Society girls from New York City circa 1890, Dacia and Lou never desired to know more about their lineage, instead preferring to gossip about the mysterious Romanian family that they barely knew. But upon turning seventeen, the girls must return to their homeland to meet their relatives, find proper husbands, and—most terrifyingly—learn the deep family secrets of The Claw, The Wing, and The Smoke. The Florescus, after all, are shape-shifters, and it is time for Dacia and Lou to fulfill the prophecy that demands their acceptance of this fate… or fight against this cruel inheritance with all their might.
I thought this was okay for the most part. The ending was done really well, though. I just never felt excited to read this book because I found I wasn’t that invested in the plot. For someone who has never been to Romania (referring to myself), I did think the book did a great job of portraying the country and its culture through the eyes of 2 late 1800s rich American tourists. The setting was brilliant. The 2 girls, though…and this might be on me…I couldn’t tell them apart. In each POV, one girl would refer to the other as demure or not confident and needing protection. In reality, both girls were independent, stubborn, spoiled, and more. It’s just…they were the same character with different names in my opinion. The character work in general was good but didn’t capture my attention, same with the prose. Overall, this was an average read for me with a couple of great moments.
