Wow what a wild ride! Where to begin? I find it hard to critique anything about this book, whether  the fact that this story had so many, if not all my favourite things in a fantasy romance, or that it was just in fact that good. I believe the truth lies somewhere in between these , but let’s get into the review shall we?

This book is set in a reimagined holy Roman empire, with epic fight scenes, exorcists, blood magic, political intrigue and corruption, and at the heart of it all is an epic forbidden romance that will make you question your standards of love. 

I’ve put the publisher synopsis here for ease:

They say love conquers all, but can it win in a war between demons and exorcists – or might it just tear them all apart . . ?

A brutal war between demons and humanity has raged across Europe for over a century. At its heart are two elite soldiers: Selene Alleva, a powerful exorcist trained at the prestigious Vatican Academy, and foot soldier, Jules Lacroix, unrivalled in battle.

When their paths cross, despite initial distrust – then unwelcome attraction – Jules and Selene discover a terrible secret at the heart of the holy Vatican City.

Soon Jules is forced to question everything he’s ever known – including himself. And Selene, unable to ignore her growing feelings for Jules, must make an impossible choice between love and duty.

🌟 5/5 from me.

 Now let me tell you why.

Characters:
were they enjoyable to read and or well written and fun?

I love these people! All the characters were so well developed and interesting to follow, I very much enjoyed the nuance and exploration of what was right and wrong when it came to how they made their judgments, and how it was not always inline with what I myself would have done in that situation. Adding a little bit of moral ambiguity always makes things interesting, especially when the characters themselves believe its right. With the complexity of a story like this it can be really easy to overlook side characters and their arcs to let the main characters shine but that is not the case here, although Selene and Jules were still very much the focus of the plot, (I love them so much but if I were to tell you exactly how much, there would be no substance to this review) I was still very much engaged by the whole cast.

Plot & Writing:
 was it easy to follow and cohesive throughout and engaging to read?

I won’t say ‘easy to to follow’ but what I would say is this: This book had so many shoes! So many! ! (This is of course a reference to the saying ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop’) there were multiple times during the course of this book where I was sure that I had spoiled the end or the ‘big twist’ for myself, but no. Sure enough another shoe!

But other than my somewhat uncalled for above outburst, this book was plotted to perfection. Getting to see the story develop from both Jules’s and Selene’s perspective was instrumental in terms of storytelling. Getting to see the political aspects of the plot get thicker and more twisted, and the way  Sophie Clark managed to make it feel like I had all yet none of the cards at once. I am in awe. 

When a book can do that for me I consider it to be extremely well done.
I really can’t say too much without spoiling things, but there is a lot that happened! 

 All the moving pieces, things that you think mean nothing but turn out to actually be biggest parts of a whole, came together in an epic ending that left me stunned and my jaw on the floor.

Romance:
 how much did the romance make me blush/squeak/giggle? 

A lot, for sure.
I would classify this as a slow burn, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, where he falls first.
If you’re looking for an enemies to lovers story where they both hate each other and they take forever to realise it’s actually love, then I don’t really have the book for you unfortunately. But…if you are the kind of person that loves pining, longing and it’s obvious they’re going to end up together? Then you 100% need to pick this up! 
The development of Jules and Selene’s relationship is gradual but so much fun, think fake engagement but he is doing his job a little too well. So. Much banter! No, I can’t even call it that it’s just straight up flirting!

The romance felt very natural as well. Two people learning how to be around each other, then finding the courage to accept that they can be truthful with each other and not hurt themselves doing so. 
There were a few times that felt mildly juvenile especially in terms of Jules’s physical responses to Selene, but honestly I didn’t mind in the slightest. It’s perfectly fine for silliness like that to happen, and those were some the bits I enjoyed the most. I was also in stitches at how Jules is blatantly terrified of Selene the entire time.

Ending this review on a high note. 

 I hope you enjoyed reading, and that I maybe was able to convince you that this book is worth picking up, it is so deserving of all the love people are showing it.

if your interested in how i was scoring this book then please take a second to go check out this post here where i explain everything.

I personally will be waiting eagerly for the sequel.

-Sam 

P. S.
 Penguin UK if you’re reading this please consider this me very politely asking you to add me to the list of people to receive an arc copy of book 2 to review!