Between Life and Death by Jaclyn Kot Pages: 418
Series: Between Life and Death #1
“His eyes returned to mine, that invisible tether between us strung too tight.That magnetic pull, it was unbreakable, unyielding. Eternal.And it demanded that we collide.”
On the secluded continent of Edenvale, possessing magic is a death sentence. Those who have it are labelled Cursed, and by order of the king, they are Cleansed—a horrific event utilizing a hot, hungry pyre and an iron collar. Enemy to the king, a group known as the Cursed rebels defend their lands from his reach, creating an ongoing, bloodthirsty war.
When Sage’s brother is conscripted for the war, she is forced to trade in her cozy, peaceful cottage life and join the Cursed rebels to get him back. Her mission seems straightforward, but Von, the leader of the Cursed rebels, comes riddled with dark secrets.
With his otherworldly eyes, black as a starless night, and a taste for juicy thigh—ahem—red apples, Sage knows better than to get involved with a guy like him. But knowing and doing are two very different things.
Together with the Cursed rebels and Von, the king of inky deals and sexy, stolen moments, Sage embarks on the quest of a lifetime.
Little does she know that fate is at work and the gods are watching her every move.
For ACOTAR fans who are looking to scratch that insatiable itch.This one is for you.
“His eyes returned to mine, that invisible tether between us strung too tight. That magnetic pull, it was unbreakable, unyielding. Eternal. And it demanded that we collide.”
Between Life and Death is a dark fantasy romance and is the first book in a series. This was a quick and easy read for me. Here we enter a world surrounded by a magical mist separating the gods from humans. The ruling class of humans are threatened by the powers of the gods and their half human offspring (called the cursed) and they have been persecuting the cursed and their god parents. Our main character Sage is a cursed, but when her brother is taken to fight in the king’s army, she sets out to rescue him and finds herself wrapped up with the cursed rebels. The rest is all very mysterious and we don’t know much more about what is going on because the rebels are very slow to share information with Sage, which did irritate me, but that is a pet peeve of mine in books. How do you expect Sage to join your movement when she doesn’t know them and they also are keeping her in the dark. It was frustrating.
Sage was an interesting main character. I liked her conscience and her spunkiness and loyalty to her people. I wish I liked Von as much as I liked Sage. I liked who he was trying to be, but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn’t really feel a connection to him and I don’t feel like I got to know him at all. And as a result of that, I didn’t really believe his romantic interest in sage. It felt a little too forced in my opinion. I can see a lot of people really enjoying it, but I would have liked a little more foundation for their romance. I am hoping in the next book we get to see a little more depth from the two of them, especially them together.
This is a very fast paced read with interesting magical gifts. Some of the magic is elemental in nature and there are also some more varied “curses”. I enjoyed learning about the curses and wish that I got some more answers earlier on in the story, but we are very much in the dark along with Sage. Some of the twists were easy to guess and some took me by surprise, which is a good mix. I would have liked a little more time spent explaining the world. It is such a cool idea I was immediately drawn in to the story but it all felt a little rushed to me. Overall this was a decent read. I didn’t love love it but I did enjoy it enough to want to continue on with the series.
This series is available on kindle unlimited and needs to be read in order.
You may enjoy the Between Life and Death books if you are looking for:
Morally Black Shadow Daddy
Stabby Hero FMC
Gods with Vampire Tendencies
Enemies to Lovers
Touch her and 💀
Fated Mates
Found Family
Hidden Identity
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