Daze isn't your typical hero—she's angry, broken, and utterly magnetic. I loved how her mask wasn't just hiding her face; it was armor against a world that wanted her dead. Her rage felt real, not glamorized. Finished it in two nights because I needed to see if she'd burn the whole kingdom down or just break herself trying.

Thornmere crawled under my skin. The Crimson Market with its memory-lanterns? The blood-grain rituals? Chilling. It's not just 'dark fantasy'—it feels like a rotten city breathing down your neck. I could taste the ash and smell the nobles' perfume. Still dreaming about those bone-paved streets weeks later.

The fight where Daze kills that magistrate mid-juggle? Pure chills. Culberson writes violence like twisted poetry—it's brutal but weirdly beautiful. Not just stab-and-done. Every death means something. And the Harlequins moving like shadows? Made me want to learn knife tricks (badly).

Did NOT expect to cry over a fantasy rebellion. But Daze's relationship with Whisp? The scene where she spares that noble kid? Wrecked me. It's not all blood and fire—there's this raw ache underneath about what survival costs. My heart's still sore.

Crow and Merrin STOLE my heart. A stitched-up apothecary and a mad mage painting prophecies in blood? YES. Loved how their found family vibes balanced Daze's fury. Their banter in the catacombs was my comfort zone between murders. Need a spin-off about them running a sketchy potion shop post-revolution.

How is this a debut?! The writing's so sharp—one page it's lyrical like a fairy tale, next it's punching you in the throat. No fluff. No info-dumps. Just boom: moody atmosphere, biting dialogue, and sentences that stick like splinters. Felt like the book version of a punk rock album.

Thought this'd be a simple 'masked vigilante' romp. Nope. It's a scalpel dissection of power—how kingdoms feed on silence, how trauma shapes revolutions. Made me rethink real-world injustice in a wild way. Also? That ending haunts me. Is Daze a hero or a weapon? Still arguing with my book club about it.