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Innamorata
Ava Reid
It has been several days since I finished the absolute masterpiece that is Innamorata, by Ava Reid, and I am at a loss for words.
I have never read anything like this book before. Weaving pitch black darkness with hauntingly beautiful prose, Ava Reid has sent me into a major reading slump and left me aching for more.
The story, at its core, is about hope – but also the inherent tragedy of love and living. It follows several ancient houses of former necromancers in their attempts at political gains, love, and power. Despite the very obvious differences in our backgrounds, I really related with the main character, Agnes, as she was thrust from the life she knew into a very different environment and started to question everything she thought she knew.
I fully enjoyed every character arc over the course of the book. Ava wove in so many characters, creating a complex yet sheltered community behind the castle walls. Not a single character remained unchanged and I am not kidding when I tell you I would read even the driest biography about Waltrude, the castle’s ancient wet nurse.
Through multiple points of view, Ava Reid presents an intense gothic political fantasy with themes of love and hate, despair and hope, and nature vs nurture vs survival and power.
Innamorata is packed full of references to the epic poem Orlando Innamorato, Shakespeare, Tim Sheppard, Poe, T.S Eliot, niche historical people and events, and probably so much more that I missed. I can’t remember the last time I so excitedly began deep diving history, poetry, plays, and more in the hopes of further understanding my reading experience. (I even found a free copy of Orlando Innamorato to peruse later.)
I absolutely loved the commentary on society and the good, just people who are complicit in the harming of others.
Also… I don’t want to give anything away, but the moth garden was such a fascinating detail that will stay with me forever. The beauty of Agnes’s interactions there, as hope began to bloom, healed something in me I didn’t know was hurt.
This book is not for the faint of heart. I have a decently strong stomach when it comes to reading, and there were several intense scenes that had me physically cringing. I will include a list of content warnings below** but I’d like to note that while the topics in this book are grotesque, gorey, and unsettling, Ava Reid doesn’t merely include them for shock value. Each piece is included as a stark commentary on humanity and our intrinsic inner battle between what is good and what is learned, and what we will do for power or survival. It’s also a love letter to the strange and the Eldritch, the unusual things our minds do and our bloody history.
This is the first book I’ve read by Ava Reid, but it will not be the last. I’ve never read something that so intimately combines beauty with horror, or political intrigue with hope. Innamorata will definitely remain one of my top reads of 2026, perhaps even for life.
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Innamorata releases March 17th, 2026.
Thank you to Ava Reid & Del Rey/Penguin Randomhouse books for the gorgeous giveaway copy.
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**Content warnings:
Mentions: Suicide, self harm, child brides, sexual abuse, pedophilia, infant death, infant cannibalism, necrophilia
Intense descriptions: Torture, blood, gore, general themes of death & dead bodies, consensual sex
The Midnight Review 