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meg_k_white's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I liked this, but I wasn't blown away, and some things really bothered me. The fantasy and paranormal aspects were fun to read, and the spice was spicy and sprinkled throughout. I also really liked the personal growth Isolde went through as she learns the truth about the world she was apparently sheltered from. I didn’t like the petty girl fights or the fixation on Isolde’s breasts.
***SPOILERS***
I really didn't like the reincarnation trope in the sense that everyone knew who Isolde was except her. And even after she did realize who she was... She was still Isolde? But did her entourage like her for who she was or for who she is? This lowered my rating.
I also didn't like that Isolde's people are enslaved... And that they are the only POC in the story. And that her father kept it a secret not only from her but also from her mother... And was everyone else in the kingdom kept in the dark? Or did they not tell Isolde either? This lowered my rating even more.
Bottom line, I won't be reading book two.
***SPOILERS***
I really didn't like the reincarnation trope in the sense that everyone knew who Isolde was except her. And even after she did realize who she was... She was still Isolde? But did her entourage like her for who she was or for who she is? This lowered my rating.
I also didn't like that Isolde's people are enslaved... And that they are the only POC in the story. And that her father kept it a secret not only from her but also from her mother... And was everyone else in the kingdom kept in the dark? Or did they not tell Isolde either? This lowered my rating even more.
Bottom line, I won't be reading book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Racism, Grief, Sexual content, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
luna_lovelace's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Have you ever gotten upset with yourself for not reading a book sooner that's just been sitting on your TBR pile? I shouldn't have waited this long to read this vampire enemies-to-lovers romance; it was so good! The plot just got thicker the more you read on. I did not expect the book to end the way it did and now I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Adrianwas in love with her from the very beginning and he waited so patiently to have her come around. He has a soft spot but only for her, which is absolutely endearing.
I love that Isolde is a warrior and can take care of herself.I enjoyed the scenes where she was capable of surviving and protecting herself, having a strong female character just hits differently.
The author did such a great job at making my blood boil every time Safira came up, props to her for making me dislike a character so much.She got away with a lot, that bed scene though was chef's kiss. I am just glad Isolde had girlfriends who cared for her and didn't go after her man.
It's so sad when you find out why she's afraid of being near fire, it made me teary!
Overall, I think this book has a great mix of plot and character development which made me enjoy this book from the beginning, middle, and end.
Adrian
I love that Isolde is a warrior and can take care of herself.
The author did such a great job at making my blood boil every time Safira came up, props to her for making me dislike a character so much.
It's so sad when you find out why she's afraid of being near fire, it made me teary!
Overall, I think this book has a great mix of plot and character development which made me enjoy this book from the beginning, middle, and end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, War, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Cursing
melissaslibraryy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Child death, Sexual content, Cursing, and Sexism
shaylac's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
TLDR: a book about a human princess betrothed to a powerful and feared vampire king and she must choose between her people or her new husband. There's definitely an enemies to lovers trope.
I'll start off by saying that I have read the Hades saga from Scarlett St. Clair and I actually liked the Adrian x Isolde storyline a little better. The story is told from Isolde's perspective which, I thought was done well but there could have been a little more character development throughout the book. Their is a lot of spiciness, for some it's a lot, to me I think it's fine (it is a romance book so spiciness is expected). I wish Adrian was in more of the scenes but when he did make an appearance, I thought the storyline was a little better. Maybe we'll get a book from Adrian's perspective like the Hades saga but who knows. The ending was okay, I think it was building up to it. Will probably read the next book in the series.
I'll start off by saying that I have read the Hades saga from Scarlett St. Clair and I actually liked the Adrian x Isolde storyline a little better. The story is told from Isolde's perspective which, I thought was done well but there could have been a little more character development throughout the book. Their is a lot of spiciness, for some it's a lot, to me I think it's fine (it is a romance book so spiciness is expected). I wish Adrian was in more of the scenes but when he did make an appearance, I thought the storyline was a little better. Maybe we'll get a book from Adrian's perspective like the Hades saga but who knows. The ending was okay, I think it was building up to it. Will probably read the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, and War
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
julienicole1106's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Blood, Sexual content, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
siglerbooknook's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I think I could have loved this book if there was more plot and less 🌶️🌶️🌶️.
It had to be 40-50% of the book that was just sex. It got to the point I was skipping whole pages. I like a good romance as much as the next person, but I need plot to hold it together.
I'm honestly disappointed. This book had so much promise. The plot that was there was great. Easy to solve, but very enjoyable. I wish the book had spent more time letting us get to know the characters and the world of Cordova instead of another XXX scene.
Every time Isolde asks a question it goes unanswered, and since I had already figured out the big secret the end reveal felt a little flat.
I did enjoy the quips from the side characters like Sorin. Killian was unlikeable from the start.
To quote a favored character, it was as promising as a pie and disappointing to discover there was no filling.
It had to be 40-50% of the book that was just sex. It got to the point I was skipping whole pages. I like a good romance as much as the next person, but I need plot to hold it together.
I'm honestly disappointed. This book had so much promise. The plot that was there was great. Easy to solve, but very enjoyable. I wish the book had spent more time letting us get to know the characters and the world of Cordova instead of another XXX scene.
Every time Isolde asks a question it goes unanswered, and since I had already figured out the big secret the end reveal felt a little flat.
I did enjoy the quips from the side characters like Sorin. Killian was unlikeable from the start.
To quote a favored character, it was as promising as a pie and disappointing to discover there was no filling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Sexism
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Infertility
doubletherazzle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
The beginning was a bit rough, but once the story fell into a groove I enjoyed the mystery and fantasy of the story telling and will definitely read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual content, Death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Infidelity, Slavery, Sexism, and Racism
stephwatsford's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
I’m not sure how to feel about this book. I ate it up in a few days which is huge because I’ve been in a slump lately, and I enjoyed my time reading it. There was a healthy amount of spice, but any more in a 400 page book would have been way too much for me.
There were parts of this hook I found exiting and the overall concept was mostly interesting and relatively unique.
My biggest problems with this book however was how predictable it was and how how confusing it was. I found myself guessing the plot twists very early on. There were parts that were so confusing to me as well. Adrian’s powers were never really explained and I still don’t understand what he can do. I understand they mentioned that they don’t know why he has the power to heal but they never explained how his mind reading worked so we have no idea what he knows. I also found that while we do get some insight into his background and why he does what he does, I still feel like I don’t know him. I feel more connected to Ana who had half as much airtime than I do Adrian which is a serious problem for me. I was also confused at the end because it really made it seem like Isolde had killed Ravena when she stabbed her through the mirror but then on the second last page they mentioned that she was still a problem.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and will happily read the sequel, however I’m a little annoyed that I have to read the sequel just to stop feeling confused.
There were parts of this hook I found exiting and the overall concept was mostly interesting and relatively unique.
My biggest problems with this book however was how predictable it was and how how confusing it was. I found myself guessing the plot twists very early on. There were parts that were so confusing to me as well. Adrian’s powers were never really explained and I still don’t understand what he can do. I understand they mentioned that they don’t know why he has the power to heal but they never explained how his mind reading worked so we have no idea what he knows. I also found that while we do get some insight into his background and why he does what he does, I still feel like I don’t know him. I feel more connected to Ana who had half as much airtime than I do Adrian which is a serious problem for me. I was also confused at the end
Overall, I enjoyed this book and will happily read the sequel, however I’m a little annoyed that I have to read the sequel just to stop feeling confused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Suicide and Slavery
livetgjennomb_ker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I’m not entirely sure why everyone is hating on this? It’s not the greatest, but I had a good time.
Minuses for repetitive writing and boring spice
🌶️/5
Minuses for repetitive writing and boring spice
🌶️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
drtx_bwt's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, War, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Slavery