Review by crookeddustjacket - How Not to Court Your Human Captive

crookeddustjacket 's review for:

How Not to Court Your Human Captive by A.K. Caggiano

4.5

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

Thank you to the author for gifting me an eARC!

I had read the Villains and Virtues series and liked AK’s writing style, worldbuilding, and characters. When I saw that they were writing a series with another author (Laura Winters), I was very intrigued about Court and the Falling for Demons series as a whole.

The story is quite humorous, and the interactions between our MCs (grumpy x grumpy), as well as with the wider cast, are hilarious and genuine. I loved that we were introduced to characters in this book who will be the MCs of the rest of the series. Court has a cosy-ish setting, but it does explore some dark themes/events (please check the content warnings!), however, I thought they were handled respectfully.

The romance reminded me of something you might see in a more contemporary story trope-wise, but stayed true to the fantasy setting, which made it super easy to read. In saying that, I found the romance a little speedy for my tastes (very much as a slow burn gal), but the chemistry between the MCs and the relationship progression felt natural given that it was a short time frame.

Once I got into the story, I found it hard to put down; it went by so fast yet didn’t feel rushed, and we got to spend enough time with the characters to understand them. I would recommend Court to anyone wanting a book that bridges the fun lightheartedness of contemporary romance novels with the setting and worldbuilding of a fantasy novel, all in an easily digestible ~260 pages.

Content Warnings