ettaviereads's Reviews (356)

A princess who doesn’t fit in with the other royals and her assigned dowry negotiator 🥵🥵 This was an amazing read that kept me begging to continue instead of follow up with my adult responsibilities. 

The banter and tension between Elise and Legion was delightful. The hidden promises and pasts from both of them kept me wondering what exactly Legion was hiding, since the whole book was from Elise’s POV. 

Tender moments were shared between Elise and so many of the secondary characters that I grew to adore her as a person and how she treats people that society sees as lesser or undeserving. Legion’s actions and commitment to Elise through playful banter made me fall head over heels for his dark and mysterious past. 

The twists and turns this book has took me on such a rollercoaster that even after world building initially, I feel so connected to the world that Andrew’s crafted and I cannot wait to read the second book of this series

2 🌶️ 
A phenomenal combination of The Selection meets The Hunger Games, typical Fey style brutality to win the heart of the Sun King. 

This dual POV follows Lor - a young woman imprisoned as a child who is thrown into the Trial of the Sun Queen - and Prince Nadir -the Aurora Prince  who is wary of his father’s rules and wonder’s what secret the Aurora King is keeping about prisoner 3452.

Lor is hiding more than she lets on to the other characters and even to the reader. Initially I thought the Sun King’s guard, Gabe, would be the love interest but the Sun King charms Lor off her feet immediately and she quickly falls for his charm. 

I was interested in Lor as a character throughout the book and hoped to find out her secret by the end but Tuli keeps the reader with speculation of Lor’s hidden past, only revealing bits and pieces that keeps you coming back for more. 

The Sun King is the typical fry who is sweet yet vicious! When alone with Lore or in front of the tributes initially, he seems to be a sweet king who is only on his quest for love. However, once the trials begin, it is clear that Atlas is actually cruel and manipulative. 

Prince Nadir, the Aurora Prince and heir to the Aurora throne is cast into the story to find out what happened to prisoner 3452. However, in his search, he is unable to dig up appropriate information which leads him to believe that his father has been keeping secrets. I really look forward to seeing how his character grows as the series continues. 

The Three Trials the tributes must complete are simple on the surface yet brutal once the trial rules have been given and the timer started. Lor is able to use her skills from the prison to help complete some of the obstacles in the trials. 

Overall, this was a stellar read. It was a perfect read after some emotionally heavier books and it brought way more than I originally anticipated. 

I will definitely be reading the second book! 

1.5 🌶️ 

This novel was a fantastic spin on the classic tale of Snow White. 

Astrid isn’t your typical princess and her form of magic is so unique in its manifestation. The Huntsman comes into his role in a non-traditional way. 

Starting in the Fire Court with the Seven Deadly Sins each as a different department/building made for an exciting and interesting place to commence the plot. 

The banter between Astrid and the Huntsman is fantastic and the struggles Astrid and the Huntsman face as she attempts to prove Astrid’s innocence keeps the plot moving along quickly. The development of their relationship allows for an intense slow burn and made my heart melt for the Huntsman. 

The plot twists in the second half of this book were so good and I actually crushed the last half of the book in an afternoon. I will definitely be reading more of Tessonja Odette’s work in the future. 

I’m so disappointed that I didn’t like this book. 😔 I had pretty high hopes when I started it because I really like fairytales.

I found it difficult to connect with the FMC and the scariness of the fairytales plus way the FMC fits into the Hinterland stories was very strange and a bit off putting. 

Though I finished the book I didn’t feel connected to the plot or the characters. 

This may have been better in print or digital format instead of audiobook but I will not be recommending this at this point.