Ava Reid has a talent for blending fantasy romance with grotesque horror to create beautiful and dark stories. After loving Juniper and Thorn and The Wolf and the Woodsman, Ava Reid became one of my favorite fantasy authors of 2024. When I saw her next book, Innamorata pop up on Netgalley, I knew I had to get it.
Innamorata is a dark gothic fantasy set on the isolated island of Drepane that was conquered by an outside nation. The story explores colonialism, toxic codependency, and doomed love.
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Title: Innamorata
Author: Ava Reid
Series: The House of Teeth #1
Genre: High fantasy, gothic horror
Publisher: Del Rey
Pages: 560
Audiobook length: 22 hrs 22 min
ISBN: 9780593722596
Content warnings: death, murder, violence, gore, blood, torture, injury/injury detail, child abuse, self-harm, fatphobia, infertility, infidelity, necrophilia, misogyny, sexism, sexual assault/violence, cannibalism, body horror, death of parent, pregnancy/traumatic birth, colonization, rape, suicide, adult/minor relationship, war
Blurb
Once there was an island where the dead walked the earth, and seven noble houses ruled by the arcane secrets of necromancy.
A conqueror’s blade brought them low, burning their libraries, killing their lords, and extinguishing their eldritch magic.
But defiant against the new order stands the House of Teeth and its last living members: beautiful Marozia, the heiress to the House, and her cousin, the uncanny Lady Agnes.
Though she has not spoken a word in seven years, Agnes is the true carrier of the House’s legacy. And she has her orders. She must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her family’s fallen honor. She must arrange the betrothal of her beloved cousin Marozia to Liuprand, heir to the conqueror’s throne, for access to the forbidden library in his grotesquely grand castle.
Revenge burns in Agnes’s heart but so do stranger passions—and it is Liuprand, the golden prince, who speaks to her soul. This passion is as treasonous as it is powerful, poisoning the kingdom’s roots and threatening to tear the already shattered realm in two.
For Agnes’s final order is the gravest: She must not fall in love.
Review of Innamorata
- Format: ebook
- Pacing: slow
- Plot or character-driven: character
- POVs: third-person multi POV
- Representation: m/f romance, sapphic side characters
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me a free copy in exchange for review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.*
I typically love Ava Reid’s books, but Innamorata had me feeling truly conflicted. Reid tends to write very vivid, gory scenes, so it’s little surprise that a book by her about colonialism and necromancy would get grotesque fast. There were a few scenes that for me went too far with the details and shock value. I came very close to not finishing Innamorata.
The second thing that makes me pause before giving praise to Innamorata, was the emphasis on conventional attractiveness, youth, and thinness in the main characters in contrast with the villains. The king’s appearance and gluttony in particular were emphasized in all of his scenes. Although this is typical of classic gothic novels, for a modern book I expect more unpacking/challenging of harmful tropes.
Otherwise, Innamorata is an extremely interesting gothic tale that unpacks the horrors of colonialism and oppressive power. The plotline is very slow burn, which allows for a lot of complexity in character development. There were multiple points throughout the book that I was surprised by the characters. Innamorata is the type of story where no character is allowed to be good for long. Part of the horror was watching as everyone was slowly corrupted by power or the pursuit of it.
Most of the conflict in the story is political, so as expected, there is a large cast of characters. Even taking a break in the middle of reading the book, I never had trouble remembering the characters, even those that served minor roles. Ava Reid has a talent for creating memorable and distinctive personalities. Having such a large and interesting cast made the political conflict much more interesting. By the end, I couldn’t point out a single main villain or hero. To me, Innamorata is a story about power, and the evil people will do to gain or keep it.
One of my favorite dynamics in the story was between the main character Agnes and her cousin Marozia. Agnes and Marozia were raised unequally to serve different purposes in their grandmother’s schemes. Although they are very close at the beginning of the story, there was always an inherent corruption to their relationship. I especially liked that we never get Marozia’s perspective, so her character was always a bit of a mystery.
If you enjoy horror with really grotesque and vivid imagery, Innamorata is a great book with a lot of depth. I am not sure if I will read the last book of this duology. I am very curious to see where the story goes and have high hopes for the continued development of some of the characters. However, this series may be too dark for me to continue.
You’ll like this book if you enjoy…
- Gothic horror
- Grimdark fantasy
- I’ve seen Innamorata recommended to fans of Game of Thrones. Though I haven’t read or watched GoT, I imagine the political intrigue and passionate yet toxic relationships in Innamorata will appeal to fans of the series.
Where to find Innamorata:
Have you read Ava Reid’s books? Let’s chat in the comments!
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