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wordsareworlds's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Whether people buy the redemption of Hugh will definitely depend on the reader, but I liked the framing and felt Andrews did an excellent job making him feel redeemable without excusing what he did. He's still an a**hole, but he's one I can and do root for.
Whether or not you care for Hugh, the story is worth it for Elara. Mysterious, just as dangerous and in some ways just as monstrous, she has a great heart and sharp wit that make her instantly loveable. The book focuses much more on the first part of Hugh's evolution into a hero, by necessity, but has enough clues into Elara's backstory to leave me eager to read the next book.
While I'm not sure these two will ever completely leave behind the enemies part of enemies-to-lovers, they do reach an equilibrium of sorts by the end of the book and we have a HFN that feels like it could lead to a HEA in further books. Honestly, their back and forth battles are my favorite parts of the book, especially as they both realize how much they enjoy verbally sparring with each other and there are unspoken lines they don't cross.
The plot moves very quickly, and things come to a head in a very intense battle sequence. There is gore and death without pulling punches, but it doesn't veer into glorifying torture either.
Andrews pulls in aspects of many mythologies into the Daniels world, and this book is no exception. While not completely stripped of context, it still feels awkward to experience them second-hand only through the white, western characters. That aside, none of this feels like they were added for "exotic" flavor, which I appreciate.
The authors have put this particular series on hold for the moment, but I hope they're able to come back to it sooner rather than later.
Whether or not you care for Hugh, the story is worth it for Elara. Mysterious, just as dangerous and in some ways just as monstrous, she has a great heart and sharp wit that make her instantly loveable. The book focuses much more on the first part of Hugh's evolution into a hero, by necessity, but has enough clues into Elara's backstory to leave me eager to read the next book.
While I'm not sure these two will ever completely leave behind the enemies part of enemies-to-lovers, they do reach an equilibrium of sorts by the end of the book and we have a HFN that feels like it could lead to a HEA in further books. Honestly, their back and forth battles are my favorite parts of the book, especially as they both realize how much they enjoy verbally sparring with each other and there are unspoken lines they don't cross.
The plot moves very quickly, and things come to a head in a very intense battle sequence. There is gore and death without pulling punches, but it doesn't veer into glorifying torture either.
Andrews pulls in aspects of many mythologies into the Daniels world, and this book is no exception. While not completely stripped of context, it still feels awkward to experience them second-hand only through the white, western characters. That aside, none of this feels like they were added for "exotic" flavor, which I appreciate.
The authors have put this particular series on hold for the moment, but I hope they're able to come back to it sooner rather than later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Homophobia
The main antagonist is Navajo, and while I am not Native, there are elements of his backstory that sent up red flags to me
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