Rory- Rory is such a badass murdery FMC. I loved her so much, she has zero chill when it comes to bad guys and does what she feels has to be done. (She's also completely unhinged, but in a really " her heart is in the right place" kind of way) I love her loyalty to her friends and the way she goes toe to toe with Caius is thrilling! The Umbra King was my #1 fantasy book of 2022 out of over 400 books - and while I am so sad to see these characters go, I am so glad I met them 💘 If you haven't read TUK yet - make this duology your next read!! Aeternum releases 3/28 -- you won't regret it :) Aurora/Rory is a killer with a big heart, and I really liked her. She is strong, has a sharp tongue, and would do anything for her loved ones. She sees herself as a monster even though she’s a hero. She stood tall even when she was afraid and didn’t let people push her around. I feel like both Rory and Caius are broken in their own way and yet they complete each other. Their story is one of my favorites and I really am looking forward to what is to come. Also, the development of all relationships in this book was written extremely well. Seriously, the friendships, the found family, EVERYTHING! Upon death, glitch particles were emitted from The Umbra's body and the voicelines appeared to lag.

After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Aurora 'Rory' Raven spends years forging herself into a ruthless vigilante killer. This book is so unlike things I’ve read in the past! While there are some of my favorite tropes like enemies to lovers and hate to love, and my favorite mythological creatures (shifters, fae, angels, etc) the world building and magic system were so unique. The friendships in the book are also so so amazing. Throughout the book, I kept thinking this was going to be a 4-4.5 star book. However, once I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking "how can this book be anything but a 5 star?? I am so thankful for those who recommended this book to me because I LOVED it. Like, I really enjoyed it and could not put it down... even while I was working, my kindle did not leave my side! Uniquely, The Umbra could be stunned by the Star Cannon. This also prevented the Shot of the Century ability from finishing. It was always going to be you, bond or not.’ She frowned. ‘Bond?’ A wry smile formed on his lips. ‘You are my Aeternum.'"Now onto the romance. Firstly, I love Rory so much. She’s a strong morally gray ASSASSIN who finds love in the prison realm with the Umbra King. Caius is moody, grumpy, powerful and has shadow magic. I love shadow magic (cough, hands). This book is so steamy and loved the two of them together.

Did you think your blood would deter me? I have bathed in the blood of your enemies. What makes you think I would not paint myself with yours?” Pike • Knight • Ghost • Cobalt Guard • Vampire • Bat • Wraith • Zombie Horse • Ent • Ghost Knight • Werewolf • Cursed Guard • Cursed Knight • Solar Shard • Lunar Shard • Dust • PenumbrasThis fantasy story is about Aurora (Rory) who witnesses her twin sister Cora's murder at the ripe age of 15. Left extremely traumatized, she makes it her personal mission to find and avenge her sisters' killers while also taking justice further into her own hands by murdering 13 men. Sounds awful, right? Wrong, all the men she murdered were in the process of murdering or attempting to rape someone. She unfortunately gets caught and is sent to prison with a sentence of 500 years. Let me be perfectly clear: I support women's rights AND women's wrongs. This is a third-person paranormal fantasy with a main focus on Aurora (Rory), who is a fae and also happens to be a little bit of a vigilante murderer. She is caught and instead of being sent to hell, she is sentenced to Vincula the prison realm for committing 13 brutal murders. When she gets to this realm, she's literally plonked at the feet of King, Caius and from very early on is barraged by the consequences of her perceived actions as a Butcher by many of the inmates. I basically inhaled this book at the fastest speed my brain could comprehend the words my eyes were seeing. I practically read this in one sitting (probably would have definitely if I didn't start the book at midnight last night), which is quite an achievement for me at the moment since I have been going through quite a little bit of a slump and slowly getting out of it. My pants already carry something much larger.” Sam grinned as he peeled the fruit and took a large bite.