Inner Circle (I don’t know why people insist on copying characters like Morrigan from ACOTAR when she has literally zero personality. 10 points to Hufflepuff for giving the “edgy, quiet” SPY guy ASH riding ((????)) powers instead of shadows though.) The sex of course, that's always the safest point to start for smut. Okay. Let's see. In the first book the sex was so little that I felt cheated and there was no scene with a massive orgy as one would expect from a book with 1 (one) woman and 4 (four) romantic interests. In book two, this is being corrected both in the number and quality of sex scenes. Sorin is so far my favourite character. He's everything I love in a love interest, and I can't wait to read more about him. On top of all that, the major conflict is not a conflict at all. She avoided the topic of her being Fae, her mother, and all magic. Sorin tried, and she shut him down over and over and over again. Then she's mad at him for not telling her about being Fae, who her mom is, and magic. a well written private make-out scene that was almost going to progress into explicit spice until an interruption (grrrr)

I can’t resist the way their bloodied hands rip me open, barging through every defense I’d ever put up over the years. They’ve awoken a monster in me. I have no choice but to step fully into my new role. Adding to the metafiction elements of the story are Leiber's frequent references to Jung's descriptions of the Anima (female self) and Shadow (hidden self). These are elements that existed in Leiber's work nearly since the start of his career in the late 1930s, according to Bruce Byfield's Witches of the Mind: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber. The main difference in Our Lady of Darkness is that, unlike much of his earlier works, the references to these figures are explicit, rather than implied, and at times supported by direct quotes. Equal part San Fransisco travelogue and Lovecraftian fantasy/horror, I went into Our Lady of Darkness expecting a moody, vintage horror, but ended up being more enamored by its documentary-like depiction of place. The best way to consume Our Lady of Darkness is to read it with Google maps open, following along the protagonist as he uncovers the dark secret hidden beneath this Califronian concrete jungle. The relentless reference to real-life streets, neighborhoods, and landmarks not only adds a layer of chilling credibility (it can be difficult to tell apart what's factual and what's fabricated at times), but ensures the story is solidly rooted in San Francisco, and not just some surface-level, touristy name dropping in an agnostic plot. There are many things I forgot about but I really can’t be bothered to search my already bleeding brain for that.

It's very much a full cast and they all play their important role well, which is a credit to Melissa keeping all these characters so consistent and engaged with the plot. Whisked away to the Fire Court, Scarlett Monrhoe finds herself in the hands of the man who killed her mother. The Prince of Fire. Thrust amongst the Fae court she loathes, she is at their mercy. She doesn't know what plans he has for her, but she has plans of her own. She just hasn't decided how thoroughly she wants to break him yet. If only he didn't tempt her with every breath, every touch, every kiss. It's another dangerous game that has her wondering if she will be the one irreparably broken in the end.

There are more examples, these ones for me were kinda of the worst plot holes though. Oh, also, no man in this book (the four MCs and a rapist from Montenegro) don't have an issue at all with period sex. If nothing else was unrealistic, this takes the cake.In any case, for me this is pretty clearly horror and not fantasy. I could well be unusual in enjoying Fantasy literature but not really caring for either of its siblings but that is the case and it's the only condition under which I can judge my enjoyment of the book. I can't find the reference now but for some reason I was convinced that Rennison had also described this book as Leiber's 'best fantasy novel'. Well, I've already ruled that out and I'm afriad I'm not in a position to compare it to his other horror works.