This was an unsolicited ARC from the publisher, but boy am I glad I got it, and then had the time to pick it up and fit it in. It was so good! While at the moment there is no sequel listed, it left off on a bit of a cliffhanger and there is so much more to happen!

I don’t read a ton of romantasy these days, but have been picking them up here and there. Part of it is because of how lengthy the books usually are. And this book was another 500 pager. But then I think about how one of my favorite romance authors often has books that long and it didn’t seem so big.

The world was fun and of course there was a map in the front of my ARC that I could look at as they went to different places on the travels through Turah. Odessa was our main character. The oldest princess, but also with a stepmother, she wasn’t the one who was supposed to be marrying the heir of Turah for the treaty. Her younger sister had been raised and trained to do all of that. Unfortunately when the heir to Turah comes after killing the monsters threatening Odessa’s home land of Quentis, he demands Odessa to be the bride-prize instead.

In order not to cause a war and to keep the treaty, her father gives her a quick crash course before the wedding in what his goals are. He wants her to spy and find their capital city which is a place talked about, but location not known by those outside of the Turah. As much as Odessa doesn’t feel up to all of this, she is also thrilled at the chance to leave her home, and explore the world as she’d always wanted. Her new husband though is silent almost all the time. Barely talks. And then there is the Guardian, who is the protector of the people of Turah, but also has a connection as the murderer of Odessa’s ex-fiancee’s brother. And the Guardian is always riling her up, being rude, or right there all the time, following her, criticizing her, etc.

As their journey goes along, and monsters attack their ship, she asks for fighting lessons. And guess who her husband assigns to train her? The Guardian. So they develop a bit of a love/hate relationship. But of course there is attraction that builds up in these training sessions, but there is obviously the lack of trust still. The Guardian knows that she is probably supposed to kill him as part of whatever her father has tasked her with. Not to mention no one trusts her enough to tell her where the capital city is, or how to get there, etc.

Once in Turah it is so different from what is expected. There are monsters everywhere it seems, no place is safe. And one city they come to live in is all up in trees. They stop there and stay for awhile. Odessa soon learns secret after secret about her husband. She also learns things are a little crazy in this land. The king isn’t trusted by many, including her husband. The king is burning books whenever he finds them. People aren’t allowed to own or make maps. There’s a little girl with a relationship to her husband. And maybe her husband isn’t who she thinks he is.

There are a few people there that treat her kindly, and that she begins friendships with. She even discovers someone from her own land at one point and is able to talk to him about the things happening. There is so much more to the monsters though. They seem to have a disease that no one knows about save the Guardian and a few others. And then there is the strange connection she has to the magical priest like characters in the story, a connection that causes her pain when they are around, but no one else seems to feel or notice.

We are left with a huge change in what is taking place in this country and how the monsters are showing up. Not to mention maybe how this disease was actually invented, and all the ways it affects Odessa and her husband and his family.

I can’t wait to read a second book in this series and see where the author takes this story! I will mention that the steamy scenes were not too crazy or dark, and didn’t start till late in the story. We also don’t get a ton of that, after a time or two of getting open door, it soon is more fade to black scenes when it takes place. So if that is an issue for you, I think this book isn’t as racy as some and you might enjoy it!