Claudia Cain

Lovely, Dark and Deep

Wynter Amethyst

I was very happy to have read this book leading up to Halloween! The vibes were immaculate for the occasion. Lovely, Dark and Deep was the sort of book I can imagine reading curled up on an armchair, late at night, storm raging outside and fireplace crackling… Cain’s writing is so gorgeous and evocative that you feel like you need set the scene you’re reading in to make the most of the experience. I had a very clear mental image of everything going on and felt myself swept right up into Cassandra’s world. 

Which, by the way, I was so satisfied with because Cain was not at all sloppy with the world building. I find that often in stories about magical beings or abilities, if you look too closely at the rules, the logic starts to fall apart because the author was more interested in the aesthetics of the powers than in their consistency. This is not the case with Lovely, Dark and Deep — there was never a point that I felt confused about the rules. 

And ultimately, this is my main praise of Lovely, Dark and Deep. Everything makes sense. The superstition of Cassandra’s community feels natural, as opposed to like some sort of plot device; the rules around magic are clear and well-thought out, so they don’t have to be bent out of shape or vaguely gestured to in order to accommodate for the plot; the characters always behave in ways that are true to the traits they have been written with; even the banter is smooth and doesn’t feel stilted, or like it’s trying too hard to be humorous. It just works, and it’s a really gratifying read because of that. 

I can’t wait for the next books in the series to come out because I’m super invested in the characters and want to know the answers to all of the problems and mysteries that’ve been set up. There’s one massive cliffhanger at the end, but there’s also plenty of strings as yet unravelled that have been left throughout the book. For now, I think that Lovely, Dark and Deep was a 4 star read for me because while I really enjoyed it, it definitely feels like an introduction. Everything does make sense, but I simultaneously feel like I don’t know all that much about all of the characters or the world they live in. And I want to! So, I may end up changing my mind after seeing what’s to come and choosing to bump my rating up retroactively, but it’s a bit hard to judge until I know why exactly everything has been set up this way, you know?

Also, a massive thank you to the author for sending me an advanced reader copy of Lovely, Dark and Deep in exchange for an honest review! Very invested in this story, and can’t wait to read the rest of it…

Lovely, Dark and Deep

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