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After the last Faerie Civil War, the leaders of the magickal pantheons stripped the shining Seelie Court of its power and tasked the dark Unseelie Court with maintaining the natural balance of the world. Ages later, a twisted intrigue throws the balance of all Faerie into ruin and ignites a new civil war. Discounted by his family and haunted in the Unseelie sidhe, Queen Mab’s youngest son, Lugh, leads the Wild Hunt on quests across the dangerous Wylds. At his side is his best friend, Keiran, a Viking rescued from death centuries earlier. Between Lugh’s uncanny gift for being in the right place at the right time and Keiran’s power of persuasion, they’re revered across the Wylds—as long as Lugh keeps his true identity hidden from the people of the Sluagh. Keiran and Lugh have loved each other for centuries—as friends and brothers in arms. Lugh has long since put aside his romantic love for Keiran to protect their friendship. But with the looming war in Faerie and the ghosts of the dead dogging Lugh’s every move, Keiran realizes there may be room for romance between them after all, if only they can survive. Rallying the Sluagh to fight in the looming war between the Seelie and Unseelie seems an impossible task. To achieve it, these childhood best friends will have to free Lugh from the restless souls haunting him and turn the tides threatening not only their growing love, but the balance of life and death itself. This book is approximately 103,000 words One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
Series
3 primary books4 released booksThe Darkest Court is a 4-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by M.A. Grant.
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The third and final installment had a bit of a different feel, taking place outside of the Sidhe, and focusing on the Slough - the magic-less residents cast out of the fae courts into the Wyld when they split centuries before. Kieran is a human brought into the sidhe by Lugh, the youngest son of Mab. He's also the bearer of a magic belt gifted by Mab that turns him into a raging bear, called a berserker in the book. The book takes a lot from Nordic lore and Kieran himself is alluded to be of Viking blood.
I felt that the characters maybe weren't as developed or as interesting as the previous books. Kieran and Lugh have been the main parts of The Hunt of fae lore for centuries before this book takes place so it doesn't have the same strangers-to-lovers plot the first took books have so doesn't have the same tension. We don't really know why they two haven't admitted their love, though Kieran seems to have some apprehension because of Lugh being a prince. Nothing a single conversation couldn't fix.
It was interesting to learn more about the Slough people and the events that were occurring concurrently with the second book, but I felt overall that it just didn't have the same quality of development.