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Fear the Flames #1
Fear the Flames
Princess. Prisoner. Runaway. Queen.
Elowen Atarah, Princess of Imirath, came into the world like a firestorm made flesh. A princess with a link to five dragons should have been a blessing to her kingdom, but her blessing became her curse. The little girl in shackles became a knife wielding woman with a thirst for retaliation.
Now, Queen of Aestilian, a secret kingdom she forged through strength and survival, Elowen needs a way to feed her rising population. She never thought she would have the force to take on Imirath, but when the snarky Commander Cayden Veles of Vareveth, her father’s enemy kingdom, offers her a deal she’s been dreaming of for years, how can she not take it? Even if he ignites her temper like no other, nothing unites two begrudging allies more than a common enemy.
The pair of them, along with three accomplices, will navigate their partnership, politics, and attempt to pull off the greatest heist their world has ever known. Five people, all united through revenge, will have to transcend the odds stacked against them and infiltrate the impenetrable castle if they want to reap their rewards before someone reaps their souls. Putting aside their differences to accomplish a common goal because everyone knows…vengeance is a promise signed in blood.
Elowen Atarah, Princess of Imirath, came into the world like a firestorm made flesh. A princess with a link to five dragons should have been a blessing to her kingdom, but her blessing became her curse. The little girl in shackles became a knife wielding woman with a thirst for retaliation.
Now, Queen of Aestilian, a secret kingdom she forged through strength and survival, Elowen needs a way to feed her rising population. She never thought she would have the force to take on Imirath, but when the snarky Commander Cayden Veles of Vareveth, her father’s enemy kingdom, offers her a deal she’s been dreaming of for years, how can she not take it? Even if he ignites her temper like no other, nothing unites two begrudging allies more than a common enemy.
The pair of them, along with three accomplices, will navigate their partnership, politics, and attempt to pull off the greatest heist their world has ever known. Five people, all united through revenge, will have to transcend the odds stacked against them and infiltrate the impenetrable castle if they want to reap their rewards before someone reaps their souls. Putting aside their differences to accomplish a common goal because everyone knows…vengeance is a promise signed in blood.
950 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2022
About the author
Olivia Rose Darling
3 books1,617 followersOlivia split her time growing up between New York and Manchester, VT. She developed a passion for writing from a very young age- always scribbling poems onto napkins and short stories into her school notebooks. She graduated from Pace University and attained a degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing. Lord of the Rings were her favorite movies growing up and formed her fantasy obsession. Being an author and living a life filled with words and magic has always been her dream.
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September 17, 2024
4.30!
"Power is chaos if you don't know how to wield it."
I NEED THE SECOND BOOK LIKE I NEED AIR
This book basically follows Elowen, a runaway princess who was formerly imprisoned and separated from her five dragons. To get her dragons back and reclaim her kingdom she makes a deal with the most feared commander Cayden Veles on the agreement that she would fight with his kingdom, it follows a heist, a battle and lots of angst and tension with banter and found family.
This book was what I have been looking for in a Romantasy so it delivered and I do think that it parallels a lot with game of thrones but obviously got is incomparable and is an epic high fantasy and this was more of a Romantasy. There were some scenes that reminded me of got and while the main character didn't exactly resemble Daenerys Targaryen, I feel like her whole emotional arc follows that and there is honestly a lot of substance in this world which could be used for the following book(s) but as a Romantasy this SLAPPED I enjoyed the writing so much!! I was reading it on my phone so I was a little slow but I think it is relatively fast paced and easy to read, There are some scenes worth remembering and so well written, its more of a character driven novel but it also contributes to the plot and I love the balance that the plot and the romance share. One more thing about this book that people should know is it's building up to something better and more fierce and you will not see the dragons in full action until the last bits but you will get dragon scenes. I was totally fine with this aspect of the book because it felt very drawn out and fleshed out to me, I liked how much everything was explored in this book. It was written well and fit perfectly in the genre that it was described and marketed as.
One thing that I would like to discuss is that this was not as grand as game of thrones so DO NOT set your expectations to that level. This is a ROMANTASY not an EPIC HIGH FANTASY it falls more under romantic traps with action whereas GOT was action, foreshadowing, political intrigue and amazing dialogue.
"The reign of the demon king and the dragon queen."
The characters were the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. We follow two main characters:
Elowen Atarah. I really enjoyed reading about her character and I loved the development that we got to see from her side her point of view at the start read more like one of a princess which transformed into one for a queen as we reached the end and I loved it. She was strong and lethal, a fighter!!l and she had that presence of a queen that was seen in Daenerys + the bonds with the dragon was really similar but some of her internal monologue resembled that and that was pretty much it. Elowen was a character of her own. She had this deep affection for her people and I wanna see how it will play out in the future. The way Olivia presented her character was so strong and I loved how we got her emotional scenes. I loved it!! I feel like I would love her character so much more in the next book because I want to see her as a ruler and I want more of that side of hers and I think book 2 hold a lot of promise for her character.
Cayden Veles the lord commander of the army of Vareveth and our love interest. He was such a possessive, broody but also fun MMC. I loved how he literally killed people who would mean Elowen harm and it was so fun to read. That man literally snapped a guys neck because he was trying to force Elowen and I love him so much for that. His loyalty and his entire persona were the highlight of this book, I loved his sarcasm and his constant flirting was such a nice addition to this book, honestly he made it so much more enjoyable!! He's like how Daemon was with Rhaneyra in s1 but tamer. I wanna see how things unravel with him considering the end.
“Every part of you, every scar, both visible and invisible, are utterly beautiful to me.”
“As are yours to me.”
The romance, this is honestly for every romance lover because it delivers so well on that part. I loved how they both were there for each other to support them during their breakdowns, there was so much communication. The banter was amazing, their constant bickering and back and forth was enjoyable as well. I loved the flirting and the cute moments that we got of them and how they both were so possessive of each other and oh my god did the spicy scenes deliver because they were actually so hot and so well written. This is definitely perfect for fans of romance!!
Finnian, Saskia and Ryder were out main characters and I loved them so much and I feel like every book deserves to have good loveable side character who bring banter to the series. Finnian was the best brother Elowen could ask for, I loved his relationship with him and I really liked how every time she felt trapped or anxious she would go to him. Saskia and Ryder and all of them together with our main characters formed such a fun found family and I absolutely loved it!!
"I need you to send a message to the fire priestess. Our crowns and betrothal are drenched in blood, and war will come, but my dragons will be with us."
The plot I liked it!! it was setting up to something grand and we got a smidge of it in the end which was very enjoyable to read and it makes so excited to read the next book. It was more about Elowen getting her dragons back and Vareveth fighting against Imirath and it was very tense but not as much as I wanted it to be. I feel like it would have been better with more twists but the ending truly delivered, I am bouncing off the walls for more content.
Things that I wanted but were missing the world building was missing, I would have wanted more of it and court and political intrigue was definitely minimal, I would have loved this if we got more of that. I also wanted some intense dialogues. These three things could have made it better. I did appreciate the action though.
"There once was a princess born on a crisp winter night with enough fire in her soul to rival the frost that covered the earth. The sky wept as she did, and the stars burned brighter when she opened her eyes for the first time."
Tropes:
•Hate to love
•Knife to the throat
•Banter
•Tension
•Forced Proximity & Angst
•Spice
•'Who did this to you'
•Found family
•Dragons
One line 'The mask has fallen, I see you as you are' reminded me a lot of that scene in hotd where Rhaneyra and Alicent are fighting and Rhaneyra says 'Now they see you as you are'.
Overall, an amazing debut and I would definitely recommend!
__
I heard people say that the main character is like Daenereys Targaryen in a romantasy who's bonded to 5 dragons who are locked away 🤭🤭 sign me tf up!
*Thank you to random house ballantine for gifting me an arc*
"Power is chaos if you don't know how to wield it."
I NEED THE SECOND BOOK LIKE I NEED AIR
This book basically follows Elowen, a runaway princess who was formerly imprisoned and separated from her five dragons. To get her dragons back and reclaim her kingdom she makes a deal with the most feared commander Cayden Veles on the agreement that she would fight with his kingdom, it follows a heist, a battle and lots of angst and tension with banter and found family.
This book was what I have been looking for in a Romantasy so it delivered and I do think that it parallels a lot with game of thrones but obviously got is incomparable and is an epic high fantasy and this was more of a Romantasy. There were some scenes that reminded me of got and while the main character didn't exactly resemble Daenerys Targaryen, I feel like her whole emotional arc follows that and there is honestly a lot of substance in this world which could be used for the following book(s) but as a Romantasy this SLAPPED I enjoyed the writing so much!! I was reading it on my phone so I was a little slow but I think it is relatively fast paced and easy to read, There are some scenes worth remembering and so well written, its more of a character driven novel but it also contributes to the plot and I love the balance that the plot and the romance share. One more thing about this book that people should know is it's building up to something better and more fierce and you will not see the dragons in full action until the last bits but you will get dragon scenes. I was totally fine with this aspect of the book because it felt very drawn out and fleshed out to me, I liked how much everything was explored in this book. It was written well and fit perfectly in the genre that it was described and marketed as.
One thing that I would like to discuss is that this was not as grand as game of thrones so DO NOT set your expectations to that level. This is a ROMANTASY not an EPIC HIGH FANTASY it falls more under romantic traps with action whereas GOT was action, foreshadowing, political intrigue and amazing dialogue.
"The reign of the demon king and the dragon queen."
The characters were the part of the book that I enjoyed the most. We follow two main characters:
Elowen Atarah. I really enjoyed reading about her character and I loved the development that we got to see from her side her point of view at the start read more like one of a princess which transformed into one for a queen as we reached the end and I loved it. She was strong and lethal, a fighter!!l and she had that presence of a queen that was seen in Daenerys + the bonds with the dragon was really similar but some of her internal monologue resembled that and that was pretty much it. Elowen was a character of her own. She had this deep affection for her people and I wanna see how it will play out in the future. The way Olivia presented her character was so strong and I loved how we got her emotional scenes. I loved it!! I feel like I would love her character so much more in the next book because I want to see her as a ruler and I want more of that side of hers and I think book 2 hold a lot of promise for her character.
Cayden Veles the lord commander of the army of Vareveth and our love interest. He was such a possessive, broody but also fun MMC. I loved how he literally killed people who would mean Elowen harm and it was so fun to read. That man literally snapped a guys neck because he was trying to force Elowen and I love him so much for that. His loyalty and his entire persona were the highlight of this book, I loved his sarcasm and his constant flirting was such a nice addition to this book, honestly he made it so much more enjoyable!! He's like how Daemon was with Rhaneyra in s1 but tamer. I wanna see how things unravel with him considering the end.
“Every part of you, every scar, both visible and invisible, are utterly beautiful to me.”
“As are yours to me.”
The romance, this is honestly for every romance lover because it delivers so well on that part. I loved how they both were there for each other to support them during their breakdowns, there was so much communication. The banter was amazing, their constant bickering and back and forth was enjoyable as well. I loved the flirting and the cute moments that we got of them and how they both were so possessive of each other and oh my god did the spicy scenes deliver because they were actually so hot and so well written. This is definitely perfect for fans of romance!!
Finnian, Saskia and Ryder were out main characters and I loved them so much and I feel like every book deserves to have good loveable side character who bring banter to the series. Finnian was the best brother Elowen could ask for, I loved his relationship with him and I really liked how every time she felt trapped or anxious she would go to him. Saskia and Ryder and all of them together with our main characters formed such a fun found family and I absolutely loved it!!
"I need you to send a message to the fire priestess. Our crowns and betrothal are drenched in blood, and war will come, but my dragons will be with us."
The plot I liked it!! it was setting up to something grand and we got a smidge of it in the end which was very enjoyable to read and it makes so excited to read the next book. It was more about Elowen getting her dragons back and Vareveth fighting against Imirath and it was very tense but not as much as I wanted it to be. I feel like it would have been better with more twists but the ending truly delivered, I am bouncing off the walls for more content.
Things that I wanted but were missing the world building was missing, I would have wanted more of it and court and political intrigue was definitely minimal, I would have loved this if we got more of that. I also wanted some intense dialogues. These three things could have made it better. I did appreciate the action though.
"There once was a princess born on a crisp winter night with enough fire in her soul to rival the frost that covered the earth. The sky wept as she did, and the stars burned brighter when she opened her eyes for the first time."
Tropes:
•Hate to love
•Knife to the throat
•Banter
•Tension
•Forced Proximity & Angst
•Spice
•'Who did this to you'
•Found family
•Dragons
One line 'The mask has fallen, I see you as you are' reminded me a lot of that scene in hotd where Rhaneyra and Alicent are fighting and Rhaneyra says 'Now they see you as you are'.
Overall, an amazing debut and I would definitely recommend!
__
I heard people say that the main character is like Daenereys Targaryen in a romantasy who's bonded to 5 dragons who are locked away 🤭🤭 sign me tf up!
*Thank you to random house ballantine for gifting me an arc*
September 15, 2024
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 1.75-2 𝓢𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓼 ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
Alright, I’ve heard many people making comparisons of this book with ToG (Aelin), GOT (specifically to Daenerys Targaryen) I can see some of the parallels but this doesn’t read nearly as good as those books do.
We have :
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ A Princess (Heir) who was kept as a prisoner
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ A stabby feisty FMC
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ A Priestess who reads/prays/worships flames
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ Dragons (somewhere- really couldn’t find them so don’t expect dragons galore)
First, I was ready to bash my head into the wall as I got to 50%- such a slog.
Queue the editor please. The writing and dialogue is very clunky. Up to the 70% mark we were still hearing how Elowen loves coffee, sweaters, pastries and smut books. I mean I get it, same sis- but where are the dragons?? All we have had are a couple of visions in the fire.
The dynamic between the FMC and the MMC (Cayden) is just a weird one for me- I didn’t feel the chemistry.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ The anachronisms :
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ Sipping vanilla coffee in a warm knit sweater
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ Smut books- was smut even a term in mediaeval times?
ೃ⁀➷★ ₊ ˚ Elowen reads like a millennial/Gen-z
ೃ⁀➷★ ₊ ˚ Lack of world building
80% - still on the lookout for the dragons.
I basically skimmed the rest.
The concept and premise was there but unfortunately it just didn’t come together for me.
Alright, I’ve heard many people making comparisons of this book with ToG (Aelin), GOT (specifically to Daenerys Targaryen) I can see some of the parallels but this doesn’t read nearly as good as those books do.
We have :
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ A Princess (Heir) who was kept as a prisoner
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ A stabby feisty FMC
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ A Priestess who reads/prays/worships flames
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ Dragons (somewhere- really couldn’t find them so don’t expect dragons galore)
First, I was ready to bash my head into the wall as I got to 50%- such a slog.
Queue the editor please. The writing and dialogue is very clunky. Up to the 70% mark we were still hearing how Elowen loves coffee, sweaters, pastries and smut books. I mean I get it, same sis- but where are the dragons?? All we have had are a couple of visions in the fire.
The dynamic between the FMC and the MMC (Cayden) is just a weird one for me- I didn’t feel the chemistry.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ The anachronisms :
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ Sipping vanilla coffee in a warm knit sweater
╰⪼ ★ ₊ ˚ꕤ Smut books- was smut even a term in mediaeval times?
ೃ⁀➷★ ₊ ˚ Elowen reads like a millennial/Gen-z
ೃ⁀➷★ ₊ ˚ Lack of world building
80% - still on the lookout for the dragons.
I basically skimmed the rest.
The concept and premise was there but unfortunately it just didn’t come together for me.
September 29, 2024
➸ 5 stars
this book will forever be my favorite book ever. i’ve read it 3 times and will never get tired of it. the traditionally published version is amazing and i LOVED all the newly added scenes so so much and just fell more deeply in love with this story.
thank you to netgalley, random house publishing, and olivia rose darling for the arc <3
🗡️ reluctant allies to lovers
🪻 forbidden romance
⚔️ princess x bodyguard
⛰️ found family
🪷 heists
☁️ touch her/him and you die
🐉 dragons
i’m going to add some of my favorite quotes that were added in the tradpub that i absolutely adored <3
“My thoughts are my own, but Cayden is looking at me as if they’re made of air and he longs to fill is aching lungs.”
“I didn’t think you paid such close attention to me.”
“What makes you think I’ve ever looked away?”
“You’re safe with me always. Trust me like you did in the prison. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care how long it takes, you have me.”
“Books breathe life into the mundane and have brightened the darkest of days for me which merely some pretty prose and hope. Some of my favorite nights were when my candlestick melted and dawn chased away the night where I was lost in a maze of words and wonder.”
“I’ve seen many expressions of him, but there’s something so beautiful about catching a genuine smile from someone who rarely deals them out. Happiness is my favorite thing he’s ever worn.”
“I don’t want you getting confused about what I am.”
“What are you?”
“A monster, but for you, never to you.”
“I wish he took my memories with him.”
“I know, but if you’ll allow me, I’ll find a way to help you carry them when they get too heavy.”
“Why do you believe I would let anything keep me from you? I’ve searched for you since I was a boy, when the whole world thought you were dead, when it seemed hopeless—I searched for you,”
“You’ve driven me to madness. You haunt me while I sleep and you’re there when I wake. Your presence is agonizing and yet I’ll beg for the pain if it means I can have a moment with you.”
“there’s a chip carved in the shape of his name within the walls I’ve built around myself. Something about him makes me feel alive, and like I’ve found the place I’ve been searching for without prematurely knowing my destination.”
“Beautiful, you are the embodiment of beauty.”
“You’ve ruined me in this life, the next, and any that follow”
“I’m not a hero. This is who I am, Elowen, and I’m all yours. All of me, every darkened part. Until the moon crashes into the sea and all the stars blink out of existence.”
independently published version review
— first read 12.17.23 - 12.31.23
— second read 06.23.24 - 07.11.24
𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂 🗡️
In this NA fantasy romance, we follow Elowen, a princess turned prisoner and into a runaway princess forced to leave her dragons behind. Now, she’s become a queen to a kingdom she forged and is looking for revenge. When an opportunity arises with the most feared warlord on the continent, the Commander of the strongest army, which also happens to be her fathers enemy kingdom… she has a chance for revenge. The two become reluctant allies with a common enemy on a mission to pull off the greatest heist along with 3 accomplices…
There is tension, banter, found family, political intrigue, humor, morally grey fmc & mmc, female rage, touch her/him and you die, ‘who did this to you?’, rivals/allies to lovers, one bed trope, and some spice ;)
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 🗡️
This book is my soulbook. This book feels like home to me. My favorite book ever. When someone asks me what my favorite book is, this one will be mentioned in an instant. I don’t think my words are able to fully describe the amount of love I have for this book and these characters so hopefully this review does it justice. I have not stopped thinking about this book since I finished it and I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about it. It was perfect to me. It was everything. The characters, the plot, the pace, the world building, the visual imagery, the humor, the banter, the found family, the friendships, the relationships, the connections, everything about this book I loved and these characters are forever going to hold a place in my heart. I took my time reading this because I didn’t ever want to leave this world. If I were able to go into any fantasy world, I would choose go to this one, the vibes were immaculate and I’d love to be able to live in the world of Ravaryn with these characters. I truly felt like I escaped reality with this one and I cannot wait to reread this again in September and read more content of this book and these characters. 2025 cannot come fast enough for me to read book two, I need the sequel like I need air. I WILL be buying every edition possible, take my money Liv, it’s yours. I ALSO cannot wait to get started on fanart for this book I am SOOOO excited and have so many ideas in mind for what I want to create and which scenes to bring to life!!
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 🗡️
➳ 𝓔𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓷 𝓐𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓱
“Fire itself can’t burn brighter than I am right now.”
“Plan on dying in Imirath?”
“If I do, I promise to drag you down with me.”
“I’m actually honored that you needed to sedate me before a three-on-one.”“Performance issues?”
“I will kill anyone that harms you”
Elowen Elowen Elowen… I love her so much she’s such a badass character! I love reading about strong female main characters and she delivered in every aspect. She is LETHAL she is UNHINGED she is STRONG she is VIOLENT she is CONFIDENT she is a QUEEN and she CAN, AND WILL, win any fight that comes her way cause she’s just THAT GIRL and she knows it ;) I am in love with her. Through all that cold morally-grey-baddie in her there is a soft side, she is so selfless and cares so much for her people; she’ll literally do anything for them and put them before herself. She broke into her friends ex husbands house to steal all of his valuables and sell them for clothes and supplies for her friend LIKE I NEED A FRIEND LIKE HER!!! She has such a big heart and is so so selfless and compassionate and caring and deserves nothing but the world after everything she went through. She is also a book girly!! More specifically a romance girly who likes smut ;) AND makes up make scenarios before she goes to bed IF SHE ISNT MEEEE! She is literally us on ink and paper how much better can she get?? She easily became one of my favorite fmcs from the moment she was introduced I love her so much.
➳ 𝓒𝓪𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓷 𝓥𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓼
“If any of you touch her, you die,” “and I promise to make it painful.”
“You look as enchanting as revenge.”
“You keep those pretty eyes on mine. It’s just you and me, angel”
“Books were my only refuge from the world.”
“You would start a war for one woman?”
“You should be terrified of what I’ll do for her”
CAYDEN VELES MY HUSBAND THE LOVE OF MY LIFE THE MAN THAT YOU AREEEEE! He is at the top of my book boyfriends list and he got there no problem MY MAN MY MAN MY MAN! This man had me swooning, giggling, kicking my feet, gasping for air, running laps, doing backflips, blushing, twirling my hair and falling in love! Elowen is stronger than me because I would’ve asked for his hand in marriage the second he said single word to me, NO ACTUALLY… I would’ve asked if he gave me a single glance my way EVEN BEING IN HIS MERE PRESENCE I WOULDVE ASKED I am down bad and I am not ashamed to admit that I am down bad for this man. Just like Elowen, he is a morally grey, cold, unhinged , and lethal male main character. I absolutely love the ‘Touch her and you die’ characters and this man DID EXACTLY THAT HE IS SOOOO PROTECTIVE the amount of times his protectiveness showed was too many! He’s also sarcastic and had me laughing my ass off so many times. And is this man is such a shameless flirt! HE IS SOOO FLIRTY I LOVE IT!!! He plays piano too which is so cute and if I don’t get a scene where he plays for Elowen in book two I will scream. I loved everything about his character, if that hasn’t been obvious… HE. IS. EVERYTHING. (He loves reading books too what more could a woman ask for? I need a man that shares the same hobbies as me, and that man happens to be Cayden heheh)
➳ 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓔𝓲𝓻𝓪
I need a best friend like Finnian in my life, he’s so funny and loyal and supportive and so utterly loving! He’s the type of person that would light up a room the second he walks in. He needs to be protected at all costs if anything happens to him I will cry I love his character so much.
➳ 𝓢𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓪 𝓝𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓼
“It’s not my fault you settle for the bare minimum while I strive for perfection.”
“Please, by all means, continue to squirm, considering it’s rather rewarding. It won’t change the truth. I outsmarted every damn one of you.”
Saskia my beautiful, smart, sassy, intelligent queen! I loved her character so much, her mind is so powerful and I can’t wait to see more of her in book two! I also desperately need to go dress shopping with her and pick out some pretty gowns hehe :)
➳ 𝓡𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓼
I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Every time he was in a chapters he never failed to make me laugh, I loved his humor, sarcasm and that attitude. He’s also so loyal and protective of everyone!!! I need him to be my friend. HE ALSO LOVES TO MAKE ART!! I wish I could go into these pages and just sit down and paint on a canvas with him.
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 🗡️
➳ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷
“Do you not remember when I held a knife to your neck?”
“I actually think about it quite often, but if you want to remind me, feel free to do so.”
“I’d like to stab you.”
“I love it when you sweet-talk me.”
THE BANTER IN THIS BOOK IS TOP TIER! I ATE IT UP! It was so incredibly done and this is probably one of the best written banter I’ve ever read I loved every moment these two were going back and fourth with each other and they never failed to make me laugh. THE TENSION WAS INSANE the amount of tension these two had OH MY GOD every scene had me screaming and waiting impatiently for someone to happen and even the smallest touches had me screaming for them and when something DID happen I died and came back to live and died again IT WAS SO WORTH THE WAIT AND YEARNING! Nothing is better than a book with banter and tension and this one was perfect and delivered ;)
➳ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
“Angel, you are the sickness to my thoughts and I have no intention of finding the cure.”
“I’ll find a way to gift you the stars if you wish for them. You can have anything you want, love.”
“Every part of you, every scar, both visible and invisible, are utterly beautiful to me.”
“As are yours to me.”
“I want you.” “I want you so much it hurts.”
“You have me, beautiful.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you are the sweetest curse bestowed upon me.”
“I’ve never been with anyone as myself.”
“Then I’m honored to be the first, Elowen Atarah.” “Though I must confess I intend on being the last.”
THE ROMANCE IN THIS BOOK WAS TOP TIER AND SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT!! Cayden and Elowen have easily became one of my favorite book couples. From the moment these two met (need I mention it was a knife to throat meet cute likeee) they had inside chemistry and the banter and tension only added on to that. I loved seeing they relationship progress in this book. Both of these characters are very closed off and don’t enjoy opening up to anyone about anything and seeing them slowly start to trust each other and let down their walls was so beautifully done. They were literally made for each other!! They’re so perfect together and have such a strong connection. They can read each other so we’ll and can understand what they’re saying without needing to say anything out loud with just a LOOK or a GLANCE or a FACIAL EXPRESSION and if one of them wants to push, the other will just push right back; they’re each others match. They can show each other the ugliest parts of themselves and neither of them would judge for even a second. They understand and accept each other for who they are and I think that’s such a beautiful thing. The communication is also so well done, even if it took a while to get there. The amount of trust they have for each other is also lovely to read about and I loved every second of it; they really became each others home and I’m so excited to see more of them and their story!!
He is also so in love with her it’s crazy, since they met he was always such a flirt and everything he did for her had me screaming. Every time he looked at her is was as if he was seeing her for the very first time and his pupils would always dilate to black THIS MAN IS IN LOVE and it’s so obvious too that he’s in love to those around him because he just can’t take his eyes off her! He’s just mesmerized by her it’s adorable; the first time he ever saw her in a gown he literally FROZE, stood there like a statue. He’s obsessed, he would burn down the world for her, he would start a war for her, he’s cold to everyone else and only soft with her, he calls her angel, love, the bane of his existence and kisses her scars; he’s perfect. I need a man like him the standards are too high and are only getting higher!
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 🗡️
➳ 𝓔𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓷
“I used to pray for my family to return to me, and I think they did in some form because I met you.” “You’re the sister I prayed to the gods for.”
“I can feel it in my soul. We don’t need blood to make us siblings; you’re my brother through and through.”
I’ve never read a book where two characters have such a strong and healthy platonic relationship and it was so well done in this one. The amount of care and trust and LOVE these two have is something so truly beautiful. I love how they found each other and helped each other heal from their pasts and how they let down those walls with each other, the way they both consider each other siblings is so so cute and they just deserve the whole world and nothing but happiness. Aside from that their banter and friendship is absolutely adorable and hilarious! I wish I could give these two a hug I love them so much!!
➳ 𝓒𝓪𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓷, 𝓡𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓢𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓪
“After that, we slowly became a team, and then we became a family. Cayden may have protected us that night, but we’ve protected each other countless times throughout our lives. I love Cayden like a brother and always tell people I have two.”
I love how these three found each other and became a family, their dynamics with each other are just hilarious and I really hope we get to see more of these three in book two cause I just love them so much and want moreee!
➳ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓼
“For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong. Existing with these four people makes me feel alive.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, I wasn’t supposed to become attached. We’re just five people with a knack for surviving against all odds. I’ve found people to survive with, but I’ve also found people to risk myself for.”
Oh these five… my gosh these characters are gonna stay with me for a long time. I haven’t stopped thinking about either one of them since I finished this book. The found family is just amazing and beautiful and these characters are literally a definition for found family. After everything that each one of them went though, they found each other and became a family. Each of these characters are amazing, but together? They’re a joy, a light, a warmth, a laughter. The amount of times they had me smiling or laughing was too many to count. I’m so glad they have each other and I can’t wait to read more of them and see where their friendship heads and follow along with them!! These characters are going to stick with me forever, they feel like family to me.
“For those who carry the weight of the world with a smile and never stop chasing dreams that others deem unrealistic, too big, or impractical. Every word is for you. Your dreams are alive, and so are dragons.”
this book will forever be my favorite book ever. i’ve read it 3 times and will never get tired of it. the traditionally published version is amazing and i LOVED all the newly added scenes so so much and just fell more deeply in love with this story.
thank you to netgalley, random house publishing, and olivia rose darling for the arc <3
🗡️ reluctant allies to lovers
🪻 forbidden romance
⚔️ princess x bodyguard
⛰️ found family
🪷 heists
☁️ touch her/him and you die
🐉 dragons
i’m going to add some of my favorite quotes that were added in the tradpub that i absolutely adored <3
“My thoughts are my own, but Cayden is looking at me as if they’re made of air and he longs to fill is aching lungs.”
“I didn’t think you paid such close attention to me.”
“What makes you think I’ve ever looked away?”
“You’re safe with me always. Trust me like you did in the prison. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I don’t care how long it takes, you have me.”
“Books breathe life into the mundane and have brightened the darkest of days for me which merely some pretty prose and hope. Some of my favorite nights were when my candlestick melted and dawn chased away the night where I was lost in a maze of words and wonder.”
“I’ve seen many expressions of him, but there’s something so beautiful about catching a genuine smile from someone who rarely deals them out. Happiness is my favorite thing he’s ever worn.”
“I don’t want you getting confused about what I am.”
“What are you?”
“A monster, but for you, never to you.”
“I wish he took my memories with him.”
“I know, but if you’ll allow me, I’ll find a way to help you carry them when they get too heavy.”
“Why do you believe I would let anything keep me from you? I’ve searched for you since I was a boy, when the whole world thought you were dead, when it seemed hopeless—I searched for you,”
“You’ve driven me to madness. You haunt me while I sleep and you’re there when I wake. Your presence is agonizing and yet I’ll beg for the pain if it means I can have a moment with you.”
“there’s a chip carved in the shape of his name within the walls I’ve built around myself. Something about him makes me feel alive, and like I’ve found the place I’ve been searching for without prematurely knowing my destination.”
“Beautiful, you are the embodiment of beauty.”
“You’ve ruined me in this life, the next, and any that follow”
“I’m not a hero. This is who I am, Elowen, and I’m all yours. All of me, every darkened part. Until the moon crashes into the sea and all the stars blink out of existence.”
independently published version review
— first read 12.17.23 - 12.31.23
— second read 06.23.24 - 07.11.24
“The words give me wings and carry me away from reality. Books have always been my light when the world feels dark. I always had healing and training, but nothing could make me feel as alive as a book.”
𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂 🗡️
In this NA fantasy romance, we follow Elowen, a princess turned prisoner and into a runaway princess forced to leave her dragons behind. Now, she’s become a queen to a kingdom she forged and is looking for revenge. When an opportunity arises with the most feared warlord on the continent, the Commander of the strongest army, which also happens to be her fathers enemy kingdom… she has a chance for revenge. The two become reluctant allies with a common enemy on a mission to pull off the greatest heist along with 3 accomplices…
There is tension, banter, found family, political intrigue, humor, morally grey fmc & mmc, female rage, touch her/him and you die, ‘who did this to you?’, rivals/allies to lovers, one bed trope, and some spice ;)
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 🗡️
This book is my soulbook. This book feels like home to me. My favorite book ever. When someone asks me what my favorite book is, this one will be mentioned in an instant. I don’t think my words are able to fully describe the amount of love I have for this book and these characters so hopefully this review does it justice. I have not stopped thinking about this book since I finished it and I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about it. It was perfect to me. It was everything. The characters, the plot, the pace, the world building, the visual imagery, the humor, the banter, the found family, the friendships, the relationships, the connections, everything about this book I loved and these characters are forever going to hold a place in my heart. I took my time reading this because I didn’t ever want to leave this world. If I were able to go into any fantasy world, I would choose go to this one, the vibes were immaculate and I’d love to be able to live in the world of Ravaryn with these characters. I truly felt like I escaped reality with this one and I cannot wait to reread this again in September and read more content of this book and these characters. 2025 cannot come fast enough for me to read book two, I need the sequel like I need air. I WILL be buying every edition possible, take my money Liv, it’s yours. I ALSO cannot wait to get started on fanart for this book I am SOOOO excited and have so many ideas in mind for what I want to create and which scenes to bring to life!!
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 🗡️
➳ 𝓔𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓷 𝓐𝓽𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓱
“Fire itself can’t burn brighter than I am right now.”
“Plan on dying in Imirath?”
“If I do, I promise to drag you down with me.”
“I’m actually honored that you needed to sedate me before a three-on-one.”“Performance issues?”
“I will kill anyone that harms you”
Elowen Elowen Elowen… I love her so much she’s such a badass character! I love reading about strong female main characters and she delivered in every aspect. She is LETHAL she is UNHINGED she is STRONG she is VIOLENT she is CONFIDENT she is a QUEEN and she CAN, AND WILL, win any fight that comes her way cause she’s just THAT GIRL and she knows it ;) I am in love with her. Through all that cold morally-grey-baddie in her there is a soft side, she is so selfless and cares so much for her people; she’ll literally do anything for them and put them before herself. She broke into her friends ex husbands house to steal all of his valuables and sell them for clothes and supplies for her friend LIKE I NEED A FRIEND LIKE HER!!! She has such a big heart and is so so selfless and compassionate and caring and deserves nothing but the world after everything she went through. She is also a book girly!! More specifically a romance girly who likes smut ;) AND makes up make scenarios before she goes to bed IF SHE ISNT MEEEE! She is literally us on ink and paper how much better can she get?? She easily became one of my favorite fmcs from the moment she was introduced I love her so much.
➳ 𝓒𝓪𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓷 𝓥𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓼
“If any of you touch her, you die,” “and I promise to make it painful.”
“You look as enchanting as revenge.”
“You keep those pretty eyes on mine. It’s just you and me, angel”
“Books were my only refuge from the world.”
“You would start a war for one woman?”
“You should be terrified of what I’ll do for her”
CAYDEN VELES MY HUSBAND THE LOVE OF MY LIFE THE MAN THAT YOU AREEEEE! He is at the top of my book boyfriends list and he got there no problem MY MAN MY MAN MY MAN! This man had me swooning, giggling, kicking my feet, gasping for air, running laps, doing backflips, blushing, twirling my hair and falling in love! Elowen is stronger than me because I would’ve asked for his hand in marriage the second he said single word to me, NO ACTUALLY… I would’ve asked if he gave me a single glance my way EVEN BEING IN HIS MERE PRESENCE I WOULDVE ASKED I am down bad and I am not ashamed to admit that I am down bad for this man. Just like Elowen, he is a morally grey, cold, unhinged , and lethal male main character. I absolutely love the ‘Touch her and you die’ characters and this man DID EXACTLY THAT HE IS SOOOO PROTECTIVE the amount of times his protectiveness showed was too many! He’s also sarcastic and had me laughing my ass off so many times. And is this man is such a shameless flirt! HE IS SOOO FLIRTY I LOVE IT!!! He plays piano too which is so cute and if I don’t get a scene where he plays for Elowen in book two I will scream. I loved everything about his character, if that hasn’t been obvious… HE. IS. EVERYTHING. (He loves reading books too what more could a woman ask for? I need a man that shares the same hobbies as me, and that man happens to be Cayden heheh)
➳ 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓔𝓲𝓻𝓪
I need a best friend like Finnian in my life, he’s so funny and loyal and supportive and so utterly loving! He’s the type of person that would light up a room the second he walks in. He needs to be protected at all costs if anything happens to him I will cry I love his character so much.
➳ 𝓢𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓪 𝓝𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓼
“It’s not my fault you settle for the bare minimum while I strive for perfection.”
“Please, by all means, continue to squirm, considering it’s rather rewarding. It won’t change the truth. I outsmarted every damn one of you.”
Saskia my beautiful, smart, sassy, intelligent queen! I loved her character so much, her mind is so powerful and I can’t wait to see more of her in book two! I also desperately need to go dress shopping with her and pick out some pretty gowns hehe :)
➳ 𝓡𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭𝓻𝓪𝓼
I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Every time he was in a chapters he never failed to make me laugh, I loved his humor, sarcasm and that attitude. He’s also so loyal and protective of everyone!!! I need him to be my friend. HE ALSO LOVES TO MAKE ART!! I wish I could go into these pages and just sit down and paint on a canvas with him.
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮 🗡️
➳ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷
“Do you not remember when I held a knife to your neck?”
“I actually think about it quite often, but if you want to remind me, feel free to do so.”
“I’d like to stab you.”
“I love it when you sweet-talk me.”
THE BANTER IN THIS BOOK IS TOP TIER! I ATE IT UP! It was so incredibly done and this is probably one of the best written banter I’ve ever read I loved every moment these two were going back and fourth with each other and they never failed to make me laugh. THE TENSION WAS INSANE the amount of tension these two had OH MY GOD every scene had me screaming and waiting impatiently for someone to happen and even the smallest touches had me screaming for them and when something DID happen I died and came back to live and died again IT WAS SO WORTH THE WAIT AND YEARNING! Nothing is better than a book with banter and tension and this one was perfect and delivered ;)
➳ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
“Angel, you are the sickness to my thoughts and I have no intention of finding the cure.”
“I’ll find a way to gift you the stars if you wish for them. You can have anything you want, love.”
“Every part of you, every scar, both visible and invisible, are utterly beautiful to me.”
“As are yours to me.”
“I want you.” “I want you so much it hurts.”
“You have me, beautiful.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you are the sweetest curse bestowed upon me.”
“I’ve never been with anyone as myself.”
“Then I’m honored to be the first, Elowen Atarah.” “Though I must confess I intend on being the last.”
THE ROMANCE IN THIS BOOK WAS TOP TIER AND SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT!! Cayden and Elowen have easily became one of my favorite book couples. From the moment these two met (need I mention it was a knife to throat meet cute likeee) they had inside chemistry and the banter and tension only added on to that. I loved seeing they relationship progress in this book. Both of these characters are very closed off and don’t enjoy opening up to anyone about anything and seeing them slowly start to trust each other and let down their walls was so beautifully done. They were literally made for each other!! They’re so perfect together and have such a strong connection. They can read each other so we’ll and can understand what they’re saying without needing to say anything out loud with just a LOOK or a GLANCE or a FACIAL EXPRESSION and if one of them wants to push, the other will just push right back; they’re each others match. They can show each other the ugliest parts of themselves and neither of them would judge for even a second. They understand and accept each other for who they are and I think that’s such a beautiful thing. The communication is also so well done, even if it took a while to get there. The amount of trust they have for each other is also lovely to read about and I loved every second of it; they really became each others home and I’m so excited to see more of them and their story!!
He is also so in love with her it’s crazy, since they met he was always such a flirt and everything he did for her had me screaming. Every time he looked at her is was as if he was seeing her for the very first time and his pupils would always dilate to black THIS MAN IS IN LOVE and it’s so obvious too that he’s in love to those around him because he just can’t take his eyes off her! He’s just mesmerized by her it’s adorable; the first time he ever saw her in a gown he literally FROZE, stood there like a statue. He’s obsessed, he would burn down the world for her, he would start a war for her, he’s cold to everyone else and only soft with her, he calls her angel, love, the bane of his existence and kisses her scars; he’s perfect. I need a man like him the standards are too high and are only getting higher!
✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦༺ ༻✦
𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓵𝔂 🗡️
➳ 𝓔𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓲𝓪𝓷
“I used to pray for my family to return to me, and I think they did in some form because I met you.” “You’re the sister I prayed to the gods for.”
“I can feel it in my soul. We don’t need blood to make us siblings; you’re my brother through and through.”
I’ve never read a book where two characters have such a strong and healthy platonic relationship and it was so well done in this one. The amount of care and trust and LOVE these two have is something so truly beautiful. I love how they found each other and helped each other heal from their pasts and how they let down those walls with each other, the way they both consider each other siblings is so so cute and they just deserve the whole world and nothing but happiness. Aside from that their banter and friendship is absolutely adorable and hilarious! I wish I could give these two a hug I love them so much!!
➳ 𝓒𝓪𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓷, 𝓡𝔂𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓢𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓪
“After that, we slowly became a team, and then we became a family. Cayden may have protected us that night, but we’ve protected each other countless times throughout our lives. I love Cayden like a brother and always tell people I have two.”
I love how these three found each other and became a family, their dynamics with each other are just hilarious and I really hope we get to see more of these three in book two cause I just love them so much and want moreee!
➳ 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓼
“For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong. Existing with these four people makes me feel alive.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, I wasn’t supposed to become attached. We’re just five people with a knack for surviving against all odds. I’ve found people to survive with, but I’ve also found people to risk myself for.”
Oh these five… my gosh these characters are gonna stay with me for a long time. I haven’t stopped thinking about either one of them since I finished this book. The found family is just amazing and beautiful and these characters are literally a definition for found family. After everything that each one of them went though, they found each other and became a family. Each of these characters are amazing, but together? They’re a joy, a light, a warmth, a laughter. The amount of times they had me smiling or laughing was too many to count. I’m so glad they have each other and I can’t wait to read more of them and see where their friendship heads and follow along with them!! These characters are going to stick with me forever, they feel like family to me.
August 23, 2024
it was perfect. the platonic m/f friendship, the broody scarred misunderstood stabby bad boy who's only soft for our equally stabby baddie female MC, the vivid imagery, the friendships, the steamy scenes, the banter, the humor, the intense scenes, the dragons, the moral greyness, etc. i ate up every single page and olivia rose darling is a sweetheart. THIS DESERVES JUST AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE, HYPE THAN FOURTH WING & I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL.
September 27, 2024
Im free. Getting through this book was a struggle which was so disappointing because I heard so many good things about this book, but at the end of the day it was definitely not for me.
First things first, if you’re thinking of picking up this book because of the dragons…. Don’t. Save yourself the time. They don’t come in until the very end. I’m sure they will play a bigger role in the rest of the books but I will not be sticking around to find out.
Second… if you’re think of picking up this book for an epic dragon heist…. Also don’t. This was without a doubt one of the most mediocre “heists” I have ever read. My dog plotting to steal the food off my plate right in front of my eyes is more entertaining.
Now I’m not at all a big critic when it comes to world building, but I felt like I was thrust into a story that was missing the first 100 pages. It wasn’t even that the world building was bad it was just simply nonexistent. Now I think this speaks to a potential issue I’ve heard about this book being traditionally published in that the indie published version was nearly cut in half…. And let me just say this, it was painfully obvious. It felt like so much of the plot was missing and instead of the heist being the main focus, the publishers wanted the romance to be the main focus so they threw in a bunch of unnecessary popular tropes and scenes with the MMC and FMC that added nothing to the story. The dialogue was also very weird and clunky.
Now I don’t have a problem when the romance is the big focus in romantasy… I mean it’s romantasy, however when the plot is nonexistent, the romance has to be GOOD!!!! I mean really really good, and that was absolutely not the case here for me personally. It was insta-love at its fucking finest, which already makes me less invested. I really didn’t feel any chemistry at all between the main characters, their relationship seemed very surface level. I was here for the forbidden love trip at first but the reason for them being forbidden is like the lowest stakes possible and with no real consequences for them being together so it felt like the forbidden love trope was just used for marketing.
Now the MMC was SCRUMPTIOUS and he is what I’m giving all of my 2 stars to. He absolutely had me giggling and kicking my feet with his flirtatious personality, witty banter, and filthy mouth…. But that can only do so much to hold a book together. Also his obsession with her was so instant that the entire time a lot of it felt very fake. I think this book really would have benefited from having his POV because I am really intrigued by his character!
The FMC…. No, hard no. She’s the type of character that when you’re first introduced to her you wonder if she’s going to be the type of bad ass that you develop a girl crush on and aspire to be like…. Or the type of bad ass that gives “pick me, choose me, love me” energy…. And uhm unfortunately we got the latter of the two. Being in her head was tolerable at first and then she got very annoying and repetitive and whiny. Like girl I know your entire personality is the fact that you read and like sweaters and bake and like girly things but can also kill a man with your eyes closed, I’m here for it the first two times you bring it up, but I don’t need to hear you talk about it every other paragraph!! I’m tired of reading about the same Walmart version of Celaena Sardothien.
Everything happened so easily in this book and any time I thought something was going to happen it just fizzled out. I was so soooooo bored. I was honestly rooting for characters to die because of the lack of consequences to any actions. Also where was the villain??? We heard about him but he wasn’t a part of the story. So that also just really pulled me out of the story.
Idk this was kind of all over the place but those are my thoughts…. Would not recommend.
First things first, if you’re thinking of picking up this book because of the dragons…. Don’t. Save yourself the time. They don’t come in until the very end. I’m sure they will play a bigger role in the rest of the books but I will not be sticking around to find out.
Second… if you’re think of picking up this book for an epic dragon heist…. Also don’t. This was without a doubt one of the most mediocre “heists” I have ever read. My dog plotting to steal the food off my plate right in front of my eyes is more entertaining.
Now I’m not at all a big critic when it comes to world building, but I felt like I was thrust into a story that was missing the first 100 pages. It wasn’t even that the world building was bad it was just simply nonexistent. Now I think this speaks to a potential issue I’ve heard about this book being traditionally published in that the indie published version was nearly cut in half…. And let me just say this, it was painfully obvious. It felt like so much of the plot was missing and instead of the heist being the main focus, the publishers wanted the romance to be the main focus so they threw in a bunch of unnecessary popular tropes and scenes with the MMC and FMC that added nothing to the story. The dialogue was also very weird and clunky.
Now I don’t have a problem when the romance is the big focus in romantasy… I mean it’s romantasy, however when the plot is nonexistent, the romance has to be GOOD!!!! I mean really really good, and that was absolutely not the case here for me personally. It was insta-love at its fucking finest, which already makes me less invested. I really didn’t feel any chemistry at all between the main characters, their relationship seemed very surface level. I was here for the forbidden love trip at first but the reason for them being forbidden is like the lowest stakes possible and with no real consequences for them being together so it felt like the forbidden love trope was just used for marketing.
Now the MMC was SCRUMPTIOUS and he is what I’m giving all of my 2 stars to. He absolutely had me giggling and kicking my feet with his flirtatious personality, witty banter, and filthy mouth…. But that can only do so much to hold a book together. Also his obsession with her was so instant that the entire time a lot of it felt very fake. I think this book really would have benefited from having his POV because I am really intrigued by his character!
The FMC…. No, hard no. She’s the type of character that when you’re first introduced to her you wonder if she’s going to be the type of bad ass that you develop a girl crush on and aspire to be like…. Or the type of bad ass that gives “pick me, choose me, love me” energy…. And uhm unfortunately we got the latter of the two. Being in her head was tolerable at first and then she got very annoying and repetitive and whiny. Like girl I know your entire personality is the fact that you read and like sweaters and bake and like girly things but can also kill a man with your eyes closed, I’m here for it the first two times you bring it up, but I don’t need to hear you talk about it every other paragraph!! I’m tired of reading about the same Walmart version of Celaena Sardothien.
Everything happened so easily in this book and any time I thought something was going to happen it just fizzled out. I was so soooooo bored. I was honestly rooting for characters to die because of the lack of consequences to any actions. Also where was the villain??? We heard about him but he wasn’t a part of the story. So that also just really pulled me out of the story.
Idk this was kind of all over the place but those are my thoughts…. Would not recommend.
September 12, 2024
Elowen is the princess of Imirath, who is bonded to 5 dragons but is forcefully separated from them under the orders of her father King Garrick. after this, Elowen is desperate to reunite with her dragons and plans to fight tooth and nail to get back to them. so when commander Cayden Veles who is a feared and dangerous warrior of a different kingdom insists on helping Elowen in her quest only if she assists him in a battle against Imirath, she agrees and they reluctantly become allies.
“You don’t need to surprise me with knives, angel. I’ll bleed for you if you ask nicely.”
i really liked Elowen, i feel like so many other books fail to make the fmc a fighter in her own right, so i loved the fact that she could hold her own. the tension between her and Cayden and all the sarcastic flirting was my absolute favorite. i thought the way Elowen’s friendship with Finnian is written was so precious.. i adore the way he cares for her and vice versa. i was expecting to get more of the actual dragons but it’s established that there will be more of them in the future books so i won’t complain. Cayden had me down so bad.. the filthy mouth on this man was my damn weakness.
“I crave you. You are my queen, always have been, even when it was treasonous,” he says. “They didn’t want us in their world, so I made a new one.”
im happy i got to read this revised version as its a lot shorter and the story flowed more smoothly. i absolutely ate up the banter between Cayden and Elowen and the steamy scenes did not disappoint. im invested in this looming conflict between the kingdoms and i can’t wait to see future dragon battle scenes. i grew fond of the characters so quickly, can’t wait for the next book!
“What are you?” .. “A monster, but for you, never to you.”
➺ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing for the arc, all opinions are my own.
“You don’t need to surprise me with knives, angel. I’ll bleed for you if you ask nicely.”
i really liked Elowen, i feel like so many other books fail to make the fmc a fighter in her own right, so i loved the fact that she could hold her own. the tension between her and Cayden and all the sarcastic flirting was my absolute favorite. i thought the way Elowen’s friendship with Finnian is written was so precious.. i adore the way he cares for her and vice versa. i was expecting to get more of the actual dragons but it’s established that there will be more of them in the future books so i won’t complain. Cayden had me down so bad.. the filthy mouth on this man was my damn weakness.
“I crave you. You are my queen, always have been, even when it was treasonous,” he says. “They didn’t want us in their world, so I made a new one.”
im happy i got to read this revised version as its a lot shorter and the story flowed more smoothly. i absolutely ate up the banter between Cayden and Elowen and the steamy scenes did not disappoint. im invested in this looming conflict between the kingdoms and i can’t wait to see future dragon battle scenes. i grew fond of the characters so quickly, can’t wait for the next book!
“What are you?” .. “A monster, but for you, never to you.”
➺ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House Publishing for the arc, all opinions are my own.
November 10, 2023
Where do I even start?
According to the synopsis, I got manipulated into thinking this is Fourth Wing meets Game of Thrones meets Six of Crows.
This supposedly follows Elowen, the princess of Imirath and queen of Aestilian and Cayden, the commander of Varaveth which is at war with Imirath. Elowen is bonded to 5 dragons (how and why? we are never told) , but her power hungry father and king of Imirath, Garrick, imprisoned and tortured her for years to break that bond out of fear (again, why and for what purpose?) . Cayden is a commander (but literally, what does he command? because all he's doing is eating pastries and going dress shopping against his will) and has a plot to get back Elowen's dragons from where they're being held captive by Garrick and use them... for something (what? I don't know??) . He also plans to usurp the king and queen of Varaveth (again, why??? no clue!) . So he and Elowen make a deal---he gives her the means to feed her starving kingdom of Aestilian as their population grows and she steals back her dragons for him to use? (Makes no sense, but we will go with it) . To do this, they need to commit a heist--along with Elowen's friend Finnian (don't know where he came from and he's very clingy) and two siblings who are friends with Cayden, Saskia and Ryder (they act like they're 14, but they're around 27) --to break into Imirath's castle and release the dragons.
What this really follows:Elowen eating pastries and going dress shopping. Elowen taking lots of baths and reading spicy romance novels. Cayden doing nothing to actually lead soldiers. Cayden being toxic and hyper possessive. Cayden glaring and being brooding while also being a total cinnamon roll for Elowen which basically ruins his entire vibe. And oh no, they forgot about the dragons and the heist, but we can totally fix it by doing all that in the span of the last 75 pages (of a 500+ page book), don't worry.
This... was not enjoyable in any way shape or form for me.
Firstly, this is supposedly New Adult. The characters are 24 (Elowen), 26 (Cayden), 27-28 (Saskia and Ryder), and whatever Finnian is. Why does this read like these are a bunch of 14-16 year olds? The juvenile tone to the narrative voice was entirely at odds with the spice that did happen, too, throwing everything weirdly off.
I would totally forgive this for its faults (and there are many) if the romance was at least good. Most of the time, people go into romantasies because they want a romance with a little higher stakes and *magic* than a contemporary romance could ever give. However, this romance was immediate and very, very boring. This reminded me of the torture that was Powerless, but somehow worse. At least with Powerless, there was slight world-building and a magic system. Most of it didn't make sense logistically, but it was there at least.
This has no world-building whatsoever. Elowen is bonded to 5 dragons. Okay, cool. But literally, WHY? What's the purpose of this? Why and how does it happen? What's the normal amount of dragons to be bonded to? What does this mean for her, for her kingdom, for the abilities she'll then possess? What is the nature of the bond? Why are there so many freaking books about dragons in this world, but instead of reading about that and learning about herself, Elowen spends her time reading spicy romances? I need answers.
I assume if this world has dragons and special bonds, there would be magic? Where? How does it work? What is it? The coffees, teas, and pastries get more description than the actual fantasy elements.
Furthermore, there are several kingdoms and apparently a war. Why are they warring? What is the politics in each kingdom? What is the religion? Why are you praying to gods or cursing the gods, but we don't even know what these gods are? What is the history of your kingdom and what are the relationships between the kingdoms on your continent? I literally know nothing. This is the exact opposite of info-dumping the exposition.
Like I said, I would have forgiven a lot of these issues if the romance had at least been good, but unfortunately, this suffered from a case of trying to build Cayden into this badass, no-feelings, brooding guy who forms a slow-burn romance and achilles heel for this badass FMC. And none of it worked. Cayden is in love with her the minute he first sees her and as much as Elowen hates physical touch after the torture she endured in her past, she's completely fine with Cayden invading her personal space from the moment she meets him.
I hate it here.
According to the synopsis, I got manipulated into thinking this is Fourth Wing meets Game of Thrones meets Six of Crows.
This supposedly follows Elowen, the princess of Imirath and queen of Aestilian and Cayden, the commander of Varaveth which is at war with Imirath. Elowen is bonded to 5 dragons (how and why? we are never told) , but her power hungry father and king of Imirath, Garrick, imprisoned and tortured her for years to break that bond out of fear (again, why and for what purpose?) . Cayden is a commander (but literally, what does he command? because all he's doing is eating pastries and going dress shopping against his will) and has a plot to get back Elowen's dragons from where they're being held captive by Garrick and use them... for something (what? I don't know??) . He also plans to usurp the king and queen of Varaveth (again, why??? no clue!) . So he and Elowen make a deal---he gives her the means to feed her starving kingdom of Aestilian as their population grows and she steals back her dragons for him to use? (Makes no sense, but we will go with it) . To do this, they need to commit a heist--along with Elowen's friend Finnian (don't know where he came from and he's very clingy) and two siblings who are friends with Cayden, Saskia and Ryder (they act like they're 14, but they're around 27) --to break into Imirath's castle and release the dragons.
What this really follows:Elowen eating pastries and going dress shopping. Elowen taking lots of baths and reading spicy romance novels. Cayden doing nothing to actually lead soldiers. Cayden being toxic and hyper possessive. Cayden glaring and being brooding while also being a total cinnamon roll for Elowen which basically ruins his entire vibe. And oh no, they forgot about the dragons and the heist, but we can totally fix it by doing all that in the span of the last 75 pages (of a 500+ page book), don't worry.
This... was not enjoyable in any way shape or form for me.
Firstly, this is supposedly New Adult. The characters are 24 (Elowen), 26 (Cayden), 27-28 (Saskia and Ryder), and whatever Finnian is. Why does this read like these are a bunch of 14-16 year olds? The juvenile tone to the narrative voice was entirely at odds with the spice that did happen, too, throwing everything weirdly off.
I would totally forgive this for its faults (and there are many) if the romance was at least good. Most of the time, people go into romantasies because they want a romance with a little higher stakes and *magic* than a contemporary romance could ever give. However, this romance was immediate and very, very boring. This reminded me of the torture that was Powerless, but somehow worse. At least with Powerless, there was slight world-building and a magic system. Most of it didn't make sense logistically, but it was there at least.
This has no world-building whatsoever. Elowen is bonded to 5 dragons. Okay, cool. But literally, WHY? What's the purpose of this? Why and how does it happen? What's the normal amount of dragons to be bonded to? What does this mean for her, for her kingdom, for the abilities she'll then possess? What is the nature of the bond? Why are there so many freaking books about dragons in this world, but instead of reading about that and learning about herself, Elowen spends her time reading spicy romances? I need answers.
I assume if this world has dragons and special bonds, there would be magic? Where? How does it work? What is it? The coffees, teas, and pastries get more description than the actual fantasy elements.
Furthermore, there are several kingdoms and apparently a war. Why are they warring? What is the politics in each kingdom? What is the religion? Why are you praying to gods or cursing the gods, but we don't even know what these gods are? What is the history of your kingdom and what are the relationships between the kingdoms on your continent? I literally know nothing. This is the exact opposite of info-dumping the exposition.
Like I said, I would have forgiven a lot of these issues if the romance had at least been good, but unfortunately, this suffered from a case of trying to build Cayden into this badass, no-feelings, brooding guy who forms a slow-burn romance and achilles heel for this badass FMC. And none of it worked. Cayden is in love with her the minute he first sees her and as much as Elowen hates physical touch after the torture she endured in her past, she's completely fine with Cayden invading her personal space from the moment she meets him.
I hate it here.
October 21, 2024
2 Stars!
This book sounds SO interesting. But why is it almost 1000 pages long?
This book sounds SO interesting. But why is it almost 1000 pages long?
July 28, 2024
4.5/5
reread for trad publish version: Once again, I ate up this book. I am in awe of Olivia’s ability to make this story even better! I loved every new plot point and scene. There’s wayyyy more Dragons in this version and Elowen’s character really reminded me of Daenerys at times! Some morally grey moments, which I was living for.
The tension between Cayden and Elowen is UNMATCHED. They have such a fun dynamic and I cannot wait to see their relationship progress in future books. And once again, I am stressing how wonderful the found family is 🥲 Such an exciting fantasy romance!
Indie version: Y’all this book made me CRAZY. hahahahaa you know when you literally feel like you’re on drugs while reading yea that was me with this book. I read 500 pages in one day… reluctant allies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and everything about this just worked for me. ELITE found family vibes.
reread for trad publish version: Once again, I ate up this book. I am in awe of Olivia’s ability to make this story even better! I loved every new plot point and scene. There’s wayyyy more Dragons in this version and Elowen’s character really reminded me of Daenerys at times! Some morally grey moments, which I was living for.
The tension between Cayden and Elowen is UNMATCHED. They have such a fun dynamic and I cannot wait to see their relationship progress in future books. And once again, I am stressing how wonderful the found family is 🥲 Such an exciting fantasy romance!
Indie version: Y’all this book made me CRAZY. hahahahaa you know when you literally feel like you’re on drugs while reading yea that was me with this book. I read 500 pages in one day… reluctant allies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and everything about this just worked for me. ELITE found family vibes.
Read
July 13, 2024Bumping this to 5 stars after reading the new version. I literally have no complaints.
4 ⭐️
I LOVED THIS. I've been reading a lot of fantasy by indie authors and I am super impressed. The fact that this is her first book? WOW
the romance was 10/10, I wasn't expecting to loved this as much as I did but here we are. The banter was done so well, I was blushing the entire whole time and that is hard to do (at leas for me 🤭) The spice was ... 🤭🤭 omg so GOOD
I loved the dragons in here, I've seen some people compare this book with fourth wing (I am assuming bc of the dragons and fantasy / enemies to lovers aspect) but this one is so much better in my opinion.
Elowen, princess of Imirath is THAT BITCH. She's strong and confident and I love her for it.
There were some aspects that needed a little more work like some typos and stuff but I don't really care about that, as long as the story is good and gripping like this one was. I seriously can't wait to read the second book in this series 🐉🫶🏻🥹
4 ⭐️
I LOVED THIS. I've been reading a lot of fantasy by indie authors and I am super impressed. The fact that this is her first book? WOW
the romance was 10/10, I wasn't expecting to loved this as much as I did but here we are. The banter was done so well, I was blushing the entire whole time and that is hard to do (at leas for me 🤭) The spice was ... 🤭🤭 omg so GOOD
I loved the dragons in here, I've seen some people compare this book with fourth wing (I am assuming bc of the dragons and fantasy / enemies to lovers aspect) but this one is so much better in my opinion.
Elowen, princess of Imirath is THAT BITCH. She's strong and confident and I love her for it.
There were some aspects that needed a little more work like some typos and stuff but I don't really care about that, as long as the story is good and gripping like this one was. I seriously can't wait to read the second book in this series 🐉🫶🏻🥹
June 13, 2024
1.5 stars
Sorry friends, but I’m about to burst your bubble. Fear the Flames is a pointless mess. This book does not need to exist. Truly, who held a gun the head of everyone who gave this five stars. I hate to be that person, but like, media literacy guys. C’mon. Can’t you tell when a book lacks purpose? This book is being traditionally published because it’s tropes (enemies-to-lovers, dragons, stabby fmc) are trendy and marketable. But that’s all that this book is. Trendy tropes and dialogue borrowed from other popular novels all mashed together. And because every element is only added in for marketing, everything lacks rationale. The main character is a badass killer who calls men “territorial bastards”, but she has a soft spot for sweets, books, and beautiful lingerie (okay bootleg Celaena Sardothein, go off). The thing is, she grew up in a literal dungeon. And her safe haven town is in the middle a haunted forest. Where did she develop her love for lace lingerie, god only knows, but Aelin likes pretty things and the Throne of Glass books sold millions of copies, so why can’t Elowen be the exact same? Not only does this book have no plot to hold the tropes together, but it’s also ridiculously long. We get 600 pages of Cayden telling Elowen he wants to fuck her and would burn down the world for her (This starts like 20 pages in. There is no build up or tension or reason to care about the couple), but that’s literally the only plot. The dragons and heist that are mentioned in the synopsis only happen in the last 100 pages. If I had a penny for every time Cayden said a variation of “touch her and you die” (yk, cause the people on TikTok said they love that quote), I’d have enough money to get a refund on this book. I’ve read a lot of mediocre books, but for maybe the first time ever, I’m mad that I wasted my time on this one.
Sorry friends, but I’m about to burst your bubble. Fear the Flames is a pointless mess. This book does not need to exist. Truly, who held a gun the head of everyone who gave this five stars. I hate to be that person, but like, media literacy guys. C’mon. Can’t you tell when a book lacks purpose? This book is being traditionally published because it’s tropes (enemies-to-lovers, dragons, stabby fmc) are trendy and marketable. But that’s all that this book is. Trendy tropes and dialogue borrowed from other popular novels all mashed together. And because every element is only added in for marketing, everything lacks rationale. The main character is a badass killer who calls men “territorial bastards”, but she has a soft spot for sweets, books, and beautiful lingerie (okay bootleg Celaena Sardothein, go off). The thing is, she grew up in a literal dungeon. And her safe haven town is in the middle a haunted forest. Where did she develop her love for lace lingerie, god only knows, but Aelin likes pretty things and the Throne of Glass books sold millions of copies, so why can’t Elowen be the exact same? Not only does this book have no plot to hold the tropes together, but it’s also ridiculously long. We get 600 pages of Cayden telling Elowen he wants to fuck her and would burn down the world for her (This starts like 20 pages in. There is no build up or tension or reason to care about the couple), but that’s literally the only plot. The dragons and heist that are mentioned in the synopsis only happen in the last 100 pages. If I had a penny for every time Cayden said a variation of “touch her and you die” (yk, cause the people on TikTok said they love that quote), I’d have enough money to get a refund on this book. I’ve read a lot of mediocre books, but for maybe the first time ever, I’m mad that I wasted my time on this one.
October 14, 2024
I swear if this book was just the main love interests bantering back and forth with each other, I would still be hooked on every word. Don’t get me wrong I loved the rest of the story, but the flirty banter was just 🙌👏🙌👏
This was set in a Medieval Fantasy world with magic, clans, a lost princess and wars caused by greedy men(typical). This was slightly similar to Game of Thrones, mostly due to the dragons, but besides that, I didn’t see a ton of parallels.
The book follows Elowen a runaway princess and Cayden, an Army Commander. The kingdom he serves is her father’s enemy, so as the saying goes ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. In order to see her hidden kingdom through winter and reclaim what was stolen from her, Elowen and Cayden become reluctant allies. This was a slow burn, but the reluctance doesn’t last long 😶
They are constantly trying to get a rise out of each other, but the more they argue the more heavily hinted innuendos start making an appearance.
You see the moment it changed for the FMC when nothing was thinly veiled anymore and the MMC became very clear about his intentions. From the start, she calls him a ‘demon’, so he starts calling her an ‘angel’. I usually hate nicknames, but this felt like a way for him to say that although they were opposites, they were paired together perfectly (it was disgustingly cute).
He was always watching and noticing things about her. If she hadn’t eaten enough or when a certain emotion seemed to wash over her face. This man was just a top-tier ‘book boyfriend’.
The side characters were also a perfect complement to the book. Finnian was her anchor, he kept her grounded. Ryder and Saskia were Cayden’s trusted friends, but so easily morphed into Elowen’s allies.
I think because Elowen was so independent and had a hard time trusting, she never fully wanted to rely on anyone and that influenced some of her choices. Some of those choices were kind of confusing. This might just be me, but if I had assassins targeting me and I had a close drowning incident the week prior, I wouldn’t go out without protection just in case. No, that is a lie, I wouldn’t go outside at all. Probably for the next 10 - 20 years, hopefully, the assains would lose interest.
I didn’t realise the second book isn’t out yet, so I’ll just sit here and wait ….
Check the triggers before reading 💕
I've been in fantasy for a while, so now I need a hockey player, a mafia hitman or a doctor…
This was set in a Medieval Fantasy world with magic, clans, a lost princess and wars caused by greedy men(typical). This was slightly similar to Game of Thrones, mostly due to the dragons, but besides that, I didn’t see a ton of parallels.
The book follows Elowen a runaway princess and Cayden, an Army Commander. The kingdom he serves is her father’s enemy, so as the saying goes ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. In order to see her hidden kingdom through winter and reclaim what was stolen from her, Elowen and Cayden become reluctant allies. This was a slow burn, but the reluctance doesn’t last long 😶
They are constantly trying to get a rise out of each other, but the more they argue the more heavily hinted innuendos start making an appearance.
You see the moment it changed for the FMC when nothing was thinly veiled anymore and the MMC became very clear about his intentions. From the start, she calls him a ‘demon’, so he starts calling her an ‘angel’. I usually hate nicknames, but this felt like a way for him to say that although they were opposites, they were paired together perfectly (it was disgustingly cute).
He was always watching and noticing things about her. If she hadn’t eaten enough or when a certain emotion seemed to wash over her face. This man was just a top-tier ‘book boyfriend’.
The side characters were also a perfect complement to the book. Finnian was her anchor, he kept her grounded. Ryder and Saskia were Cayden’s trusted friends, but so easily morphed into Elowen’s allies.
I think because Elowen was so independent and had a hard time trusting, she never fully wanted to rely on anyone and that influenced some of her choices. Some of those choices were kind of confusing. This might just be me, but if I had assassins targeting me and I had a close drowning incident the week prior, I wouldn’t go out without protection just in case. No, that is a lie, I wouldn’t go outside at all. Probably for the next 10 - 20 years, hopefully, the assains would lose interest.
I didn’t realise the second book isn’t out yet, so I’ll just sit here and wait ….
Check the triggers before reading 💕
I've been in fantasy for a while, so now I need a hockey player, a mafia hitman or a doctor…
September 18, 2024
"𝑩𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒍𝒍"
A princess and a commander of an army form an alliance, setting out on a mission to free her dragons in exchange for her fighting alongside him in the war. The only problem? They’re supposed to be enemies. 𝗶'𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻??? 𝗶𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱.
This book is perfect for anyone looking for an introduction to romantasy. It has it all—world building, an easy-to-follow plot, a fierce warrior fmc, a protective "I will kill anyone that touches you" mmc, romantic scenes, and SO MUCH BANTER! 😍
“𝐘𝐨���� 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐲.”
I would literally reread this book countless times just for the banter, tension, love-hate attraction, and that one particular scene where they had to act to be attracted to each other that had me 🥵
“𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐬. “𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐭.”
I recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy romantasy read, especially if you love a man with villain vibes who's secretly a softie for his woman 😍
Tropes:
✨enemies to lovers
✨forced proximity
✨witty banter
✨touch her and 💀
Thank you Netgalley, Olivia Rose Darling, and Random Penguin House (Delacorte Press) for a eARC & physical copy in exchange for my honest review!
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱: I got this as an ARC and as soon as I saw lost princess and dragons i literally was like say less 🧎♀️‼️
A princess and a commander of an army form an alliance, setting out on a mission to free her dragons in exchange for her fighting alongside him in the war. The only problem? They’re supposed to be enemies. 𝗶'𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻??? 𝗶𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱.
This book is perfect for anyone looking for an introduction to romantasy. It has it all—world building, an easy-to-follow plot, a fierce warrior fmc, a protective "I will kill anyone that touches you" mmc, romantic scenes, and SO MUCH BANTER! 😍
“𝐘𝐨���� 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐲.”
I would literally reread this book countless times just for the banter, tension, love-hate attraction, and that one particular scene where they had to act to be attracted to each other that had me 🥵
“𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫,” 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐬. “𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐭.”
I recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy romantasy read, especially if you love a man with villain vibes who's secretly a softie for his woman 😍
Tropes:
✨enemies to lovers
✨forced proximity
✨witty banter
✨touch her and 💀
Thank you Netgalley, Olivia Rose Darling, and Random Penguin House (Delacorte Press) for a eARC & physical copy in exchange for my honest review!
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱: I got this as an ARC and as soon as I saw lost princess and dragons i literally was like say less 🧎♀️‼️
May 1, 2023
2 stars feels rude but 3 too generous, i also didn't finish it so...
2.5 ⭐️ overall.
DNF at 21%, and here's why:
- to be nearly 200 pages in I swear we have heard more mentions of coffee and this girl's caffeine dependency than the dragons she is supposed to have a soul bond with like huh, isn't that the plot? This could have worked out so much better if there was some made up herb or drink or literally anything other than coffee. It really takes you out of the setting.
- Elowen reads like a millennial
- Elowen and Cayden don't have a real reason to have beef with each other. Are they not working towards the same goal?? why are we beefing?? Hes literally helping and protecting you?? It often felt like the characters had relationships and feeling towards each other because they could and for no other reason. If Cayden and Elowen had conflicting suggestions, viewpoints, goals if she saw him more as a threat, etc. I could see why they butt heads but from what I read, their chemistry felt shallow and forced as do most of the relationships.
- the writing... there are other reviews that are able to articulate how I feel (particularly the review left by Ceej, they do a GREAT job at discussing where the writing goes wrong) much better than I can but this book felt VERY wordy and the writing devices just didn't work for me
2.5 ⭐️ overall.
DNF at 21%, and here's why:
- to be nearly 200 pages in I swear we have heard more mentions of coffee and this girl's caffeine dependency than the dragons she is supposed to have a soul bond with like huh, isn't that the plot? This could have worked out so much better if there was some made up herb or drink or literally anything other than coffee. It really takes you out of the setting.
- Elowen reads like a millennial
- Elowen and Cayden don't have a real reason to have beef with each other. Are they not working towards the same goal?? why are we beefing?? Hes literally helping and protecting you?? It often felt like the characters had relationships and feeling towards each other because they could and for no other reason. If Cayden and Elowen had conflicting suggestions, viewpoints, goals if she saw him more as a threat, etc. I could see why they butt heads but from what I read, their chemistry felt shallow and forced as do most of the relationships.
- the writing... there are other reviews that are able to articulate how I feel (particularly the review left by Ceej, they do a GREAT job at discussing where the writing goes wrong) much better than I can but this book felt VERY wordy and the writing devices just didn't work for me
September 25, 2024
2.5✨
« You are a wildfire I have no intention of smothering »
I’m not sure where I stand with this one.
Let’s start with the things I loved :
🔹 The characters were lovable. The FMC was sarcastic and fun. She loved dresses and books and fighting. I loved the mix of passions.
🔹 DRAGONS!!! (But they’re only there for 2 chapters 😭)
What I disliked :
🔺 Almost every chapter had an inspirational quote. And I do feel like I’m nitpicking with this one so bear with me lol. It was okay at first but really wore me down at some point. It just felt forced. Every chapter had 1-2 even sometimes 3 inspirational quote. It didn’t feel genuine.
🔺 For some reason I could not imagine this world. I’m very imaginative and that’s not usually something I struggle with so that was surprising to me. I do have a feeling this was because the author spent more time on the characters than on the world building. There’s quite a lot of interactions as well so I feel like world building took a seat in this one.
🔺 The slowest pace ever 😅. I was begging for something to happen. It was underwhelming.
🔺 I’m not sure why Elowen & Cayden disliked each other? They had a common enemy…
🔺 As much as I loved the FMC having diverse passions - it was repeated multiple times throughout the book and thus made it a bit annoying.
« You are a wildfire I have no intention of smothering »
I’m not sure where I stand with this one.
Let’s start with the things I loved :
🔹 The characters were lovable. The FMC was sarcastic and fun. She loved dresses and books and fighting. I loved the mix of passions.
🔹 DRAGONS!!! (But they’re only there for 2 chapters 😭)
What I disliked :
🔺 Almost every chapter had an inspirational quote. And I do feel like I’m nitpicking with this one so bear with me lol. It was okay at first but really wore me down at some point. It just felt forced. Every chapter had 1-2 even sometimes 3 inspirational quote. It didn’t feel genuine.
🔺 For some reason I could not imagine this world. I’m very imaginative and that’s not usually something I struggle with so that was surprising to me. I do have a feeling this was because the author spent more time on the characters than on the world building. There’s quite a lot of interactions as well so I feel like world building took a seat in this one.
🔺 The slowest pace ever 😅. I was begging for something to happen. It was underwhelming.
🔺 I’m not sure why Elowen & Cayden disliked each other? They had a common enemy…
🔺 As much as I loved the FMC having diverse passions - it was repeated multiple times throughout the book and thus made it a bit annoying.
June 29, 2023
I need to be pickier when picking books.
October 4, 2024
What in the Game of Thrones was that ENDING?!?!?
Obsessed. Completely and thoroughly obsessed with this book! Fantasy romance with a HEAPING dose of Banter and Bickering! Oh and the spice??? The spice. Do yourself a favor and read this incredible story right now! I am living for that brothel scene!
Obsessed. Completely and thoroughly obsessed with this book! Fantasy romance with a HEAPING dose of Banter and Bickering! Oh and the spice??? The spice. Do yourself a favor and read this incredible story right now! I am living for that brothel scene!
Read
August 9, 2024DNF at 80 pages
You know those mid 2000’s shows on the CW where the writing is really cheesy and clunky? That was this in fantasy form. I literally rolled my eyes at the dialogue.
You know those mid 2000’s shows on the CW where the writing is really cheesy and clunky? That was this in fantasy form. I literally rolled my eyes at the dialogue.
Currently reading
November 1, 2024My Goodreads friends either loved this or hated this. I’ve never seen so many 5 star and 1 star reviews grouped together. Choosing not to read any of them and go in blind!
Here’s hoping I’ll be in the 5 star group! 🐉
Here’s hoping I’ll be in the 5 star group! 🐉
July 4, 2023
I WAS PROMISED FOURTH WING AND WHAT I GOT WAS BASIC VANILLA WHITE GIRL.
DNF @30% bc I’m cringing so hard while reading I can’t keep torturing myself
First: The Worldbuilding is not complete. Coffee? Vanilla Syrup? What is this? Fantasy Starbucks? Where do these exotic things come from in this world? It’s this stuff that takes you right out of the story
The writing is alright but just falls short of being gripping. Also not enough dragons. They’re a side note.
And the romance is just cringy af. What are those nicknames? Where do they come from? „Angel“? Excuse me, does this world have a judeo-Christian religion in it? Where does this term come from and why is it like the first thing out of the main love interests mouth? There was no reason for it?
And „hazel-eyed heathen“? I can’t. I can’t.
This book Was sold to me as fourth wing. This it is definitely not.
DNF @30% bc I’m cringing so hard while reading I can’t keep torturing myself
First: The Worldbuilding is not complete. Coffee? Vanilla Syrup? What is this? Fantasy Starbucks? Where do these exotic things come from in this world? It’s this stuff that takes you right out of the story
The writing is alright but just falls short of being gripping. Also not enough dragons. They’re a side note.
And the romance is just cringy af. What are those nicknames? Where do they come from? „Angel“? Excuse me, does this world have a judeo-Christian religion in it? Where does this term come from and why is it like the first thing out of the main love interests mouth? There was no reason for it?
And „hazel-eyed heathen“? I can’t. I can’t.
This book Was sold to me as fourth wing. This it is definitely not.
September 7, 2023
4.5 stars
this was so good??
i picked this up on a whim because i've been craving some addictive, banter-filled, fast-paced romantasy, and this met those requirements and then some!! it was so easy to read with minimal info-dumping and an easy to comprehend fantasy world, and the characters were absolutely brilliant.
our fmc was a violent little icon, i loved her dedication to revenge and her complete and utter love for those she deemed precious to her. she was so badass and didn't hide it, and her platonic friendship with finnian?? i'm absolutely obsessed. i ADORE healthy platonic relationships, especially m/f ones, and this one was absolutely top tier. i loved the two of them so much, both separately and together!!
and our fmc's relationship with the mmc was no less powerful, the reluctant-allies-to-lovers trope gave me absolutely everything i desired. there was banter, there was tension, there was one bed trope and bandaging wounds trope and EVERYTHING. i was obsessed.
i read this in about 2 days despite the decent length of it - such a good read. and no cliffhanger!!! this was practically perfect. i need more from this author stat!
this was so good??
i picked this up on a whim because i've been craving some addictive, banter-filled, fast-paced romantasy, and this met those requirements and then some!! it was so easy to read with minimal info-dumping and an easy to comprehend fantasy world, and the characters were absolutely brilliant.
our fmc was a violent little icon, i loved her dedication to revenge and her complete and utter love for those she deemed precious to her. she was so badass and didn't hide it, and her platonic friendship with finnian?? i'm absolutely obsessed. i ADORE healthy platonic relationships, especially m/f ones, and this one was absolutely top tier. i loved the two of them so much, both separately and together!!
and our fmc's relationship with the mmc was no less powerful, the reluctant-allies-to-lovers trope gave me absolutely everything i desired. there was banter, there was tension, there was one bed trope and bandaging wounds trope and EVERYTHING. i was obsessed.
i read this in about 2 days despite the decent length of it - such a good read. and no cliffhanger!!! this was practically perfect. i need more from this author stat!
October 2, 2024
Okay, so I have a lot to say about this.
I started off reading the traditionally published version and I made it about halfway through and I had to DNF.
The characters were so flat, the romance was not believable and the plot was boring.
It was written with almost no personality. It felt like “we are going here now let’s go do this, next we’re going to do that.” Almost like cliff notes of the actual story.
The world is lacking details, apparently there’s magic but it’s never explained just used for convenience like heating tents and making bathrooms work in tents.
I then spoke to my friend about the book and she said that the indie published version is so much better. Luckily I already owned that so I picked it up and started reading that instead and OMG guys it is so much better.
It’s not perfect and it definitely needed some editing, but it definitely didn’t need 200 pages cut from it…
Once I started reading the Indie version I started to enjoy the book much more, the banter was good, the characters had personality, the romance made so much more sense because the two main characters had more interactions.
I just don’t understand why they felt the need to cut 200 pages out of this book, it made the trad pub version read very clunky and choppy
I’m going to settle on a 3 star but that is only for the indie version, I personally wouldn’t waste my time with the new trad pub version as it was a DNF for me
I started off reading the traditionally published version and I made it about halfway through and I had to DNF.
The characters were so flat, the romance was not believable and the plot was boring.
It was written with almost no personality. It felt like “we are going here now let’s go do this, next we’re going to do that.” Almost like cliff notes of the actual story.
The world is lacking details, apparently there’s magic but it’s never explained just used for convenience like heating tents and making bathrooms work in tents.
I then spoke to my friend about the book and she said that the indie published version is so much better. Luckily I already owned that so I picked it up and started reading that instead and OMG guys it is so much better.
It’s not perfect and it definitely needed some editing, but it definitely didn’t need 200 pages cut from it…
Once I started reading the Indie version I started to enjoy the book much more, the banter was good, the characters had personality, the romance made so much more sense because the two main characters had more interactions.
I just don’t understand why they felt the need to cut 200 pages out of this book, it made the trad pub version read very clunky and choppy
I’m going to settle on a 3 star but that is only for the indie version, I personally wouldn’t waste my time with the new trad pub version as it was a DNF for me
September 16, 2024
So I don’t think heist books are for me hehe
I felt like I was waiting the entire book for something to happen. The blips of action we got barely kept me engaged (it literally took me a month to get through ok).
The world building was lacking and again, not a whole lotta plot.
Elowen is your stabby ask questions later queen in hiding fmc. By all means things I should love. And I do think her character was my fav part of the book because I really do love a strong fmc. My main problem was with the extremely fast insta lovey romance with Cayden who I literally feel like I don’t even know. All I got was he has a tragic past and loves to kill anyone who looks and touches Elowen. Maybe have a personality outside of the romance, hm?
The ending was more engaging and once I hit about 85% I didn’t want to put it down.
Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an arc.
I felt like I was waiting the entire book for something to happen. The blips of action we got barely kept me engaged (it literally took me a month to get through ok).
The world building was lacking and again, not a whole lotta plot.
Elowen is your stabby ask questions later queen in hiding fmc. By all means things I should love. And I do think her character was my fav part of the book because I really do love a strong fmc. My main problem was with the extremely fast insta lovey romance with Cayden who I literally feel like I don’t even know. All I got was he has a tragic past and loves to kill anyone who looks and touches Elowen. Maybe have a personality outside of the romance, hm?
The ending was more engaging and once I hit about 85% I didn’t want to put it down.
Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an arc.
November 3, 2024
ᝰ.ᐟ 2 stars
I hate this book. I hate how most fantasy books these days, especially romantasies, feel like cheap copies of really popular books. It's one thing for authors to be inspired by other authors' work, but can they please start coming up with original ideas and original characters instead of trying so damn hard to have their books compared to others? Everyone is trying so hard to be the next Sarah J Maas, it's ridiculous. Writers, you won't be able to replicate Rhysand or Aelin. Don't even try.
This book is bad and I don't understand the hype. Although this is a NA fantasy, it comes across as YA. There is no depth to the characters, the plot isn't terrible but it failed to hold my attention, the dialogue is cheesy and mostly banter between the main couple, the worldbuilding is poor, the magic system is non-existent. I hated how modern the story was, despite being set in a medieval time. Also, don't expect dragons to be a big part of the plot, they're not.
I know this is a romantasy, but the way the romance overpowered the rest of the story annoyed me so much. First of all, 2 seconds after meeting, Elowen and Cayden have a million nicknames for each other and it gets worse as the story progresses, they keep coming up with new pet names for each other. Secondly, the romance happened too fast. He promised to protect her with his life and said he'd do anything for her and they barely knew each other. Relax man, you don't even know her! And was there a need for so many sex scenes with cringe-worthy dialogue? I don't think so.
The characters have nothing that sets them apart from other characters. Cayden tries so hard to be Rhysand and Elowen is a mix of so many fantasy FMC's with a bunch of annoying traits. I felt nothing for them, I don't think the romance was believable, and I didn't like how much they bantered. A little banter is good, but it gets boring when that's all the characters do. It had me rolling my eyes the whole time! The dialogue felt so forced instead of happening naturally. Just a bunch of made up sentences that hold no meaning.
Look, I don't need every single book to have a unique story, I know it's hard to come up with an original concept that's never been done before. But I need the books I read to have something special, something unique to them. I don't know what's happening to fantasy, but it's not the same as it used to be. And I know a lot of people don't like SJM, but you can't deny that she set the standard for current fantasy and so many authors are trying to copy her. That's the truth.
If you liked this book, good for you. I hated it and don't recommend it. To me, this book is a great example of a book written around tropes. I don't know if the indie version was better, but it seems to me that the publisher cut out most of the worldbuilding and plot of the book because they wanted to focus on the romance and tropes so that this would be successful on tiktok.
I hate this book. I hate how most fantasy books these days, especially romantasies, feel like cheap copies of really popular books. It's one thing for authors to be inspired by other authors' work, but can they please start coming up with original ideas and original characters instead of trying so damn hard to have their books compared to others? Everyone is trying so hard to be the next Sarah J Maas, it's ridiculous. Writers, you won't be able to replicate Rhysand or Aelin. Don't even try.
This book is bad and I don't understand the hype. Although this is a NA fantasy, it comes across as YA. There is no depth to the characters, the plot isn't terrible but it failed to hold my attention, the dialogue is cheesy and mostly banter between the main couple, the worldbuilding is poor, the magic system is non-existent. I hated how modern the story was, despite being set in a medieval time. Also, don't expect dragons to be a big part of the plot, they're not.
I know this is a romantasy, but the way the romance overpowered the rest of the story annoyed me so much. First of all, 2 seconds after meeting, Elowen and Cayden have a million nicknames for each other and it gets worse as the story progresses, they keep coming up with new pet names for each other. Secondly, the romance happened too fast. He promised to protect her with his life and said he'd do anything for her and they barely knew each other. Relax man, you don't even know her! And was there a need for so many sex scenes with cringe-worthy dialogue? I don't think so.
The characters have nothing that sets them apart from other characters. Cayden tries so hard to be Rhysand and Elowen is a mix of so many fantasy FMC's with a bunch of annoying traits. I felt nothing for them, I don't think the romance was believable, and I didn't like how much they bantered. A little banter is good, but it gets boring when that's all the characters do. It had me rolling my eyes the whole time! The dialogue felt so forced instead of happening naturally. Just a bunch of made up sentences that hold no meaning.
Look, I don't need every single book to have a unique story, I know it's hard to come up with an original concept that's never been done before. But I need the books I read to have something special, something unique to them. I don't know what's happening to fantasy, but it's not the same as it used to be. And I know a lot of people don't like SJM, but you can't deny that she set the standard for current fantasy and so many authors are trying to copy her. That's the truth.
If you liked this book, good for you. I hated it and don't recommend it. To me, this book is a great example of a book written around tropes. I don't know if the indie version was better, but it seems to me that the publisher cut out most of the worldbuilding and plot of the book because they wanted to focus on the romance and tropes so that this would be successful on tiktok.
May 3, 2023
I don’t understand how this book has such good ratings it is actually horrendous. I only give it two stars because I think there are SOME decent ideas and I like this sort of fantasy. However, the execution is TERRIBLE. It starts off fine(though with some rather crappy world building) and then you get to around chapter ten and boom nothing happens for the NEXT TWNETY CHAPTERS. Not even being sarcastic. I was bored to death.
ALSO THE MC IS SO ANNOYING. She started off fine but literally turned into a pick me so fast it made me kinda sad.
Another complaint: SO MANY cringe scenes that made me wanna barf and also some paragraphs were such long feeling rants that I felt were completely unnecessary.
I’m trying not to amend this to a 1/5 because I feel that would be mean.
I wish when she jumped off the bridge she died :)
Oh yea also a TON of unnecessary killing of characters that stopped being cool wtv and just got slightly annoying!
so mid
ALSO THE MC IS SO ANNOYING. She started off fine but literally turned into a pick me so fast it made me kinda sad.
Another complaint: SO MANY cringe scenes that made me wanna barf and also some paragraphs were such long feeling rants that I felt were completely unnecessary.
I’m trying not to amend this to a 1/5 because I feel that would be mean.
I wish when she jumped off the bridge she died :)
Oh yea also a TON of unnecessary killing of characters that stopped being cool wtv and just got slightly annoying!
so mid
September 10, 2024
Imagine Daenerys from Game of Thrones in a romantasy.
"If you feel left out, I'll find someone for you to stab later," he calls out over his shoulder.
I cross my arms over my chest. "I'd like to stab you."
His grin widens. "I love it when you sweet-talk me."
When she was a baby, five dragons broke free from what were thought fossils. A prophecy followed: Princess Elowen would either destroy Imirath or bring it immeasurable glory.
She was four when her dragons were ripped from her, taking her from being a princess to a prisoner overnight.
Elowen vowed to one day turn on the kingdom for all her suffering and what they took from her.
To do so, she forms a tentative partnership with the demon Commander Cayden, her kingdom’s biggest enemy. He is a walking supply of endless innuendos, smirks, and glares.
It's a codependent, vengeance-based alliance, but it's still an alliance.
This is extremely troupe heavy. Pinned against a wall, knives to throat, a cold, handsome Commander. Touch her and you die. Carrying her over glass shards. Buying her gowns and flowers. Sending letters.
For this reason, I know this will blow up!
"What are you?"
“A monster, but for you, never to you."
Also, the FOUND FAMILY! I am obsessed! This is why I crave romantasy from time to time.
Think the Night Court from ACOTAR, the friendships in Throne of Glass, the collective (funny) darkness of the Crows in Six of Crows…
We're a really fucked up group.
I think I like it.
Bonuses:
- Platonic boy and girl friendship which was extremely endearing and refreshing. I love Finnian so much - their belonging, and knowledge of each other🥺.
- Anxiety and panic attack representation.
- MC loves romance books (Carden reads them to tease her with them).
- "You're a vicious little thing,"
- Angel and Demon nicknames.
- Period representation.
Yes, I admit some parts made me cringe. But know that romantasies normally turn me off as they each feel like carbon copies. This was so refreshing! The BANTER!
Also the spice never overtook the plot (and was very easy to skip without missing key conversations if you are like me and prefer to skim these parts).
Don’t expect amazing world-building - there’s mentions of creatures and gods and cults chucked at you with little explanation, but it was never too confusing - things you could overlook.
One thing to note - there is less focus on the actual dragons rather than them being a goal to retrieve.
Of course, as the series progresses I am sure they will be a more prominent feature.
Thank you to Zaffre for sending me the physical proof in exchange for a review (I love the purple cover)!
Bookstagram
"If you feel left out, I'll find someone for you to stab later," he calls out over his shoulder.
I cross my arms over my chest. "I'd like to stab you."
His grin widens. "I love it when you sweet-talk me."
When she was a baby, five dragons broke free from what were thought fossils. A prophecy followed: Princess Elowen would either destroy Imirath or bring it immeasurable glory.
She was four when her dragons were ripped from her, taking her from being a princess to a prisoner overnight.
Elowen vowed to one day turn on the kingdom for all her suffering and what they took from her.
To do so, she forms a tentative partnership with the demon Commander Cayden, her kingdom’s biggest enemy. He is a walking supply of endless innuendos, smirks, and glares.
It's a codependent, vengeance-based alliance, but it's still an alliance.
This is extremely troupe heavy. Pinned against a wall, knives to throat, a cold, handsome Commander. Touch her and you die. Carrying her over glass shards. Buying her gowns and flowers. Sending letters.
For this reason, I know this will blow up!
"What are you?"
“A monster, but for you, never to you."
Also, the FOUND FAMILY! I am obsessed! This is why I crave romantasy from time to time.
Think the Night Court from ACOTAR, the friendships in Throne of Glass, the collective (funny) darkness of the Crows in Six of Crows…
We're a really fucked up group.
I think I like it.
Bonuses:
- Platonic boy and girl friendship which was extremely endearing and refreshing. I love Finnian so much - their belonging, and knowledge of each other🥺.
- Anxiety and panic attack representation.
- MC loves romance books (Carden reads them to tease her with them).
- "You're a vicious little thing,"
- Angel and Demon nicknames.
- Period representation.
Yes, I admit some parts made me cringe. But know that romantasies normally turn me off as they each feel like carbon copies. This was so refreshing! The BANTER!
Also the spice never overtook the plot (and was very easy to skip without missing key conversations if you are like me and prefer to skim these parts).
Don’t expect amazing world-building - there’s mentions of creatures and gods and cults chucked at you with little explanation, but it was never too confusing - things you could overlook.
One thing to note - there is less focus on the actual dragons rather than them being a goal to retrieve.
Of course, as the series progresses I am sure they will be a more prominent feature.
Thank you to Zaffre for sending me the physical proof in exchange for a review (I love the purple cover)!
Bookstagram
November 2, 2022
WOW. This book was incredible. SO incredible that i read the entire 778 pages in less than 24 hours - I could not put this book down!
The first book in a New Adult Fantasy Romance series. 700+ pages of romance, adventure, banter, political intrigue, and of course—dragons! A few things to expect: Incredible world-building, DRAGONS, rivals to lovers, found family, vengeance, politics, war, humor and of course, smut. This book has every single trope that I adore including the one bed trope, if anyone touches you I'll kill them trope and more. If you know, you know!! Honestly, this is a masterpiece. The writing was so incredibly immersive and I really became attached to the characters because of how likable they are. The story had so much depth and deals with so many other topics as well such as inner strength, mental health, personal growth to name a few. I also adored the chemistry between the two main characters in this book and the friendships too. I could not get enough of this book even though it is nearly 800 pages long, I still wished for more and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. This is now one of my favorite books as well as earning a spot on my top 10 of the year.
I NEED the second book!!
For fans of Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Priory of the Orange Tree and the Bridge Kingdom.
The first book in a New Adult Fantasy Romance series. 700+ pages of romance, adventure, banter, political intrigue, and of course—dragons! A few things to expect: Incredible world-building, DRAGONS, rivals to lovers, found family, vengeance, politics, war, humor and of course, smut. This book has every single trope that I adore including the one bed trope, if anyone touches you I'll kill them trope and more. If you know, you know!! Honestly, this is a masterpiece. The writing was so incredibly immersive and I really became attached to the characters because of how likable they are. The story had so much depth and deals with so many other topics as well such as inner strength, mental health, personal growth to name a few. I also adored the chemistry between the two main characters in this book and the friendships too. I could not get enough of this book even though it is nearly 800 pages long, I still wished for more and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. This is now one of my favorite books as well as earning a spot on my top 10 of the year.
I NEED the second book!!
For fans of Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Priory of the Orange Tree and the Bridge Kingdom.
August 13, 2024
2/5
Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Olivia Rose Darling for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
No part of me is happy to be giving this book this review because I’ve been wanting to read it for YEARS, literally since it was being written by Olivia. I never got to reading the indie version (mood reader curse, I’m afraid) but I jumped at the chance to read the newly revised version that’s going out for traditional publishing. Unfortunately, not even the editor could completely salvage this book.
I found the writing itself to not be by any means bad, but rather clearly that of a debut author. There was a lot of detailed descriptions of locations that just sounded like listing everything around Elowen instead of immersing the reader, and there was a lot of telling us what characters did or liked but we never saw these interests on page. Elowen likes to read smut and garden! Great but we see her read once in this book and she doesn’t garden at all.
The side characters, for the amount of page time they get, are remarkably well fleshed out and developed, so points there!
But our main character, Elowen? Oh I despised her. She’s written so flatly that the only thing she thinks of is getting revenge on her father. Seriously. All her inner monologue is thinking of how she’ll exact revenge and see her dragons again, but she never actually makes the plans herself for said revenge?? She just lets someone else plan everything she’ll do.
And when she’s not feeling bloodthirsty, she either desperately wants to get drunk (I don’t think I’ve read a fantasy that has one POV where the character goes drinking this often??? In multi POVs, yes, but when we only have one POV and she’s not sober for a good chunk of chapters… it’s such an odd choice. I was wondering why they kept going to taverns when they had a heist to plan) or she’s thinking of wanting to have sex. Literally no in between.
If Elowen is being written to have a villain arc, this book sets her up wonderfully for it. Her unchecked ambition and desire for more all the time is pretty Macbeth-esque. But I suspect she isn’t going to end up being a villain, so it makes little sense to me why she’s characterized like this.
The love interest, Cayden Veles, has about the depth of a puddle. He spends his time either looking extremely angry or he’s just staring at Elowen. This man is fully obsessed with her, to the point where it becomes his only personality trait. Everything he does is for her, he puts her above everyone else, and just seems to have no personality that doesn’t revolve around Elowen.
He is the commander of this country. How was he able to spend 3 days taking care of Elowen after she gets drugged??? Does he not have a job??? The way he spoke to his boss was just ridiculous like that’s not how it works at all?? His dialogue is either a joke about getting into bed with elowen, saying how much he loves her, saying how he’s about to kill some one for her, or how good she looks in his bed. I was just constantly wondering who he was outside of Elowen and violence.
The plot is so poorly developed that I was shocked. The main heist of this book takes up maybe 3 chapters at the 85% mark and is laughably easy for the characters to do. Random monsters of the world pop up for action sequences, and Elowen just happens to run into a cult that gives her the powerful amulet she needs to free her dragons. Everything was so convenient. After they easily free the dragons, the bond was super anti-climactic like she couldn’t even talk to them??
Maybe it’s just me but guys she has FIVE dragons. She should have some cool power too at least.
Also, I have to say again how dumb Elowen is. It’s so frustrating to see her do nothing the whole book. She nearly gets killed TWICE by assassins and always lets someone else do most of the hard work into tracking them down, until she figures out where the mastermind is - a brothel!
So then she and Cayden have to pretend to be getting it on (which leads to a confusing scene where he quite literally takes her to the main room of the brothel and they’re like making out fully. And then go back to a private room to actually get each other off and somehow this lures the assassin out????) and the plot feels like tropey scenes stringed together.
There were so many moments that could be amazing if it didn’t seem as if they’d been written for the purpose of being taken out of context to promote the book.
I also am unsure of how this will be a four book series. The plot doesn’t seem to be that difficult to grasp and there is such a lack of dimension to it that I’m not even sure what book 2 will fully be about. The ending of this book is almost laughable in how plainly unrealistic it is, even for a fantasy novel.
The romance was lacklustre. The banter was subpar, Cayden fell in love at first sight so it was the opposite of a slow burn, and the author tried to frame it as a forbidden romance but I just couldn’t buy it. The sex scenes were also really boring and uninspired. I just couldn’t get behind how these characters came to love each other because we’re told that they do instead of seeing that love on page.
Love is made out of the small things, and I felt we only got big gestures - nothing that shows how Elowen and Cayden were soulmates on all levels. I didn’t get the quiet devotion or steady presence that I think love truly is. (And I did see the foreshadowing of them being some form of mates.)
The world is interesting but the magic system was so light that it was non existent. Since we’re in a country that has banned magic, we don’t see a lot of it so I was left very confused over how it was used, who could use it, and more. We’re told that there are gods for every element, but the religion is never developed. What were the gods like before they left earth? Why are they worshipped? How are they worshipped?
Everything just fell super flat to me. We’re told these things are there, but I couldn’t immerse myself in the world because we didn’t have any of the little details that truly bring these things to life.
I also found the editing to be poorly done, oddly since this is a traditionally published version of the novel. There were several instances where the characters would be doing something and then the next paragraph they’d be moving into another room or have some object in their hands that they’d be using and I was often confused as to how that object had gotten there or why they were moving around.
I unfortunately won’t be continuing this series, but I am interested in whatever Olivia has plans for beyond this series.
Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Olivia Rose Darling for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
No part of me is happy to be giving this book this review because I’ve been wanting to read it for YEARS, literally since it was being written by Olivia. I never got to reading the indie version (mood reader curse, I’m afraid) but I jumped at the chance to read the newly revised version that’s going out for traditional publishing. Unfortunately, not even the editor could completely salvage this book.
I found the writing itself to not be by any means bad, but rather clearly that of a debut author. There was a lot of detailed descriptions of locations that just sounded like listing everything around Elowen instead of immersing the reader, and there was a lot of telling us what characters did or liked but we never saw these interests on page. Elowen likes to read smut and garden! Great but we see her read once in this book and she doesn’t garden at all.
The side characters, for the amount of page time they get, are remarkably well fleshed out and developed, so points there!
But our main character, Elowen? Oh I despised her. She’s written so flatly that the only thing she thinks of is getting revenge on her father. Seriously. All her inner monologue is thinking of how she’ll exact revenge and see her dragons again, but she never actually makes the plans herself for said revenge?? She just lets someone else plan everything she’ll do.
And when she’s not feeling bloodthirsty, she either desperately wants to get drunk (I don’t think I’ve read a fantasy that has one POV where the character goes drinking this often??? In multi POVs, yes, but when we only have one POV and she’s not sober for a good chunk of chapters… it’s such an odd choice. I was wondering why they kept going to taverns when they had a heist to plan) or she’s thinking of wanting to have sex. Literally no in between.
If Elowen is being written to have a villain arc, this book sets her up wonderfully for it. Her unchecked ambition and desire for more all the time is pretty Macbeth-esque. But I suspect she isn’t going to end up being a villain, so it makes little sense to me why she’s characterized like this.
The love interest, Cayden Veles, has about the depth of a puddle. He spends his time either looking extremely angry or he’s just staring at Elowen. This man is fully obsessed with her, to the point where it becomes his only personality trait. Everything he does is for her, he puts her above everyone else, and just seems to have no personality that doesn’t revolve around Elowen.
He is the commander of this country. How was he able to spend 3 days taking care of Elowen after she gets drugged??? Does he not have a job??? The way he spoke to his boss was just ridiculous like that’s not how it works at all?? His dialogue is either a joke about getting into bed with elowen, saying how much he loves her, saying how he’s about to kill some one for her, or how good she looks in his bed. I was just constantly wondering who he was outside of Elowen and violence.
The plot is so poorly developed that I was shocked. The main heist of this book takes up maybe 3 chapters at the 85% mark and is laughably easy for the characters to do. Random monsters of the world pop up for action sequences, and Elowen just happens to run into a cult that gives her the powerful amulet she needs to free her dragons. Everything was so convenient. After they easily free the dragons, the bond was super anti-climactic like she couldn’t even talk to them??
Maybe it’s just me but guys she has FIVE dragons. She should have some cool power too at least.
Also, I have to say again how dumb Elowen is. It’s so frustrating to see her do nothing the whole book. She nearly gets killed TWICE by assassins and always lets someone else do most of the hard work into tracking them down, until she figures out where the mastermind is - a brothel!
So then she and Cayden have to pretend to be getting it on (which leads to a confusing scene where he quite literally takes her to the main room of the brothel and they’re like making out fully. And then go back to a private room to actually get each other off and somehow this lures the assassin out????) and the plot feels like tropey scenes stringed together.
There were so many moments that could be amazing if it didn’t seem as if they’d been written for the purpose of being taken out of context to promote the book.
I also am unsure of how this will be a four book series. The plot doesn’t seem to be that difficult to grasp and there is such a lack of dimension to it that I’m not even sure what book 2 will fully be about. The ending of this book is almost laughable in how plainly unrealistic it is, even for a fantasy novel.
The romance was lacklustre. The banter was subpar, Cayden fell in love at first sight so it was the opposite of a slow burn, and the author tried to frame it as a forbidden romance but I just couldn’t buy it. The sex scenes were also really boring and uninspired. I just couldn’t get behind how these characters came to love each other because we’re told that they do instead of seeing that love on page.
Love is made out of the small things, and I felt we only got big gestures - nothing that shows how Elowen and Cayden were soulmates on all levels. I didn’t get the quiet devotion or steady presence that I think love truly is. (And I did see the foreshadowing of them being some form of mates.)
The world is interesting but the magic system was so light that it was non existent. Since we’re in a country that has banned magic, we don’t see a lot of it so I was left very confused over how it was used, who could use it, and more. We’re told that there are gods for every element, but the religion is never developed. What were the gods like before they left earth? Why are they worshipped? How are they worshipped?
Everything just fell super flat to me. We’re told these things are there, but I couldn’t immerse myself in the world because we didn’t have any of the little details that truly bring these things to life.
I also found the editing to be poorly done, oddly since this is a traditionally published version of the novel. There were several instances where the characters would be doing something and then the next paragraph they’d be moving into another room or have some object in their hands that they’d be using and I was often confused as to how that object had gotten there or why they were moving around.
I unfortunately won’t be continuing this series, but I am interested in whatever Olivia has plans for beyond this series.
September 19, 2024
i need to be more respectful of my time….but as always morbid curiosity gets the better of me
July 20, 2024
2024 rating & review (trad version): 5 🌟 the changes they made to the new version were FANTASTIC!! I loved getting soooo much more dragon content and more about Cayden. I think they really tightened up the story and what they did add helped me connect even more to the story and these characters. The found family in this book is truly something else. And the romance!!! Cayden & Elowen forever 💓💓💓 5 stars every time for this book!!!
2023 rating & review: 5 🌟 Romantasy is my favorite because you get the best of both, but sometimes it’s hard to find romantasy books that check all of my boxes. This book checked every single one and then some. Vivid setting, swoony mmc, stabby, badass fmc, the BEST romance, amazing found family, DRAGONS, and a plot that’ll keep you hooked.
This book was a little more character driven, so I really connected to all of the characters and became super attached to them 🥹 right off the bat Elowen, our fmc, was a character I knew I’d love. She’s strong, independent, determined, fights for the ones she loves, and doesn’t give up. And our mmc, Cayden, oh my GODDDD y’all think you’ve seen the perfect romantasy mmc??? Wait until you read this book 😛 he is down SO BAD for Elowen and I am quite literally obsessed. The banter and the tension in this book is literally unreal; I could not get enough. The side characters, Ryder, Saskia, and Finnian were also super special and really helped make this book for me. The found family in this book was so perfect.
The plot is also super intriguing and entertaining and I couldn’t put the book down to see what would happen next. Elowen is out for REVENGE y’all. The ending goes CRAZY and I’m dying to see what happens next. Please stop sleeping on this book!!!!! She deserves all the hype 🫶🏼
2023 rating & review: 5 🌟 Romantasy is my favorite because you get the best of both, but sometimes it’s hard to find romantasy books that check all of my boxes. This book checked every single one and then some. Vivid setting, swoony mmc, stabby, badass fmc, the BEST romance, amazing found family, DRAGONS, and a plot that’ll keep you hooked.
This book was a little more character driven, so I really connected to all of the characters and became super attached to them 🥹 right off the bat Elowen, our fmc, was a character I knew I’d love. She’s strong, independent, determined, fights for the ones she loves, and doesn’t give up. And our mmc, Cayden, oh my GODDDD y’all think you’ve seen the perfect romantasy mmc??? Wait until you read this book 😛 he is down SO BAD for Elowen and I am quite literally obsessed. The banter and the tension in this book is literally unreal; I could not get enough. The side characters, Ryder, Saskia, and Finnian were also super special and really helped make this book for me. The found family in this book was so perfect.
The plot is also super intriguing and entertaining and I couldn’t put the book down to see what would happen next. Elowen is out for REVENGE y’all. The ending goes CRAZY and I’m dying to see what happens next. Please stop sleeping on this book!!!!! She deserves all the hype 🫶🏼
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