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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
-Single POV
-Gothic, fantasy Mansfield Park retelling
-Garrick ♥️🐺
-Gothic, fantasy Mansfield Park retelling
-Garrick ♥️🐺
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After finally getting a chance to dive into this book, my emotions were all over the place. Here's a revamped take on my experience:
What I enjoyed:
+ Finally, a wholesome romance! It's like finding a gem in a haystack, especially with grown-up main characters. The clean yet tension-filled romance was a delight.
+ Reuniting with familiar faces from CoDaS was heartwarming. Witnessing their growth together was a highlight for me.
+ Delving into the villains' backstory was intriguing. I kept guessing their motives, leaning towards them being part demons. The revelation kept me hooked.
+ Unraveling her parents' story was the cherry on top! It was, without a doubt, my favorite part of the whole journey.
What didn't quite hit the mark:
- Despite the quick action, the book felt a bit slow, making it hard for me to fully engage.
- I wished to see more of her brother's character development. His abrupt change from a loving sibling to a harsh figure left me wanting more clarity. The swift forgiveness at the end felt a tad rushed.
- The stepdad's character intrigued me, and I yearned to learn more about him. His love for her was evident, yet I craved a deeper exploration of his role in the story.
After reading Castle of Dusk and Shadows I was more than a little excited. Waiting for this book to come out was torture! It may not have been my favorite book, but it would be a great winter read and despite it's pitfalls I find myself looking forward to the next retelling!
What I enjoyed:
+ Finally, a wholesome romance! It's like finding a gem in a haystack, especially with grown-up main characters. The clean yet tension-filled romance was a delight.
+ Reuniting with familiar faces from CoDaS was heartwarming. Witnessing their growth together was a highlight for me.
+ Delving into the villains' backstory was intriguing. I kept guessing their motives, leaning towards them being part demons. The revelation kept me hooked.
+ Unraveling her parents' story was the cherry on top! It was, without a doubt, my favorite part of the whole journey.
What didn't quite hit the mark:
- Despite the quick action, the book felt a bit slow, making it hard for me to fully engage.
- I wished to see more of her brother's character development. His abrupt change from a loving sibling to a harsh figure left me wanting more clarity. The swift forgiveness at the end felt a tad rushed.
- The stepdad's character intrigued me, and I yearned to learn more about him. His love for her was evident, yet I craved a deeper exploration of his role in the story.
After reading Castle of Dusk and Shadows I was more than a little excited. Waiting for this book to come out was torture! It may not have been my favorite book, but it would be a great winter read and despite it's pitfalls I find myself looking forward to the next retelling!
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had some issues with the morality of the main character later in the book. At one point, the love interest insists the MC is "good" but in his list of what makes her good mentions nothing that a bad person could not have (he says she's pure, couragous, and powerful). The villains of the book are also pure (in their hatred and their purpose), courageous (in their previous lives, I'd argue), and powerful. They are most definitely not good, though. And I don't think the MC is as good as we're supposed to believe. She stops feeling bad about killing an innocent victim pretty quickly and spares no thought for the other three who were killed by the love interest and later kills a guy when I suspect she could have simply injured him or stopped him with her powers another way. Her reason? He was about to attack the love interest for killing his brother in the past.
I was also bugged that throughout the book "quiet" and "kind" seemed to be viewed as synonymous, weak, and possible even wrong. I think it was a bad attempt to show the MC's growth and developing agency, by embracing her anger and becoming willing to hurt or kill if necessary, but I've seen this arc done much better without diminishing the value of kindness or implying that to be quiet is to be weak.
I was also bugged that throughout the book "quiet" and "kind" seemed to be viewed as synonymous, weak, and possible even wrong. I think it was a bad attempt to show the MC's growth and developing agency, by embracing her anger and becoming willing to hurt or kill if necessary, but I've seen this arc done much better without diminishing the value of kindness or implying that to be quiet is to be weak.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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:
No
I loved this story!
I liked that we got a strong female character without her being the typical strong female character who’s honestly just kind of a jerk. Ren is super sweet and loving but will to do whatever it takes to protect those she loves. She struggles with self doubt but continues pushing herself to be better and do the right thing.
Garrick as well is a nice change from a lot of the current MMCs who are all brooding and also low key jerks. He’s protective and loyal and kind and adorable. And like Ren he will do whatever he has to do to protect his loved ones.
The villains were also interesting and discovering their motives was very cool.
Rachel delivered another fantastic book and I can’t wait for more in the future!
I liked that we got a strong female character without her being the typical strong female character who’s honestly just kind of a jerk. Ren is super sweet and loving but will to do whatever it takes to protect those she loves. She struggles with self doubt but continues pushing herself to be better and do the right thing.
Garrick as well is a nice change from a lot of the current MMCs who are all brooding and also low key jerks. He’s protective and loyal and kind and adorable. And like Ren he will do whatever he has to do to protect his loved ones.
The villains were also interesting and discovering their motives was very cool.
Rachel delivered another fantastic book and I can’t wait for more in the future!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a great follow up! A loose retelling of Mansfield Park with fae! The world building was really good for a “standalone” book and I felt the action started pretty fast! I read this in one sitting that’s how enthralled I was in the story. I also loved the tension between our two love interests! Cannot wait for the next one!
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You had me at “gothic Jane Austen retelling”.
This story was so fun and magical. It’s a loose gothic fantasy retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Parkand I ate it up! It was such a good winter read and I loved the characters and atmosphere. The plot was very fast-paced as well and the story never felt like it lagged at all. I also love how this is a spice-free book (which I prefer) but the romance was still DEFINITELY there. The TENSION, y’all. 😮💨 Which in my opinion is, like, 80% of a good romance. 😂
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am MOST definitely going to be reading the rest of the series as she writes them. And her other book in this series that’s already out, Castle of Dusk and Shadows, just so happens to be my favorite Austen novel so of course I’m going to be reading that one ASAP.
After reading Castle of Dusk and Shadows, I was super excited for the release of this book! I love that it’s a standalone, but if you’ve read CoDaS you will see some familiar faces, and that was really fun. The plot of Fortress was really good, and it jumped right in to the action. There was the perfect amount of world building for a standalone novel, and the author definitely delivered on the romance. I feel like it’s hard to find an adult novel that doesn’t have spice, and as a 32 year old woman, I’m grateful I didn’t have to read about teenagers again just to avoid unnecessary spice. There were parts that definitely gave acotar “under the mountain” vibes, and the villains are spot on creepy and villainous. I can’t wait for more novels in this world!