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atrailofpages's review against another edition
4.0
Briannis is local assassin taking care of those who blackmail or do other describe things. One time she’s caught and makes a deal with Lord Cyril to kill the Fae king and she would be rewarded handsomely to the point that she would never have to worry about money ever again as well as fulfill the promise she made to her father to be happy. Briannis arrives at Rosethorn Keep covered in daisy soap as a mysterious person had left for her with a note to put it on and is able to get in and is armed and ready to kill the Fae king, which does not go quite as she planned.
I really loved this unique take on Beauty and the Beast! With the Beast being half dead and Briannis being an assassin with manners or a proper layer by day and assassin at night. The banter is lovely, especially when Briannis focuses sooo much on manners and propriety it’s funny to see her be scandalized by Moridyr’s thoughts when spoken out loud. And to see her go from being proper to definitively not proper.
I enjoyed the characters for the most part, especially their banter and the wooing, and of course the steaminess! I do love a “he falls first” and an enemies to lovers romance. And then the sentient roses, a sentient mirror AND the sentient Keep they lived in! Even better!
And this would have been a five star read for me, but there is a miscommunication/misunderstanding and I do not like that trope. It’s rarely done in a way that makes logical sense and instead causes drama which can easily be avoided if they would just TALK. Where the one character is justified, even though they also did something in the wrong but that’s okay, and the other character is left feeling like they were in the wrong the whole time. It just leaves a not good feeling in me. I mean instead of just getting mad, assuming the worst and NOT talking, how about you just talk and ask them what their motives were. There was some severe eye-rolling occurring at the end of this book by me. And it truly was just at the end. The rest of the book is wonderfully done!
Other than that little blip, I truly loved this book and the unique take on Beauty and the Beast and I’m looking forward to the next book!
I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really loved this unique take on Beauty and the Beast! With the Beast being half dead and Briannis being an assassin with manners or a proper layer by day and assassin at night. The banter is lovely, especially when Briannis focuses sooo much on manners and propriety it’s funny to see her be scandalized by Moridyr’s thoughts when spoken out loud. And to see her go from being proper to definitively not proper.
I enjoyed the characters for the most part, especially their banter and the wooing, and of course the steaminess! I do love a “he falls first” and an enemies to lovers romance. And then the sentient roses, a sentient mirror AND the sentient Keep they lived in! Even better!
And this would have been a five star read for me, but there is a miscommunication/misunderstanding and I do not like that trope. It’s rarely done in a way that makes logical sense and instead causes drama which can easily be avoided if they would just TALK. Where the one character is justified, even though they also did something in the wrong but that’s okay, and the other character is left feeling like they were in the wrong the whole time. It just leaves a not good feeling in me. I mean instead of just getting mad, assuming the worst and NOT talking, how about you just talk and ask them what their motives were. There was some severe eye-rolling occurring at the end of this book by me. And it truly was just at the end. The rest of the book is wonderfully done!
Other than that little blip, I truly loved this book and the unique take on Beauty and the Beast and I’m looking forward to the next book!
I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
mxnuelx's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mdarnell92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
julf's review against another edition
4.0
Quite different to Fae Isles (one of my all time fav series) - this felt much less dark, almost like romantic fantasy comedy if that was a genre. As per usual Lisette creates an interesting world with tons of chemistry which forces you to stay awake much later than you should to finish. Despite the MMC being half dead, this was much lighter/more funny moments, less violent and with less angst than Fae Isles...hard to explain until you read it :) Lisette continues to be an immediate buy for me - will gobble up whatever she writes.
blueglassboat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
nat2163's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
celestialchapters's review
5.0
*I don’t know why my review never posted from my kindle to here, so I’m reposting.
A book where an assassin who’s a proper lady + a cursed half decayed fae king she was sent to “take care of” end up getting trapped in a sentient castle together? Say no more.
A book where an assassin who’s a proper lady + a cursed half decayed fae king she was sent to “take care of” end up getting trapped in a sentient castle together? Say no more.
bookitallaway's review
5.0
OH. MY. WORD. I drank this story like I was dying of thirst. Our MFC and MMC have amazing chemistry and banter back and forth. I did not feel like the timeline was rushed at all. The build up to the spice was insane. I love the tortured retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Anytime there is a good challenge to the characters, where they have to rethink everything they thought they knew, or everything they've been taught to be true, it just lights up my life. I love it!
If you're into strong female characters, not quite damsels in distress, broody male characters who've been hurt and neglected, hence the broodiness, enchanted castles, choosing of your own fates, then this book is for you. And if you like delicious spice, then this book is for you. I usually read things a lot darker than this, but this was still an absolute joy to read!
What I LOVED:
--- the use of combining healing herbs with magic
--- everything about Briannis, our MFC, seriously I loved her from the beginning
--- sweet and prickly Thorn King
--- the sassy mirror
--- character building/development
--- witty banter and chemistry
--- enchanted castles
What I didn't love:
--- I wanted MORE of the antagonist, I have some questions or theories I need answered, maybe there will be another book and I'll get some then
--- Nothing else I can think of, other than I wanted more of this world of the people here, just more!
Spice: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Character Dev: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
If you're into strong female characters, not quite damsels in distress, broody male characters who've been hurt and neglected, hence the broodiness, enchanted castles, choosing of your own fates, then this book is for you. And if you like delicious spice, then this book is for you. I usually read things a lot darker than this, but this was still an absolute joy to read!
What I LOVED:
--- the use of combining healing herbs with magic
--- everything about Briannis, our MFC, seriously I loved her from the beginning
--- sweet and prickly Thorn King
--- the sassy mirror
--- character building/development
--- witty banter and chemistry
--- enchanted castles
What I didn't love:
--- I wanted MORE of the antagonist, I have some questions or theories I need answered, maybe there will be another book and I'll get some then
--- Nothing else I can think of, other than I wanted more of this world of the people here, just more!
Spice: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Character Dev: 5/5
Overall: 5/5