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lisashelves 's review for:
Curse of Shadows and Thorns
by LJ Andrews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via BookOfMatchesMedia in exchange for an honest review!
Curse of Shadows and Thorns is a fantasy retelling in which we follow Elise, who is the niece of the current king, who forces her to marry. She is given to the charge of Legion, a mysterious dowry negotiator.
While the book is said to be a retelling, I couldn’t really find anything about Beauty and the Beast. She isn’t forced to live with a “monster” or anything. There is a Beast in the book, but only a beast being in the book doesn’t count as a retelling for me. So, while that isn’t really a retelling in my opinion, I still really enjoyed reading this book! It was quite predictable, but enjoyable non the less. I did see the ending coming in how it all played out, but I am very curious to see what the sequel will bring, as it can go a lot of ways.
The world-building was pretty well done and I was intrigued with the bit of magic that was present. The beginning was a little bit slow, so it took me a bit longer to warm up to the world and the characters. But once I really got into the story it was hard to put the book down. I did wish the second half of the book wasn't as rushed. Especially the difference between the first and the second half were quite big and I would've liked more of a balance.
The characters were quite interesting. I wished the secondary characters were a little bit more detailed. They felt a bit two dimensional sometimes because all the focus was on Elise and Legion. I did really like those two! Elise was rebellious and not afraid to speak her mind or be herself, which I really appreciate in characters. Legion was the mysterious and handsome male lead, as we see in sooooo many books. While he didn’t really seem unique or anything in the beginning, as the book progressed so did, he and he really grew into a unique character with lots of layers. Also, the banter between Elise and Legion is really enjoyable to read as is their relationship and how it grows.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the story and I am curious to see what the sequel will hold for these characters and the world.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via BookOfMatchesMedia in exchange for an honest review!
Curse of Shadows and Thorns is a fantasy retelling in which we follow Elise, who is the niece of the current king, who forces her to marry. She is given to the charge of Legion, a mysterious dowry negotiator.
While the book is said to be a retelling, I couldn’t really find anything about Beauty and the Beast. She isn’t forced to live with a “monster” or anything. There is a Beast in the book, but only a beast being in the book doesn’t count as a retelling for me. So, while that isn’t really a retelling in my opinion, I still really enjoyed reading this book! It was quite predictable, but enjoyable non the less. I did see the ending coming in how it all played out, but I am very curious to see what the sequel will bring, as it can go a lot of ways.
The world-building was pretty well done and I was intrigued with the bit of magic that was present. The beginning was a little bit slow, so it took me a bit longer to warm up to the world and the characters. But once I really got into the story it was hard to put the book down. I did wish the second half of the book wasn't as rushed. Especially the difference between the first and the second half were quite big and I would've liked more of a balance.
The characters were quite interesting. I wished the secondary characters were a little bit more detailed. They felt a bit two dimensional sometimes because all the focus was on Elise and Legion. I did really like those two! Elise was rebellious and not afraid to speak her mind or be herself, which I really appreciate in characters. Legion was the mysterious and handsome male lead, as we see in sooooo many books. While he didn’t really seem unique or anything in the beginning, as the book progressed so did, he and he really grew into a unique character with lots of layers. Also, the banter between Elise and Legion is really enjoyable to read as is their relationship and how it grows.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the story and I am curious to see what the sequel will hold for these characters and the world.