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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
“Rhonda! Rhonda, we’ve got a rider of the apocalypse in the drive through!”
5 stars // read February 2022
Marriage of convenience? Check.
Assassins? Check.
Sensible and hilarious heroines? Check.
Slow burn romance? Check.
Tricksy Fae bargains? Check.
They say to write the book you want to read, but in this case, my book has already been written.
5 stars // read February 2022
Marriage of convenience? Check.
Assassins? Check.
Sensible and hilarious heroines? Check.
Slow burn romance? Check.
Tricksy Fae bargains? Check.
They say to write the book you want to read, but in this case, my book has already been written.
Quirky, horse-girl, and all over animal lover Leila is a half-human, half-fae living in the mortal world, wishing for a mortal life. Six fae horses mysteriously show up at her family's farm one day looking starved and neglected. As someone with a huge heart for all animals, Leila begins to take care of the magical creatures until she finds out that the fae-horses, called Nightmares, have chosen her to become the next Queen of the Night Court. Leila is then whisked away to her new dominion, taking up her new title as Queen.
It was refreshing that this was a simple world-building start to a series, with absolutely no "love at first sight", "geeze that was fast" romance like I was expecting. Honestly there wasn't much romance at all besides occasional witty banter between her and Lord Rigel. I liked how the author first portrayed Leila's as hard-working since becoming the new Queen, from choosing her stewards and companion, as well as rifling through court documents. She felt like a relatable character up until the point where she just developed a level of sassiness and immaturity towards everyone in her Court. It was a struggle to read through what felt like a backwards character development for such a decent character in the beginning. I was getting pretty annoyed with it towards the end of the story. Otherwise, I thought that the plot was pretty fast-paced and held enough intrigue to keep me going. (03/2023)
3 out of 5 stars
It was refreshing that this was a simple world-building start to a series, with absolutely no "love at first sight", "geeze that was fast" romance like I was expecting. Honestly there wasn't much romance at all besides occasional witty banter between her and Lord Rigel. I liked how the author first portrayed Leila's as hard-working since becoming the new Queen, from choosing her stewards and companion, as well as rifling through court documents. She felt like a relatable character up until the point where she just developed a level of sassiness and immaturity towards everyone in her Court. It was a struggle to read through what felt like a backwards character development for such a decent character in the beginning. I was getting pretty annoyed with it towards the end of the story. Otherwise, I thought that the plot was pretty fast-paced and held enough intrigue to keep me going. (03/2023)
3 out of 5 stars
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really fun addition to the Magiford world. Leila is a great FMC, she has similar energy as Hazel, strength and wit, without seeming like a carbon copy or knock off. Rigel is a great MMC, though I really hope that we get to see a lot more of him, since he was a bit underused and his relationship with Leila is greatly underdeveloped at this point, but I'm sure it will pick up in the next book. Same as always with K M Shea, it's not a literary masterpiece, but great, light entertainment. Seriously, for self-publish her writing standard is quite impressive and I think with an editor she would sell extremely well on the wider market. (Maybe she already does, I don't know to be fair!) Anyway, she is really talented.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoy the world, the politics and the delicious setups, but I struggled a bit with the execution here. Leila's plucky attitude was endearing at times, and I loved her relationship with the oddball creatures of the Night Court, but I failed to fully believe she was someone who could survive against the machinations of long-lived fae without a LOT more help than she actually receives. As with the vampires in the previous series, the fae are a little toothless, and Leila's adversaries are rather two dimensional - so far, I'm hopeful for more complex villains in the sequel.
However, I was thoroughly delighted with the evolving relationship with Rigel and I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal of Leila's father - I've been trained as a reader to expect a brooding father with secrets who abandons their child for noble reasons, so the rug was fully pulled out from under my feet by this book. Looking forward to book two, I hope it can build on the promise here if the villains are compelling and there are fewer exclamation marks in Leila's narrative...!
However, I was thoroughly delighted with the evolving relationship with Rigel and I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal of Leila's father - I've been trained as a reader to expect a brooding father with secrets who abandons their child for noble reasons, so the rug was fully pulled out from under my feet by this book. Looking forward to book two, I hope it can build on the promise here if the villains are compelling and there are fewer exclamation marks in Leila's narrative...!
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Representation: Thai biracial supporting character
Safety Rating: Safe
• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
– Everyone thinks the Heroine should marry the Hero's best friend
• Does have the MCs pushing each other away
• No separation
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Attempted murder
• Complicated father-daughter relationship stemming from abandonment
Ending:HFN
Safety Rating: Safe
• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
– Everyone thinks the Heroine should marry the Hero's best friend
• Does have the MCs pushing each other away
• No separation
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Attempted murder
• Complicated father-daughter relationship stemming from abandonment
Ending: