Tag: book-review

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

13+B

This book is one I have wanted to read since Red Queen (honestly changed my brain chemistry and my shelves forever!) and so in true bookish fashion it has sat on my TBR for just long enough for me to get really worried I wasn’t going to enjoy it – but I did!

It was the Damsel book club read for February and so it will feature more details than usual mainly because I cant stop typing!

This is a gorgeous huge world that follows a large cast full of different characters on a physical quest and I honestly felt like any of them could have been the mc and from a single POV and I would still have 100% been there for that!

I love that the leading men had a conversation about grief and loss that was frank and open – we need more vulnerability and exploration of this in books – and not to a love interest. So many books have the love interest equal the therapist and it was so nice it separated from that!

There are a lot of different POVs and they are all in third person so I am not entirely convinced there needed to be that many especially when most of the companions were travelling together but I adapted to the format by the end of the book and cant wait to pick up the next two (I downloaded them instantly they are on Kindle Unlimited but I may need shelf trophies too!). This is a slower pace than Red Queen and focuses on a classic fantasy quest with several enjoyable twists and a romantic hint of a subplot instead of a high action dystopian revolution romance which wasn’t quite what I was expecting but I did enjoy it!

A little more on the characters (some not all and I could rant forever about these characters but here are five of them!) because they are the real driving force behind this book despite the solid plot!

Corayne an-Amarat is a pirates daughter who has never been to sea. That perspective of being the daughter of Hell Mel, of facilitating hundreds of illicit trades and doing everything she can to support a ship and crew that she will never be a part of was honestly heartbreaking. I need more of her – yes she is closer to the usual protagonist than the others but that is for a reason!

“Your blood is born of spindles, of distant realms and lost stars. You want the horizon, Coryane of Old Cor. You want it in your bones.”

Andry is the first character we meet in the prologue and as the usual main focus of the book (a young male squire trying to protect his mother and save the world) I was worried it would overfocus on him but it was nicely balanced! He was just adorable and had some of my favourite quotes!

“He doesn’t belong here with us, as much as he tries to. The end of the world is no place for Andry Trelland. He doesn’t deserve it.”

Dom is immortal a prince and wrestling with a loss and grief that his culture has no experience of. As the companion of Corayne’s father who dies in the prologue throughout he is absorbed with the idea of honouring him as well as comparisons with Corayne. I really enjoyed how Victoria Aveyard wrote it that he changed from seeing Corteal in her to seeing herself.

“Sorrow touches us all, Lord Domacridhan, whether we believe in it or not. It doesn’t matter what you call the things ripping you apart. It will still devour you if given the chance.”

Sorasa – the assassin mc I always love! She feels a little like Celaena Sardothian only more muted from her experiences! Throughout she is the character who knows what they are doing. the one who makes calculated decisions because this quest isn’t as close to her emotionally as the others. With her connections and her insane combat skills I would read a whole book of just her!

“The Amhara has great need for those who can pass unseen, and who is more unseen to men than a woman?”

Erida of Galland – I love her. I just love the character the complexity and the sheer frank honesty of her character which is hidden behind a calculating mask. I need more details of her I need a book from her perspective because she would usually be cast as the villain or the obstinate unprepared child queen but instead Victoria Aveyard makes her into the most stunningly complex character despite only a few chapters featuring her!

“History gorges itself on women raised high and then brought low by men grasping for power. I will not be one of them. I will not lose what my father gave me. I will make it greater”

VA has delved into a completely different genre here – this is epic fantasy, this is quests, this feels like classic fantasy I fell in love with in the beginning of my readers journey. If you compare it to Red Queen then it just cant because they are completely different genres.

This review is becoming overly large so let me continue to the star ratings and wrap this up!

World – 5/5 – As a fantasy reader who hates underdeveloped worlds – what do you mean you only have one location and no description?? – then VA hit me with the perfect world. it feels tangible and like I could chart it on a map!

Plot – 3/5 – I struggled with the plot a little. It starts of rapidly with action and adventure and then dips a little in the middle focusing on the characters before it picks up again when they visit Adira and from then on I read it in one sitting!

Characters – 4/5 – its tricky with such a huge cast to get a real feel for the characters as we are rapidly introduced to them in short succession however I do feel like I can differentiate between them and they are all very different. Let me just say that Sigil and Charlie’s relationship and introductions were just perfect and I love them so much!

Romance – NA – some crushes and flirting but the focus is on the quest not the romance.

Content Warnings: Nothing you wouldn’t expect in a high fantasy world – violence, death but nothing outside of the violence rating given! There is a scene where the current POV speaker expects to sleep with someone out of duty but it doesnt happen.

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Academy of Villains by Ever King

Thanks to Net Galley and Ever King for this ARC! All thoughts and views expressed are my own!

13+B

I had high hopes going into this book I love Greek myths and assassin mcs which can sometimes make it harder for a book to impress me but

I loved this one!

We have a dark academia world full of little Greek myth details interwoven into a background of power and secret societies and I was captivated.

A dual POV of Kiera and Lucian sweeps us into a world that is similarly split between mundanes and mages, rich and poor, oblivious and oppressed. Kiera’s detailed focus on the mission at the beginning soon expands into wonder as we see through her eyes the magic but also corruption of the world! I really really enjoyed Lucian’s interactions with the Raven Society – often the mcs are alone fighting a war they are unsupported in but Lucian has the support from his peers allowing him and Kiera to split of taking one part of the quest.

The celestial magic of Kiera was honestly my favourite part of the book. I love love love the backstory of how the witches were persecuted and how that magic that some mages wielded in a slightly altered form was also persecuted and in the end it was almost completely wiped out and with it Heartstrings. The idea of fated lovers/fated mates can be a really hard thing to integrate with a relationship because it takes away the choice but Ever King neatly avoided this by showing the Heartstring was potential not binding and it grew as they trusted each other more! I could keep gushing forever but I need to move onto the star ratings!

World – 4/5 – when it was marketed as throne of glass x harry potter with Greek myths I was expecting it to be a darker gritty retelling of the love story but instead the world completely surprised me with the freshness. There are little Greek myth elements but the world has also drawn inspiration from dark academia, witch/mage grimoires and the idea of a society where the upper class have no idea that the lower class is suffering. Any YA book which is set at a school seems to be compared to Harry Potter and I can see why but I would definitely say that in my opinion it leans more into the romantasy academia than that series or Throne of Glass.

Romance – Smokey Romance/Fade to Black – 4/5 stars – I often have to be convinced of enemies-to-lovers. It is a much loved trope and I get it and love it when done well (I think all of my greatest loved books which have this trope are closer to the rivals-> lovers, ignorance of different experiences-> love or forbidden love which is actually very close to this books romance!) At first I found Lucian enigmatic and it was difficult to get a feel for how he interacted with Kiera and what I thought of that!  Obviously she tried to kill him so that does put strain on the relationship at the beginning but I was convinced by the end that he was without a doubt a book boyfriend to add to the long list!  

Characters – 4/5 – I liked the characters a lot, we had the assassin mc (a favourite of mine), a royal love interest (another favourite of mine) but where this really stood out was that Lucian was supported by other peers that didn’t just exist to reflect his power back at him. Lucian was never presented as the most intelligent of the group or the clear overlord or the most powerful despite being the leader and I really enjoyed all of their interactions!

Plot – 3/5 – The plot seemed to become the romance by the end (I know it’s a romantasy) and we do get the final fight scene and the quest but I feel like there are a lot of loose threads that I cant wait to see be picked up in the next book like the orbs and Edmund shifting in his seat at the mention of heartstrings???

Content Warnings: Self Harm (on page, brief, no detail), Panic Attack, (on page, brief), death of parent.

I feel like I have barely stepped into this rich world and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

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Galdoni by Cheree Alsop

13+B

I just love this world – honestly this trilogy is one I never tire of. I reread it and reread it (sometimes back to back) and it always holds up. We have a dystopian America, perhaps a few hundred years ahead where scientists have genetically adapted test tube babies into winged humans.

Originally designed as military scouts, the Galdoni have too much of the animal need to survive to be successful to the governments plan. The Galdoni are taken by the Arena a gambling corporation focused on entertainment. Told they are fighting for their place in the afterlife and raised in a harsh training environment manned by guards with whips the Galdoni have no idea that their lives are bringing the American government and corporations millions.

However activists have pushed hard enough that the Galdoni have been released into society – including our main character KL426. Beaten up in an alley during the first chapter and left to die by angry gamblers who lost money on fights KL426 (later called Kale) is rescued by the children of a doctor.

In a family environment for the first time KL426 begins to reveal the true nature of the gambling facility and what they do to the Galdoni inside there. Society has been told they are no more than animals but as Kale interacts with the family and especially the eldest girl Brie it becomes clear that he and the rest of his race are just as human despite their horrific upbringing as the rest of the world.

And then the Arena starts hunting them down to begin the fights again.

Plot – 10000/5 – we have everything I want in dystopian in a deceptively simple plot and as the rest of the trilogy continues we get more and more depth on this world that ignores basic humanity in favour of profits (it’s a little close to the bone when I put it like that) but I would 100% recommend it.

World – 10000/5 – I love it! Winged Gladiators in a dystopian world that is still recognisable is something I didn’t know I needed but I absolutely do.

Characters – 5/5 – From Kale our mmc who we follow as he learns about the world outside the Arena to Brie and her little sister to the found family in the doctors children I love it so much.

Romance – Soft Romance – Brie and Kale are so sweet and they may be my favourite dystopian couple just for the humanity in their relationship. Brie has her own past but neither hers nor Kales interfere with their budding relationship.

Content Warnings: Death, Violence, Gaslighting, Domestic Violence, Gladiatorial Battles, attempted Rape and assault, Suicide

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books set in Another Time

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the Broke and Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl where bloggers are given a prompt that is usually a list of ten bookish things.

Todays prompt: Books Set in Another Time (These can be historical, futuristic, alternate universes, or even in a world where you’re not sure when it takes place you just know it’s not right now.)

1 – Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce (historical fantasy)

2 – Temanarie by Naomi Novik (historical)

3 – Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (dystopian)

4 – Twelfth Keeper by Belle Malory (dystopian)

5 – Changeling by Molly Harper (victorian/dystopian)

6 – Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okrafor-Mbachu (sci-fi alternate world)

7 – Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (alternate world)

8 – Galdoni by Cheree Alsop (dystopian)

9 – Roaring by Lindsey Duga (roaring twenties with magic)

10 – The Time Hunters by Carl Ashmore (set in literally everytime from ancient Greece to modern day to dinosaurs)

Special! The Wycherley’s by Annaliese Avery (regency/futuristic) which is coming on the 22nd of May!

All links will take you to the full review with an age rating, expansive content warnings and the Damsel rating system so you can be delighted with your read and not stumble into any unwanted violence or spice!

If the book is not linked then the reviews will be coming soon but all of these recommendations are YA and no spice however some of them are more violent than others so do check when the reviews are put up!

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Fierce Heart, Tara Grayce

13+

Usually when I go back for a reread (especially when I reread it within a year) then the plot doesn’t captivate me as much, but this one completely did. It feels so soft the plot and everything happens and then nothing but so many details and little emotions are worked into the whole world that you are never bored for a moment.

Elsie and Farrendel are in an arranged heavily political marriage between two countries that have been at war and in a country that is on the precipice of a much larger one. They don’t have the insta-love/attraction that I always struggle with in political marriage books, they understand each other and move slow. The exploration of cultural differences as well as the aftermath of war on people is really well explored but it is rarely heavy because we always have the hope of the new alliance and romance.

These series isn’t a rapid paced whirlwind so you get to know the characters which is especially important as later on in the series the POV changes. In this first book we get a real sense of the hope on both sides – no one wants war and so these two very different people from different cultures and life experiences are going to do everything they can to make this work.

World – 5/5 – classic fantasy, elves and humans and trolls yet fresh. It almost feels like a historical Victorian novel in places and then we revert into the very fantasy world of the elves. The juxtaposition between the traditionalist long lived elves and the Victorian feel humans shows just how the two kingdoms are so different but yet need to come closer to survive.

Plot – 4/5 – it is very much the wider plot, we have a lot of time we are playing with here over the series and a lot of war that happens before. But I was never lost and I was 100% there throughout all of the plot moments.

Romance – 5/5 – it is somehow the focus and not of the book, it is very sweet and slowburn while still giving us those deliciously sweet moments in places.

Characters – 5/5 – they are so realistic that sometimes I cant figure out how I feel about them. All of the characters are distinct and yet this hope binds them all. And they are reassuringly mature – well the mc’s are, the court is another thing entirely. It feels like it steps away from a YA fantasy romance into something that floats between and could be enjoyed by any young adult or adult adult looking for a fantasy read that steps out of tropes and delivers on all counts.

Content Warnings: violence, PTSD (pretty low in the first one but does increase as the series continues), ableism (as a country, Tarenheil is obsessed with surface perfectionism).

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The Twelfth Keeper by Belle Malory

13+B

The Twelfth Keeper is another example of dystopian fantasy, but the opposite of Red Queen. A world that is perhaps only 500 to 1,000 years in the future. This means we still have recognisable government structures but Earth is at a tipping point in its history. Because of interactions with other planets, Earth has been told that they have ‘keepers’ twelve destined children who are all born within four years of each other who will protect earth. Seen as essentially military celebrities housed up in a military space station the people of Earth have no idea of the powers that both the keepers have and that are threatening earth.

 We get introduced to Kennedy who is trying on her sisters clothes and makeup, something which marks her personal progress as later on in the novel and then the series, we see her become her own person. She is personable from the start as we go with her for the mandatory vaccinations, and her fear of needles. She doesn’t believe that she is the Twelfth Keeper, a protector of the earth, and is stubborn to the point of near death in holding her own opinions. She does not want to be a hero but everyone around her expects her to be the most powerful of them all, the other keepers have been waiting for years for her to arrive. She holds her family close (and they have a really sweet relationship which is always rare in fiction) and only goes to train because her family are paid for it.   

Characters – 5/5 stars – Kennedy is so personable, I think I already used this word, but she just brings such a realism to an otherwise other world. Phoenix I took a bit longer to grasp but I do love him.

World – 5/5 stars  – I just love it we have a mix of sci-fi, fantasy and dystopian that combines into a world I will always remember. With new technology and yet still similar world structures as to now it really highlights just how much dystopian is the way of commenting on corruption.

Romance – 4/5 stars – Sweet Romance – Phoenix and Kennedy have a rocky beginning, but it is explained and makes you understand more about how growing up in a government department in space has formed his character. The romance is slightly more prominent in this than some other reviews i have given but nothing out there, just a few kisses and cuddling. My one peeve with the romance is the age gap, Kennedy is sixteen and Phoenix is twenty and this is just pushing it a bit far for me but I can overlook it because everything else is so good.

Plot  – 5/5 stars – because we are launched into this world alongside Kennedy who doesn’t know what is going on but knows what she believes we get a really lovely viewpoint on the plot. Clues are constantly going on around her, but they are often for books far later along and also Kennedy isn’t sure what is important. This is a new world to her and people expect her to do things that she doesn’t think is possible. The plot is fast paced with lulls letting us absorb more of this gorgeous world.

Things to be aware of: There is violence, and threat throughout 3.5/5. there is a lot surrounding drowning and how Kennedy is triggered heavily by that and how she suffers after. Genocide. A little bit of subtle racism in places.

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Waiting on Wednesday: The Wycherleys by Annaliese Avery

Thanks to Net Galley and Simon & Schusters for this e-ARC and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own as always!
Pub Date: 22nd of May, 2025
Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK Childrens  
Genre: YA Fantasy, Witchy.
Age Category:  YA

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that originated at Breaking the Spine but has now linked up with Waiting for Wednesday at Wishful Endings. It is always a fun chance to display books that are going to be joining our bookshelves very soon in 2025!

The Wycherleys by Annaliese Avery

13+

This was such an unexpectedly sweet book with a really distinct narrative style and plot. Centered around multiple Sabbaths in the first debutante season of Aurelia Wycherley this had the feeling of a dystopian read and of a subtle regency influence.

Reading a book where the heroine knows what is expected to happen to her, and even knows that she will be shunned from society even further than she already is when her seasons are over could have made the book more of a darker read. However while I felt it did dip into exploration of what happens if you are the exception that slips through the cracks of an otherwise heavily organised society the romance kept things light and warm (I don’t know if warm makes any sense but Nightly and Aurelia just radiated it).

The romance was just right for me and I loved how Aurelia was willing to let Nightly go, she wanted what was best for him despite her feelings. Often this leads to the miscommunication trope but their relationship didn’t stumble down this path. We had a relationship as well, the relationship of their ancestors hundreds of years earlier and how Heston Nightly had cursed Mathilde.

A lot of witchy academia/regency/Victorian reads end up becoming either quite dark or very fluffy but this balanced it nicely. It feels in the same genre to Changeling by Molly Harper, just a more romance focused and less political.

There were a few loose ends I wanted to see wrapped up that didn’t quite – I don’t know if a sequel is being planned?? But despite that it was a really enjoyable read that I would 100% recommend if you want a slightly lighter romantic but still fantasy read!

World – 5/5 – I really like this mix of current/almost alternate reality dystopian and regency witch academia. The three seasons to find your ‘tether’ was a really interesting link to marriage in the regency times and how if you didn’t find one or  high society didn’t deem you suitable for marriage then you were increasingly ignored.

Plot – 4/5 – it felt like it wandered a bit in places mostly because Aurelia isn’t just dealing with a new romance and mystery here she is dealing with the loss of her magic and future. However I wholeheartedly enjoyed it and we got a masquerade ball (I do love those!) and other society events which framed the romance and desperate situation.

Characters  – 5/5 – I love Jules Nightly, his focus on saving his sister, on protecting her from society and how devoted he is to her wellbeing is just the sweetest fictional sibling relationship ever. I also loved Evelyn (his sister) and her interactions with Aurelia were always really enjoyable!

Romance – 4/5 – Sweet Romance – so gorgeous. When a book is marketed as enemies to lovers I am always a little worried that I wont like the dynamics of the romance (often they can stray into a little toxic) but this one felt more like rivals to lovers despite the familial history between the two.

Content Warnings: a little fantasy violence, murder (nothing on the page).

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I have Never Reviewed

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the Broke and Bookish and now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl where bloggers are given a prompt that is usually a list of ten bookish things.

This weeks prompt was –

Books I Never Reviewed (Share the titles of books you never reviewed on your blog/tiktok/insta/etc. and if you liked them or not!)

Okay so this was actually a really easy prompt to start (and a really hard one to finish I could keep going forever) because I have just started and there are sooooo many books that I haven’t reviewed yet. I am going to tweak the prompt a little to SERIES that I haven’t yet reviewed or finished reviewing.

  • Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce – I love Tamora Pierce’s world so much and I am much due a reread of her series!
  • The Twelfth Keeper series by Belle Malory – the final book is out! It came out late January and my fyp didn’t think to tell me this until I randomly looked it up (i have been waiting for this book for at least three years) and its out! So reviews are coming for the whole series and the new book Until the Sun Rises!
  • All of KM Shea’s Magiford series and the individual trilogies – this is sweet clean paranormal fantasy with a new couple every trilogy (I have my favourites but honestly they are all five star couples).
  • Three Dark Thrones Series by Kendare Blake –  (and the prequal! Which is on my TBR as well as a complete reread of this epically dark fantasy).
  • Kirenmala and the Kingdom Beyond by Sayantani DasGupta – Indian mythology, vibrant worlds and a really cute demon prince this should have been reviewed by me before but I am 100% digging it out later for a reread.
  • Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger – I have only reviewed the first! I have read the rest before but now I am going to go back and revisit them (I can barely remember all the complexities of the plot!) and this time review them too!
  • Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – only reviewed the first one which is a travesty because this series is honestly in my top reads of all time and I am always thinking about it so I should have!
  • Eragon by Christopher Paolini – I haven’t reviewed any of these books but I really am going to because he was the author that got me into fantasy and dragons and without this series I would not have so many cluttered shelves of epic fantasy! I also got the illustrated edition that I need to show of so a review for this is definitely coming.
  • Elven Alliance by Tara Grayce – currently on my third read of the entire series and there is a new book coming out so I need to catch up on all my reviews for then!
  • Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – again only reviewed the first book but I am going to buy the series in paperback for my third reread (I originally read them on Borrowbox) and then reviews upon reviews and book lists are coming.
  • Galdoni by Cheree Alsop – this whole trilogy is just gorgeous (and she has written another sci-fi book that I also loved!). We have winged gladiators, a sweet romance and a beautiful exploration of the best and worst of humanity, even if the protagonists are regularly told they are less than human. Reviews are coming!

This is more than 10 now so I am going to stop now but this post really reminded me of all the reviews and books I want to share with all of you so its now a 2025 goal to review all of the books on this list!

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The Sleepless by Jen Williams

Pub Date: 22 May 2025
Publisher: Macmillian Children’s Books
Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance
Age Category:  YA

13+B

Such a good read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all of its little fantasy elements mixed in with an original but yet familiar mythology and god based magic system.

We start with a prologue five years earlier that introduces us to Elver. Elver was sacrificed to a sea serpent (yes we have sea serpents and a Queen Serpent) when she was twelve but the Queen of the serpents filled her blood with poison. Flash forward five years and Elver has been living feral in the woods surrounded by fellow jih because her touch is poison to anyone.

We then get introduced to the Sleepless – people who have two souls inside them and when one goes to sleep the other wakes up. It is a very Jekyll and Hyde style situation but neither of the souls have any control over it. The Sleepless are kept inside a monastery guarded by archers because their secondary souls are a danger to society. Artair/Lucian was just perfect and honestly I need more double soul love interests in my fantasy reads because why not?

Artair gives us the good dutiful love interest and Lucian the dark wild one and they share a body so Elver isn’t quite sure when she is dealing with whom. All of the characters were so well developed (I loved the twisty god Tisk) and even the villain has fully developed reasons which by the end we can not only understand but kind of support (at least I did).

Characters – 4/5 – 1000/5 for Artair and Lucian, they just reflect each other so well and I love that we get both love interests.

World – 5/5 – The world never stumbled! We had so many different locations (a physical quest allows us to see lots of the land) and I love the wild woods and then the busy town and how we see it through Artair’s naivety and Elver’s cynicism.

Plot – 4/5 – It was rapid paced in the beginning and then slower as we understood the complex world and how the Twelve gods ruled over it. And the twist at the end!

Romance – 5/5 –  Soft Romance – love it! It was less of a focus than I was expecting but I am 100% hooked for the sequel.

Content Warnings: violence, mentions of child death.

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The Storytellers Tale by Judith Bouilloc

Thanks to Net Gallery + Rivka for this e-ARC copy! As always all thoughts and opinions stated are my own.

13+B

I went into this expecting a sweet romance but this book was honestly amazing. I loved it from start to finish, it was quick paced but we also had lots of details and plenty of different characters. It was attually translated from French, and I was concerned that maybe some of the text might not run as smooth but there were no stumbling blocks!

Our main character, Illiad (can I just say how much I love that name?) is honestly the perfect mc for this book. She almost floats through the world, gathering words and books along the way. She is self confident, she knows her own power and I loved that. So many books have heroines learning about their power but Illiad already knows her power and it is just what she chooses to do with it!

The world of being a snatchwords (someone who can read words and they come to life in illusions) set against a truly historical (but with flying deer!) fantasy set in France with lots of true classics mentioned was just so good. I – the world is incredible so complex but then so graspable from page one because we understand the societal undercurrents of power.

It almost reads as a ‘if the French Revolution hadn’t be necessary’ narrative which I loved exploring and this is definitely an unexpected find – that should be all over Bookstagram, it is gorgeous – and it is just gorgeous.

I have said gorgeous several times now so I’ll go to the star ratings

World – 10000/5 – deceptively simple but we have so many different elements that I can rethink over and redefine and wonder what might happen in the story from another persons perspective if it continued. Also Babel? Libaries? Magic surrounding libraries? You know I have to read it.

Characters – 4/5 – I really enjoyed them, especially Virginia – Illiads sister/lawyer/activist. She avoided all the pit falls of a powerful older sister archetype and just glowed throughout the story.

Romance – 4/5 – Soft Romance (definition on the link through). When Advil was first introduced I thought he was going to become the stereotype of the grumpy x sunshine trope but he had more layers than I was expecting and seemed to actually care for the world around him in a way that is often missing from this character type. Their romance was warm but it also had all the tense moments and a flying deer and an arranged marriage and a previous engagement (Illiad’s) so gorgeous.

Plot – 4/5 – it was entertaining, it moved quickly and I wasn’t bored for a second. I do wish that it had a little bit more development of the aftermath of the ending but it is a fantasy romance so the romance deserved the limelight a little bit too!

Content Warnings: SA (someone kisses the mc without her permission) that is what the B is for, a few mentions of suicide/poison/manipulation. Also a bit of ableism, the mc has lost vision in his right eye and several people think he is unattractive (including the FMC in the beginning) I wasn’t sure if this was because of his injury or dislike of his reputation but thought it would be worth a mention if that would be triggering for you. She does see him naked accidentally but it isnt sexual so i just thought i would put that in.

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