Salt-sprayed Summer is HERE

From NetGalley

Perfect for fans of Saltburn, For the Wolf, and House of Hollow, Tenderly, I Am Devoured is a moody, monstrously Gothic romantasy in which a young woman must bind herself to a dangerous chthonic demon with the help of the son of a rival family to save her family's legacy—and herself—from ruin.

Expelled from her prestigious boarding school following a violent incident, eighteen-year-old Lacrimosa Arriscane returns home in disgrace to discover her family on the point of financial ruin. Desperate to save them, she accepts a marriage of convenience… to Therion, the chthonic god worshipped by Lark’s isolated coastal hometown.

But when her betrothal goes horribly wrong, Lark begins to vanish from the mortal realm. Her only hope is to seek help from Alastair Felimath: the brilliant, arrogant boy who was her first heartbreak, and his alluring older sister, Camille. As the trio delve into the folklore of gods, Lark falls under the spell of the Felimath siblings.

Ensnared by a fervent romance, they perform a bacchanalia with hopes the hedonistic ritual will repair the connection between Lark and her bridegroom. Instead, they draw the ire of something much darker, which seeks to destroy Therion—and Lark as well.

"You are a force of nature, as wondrous and eternal as the wildflowers and the storm clouds and the patterns of the tides."

Lyndall Clipstone's Tenderly, I Am Devoured is a lyrical and ethereal fever dream, washed up on the shores of a gothic, cliff-side mansion. With a decadent and deviously aristocratic setting much like Saltburn, and tension and yearning similar to The Secret History, this book cloaks readers in a gauzy veil and rapturous focus. The world falls away and there is only Lark, Therion, Alastair, Camille to carry you away to Verse, happily.

Lark Arriscane is a sensitive, artistic, soul on the precipice of her future when her foundation crumbles beneath her. Expelled from school and on the brink of destitution, Lark makes a dangerous bargain with the swan god her village has worshiped for decades; her hand in marriage for the prosperity of her family's salt mines. Due to forces completely out of her control, the ceremony is interrupted, putting her in terrible danger and jeopardizing the deal she struck.

Clipstone's poetic prose paints watercolor imagery, so vivid and surreal, but grounded. Verse is not unlike our world, it feels both timeless and historic. She weaves lore with magic and ritual in ways that feel natural. The world-building is superb and it feeds into the characters beautifully. From Lark's descriptions of her family's cottage by the sea to the fearful way Alastair gazes at his family's mansion, Clipstone's lucid words are immersive.

If the world doesn't drag you into this book's depths, the romance will! What starts with combative tension between Lark and her former friend, Alastair, grows into honest and heartfelt revelations as Lark's reality begins to unravel. Camille, Alastair, and Lark open themselves up in vulnerable and revealing ways. They divulge family secrets, heartbreaks, mistakes. Because laying it all out there is the only for them to save Lark from certain demise. It's also an incredible example of what it takes to make any relationship work...with honesty and courage, and I love that young readers will have this brave example of a nontraditional, queer romance.

In true dark academia style this book's ending is a little bittersweet, like the aftertaste of a lemon drop. It's all about identity. Where does Lark fit? Is the life she thought she wanted really for her? How much is she willing to sacrifice for love? You'll have to read the book the find out!

Tenderly, I Am Devoured is a hauntingly beautiful story of young love, pain, sacrifice, fear and hope. Its lush words will stay with you for a long, long time, knit into the fabric of your heart. I know many of you will feel the same! I hope you enjoy.

I recommend this book for anyone who loved (or loved to hate) Saltburn, The Secret History or any of the thousands of books subsequently inspired by it, and lovers of grounded dark fantasy, like Divine Rivals.