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ginevera's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was sent the ARC for an honest review.
Astra and two other girls has been training, since they were children, to be the Princess's decoy. She is an orphan and keeps her heritage and poweres hidden from others.
On one of her assignment her convoy is attacked by Prince Marlak, the disgraced fae prince. Later he comes and askes to marry her. Live as she knows it are change forever and especially since Astra has been seeing Prince Marlak in her dreams.
I really really enjoyed this. The plot was interesting and kept you guessing the entire book.
I liked the banter between them. The dreams were a fun twist. This is mostly a character heavy story. Not many plot twist untill the end. Communication isn’t what Marlak is best at and it made me yell at the story at times. You can see that they are both young in their words and actions.
This is a fast paced read and I can’t wait for book 2. Cause the ending made me mad that it stopped there.
Astra and two other girls has been training, since they were children, to be the Princess's decoy. She is an orphan and keeps her heritage and poweres hidden from others.
On one of her assignment her convoy is attacked by Prince Marlak, the disgraced fae prince. Later he comes and askes to marry her. Live as she knows it are change forever and especially since Astra has been seeing Prince Marlak in her dreams.
I really really enjoyed this. The plot was interesting and kept you guessing the entire book.
I liked the banter between them. The dreams were a fun twist. This is mostly a character heavy story. Not many plot twist untill the end. Communication isn’t what Marlak is best at and it made me yell at the story at times. You can see that they are both young in their words and actions.
This is a fast paced read and I can’t wait for book 2. Cause the ending made me mad that it stopped there.
hebberelle's review
3.0
3.5 stars. This book could have been like a third shorter if the characters had just talked to each other instead of lying, but despite that they did some nice growing as characters and are mostly likable people. World building is great, Horray Cherry Cake, and I'm interested in the next one.
lizanneyoung's review against another edition
4.0
I received an eARC and am leaving an honest review.
TROPES
🟪 Enemies to Lovers
🟪 Scary Cinnamon Roll MMC
🟪 Kindred Spirits
🟪 Connected Dreams
I really enjoyed this story. From the premise of the “substitutes” to the idea that Astra has been dreaming about this one person for so long, only to find out it isn’t who she thought it would be, everything was pieced together in a way that made me hopeful for Astra but also worried for her future.
Her banter and chemistry with Marlak are great but also force you to question what he isn’t telling her, what she will never know, and what his end goal is. Sure, we think we know what it is because he tells Astra what it supposedly is, but I can’t help but wonder what lurks underneath the surface. With this being 99% Astra’s POV, we may know more in the second book, but I don’t have my hopes up quite yet, considering the ending.
And, that ending. If we hadn’t had the last chapter, I would be torn about continuing the series. I do not love it when books end in sudden 180s, but because we had context, it worked well in this instance. I feel like I know just enough about Marlak’s thought process there that I want to see it through, how he achieves his goals, and what that means for Astra.
joanaortiz's review against another edition
3.0
We follow Astra, the FMC, into an arranged marriage with Marlak. Throughout the whole book, I found it difficult to like Astra. There were a few instances where I would start to like her and then she would act a certain way and it would take me back to not liking her. The relationship between Astra and Marlak developed slowly since it did take most of the book for them to come to terms with their feelings, but I wouldn’t categorize this book as an “Enemies to Lovers”. I didn’t feel like they were enemies at all. Marlak would show his feelings for Astra by his actions, not his words which led to a lot of miscommunication.
Miscommunication is about 80% of the book, which I understood but it was still frustrating. It was more of the way that Marlak would say things to Astra, that would annoy me, but like I said he showed his feeling through his actions.
I had some trouble with the writing. In some parts, I would be immersed in the story but then there would be a phrase or description that would take me out of it. I would find myself rereading a lot, just trying to understand. Some details would just not make sense to me, I couldn’t visualize it.
(Attention to detail is really important for me in fantasy books because of the world-building, so I would have liked a bit more details in certain scenes.)
I believe that book one was more focused on the romantic build-up for the characters while giving bits and pieces of the plot for the continuation of the series. We learn some of Astra and Marlak’s past, but there were still many questions left unanswered.
I loved that Astra helped Marlak out with some of his past struggles and he helped her become more confident. I also love that there is a unicorn named Cherry Cake.
I will be reading the next book because I did enjoy the story. I hope to see a more badass and confident Astra use her potential.
My favorite Quote:
“What’s the point in a story that’s not real?”
“The feelings are real. There’s something about feeling them while knowing you cant truly get hurt.”
3/5
Miscommunication is about 80% of the book, which I understood but it was still frustrating. It was more of the way that Marlak would say things to Astra, that would annoy me, but like I said he showed his feeling through his actions.
I had some trouble with the writing. In some parts, I would be immersed in the story but then there would be a phrase or description that would take me out of it. I would find myself rereading a lot, just trying to understand. Some details would just not make sense to me, I couldn’t visualize it.
(Attention to detail is really important for me in fantasy books because of the world-building, so I would have liked a bit more details in certain scenes.)
I believe that book one was more focused on the romantic build-up for the characters while giving bits and pieces of the plot for the continuation of the series. We learn some of Astra and Marlak’s past, but there were still many questions left unanswered.
I loved that Astra helped Marlak out with some of his past struggles and he helped her become more confident. I also love that there is a unicorn named Cherry Cake.
I will be reading the next book because I did enjoy the story. I hope to see a more badass and confident Astra use her potential.
My favorite Quote:
“What’s the point in a story that’s not real?”
“The feelings are real. There’s something about feeling them while knowing you cant truly get hurt.”
3/5
readingwithshelley's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
giuli_and_her_books's review against another edition
5.0
To be totally honest, I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. I saw it on Kickstarter and I really loved the special edition, but I was afraid I didn't enjoy the story. Why? Because it's advertised as a steamy romantic fantasy, and my experience with those kinds of books is that the fantasy plot is often very bland and the majority of the book is spice. And the reviews were kind of split too. So I was torn. BUT! The book was on KU, so I grabbed a copy and started reading it. Well...I LOVED IT. After a few pages, I was hooked. I could not stop reading. And that says a lot since lately I couldn't even finish one book.
Sure, it's not perfect, I can see the point of some of the reviews. But it was perfect for me. It was the perfect amount of spice, enemies-to-lovers done to perfection - and not enemies turning to lovers overnight - you could feel the chemistry and the tension between the characters increasing over time, and their feelings towards each other showing a bit more. AND THE PLOT WAS SO ENGAGING!!!
I also loved the fantasy world and all the world-building. I want to know the history of that world. What happened, really, to Astra's people? Who were they? What happened when Marlak was a kid? What is Marlak's plan? How will everything unravel? AHHHHHH so many questions left unanswered. I don't know how I'll be able to wait until January (when the second book is out).
So yeah, obviously I backed the Kickstarter project for the special edition hardcover (I didn't even finish the book before deciding, that's how much I liked it!) and I am already looking forward to rereading this story when I get my hands on that!
Sure, it's not perfect, I can see the point of some of the reviews. But it was perfect for me. It was the perfect amount of spice, enemies-to-lovers done to perfection - and not enemies turning to lovers overnight - you could feel the chemistry and the tension between the characters increasing over time, and their feelings towards each other showing a bit more. AND THE PLOT WAS SO ENGAGING!!!
I also loved the fantasy world and all the world-building. I want to know the history of that world. What happened, really, to Astra's people? Who were they? What happened when Marlak was a kid? What is Marlak's plan? How will everything unravel? AHHHHHH so many questions left unanswered. I don't know how I'll be able to wait until January (when the second book is out).
So yeah, obviously I backed the Kickstarter project for the special edition hardcover (I didn't even finish the book before deciding, that's how much I liked it!) and I am already looking forward to rereading this story when I get my hands on that!
jwhittak05's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and kind of fell down the author’s amazon page to see what else she’s written and added it all to my TBR. I really got into the story of Marlak and Astra and that push/pull of their relationship. They are the epitome of enemies to lovers (then back to semi-enemies). Their insults toward each other know no bounds. Once Astra sees his memories from the death of his parents though and she sees things don’t add up, you start to have lots of questions. So many questions by the end of the book. What really happened that day? Why does Marlak have alliances but his brother seemingly doesn’t? What really happened to Astra’s parents? What kind of power does Astra really have? What does Otavio and others plan for Astra? I really need the answers ASAP.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
It is an open door book with a mild amount of sex scenes 🌶️🌶️ out of 5nasouki's review
slow-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? Yes
2.5