Innamorata Was Unhinged
I was curious from all the discourse around this book so I picked it up and was taken for one of those jerky dark disney car rides. I haven't read a book quite like this one but I haven't read much gothic horror. Innamorata was inspired by Boiardo's innamorato and Gormenghast. I've read neither of these. It's a grimdark gothic horror with a side of tragic forbidden love. All the characters are nuts and have issues. The ending was crazzzy unhinged Spoiler: >!surprise graphic necrophilia then ending on a magic baby now growing in her dumped dead body that no one knows about!<.
I have a few thoughts:
The overzealous use of metaphors really bogged down the story. They often didn't make sense, weren't clear that they were a metaphor at first and not current action, and at times it was like the author couldn't pick which metaphor to use so she just used all of them.
It took way too long to realize 'leeches' was the title of a doctor, not actual leeches. It needed to be capitalized or better explained. This was super confusing for a while.
The romance was insta-love and I don't know why the FMC and MMC loved each other so much. I'm guessing it was due to woo woo soulmate stuff that was briefly mentioned.
It's supposed to be fantasy with necromancy magic, but there's none of that in the book. Just talk of magic.
The brief selective mutism was funny because Agnes would just stare at people like my dogs when they want something and are convinced I'll be able to telepathically read their mind.
The different houses weren't explained. Do they each have their own magic abilities? What kind? Do they have their own rituals? What is their history?
The crazy cannibal guy plucked off the street late into the book seemed to serve no purpose other than to be weird and force the final scene into motion. Kinda the same with the maid. The cousin just found her sexy, I guess?
The original premise of the plot with the grandmother and trying to reclaim her family's fallen honor seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth shortly into the book. There was no revenge in this book despite the summary.
It had a lot of typical romantasy elements haunting the background of the story, while not being a romantasy. It was weird.
I hope book 2 is some silent hill-like spooky revenge nonsense with way more magic involved. And the author brutally edits the metaphors and repetitive verbiage. Did anyone else read this and like it, or not like it?