Spencer

I'm a sucker for this kind of plot and this was done so well. Airón was an enjoyable MC (I can be picky with MC's). And I thoroughly enjoyed his character. I normally stay away from first person, but that didn't even bother me because the book was enjoyable and the story was good. Despite being short, the story was well paced and there was good exploration of the world. Tallu (the LI) had the right amount of mystery and you generally get to like him despite not knowing what he's thinking or his motives. I've already preordered the second instalment! 

I loved this book so much, I honestly didn't want to put it down. I love Prince Cylvan so much, this ethereal High Fey Prince who loves human mythology and annotates his books and isn't as scary as he/everyone thinks he is. And Saffron is precious, I just wanted to wrap him up in blankets and give him a cup of tea and access to all the libraries in the world. Definitely adding the next instalment to my tbr list!! This series is likely looking to end up being one of my favourites. 

I did prefer the first book, slightly more. But only slightly. I'm a sucker for the trope of “lying to protect the other” and this book was full of this and I loved it. Cylvan and Saffron remain to be a top tier pairing and I love how this book cemented that they are soulmates. And I love how Saffron is bumbling his way into his own power. Cylvan is a top tier character for me, I want to dissect him and pull him apart because I love him. I love how all of the characters are well fleshed out and how the world is being built on and expanded. Adding the third instalment to my tbr list, hoping to read it either next week or the week after. Like I said in my first review, this is likely going to become a personal favourite series of mine.

This is the second Ben Alderson book I've read and I gave that three stars too. I think I might just be a personal taste issue with the author. One of the big issues I had with this book, was it was too short for the story. I feel like a lot of it was underdeveloped and rushed because of the word count. Even a hundred or so more words would have developed it more. And (spoilers) but I kinda got the ick from the Jak having the same name as the deceased lover of the Marius. Especially because the LI is three hundred years older. I had a hard time believing that the Marius would have loved Jak if he had a different name. And then the sudden switch up at the end where they both have the urge to rain terror onto the town despite Marius spending the book hating his “monstrous” side. I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if it had been more fleshed out.

One of my favourite book series, and I'm going to be so sad when I finally catch up with the series with the next book (and I enter the wait for the next one). And as soon as I get a stable living situation, I will be treating myself to the physical copies.

I love how despite having a different setting to the first two books, it didn't feel clunky or odd or weird to have it set in a totally different and new place. It felt authentic and the world building they've done is top notch. 

And the characters are amazingly written as well. Cylvan is probably one of my favourite characters of all time and Saffron is maybe too relatable. And their relationship is honestly beautifully written. There was a character that made big waves in this book and I honestly hate him so much (and that's probably the point). I just want him to suffer. 

And also possible redemption and character development for a past villain? I love it. 

I honestly can't recommend this series enough. If you need a fae romantasy fix, this series is for you. 

I enjoyed the book at the start and then it kinda went off the rails a bit. I found most of the deaths to be unnecessary if I'm honest.

I have no idea why Arlo would find Faenir attractive after he just straight up murdered his previous lover, and his previous lovers parents. And then when they finally got together, it felt rushed. It relied too much on exposition. Like the author had to get from point A to B so they did it hurriedly. 

The death of May and the servants felt necessary like it was there just for shock value. The entire mass extinction of Faenir's family at the end of the book just felt unnecessary too. Like you've got these interesting characters who've not been expanded upon or went into detail with and you just wipe them out as a “surprise they're all backstabbers evil”? I honestly agree with them all. Faenir should not rule. He's shown no leadership qualities whatsoever. 

It just felt rushed and underwhelming and underdeveloped. Like it was a first draft.

I knew this would be bad before getting into it. It just felt like it was gratuitous violence and abuse for the sake of it (and shock value) at times. Like for the first half of the book, it just felt like it was getting worse in terms of the abuse and violence. And it didn't even have the thing of being well written. I've read books with similar themes before and happenings before, but the abuse in those books actually served a point. The scenes in this book didn't feel like this. At all. The horrifically violent scenes did simmer down post 45% of the book, but at this point, Laurent just felt too icky to support. And at this point, I don't see my feelings towards him changing. I've read and enjoyed characters who have been redeemed before, but that was with better writing.

I honestly have no idea how Laurent and Damen are supposed to be together. Like if I was Damen, I'd run the furthest I could from him. The second book is supposed to better and not the same levels of horrific violence and abuse, but I'm currently in no rush to read the second book. 

I had such high hopes for this book based on the summary. Paladin x Necromancer? Yes! But this book didn't hit any of the spots.

The relationship between Arthur and Shae wasn't developed at all. The characters went soft around each other too early, and it just felt underwhelming when they got together. And then you had the “I love you” despite not knowing each other for long. And I don't understand Arthur's sudden turn away from his Order. 

Maybe it was an issue of the book being only 247 pages long, but it just felt underwhelming. The fight scenes were underwhelming, the defeat of the big bad was underwhelming. About half way through, I did have a moment where I thought I was enjoying it (after the third act breakup) but then it got boring and underwhelming again. It just read like fanfiction. 

A really good book. Highly enjoyable. The main characters (Edwin and Robin) were well developed and fleshed out and their relationship was believable. 

The plot twists are quite easy to see through but that doesn't matter, it's still an enjoyable read and I'll be adding the next instalment to my tbr list.