My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️
Title: Deathbringer (#1)
Author: Sonia Tagliareni
Pages: 432
Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)
Categories: Dark Academia, Fantasy, Romance, Magic, Murder Mystery, Series
Born with the ability to speak with the dead, Viola hates her magic. It killed her sister, Olivia, and if she doesn’t learn why, it will kill her too. Her only hope lies within the perilous walls of Gorhail Institute of Magic, where Olivia spent her final days.
There, Viola clashes with Sylas, a poison mage whose magic stems from three magical snakes. Immortal, tormented, and reckless, Sylas is tethered to a life he never asked for and haunted by guilt for his father’s death. His hatred for death mages runs deep, and he’s determined to keep Viola at a distance. But when an attack forces him to heal her, their fates become intertwined by a magical bond that threatens to upend his loyalties—and his common sense.
As more students start turning up dead, Viola and Sylas are drawn into an uneasy alliance that pulls them deeper into Gorhail’s treacherous passageways, where secrets fester beneath the stone and the dead do not rest. And as enemy lines begin to blur and their undeniable attraction grows, Viola and Sylas uncover a chilling someone is hunting mages for their magical relics, and if they can’t uncover the killer in time, Viola will be next.
Content Warning: death, violence
+~ Viola hates her magic, but when her sister is killed and she is brought to Gorhail – she learns even more about her family, and her magic. There is a murder mystery going on because her sister is not the only one killed, and though mysteries move a little too slow for me, the dark academia aspects sucked me into the story. I also liked the magic and different houses ~ especially the asperi (snakes), I just wish we got to see use Viola use more of hers.
+~ Though Viola hates her magic and wants nothing to do with it, she does what she can to help with figuring out who is killing people at the academy. I definitely see growth in her but it would have been nice to see her learn how to use her magic. I did enjoy the found family in the story, especially Sylas’s family that kind become Viola’s friends. His sister Lyria and his adopted brother Beau are great.
+~ I liked the enemies to lovers romance at first, though it is a very slow burn. Their families have bad blood, but Viola is really innocent to it – she doesn’t know the past of their family like Sylas does. He holds a grudge against Viola because of it but then falls for her. But he lets doubts in his mind about her which really turned me off. Viola doesn’t do anything to earn his distrust and yet, his prejudice against her family line hurts her. So…although he confesses his love and apologizes, I was not moved by him. Also, I do think they needed more interactions to solidify their relationship, it did come off a little bit like insta-love.
+~ The story is a murder mystery which means it does move at a slow pace. There is a lot of info to process but I do think there needs to be a little more world building so we could learn more about the academy.
Final Thoughts:
This was going to be a 4 star read…but then Sylas left me wanting. His behavior annoyed me, but I did like the romance until he annoyed me. I did enjoy Viola, Lyria and Beau. The murder mystery means this was slow paced but I like the magic and dark academia. I think it needs a little more world building but this was a solid first book in a series.
Read if you like:
- found family
- forbidden romance, slow burn
- dark academia
- murder mystery
Book Links:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
