3.73 AVERAGE

emotional informative mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Part of me feels like this should be marketed more along the lines of cozy. Sure, the stakes get high, but it's not...well, it's a bit of a slower pace. And that pacing is kind of odd at times. 

That said I did enjoy it despite some plot points not having a lot of bearing. I wonder if they will in book 2?
cavalierhousebooks's profile picture

cavalierhousebooks's review

5.0
adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

 
Jennifer K. Lambert's world is beautiful! The imagery, world-building, and character development are wonderful. I loved this world! It has everything: magic, madness, love, war, and enemies to lovers—AHH!
Oneira is so relatable in her desire to be alone, yet people keep showing up! She and Stearanos are on opposite sides of a war. When the great sorcerer Oneria decides to retire, she also chooses to steal a book from her old enemy, Stearanos, whom she has never met. This act sets off a chain of events where Stearanos and her begian to mess with each other.
The little taunts, the great chemistry, and the fact that he fell first and harder make this a fantastic romance! - Sarah
dark mysterious sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Started out strong but too much dillydallying with characters and plot points I don’t care about. Also tired about people falling in love after seeing the other person. 
dabbydoo's profile picture

dabbydoo's review

4.0
emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
tcameron's profile picture

tcameron's review

3.0
sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is a quiet romantacy. No action, no big angst... just magical beings coming to terms with their life choices and circumstances. 
The thievery was fun and building.
I really enjoyed this one!
sketchycleric's profile picture

sketchycleric's review

2.5

I needed the ending to be happy, rather then bittersweet with a possibility for redemption 

DNF/0 Stars - will comment the reason
⭐️ - I finished but either hated the ending or something else was really awful. Will blacklist the author from further reading. 
⭐️⭐️ - I didn’t have strong enough feelings to DNF or give it 1 star, but it was super forgettable, had major editing problems/plot holes, or was just boring. Will not read the sequels, would likely not read more from this author. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I thought it was good. It was easy to read and I had a good time. Maybe kind of generic but everything came together in an enjoyable package.   May or may not read any sequels, would consider reading more from the author. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I really enjoyed this! Will definitely read the sequels and seek out more from this author. It hit the right spots, and I will likely reread it. There may be a couple minor issues, or was missing an intangible, but it was a good read. If you share my taste I recommend it. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I need 30 sequels just like it, STAT. If I haven’t bought it already, I probably will. There will definitely be rereads, and I want to see everything the author has written. 
rue1990's profile picture

rue1990's review

4.0
dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

markieh's review

4.75
emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book doesn't have a lot of "action." There are clear villains, yes, but the real villain os grief and trauma processing. I honestly loved it. The rules of magic and the setting had me from the first few pages. I know this style of storyline isnt for everyone, but it was exactly what I needed. 

It is one 🌶 spice level, but it was a beautiful yearning love story.