A review by hannahleelovestoread
Dark and Defiant by Alyssa Rose

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

In this second installment of the DarkFlower Jungle series, the story picks up where Princess Aironell has been taken by mysterious forces who tell her of her beloved Drefan’s true identity. Her kidnapping is a ploy to lure Dref in, but Aironell begins to doubt he cares for her at all. Still, she uses her increasingly powerful magic to find out what these sinister forces (and others who are even darker) want with Dref. But she finds out that her own identity is more crucial to this process and to the DarkFlower Jungle itself than she realized. 
Author Alyssa Rose firmly established herself as a short-form author with this novella. I did find some of the exclamatory language, particularly that of Kyus and Travago, overly modern for high fantasy. However, the magic system and the backstory were complex and interesting, and Aironell’s relationship made the enemies-to-lovers transition. Aironell’s mother, Queen Evalyn of Bachusa, is one of my favorite characters from Rose’s longform Fates Align duology, so I was excited to see fascinating tidbits about her ancestors in connection with the DarkFlower jungle bringing the story full circle. I recommend this novella and eagerly await the arrival of Found and Fated this fall. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings