(Sorrowsong University, #1) Nightshade by Autumn Woods review

 

Nightshade by Autumn Woods
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Stars
🌶️🌶️ 2 Spice

Holy cow, this book has so much going for it. For starters, it is very much a story-driven book. The story was always the focal point, and I was playing Cluedo, trying to work out who did it and who I could trust the whole time. The author really did the whole red herring thing well, where I was sure it was one person, only to be like... maybe I'm wrong, is it this one instead? It had this high-stakes mystery crime feel that really was the standout of the book.

But it was not a one-trick pony. No, no, no. The emotional range this book had was outstanding. I felt like the author was flipping top tier with the way she wrote emotions. It made the characters stand out and gave them such a rich feel.

Our female lead is a mess and doing her best to put one foot in front of the other, and it shows. The pain and her struggles come through so clearly. She could, at times, be her own worst enemy, but she is drowning in a pain she cannot get out of, and it was put onto the page so well that it made my heart ache.

Then there is Alex. The world is pushing down on him, and he has this great front that he wears so people do not see the physical struggle and weight he is under. There are so many layers and so much going on, even in the background, and it made the book really stand out.

Now, if you're wondering why not 5 stars, I did have a few problems. First, there were some real cringe moments that made me want to hide my own face, but I could mostly overlook those. Our FMC was also very quick to jump to "IT'S YOU!" without really stopping to think, and given she is not a stupid person, I felt like it was a little out of character. So were a few of her actions throughout the book.

But the biggest thing that brought the book down for me was the spice. It was underwhelming and sort of patchy and rushed at times. I mean, the author gave me yearning, longing, and emotional struggle so well that I was sobbing, and then... lukewarm, blurry spice. It sort of let the book down when everything else was so detailed and vivid.

So I could not give it 5 stars, but it more than earned 4. It was a really good book overall.

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