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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
3 stars — Gorgeous cover, frustrating heroine
This had so much promise: Norse mythology, fae courts, enemies-to-lovers, and a shadowy prince? I was sold. But the heroine made some truly baffling choices and constantly argued with the one person actually trying to help her. The worldbuilding was intriguing but vague—I felt more confused than curious by the end. Still, the MMC was interesting enough that I’ll try book two.
This had so much promise: Norse mythology, fae courts, enemies-to-lovers, and a shadowy prince? I was sold. But the heroine made some truly baffling choices and constantly argued with the one person actually trying to help her. The worldbuilding was intriguing but vague—I felt more confused than curious by the end. Still, the MMC was interesting enough that I’ll try book two.
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was absolutely a vibes read. Were there cringy eye roll moments? Oh, 100%, but I’m a huge sucker when it comes to anything with a bit of Norse myth to it. It gave similar vibes to The Kingdom of Crows series, where I had a love/hate relationship with the FMC. I didn’t love the extreme height difference between the MMC and FMC, and the fact that she was a bit contrary. Like, she started out strong and then got aggravating as it went on. I did find some of the quips to be fun, and I loved the owl and Frima. The ending had a huge cliffhanger and I find myself more curious about what happens next than I am irritated about the characters attitudes. I also want to know more her gold-touched abilities, so book 2, here I come.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
A lot of grammatical errors that were distracting.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mysterious enough for me to want to at least read the next book but nothing great enough for me to give it more than 3 stars. I feel like a lot happened in this 300 page fast paced book and yet nothing really at all.
******************
Reyna doesn’t trust anyone, especially Maz, which got annoying at times but no one gave her a reason to trust. Sure Maz saved her from enslavement of her own court but also whisked her away against her will for his own purposes and we never fully learn why. Sure he saves her from death by the Queen/stepmother but does so by binding her to him as his betrothed and is constantly reminding her she is a prisoner and will kill her friends if she does not assist.
Do I think Maz is a villain? No. But do I think if he had been a bit more upfront with her about the goal and she wouldn’t have fought him so hard? Yes.
Do I think Reyna could have stood to have a bit more patience with the Prince? Absolutely. Do I think she’s as stupid as people think she is? No. Naïve sure but stupid, no.
Also, as a reader, I wish we were given a bit more insight into why Reyna is so important. Centuries before, her existence was prophesized as was stated on one of the statues but no answers as to why. Not even an inkling.
I’m sure more character development takes place as the series continues and the mystery unravels but I wish for just a bit more in this first book.
Finally, the errors. As I type this out, I realize that my spelling or sentence structure is probably not great but it wasn’t in the book either. There were too many mistakes, especially towards the end, that I kept noticing.
******************
Reyna doesn’t trust anyone, especially Maz, which got annoying at times but no one gave her a reason to trust. Sure Maz saved her from enslavement of her own court but also whisked her away against her will for his own purposes and we never fully learn why. Sure he saves her from death by the Queen/stepmother but does so by binding her to him as his betrothed and is constantly reminding her she is a prisoner and will kill her friends if she does not assist.
Do I think Maz is a villain? No. But do I think if he had been a bit more upfront with her about the goal and she wouldn’t have fought him so hard? Yes.
Do I think Reyna could have stood to have a bit more patience with the Prince? Absolutely. Do I think she’s as stupid as people think she is? No. Naïve sure but stupid, no.
Also, as a reader, I wish we were given a bit more insight into why Reyna is so important. Centuries before, her existence was prophesized as was stated on one of the statues but no answers as to why. Not even an inkling.
I’m sure more character development takes place as the series continues and the mystery unravels but I wish for just a bit more in this first book.
Finally, the errors. As I type this out, I realize that my spelling or sentence structure is probably not great but it wasn’t in the book either. There were too many mistakes, especially towards the end, that I kept noticing.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3.25 stars...this book was a little mid for me...it didn't wow but it wasn't terrible...I might continue the series at a later time, maybe I just wasn't in the right mindframe for it. I liked the premise and the characters were likeable and the plot was interesting enough. It had everything I usually like in a story. Fae, magic, mystery, mayhem, evil queens, kidnapping, enemies to lovers. Not sure why it didn't hold my attention like I thought it would. Maybe I'll give it another shot...I can't fully recommend this at this point in time.
Really good storyline. Grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The grammatical errors were quite frustrating though. Enough to pull me out of the story to reread some sentences multiple times. That knocked off a star for me.