Counterpoint

Couldn't get into this at all. I suppose the world building was fairly interesting, but the characters in it didn't make any sense. The elves being captured at all was a ridiculous scene. Then the prince (who already has several wives and children) falls in lust/”love” with the prisoner who just killed 15 of his men, and decides to win him over with his kindness. And eventually it actually works. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

3.5 stars

I'll admit my general dislike of high fantasy brings my rating of this book down a bit, but to be honest, the fantasy aspects that annoyed me the most would probably have done so even if I loved the genre. An example is the “songs” of every living thing that Ayden is able to hear, and therefore sense the emotions of others, among other things. The near constant mentioning of these songs got old fast. It also seemed like an easy way out of demonstrating the characters' feelings in more meaningful ways.

I appreciate that the transition from enemies to lovers was very gradual, and therefore more believable. I do wish that the characters had better expressed their emotions, but that goes back to my annoyance with the songs as the method of telling the reader how they felt.

Even though I never felt bored while reading, I thought several times about how long it seemed. And yet, I think a lot of it must have been filler, as I can't remember enough events to have possibly filled so many pages. Of course, it had to end with a bloody cliffhanger, so I must read the sequel. My recommendation of this book will depend on whether the next one is good enough to have made this one worth it.