TENDERLY, I AM DEVOURED

A girl enters into a marriage contract with a god to save her family.

Eighteen-year-old Lacrimosa “Lark” Arriscane expects to graduate from school and step into a curator position at the gallery housing the works of her favorite painter. She never imagines that instead she’ll be expelled from Marchmain Academy, sent away from the city and back to her seaside hometown of Verse, where her brothers run a salt mine. But her family’s troubles have only just begun; the mine is failing, and Lark’s brothers owe a steep debt to the neighboring Felimath family. When Lark learns she can save the mine and her brothers by agreeing to marry Therion, the chthonic god her family worships, she barely hesitates. But the betrothal goes horribly wrong, and Lark must form a fragile alliance with the Felimath siblings, Alistair and Camille, childhood friends with whom her relationship has soured. As the three delve into myths and mysteries, Lark’s romantic connections with both siblings begin to bloom. Clipstone’s dreamily romantic writing can be gorgeous, and this moody folktale is well imagined. There’s a lot of missed potential, however: Some underdeveloped plotlines slow the narrative, and vague characterization prevents the emotional beats from landing. Still, the unique premise and skillful prose may keep readers engaged. Lark and her brothers have olive skin and “hair and eyes the color of honey”; the Felimath siblings are cued white.

Though bold and atmospheric, this high-concept story never achieves liftoff.