The Pacing: the pacing started out as great in the beginning but there instances where the story kind of lost me in the second half.

I wanted to love this so much I was pretty sure I'd end up hating it, and while I didn't look loathe it in the end, I felt a bit betrayed.

But also know when NOT to take someone's advice. You are the author. It's your story. You know what is best. If you love something about your book and someone else doesn't, be wary. You have to know your genre and what works. Chances are if you love it others will too. There where some things I felt could of made this story even better… but even still I thoroughly enjoyed reading! The push and pull between the characters and the pent up tension between them was equally frustrating but interesting.

The romance- It's not just Thane and Layala's chemistry. The introduction of the love triangle certainly makes things interesting. If you want to be an indie author it's a lot of work. You have to be an entrepreneur and marketer as well as an author, but it's also very rewarding. After a reread, I agree with all of my previous reasons for loving this book. But mostly… Thane. And HOW did I remember such a different ending?!? Also this might not be YA after all. 😏 I can’t wait for Long Live the Elf Queen tomorrow. I loved the world-building and scheming aspects of this series right from the start. Though I occasionally felt that Layala's character is becoming very easy to manipulate or dictate. I can literally see people coming in and changing her plans in the blink of an eye. N find her a bit foolish that she falls into the trap and does what they anticipated as her reaction - despite the strong-headed female she is shown to be, it's quite contrasting. Well this one made the first book look absolutely fantastic and now I am rethinking my whole experience reading that book.I haven’t even touched on the glorious world building this book had. I can’t believe this is indie published because the quality of writing and level of detail was magnificent! The FMC- She became unbearable, selfish. I like my girls to be selfless, especially when they are in a powerful position but Layala was not and that irked me big time.

Okay, so I was just casually listening to this book until Thane said, “You are mine and I am yours…”The fact that Layala's aunts house was trashed before Thane kidnapped her - blood on the walls, threats, blah blah blah - but Thane doesn't even seem to care or look into it further than a concerned shrug. These are my perfect formula in a book! I loved the way JMK played with my emotions from start to Finish. From not liking Thane at the start to growing to really care for him by the end as Layala develops her feelings. The turn from enemies to lovers felt natural and gradual… it wasn’t that “one day I hate you and the next I love you”. They displayed a mature relationship and I really liked that at times they were able to trust and talk to each other about aspects that they were concerned about. Very often in books (especially YA) “conflict” is created due to miscommunication and I felt that very little of the conflict in this was due to the characters not listening (which is a big plus) - this might be cause they were a little older that this would be more intro into Adult but kept the content PG13. This book made me so mad, I can't even begin to describe how I'm feeling about it. Before I finished this book, I was going to watch Over The Hedge, and write this review after I'd had two fun things done in a row. The first was supposed to be this book, the second, the movie. But this book caused me so much rage. but Thane has a secret that makes it impossible for Layala to slay him. She has an even darker truth that makes loving her forbidden, no matter how much Thane wants to touch.