Reviews

The writing was sub par at best, the smut was juvenile most of the time but here’s the thing, the first I’d say 54% of this book was an absolute snore fest. The characters were bothersome and the plot made little to no sense. The last half of the book was far more interesting and I wish the rest of the book had been similar to it. When we first meet Poppy, we discover that she’s the “maiden” and what does that mean? Who the hell even knows, not even Poppy really knows what the maiden is except she can’t have any fun in her life. So not being able to have any sanctioned fun we meet her at, you totally guessed it. A tavern/brothel. Crazy, right? A woman who has never been kissed, who is supposed to be dedicated to the gods, is at a tavern/brothel. So if that’s not crazy enough for you, she’s hiding from her royal guard and lo and behold ends up on a room with Hawke Flynn, a new handsome guard on the rise. And instead of oh I don’t know, running for the hills? Poppy decides oh what the hell? Let’s make out with a stranger! And lest not forget, he’s gotta fondle my breasts, it’s only logical for a maiden. So after we’ve been thrown into that jarring situation we head back to the castle and a lot of boring filler fluff is thrown in the mix. We meet the Duke and Duchess who are keeping Poppy safe, and making sure she’s ready for her ascension- don’t worry guys. We don’t get an explanation into what the ascension even is until almost the end of the book. So after some boring stuff happens; we meet the Lord and he is just a grade A piece of garbage, a centuries old perv with a fetish for young girls in pain. The lord and Duke are truly sick, sick individuals who delight in

torturing Poppy when she “misbehaves” meaning they whip her with a cane as part of “teaching her a lesson”

we meet Tawny, Poppy’s assigned ladies maid that is also her friend (at least she hopes so) um we meet Viktor, Poppy’s lead royal guard who was more of a father to her since

Poppy’s parents were killed by Craven, undead zombie like creatures who attacked Poppy, her brother and parents when Poppy was just a small child, leaving Ian and her orphaned. Poppy is covered in scars from that horrible night, scars the Duke makes sure to remind her are hideous, and that it’s such a shame or else she would be perfect.

more boring bits and pieces until;

Rylan, Poppy’s second assigned guard is murdered during an attempted kidnapping of Poppy. Thus, creating an opening for Hawke to swoop on in (pun intended) and become her new royal guard.

there’s some heavy flirting between the two and then comes the night of the Rite, a celebration of the upcoming ascension, I think? Honestly the Rite made 0 sense to me. But we get into the more interesting bits and bobs now.

First, we get Poppy and Hawke getting freaky under the weeping willow, get it girl. Then we get an attack on the castle orchestrated by the Descenters, 100 people die including the Duke. Honestly I giggled here because it was like, ha! Serves you right! Died by getting that damn cane stuck through his chest, strung up between the royal crest and then set on fire? Excellent. In the chaos of the evening the Duchess learns that Poppy knows how to fight and kill, and on the insanity that is the Rite, Viktor gets killed. This one actually made me sad cause he was like her father. And the Lord, somehow surviving the stampede, had to open his mouth and provoke Poppy, it was so satisfying reading how she took his head off and hacked off the rest of the pieces of his body

so after that it gets a little slow again for a bit, but then Poppy is summoned to the Capitol and her ascension is scheduled to be expedited. On the road with Hawke and Kieran along with a band of hunters and other guards we make our way through the blood forest. Chill place Yanno? Full of Craven and rats the size of badgers. Um we get these two getting freaky again. Then we get to a suspicious stronghold. The moment they stepped through those gates I knew shit was about the hit the fan.

First, Poppy and Hawke finally bang it out after all this will the won’t they crap. And the moment he said “Don’t forget this,” “Promise me you won’t forget this. Poppy. That no matter why happens tomorrow, the next day, next week, you won’t forget this - forget that this was real.” I knew it was over. I just knew that he was about to betray her, doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less. Chapter 34 was all so much heartbreak that I was actually teary eyed. Listening to how manipulated and abused she really was most of her life made me so so sad. And for Hawke to keep lording over the fact they slept together, I just freaking can’t.

after that all there’s some more intimate scenes and then…

It’s revealed that Hawke is really Prince Casteel (shocker I know right?) and then the last flipping line “We go home to marry, my princess” UM EXCUSE ME PUT THIS TRUCK IN REVERSE RIGHT NOW SIR.

kimilovebooks90's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mkdjoum's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

psweettt's review against another edition

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5.0

This is by far one of the best books I've read. SO many layers but so well written and executed that you will not get confused, but want more with every page you read. If you are a romantasy lover like myself, you will ABSOLUTELY LOVE this book!

a_little_book_nook's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense 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? Yes

5.0

callistag1's review against another edition

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3.0

3.25 stars, rounded down. The story isn't bad, but it's not great either. The first fifty or so pages were hard to get through because there was a lot of exposition. While it does get better as the story progresses, getting through those first fifty pages were a bit tiring to read. Also, the twist I could partially see coming. I didn't predict all of it, but I was able to predict some of it. And that says a lot because I usually never see any of it coming, so the fact that I could partially predict the twist says a lot. Although it might just be because this twist is a pretty popular trope and I've been reading more books with it lately. Not sure. Either way, it did take away from the experience. I think the hints leading up to it were a bit too obvious.

Will I continue the series? Maybe. I was very neutral with this book, so I think it just depends on how I'm feeling. I have many other books I want to read.

earthtodanni's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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