A review by kingrosereads
His Darkest Desire by Tiffany Roberts

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I haven’t seen anyone say anything about it essentially being a Beauty and the Beast retelling but I spent the entire book subconsciously comparing the Disney version of the story against this book. You have Kinsley who instead of trading her life for her father’s she trades her freedom to keep from dying. She’s then bound to this beastly, but hot goblin sorcerer who is trapped in his mystical cottage in a pocket realm where the only other inhabitants are three will -o’-wisps that I would happily die for. Neither Kinsley nor Vex (the goblin) can leave the realm until Vex sires a child as he’s been imprisoned by a far queen. This is why he needs Kinsley and you can guess how that goes over for her. She actively avoids Vex and berates him for being so beastly about conceiving a child. Luckily the wisps are there to help Vex realize the error of his ways and he eventually shows Kinsley his extensive library and wins her over. There’s a whole subplot where Vex is mortally wounded by a creepy wolf thing and Kinsley nurses him back to health which is the real turning point in their relationship (seem familiar?). SPOILER It all leads to a point where Kinsley misses her loved ones and Vex releases her from her pact despite her objections. You can guess the rest. 

Spoilers ahead, proceed with caution 
The book also explores themes of miscarriage and divorce due to infertility issues on Kinsley’s part and themes of abuse, trauma, and sexual assault on Vex’s part. While I felt these themes were handled semi-well, I had issue that Vex nearly raped Kinsley in the beginning and essentially their sexual relationship is borderline dub-con. While I enjoyed the story and world building it lacked that external conflict, a villain (a Gaston if you will). It was also about 200 pages longer than it needed to be. Just a lot of extra fluff and repetitive sentiments. Especially since it was entirely predictable. The spicy scenes were a little lackluster as well. I did enjoy their dynamic and the humor and the world building in this book and a whole star goes to Shade, Flare, and Echo ❤️
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