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literarymary95's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and War
theboricuabookworm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Back to my point about being Nadir's. I have deep respect for Lor for looking at *all that* and still being "no I am mine and mine alone". Feminism did not leave her body when she saw his. I am estressed about them going back to Aphelion but it'll be fine. Right?? Also Gabriel's POV is coming up and I am READY.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Vomit
jadeandherbunny's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Torture, Child abuse, Grief, Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
mariasmusings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Book blurb: "I am not his conquest. I am not his to claim. I am my own castle."
Freed from the golden clutches of the Sun King, Lor now finds herself in the hands of Nadir, the Aurora Prince.
Lor and Nadir team up to search for a lost item that holds the key to her past and her future.
As Atlas hunts her across Ouranos, Lor plots to bring down the Imperial Fae who took everything. But she soon realizes the future of the continent is about so much more than just her shattered legacy.
My Thoughts:
As soon as I finished, Trials of the Sun Queen, I opened Rule of the Aurora King and dived straight into this fast-paced and intriguing fantasy romance.
Once again, the story is told from two perspectives: Lor & Nadir, but we also have the addition of flashbacks to reveal the truth of events 286 years ago. I particularly enjoyed learning about the background to the destruction of the Kingdom of Heart.
There is plenty of action in this sequel, and indeed plenty of very spicy scenes - there's no 'fade to black' here and it does get pretty graphic. So be warned. 😉
Despite the pace and action scenes, there is more 'downtime' in this novel - time when we see Lor & Nadir together, and get a view into the world of the High Fae.
There's also a sense of social commentary when Lor tells Nadir the reality of her life in prison and the privileges of being a High Fae.
The world building is expanded here, as we learn the history of Ouranos and the politics at play.
I've ordered the third and fourth books in the series (there are 4 books in total) and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, and Animal cruelty
misswillacolyns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual assault
amgrady's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape, Confinement, Torture, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
hann_smc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'll start with the good. I actually like the story line. Is it predictable? Absolutely, but I'm a firm believer that predictable doesn't always mean bad.
Now for the bad stuff. Everything else.
I do not like a single character. If they all died I'd shrug my shoulders and move on. They're just so annoying that I cannot bring myself to care about them.
Lor is so weirdly self-aware of her trauma, and she keeps explaining how her behaviors are trauma responses to the audience. Her constant "I hate you" for no reason is giving me whiplash. I swear to god she's trying to gaslight me with the way she keeps talking about how she was fooled by the Sun King in the last book and that's why she can't bang it out with Nadir now. Like girl, I was there too. You literally spent the entire time talking about how it would be stupid to trust him and it was just sex, just like it was just sex with the random dude from the prison. Atlas tricked you (I guess? He was pretty clear about keeping his motivations secret though) but either way it had nothing at all to do with sex.
Also her trauma felt cringey? I know that's a terrible thing to say, but the way it was written / she talks about it it was just there for shock value, not to actually add anything to the plot.
Nadir is dumb as fucking rocks and doesn't deserve to run the kingdom any more than his dad. I'm all for a possessive MMC, but it was the
The romance was very meh. The two characters were just randomly mean to create this "enemies to lovers" tension instead of them having any real conflict. The conversations just didn't make any sense either. One minute she'd be telling him he's hot, and the next she'd be like "he can't know I find him attractive." Like, what?
To top it off, them
I understand that the flashbacks are supposed to provide important context to the present day, but I could not bring myself to care about them.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent and War
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
taylormshipley's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault and Torture
amanda_reads13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
After reading the first one, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue this series. I still feel like the author was trying to incorporate every possible trope in these books while mashing together the plot from a dozen popular books. Compared to the other fantasy books out there, this series felt kind of bland. The characters are flat and not well developed. The world building just isn't there. The dialogue is incredibly corny at points and the writing just feels like its lacking.
Lor and Nadir's relationship was giving me whiplash. She has trust issues and he is overly possessive. WE. GET. IT. It is thrown in our face every few pages. We know they are fated mates, that has been made pretty obvious. The fact that they have yet to figure that out is very frustrating. The inmate nickname is giving me the ick.
Lor became incredibly immature and made so many poor decisions. In the first book, she was obviously motivated by her desperation to save her siblings. In this one, her inner monologue was incredibly annoying.
I did like the new POV added. I feel like Serce was a pretty interesting and ruthless character. I would be more interested in her book.
Tropes: fated mates, enemies to lovers, one bed, forbidden, fantasy, age gap, touch her/you die, slow burn, found family, fake dating, hidden identity, kidnapper/captive, he falls first
Graphic: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Grief, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, and Misogyny
tspice24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping and Torture