Author: VE Schwab Series: Shades of Magic #1 Reviewer: Marlou
Summary
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”
I’ve been waiting a while to write this review because I just didn’t seem to be able to find the words. It didn’t look like a strong review if I just wrote asdfghjkl but that’s exactly what I was thinking.
Delilah Bard is a freaking gem. I love her. I want to be her. I want to date her. But alas, she is a free woman and no one is gonna shackle that one. Good luck to anyone who might try.
Here’s one of my favorite Delilah snippets from this book:
“I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.”
“I apologize for shooting you in the leg.” said Lila. “I was myself entirely.”
Kell is such a grumpy cutie and he also has a good sense of very sarcastic humor. Exactly the kind of humor I love.
“What are you?” she asked. “A monster,” said Kell hoarsely. “You’d better let me go.” The girl gave a small, mocking laugh. “Monsters don’t faint in the presence of ladies.” “Ladies don’t dress like men and pick pockets,” retorted Kell. Her smile only sharpened. “What are you really?” “Tied to your bed,” said Kell matter-of-factly. “And?” His brow furrowed. “And in trouble.”
A Darker Shade of Magic is a book all on its own. The story could very well be finished with this book, but lucky for us it was not! This book is mostly about Kell and Lila and I really like that. The world(s) itself and its magic (or lack thereof) is already complicated enough. With Kell and Lila being in the spotlight the rest is much easier to comprehend and the world-building is very strong in this book. A solid 4 stars.
In the land of Tarrkin lives four segregated clans. Humans with the capability of shifting into wolves on command as soon as they hit maturity at the age of thirteen. The clans are broken up based on color on their wolf’s coat; gray, brown, black, and white.
A rivalry between the black wolves and white wolves, a rivalry that has lasted since the beginning of time, is finally coming to an end. Binding the two heirs of both the Whitefangs clan and the Blackhearts clan.
Valenthia Percival is the leader’s daughter of the white wolves’ clan—Snowfangs. She is sent off to marry the Blackhearts, leader’s son—Ariston Armadyl. The treaty is to end their long-spanned rivalry and prevent a new war from erupting. This treaty holds the power to bond them together…forever.
For the first time ever, a white wolf and a black wolf are to have a child. As part of the treaty Valenthia is forced to marry her nemesis, Ariston, and bear his child. The treaty is to bring peace amongst them, but while in Blackheart territory Valenthia experiences nothing but rejection, hate, and conflict.
This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.
I follow EM Courier on Instagram (both her author insta as her bookstagram) and I consider her a dear friend. You can buy her book via Amazon but Amazon and The Netherlands don’t do well together so I was afraid I could never read her book. That would have been tragic. Em decided to send me the ebook and I promised her I’d give a well written review. So here goes nothing:
I enjoyed the book very much but it’s not my kind of story. I’m very picky of how wolves are written and EM Courier’s way is a nice way to see it but doesn’t fit with what I like. BUT I still really liked the book.
There were several moments that I was like HELL TO THE NO but everything would turn out alright in the end. Several people die and I did not like that at all. Okay, I liked two deaths. If you read the book you might find out whose deaths I’m referring to.
I gave this book 3.5 stars because it’s not my cup of tea but it’s still well written and suspenseful. Val is a badass, Dalna is amazing, Cronin is intriguing and Ariston can be as infuriating as he is handsome but I still love him.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
The Priory of the Orange Tree is everything I love about fantasy. The worldbuilding is amazing and the characters are well developed. Bonuses for LGBTQ rep and several women as lead characters. There is so much in this book (which is why it’s so long!). Even at 850 pages, there are no wasted words. Everything keeps moving toward the ending. The LGBTQ relationships were treated no differently than straight relationships; they are part of the world just like everybody else.
You get a full belief system from three major cultures, politics shaped from those beliefs, love, betrayal, and so much more all under the threat of the Nameless One returning to destroy everything (or save the world, depending on what you believe).
The character arcs are great. I loved when some characters traveled to other locations where they hold vastly different views or when characters learned new information that challenged their core beliefs. You could feel the characters struggling to justify or adjust their beliefs based on these interactions.
There are many plotlines to follow as the characters are in various locations with very different beliefs and cultures. The beginning can be a bit overwhelming due to the number of characters, beliefs, and locations that are introduced, but I quickly got the hang of who was where and what their current goal was.
While I didn’t like all the POV characters, I loved most of them. I fell in love with Ead right away and she probably gave me (and a couple of the characters) the most stress. She began as my favorite and remains so after finishing the book. I love her determination and how she focuses on doing what she believes is right. She also doesn’t care for court manners, which puts her in conflict with some other characters.
I love how everything wrapped up at the end while leaving room to return to this world and characters. I would have gladly continued reading just to inhabit this world for a little longer. I really hope there’s a plan to have more books set in this world.
Author: Sarah J. Maas Series: Throne of Glass #7 Reviewer: Marlou
Content Warnings
Violence, Torture, Depression, Death, War
Summary
Aelin has risked everything to save her people―but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…
With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they’ve gathered to battle Erawan’s hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation―and a better world.
And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen―before she is lost to him forever.
As the threads of fate weave together at last, all must fight, if they are to have a chance at a future. Some bonds will grow even deeper, while others will be severed forever in the explosive final chapter of the Throne of Glass series.
This book tore my heart out, gave it back, shattered it, glued it back together, and then burned it to smithereens, never to be seen again.
I have never cried while reading a book. Thanks, Kingdom of Ash, for ruining my perfect record. And thanks, Sarah J Maas, for writing such an amazing book. SJM managed to make me cry, it can’t get much better than that.
“You do not yield.” Don’t mind me, I’m just bawling my eyes out. What a perfect line. It’s right along the lines of “I am Celeana Sardothien and I will not be afraid,” and yet so much more.
Yes, the book was lacking in several places. Unnecessary things were added and necessary things were deleted. It wasn’t a great serie finale but it was still an amazing book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Let’s talk about the characters since this was the last book of the series and we’ve met a great deal of people:
Rowannnnnn: He shall always have a special place in my heart. *insert multitude of love eyed emojis* Dorian: I’ve loved you from those very first lines: “‘It’s clear that you respect me, Duke Perrington, but it’s a bit unnecessary to put such effort into forcing Celaena Sardothien to have the same opinion. You and I know very well she has no love for my family. So perhaps your intent is to humiliate her.’ He paused, and she could have sworn his eyes fell on her face. ‘But I think she’s had enough of that.’ He stopped for another moment, then asked: ‘Don’t you have a meeting with Endovier’s treasurer? I wouldn’t want you to be late, especially when you came all this way to meet with him.’” Chaol: I didn’t like him, at all…That changed after reading Tower of Dawn. He’s still not one of my favorites or even close to second but he’s alright. Aedion: Wasn’t impressed at first, but he started growing on me. Eventually I started to really like him, but what I like most of all is his love for his kingdom. He’s as fierce as any lion (see what I did there). LYSANDRAAAAAA: As you can obviously see, I love this chick. Didn’t like her in Assassin’s Blade (but hey, who did?) but omg, Lysandra for the win! My favorite form of hers is her Ghost Leopard form. Manon: I didn’t like her chapters in Heir of Fire. I wanted to skip them. Glad I didn’t. Manon is for me the character with the most character development. Gosh, I love her. The Thirteen: a badass group of ladies that will always be friendship goals. Nesryn: EMPRESSSSSS BADAAAASSSSSSS Sartaq: Oh boy… what a darling… and such a flirt *waving hands frantically because ooh la la* Yrene: “For wherever you need to go – and then some. The world needs more healers.” YAAAAASSSS GIRL YOU MADE IT! Elide: DAYUMMMM you tell him darling, don’t take his BS, don’t be afraid of anyone. FENRYSSSSSS: oh my lovely boyo. I love him so much. He deserves the world. *insert squealing fangirl* Lorcan: You smol baby bean…You can go to Perranth with me. *winks with both eyes* Gavriel: You amazing dad. Aedion loves you, you know…almost as much as I do. *hugs him tightly* And last but definitely not the least: AELIN: fire-breathing-bitch-queen/ fireheart/ Elentiya/ Lillian/ Celeana —it doesn’t matter what name she goes by, she is amazing. Aelin will forever be my favorite character of the Throne of Glass series and one of my favorites from any other book. *applauds for the Heir of Brannon*
I have definitely not mentioned all the characters but my review was getting long enough. Kingdom of Ash was an amazing book and will have a special place in my heart. Thank you, Sarah J Maas, for such an inspiring and lovely series and such an amazing series finale. This book will stay with me for a while.
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.
This book was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Fall in love, break the curse.
We’ve got ourselves a main character with cerebral palsy! We’ve got ourselves a cursed prince! We’ve got ourselves some good banter! And last but not least we’ve got ourselves a relationship that actually builds up properly! YAY!
Okay fangirling aside, this book was lovely. The only reason I gave it four stars is because it’s not my kind of book. This year I’ve been reading some retellings and I’ve noticed that I never give more than 4 stars for them simply because I don’t like to know the ending before I even begin with the book.
A Curse so Dark and Lonely is a spectacular Beauty and the Beast retelling (way better than ACOTAR if you’d judge that book as a retelling, which I didn’t so you’ll find a higher rating for ACOTAR, don’t judge me 🙂 ). I started the book not knowing how many pages it was. I received the e-arc from Netgalley and read this book because I’d been putting off the books I got from Netgalley which isn’t fair. Finding out that this book is 500 or so pages was hilarious. It did not feel like 500 pages at all. I flew through the pages of this book so that means the writing was excellent!
Harper is freaking amazing. Bluffing her way through Emberfall and impressing everyone who meets her. Gosh, I love her.
Rhen is so great, too. I thought he was way too manipulative at first, but now I quite like him.
Scary Grey was a nice addition as well. Loyal to a fault, yet also not afraid to have his own opinion, do things his own way.
Author: J.R. Ward Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood Reviewer: Marlou
Content Warnings
Violence, language, graphic sex (smut)
Summary
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other—six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.
The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.
This review is about all the Black Dagger Brotherhood books.
Dark Lover
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Okay, I freaking love Wrath. His good friend and ‘brother’ gets blown up and leaves behind his half-breed daughter. Instead of ignoring his friend’s request to take care of her, Wrath does exactly that, he visits her to offer his protection. Only when he gets there, he falls head over heels for her. Beth turns out to be an amazing female who can take care of the brothers of the brotherhood. She’s caring and loving and everyone loves her from the first moment they meet her (me included).
Lover Eternal
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
RHAGE YASSSSSS. Gosh, I love him. He’s like a super cute puppy, only huge with purple scales but hey details… I loved this book a lot, I was disappointed to see much less of Beth and Wrath, but Rhage more than made up for it. Mary is amazing too. Not everyone can deal with a male that can turn into a freaking dragon, but oh Mary has that dragon wrapped around her finger, and Rhage would like her fingers wrapped around his… I’ll remain decent and not finish that sentence.
Lover Awakened
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Yes, hello, can I order one fuzzy blanket to wrap Zsadist in, please? Thank you. Gosh, that male went through a lot and deserves the freaking best. He found Bella, so he gets pretty damn close. This book was more intense than the previous ones. But that came as no surprise because Z is just very intense. Bella is such a precious female, loving Z despite everything (he was a total dick to her). Bella and Z are so cute together and wow I’m having serious heart eyes here.
Lover Revealed
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
This book was hella different than the rest. It still had plenty of smut and badass males and females. BUT it was also centered around a human who turned out to be not so very human ;). I like Butch, definitely when he’s with Rhage and Vishous, and he was surprisingly fun to read about. I didn’t like Marissa in the first books, but in this one she grew on me. She’s still not half as interesting as Beth, Mary and Bella, but I’m not hating her like I used to.
Lover Unbound
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
A book about my favorite grumpy, smartass vamp? Sign me up! Throw in a super smart female that won’t deal with his misogynistic bullshit and is all for the BDSM Vishous seems to prefer? Hell yeah, I’ll read this! This book was really good. Why only three stars then? There was something missing and I won’t go higher than 3.5 stars for smut books since there is much less worldbuilding and storyline than that my epic-fantasy-ass is used to. Jane and V are a very interesting couple to read about and V is just one of my favorite character, so yeah, three stars.
Lover Enshrined
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
This book was very slow and boring, especially compared to the other books in this series that came before it. Phury has never really caught my interest so I already didn’t have high hopes for his book. While I could have been wrong, I wasn’t. Cormia is boring and kinda a crybaby. There are plenty of pages I just skimmed over to get to the good parts.
Lover Avenged
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Suddenly I found out that there’s a book about Rehvenge, Bella’s brother, and I didn’t know if I was excited about it or if I wanted a book about the main gang. Turns out Rehv is a very interesting male. Ehlena wasn’t very interesting, but the storyline in this book was, so it more than made up for it.
Lover Mine
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Would you look at that—John Matthew gets his own book. And it’s freaking boring. The relationship of Xhex and John still doesn’t make sense to me and this book was just… meh. John is brother Darius, back from the dead with a new face, and no one finds out. Not even in all the books to come does anyone know that it’s their old friend that’s been sitting across from them at the dining table. What the heck is that about?
Lover Unleashed
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
V has a sister?! YAY! Payne gets badly hurt, needs a doc to fix her, falls in love with the doc, they have mind-blowing sex… This book got a little too cheesy for me. There also wasn’t much focus on the vampires. Manny decides to work with Jane to patch up the brothers from time to time and, in this book, they suffer severe wounds and without Manny they might have lost someone to injury. Now, that was a scene that kept me on the edge of my seat, and that’s why this book gets 3 stars.
Lover Reborn
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Thor gets his own book after losing his shellan (wife) and has to find love with someone else to save his beloved? Yeah, I’m not a fan… Ward’s writing and the fact that she always gives another character a story arc aside from the couple it focuses on saved this book, but I would have give it maybe 1.5 or 2 stars if she hadn’t done that.
Lover at Last
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
QHUINN AND BLAY! QHUINN AND BLAY! SAY IT WITH ME!
Can you tell I love my bisexual sex addict and redhead gay dude? *Heart Eyes* Oh, these boys make me swoon alright. They make me believe in love. Oh gosh, I still can barely type entire sentences, because I’m so excited about these two.
The King
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
YAASSS THE KING AND QUEEN WHOOO! Beth wants a kid and Wrath doesn’t want to put her in danger (Vamp pregnancies are very dangerous). And, wow, I just loved this book. I love Wrath and Beth’s relationship. They’re so epic together. My excitement is getting the better of me so I’ll finish this mini review with: asdfghjkl.
The Shadows
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Why does this book exist? Gosh, this put me right to sleep. I speed read this book and skipped a lot. I just skimmed over the pages in the hopes in finding something interesting, but no, nothing there.
The Beast
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT RHAGEEEEEE! Can you tell Rhage is my favorite? My baby is having panic attacks and he doesn’t know why or how to stop them. Turns out the big puppy has too much love in that big heart of his and wants a kid who he can shower with love. One problem, his lovely Mary can’t have kids… But they find a way, they always do. This book was freaking cute, but also had me seriously worried for Rhage and Mary. Definitely deserves 3.5 stars.
The Chosen
Rating: 3,5 out of 5 stars
I thought I was totally gonna fall asleep with this book—just like I did with The Shadows—but I was happily surprised! The Bastards are very interesting to read about. Layla was freaking badass. And everyone else has quite the role in this too. This book was incredibly well balanced and a very enjoyable read!
The Thief
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
The threat of the Omega and the lessening society seems to become less and less, but our favorite vamps cannot rest just yet. A new evil rises and wears the face of an old friend. Yep I’m hearing you thinking “well shit.” Now, lovely readers, that’s exactly how I felt throughout this book. When I finished this book I realized there weren’t any more books to read and I felt the withdrawal coming on fast. I can’t freaking wait to read the next book.
The Savior
The Savior’s release date is April 2nd, 2019. Here’s the synopsis:
A vampire and a scientist’s fates are passionately entwined in a race against time in this thrilling romance in the #1 New York Times bestselling “utterly absorbing and deliciously erotic” (Angela Knight, New York Times bestselling author) Black Dagger Brotherhood series.
In the venerable history of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, only one male has ever been expelled—but Murhder’s insanity gave the Brothers no choice. Haunted by visions of a female he could not save, he nonetheless returns to Caldwell on a mission to right the wrong that ruined him. However, he is not prepared for what he must face in his quest for redemption.
Dr. Sarah Watkins, researcher at a biomedical firm, is struggling with the loss of her fellow scientist fiancé. When the FBI starts asking about his death, she questions what really happened and soon learns the terrible truth: Her firm is conducting inhumane experiments in secret and the man she thought she knew and loved was involved in the torture.
As Murhder and Sarah’s destinies become irrevocably entwined, desire ignites between them. But can they forge a future that spans the divide separating the two species? And as a new foe emerges in the war against the vampires, will Murhder return to his Brothers… or resume his lonely existence forevermore?
There’s no surprise that this team loves YA fiction. We read it. We talk about it. We follow it on social media. And, sometimes, we just don’t see enough attention cast towards our favorites. Or at least we think there should be more.
Here are several books that we here at Dream Read Repeat feel need a little more love.
The Young Elites
Author: Marie Lu Picked by: Marlou
Why should more people read this book?
Simply put? Because it’s awesome!
The villain is the main character but she’s not really a villain but just a girl who’s always been treated awful and decided she didn’t need anyone in her life telling her what to do. She thinks she’s a hero and that she is saving her country from a corrupt ruler. It also has a very interesting magic system that has always stuck with me even if I can’t quite remember the details of the story anymore.
For people who like…
People who like Shatter Me will like this trilogy!
Time travel, a love story (or three), a World’s Fair with a serial killer! This is a great start to an energetic series. Each book in the trilogy advances the overall plot to stop the end of the world. It gets better and better with each book.
For people who like…
People who likes the straight forward and demonstrative writing styles of Marissa Meyer, Brendan Reichs, or Marie Lu or if you like anything time-travel-y will enjoy this series.
Fast paced enemies to lovers story where Rouen, the dark Fae princess, is under a Contract of Blood and Bone to kill all fair Fae sleeper-princesses. The problem? Syl is the last sleeper-princess and they kind of have feelings for each other. Dark Fae and fair Fae are also supposed to be mortal enemies, but they can change that, right?
Syl Skye, newly crowned Queen of Fair Faerie, would be psyched to be the ruler of her Summer realm, except for two things.
First, her girlfriend Rouen Rivoche became Queen of Dark Faerie, the Winter realm. That would be great except the Winter realm’s always been at war with Summer. By tradition, that makes Rouen Syl’s mortal enemy.
That said, love can break past old hatred, right? Especially with a new foe about to attack them both.
Ah, no.
Which brings us to Syl’s second problem. Rouen’s under a dark spell and doesn’t remember Syl, their lives, their love. Worse, if Syl doesn’t break the spell by the next new moon, Rouen will forget her forever.
To defeat their foe, it’ll take two soul-bound queens whose hearts and minds act as one. Trouble is, no one has ever broken the dark spell Rouen suffers from.
Good thing Syl isn’t the type of queen who gives up easily.
This series owes me many hours of sleep, and this book is no exception. I strongly recommend dedicating a couple hours to read in one sitting because there is honestly no good place to say “Okay, I can stop here and come back later.” There is so much tension! (Make sure your device can handle when you will inevitably tighten your grasp while reading.)
If Syl and Rouen’s problems weren’t enough on their own, the dark Fae kids return to help…or cause havoc. Or maybe both. That Chuck E. Cheese scene! 😂 Rouen defending the dark Fae kids against unfair gaming machines. 😂 The new characters are also great (sounds like Laguna may make a return in Nemesis). We also get Glamma’s point of view a couple times!
You will find yourself smiling, laughing, hoping, and dreading what happens next. Now I need a time machine to take me to September because ROUEN!!! 😭😭
Being a fairy princess isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially when you have to choose between saving your people…And killing your girlfriend. Oh, and let’s not forget having to pass summer school, too.
Talk about a hot mess.
First, there’s Rouen, princess of the dark Fae, goth-rock star Euphoria, and soon-to-be senior at Richmond Elite High. Her world is all things ice, snow, and death. And that death will include her own people unless she can defeat her evil father in a Battle of Wits and War and seize the throne. Trouble is, taking the throne is a death sentence for the princess of the fair Fae. In other words, a quick death for Syl, Rouen’s girlfriend.
And that’s so not good.
Second, there’s Syl, princess of the fair Fae, geek girl mathlete, also an incoming senior. Things aren’t any easier for her. Syl must save her people by battling her old nemesis, the fair Fae prince, and the same rules apply: taking the throne means a death sentence for the other court’s princess, Rouen.
Even worse, Syl and Rouen’s enemies have figured out they’re in love. Now, both Rouen’s father and Syl’s archenemy are teaming up to ensure neither of them makes it till Midsummer’s Day—never mind the fall semester. Looks like passing summer school is the least of their worries!
The action doesn’t really stop in this one – it’s one problem after another. We see Syl and Rouen grow in their relationship and as Fae princesses. Be warned: you will need the next book immediately after reading this one! (It’s currently scheduled for release in September 2019.)
Rouen and Syl have to juggle summer school, their relationship, and saving their Fae realms, which happen to be on a collision course thanks to the Convergence they set in motion. The two are pulled against their will into their respective realms. This shows us a different side of each character since they’ve previously been able to rely on each other but they must tackle these problems independently since they cannot communicate across the different realms, even with their soulbond.
They struggle to come up with a plan to save both realms only to have others interfere and ruin their plan. Through it all they discuss their relationship and its priority with all the chaos going on. Even with everything and everyone telling Rouen and Syl they must destroy each other in order to become Queen, they keep fighting to save both of their realms. This is one of my favorite things about the series – no matter the odds or the challenges, Syl and Rouen always push back against what they are expected to do in favor of doing what they believe is right.
As with other books in this series, the action rarely slows so it was a page turner, especially near the end when everything comes together.
For eighteen-year-old Rouen Rivoche, being a fairy princess isn’t about fancy parties and happily ever afters.
Rouen’s people are the dark Fae whose powers of lightning, thundersnow, and all things Winter make them cold, severe, and 100% intolerant of rebellion.
Too bad being a rebel is in Rouen’s blood.
Against tradition, she’s teamed up with Syl Skye, the sleeper-princess of the fair Fae—a mortal enemy who Rouen should want to kill but only wants to kiss. Plus, to be with Syl, Rouen’s masquerading as a glam goth-rock star and human high school student. Honestly, Rouen doesn’t think things could get any more complicated.
Then, she discovers she must become Queen of the Winter Court or all her people will die. No pressure.
Now, dark forces are amassing in the Winter Court, turning Rouen’s people against her and blocking her path to the throne. Even Syl with all her powers of white flame and Summer can’t stop this new kind of evil.
Because betrayal cuts close when it’s someone you love… and now it looks like Rouen’s going to be dethroned before she ever becomes queen.
This is my favorite novella in the Circuit Fae series so far. We learn so much more about UnderHollow – the politics, races that live there, and of Rouen’s father, the current king. There is a larger focus on Rouen in this novella, and that’s definitely a plus for me! Rouen finds herself fighting her father for the crown, with the court divided on who should rule. Rouen ends up in prison with kidnapped dark Fae children while her father is slowly killing Syl (because he, of course, does not approve of his daughter dating a fair Fae princess).
Dream Read Repeat 