybe things became more clear.

It’s 3 stars for me since I was hooked in the first chapter and it had potential. Also because I only read half of it, obviously and maybe eventually it would’ve gotten better once more was revealed. I tried so hard with this. I really did. The author is great. The writing is great. I just couldn’t follow it. And that’s a me problem.

Overall, this book was not for me but I do think that readers who have patience for a more complex and confusing story may enjoy it. I wish this author the very best. Thanks so much to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This started strong with a tragedy that hooked me, but quickly became a bit too busy and confusing. There were so many characters, flashbacks, and side details that I struggled to keep it all straight, and the chapter letters/journal entries didn’t really click for me.

The mystery had potential and a few great moments, but the sheer number of breadcrumbs made it hard to connect the dots.

Interesting premise, but it didn’t quite land for me.

I was engaged with the premise. There were so many elements that grabbed my attention immediately: a suspicious death, an interesting magic system, and buried secrets. The story itself is genuinely compelling. It’s a great concept, and one I’d be very interested in reading with stronger execution.

But the writing doesn’t provide enough emotional depth, clarity, or world texture to fully immerse in the story. The abrupt transitions and overly fast pacing often left me confused, and the lack of atmosphere made it difficult to stay connected with the story and characters.

I can usually see what I’m reading play out in my mind like a movie. But with this book, it felt like I was watching a story unfold in a dark space — no visuals, just dialogue and movement without context. That lack of description made it hard to follow what was happening. The writing style also feels unpolished, which added to the disconnection I felt while reading.

That said, the core ideas are strong. There’s real potential in the worldbuilding, the mystery, and the inner conflict of the main character(s). I truly think there’s room for it to grow and shine after some polishing.

I made it to 40% and just couldn’t keep track of what was going on. I feel like the storyline has potential but the way it’s written just keeps losing me. Names seem to change and there’s so many side plots and details that might make sense later but it just makes everything so confusing. There are so many characters and they are introduced so quickly with minimal details to set them apart that it’s almost like I need a guide of who is who to follow. I feel like the story would be amazing if just written slightly differently.

It was a unique concept and worked with the world that was going on. The characters had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. I was engaged with the romance and how it was used in the fantasy world elements. Riley Knight wrote this well and left me wanting more, from both the world and from Riley Knight. this was a strong opening chapter to the Apotheosis series, it had that romantic fantasy elements that I was hoping for and enjoyed from this type of book.

I think this story had potential and overall good bones, but the execution might have been a little off for me. It started off very strong with a tragedy that had me pulled in. After the beginning I think it got a bit complex and more confusing than it needed to be. There is so much happening and there are also a lot of flashbacks. The chapter openings with letters or journal entries added more to my confusion as I still don’t know how they tie in…

The world building was interesting, while again slightly overwhelming. There were so many characters, places etc at the beginning to try to remember. It took a while for me to really get it all straight in my mind.

I love a good mystery and while some things started to slowly make sense, I was a bit overwhelmed by trying to figure out all the pieces of the story and how they fit together. You’re given a bread crumb here, a bread crumb there and so on. However, they didn’t correlate enough and there’s almost too many “different paths” to try to keep up with that it just ended up being too much. Even the ending left me feeling confused… like most questions, that aren’t even close to being answered.

There’s perhaps a little slow burn romance but it’s a complicated version of a “love triangle”. I wouldn’t classify this as a romance or romantasy. Perhaps it will evolve in the later books.

With all this said, I would still give the rest of the trilogy a try.


Tropes:
- elemental powers with unique catalyst
- Will they won’t they, love “triangle-ish”
- Prophecy
- Political intrigue


Thank you NetGalley and to the author for sending me the ARCS.


Favorite quotes:

“what I felt for you was real. In another life, I would have chased you to the ends of the earth. I would have fought off all your suitors until your hand was mine alone."

I was really excited going into this one. The premise felt like everything I usually love.. slow-burn romantasy, political intrigue, and mysterious assassination attempts set against a haunting backdrop. But unfortunately, the execution didn’t work for me the way I hoped.

Even after finishing the book, I was still confused about the character dynamics and motivations. I often found myself rereading passages to make sense of who was speaking or what exactly was happening. A lot of characters were introduced very quickly, with minimal description, and it made it hard to keep track of them, especially during scenes where they were jumping between locations or plot threads rapidly. For example, there was a scene with Des and Talon spying that left me unsure who they were spying on, and another scene with a card game that felt abruptly placed without much grounding.

The writing style, while clearly artistic and intentional, often felt choppy and hard to follow. It made it difficult to feel immersed or emotionally connected.

I can see how others might enjoy the worldbuilding/magic systems and lyrical prose, but for me.. i was struggling with clarity and cohesion. I felt like I was constantly trying to catch up, and that left little room to enjoy the journey or get emotionally invested in the characters.

That said, I still think there’s potential here! The author has big ideas and an ambitious vision and while this particular story didn’t land for me, I’m hoping future installments might offer more clarity and development. 💕

I volunteered as an ARC reader. Thank you Netgalley.

Author: Riley Knight
Series: Apotheosis
Release Date: 9/21/25


3.25 stars.



Death of the Glass Angel started off very strong. There was unique magic, a tradegy to set the course of the main character Janus....leaving us with a "Dual" POV.

However, about halfway through the book it sort of took a desolate turn for the worse.
It became harder to read, a little bit confusing. Part of it was just where the story needed to go I suppose, but that is the main reason for the lower star rating.

I wouldnt classify this book as a Romance or Romantasy. Not even a closed door one. The MMC and FMC kiss after 75% of the book, and mostly throughout the book the FMC says she thinks he is handsome, and he is turning her down. The connection they had seemed more like good friends, and there seemed more slow burn with another male character that sorta just disappears as the book gets closer to the end.




Sidenote: I believe in chapter 17, Janus is playing cards with some folks. They go over many descriptions of everyone at the table. Then all of the sudden the Valkyrie is mentioned- and then they start talking about Avalon. Unsure if Valkyrie -lady mela- was actually at the table playing cards, but seemed odd since when they mention who was at the table she was not mentioned.

Let me tell you I struggled to finish this book. I was really intrigued at first but I just kept drifting off while reading this one. I have decided to give this 3 stars because I think there are good bones here and I think the concept is good. This could have been a case of wrong book, wrong time for me so take this review with a grain of salt. I'm not sure if I will continue this series but I will definitely try other books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.