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koistyfishy's review
adventurous
dark
tense
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? No
4.0
This book is what you get when you take a pinch of Viking lore and mix it with a dash of Beauty and the Beast. From an enjoyment point of view, I did like this but I wish this book was a little longer. It’s short, it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book this short… I think this is what kept it from being great and settling it on just good. There wasn’t enough put into the character development or plot to take it to that next level that it had the potential to be so it feels like it’s missing something.
This story is about Elise who is the second daughter of the Kings sister. On the night of her sisters formal engagement to her cousin (the Kings son), the King announces that he is opening up dowry negotiations for Elise. Elise wants nothing more in life than to NOT be married but after the King threatens her deadly-ill father’s treatment she has to accept the negotiations. Due to her fathers health he cannot do the negotiations and the King does not have time to do it either, so he assigns the task to the incredibly gorgeous and mysterious Legion Grey… Legion has secrets (and unknown to her but known to the reader he is cursed) and after events unfold Elise finds herself needing to make an impossible choice that could save Legion but comes with a great sacrifice.
The main issue I had with this book is the writing. The characters were fantastic and the world building showed great potential but because these are dependent on the writing something was amiss.
Firstly the writing is a little topsy turvy. Whist at times it’s pretty easy to read and flows naturally, there are words and aspects thrown in that seem to have been taken from the Victorian Era that are not as commonly used. On the first page I had to open up the dictionary to figure out what things meant, which took me out of the story too easily - this then contradicts with the rest of the style chosen and how Elise describes the world (since this book is from her POV)
Second the pacing felt off and sometimes things aren’t clearly described or explained. I found myself having to reread sections because with the first pass I’d somehow “miss something” and when that something was elaborated on I had to go back and reread the section to infer that “something” more clearly in the second pass.
The second half of the book moved VERY fast as it was so action packed it jumbled and mixed together that following along (especially at the end) was a little confusing, but I stuck with it and hoped things would clear up (and they did).
The second half of the book moved VERY fast as it was so action packed it jumbled and mixed together that following along (especially at the end) was a little confusing, but I stuck with it and hoped things would clear up (and they did).
The worldbuilding also seems strange. I still don’t think I fully understand how the Fae and their magic tie into the story or how their magic works. A lot of their history is told, not shown through actual “history lessons” disguised as journal entries. And all I can see when I read the word Ettan is two headed giants, not people who have magic. The name of magic is also called fury but then it is given multiple other names and it becomes blurry.
The world/area where the story takes place also feels big but then incredibly small. The characters “ride for what feels like hours” to get somewhere but then Elise manages to get back to her home on foot within a day. The castle is a long ride away from where she lives but it can always be seen in the distance from other areas. I really struggled to envision how the world looked as it read as a country at times or as a small city in others.
My last peeve with the writing was the fact that all the other characters could be referred to by their first name ALONE. But LEGION GREY is 90% of the time mentioned with his full name. There are 74 instances in the book where his full name are mentioned (I read this as an ebook so could easily count the search)… a few instances of a full name are fine, but after about 13 my skin started crawling when I saw it.
The romance is sweet, I really like how the relationship develops between Elise and Legion and the fact that Legion shows that he cares about Elise’s opinions and what she thinks, in a world where her opinion does not matter according to society made me smile. Legion is by far my favourite character as he is the most complex and developed and the things he says and does are swoon inducing. Elise is a little annoying as her behaviour and actions are sporadic. She is shown in the start to be rebellious, reckless and brave, but at the times she needs to be brave she almost appears naive, weak and acts as a “damsel in distress” that needs saving.
The plot was very predictable but it didn’t distract from the fact that I was enjoying reading the story. There is a reason I read books with the same tropes constantly, so it’s almost expected on some level I know what is going to happen.
The tropes I enjoyed in this:
- Enemies to Lovers😏
- 1 Horse 🐎
- Touch her and you die ☠️
Overall this start to a series show’s promise and I am intrigued and interested in seeing where this goes. As mentioned I really did enjoy the overall book so am going into book 2 with optimism 😎
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Chronic illness, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault
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