Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Minor: Vomit
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse
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
The audiobook narrator does an amazing job. She really brings the characters to life and adds so much feeling to the Odessa's thoughts and experience. The book is perfectly paced for my tastes. The action hits well, the monsters are interesting, and I like spending time with these characters in this world. Even though some of the twists were predictable, I didn't find it frustrating; it was fun waiting to see how the secrets would be revealed.
I actually really like Odessa. She's kinda a wimp, is dealing with loneliness and emotional neglect that started in childhood, and hasn't had much control over her life. She slowly learns to advocate for herself throughout her time in her new home. I really like how the Guardian irks her so much, it inspires a stubborn streak that really benefits her in the end. Odessa is fun when she's angry. The Guardian is the right level of broody and secretive for me. He has a grim attitude that can at times trend towards fatalistic. I liked getting to know him alongside Odessa.
The romance proceeds at such a sweetly slow pace and the feelings seem to develop naturally. There's so much more going on than the romantic entanglement. I'm looking forward to book two.
I actually really like Odessa. She's kinda a wimp, is dealing with loneliness and emotional neglect that started in childhood, and hasn't had much control over her life. She slowly learns to advocate for herself throughout her time in her new home. I really like how the Guardian irks her so much, it inspires a stubborn streak that really benefits her in the end. Odessa is fun when she's angry. The Guardian is the right level of broody and secretive for me. He has a grim attitude that can at times trend towards fatalistic. I liked getting to know him alongside Odessa.
The romance proceeds at such a sweetly slow pace and the feelings seem to develop naturally. There's so much more going on than the romantic entanglement. I'm looking forward to book two.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
I've been craving reading a romantasy, and this scratched the itch and then some. This was just pure fun and excitement the whole way through, and I absolutely tore through it.
Odessa is a princess from the kingdom Quentis, but she considers herself a forgotten princess because her older half-sister has been groomed to represent the kingdom and eventually marry the Turah prince, thus satisfying the realm's peace treaty, the Shield of Sparrows. But somehow, Odessa ends up being the one to marry the prince, and she suddenly gets whisked away to a new kingdom, with no idea who to trust and how to perform her duties to her home kingdom and her married kingdom. To complicate things, the monsters that have always plagued the realm have become even more feral and deadly, and the realm is barreling toward a migration of the deadliest monsters at all.
I don't know if I've ever read a romantasy with monsters, and I loved it; it added some flair to a genre that can be pretty repetitive (as much as I love it). The world building made a lot of sense and was doled out methodically, and I appreciated that we learned along with Odessa and that we got lots of answers without the whole game being given away. The writing was no-frills and well-paced, and the plot was unpredictable without being unrealistic. Odessa is easy to root for: she was never trained to be a leader or be the integral part of a political marriage, but she has grit and determination and throws herself into her role. As for the romance, this book has a relatively slow burn, but I loved that - I haven't read a true slow burn romance in a while. The relationship between Odessa and her love interest (this is hard to talk about without giving away spoilers lol) blooms steadily, with trust and intimacy growing in a believable and nuanced way. The slow burn also makes the sexual tension incredibly strong, which I always love. I can't wait to read the next book in this series (and watch it on Amazon whenever it comes out)!
I also enjoyed that there wasn't really a twist at the end. Odessa knows who the Guardian is and they've proclaimed their love for each other, and they don't have any secrets between them. Instead, they have to separate to try to fix the realm's problems, which I always enjoy in a romantasy more than the traditional twist of the love interest not being who the main character thought they were and the main character regretting falling for them etc.
Odessa is a princess from the kingdom Quentis, but she considers herself a forgotten princess because her older half-sister has been groomed to represent the kingdom and eventually marry the Turah prince, thus satisfying the realm's peace treaty, the Shield of Sparrows. But somehow, Odessa ends up being the one to marry the prince, and she suddenly gets whisked away to a new kingdom, with no idea who to trust and how to perform her duties to her home kingdom and her married kingdom. To complicate things, the monsters that have always plagued the realm have become even more feral and deadly, and the realm is barreling toward a migration of the deadliest monsters at all.
I don't know if I've ever read a romantasy with monsters, and I loved it; it added some flair to a genre that can be pretty repetitive (as much as I love it). The world building made a lot of sense and was doled out methodically, and I appreciated that we learned along with Odessa and that we got lots of answers without the whole game being given away. The writing was no-frills and well-paced, and the plot was unpredictable without being unrealistic. Odessa is easy to root for: she was never trained to be a leader or be the integral part of a political marriage, but she has grit and determination and throws herself into her role. As for the romance, this book has a relatively slow burn, but I loved that - I haven't read a true slow burn romance in a while. The relationship between Odessa and her love interest (this is hard to talk about without giving away spoilers lol) blooms steadily, with trust and intimacy growing in a believable and nuanced way. The slow burn also makes the sexual tension incredibly strong, which I always love. I can't wait to read the next book in this series (and watch it on Amazon whenever it comes out)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Murder
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Trafficking, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book really is that girl. I devoured it.
To fulfill an ancient magical contract, Princess Odessa is forced to marry prince Zavier, and leave her entire life behind to go to his kingdom. The contract is between the 5 kingdoms as a peace treaty of sorts, so they can focus on defending against the vicious monsters instead of wasting resources by being at war.
I absolutely loved this from start to finish. It has a good mix of romance and plot, and the romance is built up really well. No instalove (thank god).
I honestly feel so bad for Odessa. No one tells this girl anything. Why is everyone around her keeping secrets ðŸ˜
I do think some of the plot was a little predictable, but I'm not really mad at it. I was still surprised by some parts toward the end.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read for me! I'm looking forward to book 2
To fulfill an ancient magical contract, Princess Odessa is forced to marry prince Zavier, and leave her entire life behind to go to his kingdom. The contract is between the 5 kingdoms as a peace treaty of sorts, so they can focus on defending against the vicious monsters instead of wasting resources by being at war.
I absolutely loved this from start to finish. It has a good mix of romance and plot, and the romance is built up really well. No instalove (thank god).
I honestly feel so bad for Odessa. No one tells this girl anything. Why is everyone around her keeping secrets ðŸ˜
I do think some of the plot was a little predictable, but I'm not really mad at it. I was still surprised by some parts toward the end.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read for me! I'm looking forward to book 2
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
I really did enjoy this book. I love characters whose vices are virtues being used wrong, or at the wrong time, and Perry does this fabulously. Odessa's hobbies are things that don't serve good purpose in this world. She's inquisitive, but doesn't know how to ask the right questions. She hates gossip, but because of that is missing key information. I live for these kinds of characters.
The world building is also fabulous. There are a lot of minor details that show the amount of thought Perry put into it.
That being said, I am pretty sure you could shave at least 100 pages off this book and not actually lose anything.
The level of description of deaths was higher than I usually enjoy. I wouldn't call it graphic, but prepare yourself for descriptions of blood and exactly how people die.
The pacing also seemed to waver towards the end, to the point where I was skimming most of the lead up to the big ending; that could also be because I called every reveal in the first 25% of the book. So YMMV on the pacing there.
I can't wait for book 2!
The world building is also fabulous. There are a lot of minor details that show the amount of thought Perry put into it.
That being said, I am pretty sure you could shave at least 100 pages off this book and not actually lose anything.
The level of description of deaths was higher than I usually enjoy. I wouldn't call it graphic, but prepare yourself for descriptions of blood and exactly how people die.
The pacing also seemed to waver towards the end, to the point where I was skimming most of the lead up to the big ending; that could also be because I called every reveal in the first 25% of the book. So YMMV on the pacing there.
I can't wait for book 2!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy