Reviews with content warning for Blood - What Lies Beyond the Veil

I had the highest hopes for this book. And honestly I made it through most of the book enjoying it. But once the two mains really started to explore their relationship it went down hill so fast. I don’t mind possessive men but Caelum was just toxic in a bad way. And Estrella hates the idea of any man thinking she’s anything beyond a plaything but she has no personality beyond that. She holds Caelum to such a high standard of morals but will turn around and do the exact thing she condemns him for just to be with him. I honestly just wanted it to end by the time I hit 75%. And the “twist” wasn’t so shocking.

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kingrosereads's review

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.25

Look. Was it good? Not really. Will I be reading the sequel? Absolutely. This is the kind of trash reading I really enjoy. If you like ACOTAR or FBAA, this definitely has borrowed themes and characters and plots from them, but very loosely developed. I do like the concept of the Veil and human mates. Caelum is an acquired taste for sure but I enjoy the bantering between him and Estrella. Not a fan of the “little one” nickname. “My star” is fine and very endearing but “little one” is so cringe. “Little” anything is barf. I didn’t like how he became super possessive towards the end especially since Estrella has always been at the mercy of other men and not having any choice in life. This book feels more like the base of a story that you go back and actually develop upon. It’s basically the skeleton of a good story.

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_savannahreads_'s review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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bribreez's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

*Look up trigger warnings (Before starting book author kindly listed out trigger warnings for readers)

I feel like for fans of the ACOTAR series or you like books that are focused on fantasy, adventure, romance, strong female lead, dashing/charming male lead, spice, a journey that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat and MORE! This is the book for you.

Right away from the beginning, you meet Estrella, our female lead a.k.a. The most empowering heroine you’ll meet, but… in the beginning she definitely wasn’t living the life one would expect. Due to Estrella working in the garden alongside the Mist, she was considered from a low status family, wasn’t rich by any means, and was struggling to financially care for her brother and mother. All the while, Estrella caught the eye of the Lord of Mistfell, Lord Byron a.k.a. The creepiest, most disgusting, and foul man to walk the earth. Estrella had been living a hard life from a young age due to her father being sacrificed for the Mist, her mother being wheelchair bound, and her older brother trying to help with their family. Poor Estrella had a lot on her plate, and especially with Lord Byron, she endured his interactions for the sake of her family because, “duty came first”.

This book heavily mentioned that within the story the role women played was meant to be submissive, and adhere to their husbands, something Estrella definitely wasn’t on board with (AND NEITHER WAS I!). Estrella wanted her own freedom, to do as she pleased since for as long as she’s lived, she’s done everything out of obligation, never done anything for her own desires. Estrella was very much taught from a young age that all women needed to remain pure and service the needs and whims of their husbands. So through out the book, Estrella really grew into a new version of herself where she embraced herself in a way that she wasn’t given a chance to do while living in Mistfell.

To my all readers who love a protective male lead, a man who promises to avenge and kill solely because the female lead was hurt in the past, and not to mention the infamous line… “WHO HURT YOU??” This book has all that and more! In addition, Caelum was not only protective over Estrella, but the man was Lowkey possessive over her. Plus I thought it was kind of funny how Caelum would get mad when Estrella mentioned her past with Loris, and Caelum visibly getting frustrated over someone being with her. Let’s not forget the beautiful things Caelum would tell Estrella made her blush, and me swooning. Caelum was equal parts a gentleman and a fierce protector. As well as a fantastic balance of sweet and DELICIOUSLY INDECENT WITH HIS DESCRIPTIVE SPICY WORDS IN WHAT HE WANTED TO DO TO ESTRELLA! YASSSSSSS!

Can I just say that the dialogue between Estrella and Caelum was fantastic, not only did it highlight their chemistry, but the witty remarks, innuendos, and depth of their growing attraction to each other. Some of the things that Caelum said to Estrella made my jaw drop, and had me blushing like crazy. Caelum was the kind of man who spoke what was on his mind, so there was never a second that you doubted how he felt towards Estrella. I mean come on, the way Caelum was so protective over Estrella, getting angry over seeing her scars, and Caelum promising to kill anyone who hurt her in the past/ kill anyone trying to harm her while they were on the run… THAT MAN YASSSS! In addition, with the book being in Estrella’s point of view, I loved her commentary and the way she spoke had me thinking, “SHE’S SPEAKING MY THOUGHTS”. For example this line, “…a morally gray man with no boundaries and a distinct lack of understanding how an actual courtship worked. You didn’t just decide a woman was yours to protect after a few days spent together.” There were even more quotes that I felt like Estrella was breaking the fourth wall and communicating all our thoughts. Maybe that was just me, but overall I loved it.

Towards the end, the story started to come together even more, and the ending was so freaking good that the plot twist came and had me squealing and screaming in a mixture of shock, surprise, and excitement! Not to mention the spice got even spicer that I was shook and not expecting *ahem chapter 31. Overall this was such a fantastic book that you’ll love and by the end you’ll wish the second book would release already!

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bunni3's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The main character is SO stupid and annoying. Literally she doesn’t figure anything out ever and just goes along with everyone. Also the male lead calls her “little one” and that’s FREAKY I did not like this book

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sammiesshelf's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I ate this book up. The tension between the characters was so good, and the plot kept me turning pages. I hope the second book reveals what the heck was going on with some of the weird vibes and things said by Estrella's family (for example:

Brann being super against Caelum and always saying "There are some things you don't know" but then not telling her???

)
The spice in this had me blushing hard. It was very hot. I know I already said this, but the TENSION was so well written and added to the book. I loved the morally grey love interest but beware: if you are not okay with morally grey and sometimes intense male leads, this is not the book for you. Towards the end, he became a bit intense and off-putting, and I hope that is explained in the sequel.
I definitely predicted the main plot twist early on, but the way it was revealed still shook me to my core, and the build-up was still very worth it. I loved this book and definitely recommend for lovers of high fae fantasy romance.

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jonezzzing's review

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Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

dubious consent; possessive romantic partners; sexual harassment; public intercourse in front of large group, including sexual harasser (and main character does not seem sure they want to partake in it)

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kristakp's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The main male character is full of red flags and yeah it was predictable, but I was entertained, and I look forward to reading the second book in the series. I probably wouldn't recommend the book to anyone though lmao

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