Prince of Air and Darkness

An enjoyable read but not without its problems. The author makes their own rules and lore which can irk people (like fae being ‘allergic' to iron but own cars and live around/in other modern conveniences that definitely have iron in them without any side effects) and doesn't bother to describe the different species of the characters or how that affects them being outside of the Sidhe. Like a lot of other reviewers said, there were some inconsistencies or plot devices that were unnecessary or didn't make sense. This could have been set in another setting than a “magickal” university, especially since it hardly mentions classes and doesn't explain how magical beings are viewed by normal humans or if they can even see all this. Don't expect another Hogwarts.
However, despite its issues, I really liked all the characters and the love story between Roarke and Smith seemed more realistic than most romance novels.

Quite a few good scenes in here, but the whole was less than the sum of its parts. The setting was under-developed, and there were too many questions left unanswered (even considering this is the first book of a trilogy). The power imbalance between Roark and Finn bothered me a lot as well; Roark was a centuries-old powerful, magical fae who kept important secrets from Finn for his own good (I hate that excuse), while Finn was a....human college student. With an undisciplined power, true, but it felt like Roark held all of the cards in the relationship including what would happen if Finn every fell in love with him.

Yet I did enjoy parts of the book, especially the last third as Finn and Roark finally stopped hiding their feelings from each other, and M.A. Grant knows how to write a powerful scene brimming with angst and passion. If you are a big fan of the enemies to lovers trope, and don't need elaborate world-building in your fantasy romance, you might enjoy this more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my open and honest review.

The Prince of Air and Darkness is a book with a lot of promise. It felt like in much of the story the author was getting a feel for their characters and the story up unto the end where it all fused into a coherent story.
The story centers around two men at a college for otherworldy non-humans. Both the fairy courts young people attend this college in hopes of making friends and fostering diplomacy. The first man is named Phineas; he is a rare person indeed. He is one of the few humans in history who can channel a ley line though himself and wield power, or die trying. Previous humans that could use a ley line snuffed themselves out like a roman candle. His roommate and frenemy is Prince Roark, son of Queen Mab and all around pain in Phineas's ass. Phineas has lived longer than all of his predecessors but is starting to wear down from the barrage of attacks from supernatural beings and the strain of the simmering energy always coursing through his veins. After six years of sharing a space, the men have come to a bit of a detent, although Roark feels compelled to save Finn repeatedly from monsters frequently putting himself at significant personal risk. Finn feels compelled to be around Roark as much as he can. Their back and forth and sexual tension culminates in a great love story between the two of them.

On a very positive note, I love that the writer wrote the two lead gentlemen as people rather than stereotypes or tropes. The Author's attention to detail about their personality shaped the two leads and built them as well-rounded people which helped solidify their relationship for me. Also, The authors use of dialog was well done. It helped with the plodding pacing and kept the story moving forward. Additionally, I enjoyed the supporting characters and would like to see more of them; the leads' roommates included a sensitive bridge troll and a satyr. That is fun! I hope that in the future the author gives them more story time. I think it would enrich the often confusing setting and pacing.

I found myself getting lost often in the beginning to the middle of the story. The jumping back and forth through personal past moments betwixt both main characters was difficult to understand in parts. As the story progressed, though, it smoothed itself out as the reader obtained more background information. The pacing was also languid and plodding in the beginning and middle of the story, and it felt too drawn out — too much dancing around each other. Many times I felt like shaking the damn characters and shouting at them. The dancing around each other did add a certain degree of tension between the two leads that eventually led to a beautifully done romance, but till that point it was frustrating. Because of this, I lost my connection to the characters at a few points.

M/M romance is not often written, should be written more, and should be done this well. Pacing and point of view issues notwithstanding this is a well-done love story. It is an excellent first book that is shaping up to be an even better series.