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straybutterfly's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
clairebartholomew549's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is an incredibly typical fantasy romance, and I ate it up as I am wont to do. I wouldn't say this is anything original - plucky heroine who has secret powers she doesn't understand the import of, love interest who appears evil at first and turns out to be morally complicated at worst, world-building that honestly makes no sense and smashes too many tropes together (this series honestly seems like one of the worst offenders of this so far, to be honest, and I am simply not okay with the kingdoms being named after gems, lol), but it certainly scratches an itch and is satisfying enough. This book executes a tried-and-true formula to a tea, and I loved it and of course will be reading the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
rileydobereading's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Rape, Violence, and War
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
i loved this book. the world building sucked me in but wasn’t too complex as to leave me confused for the first half of the book. really interesting layers of unanswered questions throughout. i loved the mcs and their banter and all the twists (many i saw coning but still loved them). the tension was brilliant (albeit slightly annoying as there was no release in the book) but it should make the eventual completion of a spice scene very rewarding. i loved the beauty of the world, as well as the integrated mythology. thoroughly enjoyed, but not sure what i’m supposed to do with myself now whilst i wait for the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Kidnapping, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Torture, Vomit, and Alcohol
dinipandareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was feeling quite slumpy when I picked this up but it was apparently exactly what I needed to pull myself out of the funky mood! While I don't think this brings anything particularly new or different to the romantic fantasy genre, it delivers what it says it will and I had a really great time reading it!
The story is told solely through Arwen's POV and although she came across as young and naive for a good portion of the first half of the book, she does experience some considerable growth. She's a mentally strong and driven character who understands her weaknesses and does her best to balance that by challenging herself mentally and physically. I really enjoyed the friendship she develops with Mar who brought an excellent comedic element to the story! I also enjoyed the slow burn of the romance between Arwen and Kane. He was definitely a morally grey MMC who I wasn't sure about at the beginning because he's so extremely hot and cold and there were times that I wished the romantic element had actually been stronger, especially to show them get to know each other and the strength of their connection. That said, he really grew on me, just like he grew on Arwen and oof, the sexual tension really sizzles! The tension reminded me a little bit of The Bridge Kingdom and since that's one of my all-time favourite romantasies, it's not a bad thing at all! It was SO good and oof, just as things start to really get steamy, IT'S CHAOS! IT WAS SUCH A TEASE and with the way the story ended, I just know the angst and tension are going to get even stronger in the next book. I can't wait! 😍
Much like the FMC, we're kind of kept in the dark about the "truth" of what's happening in this world and it all comes to light at the end. But as much as I enjoyed the world-building that we got, I do feel like this element was the weakest part of the whole story because I feel like there's still a lot that I don't really understand. It would've been great to get more details about the history of the kingdoms and more about how the war really began; however, I'm hopeful that we can get more of these details in the next book because this WILD ENDING sets things up nicely for more "truths" to be revealed and I'm really hoping we get it!
The story is told solely through Arwen's POV and although she came across as young and naive for a good portion of the first half of the book, she does experience some considerable growth. She's a mentally strong and driven character who understands her weaknesses and does her best to balance that by challenging herself mentally and physically. I really enjoyed the friendship she develops with Mar who brought an excellent comedic element to the story! I also enjoyed the slow burn of the romance between Arwen and Kane. He was definitely a morally grey MMC who I wasn't sure about at the beginning because he's so extremely hot and cold and there were times that I wished the romantic element had actually been stronger, especially to show them get to know each other and the strength of their connection. That said, he really grew on me, just like he grew on Arwen and oof, the sexual tension really sizzles! The tension reminded me a little bit of The Bridge Kingdom and since that's one of my all-time favourite romantasies, it's not a bad thing at all! It was SO good and oof, just as things start to really get steamy, IT'S CHAOS! IT WAS SUCH A TEASE and with the way the story ended, I just know the angst and tension are going to get even stronger in the next book. I can't wait! 😍
Much like the FMC, we're kind of kept in the dark about the "truth" of what's happening in this world and it all comes to light at the end. But as much as I enjoyed the world-building that we got, I do feel like this element was the weakest part of the whole story because I feel like there's still a lot that I don't really understand. It would've been great to get more details about the history of the kingdoms and more about how the war really began; however, I'm hopeful that we can get more of these details in the next book because this WILD ENDING sets things up nicely for more "truths" to be revealed and I'm really hoping we get it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse and War
Minor: Chronic illness
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
A fast paced and deliciously addictive, NA Fantasy that I genuinely couldn’t get enough of! It follows Arwen who (in order to save her reckless brother’s life) finds herself taken prisoner by the vicious Onyx king (who’s currently at war with her homeland) and forced to use her magical abilities to heal his subjects and soldiers.
Trying to escape is futile on her own but, with help from a fellow prisoner she might just make it out alive—if she can survive his infuriating personality and twisted sense of humour that is! But, with back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and sinister beasts to contend with, trusting this mysterious stranger is the least of her worries…
As you might already know, I’m a huge fan of anything enemies to lovers based so I was super excited to delve straight into this and, thankfully it didn’t disappoint!
The epic, fantasy world-building was quite detailed with a magic system I found incredibly intriguing. Not to mention the phenomenally intense, slow-burn romance we see unfold between Arwen and the sinfully charismatic Kane—which I relished every second of!
Their banter and flirtatious interactions were really good and reminded me a little of Poppy and Casteel‘s dynamics in From Blood and Ash.
The character development was also really well done. I absolutely adored protagonist, Arwen whose loving, self sacrificing nature has landed her in a pretty bad situation she has almost no way out of. But the determination and optimism she manages to hold on to, even during her own complex bouts of powerlessness. Not to mention the emotional divide between loyalty and love—both her her family and homeland, and her growing feelings for Kane, a man that many would consider her enemy.
Kane, likewise, has a lot of extremely difficult decisions to make—both in relation to his feelings for Arwen and his own sense of duty and loyalty to his people. I was genuinely impressed with the level of emotional detail we get throughout Kane’s character arc, despite never getting any chapters from his perspective—I’m not often endeared to a character (especially one as morally ambiguous as Kane is) without experiencing their POV, but Kate Golden really had me rooting for him.
I also found myself rooting for some of the supporting characters (particularly Mari and Dagan) and the almost wholesome, found family dynamics they have with Arwen. It’s definitely something I look forward to seeing more of. I’m also hoping Mari gets more scenes with Griffin because their chemistry was palpable.
Overall, an action packed page turner of a debut though like I said previously, is a bit of a slow-burn when it comes to the romance. So,if you’re looking for something a little more Instant in the romance department this may not be the book for you—but if (like me) you relish some good, old fashioned angst and romantic tension then, I definitely recommend checking this out.
I also want to say a huge thank you to the author Kate Golden for the e-copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Chronic illness and Gore