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corinazk's review against another edition
2.0
Eh sorry. I’m all for a Hades-Persephone romantic retelling, but the book was all tropes and very basic romance-novel problems. I think my complaint is that nothing struck me as unique or having a twist for what is a very popular retelling.
BUT I can totally see why Romantasy readers enjoy this story, and sometimes we want the predictable tropes, right? So maybe this is exactly what you’re looking for.
BUT I can totally see why Romantasy readers enjoy this story, and sometimes we want the predictable tropes, right? So maybe this is exactly what you’re looking for.
faery_lavender's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute, fast read. I enjoyed it and did end up staying awake to finish.
middleearthrae's review against another edition
3.0
Loved the idea of it, the characters, and the art for Eldas on the front cover! I enjoyed the read, finished in one day!
But I had one main issue. So much of the book is based on the FMC's assumptions, rather than what we actually see happening.
For example:
He says its nice she likes a wolf from the fade. And her thoughts are... he must like that she likes the wolf because the wolf comes from the fade (cold, death) and ai by liking the wolf there is hope she will like him too. This is her assumption about what he's thinking and feeling. He never says this.
Another is when he says he liked the old Queen and mourned her when she passed. And she thinks he must be thinking about how he will mourn her when she leaves him. Again, she assumes theses are his thoughts. He never says such a thing.
And another example. The kings brother goes missing and she imagines what happened. Like... I imagine he came down here to do this, then this happened, then this. And her thoughts/assumptions are simply taken as fact/reality of what happened. There's never an alternative explanation put forward.
So throughout, the plot and relationships are often shown through her thoughts and assumptions. Instead, the characters should have been showing how they felt or saying what happened, rather than it being all from her.
The book was only her POV. But that didn't have to mean every emotion and idea had to only come from her. It's like the other characters didn't really exist. All their emotions/actions were shown by her rather than themsleves.
Needing more SHOWING rather than telling
I still liked the read. Glad I read it! Just that part got a bit frustrating by the end.
But I had one main issue. So much of the book is based on the FMC's assumptions, rather than what we actually see happening.
For example:
He says its nice she likes a wolf from the fade. And her thoughts are... he must like that she likes the wolf because the wolf comes from the fade (cold, death) and ai by liking the wolf there is hope she will like him too. This is her assumption about what he's thinking and feeling. He never says this.
Another is when he says he liked the old Queen and mourned her when she passed. And she thinks he must be thinking about how he will mourn her when she leaves him. Again, she assumes theses are his thoughts. He never says such a thing.
And another example. The kings brother goes missing and she imagines what happened. Like... I imagine he came down here to do this, then this happened, then this. And her thoughts/assumptions are simply taken as fact/reality of what happened. There's never an alternative explanation put forward.
So throughout, the plot and relationships are often shown through her thoughts and assumptions. Instead, the characters should have been showing how they felt or saying what happened, rather than it being all from her.
The book was only her POV. But that didn't have to mean every emotion and idea had to only come from her. It's like the other characters didn't really exist. All their emotions/actions were shown by her rather than themsleves.
Needing more SHOWING rather than telling
I still liked the read. Glad I read it! Just that part got a bit frustrating by the end.
tinka_tales's review against another edition
5.0
This was a pretty nice read. Fast paced, easy to follow and with a bunch of loveable characters. I'm not gonna lie, I started reading this because it got recommended, but not for a second I regret it.. not even the hours of sleep I missed... (:
Reread 04/24 : I listened to the dramatized version this time, it was really worth it! The cast did an amazing job and it was so fun
Reread 04/24 : I listened to the dramatized version this time, it was really worth it! The cast did an amazing job and it was so fun
sadlyiamnotweasley's review against another edition
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five // Deal With The Elf King by Elise Kova.
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noralastra's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick fun read. The story was easy to get into and I really liked how Eldas and Luella learned to navigate their relationship together. I loved how much Luella wanted to make a difference and find a solution for them both. The side characters were fun and the though we didn't dive too deep into the world-building, I liked what we were introduced to. My only wish is that we had a little more romance lol. A lot of the doubt stemmed from the same place and both Luella and Eldas just kept running circles around it while the resolve happened too quickly towards the end. But all in all, enjoyed it!
starrynews's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't get enough of this book and immediately picked up the second one when I found out it was already out. The magical concepts that make up this world are fascinating, and there are a lot of groups with both internal and external political intrigue afoot. It's intriguing to see how different groups have different magics and how they are managed. Wonderful read.
sheexclaimed's review against another edition
3.0
This is more like 3.5 stars and they are really positive. The world was romantic and lovely. The plot was interesting and I really enjoyed the characters. I was curious how we could get a stand-alone fantasy, as world building usually takes a bit, but she did a good job of showing the world and it was rounded out nicely. However, it felt very surface level. The romance felt more authentic as the story progressed, but I couldn’t get over how abruptly it started. It just didn’t feel real. If this had been a series I could see it being phenomenal, as all the pieces where there, but as a stand-alone it felt lacking. HOWEVER, I did really enjoy it. It was fun and easy and I am very interested in reading more of this author’s work. She has talent and a style I can see myself loving. I might just try her series next.
gzinnia's review against another edition
5.0
I'm slowly getting into books dealing with elves, fairies, or paranormal aspects. This story intrigued me, the characters themselves had their own element but brought together created a good story. There is another book in this series, but I feel each book is good as stand alone as well. Overall, I found the whole story plot, interaction, and story telling worthwhile.
siree's review against another edition
4.0
I blazed through this book and absolutely loved it. I really like that it was a stand-alone novel and that everything got resolved in the end. I do wish that more was done with the world and the components in it. Like I expected the ending to have something more to do with true names (like Luella and Eldas exchanging their true names or something) but there was no further mention of it after Luella changed her true name in the beginning/middle. I wish there was a map of Midscape too. I really struggled to see it all visually in my mind and would've liked that feature. Also the world seemed so developed and deep it feels like there should be more than one book to do it justice. Maybe that's where the other Married to Magic novels come in. Love the characters SO much, especially Hook and Willow!!