This was my first book by Blake, and she did not disappoint (my TBR has grown even more now, and I regret nothing). OfME is a story full of difficult and complex dynamics between the characters, where bad blood and deep love run even deeper.
“Don't forgive me… if you can't, and certainly don't love me...You'll only make fools of us both.”
–Olivia Blake
What Is It About?
In New York City where we lay our scene, two rival witch families fight to maintain control of their respective criminal ventures. On one side of the conflict are the Antonova sisters, each one beautiful, cunning, and ruthless, and their mother, the elusive supplier of premium intoxicants known only as Baba Yaga. On the other side, the influential Fedorov brothers serve their father, the crime boss known as Koschei the Deathless, whose community extortion ventures dominate the shadows of magical Manhattan.
After twelve years of tenuous coexistence, a change in one family’s interests causes a rift in the existing stalemate. When bad blood brings both families to the precipice of disaster, fate intervenes with a chance encounter, and in the aftershocks of a resurrected conflict, everyone must choose a side. As each of the siblings struggles to stake their claim, fraying loyalties threaten to rot each side from the inside out.
If, that is, the enmity between empires doesn’t destroy them first.
What Is It About?
5/5⭐
Actions have consequences. This is my review.
Lol, gotcha?! Hahaha, I'm sorry I couldn't help it. But really, this book delves deep into the dynamics of actions and their consequences – a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with twists and turns that not even Shakespeare could have seen.
This book captivated me from page one, with its incredible details and beautiful illustrations. What intrigued me the most was its writing style, with super poetic and somewhat complex prose (considering that English is not my first language). Its style resembled a play with acts and scenes instead of chapters. How cool, right?
The story follows the Antonova sisters, who have a love-hate relationship with the Fedorov brothers – both families involved in illicit businesses and also witches. I loved that combination. It amazes me how a conflict from more than a decade ago can drag two families down the drain and destroy them. How intra-family dynamics can be toxic, even if we do not see it, for the simple fact that: "we are family" and "things have always been this way."
This was my first book by Blake, and she did not disappoint (my TBR has grown even more now, and I regret nothing). OfmE is a story full of difficult and complex dynamics between the characters, where bad blood and deep love run even deeper.
My first few reads of 2024 weren't as good as I'd hoped, and for a moment, I thought my ability to empathize and relate to characters had completely broken. OfmE proved me wrong. It's not like I'm a heartless person like most of the characters here, but certain attitudes and thoughts deeply connected with me.
That's why we read. Books like OfmE remind me why I love reading; why books have magic, a power over us (mortals) who do not fully understand emotions until we come across characters who make us feel identified and reflect upon our lives. Characters that make us think, "haha, s/he has the same mental problems as me lol," and even if I say it sarcastically, it is true.
I'm sure that more than one of you has felt represented and heard by the thoughts of some characters. The ability of books to make us feel seen and connect with other readers that we relate to is one of my favorite parts of being a book reader.
At the same time, this is an empowering book. Empowering in the sense that we – women – can be absolutely whatever we want; whether we want to be romantics, students, housewives, business owners, or even villains. The world is ours to do what we want, and no man can stop us from doing it.
On the other hand, as I said at the beginning, talks about struggling to be responsible for our own decisions and about the consequences that the hunger for power can lead to absolute ruin. Of how love and hate are two sides of the same coin and how much you are willing to get one of the two (or both). All the things we have to do or give up to be seen. To be loved. To be someone.
If you like dark books, with magic, rivalry, complexities of the plot with the characters, eternal struggle for (im)possible loves, and family expectations, this is a must-read for you.
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