Ophelia is a necromancer who has to enter a deadly competition and survive the nine levels of hell to find her sister. There, she makes a deal with Blackwell, a phantom, to help her survive the competition. 

The narrator of this book was phenomenal. I want her to narrate every single book I read. All of her voices and accents were convincing and so well done. This book wasn't necessarily the best book I've ever read, but it was such a good time. I blew through this audiobook so fast. I didn't love that it was in 3rd person.

Ophelia is a necromancer with OCD. I appreciate the way that the author talked about the reality of OCD and the different ways it can effect a person. It is very complex and can present itself in so many different ways. For Ophelia it presents as a "voice" in her head that is constantly belittling and threatening her. 

I really liked the banter between Ophelia and Blackwell, they had so much chemistry. 

I really enjoyed the story up until the last 1/5 or so. I found the ending very confusing. When we went back in time to see how Blackwell ended up at phantasma, I felt like it wasn't explained very well and I didn't really understand what was going on. I had to jump on tiktok to have somebody explain to me what was going on.

We find out the Blackwell is actually Salem, the Prince of Hell. He was banished to phantasma because he fell in love with a mortal. His lover was killed but her soul was reincarnated in Ophelia. The line of women in her family was entrusted with a locket, a heart with a key inside, this locket is what what will free Blackwell from phantasma..

We are left with a bunch of unanswered questions in the end, but hopefully they will all be answered in her sister's book. 

Tropes: forbidden, deadly trials, forced proximity