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magnafeana's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting premise and the payoff was great!
This book won me over with the Immortals After Dark series which I am totally not reading in order.
We have Sabine (h) and Rydstrom (H) as our centuries old protagonists on the Lore. H is our Demon King who is just and right while h is a wicked sorceress who would rather be nefarious and wrong. But h is put in a desperate position and needs H to comply:
Breed me or die.
Well, not those words specifically, but the basis is, she wants his protection, her queendom, and a round belly and he wants her trust and, well, her. But when she kidnaps him and becomes a seductress and he lies to her and dishes back his suffering on her, their romance and sensuality gets murky what with all the prophecies and poisons.
I appreciated both these protagonists so much because of how distinct they were in their voice and their motives. Sabine being a liar and the queen of illusions made me admire her strength. I understood her need for lies. But I also understood Rydstrom’s frustration and need to temper his kingdom.
I’m happy with how the miscommunication didn’t last forever and a day. Honestly, it was refreshing. No, they didn’t unload their secrets so quickly, but when the third act struck and I feared we would have a separation arc…it didn’t happen because Sabine understood Rydstrom’s choice!
We stan a conscientious queen.
I has nitpicky qualms with this. I think, considering Sabine, it didn’t make sense how quickly she spoke to Rydstrom after he threw away her gold. It would have been nice to see Sabine go completely silent and closed off and Rydstrom to understand more about sorceri and gold.
I also wish we saw more of the hidden emotional state of Sabine, but that is just me.
And I will just…never like Nix, no matter how hard I try. She is the snarky OP caricature character and I have loathed those sorts of characters since they keep appearing.
4.5 ⭐️s for this. I wonder when I’ll actually read the series in order.
This book won me over with the Immortals After Dark series which I am totally not reading in order.
We have Sabine (h) and Rydstrom (H) as our centuries old protagonists on the Lore. H is our Demon King who is just and right while h is a wicked sorceress who would rather be nefarious and wrong. But h is put in a desperate position and needs H to comply:
Breed me or die.
Well, not those words specifically, but the basis is, she wants his protection, her queendom, and a round belly and he wants her trust and, well, her. But when she kidnaps him and becomes a seductress and he lies to her and dishes back his suffering on her, their romance and sensuality gets murky what with all the prophecies and poisons.
I appreciated both these protagonists so much because of how distinct they were in their voice and their motives. Sabine being a liar and the queen of illusions made me admire her strength. I understood her need for lies. But I also understood Rydstrom’s frustration and need to temper his kingdom.
I’m happy with how the miscommunication didn’t last forever and a day. Honestly, it was refreshing. No, they didn’t unload their secrets so quickly, but when the third act struck and I feared we would have a separation arc…it didn’t happen because Sabine understood Rydstrom’s choice!
We stan a conscientious queen.
I has nitpicky qualms with this. I think, considering Sabine, it didn’t make sense how quickly she spoke to Rydstrom after he threw away her gold. It would have been nice to see Sabine go completely silent and closed off and Rydstrom to understand more about sorceri and gold.
I also wish we saw more of the hidden emotional state of Sabine, but that is just me.
And I will just…never like Nix, no matter how hard I try. She is the snarky OP caricature character and I have loathed those sorts of characters since they keep appearing.
4.5 ⭐️s for this. I wonder when I’ll actually read the series in order.
avid_reader_96's review against another edition
I'll review when I actually finish reading but at this point I will finish at a later date when this book manage to capture and hold my interest longer than just every other chapter.
melissalivanos's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nosaxophone's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
jcoonzie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
booksandteatime's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit, Incest, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Child death, Murder, Death, Grief, Gore, and War
poppymonster's review against another edition
4.0
I was very unsure about this book because both the MCs were irritating me for the first 20% or so. Sabine grew on me much quicker that the MMC, but I eventually made my peace with him as well. It was interesting to have a morally grey FMC, although she was occasionally over the top for my tastes. I think I prefer her little sister.
This book was all about dubcon and power exchange with the FMC driving the dubcon. The true villain of the story was… somehow more horrifying that Groot (spelling? I’ve been doing the audiobooks lol).
Anyway, those readers who like a nice redemption arc, this book definitely had it for both MCs.
Spice: 5/5
Triggers: murder, violence, incest, torture, dubcon, captivity, kidnapping, children suffering
This book was all about dubcon and power exchange with the FMC driving the dubcon. The true villain of the story was… somehow more horrifying that Groot (spelling? I’ve been doing the audiobooks lol).
Anyway, those readers who like a nice redemption arc, this book definitely had it for both MCs.
Spice: 5/5
Triggers: murder, violence, incest, torture, dubcon, captivity, kidnapping, children suffering
radicalrad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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
2.25
Cadeon and Holly. I'm not quite sure what to say about this one. It was ok the whole idea that your fated mate could be so crappy towards you is kinda sad and they were both plain wrong at some points. They were a toxic couple.