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4.12 AVERAGE

dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No

ok so thought the series I found the FMC, Tessalyn, to be childish and absolutely obnoxious. Theon was a dominating MMC who didn't seem to care what Tessi wanted and basically has her way with her after she specifically said no many times. he just doesn't bend his will or anything, and then at times he shelters her from the wrath of his father. you can see Theons behaviour is taught and he doesn't know anything else. While Tessi's world is being torn apart and Theon keeps pushing keeps abusing her.

I really only continued the series cause I loved Luka, and Theons younger brother. those men are the shining lights of this book. their protective nature, their willingness to learn from their mistakes and grow is astounding considering non of the other characters main or side seem to go through the same growth.

Theon on his knees at the end of this book was the happiest I’ve been in some time.

readers_quadrant's review

5.0
adventurous challenging dark emotional 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: Yes
adventurous

This book contains crack. Crack with a sprinkle of unicorn glitter, magic potions and a little fairy dust on top. There is no other explanation for this to be so utterly addictive I tell you that.

I screamed at this book, I laughed at this book, I melted at this book and I stayed up until 2AM last night because I could not put it down. And I also jumped immediately on to book number three in the series. I am utterly obsessed with this series. It's the first series that gives me the same feeling as the first time I read Fourth Wing, and A Court of Mist and Fury. But (I'm actually scared to say this out loud) I think this might be better. I know, I know, I'm cursing in the church as we say in Norway. But this might actually be the best series I've ever read.

And now I'm hyping this shit way up and maybe setting people that read my reviews up for disappointment but I really don't care because in my opinion this is crack. I repeat, crack!

Why I love it so goddamn much:

The politics, court intrigue and plotting
There is so much going on between the different Lords and Heirs both on page and also off page. We are on a strictly need to know, not nice to know, throughout the book and this keeps us on our toes the whole time. Everyone seems to be plotting against each other and the loyalties that are formed seems fragile at best.

The worldbuilding
The world of Devram is interesting. It's a strictly fantasy world that expands as we go but there is a modern aspect to it that makes it complex and more dimensional. Like, of course the Legacy and Fae were able to develop modern technology, duh. The history aspect is also very interesting and has A LOT of influence on the inner workings of this world.

The character growth
I'll say it again, these characters are ACTUALLY morally grey. And it is refreshing! I've come to terms with Theon never being the perfect MMC that does and says all the right things. And it is very interesting to follow his journey to becoming more self aware of how the choices he makes has impact on the people around him. Tessa takes massive leaps of growth in this book (the will to live and fight, yes I'm looking at you), and I am sooooo ready for her villain era.

The multiple POV's (miscommunication trope done correct)
I think the push and pull between the characters is one of my favorite things about this series. We witness something happening from one POV, and form an opinion about it (often a very frustrated, hair pulling type of opinion) and then everything gets flipped upside down when we get the other POV from the same situation and after a while you kinda start to question your insanity.

The secrets, lies and betrayals
So many secrets. Secrets that we as readers know about, screaming at the secret keeper to tell the others. But also secrets that comes out of nowhere and smacks us right in the face. And the betrayals are actually betrayals and not like they pretend to betray each other in front of the others and then like sike! We were both in on it. Oh no, Melissa didn't cop out on the betrayal, and it leaves you utterly devastated and questioning why you are torturing yourself with this series.

The plot twists you don't see coming
I have stopped trying to figure them out now. Because I have a 100% failure rate at this point.

The complicated romance and relationships
I am still not sure who is end game in this book. For all I know Tessa might end up tossing all of them aside, because a strong independent demigod doesn't need no man. But I am rooting for Theon, I just can't help myself. I have a soft spot in my heart for that dude. And throw Luka in there too, the more the merrier.

The beautiful writing style
I don't think I can explain it. But it is utterly captivating. And it flows almost like poetry at times. Melissa makes me forget that I'm reading, cause everything almost plays like a movie in my head instead of words on a page.

The trauma and mental illness rep (without it being in your face)
This is done perfectly in this book. The Legacy don't care about the Fae in this world. Hurting them? Oh well, they'll survive. That's the common way of thinking. So naturally things like ADHD, anxiety and depression doesn't "exist" in this world. But Melissa has a way of writing and showing us that Tessa does indeed struggle with ADHD, anxiety and depression - without using those terms for it. And I think that is beautiful.

Go read this masterpiece! 10/10 would recommend. I can't promise it is for you, and you'll love it as much as I do - but I do still think that this should be recognized as a masterpiece of a book. And I'll die on that hill defending that statement.



“It was why Theon valued control so much. When he had control, he could protect those he loved. Control meant safety, and safety meant love. It was what he’d done with her from the beginning. She didn’t understand that the only way he knew how to love was to obsessively possess and protect. She didn’t understand that growing up, his father made sure he was so deprived of safety, sanctuary, and love, that having those things—and making sure those he called his own had them too—became an obsession.”

Ugh...again, I am fascinated by the magic system and the overall storyline but absolutely hate the MMC. Loved Tessa coming into her own and for that reason alone I'll try the next book in this series.

booksiedaisy_'s review

3.75

It was good but I think another round of editing to tighten it up would’ve made it great. Just way too long and the characters haven’t actually grown or learned anything from book 1, because they just keep doing the same things. I’m too invested not to keep reading though

OH MY GODDDDD I NEED BOOK 3 LIKE I NEED AIR HOW AM I GOING TO WAIT UNTIL HALLOWEEN??????

I've read 3 of Melissa's books now, and I think she is going to end up being one of the best fantasy romance authors around. While her books are not perfect (this one came close to me personally, though), they are always SOOOO much fun to read, and she truly builds such rich fantasy worlds with so much lore and history. Her writing only improves with every book I read and honestly few ku fanro authors are on this level right now. There was not a single second of this book where I was bored or uninterested. I just can't even express how much I loved this, and it's definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

Once again, please check TWs if you're going to read this series and if you're not into dark fantasy romance, maybe skip this one!
adventurous dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes