Shelved by 1 Litcadian
Reviews
Finished September 12, 2026
I received an arc in exchange for an honest review. AJ Merlin continues to hit the nail on the head for me with Melancholia. When I first read the premise for this novel, I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to enjoy it. However, once I started reading it, I was immediately hooked. A mortuary assistant who is haunted by “ghosts” that aren’t what they appear to be, and a deliciously dark love interest who has no desire to fix her? That’s exactly what I didn’t know I needed. The highlights of this one for me include (as always) the spice, as we got to experience a kink I haven’t read by Merlin before, a love interest who is incredibly patient and therefore all the more dangerous, and a delightfully sweet ending that didn’t, in my opinion, take away from the dark romance of it at all. Nell (Which can I just say, love the name choice) was a fascinating character. She’s very self aware, and very fucked up. I loved learning about her history as the story unfolded, and found her personal and verbal quips to be hilarious. Amir (whose name I also love) is equally fascinating but in a different way. Boy, is that man a walking red flag in all of the ways, but damn do I love him. He is such a good companion for Nell and the way that he treats her from day one is chefs kiss. Overall, definitely a 5 star read from me. SPOILERS BELOW: I especially loved that Amir spends the entire book asking Nell about her hallucinations. Should he be encouraging her? No. Do I think psychosis is a very serious and dangerous thing? Yes. Do I care in the context of a fictional dark romance where I expect all of the characters to be very fucked up? Absolutely not. The fact that Amir will stand by her no matter what makes me heart beat fast.