Throne in the Dark

Soft DNF for now while I catch up on my other reads.

DNF 61.8% because if I wanted to read slower than molasses in winter slow burn YA I would. I'm pissed off the covers in this series are stupid cute but I hate that this attempts to be so meta it feels like satire. I think I'm being generous with 1 star for the covers and another for the only time I laughed.

Damien... please just kill annoyingly saccharine sweet naive no personality Amma to get your talisman back and then go on your adventure with your big bad self.

Nice read, doesn't take itself too seriously. I found the FMC a bit annoying at times but I've heard it gets better. I like that it's a slow-burn that's actually slow, too. 
I didn't like the writing at times, sometimes I had to re-read to understand what was going on (English isn't my first language), some sentences were weirdly long and rambling. Also I often didn't understand how the place was (it's important to me to be able to visualize what's going on).

So slow to start but gets sooo good
3.5

this shit was high-key boring & not only that, THEY EDGED ME THE ENTIRE 459 PAGES BC THESE BITCHES DID NOT TOUCH TIPS ONCE.

NO BONING. NO CREAMING THE TWINKIE. NO SQUAT THRUSTS IN THE CUCUMBER PATCH. NO BIRDS OR BEES. NO FILLING OUT THE FMC LIKE AN APPLICATION. NOTHING. AT ALL! ACROSS ALL 459 PAGES!! Just so, so much edging.

But he did tie her up once and call her a ‘good girl'?? like what-

I am so heavily blue balled by this book that my brain has lost a significant amount of its function due to the extended redirection of blood within my body without any period of release. this book gave me erectile dysfunction.

5 star read that hit all the right spots

♡
- grumpy x sunshine
- Damon's dry humour hits all the right spots for me
- great banter
- not your run-of-the-mill fantasy world

Can this be called a dark fantasy romcom? Idk but that's what I sold it to my friend as

This book is so much fun. I will admit that the first few chapters were rough for me– maybe because of the unknown words and trying to make sense of things, but most likely because I was tired– but the farther I read into the book the more I loved it. It is sweet and charming and oh so swoony, but mostly I laughed. Laughed until I cried sometimes. Chapter 21 chef's kiss

I am throwing it on my “dark” shelf though because it IS captor/captive and he can AND DOES control her at times. There is also the heavy alluding to Amma being raped prior to the story. So, this isn't the deepest pit of dark, but it still does cross the lines.
That being said, it is more cozy and charming than angsty or gritty. Damien recognizes that he can force Amma to do what he wants and the imbalance of power between them, so he hasn't furthered their relationship. Yes folks, this is a slow burn romance and damn if it isn't done so well. It reminds me of why I love a good slow burn and just how much I've missed them. There is still tension, but you can read it building and we aren't plagued with pages upon pages of how gorgeous they both are. So refreshing.

So, at this point I know I'll be reading the sequel ASAP and if the series remains awesome, I'll probably add everything this author has ever written to my TBR. I seriously am so hyped to continue this series.

Additional tropes/vibes: grumpy captor/ sunshine captive, “mine”, touch her and die, villain with a heart of not-quite-gold, villain romance (he plans on killing her, he is planning on destroying the realm), slow burn romance (kissing and cuddles so far), quest/prophecy, adventure