#grave flowers

[embalmedinmilk]

[holyghvost]

Our bodies in a common coffin while the seasons pass.

Source: X

[the-night-flovver]

𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞

[freckles-and-books]

Reading and loving so far 🖤🥀

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

A twisty, dark royalcore fantasy that takes the courtly intrigue of Hamlet and infuses it with the vicious ambition of the Boleyn family. For readers who love Holly Black and Sarah J. Maas.

This gorgeous hardcover edition features beautifully designed endpapers and a foil stamped case!

“A sumptuously dark tale of revenge and atonement that beautifully explores the ties both duty and family use to claim us. From the first page to the last, I was dazzled.” —Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child

Marry the prince, then kill him.

Princess Madalina and her twin sister, Inessa, were born attached at the hand and separated right after. That’s the only time the sisters ever held hands. The girls’ personalities have been shaped in the Sinet family’s drive to make their kingdom more than what it is: unrespectable and loathsome, a damp place where deceit fills the palace walls like mold. 

Madalina is different from her family. She’s considered the weak one and only finds peace in the garden, tending her magical flowers, which are pejoratively called grave flowers because they are ideal for torture and torment. Secretly, she dreams of escape and a new life. 

Then Inessa, who was betrothed to the heir of a wealthy kingdom—Prince Aeric—gets trapped in Bide, a terrifying purgatory, and begs Madalina to set her free. Now, not only must Madalina take her sister’s place as Aeric’s bride-to-be, but she also must finish Inessa’s secret mission: Inessa wasn’t just sent to marry Prince Aeric, but to kill him, too, and solidify a profitable pact with his traitorous uncle. 

On behalf of her family, Madalina will need to resist the infuriatingly clever prince—as well as her own heart—if she’s to free her sister and finish the job.

Perfect for fans of:

Enemies to lovers

Royal rivalry

Arranged marriage

Deadly games

Dark royalcore

Reluctant ruler

Bloodstained family

Review:

A princess sent to kill her new fiancee, a new twist inspired by hamlet, and just a fantastically poisonous and romantic story! This is the first book in a duology. It's the perfect mixture of gothic romance, tudor inspired, with a twist on Hamlet ( and as a hardcore Hamlet fan, this was just a delight for me). Princess Madalina and her twin sister Inessa are polar opposites, yet when her sister dies, her father sends her to replace her sister and secure the alliance and go through with the marriage... but there's a catch, she has to also kill her betrothed because his parents hired her to. Madalina knows she has to seduce Prince Aeric but he is nothing like she expects, underneath the drunken princely act is something else... someone who is on his own plan... and who's plans might have her reconsidering her own. Courtly politics, royal rivalry, and bloodstained families! Seriously this was just a great read, and it perfectly scratches my itch for royalcore romances that have a unique vibe. I can't wait to read the sequel and to see where these characters go!

Release Date: September 2, 2026

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Peachtree Publishing | Peachtree Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[daydreaming-bee]

Just started thinking about the DP Funeral AU but also with the twist of the Corpse AU!

Like would Danny just go: “ oh yeah my corpse is in those woods, I have no proper grave”

Or like maybe one day Danny is visiting his grave and doesn’t realize that some fan was following him. And accidentally led them to his personal grave and maybe these fans realize this and try’s to make like a whole memorial because they realize he probably never gets visitor at his gravesite.

Final note that popped into my head: if Danny buried his body wouldn’t there be flowers there… because of body decomposition… and maybe the flowers had a little ectoplasm in it… cause of the portal…

Just some random thoughts :)

[stormynoelart]

Portland, OR

Spring 2024

[lullabyeyes]