seffra's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Okay, well I was waiting to read this for when I knew when the second one was coming but once Hutchins stated this must be read before the 5th Fae book, I decided to start!
WOW. This had such a different tone and idea. I love the complexity of Lucien and I really liked Lena. I felt that these two complimented each other so well! There was humour and intrigue and a budding love story.
Y'all know I love reincarnation and I was so pleasantly surprised when I discovered this book had that! The mystery of Katerina was great but I wish the characters knew what we did...it caused a lag in the story. I know this is a series but still... I NEED THEM TO KNOW.
I also wasn't feeling some aspects and that was Lena's weakness when it came to Lucien and his hotness. Girl. I get it, he's HAWT but...you kinda was lacking a backbone. I also didn't like the catty immature drama that brewed (HA! Pun intended..since they're witches, ya know.) I felt that it pulled away from the intense drama that was building among Lucien and Lena as well as the Fae.
I really loved that ending so I can't wait to read the second one!
Okay, well I was waiting to read this for when I knew when the second one was coming but once Hutchins stated this must be read before the 5th Fae book, I decided to start!
WOW. This had such a different tone and idea. I love the complexity of Lucien and I really liked Lena. I felt that these two complimented each other so well! There was humour and intrigue and a budding love story.
Y'all know I love reincarnation and I was so pleasantly surprised when I discovered this book had that! The mystery of Katerina was great but I wish the characters knew what we did...it caused a lag in the story. I know this is a series but still... I NEED THEM TO KNOW.
I also wasn't feeling some aspects and that was Lena's weakness when it came to Lucien and his hotness. Girl. I get it, he's HAWT but...you kinda was lacking a backbone. I also didn't like the catty immature drama that brewed (HA! Pun intended..since they're witches, ya know.) I felt that it pulled away from the intense drama that was building among Lucien and Lena as well as the Fae.
I really loved that ending so I can't wait to read the second one!
yessikachu's review against another edition
1.0
Spoiler
1) lucian’s first chapter entirely revolved around him saying shit like:- “I liked my women hardy, able to handle what I gave them without the fear of breaking them, not that I bloody fucking cared if they broke in the end.”
- “I needed to own her, to hear her scream my name. To feel her flesh pound against mine; continually pounding it until she was nothing more than a hot, quivering mess.”
- “She got fucked, but it was probably one hell of a letdown. I’d find him, and end him. Do the women of this world a kindness. No one touched what I wanted, or what I planned to own, even if I didn’t plan on keeping it.”
- “She needed to be thrown down and fucked until she’s reduced to nothing more than a hot, trembling mess. Until her mind could no longer determine where pain ended and pleasure began. In the end, they always screamed and begged for more, and I loved it when they begged me, bartering with me. I didn’t have any mercy and I didn’t pretend otherwise.”
i don’t need to read the rest of the book to know that he never changed. i don’t need to read the rest of the series to know exactly how it ends.
the fact of the matter is that this is worse than those i walk down the stairs to get ready for my part time job as my mother sells me to one direction fanfic. you can’t call this a book nor can you call it romance because it’s neither of those things. honestly gag at the author being like this is not a cookie cutter romance. at least the cookie cutter is sharp. you can’t lace a series of undealt with trauma with a bunch of sex and call it romance. because putting dark in front of it doesn’t excuse how bad it is. nothing was romantic about this nor was mindfuckery enough to be something else on its own. its just bad. you can like it (though why would you
junivive's review against another edition
2.0
The story had a lot of potential however I found the dialogue repetitive and tiresome and the main characters internal monologues unrealistic. I find Amelia Hutchins in general has a challenging time balancing bdsm/ dominance with abusive behaviour that makes the men especially difficult to like.
ali23's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5
I took a day to get my thoughts together on this book. I wanted to be fair and not compare this book to my all time favorite paranormal series, Fae Chronicles.
Lena - I found her likeable and a firecracker but also a pushover. Her twin sister betrays her; shows no anger and takes it. Her mother never sticks up for her; shows no anger and takes it. She lets Cassidy and her mother treat her like crap; and takes it. I wished she showed more of a backbone and put people in their place.
Lucien - I found him to be very alpha and a mystery. I want to know what the heck he is. I tried to piece together the clues and still nothing, but I feel that the answer is so obvious that when its revealed I'll feel stupid.
What I liked:
The premise of the story
The main H/h
The dialogue
My favorite characters from the Fae Chronicles appearances
The slow burn between H/h
What I didn't like:
The supporting characters
How careless the H/h were about public sex
How the h was a pushover
The reason for my rating was due to a few issues. One, Lena's twin sister, Kendra, was just horrible and unlikable. She sleeps with Lena ex-fiancé - for 3 years- hangs out with Cassidy (the girl who her fiancé cheated on her with), never told Lena about the affair (someone else did), is in love with the ex, and had this jealousy vibe going on. With all of this Lena just takes it. I get that she's family and your ex would never make Lena happy but she never put Kendra in her place nor told her how can she hangout with someone who contributed to her leaving. Kendra was selfish on so many levels. Lena's mother never had Lena's back and let the community basically bully her. Lena's father is just a pathetic excuse to be called a father. Overall, the secondary characters sucked and took away from the book. I literally had to stop reading at times because I was so annoyed.
The sex scenes where hot like fire, but their first sex act started out and ended as a turnoff. I am hate when the H has no regards to the h's body. To me, no alpha male wants anyone to see his women but Lucien just didn't care and that was a turn off. Then Lena just didn't care and pranced around naked and screwing him. Some of the sex scenes was just out of place. I'm all for sex but these were just out of place, but super hot.
The premise of this book was really good and a mystery. I have my own theory regarding Katarina. I believe she's somehow in both Lena and Kendra. I feel Lena got her powers and pure soul while Kendra got everything else. I also found it odd that Lena's mother had two sets of twins...... Hmmmmmm. I also think Katerina and Lucian had a misunderstanding and the coven played a big role with this miscommunication, which started this neverending circle of death and heartache. Maybe just maybe someone tried to correct this mistake by creating twins..... I can't wait until book 2 because the cliffhanger was sooooo annoying (good annoying) I get why Lucien did what he did, but it will blow up in his face and it's pretty obvious Lena is carrying his baby.
I took a day to get my thoughts together on this book. I wanted to be fair and not compare this book to my all time favorite paranormal series, Fae Chronicles.
Lena - I found her likeable and a firecracker but also a pushover. Her twin sister betrays her; shows no anger and takes it. Her mother never sticks up for her; shows no anger and takes it. She lets Cassidy and her mother treat her like crap; and takes it. I wished she showed more of a backbone and put people in their place.
Lucien - I found him to be very alpha and a mystery. I want to know what the heck he is. I tried to piece together the clues and still nothing, but I feel that the answer is so obvious that when its revealed I'll feel stupid.
What I liked:
The premise of the story
The main H/h
The dialogue
My favorite characters from the Fae Chronicles appearances
The slow burn between H/h
What I didn't like:
The supporting characters
How careless the H/h were about public sex
How the h was a pushover
The reason for my rating was due to a few issues. One, Lena's twin sister, Kendra, was just horrible and unlikable. She sleeps with Lena ex-fiancé - for 3 years- hangs out with Cassidy (the girl who her fiancé cheated on her with), never told Lena about the affair (someone else did), is in love with the ex, and had this jealousy vibe going on. With all of this Lena just takes it. I get that she's family and your ex would never make Lena happy but she never put Kendra in her place nor told her how can she hangout with someone who contributed to her leaving. Kendra was selfish on so many levels. Lena's mother never had Lena's back and let the community basically bully her. Lena's father is just a pathetic excuse to be called a father. Overall, the secondary characters sucked and took away from the book. I literally had to stop reading at times because I was so annoyed.
The sex scenes where hot like fire, but their first sex act started out and ended as a turnoff. I am hate when the H has no regards to the h's body. To me, no alpha male wants anyone to see his women but Lucien just didn't care and that was a turn off. Then Lena just didn't care and pranced around naked and screwing him. Some of the sex scenes was just out of place. I'm all for sex but these were just out of place, but super hot.
The premise of this book was really good and a mystery. I have my own theory regarding Katarina. I believe she's somehow in both Lena and Kendra. I feel Lena got her powers and pure soul while Kendra got everything else. I also found it odd that Lena's mother had two sets of twins...... Hmmmmmm. I also think Katerina and Lucian had a misunderstanding and the coven played a big role with this miscommunication, which started this neverending circle of death and heartache. Maybe just maybe someone tried to correct this mistake by creating twins..... I can't wait until book 2 because the cliffhanger was sooooo annoying (good annoying) I get why Lucien did what he did, but it will blow up in his face and it's pretty obvious Lena is carrying his baby.
smitch29's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this book was great. Definitely my favorite showing from this author, thus far. This story captivated my attention and left me wanting more. I have enjoyed Amelia Hutchins's previous works, but this one really enthralled me more than the others. The characters were original and well developed. A lot of questions were left unanswered by the end of the novel, especially about the characters and their identity, yet I wasn't bothered by the cliff-hanger. I just wanted to get the next book quicker. Normally, in such a situation, I find at least a mild annoyance at being left without more answers, but this time, it was so well done that I have no complaints. I felt that the characters were true to their development and the ending was well suited to the natural storyline.
For a recap, Magdalena Fitzgerald is returning to her family and her coven after three years of being away. She's stayed away to properly grieve after a series of unfortunate events took place. Her beloved grandfather passed away, then her father walked out, then she caught her fiancé cheating on her, and finally, her older brother died while in Afghanistan. She left her home to study botany and try to fix herself on her own. She only returned after hearing that her coven's next Awakening was to take place. That is when all the young adult witches of her coven go through a ceremony to break a curse placed on every child within in the coven that contains their power until such ceremony. Lena is excited and ready to have her full witch's power and rejoin her family and coven.
The reunion with her twin sister, Kendra, and mother went fairly well, with everyone happy to see each other. No bitter feelings seem to reside as a result of their separation. However, it quickly becomes evident that things of changed in the coven. Her family is a lot closer to the coven as a whole, and the coven is being highly influenced by Helen, an outsider who bought her way into the inner circle (also, her daughter, Cassidy is who Lena's fiancé slept with when he cheated). Another new addition to the community is Lucien Blackstone. He's a businessman (he owns a sex club) and he helps out the coven financially. Lena has trouble believing his story that he's a loner warlock, that the coven pulled in in a mutually beneficial arrangement. He just seems too powerful. One things she can't deny is the chemistry between her and Lucien, though she does try awfully hard to pretend like it doesn't exist.
In truth, Lucien isn't who he says he is, but rather, he's a mysterious, extremely powerful creature that is looking to kill a specific girl. She is going through the same Awakening ceremony as Lena, and has the reborn soul of Katarina, who lived long ago and betrayed Lucien. Their backstory is revealed more at the end but his true motives never seem to be revealed to the coven. Lucien still goes about his mission, testing everyone in the Awakening, including Lena. His tests come back negative, and yet he continually grows closer to Lena and vice versa.
Their relationship is one of the most peculiar I've ever read, and yet it works. Or it worked for me, and it did so really well. As the relationship develops, Lena strengthens. She started out fairly weak, but morphs into a bigger and bigger warrior. Unfortunately, that comes at the price of worry and pain. A lot happens to her in this book and we see her grow from needing Lucien to rescue her to fighting to the top on her own. All the while both of them have ever increasing feelings, that only complicates their lives more.
The only time I ever questioned the story was a few moments were it seemed that neither Lucien or Lena would satisfactorily question how the other could do something that seemed beyond his/her power. It was as if they would wonder why the other was so powerful and yet they'd just end up filing it away in the back of their mind, as if puzzles/problems didn't need to solved asap, or threats weren't looming and needing constant vigilance. It seemed odd that they wouldn't be more paranoid and questioning given the stress and mystery in both of their lives. Some of this was explained away, or at least it felt as if they had eventually come to question some things within a timely manner, but I would have to re-read the book to decide for sure.
I am highly anticipating the next book in the series. I can't wait to find out what happens next. There was so much left hanging that I am dying for answers to all the problems.
For a recap, Magdalena Fitzgerald is returning to her family and her coven after three years of being away. She's stayed away to properly grieve
Spoiler
and to try to tamp down the "darkness" she felt rising inside of her at her brother's funeralThe reunion with her twin sister, Kendra, and mother went fairly well, with everyone happy to see each other. No bitter feelings seem to reside as a result of their separation. However, it quickly becomes evident that things of changed in the coven. Her family is a lot closer to the coven as a whole, and the coven is being highly influenced by Helen, an outsider who bought her way into the inner circle (also, her daughter, Cassidy is who Lena's fiancé slept with when he cheated). Another new addition to the community is Lucien Blackstone. He's a businessman (he owns a sex club) and he helps out the coven financially. Lena has trouble believing his story that he's a loner warlock, that the coven pulled in in a mutually beneficial arrangement. He just seems too powerful. One things she can't deny is the chemistry between her and Lucien, though she does try awfully hard to pretend like it doesn't exist.
In truth, Lucien isn't who he says he is, but rather, he's a mysterious, extremely powerful creature that is looking to kill a specific girl. She is going through the same Awakening ceremony as Lena, and has the reborn soul of Katarina, who lived long ago and betrayed Lucien. Their backstory is revealed more at the end
Spoiler
(Lucien was in charge of guarding a box that contained the seal. Sort of like a key, that if turned could unite all the worlds (i.e. Faery, human world, demon world), and create Armageddon. He was trying infiltrate Katarina's coven to harness some of their power and find a way to destroy the seal. However, her coven caught wind that he wasn't what he claimed and moved to send him back to hell (which is where they though he came from). In their plot against Lucien, Katarina ended up opening the box, which transplanted the seal into her body. The seal is sentient and ended up attaching to her soul so every time she is reborn, the seal is reborn as well. Lucien hunts Katarina's reincarnated form every time it appears and kills her so that the seal can never come into its true power. He's trying to protect the worlds. However, it's complicated by the fact that he had fallen in love with Katarina and she betrayed him. Only, Katarina listened to her coven, and believed that Lucien was a monster and that he had betrayed her by not being honest.)Their relationship is one of the most peculiar I've ever read, and yet it works. Or it worked for me, and it did so really well. As the relationship develops, Lena strengthens. She started out fairly weak, but morphs into a bigger and bigger warrior. Unfortunately, that comes at the price of worry and pain. A lot happens to her in this book
Spoiler
she discovers, that she still has a living brother, Benjamin, who her mother gave away because he was "dark" at the age of 3; she fights said brother, then she survives a bomb; then she almost dies trying to save her family when their home is spelled on fire; then she gets beaten and raped by her ex-fiancé who was really possessed by a demon at the time; she also fights her attraction to Lucien because she is supposed to stay celibate during the pre-game of the Awakening; only during the ceremony, the ancestors look through as if she's not there and she isn't chosen to have the curse lifted; then she runs to Lucien to seduce him since all that celibacy was for nothing and she's distraught that she's not getting her powers; but then after they have sex her powers show up, leading to a fight with Lucien; when she runs to the coven for answers, they kick her out of the coven because they are scared she only came into her powers through a dark method of lifting the curse; then she's abandoned until she finally succumbs to the Harvest ritual she had begun in that makes her super horny and hunts down Lucien to sex him up again; they have sex until Lucien realizes she's not eating and has to call in the Fae and vampires from Amelia Hutchins's other novels to help save her life; finally she feels her sister being attacked and doesn't make it to her in time to save her (or most of her coven).The only time I ever questioned the story was a few moments were it seemed that neither Lucien or Lena would satisfactorily question how the other could do something that seemed beyond his/her power. It was as if they would wonder why the other was so powerful and yet they'd just end up filing it away in the back of their mind, as if puzzles/problems didn't need to solved asap, or threats weren't looming and needing constant vigilance. It seemed odd that they wouldn't be more paranoid and questioning given the stress and mystery in both of their lives. Some of this was explained away, or at least it felt as if they had eventually come to question some things within a timely manner, but I would have to re-read the book to decide for sure.
I am highly anticipating the next book in the series. I can't wait to find out what happens next. There was so much left hanging that I am dying for answers to all the problems.
claudiamarie15's review against another edition
1.0
This book pissed me off. It was supposed to be a hot guilty read but it was just annoying. Everything that came out of Lucians mouth was cringey. The sex was cringey. This entire book was just one whole cringe fest. Skip it, it couldn’t even give me the bare minimum. The bar was on the floor and it couldn’t even reach it.
kitty127's review
3.5
I didn’t read the full thing just skimmed it so I could get the context for fad chronicles
booklvrkat's review
4.0
Whew. There is so much world building, and slow at that, in this story that I never thought I would finish. I'm not fond of the overwhelming desire that this author has in beating submission into her characters, there explains the 4 stars. The book is overall very satisfying in the paranormal/fantasy world and I really liked most of the characters. At least the ones you're supposed to like. I even loved to hate Lucian. I'm interested in him, and where he comes from, and what he is, but I'm pretty sure I won't be coming back soon to read the next book. I need to get out of this world of witches and the unknown.