Tenderly, I Am Devoured

Gr 9 Up–In order to save her family’s failing salt mine and repay the family’s debts, Lacrimosa “Lark” Arriscane, 18, must marry the chthonic god Therion, one who is worshipped by her village of Verse. After being expelled from her school wrongfully, Lark feels her dreams and future are ruined, so she agrees to bind her life to the god, only being able to come home at the end of each salt harvest. On the night of the wedding ceremony, things go awry, and Therion disappears—and it seems like it is for good. But when Lark starts seeing things, losing time, and getting signs that Therion is still waiting, she forms a bond with her neighboring childhood friends, Alastair and Camille Felimath, to find out the consequences of breaking her promise to the god and along the way repair her relationships with the siblings she once held dear. Clipstone’s novel is filled with vivid imagery and done in a romantic style of writing that draws readers in with its lushness. Despite that, the mythology-esque plot is just so-so; readers won’t really connect with the characters well and the action never really peaks. That said, the story is unique and holds readers until the end, delving into the romance of Lark and the Felimath siblings.