S D SimperRezensionen

As far as prequels go, this was a bit meh. I loved Simper’s Fallen Gods series, though, so I know her stories improve over time…

Holy shit! This book!



I feel like my head’s about to explode, but it’s all starting to make sense now…

I think I know what Flowridia’s bargain with Casvir will lead to, even though I hope I’m wrong. However, all the clues are pointing in that direction — Staella’s scroll, probably containing the secret of Ilune’s conception; Ayla’s reaction to the news; last but not least, Chaos seems like she’d be an almost-exact replica of Ayla, but with additional necromantic powers… And in Casvir’s tender care, she would grow up to be a horrible threat, damn that deal-making horned bastard...




This series is great! Hope we won’t have to wait long for the next — final? — installment.

I loved this third volume! But I swear, if this story gets any more intense, I might die from emotion overload. The action barely let up here, and when it did, we were immediately assaulted with delicious angst without a single moment of respite. For me, these books are impossible to put down. I foresee a great deal of suffering in my future, waiting for the fifth book (but that’s what I get for thinking this series was complete).

Flowridia’s character development over these three books has been simply spectacular. She continues to amaze me with her strength in the face of all that’s happened to her. I don’t think the naïve girl she’d been at the beginning of this epic journey would recognize the woman she was forced to become — but that was the price of getting her heart’s desire.

Though the cost of her return was extremely high — and poor Lara didn’t deserve such a fate — Ayla is finally back!!! New and improved, and more powerful than ever before, the better to tear all of Flowridia’s enemies to pieces…

I should also mention that I absolutely adore the new couple, Etolié and Khastra, even though their difficult situation breaks my heart. What can I say, I’m a sucker for tragic love, and these two are just lovely. Hope to see more of them in the next book.

4.5 stars!

Despite bemoaning the fact that Flowridia and Ayla’s romance has been put on hold — though the fourth book’s cover makes it obvious that Ayla will be back someday soon — I was very impressed by this second installment in the Fallen Gods series! It was quick-paced and packed with the kind of adventure I so adore in fantasy books.

I loved seeing Casvir through Flowra’s eyes. His brusque, domineering personality notwithstanding, I feel like he’s the kind of mentor (and dare I say, even father-figure?) Flowra needs to realize her full potential as a witch/necromancer. She’s gained so much self-confidence during their quests. She’s still the sweet and kind-hearted girl we met in the prequel, but she’s been disillusioned one time too many, and she’s finally ready to stand up for herself!

The horror factor intensified here, as well. The things we learned about Flowridia’s beloved, Ayla Darkleaf — The Endless Night, Scourge of the Sun Elves, The Gaping Maw — were ghastly and macabre and just about made my hair stand on end! (I loved it, though!) I think I should delete the quotation marks from my previous review, because she’s not a ‘monster’ — she’s a Monster. But that’s what makes her love for Flowra so extraordinary and heartbreaking.

I’m in awe of Flowra’s resolve to bring her back. She’s so brave. To go as far as to meet Ayla’s demonic progenitor and agree to his terms… Ahhh, I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

I really liked this! I think the Fallen Gods series shows great promise — it’s my second book by Simper, and while I’m still not a great fan of her writing style, I kind of loved the story itself. The worldbuilding was on point, the MCs were nicely fleshed-out and original. Flowridia was a bonafide ‘flower child’ here, what with her perpetually bare feet and flowers braided in her hair, and while she was a little too meek for my liking, I foresee that changing real soon. That scene with Sora and Demitri showed she has absolutely no scruples when it comes to protecting her own, and I loved that about her, how protective she was of her little wolf familiar. Likewise, the flashbacks to her life with her mother Odessa the Swamp Witch were truly horrifying. That girl went through so much shit it’s crazy.

I was very excited when the love interest, one sexy Ayla Darkleaf, turned out to be an undead ‘monster’ with a vicious temper and D/s leanings, but as her relationship with Flowra progressed, it became pretty clear that their dynamic was unhealthy, too intense, toxic even. Flowra was too soft; Ayla held all the power, and something had to change. Luckily, it did and it made everything better. I’m shipping them so hard now. If someone can soften Ayla’s demeanor and show her what being loved feels like, it’s Flowridia.

The first book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I liked the way it circled back to the beginning, when the ‘red-eyed demon’ first appeared. Pretty clever, that.

3.5 stars

Not sure how I feel about this author’s writing style, but the story itself was pretty interesting.

This one was fine. Probably a little closer to a 3.5 than just a 3, to be honest. I enjoyed it. I like the whole (possible, who knows where this train is really going, tbh) “making of a monster” narrative that it seems like Flowridia is going on. I’m excited to pick up the next one and see just where exactly this is going, because as much as I LOVE me a girl who becomes a monster because she fucking can and wants to, I’m not sure what I actually want for Flowridia.

hum, idk i liked this one less than the first two. i think, generally, that was mostly because of spoiler shit, re: ayla and lara, so, spoilers! i honestly am not that into the idea of florwidia bringing back alya. like, i am ALL for complex characters and fucked up dynamics in my ficton, i really am. a character is a murderer? yep that can be morally complex and interesting. another character loves that murderer and needs to reconcile with it? also interesting!! but honestly, since we found out that ayla isn't just a murderer, but a gleeful murderer and torturerer of children, who likes to flay ppl alive for "experiments" i was honestly kinda out on her as the main character's love interest.

like, i GET that the themes of this series seems to be like, monsterosity and love and redemption? and like, how to become a monster or unbecome one, etc. but that isn't actually super clear in the narrative, at least to me. like, is the main theme of this story ACTUALLY flowridia's story about becoming a monster herself? or is it about the love between her and ayla? idk. i'mmmm pretty mad about the lara of it all and lara's death. i liked her a lot since she was first introduced as a character and i'm frankly, annoyed by her death and even more so, how it actually happened. i hated the whole lead up to flowridia deciding whether or not to kill her, i LIKED the complexity of it at lot! don't get me wrong, but i was hoping that it would lead to flowridia actually falling for her and deciding not to bring ayla back after all instead. but in the end, making flowra not even be the one to choose to kill lara, killing her senselessly after lara basically throws herself at the biggest monster to save florwa, AFTER she already admitted to her shittiness, really rubbed me the wrong way. if you're gonna write a story about a girl becoming a monster, at least own it. make her BE the monster.

i think me not buying into flowra and ayla's love story might be the main disconect, for me. i get it, it's kinda like a hades/persephone dynamic (usually, a theme i love!!) but i think in the earlier stages of them falling in love in the first book, it... didn't quite do it enough for me to buy into it, two books later. i say all of this knowing FULL WELL that i will be reading the next books in the series, because i do like this world and i DO love stories about monster girls, and i absolutely want to know what happens and like the characters so i don't want this to feel entierly negative, i liked a lot of things about it, unfortunetly, the main bag isn't quite working for me, but, who knows, maybe that will change with the next book.

(also, just because i'm very confused, and read the first sea and stars book before reading these ones, which series is first in the timeline of the world?? because in those books, Khastra works and lives in Solvira, and in these they mention that happening previously for her. so, do they come before these ones? do these ones come first? i've googled and i cannot find that answer anywhere).

Ok here is the thing: I AM VERY CONFLICTED ABOUT THIS BOOK AND THUS, THIS SERIES.

I’ve already talked about it, I don’t like Ayla and Flowridia much, and that only escalated for a majority of this book (though not all). I just, I cannot tell WHAT this story is. For a long time, I thought we were supposed to like them, their relationship, and (though it be complex and conflicted), ultimately, root for them. AND I SIMPLY DID NOT!! The longer these books went on, the less I liked Flowridia at all. She is such a hypocrite, and FINALY someone (hilariously, Ayla) calls her out on it in this book. But it frustrated me that for so long I couldn’t tell what the author was trying to convey here. Especially in this book with revelations about Ayla’s childhood and earlier life, I’m just like, so in order to make her sympathetic she has to haha be been abused? (Which, content warning and also spoilers but, CSA and abuse warnings for a small portion of this, nothing explicit at all just alluded to, but still). Like I’m sorry, I feel sympathy for her as a child and young woman, but she turned into a literally gleeful murderous power hungry monster and two things can be true at once and I don’t suddenly like her now.

For a little bit there, I was actually elated. I was like, oh okay, this has all been a slow burn long con and Flowridia is the villain! This is so cool, actually! All of the things I’ve been feeling are justified!! But then with the very end.. I’m not so sure. And that’s a little frustrating, but there are a lot of other things in this series that I like. At this point, Etolie is my fav and I love her arc in this book a lot, and I will definitely keep reading and she’s who I’m rooting for.

This IS a dark fantasy.
It is NOT a romance.
It is the story of an abusive and twisted relationship--it's just an F/F take on the old "fixing your lover" plotline. It's not better here than it is anywhere else.

Now, the story seems to understand that this relationship is twisted. But it never seems to do anything with it. At times it even seems to be celebrating it, which is disturbing.

Worse, by the end of it you realize that our main character hasn't grown or developed at all. She is the same person at the end as she was at the beginning.


Writing's good though.