A review by bribreez
What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

*Look up trigger warnings (Before starting book author kindly listed out trigger warnings for readers)

I feel like for fans of the ACOTAR series or you like books that are focused on fantasy, adventure, romance, strong female lead, dashing/charming male lead, spice, a journey that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat and MORE! This is the book for you. 

Right away from the beginning, you meet Estrella, our female lead a.k.a. The most empowering heroine you’ll meet, but… in the beginning she definitely wasn’t living the life one would expect. Due to Estrella working in the garden alongside the Mist, she was considered from a low status family, wasn’t rich by any means, and was struggling to financially care for her brother and mother. All the while, Estrella caught the eye of the Lord of Mistfell, Lord Byron a.k.a. The creepiest, most disgusting, and foul man to walk the earth. Estrella had been living a hard life from a young age due to her father being sacrificed for the Mist, her mother being wheelchair bound, and her older brother trying to help with their family. Poor Estrella had a lot on her plate, and especially with Lord Byron, she endured his interactions for the sake of her family because, “duty came first”. 

This book heavily mentioned that within the story the role women played was meant to be submissive, and adhere to their husbands, something Estrella definitely wasn’t on board with (AND NEITHER WAS I!). Estrella wanted her own freedom, to do as she pleased since for as long as she’s lived, she’s done everything out of obligation, never done anything for her own desires. Estrella was very much taught from a young age that all women needed to remain pure and service the needs and whims of their husbands. So through out the book, Estrella really grew into a new version of herself where she embraced herself in a way that she wasn’t given a chance to do while living in Mistfell.

To my all readers who love a protective male lead, a man who promises to avenge and kill solely because the female lead was hurt in the past, and not to mention the infamous line… “WHO HURT YOU??” This book has all that and more! In addition, Caelum was not only protective over Estrella, but the man was Lowkey possessive over her. Plus I thought it was kind of funny how Caelum would get mad when Estrella mentioned her past with Loris, and Caelum visibly getting frustrated over someone being with her. Let’s not forget the beautiful things Caelum would tell Estrella made her blush, and me swooning. Caelum was equal parts a gentleman and a fierce protector. As well as a fantastic balance of sweet and DELICIOUSLY INDECENT WITH HIS DESCRIPTIVE SPICY WORDS IN WHAT HE WANTED TO DO TO ESTRELLA! YASSSSSSS! 

Can I just say that the dialogue between Estrella and Caelum was fantastic, not only did it highlight their chemistry, but the witty remarks,  innuendos, and depth of their growing attraction to each other. Some of the things that Caelum said to Estrella made my jaw drop, and had me blushing like crazy. Caelum was the kind of man who spoke what was on his mind, so there was never a second that you doubted how he felt towards Estrella. I mean come on, the way Caelum was so protective over Estrella, getting angry over seeing her scars, and Caelum promising to kill anyone who hurt her in the past/ kill anyone trying to harm her while they were on the run… THAT MAN YASSSS! In addition, with the book being in Estrella’s point of view, I loved her commentary and the way she spoke had me thinking, “SHE’S SPEAKING MY THOUGHTS”. For example this line, “…a morally gray man with no boundaries and a distinct lack of understanding how an actual courtship worked. You didn’t just decide a woman was yours to protect after a few days spent together.” There were even more quotes that I felt like Estrella was breaking the fourth wall and communicating all our thoughts. Maybe that was just me, but overall I loved it.

Towards the end, the story started to come together even more, and the ending was so freaking good that the plot twist came and had me squealing and screaming in a mixture of shock, surprise, and excitement! Not to mention the spice got even spicer that I was shook and not expecting *ahem chapter 31. Overall this was such a fantastic book that you’ll love and by the end you’ll wish the second book would release already! 
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