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jasmynreads 's review for:
The Stray Prince
by Ella Fields
"I will always forgive you, because there is nothing else, not for me, but also because you are a queen and you acted as such. You didn't need to apologize, but I love you and I thank you for doing what I so selfishly needed." - Zadicus
Listen, i Prefer my characters to be morally grey but.. Audra was hypocritical, selfish and prideful for the entirety of the two books. A Queen So Cold might've been a little more fitting of a title for book 1. I liked the story itself, they were interesting and were different from a lot of the fantasy romance I've read recently; I just did not care for her.
Spoilers below
The Stray Prince in a nutshell: Audra was kidnapped by Zadicus's brother, the fae king, in order to lure him back to the fae lands. Unfortunately, Zadicus hadn't shared his past with her yet.
Okay, that really sucks when you're looking at the situation simply.
HOWEVER, there are Things to consider, bear with me. Zadicus had a couple reasons for his decision to wait;
1) He thought they had more time. He had made a deal with his brother, which was supposed to have ensured he was left alone in the human lands as long as he gave up a precious piece of himself (his wings) and his claim to the throne. Which leads to reason #2...
2) He was waiting for the Right time to have this conversation. I don't think he was necessarily putting it off, but they were in the middle of a shit show already. The timing hadn't been great. This would be a huge revelation and needed to be brought up when they had the time and mental energy to really discuss it.
3) He wasn't ready yet. He wasn't ready, and thought he had time to become ready. No one wants to be rushed into having to disclose something that haunts them. That didn't mean he planned to keep this secret forever, he had intended on sharing this with Audra. One thing she failed to consider was that it was going to be just as hard for him to revisit his dark past as it would be to accept. Selfish thinking IMO.
After his secrets were brought to light, she told Zadicus that she didn't think she would ever be able to forgive him for this secret. This had her ready to throw him away, her mate. Even after he explained the reasons I mentioned, she was dead set on looking at this as the ultimate betrayal. Meanwhileeee, she's out here doing her own thing, making her own plans, and inevitably got Zadicus and her friends hurt. This was a common theme throughout both books. Not considering the consequences of her actions or simply not giving a f about those consequences.
The breaking point for me was her making the deal with the fae king. If her intentions had been pure when she made the deal, this wouldn't have been my final straw - I would have sacrificed more straws for this twat. Alas, her inner monologue made it clear that she was doing it out of spite for Zadicus's secrets. Zadicus said it himself, he intended no harm with his actions. Adura's actions were meant to cause him pain, under the guise of granting him his wings back.
Zadicus may forgive you, Audra. I don't.