daniobsessivelyreads's Reviews (828)


One of the best in the BDB series.

It's an adorably charming little book with a coming-of-age story. The characters really speak for themselves. Would definately read again.

I was expecting a different reveal at the end. I was happy with how it ended, but I need the next one now. There was soooo much left undone. As always, Ward takes us for a ride.
adventurous challenging dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

**๐‘น๐‘ฌ๐‘ฝ๐‘ฐ๐‘ฌ๐‘พ**  ๐‘ฎ๐’๐’†๐’‚๐’Ž ๐’ƒ๐’š ๐‘น๐’‚๐’—๐’†๐’ ๐‘ฒ๐’†๐’๐’๐’†๐’…๐’š (๐‘ป๐’‰๐’† ๐‘ท๐’๐’‚๐’•๐’†๐’… ๐‘ท๐’“๐’Š๐’”๐’๐’๐’†๐’“ #3)

Release Date: May 31, 2021

5โญ๏ธ4๐ŸŒถ

Gleam is where the slow burn starts to catch on fire! The tension between Auren and Slade is delectable! I just cannot get enough of their banter.

Auren starts to push back against her Golden King, and he DOES not like it. She's always been meek, complacent, and accomodating, but now she doesn't want to be used for her image and her power. She wants more from life and more from her so called "lover". Slade really starts to help Auren realize her own power and  show her that he's the one she should trust and be with. Even though he didn't start out very trust-worthy. 

The romantic and political tension in this book is some of the best written that I've seen.

Themes/Tropes:
๐ŸEnemies to friends
๐ŸMorally Grey Characters
๐ŸHidden magical powers
๐ŸShadow Daddy
๐ŸParanormal Romance
๐ŸSlow Burn
๐ŸShocking Plot Twists

TW:
โœจGaslighting
โœจCaging of humans
โœจPhysical and mental torture
โœจFighting back against an abuser
โœจDrug and alcohol usage
โœจViolence
โœจExplicit Sexual Content

A super cute fast read.

At the beginning of this audiobook, I would have given it a solid 3 starts. But by the end of it, I was very invested. The end is 5 stars. So, overall 4 starts. The start was a little rough, because it was super cheesy and the female voice actress was super valley girl and uppidy. But she got better or I just got used to her. The story itself was adorable by the end.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was very very similar to ACOTAR in a lot of ways, but it had its own twists and turns that kept me reading. I hope the 2nd one impresses me just as much as the first.