Goal
32/27 booksRead 27 books by Jan 1, 2025. You're 8 books ahead of schedule. 🙌
Contains spoilers
WOW! I want to say I couldn't expect better after the first, but I was wrong. This one was even better! This one had me all over the place. Again, devoured. Nisha left no crumbs with this one again! I won't keep y'all too long, so I'll be quick.
First off, I want to thank Nisha, again, for gracing us with this wonderful book & second, for using words the readers want to read/see in sex scenes, especially in fantasy romance books. Those would be cock, pussy, clit, wet, thrust, back of throat, swallow. You got my heart!
This book had it all for me. A strong FMC & MMC. Tension building & building & building. Romance. A MMC obsessed with the FMC. Sex, spice, tension (again), regret. "Say you're mine." It was giving shifter/wolf mates AND I'm here for it. I'm here for it all. Nadir's so smart, too. He's actually very cunning to be plotting against his dad and coming up with plans. Only complain is I wish Lor would come up with more plans instead of looking to him or her brother, Tristan, but she does in the end. So I was happy with that. She does have very limited knowledge of the world, so it's understandable she is relaying on someone who knows the world more. The tension and spice between them is hot, hot, hot. That BJ had me looking like 🤤🥵.
The world was very intriguing! We got to know more about the different kingdoms & especially The Aurora. We also got to see some histoy of Serce and Wolf in parallel to Lor and Nadir. Let me just say, Wolf and Serce were hot & crazy. Wolf was bending Serce over that table, and I had to take a minute because I was squealing. I love a man that backs his woman. Even when she's trying to burn down the world. haha
Buckle in for a wild ride again with this one because very second is pretty crazy. I enjoyed every second of it. Am I happy about the ending? NO! I need more now, Nisha! I can't believe we have to wait til 2024. I'm waiting patiently for the next book in this series. It was finger-licking good, hunny.
Contains spoilers
WOW. Wow. WOW! When I say, "I want to read some Fantasy, High Fae, Romance, with Spice." This book was EXACTLY what I want. This will blow you out of the water! I love this book and it was a top highlight of 2023 for me! It is so well written, and so well weaved I felt like the ancient Greek Seamstresses were telling me this story. It was that good. I devoured this book! Let's get into it!
First off, I want to thank Nisha for gracing us with this wonderful book & second, for using words the readers want to read/see in sex scenes, especially in fantasy romance books. Those would be cock, pussy, clit, wet, thrust.
With a dedication like this I knew I was in for a wild ride.
For anyone who finds themselves driven by both love and rage.
Our main character, Lor, is an all-around bad-ass. She ate and left no crumbs in this book. The first line of the book is so iconic, and that first chapter had me calling two friends and telling them about the book. I was hooked to say the least. Lor has been through a lot, both physically and mentally. She's had to grow up in prison and that, along with her loving & also harden siblings), has shaped her into a truly brave and strong woman. I felt myself rooting for her every move and consistenly backing her up when she was telling someone off. Which was often & I rather enjoyed. It was very nice to see a hardened character taken out of that place and still have that trauma present. Not that I want Lor to suffer, but that upbringing and environment strongly shaped her as a person and it wouldn't have made sense to have her "all of sudden have healed trauma and forget about it all." I think she is a truly flushed out & flawed character. She makes stupid mistakes, but learns from them. She sticks up for herself and doesn't take shit from anyone. She knows who she is. I love reading about a woman who knows what she is and what she wants. She doesn't wallow in self-pity and "I'm so weak as a human". She continues to grow throughout the book and I loved reading every part of her journey. Did I mention she's older than 20? 24, darlings. FINALLY! & she drinks! She drinks to calm her nerves or after a long day. Finally a character that isn't looked down upon for drinking or characters that don't drink at all. She is amazing & the kind of women we need to see more of in these fantasy books.
The other characters... just as good! I felt myself telling off Gabriel and holding back from loving Atlas too much. I got to be hesitant with these first book men. The authors always swing something on us in book two lol. He was HOT, and loved Gold. So much Gold.
Was there sex? Was there spice? Was there tension? Was it actually good? YES! It had me looking around my room at one point, and I'm a 27-year-old living on my own. haha
The way my girl Nisha had Lor getting her coochie ate out. Girlll I was living for her!
We also meet the mysterious, Nadir. Let me just say all these Fae men are sexy. He's got some bad dad issues, but all very warranted if you ask me. Comes with the territory of an egotistical, power-hungry father. His sister, Amya, was just what a supportive sister should be. There to listen and go along with the plan, but call you out on your shit, too. Also, her style is top-tier! His parts are written in third-person and I loved learning more about The Aurora from his and Lor's perspectives. They are vastly different. One as a prince and the other a prisoner in the worst rat hole of a prison, at that.
Lor's POV is first-person, but the way it's written, you're getting all the action. Every detail. I have no complaints. I usually hate first-person pov, but this one was really good! Lor was lying to me the whole time, too! I felt betrayed at the end lol! I don't love the bachelor or competing for men, but I saw it as Lor did; a means to an end to help those she loves. I loved the trials, and how she found ways to get through them. The world-building was at the right pace. I was immersed and could keep up with what was going on. I'm excited to get the next book because I know we get to learn more about all the other rulers. We got a nice tasting at the ball, but I'm ready for more! Honestly, I love this world and the characters and it's just book one. Nisha killed it with this one! You won't regret picking this up.
Contains spoilers
So... This was not what I was expecting. I'm sure plenty of folks say that that have read The Cruel Prince Trilogy and then pick this up. I know it was set in Elfhame, but it just didn't feel like it. I was intrigued by the story. The monster in the woods and the prince in the glass coffin/case. There's just something about this story that feels so off it's hard to out a finger on it. I feel like reading the Cruel Prince, I knew it was YA going in, but it didn't feel like YA. I couldn't put it down, but this book, even being set in the same world, was so different, but not in a good way. This is classic YA. As a ripe 26-year-old, this was just not my cup of tea. Which makes me so sad when I loved the Cruel Prince, another YA by Holly Black. I feel like if I was 12 or 13 again, I would have liked this. Reading as an adult, I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at some parts, but being intrigued at others.
I liked the idea of the boy in the glass casket, and the story behind him and the monster in the woods. Hazel wanting to be a knight and Ben being gifted in music. These are all great concepts. Such a great start to a story about the Folk. It didn't take off like I would have wanted. We learn about Ben and Hazel's childhood through the book, other Folk secrets I won't describe, but the book felt so rushed. The end was wrapped up nicely, but there was so much to explore with this. We barely saw the Folk, or got to know our Prince. I'm not even going to sit here and front. I wanted to hear more about Ben and Severin, and even Jack. Their story was so much more interesting than Hazel's. Jack was always hungry. I want to know more about changelings. We hear about them all the time, but I'd have loved to follow his story and how years from now, if he's still living that human life or how he navigates in Faerie. I'd have loved to hear about Ben's story learning to play and control his music. The Folk he plays for or how he visited the High king & High Queen of Elfhame to play for them; what his life is like in Faerie with his lover. I would have LOVED to hear more about Severin, and his sister, Sorrow. To hear how he carries on after the end of the story, what he gets up to in his time or challenges he faces. What he and his lover may face in the future. I would love to read a story about someone else besides a human girl finding her way into Faerie. We've got plenty of them. Can we find some about the Folk and follow them instead? We've heard Hazel's story before. Multiple times. There was nothing special about her story. It was almost a mirror reflection of my girl, Jude, whose story was much better.
The kisses were rather annoying. They were all over the place, and very much YA. I can't complain about those too much. They felt very YA, and then some were rather... explicit. There was one scene where Jack's pants were low on his waist and then another scene where they were low again and he reaches down to button them back up. I'm not sure how to feel about them since Hazel is 16. We all know what teens get up to these days, but the book used, 'make-out' and other times 'hook-up', but they were really just talking about kissing. It was kind of hard to follow when the book started as PG and then kept veering left and then back to PG. Just something I thought was weird for this book.
There was adequate representation in this book. I love seeing black folks represented. Jack and Carter, and their parents were nice to see in this book. Do I love Jack's mom being described as the same shade as the bark on trees? No. I tried to liken it to the saying,"White as paper", but I don't think that's taken well either. Regardless it was nice seeing different humans in this book besides just white, and the Folk being a range of descriptions. Additionally we had some queer rep in here as well. Ben is gay and later we find out that Severin, our prince, loves him. Additionally, there are times when Ben thinks back to previous dates with boys or kissing boys. The longer I sit here writing this, the less I like this book... It wasn't good. I wish I had those hours of my life back honestly.
Overall the plot & characters were there. The execution was not even with so much potential. The same story as every other Fae book with a human girl and a fae MC. Very much YA. Will not read again or recommend. Nowhere near as good as The Cruel Prince Trilogy.
This was absolutely delightful to read! Like every fantasy book, the beginning of the book with all of the world building, magic system, etc., can be a little difficult, but I love the world Edwards built! It's such a cool concept, and I love the way it was explained. The real highlight of this story has to be the characters. Rune & Brandon (Brand) are the cutest, and I love their banter. Everyone should have a friend like Brand in their lives. Their friendship is so sweet and the love & understanding they have for one another is very clear. I loved getting to experience it. Rune has been through a lot as has Brand. Rune's trauma and experiences are mentioned throughout the book and it can be difficult to read. Addam & his brother, Quinn, are sweet, too! Addam is honestly a really great love interest that I didn't see coming, but I'm glad he's there. I loved seeing all three/four of them interact and they had me laughing out loud more than a few times. Max was a cutie too!
The plot and mystery was very good! When I tell you I had no idea who we were fighting and who was behind the kidnapping, I ain't lying. It was just surprise after surprise for me. Even with Rune and Brand being top tier investigators. It was full of action and so many interesting places. Overall all the characters were extremely well-written, and the world was just so much fun. I can't wait to see more of everyone in the next book! Highly recommend!
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