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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Bad writing and no character depth
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-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
“When a woman says no, she means no. It’s not left open for your own interpretation.”
“Straighten your crown, dear girl. Face those who don’t believe in you with pride in who you are.”
“Until this moment, this second, I hadn’t realized that I had been looking for her my entire life.”
A Kingdom of Flame and Fury broke my heart in more ways than I can imagine. I fell in love with the characters. I wanted to wrap Zeke and Raven in a blanket so that I could protect them.
“There was nothing to fix. My broken pieces mattered.”
Raven. The beautiful, shape-shifting queen of Seolia. She will do anything to protect her kingdom and her loved ones. My heart breaks for her, for everything that she went through and is going through, for everything that she is feeling. All she ever wanted was to be chosen, to be loved, to be WANTED. Her past is slowly unraveling and she doesn’t know who to trust.
“Some villains were born, but I would be made. I would be her devil to keep her protected.”
“I wanted all of her, inside and out, only her.”
Zeke. The mysterious Zeke got shadows of his own. My heart breaks for him as much as it’s breaking for Raven. He became the villain for the one he loves to protect her even if it meant she ends up hating him.
“Protect me, but don’t suffocate me.”
Cade wasn’t even that bad until I learned more about him. He was Raven’s constant, best friend, and advisor. Cade became obsessive and it wasn’t even the good kind. It was okay to be protective over Raven but it wasn’t okay to suffocate her.
Side characters that I adore: Arthur, Grace, Little Eva ♡
That ending. That achingly beautiful ending that I knew was coming but was not prepared for. Zeke and Raven have so many layers that we have yet to see and I can’t wait to find out more about them in A Kingdom of Frost and Fear.
Got to page 53 for dnf’ing. This had potential if everything just hadn’t been all over the place.
My first issue was the narration style of Raven. She just came off as very egocentric and it was annoying.
The second was all the contradictions. Cade is 8 years older than her, yet was 18 when she took the crown at like 8? Though maybe that’s wrong because it got jarbled. She likes Cade, but he’s more like a brother. She’s this super strong character yet the smallest thing has her sobbing. She’s really rearing for a lay but runs away from Zeke after just kissing for no discernible reason.
I just couldn’t get into it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
Ok so let me start my review by saying for the better part of this year- actually I’m pretty sure it’s been since the end of 2021- I’ve been in the biggest mood for a fantasy romance. I’ve read a few but none of them checked off all my boxes to satisfy that craving. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted but when I started AKOFAF, I immediately knew I had found it.
A world of kingdoms and dark magic, a mysterious (but oh so delicious) stranger, a festival of dreams to start, alliances and secret betrayals within kingdoms, magic that is so unique and intricate it absorbs me wholly, a queendom with a fierce and powerful Queen *but* with a dark secret- like I- I just- to sum it up basically 2% in I let out the biggest sigh of content this year.
Starting and all throughout reading AKOFAF was like the biggest sense of comfort to me. I like to think of fantasy in general as an escape from reality and AKOFAF was that to the utmost highest level in the best way possible. Literally my first note in the book is ‘feels like comfort, a delightful escape from reality’- and that was only 1% in.
The characters- Raven and Zeke to start were just *insert best synonym of my happy place here*- beautiful. Ok. Like beautiful in the sense they were everything I could’ve possibly wanted. Their morals, their intentions, their actions all throughout were SOLID. The side characters- muah chef’s kiss THE BEST. I don’t even know how to explain it aside from saying it felt like the author looked inside my mind, got a sense of exactly what and how I love characters to be and then wrote Raven and Zeke so- I was 100% wholly in love from page one.
And the writing- or specifically writing style- the author has a very direct way of writing that I like to call a ‘telling’ style of writing in stead of ‘showing’. And by that I mean it’s a first POV (with multiple POV chapters) where each character directly states an observation or thought instead of alluding- for ex. ‘Instead of my usual long, ebony hair, icy-blonde locks skimmed my shoulders. “Mm…” I pondered aloud, reaching my fingers out and touching the glass of my mirror on front of me. Frost was typically my most favored form for public outings and the easiest to wield. I looked downright angelic, which was a stark contrast to the demon I'd rather be.” (This is a snippet from the very beginning and spoiler free also peep one of my favorite quotes in the last sentence
A world of kingdoms and dark magic, a mysterious (but oh so delicious) stranger, a festival of dreams to start, alliances and secret betrayals within kingdoms, magic that is so unique and intricate it absorbs me wholly, a queendom with a fierce and powerful Queen *but* with a dark secret- like I- I just- to sum it up basically 2% in I let out the biggest sigh of content this year.
Starting and all throughout reading AKOFAF was like the biggest sense of comfort to me. I like to think of fantasy in general as an escape from reality and AKOFAF was that to the utmost highest level in the best way possible. Literally my first note in the book is ‘feels like comfort, a delightful escape from reality’- and that was only 1% in.
The characters- Raven and Zeke to start were just *insert best synonym of my happy place here*- beautiful. Ok. Like beautiful in the sense they were everything I could’ve possibly wanted. Their morals, their intentions, their actions all throughout were SOLID. The side characters- muah chef’s kiss THE BEST. I don’t even know how to explain it aside from saying it felt like the author looked inside my mind, got a sense of exactly what and how I love characters to be and then wrote Raven and Zeke so- I was 100% wholly in love from page one.
And the writing- or specifically writing style- the author has a very direct way of writing that I like to call a ‘telling’ style of writing in stead of ‘showing’. And by that I mean it’s a first POV (with multiple POV chapters) where each character directly states an observation or thought instead of alluding- for ex. ‘Instead of my usual long, ebony hair, icy-blonde locks skimmed my shoulders. “Mm…” I pondered aloud, reaching my fingers out and touching the glass of my mirror on front of me. Frost was typically my most favored form for public outings and the easiest to wield. I looked downright angelic, which was a stark contrast to the demon I'd rather be.” (This is a snippet from the very beginning and spoiler free also peep one of my favorite quotes in the last sentence
I finished this book in one day, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are so well developed and feel so real. The spice was *chef’s kiss.* The world is beautifully built. Deans writing style is exactly the type I love. She drew me in and kept me there well after the book ended. Cannot wait to see where book two takes these characters.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nothing predestined Raven, a young ten years old orphan, to become the next Ruler of Seolia, a small Kingdom. Still ignoring fifteen years later why the old King chose her to become the new Queen, she is doing her best to do a good job. But Raven has a secret : she possesses dark magic, something forbidden in the Kingdom. And someone is spreading rumors about it among her subjects.
A Kingdom of Flame and Fury is a very intense read : it is a very dark Fantasy novel, with a heroine that isn’t scared to be violent and to kill. It is also very spicy with highly descriptive scenes. Raven is definitively a very interesting character : I love how her powers reflect certain aspects of her personality and change her physically. She is quite an interesting character to discover.
Whitney Dean created a well constructed world, where the plot slowly unfolds. The story goes up as the mysterious Zeke is introduced in the story. It is where it becomes very steamy. Is he a threat ? Is he Raven’s soul mate ? Not gonna say more to not spoil, but things are definitely more complicated than they appear.
If you love strong heroines, a lot of betrayals and twists and lovers that are also potentially enemies, then you will certainly enjoy A Kingdom of Flame and Fury.
As a debute book for the author, I think she did pretty well, the world-building was good, the characters, I would've like a bit more development but I liked Raven. The plot was enjoyable, I like the dark side of it, also being a triangle I know it's not for everyone but for me I enjoy them so I am up for the ride for what is next to come.
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Blog |BookBub | Amazon |Audible |Instagram |Twitter |Facebook |TikTok |YouTube |Pinterest |Tumblr |Bookstore
slow-paced
This book hurt me! It sounded amazing and the mention of it being dark and the MCs moraly grey… I was so hopeful but alas this was another disaster and disappointment.
So, the plot and the MCs didnt make any sense to me, like the problem is that one of the guys,Zeke, needs to marry the queen of the other kingdom and bring her to his kingdom in order to save hus family… and then proceeds to say he feel inlove and he does everything in his power to not marry her just to end up proposing and taking her back to his country….
Maybe I missed the whole point but I never understood the reason behind why everyone was acting so stupidly…
Also the MC had so much potential and ended up being very angsty and dependable on a man 😑
Also… to mich sex withoit any point behind it!!! I get that its supposed to be a spicy book and belive me I have no problem w that, i read monsters romances haahahha BUT this was supposed to have more content and make those scenes drivers of the plot, in my opinion, and that didnt happen.
Tbh I skimmed read after the 60% mark bc every vhapter felt very very repetitive. It was either She winning bc Zeke was gone or Zeke winning about his sacrifice of being the bad guy but loving her 🙃🙃🙃
Again, not the book for me but give it a try. It might be for you bc many people loved it
Will I ever learn? Will I stop reading this crap? Probably not
''I need you to know that I will never love another the way I love you. I will never love another, ever. I need you to know, that you are the very blood that runs trough my veins. You are every breath, every whisper. Every dream, every nightmare. The ghost of you will forever haunt me. The ghost of what could be.''
Thank you to Whitney Dean and her team, for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.
This is adult fantasy romance was Whitney's debut novel. It's full of secrets, hidden agendas, spicy romances, lies, manipulation, betrayal, abuse and tragedy. It has dual pov's - Raven and Zeke's. The world-building was well-written and kept me entertained throughout, but I wished that pacing was not so slow.
I was bit torn between liking Raven. She is not only headstrong but magic-wise strong. She is fierce, lovable, kind and gentle with her people. Her life and upbringings is tinted by mystery, that she will have to learn and uncover bit by bit. Once Zaven happened, she turned to love struck puppy, who whimpers and makes poor, poor decisions. Too trustworthy and and naive. Zeke was sort of mysterious character. Tortured soul with dark present and past. Obsessive, drunk in love (sometimes literally), broody and swoon-worthy assassin. They both have secrets, past trauma and occasionally - lust for blood. Their dynamic was great. They truly were like two peas in the pot. I'm not big of a fan of insta love, but reading this book til the last page I get the idea why author chose to go with it. As for Cade - I loved him for the first part of the book and then I wanted him to suffer..
My overall minus were that it felt somewhat repetitive and book was longer than it needed to be. Normally I love long books, but in this instance it felt dragged out. Also, many FMC actions were too much explained.
But ok, everyone - it's dramaaa time! It was fun, entertaining, questioning and 'can I trust this character' type of book. If you like fantasy, romance, spice, scheming and mystery - you will enjoy it!
Here you will find:
* Adult fantasy romance
* Spicy read
* Fated mates
* Only one bed
* Love triangle
* Interesting magic for FMC and MMC
* Touch her and die
* Found family
* Hidden identity
* Mental and emotional manipulation
* Enemies to Lovers / Friends to Lovers
* Twists, betrayals and political scheming
Favorite quotes:
Some villains were born, but I would be made. I would be her devil to keep her protected.
When he broke our kiss, it was only to whisper against my mouth, ''We taste so f*cking good together.'' And he was right. We were our own flavor of candy.
“Nothing in my life had ever been this good, this right. She paused her movements against me, her brain trying to grapple for air. All I did was watch her, my thunderous heart beating wildly in my chest. Her forehead fell against my throat as she tried to catch her breath, my pulse beating against it. I moved one of my hands to her chest and felt for her heart, its pounding matching the rhythm of mine. Everything about us was fated, even the beats of our blood pumping. I laughed softly and she raised her beautiful face to look at me. “For the record,” I stated, tucking some hair behind her ear, “This is not why I brought you here.”
Thank you to Whitney Dean and her team, for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.
This is adult fantasy romance was Whitney's debut novel. It's full of secrets, hidden agendas, spicy romances, lies, manipulation, betrayal, abuse and tragedy. It has dual pov's - Raven and Zeke's. The world-building was well-written and kept me entertained throughout, but I wished that pacing was not so slow.
I was bit torn between liking Raven. She is not only headstrong but magic-wise strong. She is fierce, lovable, kind and gentle with her people. Her life and upbringings is tinted by mystery, that she will have to learn and uncover bit by bit. Once Zaven happened, she turned to love struck puppy, who whimpers and makes poor, poor decisions. Too trustworthy and and naive. Zeke was sort of mysterious character. Tortured soul with dark present and past. Obsessive, drunk in love (sometimes literally), broody and swoon-worthy assassin. They both have secrets, past trauma and occasionally - lust for blood. Their dynamic was great. They truly were like two peas in the pot. I'm not big of a fan of insta love, but reading this book til the last page I get the idea why author chose to go with it. As for Cade - I loved him for the first part of the book and then I wanted him to suffer..
My overall minus were that it felt somewhat repetitive and book was longer than it needed to be. Normally I love long books, but in this instance it felt dragged out. Also, many FMC actions were too much explained.
But ok, everyone - it's dramaaa time! It was fun, entertaining, questioning and 'can I trust this character' type of book. If you like fantasy, romance, spice, scheming and mystery - you will enjoy it!
Here you will find:
* Adult fantasy romance
* Spicy read
* Fated mates
* Only one bed
* Love triangle
* Interesting magic for FMC and MMC
* Touch her and die
* Found family
* Hidden identity
* Mental and emotional manipulation
* Enemies to Lovers / Friends to Lovers
* Twists, betrayals and political scheming
Favorite quotes:
Some villains were born, but I would be made. I would be her devil to keep her protected.
When he broke our kiss, it was only to whisper against my mouth, ''We taste so f*cking good together.'' And he was right. We were our own flavor of candy.
“Nothing in my life had ever been this good, this right. She paused her movements against me, her brain trying to grapple for air. All I did was watch her, my thunderous heart beating wildly in my chest. Her forehead fell against my throat as she tried to catch her breath, my pulse beating against it. I moved one of my hands to her chest and felt for her heart, its pounding matching the rhythm of mine. Everything about us was fated, even the beats of our blood pumping. I laughed softly and she raised her beautiful face to look at me. “For the record,” I stated, tucking some hair behind her ear, “This is not why I brought you here.”
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced