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samthebookdevotee's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I was able to get this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited to read this as I was in the mood for a Fae romance and I am a huge fan of enemies to lovers. Unfortunately, this book ended up falling very flat for me. WARNING: There will be spoilers because I honestly do not know how to review this without mentioning some key things.
First, I felt like the author was trying to do too much at once. There is the goal to find Kenna's sister's killer, figure out the mate mystery, find out what happened to Tara, a sudden love triangle, and how to stop the Fae Queen's nefarious plans. These plot points weren't bad but it's a lot for one novel. Some of these could have been introduced in later books which would have also given the author time to flesh these out more. Plus, half the plot points and reasons for the characters' motivations were just sort of dropped and never mentioned again.
Second, the author relied way too heavily on past memories and emotions. Kenna and Jed are mates but are not supposed to be because there is only ever supposed to be one mate and Jed already met his prior to Kenna. How they start falling in love is Kenna sees his memories with his prior mate and there is literally no bonding time between them. Kenna spends more time with Delilah than Jed. Also, later in the book Jed's brother comes into the picture, and apparently, he and Kenna had a relationship in her past life that neither can let go of. It's honestly horrible how she treats her relationships with both Jed and his brother. Most of the romance was done in flashbacks. It gave me no reason to care for these characters. I honestly really liked Kenna until she gain her past memories. I loved how curious she was about the world and thought she was a genuinely nice person. However, once she regained those lost memories I downright despised her. I thought she was just heartless at times. I also wasn't a fan of Jed. In his grief for losing his mate, he runs to this mysterious island ruled by a cruel Fae Queen who breeds and tortures slaves on a daily basis and HELPS her do this!!!! Like, I don't get the appeal. When he goes back to visit his mother to ask about the mate mark, he literally asks Kenna to hide the fact that she was a slave because he didn't want his mother to be disappointed in him and go raise an army to stop the Fae Queen. Utterly ridiculous.
Overall, I think I am most disappointed in this book because it has such a good premise. I loved the idea that Kenna was raised on an island with little to no modern technology but then ends up being brought to the mainland to the modern world. Like, what an interesting setting to have this in. Again, Kenna also had potential until her past life became the present. This could have been so good but it just missed the mark
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