Death's Primordial Kiss by Romarin Demitri

Rose and Helaine are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out to initiate into the London Coven. They are best friends and have dreamed about getting in as the Water and Spirit witches. The only problem is, the positions open are Fire and Water. Will their friendship survive the tryouts? And if they make it into the Coven, will they be able to make it to coronation?

I've been really fascinated by witches ever since watching AHS Coven, and so I jumped at the chance to read this book. One of the most interesting things about this book to me is that it has a lot of discussions about the source of power and how it is channeled/handled. The different planes and dimensions of existence are mentioned, and the witches talk about where powers can be channeled from--and it's slightly different for each element. The way magic is handled in this book is very unique in my opinion. They do talk about "controlling it," but they also talk about elements "choosing" them. There are challenges/attainments to complete. This system of magic is very organized and incredibly rich. People can also have different abilities without being an elemental witch; there are other races such as Lusians and Spriggans that appear.

There were definitely some jaw-dropping moments in this book, and I feel like this book just got deeper and deeper. The relationships were well-written. The main characters had a wonderful friendship, and I found the POV changes to be helpful and insightful rather than annoying. The Coven members Maddi, Gregory, and Stan were all fascinating to read about, though I would have liked to know more about the two ousted Coven members (maybe in the next book?) I particularly loved the evolution of Rose and Stan's relationship. Like other reviewers, I am hoping they chuck their inhibitions and get together <3
I did like Rose better at first (I was rooting for her to get in as Water), but I can honestly say that I love both the main characters equally for their own reasons after reading the whole thing. Helaine was harder for me to relate to, but I ended up loving her storyline, and I am eager to see her succeed.

I often judge books by how they make me feel as I'm reading them, and this one was absolutely engrossing--it made me happy to read it. I got to the end and felt a surge a disappointment that the next book wasn't immediately available. This is a universe that I want to immerse myself in for sure! Great job, Ms. Demetri!

Preorder this book here: http://a.co/9JaLUiP