Ultimately I liked this book although I wasn't sure if I would for most of the book. The reason being that it starts out really slow. I know that is to build the ambiance and the setting of the world that we're about to inhabit but that doesn't always make up for the turtle speed (see what I did there? If you read it you'll get it).

Anyway this is a dark (and I do mean dark) take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It is one of the lesser known fairy tales and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the princesses don't fit the typical archetype that was set up for them at the time. Nowadays sure, even though it just have the typical patriarchal ending of the princesses being 'tamed' and married. Although before that they were responsible for a few men's deaths. So there's that.

By proxy counts.

In this we open with eight princesses due to four having died under unusual circumstances. Our narrator Annaleigh believes, like most of the village surrounding the island fortress she calls home, it is because she and her sisters are cursed. She takes it on herself to find out what she believes is the methodical murdering of her family and to put a stop to it.

That's the gist. It does have the usual markings of your typical YA novel; young heroine with two fellows pining for her who takes it on herself to be the chosen one to solve the mystery at the root of the story. However it is also unlike any other YA I've ever read or at least read in a while. One of my updates put it perfectly – I haven't had a YA novel f**k with my head like this one did.

Mild spoilers ahead.





You've been warned.






I'm not kidding.





Last chance.






Here we go.

Ir has an interesting take on the unreliable narrator. From about a quarter on you're not sure if you can trust Annaleigh not because she's misleading you but because you're unsure if she's sane. That plays a lot with how the rest of the story unfolds and the author does a good job of making you doubt yourself along with Annaleigh.

There was also the fact that we did read about the deaths of two of the princesses. That shocked me, as well as the choice of who they were, because I honestly didn't think that we should see that through the course of the story. That added a layer to the story which, while extremely bitter, made it a bit more realistic. Well as realistic as a fairy-tale retelling could be.

The creepy factor of it was also well done; there were many scenes that I had a verbal reaction, which made my son question what was wrong with me. Her descriptions were well written but not too much; she never spent a page waxing on about a scene, outfit, or anything else. And when the twists come (and there are plural) they hit you like a roller coaster until you're like “I'm just hanging on until the end of the ride.” And what a ride it was.

Even the ending about who was behind everything seems to be a bit of a surprise. I did figure it out relatively early on just by having experience with this type of story but there were times that I did doubt myself. There were red herrings a-plenty in this novel and they were good lures because I even doubted myself up until the very end. And even then there were features of the ending that I did not see coming.

I have mixed feelings on epilogue of the story. While I am normally one for a happy ending, in this specific situation I am not sure it was actually warranted. Maybe it's because I saw Pet Semetary too young but in my opinion there is nothing good that can come from having someone come back from the dead. It feels like it was tacked on because it's intended audience wouldn't have taken it any other way but honestly I think it might have made for a stronger story if it wasn't there. However, it didn't ruin the story for me so there's that.

I would recommend this book especially for those who love dark re-tellings. Just remember it may take a bit to get into.

This was an okay book for me. That said it is one of the better fantasies I've personally read. Now, to be fair, high fantasy is not really my bag. So you can take the remainder of the review with the proverbial grain of salt.

It wasn't high handed and the world building didn't take up a majority of the story, like others I've read. However, there were lots of unnecessary characters and plot points that seemed to serve to drag the book out. This is a series though so it could have been planting seeds for growth later. But even if that were the case this book could have done with more than a bit of editing. At the beginning it focused so much on Kisara as a young girl. Then it ran through a montage of vignettes until she got a bit older. There were threads of specific plots that were dangled only to know get really fulfilled or get explained as an aside.

The character's personalities also weren't very consistent throughout the book. Even the main character seemed a bit wishy-washy on more than one occasion. There was a love triangle of sorts, but I felt that was one part that was well done. Kisara was very clear about her feelings for one of the males was a sisterly love.

Again it was a good book but a lot of it seemed superfluous. It says this is series on the cover though so I understand that a lot of that was due to wanting to explain more in the rest of the series. It just seemed like unnecessary parts were expanded on and necessary parts were cut short, which robbed the reader a little bit.

This was a short quick sweet and steamy read. I really enjoyed Alejandro and how supportive he was of Deja through everything. Total Cinnamon Roll hero. And there was also serious discussion over self-care and being mindful to take care of yourself, which is super important during this current pandemic. Only gripe were minor editing errors that could have been caught with another glance over. Otherwise something that is perfect for a couple of hours over the weekend.

Oh and don't be dissuaded by the length of the story because it packs a lot of steam in its chapters. So if that is your thing you're very much in luck.

This was just not my bag. I'm not anti-erotica by any means but I've read better ones. For me, all the characters were like cardboard cut-outs with the exception of the main characters. But even then the self-deprecating nature that Rachel had was not endearing at all. And Cole adjusted awfully quick to being around people for someone who professed to prefer being solo.

This is more like a 1.5 but I rounded up to two because while I wasn't a huge fan the sex scenes were steamy, they were plentiful, and I did push through even if it was just for a read-a-thon prompt. I wouldn't read this again though and likely won't keep it in my library