Would You Bind Your Life to a Criminal?
To The Gallows by Elizabeth Skarpnes
Published: August 26th, 2024, by Second Cup Publishing
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (3.75 stars)
Genres: Cozy Fantasy, Romance
Disclaimer: Thank you, Elizabeth Skarpnes and Second Cup Publishing, for sending me this book. All thoughts and opinions are 100% honest and my own.
CW/TW: Ritualistic self-harm/blood pact, death of a parent (off page), mentioned emotional manipulation, grief, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.
Marriage or Death
Eldridge Lorecaster is Athena’s most wanted criminal. On the day he is to be hung, Lorali Wynmar oversees his final blessing. However, from the dark land of gods Lorali is urged to save him. She has seconds. As the noose tightens around his throat, she invoked the ancient rite of a gallows marriage.
To appease the gods and survive the gallows marriage, Lorali and Eldridge are bound together for the next year. They grow on each other and become unlikely friends. But as their friendship grows into something more, secrets from their past come back, and they realise their lives were in twined long before they were bound by marriage.
Cozy Cottagecore
To The Gallows is a cozy romantasy that hooked me from the first chapter. Being of the cozy variety, there tends to be lower stakes and slower pacing. While this is true, the story still holds a lot of depth and deadly consequences. Even with all the struggles they face separately and together, reading about their relationship and feelings towards one another growing stronger was absolutely beautiful.
Mild Romance & Fantasy
I found To The Gallows to be soft on the romance and fantasy side of things and more focused on the characters and their growth. Although Eldridge and Lorali seem like complete opposites, devout cleric and a thief, they’re more like two sides of the same coin. Their beliefs align, but how they go about creating a better world differs is all.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this story and the characters. If you enjoy cottagecore and cozy fantasy or are fans of Tangled and The Prince Bride, then definitely pick this one up.
NOTE: I rated this 3.75 stars. Ratings are always subjective and I wanted to say that this is not a bad rating from me. It is so close to 4 stars, I personally would have enjoyed faster pacing and more fantasy elements, but I did thoroughly enjoy To The Gallows.
Authors Website | Amazon AU | Amazon US
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