As this book had two things I’m into – blood and witches – I fancied I was up for one hell of a read. Unfortunately, I was soon deflated as it turned out it was set in a kind of Victorian world (yes I know normally that would appeal to me, but not in the fantasy genre) and was basically just a supergirly love story. Occasionally, it had some redeeming qualities but was pretty tough to get through. (Appended note in late 2025. Despite my lukewarm review, I ended up buying the second book (🤔 why I really don’t know) when it came out, and it had all the bad qualities of book one without any of its redeeming ones. Don’t be seduced by the reviews – the crimson moth books are mediocre at best.)Â
