Luxuria

I really enjoyed this book overall. I liked all the characters, the romance was sweet, and the sex was hot. Ophelia was a goddamn mood and she's my favorite brand of “roll with the punches” heroine. She embraces the new life she's been thrust into with kindness and grace and doesn't cling to her old life. Honestly, with a wet dream like Allerick as your husband, who wouldn't abandon their corporate job for being Queen of Shades. I'm also a big sucker for plotlines where a new queen has to win over her new people/save their world. Would have been nice if Ophelia had left the palace at some point to mingle more with the shade people, but oh well.

All that being said, I took off a star because miscommunication trope! UGH! I don't mind the occasional “can't say I love you” miscommunication shenanigans that usually happens in romance. However, I have a problem when the first half of the book is one big misunderstanding. Basically, the shade monsters can smell Ophelia's emotions, and they all think her "sweet" smell means that she's afraid. Nope! Ophelia is just a certified, grade A monsterf*cker and is hella horny for her new monster husband! Of course, because Allerick thinks she's afraid of him, he makes no moves until he finally finds her monster art about halfway through the book. They could have been having sex much earlier! I feel cheated.

Anyways, I'm excited for where the second book takes us! I feel like Astrid and Soren are going to have a very different dynamic from Ophelia and Allerick, but hopefully it's just as good!