4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: YA Fantasy/Dark Academia
Release Date: April 14 2026
The kingdom of Wisteria is cursed. All creativity and innovation is forbidden, and any act of willful disobedience results in a demon lurking in the shadows. No music, no books, and no inventing thinking. None of that stops Aurelie. Des is a demon hunter tasked with tracking both demons and the people who create them, and he quickly becomes obsessed with Aurelie.
Almost every star I give this book is due to the world-building and premise. I loved the idea of a kingdom where creativity is banned, the FMC is rebelling, and I love how Rutherford gives us the lore of Wisteria and explaining how it came to be this way. Aurelie’s refusaI to accept the law made for an interesting FMC, and the forbidden romance and dark academia vibe added a lot to the story. Rutherford is a great writer and can keep a reader hooked.
Aurelie was not always a character I rooted for, and because Des was utterly obsessed with her, it was harder to like him as well. They were typically so petite and so big, and just once I want to read a story where the woman is 6 feet tall.
Overall I enjoyed the story, I’m invested in this world, and I’m very interested in reading the next book!
Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for the eARC!
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