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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I often have trouble with prequels, because we know what’s coming, and it’s likely pain, and somehow adding lore and context to it can be even more painful and sometimes feel redundant. I’m happy to say however, I had a great time getting to know Memnon and Roxi’s origin story, how Roxi grew up to match Memnon’s freak, and how together they grew to be the unhinged couple we know and love today.
And when I say unhinged, you’ll see a new level of cray cray from Memnon in this book, and Roxilana is more than a match to him. He might be a damned powerful warrior, but her transition from scared child to breathtakingly fierce warrior is glorious. Memnon has the tendency to put the B in Barbarian, while at the same time being the tenderest, most devoted Simp. And ancient king Memnon was as much a cunnilingus connoisseur as the modern one. Honestly this is it for the review, since I covered the most important detail.
Anyway…this is very ancient times, and the violence and gore is leveled up accordingly. There is a lot of war, and with their magic, our MCs are especially formidable and often bloodthirsty and deadly with it. Their power is a thing of terrifying beauty, and an instrument honed to destroy. Their (temporarily) tragic ending is almost karmic in nature, but it’s still painful to watch and frustrating in its inevitability. You can see the scheming and betrayal coming from a mile away, even as you’re helplessly careening towards it. The book does feel a tiny bit drawn out, and I feel like it could’ve been tightened quite a bit. We go far too in depth in far too many battles, as well as their mundane life events. However, you can feel the thorough research behind those details and the author’s love of history shines through. Again, my complaints with the length might have something to do with my trouble with prequels.
This is basically a marriage in trouble/second chance series on crack, and I’m very excited to be back to present day to see how Memnon unfucks his latest fuckup when it comes to his now very modern wife Selene, since you know, she might be unhinged but she’s no longer a warrior queen who curses men at will (though she’s capable).
*I received an arc, and chose to read and review it voluntarily. All opinions are mine alone*
And when I say unhinged, you’ll see a new level of cray cray from Memnon in this book, and Roxilana is more than a match to him. He might be a damned powerful warrior, but her transition from scared child to breathtakingly fierce warrior is glorious. Memnon has the tendency to put the B in Barbarian, while at the same time being the tenderest, most devoted Simp. And ancient king Memnon was as much a cunnilingus connoisseur as the modern one. Honestly this is it for the review, since I covered the most important detail.
Anyway…this is very ancient times, and the violence and gore is leveled up accordingly. There is a lot of war, and with their magic, our MCs are especially formidable and often bloodthirsty and deadly with it. Their power is a thing of terrifying beauty, and an instrument honed to destroy. Their (temporarily) tragic ending is almost karmic in nature, but it’s still painful to watch and frustrating in its inevitability. You can see the scheming and betrayal coming from a mile away, even as you’re helplessly careening towards it. The book does feel a tiny bit drawn out, and I feel like it could’ve been tightened quite a bit. We go far too in depth in far too many battles, as well as their mundane life events. However, you can feel the thorough research behind those details and the author’s love of history shines through. Again, my complaints with the length might have something to do with my trouble with prequels.
This is basically a marriage in trouble/second chance series on crack, and I’m very excited to be back to present day to see how Memnon unfucks his latest fuckup when it comes to his now very modern wife Selene, since you know, she might be unhinged but she’s no longer a warrior queen who curses men at will (though she’s capable).
*I received an arc, and chose to read and review it voluntarily. All opinions are mine alone*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Miscarriage, Violence, War
Death of pregnant woman
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
I loved this book! I’m shocked to say I like Roxi and Memnons story more than Selenes and Memnons.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Laura did a fantastic job writing this prequel from the few flashbacks scenes in Bewitched. This is full of historic references and intrigue. The love story between Memnon and Roxilana is so connected to the time period they were in and it makes the rest of the series all the more sweeter.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War
I am screaming, crying, throwing up. Laura has me in a chokehold with this ARC and I might never recover because this was the fantasy love that I showed up for. There wasn't a moment of this book that left me wanting. I absolutely adored our MMC with my whole chest and it's exactly the kind of love we love for, we die for, we change the world for.
Half of this read was just me shouting, he loves her, he loves her, he loves her!
If someone ruins this book for me I'll cry so please join me or leave me on my merry way into the rest of the Bewitched series.
Half of this read was just me shouting, he loves her, he loves her, he loves her!
If someone ruins this book for me I'll cry so please join me or leave me on my merry way into the rest of the Bewitched series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, War
Moderate: Miscarriage
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Rating this barely below books 1&2 only because there is a decent amount of repetition. I would’ve loved if we had gotten some of those scenes with overlap from Memnon’s POV.
However as someone who ATE up the flashback scenes in Bewitched and Bespelled, I was not surprised to get hooked on this prequel. I loved the in depth look at Roxilana and Memnon’s life, even knowing what tragedy waited for them at the end. This book contains a lot of historical context for Roxi. I loved that a lot of her interests echo Selene and that we see hints at how the two are the same throughout this book. I’m more convinced than ever that there is a sinister plot to harness the sorcerer magic in Memnon’s bloodline… so I need the third and final book yesterday.
However as someone who ATE up the flashback scenes in Bewitched and Bespelled, I was not surprised to get hooked on this prequel. I loved the in depth look at Roxilana and Memnon’s life, even knowing what tragedy waited for them at the end. This book contains a lot of historical context for Roxi. I loved that a lot of her interests echo Selene and that we see hints at how the two are the same throughout this book. I’m more convinced than ever that there is a sinister plot to harness the sorcerer magic in Memnon’s bloodline… so I need the third and final book yesterday.