You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
clairebartholomew549 's review for:
The Ever King
by LJ Andrews
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ughhh I wanted to like this book so badly but it just was too all over the place and ham-handed. I love a good Booktok book but this one was a major disappointment :/ Livia is a princess of the earth fae, who ten years ago won a brutal war against the sea fae. On the first night of the festival celebrating the anniversary, she accidentally opens the Chasm, which has magically kept the sea fae at bay ever since her father killed the king of the sea fae. Now, the sea fae king's son Erik breaks through the Chasm, intent on seeking revenge. He steals Livia away and plans to wage war against her people, but of course, he falls for her.
This is billed as a dark, possessive romance, but to me it felt like Andrews couldn't decide if she wanted to commit to that all the way, and as a result nothing quite makes sense or works. Early in the book, Erik vows to wreak all sorts of brutality on Livia, and it wasn't like I was wanting that to happen or to have to read that, but he pretty much immediately abandons that and his characterization is so inconsistent. And I'm all for a character in a fantasy romance falling for her captor or an extremely problematic antihero, but here Livia's turn just gave me whiplash because it truly happened in the space of a chapter. It didn't help that Livia also unfortunately has no personality: I am loath to say that about a female protagonist because that accusation gets thrown around way too easily, but truly she doesn't have a single distinguishing personality trait. She careens from one extreme to another and it's just odd. And the world was interesting enough, but honestly I wanted more of it, and less of the hemming and hawing between Erik and Livia. Sadly, this was disappointing, but I might still read the next book, we'll see.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
This is billed as a dark, possessive romance, but to me it felt like Andrews couldn't decide if she wanted to commit to that all the way, and as a result nothing quite makes sense or works. Early in the book, Erik vows to wreak all sorts of brutality on Livia, and it wasn't like I was wanting that to happen or to have to read that, but he pretty much immediately abandons that and his characterization is so inconsistent. And I'm all for a character in a fantasy romance falling for her captor or an extremely problematic antihero, but here Livia's turn just gave me whiplash because it truly happened in the space of a chapter. It didn't help that Livia also unfortunately has no personality: I am loath to say that about a female protagonist because that accusation gets thrown around way too easily, but truly she doesn't have a single distinguishing personality trait. She careens from one extreme to another and it's just odd. And the world was interesting enough, but honestly I wanted more of it, and less of the hemming and hawing between Erik and Livia. Sadly, this was disappointing, but I might still read the next book, we'll see.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gore, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, War