I really loved this, I tandem-read the audiobook and the physical copy, and I think it made me love it even more. I went into this not expecting a romance at all, but I found it really added to it (even if the age difference made me a bit iffy). I would highly recommend you read some trigger warnings online before reading this though, it does get into some gritty and dark topics at times.

The magic was expansive but also fitting for this setting (and for a standalone book). It had enough explanation to make sense but also left a lot up to the reader's imagination. I believe this is also helped by the fact that we are mainly in Luiza's POV, and she doesn't know fully what her powers can do. If the book was in Santángel's POV more, I believe that this would have been an issue as he does know a lot about magic, him being, I believe, centuries old.

Both Luzia and Santángel were great characters, and you could feel the connection growing between them during the book. Both were very distinct yet also felt very similar in some ways. Even for the side characters like Víctor and Valentina, I felt they had great arcs, Víctor getting his deserved end (cause bloody hell he was a prick and a half) and Valentina finally getting what she wanted in the end (no thanks to her husband).

The only bit I did not enjoy was Hualit, but I think it's more because I didn't understand her fully than anything else. Even still, I found what happened to her sad and felt pity for Luzia when it was revealed.