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A review by countesslemongrab
A Kingdom of Venom and Vows by Holly Renee
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The world building was really missing - I still have so many unanswered questions and so many things that didn’t make sense to me by the end:
1 - mates were never explained, I understand the connection is deeper and by killing your mate you get death magic but there doesn’t seem to be anything else to it
2 - the prophecy was discussed multiple times but it didn’t really feel like it mattered at the end of the book
3 - the nymphs continued to refer to Adara as their Queen but there wasn’t much explanation
4 - the battle with Gavril was supposed to be the major tipping point, but it was over in just a couple chapters, it was really lack luster for me
5 - in the prior book Adara gets a book about the history of the Starblessed, we never learn more about them other than they can use nature as a source for their magic but then that didn’t happen in the series
6 - similarly, Evren makes a big deal in the prior book that “knowledge is power” but then that’s never actually demonstrated
I enjoyed the overall plot, but I feel like majority of this book revolves around sex when it could have been better had it focused in other things.
The multiple POV elevated this book - had it just been from Adara’s perspective I would have probably rated this lower tbh.
1 - mates were never explained, I understand the connection is deeper and by killing your mate you get death magic but there doesn’t seem to be anything else to it
2 - the prophecy was discussed multiple times but it didn’t really feel like it mattered at the end of the book
3 - the nymphs continued to refer to Adara as their Queen but there wasn’t much explanation
4 - the battle with Gavril was supposed to be the major tipping point, but it was over in just a couple chapters, it was really lack luster for me
5 - in the prior book Adara gets a book about the history of the Starblessed, we never learn more about them other than they can use nature as a source for their magic but then that didn’t happen in the series
6 - similarly, Evren makes a big deal in the prior book that “knowledge is power” but then that’s never actually demonstrated
I enjoyed the overall plot, but I feel like majority of this book revolves around sex when it could have been better had it focused in other things.
The multiple POV elevated this book - had it just been from Adara’s perspective I would have probably rated this lower tbh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: War