I did read the descriptions of some later books in the series after reading this first book. If you're hesitanting to start reading because you're intimidated by 9 books, it looks like books 4-6 and 7-9 follow their own storylines that are just connected to the kingdom in books 1-3. So, different main characters in those ones. Right off the bat, obsessions with a warrior past are not exactly a great marker - especially when coupled with the clear viking inspiration for the Timoran (Elise’s) culture. There are clear and significant ties between Viking culture and organised racist movements, with Viking imagery and symbolism used widely to help push varying white supremacist narratives.

I wonder what my boss would do knowing that I had my phone propped up against my water bottle, hiding beneath my computer screens, just so I could finish this book during work hours before I made myself go insane because I was far too eager to know the ending. This Book Was…..pretty Okay. Had A Lot Of Potential, What With The Funny Rebellious Princess Who Doesnt Care For Titles (Also Missing Some Fingers?), Or The Tall Sexy Negotiator Who Holds Her Love Life In His Hands. You Got Me. You Kept Me Up Until 2:00am. But… Spiritual and Cultural Perspectives: Some individuals may find solace in consulting spiritual or cultural leaders who specialize in curse removal or healing practices. These practices can provide a sense of closure and empowerment.Many enter the masquerade, but some never come out. Malin Strom has been searching for Kase, her childhood sweetheart, since he was lost at the annual masquerade years ago, and with her gift of stealing memories she crosses more than one dangerous line to do it. My last peeve with the writing was the fact that all the other characters could be referred to by their first name ALONE. But LEGION GREY is 90% of the time mentioned with his full name. There are 74 instances in the book where his full name are mentioned (I read this as an ebook so could easily count the search)… a few instances of a full name are fine, but after about 13 my skin started crawling when I saw it. First things first... This is a beauty and the beast retelling and NO one mentions it. There's a bit of insta-love/lust and court intrigue. As Secrets Unravel About Legion’s Vicious Past, Questions Rise Over Who Has The True Right To The Throne. When Answers Come, More Lives Are Put At Stake, And Elise Is Forced To Make An Impossible Choice: Avoid A Bloody Game By Leaving Legion To The Beast Within, Or End His Curse And Restore Magic To The Land By Sacrificing A Life–hers.

My only big issue with this book is that the end of the book felt almost too rushed and I feel like they should have added more to almost every scene at the end of the novel. There were some BIG plot moments that I felt fell flat because they just weren't given the time or wordcount they deserved in the story. Understanding Psychological Factors: Before attributing misfortunes to a curse, it is crucial to consider psychological and environmental factors that might contribute to the challenges one is facing. Stress, anxiety, and negative thought patterns can create a perception of being cursed. Long Ago, Elise’s Ancestors Stole The Crown From The Fae King. As The Niece Of The Brutal, Current King, Her Purpose Is To Do Whatever Is Asked To Ensure Her Family Keeps The Throne For Centuries To Come. The Trouble Is, Elise Would Rather Sneak Into Gambling Halls With The Servants Than Be A Silent Princess At A Ball. His hair was paler like Timorans, my people. But his skin and eyes glimmered with the unique dark shade of Ettans, the people mine enslaved during the raids.” Book Genre: Fae, Fairies, Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Fiction, Magic, Paranormal, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult, Young Adult FantasyThe world building is still really good and the fighting scenes were epic. The excerpts of Queen Lilianna’s journal were a nice touch to help develop the history of the land. Elise is also presented as a typical white saviour, in quite a literal fashion. For example, she is supposedly the key to curing Legion/Valen of his curse, and when he manages to cure himself in spite of this she is still lorded as the saviour. The white saviour trope, for reference, is where a white character steps in to rescue non-white characters from their problems. It is a clear theme throughout the novel, and follows the idea that people of colour are not capable of doing things for themselves. In real life this translates to money being given to white organisations (such as tourism for volunteering and missionary trips) instead of directly to the marginalised communities in question, where it would arguably be more effective. The plot remains too predictable even for my taste of reading the same tropes over and over, that it almost feels childish how predictable the “twist” was. Legion was fantastic! I kinda guessed his twist but the reveal was still very anxiety-inducing though. He's a tortured morally grey hero and I can't wait for him to make me question why I'm still on his side. He's hot okay? That's all you need to know 😅

Self-Reflection and Personal Growth: Examining one’s life choices, thought patterns, and behaviors can be a powerful step toward breaking the cycle of perceived curses. Personal growth and self-improvement can lead to positive transformations. l absolutely loved reading this book! It's full of plot twists and cliff hangers that left me unable to put the book down once I got to the halfway point. The characters are generally witty, intriguing and their dialogue and interactions with eachother were generally very captivating. The plot was a little bit predictable but I was caught off guard a few times as well. The world building was very unique and interesting and the author did a very good job of describing the scenes in the story in a way that was completely immersive and left me able to invision the setting as though I was there with the MC. The love story between the FMC and her love interest was everything I look for in a fantasy romance. Morally grey mysterious love interest meets stubborn rebellious and undeniably good love interest. Forced proximity. Enemies to Lovers. Forbidden love. High stakes romance. *chef's kiss*I was just very disappointed after all this build up tension, and all these cute encounters, to find the spice scene being like all other spice scenes in all the other spicy books.

Again, throughout the book i was asking myself over and over again, why this feels so rushed. Why the author didn’t take the time to write more details or more scenes and chapters about certain things. I don’t really know how to say it, because the pace of the main plot was fine, but some things were too fast, while others were to slow. Some worldbuilding elements were thrown in without much explanations, which already bothered me in book one. I think this would have been even bigger and better with more length and details! Because the idea and the plot are so good! AND THE CHARACTERS! 💛 The book was, again, quite good, I LOVE the characters, seriously, I really like them and their relationships, their development, I am sure i will miss them, after finishing book three. As secrets of Castle Ravenspire come to light, Elise and Valen discover their enemies hold more power than they ever imagined. When her uncle holds the life of her deathly-ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore. And while this story is interesting (and the audio good enough), I’m not yet sold on this series nor the author’s talent of storytelling. It was a bit slow going tbh. Of course, with me having read the spin-off first, the big plot twist came as no surprise to me but I tried to not let it influence my judgement.Since I read The Ever King the other day I was intrigued by the story of Livia’s parents. So I began their trilogy.