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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Quite the cliffhanger. Some things seem so predictable while other twists come from nowhere. Excellent world building and character development. Some parts overly drawn out or graphic, but easily skipped. Looking forward to the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War
Moderate: Murder, Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Torture, Trafficking, Gaslighting
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Honestly, this one really surprised me! To go from writing small town, ranch inspired romances to THIS is pretty impressive to me.
I really enjoyed our FMC Odessa and how she had so much personality. She was so thoughtful and asked questions incessantly (but, really, it was cute because I’m the same way haha). I like how she thought for herself and had an actual brain.
And for our MMC… he was pretty solid. I’m intrigued to see more of his personality in the future. He was fun, and I enjoyed his humor for sure.
The world-building was pretty great! I really do think that Devney Perry nailed every aspect of a romance-driven fantasy, and it wasn’t filled with smut (aside from ONE scene! And it wasn’t crazy. Very skippable if you desire to skip those scenes) or oversexualization of characters (meaning constant references to their body, constant mentions of being ‘wet’ lol or turned on, etc.).
One of my biggest gripes with romantasy is that sometimes there’s a lack of plot, and the main characters talk about how turned on they are every five sentences, which takes me out of the story. There was none of that here! It’s very accessible to readers who don’t want to have a sex-driven romance, and I just think it was well-craft.
I hope that Devney Perry continues to write in this world and dabble in fantasy in the future! I think she has a lot of potential to make it big in this genre like she has in the romance genre.
I really enjoyed our FMC Odessa and how she had so much personality. She was so thoughtful and asked questions incessantly (but, really, it was cute because I’m the same way haha). I like how she thought for herself and had an actual brain.
And for our MMC… he was pretty solid. I’m intrigued to see more of his personality in the future. He was fun, and I enjoyed his humor for sure.
The world-building was pretty great! I really do think that Devney Perry nailed every aspect of a romance-driven fantasy, and it wasn’t filled with smut (aside from ONE scene! And it wasn’t crazy. Very skippable if you desire to skip those scenes) or oversexualization of characters (meaning constant references to their body, constant mentions of being ‘wet’ lol or turned on, etc.).
One of my biggest gripes with romantasy is that sometimes there’s a lack of plot, and the main characters talk about how turned on they are every five sentences, which takes me out of the story. There was none of that here! It’s very accessible to readers who don’t want to have a sex-driven romance, and I just think it was well-craft.
I hope that Devney Perry continues to write in this world and dabble in fantasy in the future! I think she has a lot of potential to make it big in this genre like she has in the romance genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Terminal illness
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
This is an extremely slow burn. If you live world building and cat/mouse types of adventures it is great. If you are looking for scenes of passionate love then keep on going as there are 2 maybe 3 if you count some heavy petting. Most of the action and all of the passion happens in the last 20% of the book.
Not a horrible book and yes I’ll read the follow up. But there was a lot of unnecessary fluff such as being told her ladder was removed from her tree every night and knowing all of Odessa’s inner monologue but none of anyone elses.
Not a horrible book and yes I’ll read the follow up. But there was a lot of unnecessary fluff such as being told her ladder was removed from her tree every night and knowing all of Odessa’s inner monologue but none of anyone elses.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
This book took longer for me to read not because I couldn't get through it, but because the timing was not great as I just had a baby so I had to put this down for about a week before I was able to finish it.
I thought this book was initially slow but still was intriguing to me. It picked up pretty quickly and kept me captivated. A couple of the twists seemed predictable while others I didn't expect. With that being said, I look forward to reading the next book once it comes out.
I thought this book was initially slow but still was intriguing to me. It picked up pretty quickly and kept me captivated. A couple of the twists seemed predictable while others I didn't expect. With that being said, I look forward to reading the next book once it comes out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Pregnancy
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 😭
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 😭
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
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Thank you to Devney Perry and Red Tower Books for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Book Recap: Princess Odessa Wolfe is not meant to be queen, that’s her sister, Mae’s future, not hers….that is until a handsome prince and a legendary warrior come to her kingdom with an ancient law that steals her away from her kingdom to become the queen of another. As Odessa works to uncover the secrets about her new kingdom, she may just uncover a few about her past.
Top Tropes:
Top Tropes:
- 💍 Forced Marriage
- ⚔️ Enemies to Lovers
- 🔥 Slow Burn
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️(a couple open door scenes, romance is not the main plot)
Let’s Talk About It…
Devney Perry has written over 40 romance novels and I’ve read over 40 romantasy books so it seems fitting that her first romantasy is my first Devney Perry read. It did not disappoint. This had been a highly anticipated read for me. I literally squealed when I found an Advance Reader Copy in my mailbox. I couldn’t help it. I was far too excited.
This book is labeled as romantasy, but the romance is far from the plot. In fact, you will be waiting until the very end to really get much romance at all. While there are some heated moments between the characters throughout the book, the focus is on Odessa’s story as she tries to uncover the secrets of a new kingdom she will one day rule. A kingdom filled with monsters, blood oaths, and magic she doesn’t understand.
I really enjoyed the world building in this book. As you read, you can feel the sense of community throughout the kingdom and how these people believe. The monsters were also fascinating to learn about. I enjoyed how they had some familiar elements that helped you visualize them, but were also unique to this world. I will say, this book is a slow start. It took about 70% of the way through the book for the action to really kick up, but once it didn’t, I felt like it was worth the wait.
The romance in this book, while not the focus, was just right. The banter between characters was enjoyable and the twists and turns throughout the story kept you guessing how things would end up. And the biggest plot twist right at the end left me screaming, “When does book 2 release!?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
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
The gods sent monsters to force mortals to kneel, and Odessa Cross has spent her life obeying—her father, the crown, and a fate she never chose. She wasn’t meant to rule or fight, yet a treaty sealed in blood & a stranger's arrival changed everything. Now, bound to a prince Odessa barely knows & hated by the warrior at her side, she's expected to be a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if she chooses her own path? What if there’s power in being underestimated—and she finally claims it?
I've seen this blurbed as being The Witcher meets Cinderella, and I can totally see it. I knocked off a star because I felt like some parts of the book dragged on, but even so, I will definitely pick up the next book in the series when it comes out. This is a slow burn romantasy, with the enemies to lovers & arranged marriage tropes thrown in. I think if you like SJM and/or Rebecca Yarros, this would be another book to check out - my understanding is that Perry typically writes romance, and this is her first fantasy book (similar to Yarros when she came out with Fourth Wing.
I've seen this blurbed as being The Witcher meets Cinderella, and I can totally see it. I knocked off a star because I felt like some parts of the book dragged on, but even so, I will definitely pick up the next book in the series when it comes out. This is a slow burn romantasy, with the enemies to lovers & arranged marriage tropes thrown in. I think if you like SJM and/or Rebecca Yarros, this would be another book to check out - my understanding is that Perry typically writes romance, and this is her first fantasy book (similar to Yarros when she came out with Fourth Wing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Gore, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail