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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Classism
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Extremely reminiscent of ACTAR; she didn't notice Sorin was her twin flame, when she does they go to a secluded cabin in the mountains and she plans to infiltrate enemy territory by acting as if she has tired sides. Literally the same base plot.
Other than that, great plot twist after plot twist though I had to control my anxiety when I couldn't understand what was really going on because if lack of information.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Characters were not believable. The plot placing did not align with character development, so we had a lot of telling vs showing. A lot of the plot lines were predictable and this feels far too close to stories written by Sarah J Maas. The main character was difficult to like. So much of her story was experiencing or reliving trauma but without exploring the recovery process or anything really meaningful...
The main love interest created useless conflict by continuing to withhold information for no good reason. Given the length of each book and the series, I expected this to be a slow burn with a lot of growth in their relationship. Unfortunately didn't get any of that.
The level of violence (and detail) really didn't serve to develop the plot or characters. It felt really heavy to read without any nuance or exploration of difficult themes.
The main love interest created useless conflict by continuing to withhold information for no good reason. Given the length of each book and the series, I expected this to be a slow burn with a lot of growth in their relationship. Unfortunately didn't get any of that.
The level of violence (and detail) really didn't serve to develop the plot or characters. It felt really heavy to read without any nuance or exploration of difficult themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lady of Shadows (Lady of Darkness #2)
By Melissa K Roehrich
Dark fantasy, romantasy, enemies-to-lovers
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In book 2, Scarlett Monrhoe is taken to the Fae Fire Court and faced with some tough decisions as she chooses freedom or a cage.
Filled with Fae, Night Children (vampires), and Witches, you never know where this story is going to go.
❤️ Melissa K Roehrich is a fantastic storyteller and world builder. I get sucked right into the story and feel like I'm in this fantasy world she created. Despite being long, I've had no issues getting through the first 2 books.
I'm invested in so many of the characters, and their relationships. Even the clear villains of the story, I want to know more about.
Nothing and nobody seems to be who they first appeared.
💔 I thought this was going to be a 5-star read, but when I finished the book, I literally double checked it was the ending because I felt like it ended so randomly. Nothing go resolved!
I know this is only book 2 of the series so more is coming, but at such a long length, I just wanted more and some kind of resolution.
I'm hopeful that as a full series it's fantastic.
🎀 I got books 1 and 2 in my Arcane Society book subscription box and am waiting a bit to see if they release the rest of the series before I purchase and read the rest. These editions are gorgeous and I'd love them to match!
I'm happy I got these and will definitely be buying the rest of the series if an announcement doesn't come soon.
✨️ Trigger Warnings ✨️
The biggest trigger is definitely rape and sexual scenes. These can be pretty graphic. It's an adult and dark fantasy and should be treated as such when choosing to read.
By Melissa K Roehrich
Dark fantasy, romantasy, enemies-to-lovers
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In book 2, Scarlett Monrhoe is taken to the Fae Fire Court and faced with some tough decisions as she chooses freedom or a cage.
Filled with Fae, Night Children (vampires), and Witches, you never know where this story is going to go.
❤️ Melissa K Roehrich is a fantastic storyteller and world builder. I get sucked right into the story and feel like I'm in this fantasy world she created. Despite being long, I've had no issues getting through the first 2 books.
I'm invested in so many of the characters, and their relationships. Even the clear villains of the story, I want to know more about.
Nothing and nobody seems to be who they first appeared.
💔 I thought this was going to be a 5-star read, but when I finished the book, I literally double checked it was the ending because I felt like it ended so randomly. Nothing go resolved!
I know this is only book 2 of the series so more is coming, but at such a long length, I just wanted more and some kind of resolution.
I'm hopeful that as a full series it's fantastic.
🎀 I got books 1 and 2 in my Arcane Society book subscription box and am waiting a bit to see if they release the rest of the series before I purchase and read the rest. These editions are gorgeous and I'd love them to match!
I'm happy I got these and will definitely be buying the rest of the series if an announcement doesn't come soon.
✨️ Trigger Warnings ✨️
The biggest trigger is definitely rape and sexual scenes. These can be pretty graphic. It's an adult and dark fantasy and should be treated as such when choosing to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
The second book in Melissa K Roehrich’s Lady of Darkness series introduces us to some more main characters, the inner circle, more of the world-building and the magic systems. This book also takes us on an emotional journey as some of the characters learn more about themselves. I still love everything about this series. I love the characters, get frustrated with their decisions and really really do not like the bad guys.
I was so happy at the end of this book that this series is complete and I could move on to the third book immediately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Grief
dark
tense
medium-paced
Staring at the wall. Oh my days i was supposed to be reading more light hearted books but I couldn't help myself!! Really good, Sorin kind of got on my nerves a bit but I suppose that is because I'm picky.
This book has left me speechless, staring at nothing and just yearning for the next one, I have to hold myself back from starting it as I will not do my work if not lol
This book has left me speechless, staring at nothing and just yearning for the next one, I have to hold myself back from starting it as I will not do my work if not lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Violence
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
This was a tricky one. I'm usually a fast quick reader, but this took me a couple weeks to get through, and it was such a slog sometimes. So what happened is... this book is paced terribly. There is a review further down by @anotherreadingblonde that really sums it up nicely: the potential is great, the pacing is terrible.
I am a huge ACOTAR fan (and I guess ToG is ok), though not a huge fan of Aelin (at all) and Feyre (mostly). The way this story (and universe) are built is *very* similar to SJM's books. You got your mysterious and tortured assassin FMC who turns out to be not only fae, but a (previously lost) fay queen. You got your various courts with their inner circles. You got your Rhys (Sorin), Cassian (Cyrus) and Azriel (Rayner); your Mor (Eliza), your Dorian (Callan) etc. You got a mysterious people that may be invading by taking positions of power - the Maaren Lords (valg), and so on. You even got the explanation of different "planes" and beings that can walk through these universes.
So if you loved ToG and/or ACOTAR and don't mind reading more of that, this is a great book for you!
That said, the pacing here is horrible at times. I almost DNF'd this multiple times, and at the end of book 2 I want to know what happens next, but I'm also really hesitant to jump into another one bc it was so hard to keep reading at times!
Scarlett is depressed for most of the time, which, fair, but also gets a bit old. Compared to Feyre's healing, or Nesta's, this is so hard to get through... there is my nemesis, the miscommunication trope. It's so bad, and so frequent. Yes, all are tortured souls that had to fend for themselves, but at some point in your hundreds of years of life you must have learned to communicate better than this?!
The handling of the age gap is fine for the most part, though there is one point where the "you really are ancient haha" banter turns pretty cringe. Sorin says something like that he could have saved her from all the trauma she went through, being raised an assassin etc, if he had only known Elinè had had a child, and I was honestly not sure if this 300+ years old dude would have then, what, raised his twin flame from early childhood (around 3 years old)? It's called grooming, my friend. Plus, you were soulmates with her mother on top of that (platonic in this universe, but still a twining of souls)! Like... ew. No.
And the final thing I really hate is that Scarlett acts like Aelin, and I hated how Aelin acted. The deus ex machina moments ("while you were trying to help I acquired the necessary knowledge but didnt tell anyone, but LOOK here is the solution", "there is this notoriously unhelpful character that has been awful for hundreds of years, but we hit it off immediately and they will help us of course", etc). I thought these surprises in ToG were lazy writing and bad planning, ie. you need to get your story to some point so you just magically make that happen), and I didn't like them here.
So where does that leave us. I think this world has huge potential, I just wish it was paced better. I get that some of the endless explanations are necessary to round off a character or make sure we understand the gravity of some future plot point. But I've rarely found a book easier to put down than this one. I even started reading two (!) other stories at the same time, which is unusual for me.
I don't regret reading it, but I think I might need a break before delving into the next book. Should you read it? If you're someone who likes these expansive worlds, you will definitely enjoy this one, and it being a finished series is a huge plus here as well! If you need plots to move and don't have a lot of patience for the in-between details, you may wanna pass.
I am a huge ACOTAR fan (and I guess ToG is ok), though not a huge fan of Aelin (at all) and Feyre (mostly). The way this story (and universe) are built is *very* similar to SJM's books. You got your mysterious and tortured assassin FMC who turns out to be not only fae, but a (previously lost) fay queen. You got your various courts with their inner circles. You got your Rhys (Sorin), Cassian (Cyrus) and Azriel (Rayner); your Mor (Eliza), your Dorian (Callan) etc. You got a mysterious people that may be invading by taking positions of power - the Maaren Lords (valg), and so on. You even got the explanation of different "planes" and beings that can walk through these universes.
So if you loved ToG and/or ACOTAR and don't mind reading more of that, this is a great book for you!
That said, the pacing here is horrible at times. I almost DNF'd this multiple times, and at the end of book 2 I want to know what happens next, but I'm also really hesitant to jump into another one bc it was so hard to keep reading at times!
Scarlett is depressed for most of the time, which, fair, but also gets a bit old. Compared to Feyre's healing, or Nesta's, this is so hard to get through... there is my nemesis, the miscommunication trope. It's so bad, and so frequent. Yes, all are tortured souls that had to fend for themselves, but at some point in your hundreds of years of life you must have learned to communicate better than this?!
The handling of the age gap is fine for the most part, though
And the final thing I really hate is that Scarlett acts like Aelin, and I hated how Aelin acted. The deus ex machina moments ("while you were trying to help I acquired the necessary knowledge but didnt tell anyone, but LOOK here is the solution", "there is this notoriously unhelpful character that has been awful for hundreds of years, but we hit it off immediately and they will help us of course", etc). I thought these surprises in ToG were lazy writing and bad planning, ie. you need to get your story to some point so you just magically make that happen), and I didn't like them here.
So where does that leave us. I think this world has huge potential, I just wish it was paced better. I get that some of the endless explanations are necessary to round off a character or make sure we understand the gravity of some future plot point. But I've rarely found a book easier to put down than this one. I even started reading two (!) other stories at the same time, which is unusual for me.
I don't regret reading it, but I think I might need a break before delving into the next book. Should you read it? If you're someone who likes these expansive worlds, you will definitely enjoy this one, and it being a finished series is a huge plus here as well! If you need plots to move and don't have a lot of patience for the in-between details, you may wanna pass.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The cliffhanger this book ended on has me shook.
The plot is very similar to ACOMAF, there’s a good amount of conflict happening to keep my attention. However, by the end I was frustrated that most of these conflicts were because Scarlet was constantly running away. It seemed like there wasn’t much character development from her character.
I appreciate that the author included a map, a pronunciation guide, and a reference page to remind of characters already met in book one.
The plot is very similar to ACOMAF, there’s a good amount of conflict happening to keep my attention. However, by the end I was frustrated that most of these conflicts were because Scarlet was constantly running away. It seemed like there wasn’t much character development from her character.
I appreciate that the author included a map, a pronunciation guide, and a reference page to remind of characters already met in book one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Rape