What’s in a tone?
This book is a whole mood. Dark and sweary. Raucous, romantic, and monstrous.
I mean… check out these vibes:
“Gideon might well have shaken her until the teeth in her head and the teeth in her pockets all rattled.”
I love everything about its tone. I love Gideon’s mulish, irreverent character and the way her no-f*cks-to-be-found attitude is mirrored in the prose itself. I love that underneath her porcupine quills there’s a ride-or-die heart. I love that Harrow is a living nightmare who can handle anything you throw at her except a hug. I love the evolution of their relationship.
I loved to hate the ending.
“She had always thought - when she bothered to think - that Harrow would feel cold, as everything in the Ninth felt cold. No, Harrow Nonagesimus was feverishly hot.”
I will confess that loving the main characters has its dangers for me. Dangers like not caring about anyone else. And there are a lot of side characters in Gideon. Keeping everyone straight while fighting the temptation to skip to the next Harrow and Gideon showdown felt a little distracting.
But the vibes won out, and in the end I not only left my body but this universe entirely.
A bone-rattling war-cry of a recommend.
