★★★★★ 4
A Dark Fantasy that hooks you from the start!
Format: Kindle
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Right from the prologue, I was hooked. Ella wastes no time diving into an intense scene, but definitely be sure to read the trigger warnings! I was immediately drawn into this dark fantasy world, and even more so by the slow-burn tension, witty banter, and the strong sense of family that forms throughout the story.
What I really loved is that Darius, the Queen’s illegitimate son and captain of the guard, is the main focus of the book. Broken and struggling to navigate the prejudices against him, Darius is caught between playing the political games and wanting to be accepted. He’s also investigating a growing threat: demons, who have always been a manageable evil, are suddenly multiplying and attacking in larger groups. His focus shifts when Lena, a mysterious foreigner with an aura that can’t be ignored, arrives on the scene. She’s not quite human—something other—and I found myself just as captivated as Darius, trying to uncover who she is and what role she has in his life. The tension and spice had me reading into the late hours of the night - romantasy readers are going to devour this book!
This book also does an excellent job of challenging stereotypes, labels, and unconscious bias. I love how Ella seamlessly weaves these complex themes into the plot, and how the characters navigate them in ways that feel authentic and thought-provoking.
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Another highlight was the narration by Laura Horowitz! She does an amazing job bringing the characters to life with different accents and voices, capturing Amara’s sassiness and Lena’s mysterious nature perfectly. It took me a little while to adjust to Darius' narration, though—it wasn’t quite what I had imagined for him or other male characters. But once I sped it up to 2.0, it felt much better. As for Kace and Griffin, I still struggled a bit with their voices, especially Kace, whose tone came off more like a silly jester than the commanding yet light-hearted character I envisioned.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2025
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