Reviews

*3.5 stars

This book was a fun little fantasy to read for the most part, but there were some plot holes and descriptions that were lacking, some things that could have been elaborated on more, and the ending felt rushed.

Great if you enjoy m/m romance, enemies-to-lovers, angst, secret sacrifices that they’ve made for each other, and unique magic systems. I enjoyed this but I’m a little disappointed that the rest of the series focuses on different main characters because I would have loved to see Roark and Finn’s story continue — again, the ending was quite abrupt and felt like it solved some of the problems at hand too easily?

It also ended way too close to the couple actually getting together so I didn’t really get to see them be too couple-y, which was a bummer. But overall, this was a well-written story, and you’ll love the characters, their fears and hopes, and their chemistry. The only reason it took me so long to finish is because I honestly didn’t want it to end and had to stop myself from rushing through it.

nomomstayandread's review against another edition

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4.0

"Phineas Smith is beautiful and I want him so much it feels like an open wound."

What you'll get:
Royalty in peril
Fae
Magic school
Mutual oblivious pining
Gay rep
TW/CW: Torture

Setting: Unsure where the main setting was & Iowa

This book was fun to read. Phineas (Finn) is the only human at this magic school because he can access ley line magic. Roark is the crown prince of the fae and Finn's very grumpy and aloof roommate. Roark is also completely and absolutely in love with Finn and would like for him to never know about it. They bicker but when you hear each of their POVs, they're mutually pining.

Finn's particular type of magic tends to burn their users out, literally and Roark is terrified. The thing I really liked about this book is that Roark and his mother definitely don't agree about Roark's feelings or protection over Finn but they had a fairly nice relationship. Every time he got hurt, she rolled up to check on him. The main conflict in the book will end up hurting him and she doesn't love it but is going to go through with it anyway. Finn would like to throw her into a fire but that's really justified.

Watching these two pining idiots figure out they are in this together was lovely. They balance each other out and their magic works better together.

Each book follows a different brother so this was a very rare fantasy standalone.

cmira2027's review against another edition

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5.0

So good!

A fantastic reimagining of the Fae and their plots and intrigues. I thoroughly enjoyed this author’s take on the The Winter and Summer Courts, especially how the Summer Seelie Court wasn’t all shiny and pretty and The Winter Unseelie Court all dark and ugly. I hope book 2 is out soon.

mrnnprsns's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

ravenyoongi's review against another edition

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4.25

Baz and Simon university AU. Baz’s mum lives AU. Royal AU. I feel like this book could be criticized because a bunch of secondary characters were fairly surface level and the political plot was only mostly kind of present. But for ME, I thought it hit each mark it wanted to. Yearning, build up, pain, love, more pain, family devotion, loving someone as they are. Yeaaahh I liked it.

glorpy's review against another edition

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I don't think I'm going to finish it - I didn't realize it was a standalone.

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