What Lies Beyond the Veil

I was intrigued by this book but it left so much to be desired. It took until 30% in for the synopsis to even happen which is insane. I shouldn't have to read that far just for the premise to be set up. There was also major instalove that did not work for me based on the society in this book. I didn't even get far enough to really meet any fae which was disappointing.

I tried reading it but honestly, this book feel like a lower quality From Blood and Ash fanfic. At least in the beginning. I didn't get past the first 3 chapters.

This was just bad. The writing was bad. There were elements of this story that was too similar to other popular books. There was no plot. Just bad!

Another reviewer said it best. This is dark romance fantasy fae trash (in the best way).

The split between fantasy and romance is almost 50/50. A lot of typical fae themes but with key plot points that felt unique compared to other series. The twist at the end wasn't a surprise, I felt it was telegraphed pretty early on but that didn't take away my enjoyment of reading it.

Caelum and Estrella as characters don't have a lot of depth but the banter between them is fun. The most interesting thing about Estrella is the fact that she's marked. Caelum's personality is 90% being protective over Estrella, but those are my favorite moments in a romance so I didn't mind.

With the amount of fantasy books available you are going to have common themes between them, especially when set in a world with fae. This had enough differences that it feels like a different story.

The pacing is good. The cliffhanger is enough to keep me interested in reading the next book when it comes out, but not so big that I'm frustrated with the wait time.

Easy, fun read. Would recommend.

This is any enjoyable read if you can handle flawed characters. The authors writing style is also very descriptive and drawn out that makes this not for everyone and I think that's why there's so much backlash from TikTok.

This book frustrated me more than any book should frustrate anyone ever.

The world building and magic system were just a copy of that book we all know and love and the plot was so painfully predictable.They basically did nothing in the woods for about 300 pages, it was so so slow.

But the thing that frustrated me the most was that sorry excuse for a mmc. There was no way in hell anyone could think anything that man did was romantic. He manipulated her at every single turn, objectified her CONSTANTLY, and every time he opened his mouth, the most outrageous things were said.
There's this one time that she's crying about missing her family and the ONLY single thing he says to her is “I'm your family now”. Excuse me?????
And let's not even talk about “Little One”. Fucking ew Caelum.

Estrella's favorite pastime is having the personality of a twig and being a doormat to Caelum. She also loves defending him and ignoring every rational thought she could possibly come up with.

Also the jealousy between these two??? I love possessive but this book took it to a whole new level of criminal.
This relationship was beyond toxic with absolutely no chemistry.

Honestly I could go on for hours but this just about sums up my reading experience.