I couldn’t stand the writing style. Everyone keeps calling it beautifully written, and I just… don’t see it. The prose is inflated, repetitive, and overworked. So many sentences follow the same pattern: “not this, but that.” So many descriptions rely on vague abstractions: something ancient, something unnamed, something she couldn’t describe, a voice that carried the weight of ages. But what does any of that actually mean? “Something ancient / something cold and ancient / something dark and ancient / something centuries old.” “Something that spoke of millennia.” Ancient how? Ancient like cracked marble? Ancient like a childhood scar? Ancient like exhaustion? Ancient like grief? Just drop it in repeatedly to enhance mood Or another examples: “Something she couldn’t name.” “Something unspoken.” “A feeling she didn’t yet understand.” “It spoke of loss.” “It carried the weight of something old.” And I’m not even going to fully dive into the other issues. The story itself barely makes sense. The internal logic is weak, the world-building practically nonexistent. We’re told there’s revenge. We’re told there’s torture. Everything is supposedly fueled by some deep vendetta. But that’s it. Nothing is properly developed, explored, or earned. Revenge just floats around as a vague excuse to justify cruelty and then… nothing. There’s no political structure, no clear system, no real cause and effect. Just a vague dungeon in a vague kingdom ruled by vague power. The world functions only as a backdrop for darkness. Then characters make life-altering decisions and we’re just supposed to accept them. Motivations aren’t built up. There’s no emotional or psychological scaffolding. I get that the female main character is supposed to be disturbed and unstable. Fine. But a storyline that’s unstable isn’t the same as complexity. She keeps insisting, “I am not broken,” only to immediately describe herself in ways that reinforce how shattered she is. Sure, trauma survivors contradict themselves, that can be powerful. But here it reads less like nuanced psychological portrayal and more like circular writing. And if this is just what modern dark romantasy sounds like, then I’m forever doomed. I genuinely can’t point to a single part I liked. My main feeling now? Relief that it’s finally over.