I've been curious about this book for a while and I just finished reading another book involving an arranged marriage and loved it, so I thought I'd give it a try. The romance in the book is my favorite kind of slow burn and it's super refreshing to have two main characters that aren't suddenly attracted to each other for no reason. The politics in the book are pretty fast paced, but they help to move the story forward. The plot starts off in the middle of a wedding that's about to happen. Ildiko and Brishen meet each other without knowing they are about to marry each other and quickly become friends. I loved how they both joke about how unattractive they find each other and the fear they have of the difference between the Kai and humans. Both are charming people with flourishing personalities and when they finally do find out that they're actually arranged to marry each other they are clearly on the path to being really good friends. It was super entertaining to see how Ildiko and Brishen had foods that their species respectfully ate that they hated. The Kai can't stand the taste of potatoes of all things! I was laughing that whole part of the book, especially afterward when Anhuset threatened to kill her cousin over the incident. It's a very interesting twist and helps to add to the cultural differences present between humans and kai. It helps the Kai and human dynamic feel more genuine and realistic.

 As Brishen and Ildiko got to know each other more and spent a significant amount of time together, there are hints of their growing affection for one another. More importantly, they are attracted to each other for their respective personalities first, and then the physical attraction started coming into play. Their relationship was allowed to build for a good amount of time which made it so much more satisfying when they were finally together. It seems that Brishen isn't the only one who became attracted to a human. Near the end of the story it's clear that Anhuset and Serovek have something going on. Both of them are great side characters. Serovek seems like a respectable leader that still has a playful sense of humor. I'm sure will make for great banter with Anhuset. We didn't see them interact all that much in this book, but I do hope to see more of them together. Anhuset seems to be pretty closed off about her feelings, but I'm hoping that as she interacts more with Serovek this will change. I think that their relationship would also be a further step in the political setting in this world to normalizing romantic relationships between Kai and humans. Really excited for the next book and plan on reading more books from Grace Draven. 

I have to give props to the author for trying to make the book as historically accurate as possible. It definitely felt like I was back in the middle ages as I was listening to the audiobook. The religious themes that were very present during that time and strongly dictated social norms and expectations were pretty strong, but probably accurate. Overall, I thought the book was okay, but there wasn't much that made the characters super interesting to me. I did like the development of the relationship between Rose and Lord Hammond, but it's not a favorite ship or anything. The book was okay, but I don't know if I'll read other books in this series because it just didn't capture my attention the way I would have wanted to. But again, amazing on the historical accuracy.

I reread this book because I wanted something fast and easy to read and I'm happy I did. Still love these characters and Rose and Connor are still my favorite couple. A battle of the wits is really what defines their relationship and I live for every minute of it.

I'm happy to say I really enjoyed this book. I had read the prequel to the series, Morrighan, and also really enjoyed it, so it's not really surprising I liked this book. Lia is a very interesting character that definitely shows growth as the story progresses. She starts off as someone who craves freedom and independence from the political entanglements that are unfortunately a part of her life as the daughter of a ruler. I was really happy to see her get to the end of the book understanding that her actions affect more than just herself and making the selfless decision to try and complete the terms of her arranged marriage to stop a war from breaking out.



**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD**



Rafe also came to be someone I really liked. His prideful nature is what leads him to chase after Lia. He literally is just upset that she escaped the arranged marriage before he did. It was great to see Rafe get to know Lia and for them to mutually admire each other slowly. Rafe is compassionate and doesn't judge Lia for her actions. If anything, he learns to respect her for escaping and for her courage to stand up for herself and others. The scene where she calls out the soldiers in the tavern for harassing someone was one of my favorite because it gives insight into who she is as a person. She's very likeable because she believes in treating people fairly and fighting off people who abuse their power.

I really liked the way the author made sure to make it as ambiguous as possible who was out to kill Lia between Kaden and Rafe. It added an interesting layer to the story and a bit more mystery to how things would end. The side characters in the story like Pauline also added more dimension to Lia. It was nice that she had an already established friendship and also someone to compare her lack of romantic experience to. It was a bit upsetting for me that Mikael ended up being a huge jerk. At first when Walther described him as such I was hoping that maybe he was wrong, but turns out he probably wasn't. It really is a shame because Pauline is such a cool person and single motherhood isn't exactly a cakewalk. 

Walther is definitely another of my favorites in this story. It really broke my heart a little when he lost his wife Greta. He was really in love with his wife and in a large way stopped caring about living when he lost her and his unborn child. We didn't get to see a lot of Walther, but the little we did see still made him really likeable. He has a very nice sibling relationship with Lia. He's a really cool older brother who made sure to support her in her decision and loves his sister very much. Losing Walther was probably one of the most upsetting parts of the book for me. His dynamic with Lia is one of my favorite sibling dynamics. Sucks it won't be there in future books.

As for Kaden, he seems to be getting less morally ambiguous. By the end of the book it is obvious he cares for Lia, but his loyalty to his own and jealousy over Rafe and Lia's relationship seems to be getting the best of him. I definitely prefer Rafe as a love interest because he's a bit more charming than Kaden is and has more in common with Lia. I'm excited to get to the next book because Lia seems to be willing to forgive Rafe for hiding his identity from her which should make their relationship progression in the second book a lot less rocky. Great first installment for the series, overall.

I had never read a García Marquez book and had wanted to for a long time. You might go into this novella thinking that it is about paedophilia and a Lolita type book, but it doesnt focus on the sexual aspect at all other than in passing. The narrator is a 90 year old man who has never found love and attempts to find comfort in having a young virgin sent to him from a brothel. Instead of finding comfort in sex with the girl, he ends up truly caring and loving someone, something he hadn't been able to do in all his years. He begins to find little purpose in anything else in his life that isn't her. He truly protects the girl and never hurts her and as this love grows he describes various aspects of his life including his career as a journalist and his many sexcapades. You start to see the character of the old man from a new perspective as you get to know him. García Márquez's writing style is entertaining and engaging, making me laugh several times. This is a short and enjoyable read that I highly recommend to anyone who wants to try something new and unique and is up for a good laugh.

That was a very interesting twist on a Beauty and the Beast retelling. The characters all had an interesting background story and helped give context to how the Seelie and Unseelie courts function. Sorcha was a great lead character with clear motivations for her actions and a sense of kindness, duty, and courage that was hilarious to observe at times. She stands for what she believes in and doesn't shy away from questioning authority. It was also nice to see a strong female character that's a healer. Her backstory is also very different from other fantasy novels I've read considering she grew up in a brothel. 

Eamonn was also an intriguing take on the Beast. It's nice to add a twin brother into the mix to make the story more interesting. I have to say, even the side characters like Bran added a lot to the dimension of the plot and he really is as close to a friend as Eamonn has. I'm hoping the sequel explored more about Bran as well as the aftermath of the battle. I definitely finished the book wanting more. Good job author.

I like how the whole Beauty and the Beast retelling came into play for the ending of this story. When I was about half way through I genuinely thought that the ending would be different and they wouldn't follow the ending of Beauty and the Beast, but they kind of did. This sequel is also a great compliment for the first book since this one focuses more on the growth of Sorcha and Eamonn as individuals and how the war has affected their relationship when they reunite. Eamonn becomes more distant and ruthless and Sorcha's kindness and infinite compassion help bring back the best in him. I think that if she wasn't in his life he would have made decisions that were much worse and I'm glad that it shows that they both bring out the best in each other, which is what a healthy romantic relationship should do, in my opinion. Also, I know this was a super brief moment in the book, but I thought it was really cute when Domnall got all embarrassed when Sorcha overheard his real name. I just imagined this poor faerie child that was blushing so hard he wished the Earth was swallowing him whole. I wish we had a bit more time with them together in the book, but a lot was going on so it's understandable why we didn't. 

I liked Sorcha a lot in the first book and this book just solidified those feelings, honestly. One of the moments that really captured the essence of who she is as a person is when her army is fighting the final battle against Fionn's forces and she sees a soldier become mortally wounded and tells him "You did not deserve this. I am sorry.". That line really got me because it shows that Sorcha is a healer at heart. She wants to do nothing but help people and avoid violence at all costs. My favorite part in the book is when she finally confronts Fionn for the last time and his entire court is busy treating themselves to luxuries while there is a war happening on his doorstep. All I could think of is the French Revolution where all the peasants in France got fed up with the upper classes and ended up executing nobles. Real historical allegory there. I'm actually glad Fionn wasn't killed because it helped display that Eamonn has a sense of compassion for his brother and therefore ends up exiling him instead. He got what he deserved but with space to reflect. The woman he was "in love" with also left him and I'm glad that despite not seeing too much of her, we were given a gist of how unhappy that relationship was and helped add some depth to both her and Fionn's character. I appreciate that I found these books and look forward to reading more works by this author.