I see what he's doing is wrong but the truth is HE DOESN'T. It is all a game for him, it's normal, he doesn't know how else to behave ... Cruelty is all he's known in his long life. It was always about Valroy being cruel and a giant abt-winged jerk (which, okay, could be considered hot, if you squint, except for the wings part that is probably what got me in this situation in the first place), about Abigail trying to escape from her secy kidnapper (fair), Abigail refusing to marry him over and over and over and over (again, fair af), but there wasn't much else in between and the little that was, was forgettable and not as hot as that freaking cover suggested. Although clearly there's sexual attraction, true love isn't shoehorned in, and there's not really any physical acts conducted outside of some heavy petting during the throes of an aphrodisiac-like poison (I would argue that anyone under the influence of something like a magical drug can't really consent, so, this wasn't amazing, but the author does have Abigail claim she consented to Valroy touching her and that she was in control enough to know what she agreed to, so, I won't press it too hard.) Valroy will do anything to get his crown as he is determined to make Earth and Tir n’Aill his dominion. Born in death and blood he is going to crush the self-righteous Seelie who stand in his way. If you know me and my reading habits, you know I will 90% of times fall for the villain, and I was surprised to find out that, Valroy, for once, is a real villain, a mean and bloody one, one that doesn't fall easily and that remains merciless and true to his own nature once he does.

The Unseelies Prince was too heavy on its darkness and, ironically, an enemies-to-lovers book that was probably even too realistic for a certain books' standards.

Publication Order of Tenebris Books

The Unseelie Prince gets 5 stars from me. BookTok is absolutely giving me winners for good series reads. Too bad I keep reading the entire series within a few days. Especially when the world building and character development is as great as this. Kathryn Ann Kingsley’s novel “The Unseelie Prince” is set in a kingdom whose throne is up for grabs. Valroy is leading the race but first, he needs a queen to make his claim stronger. The chemistry and romance is top notch and, as always, there is a decent and engaging plot going on as well. It's not that I have anything with books being dark or with slow burns, but if there's something I'm passionately uncompromising when it comes to this two particular tropes, is that I have to feel the shadows and I have to feel the hate, but I also have to feel the CHEMISTRY, and I felt very little while reading this. I don't know if I'll ever do an in-depth review of The Unseelie Prince, but I can at least do a pros and cons list. Do keep in mind that the bar is low (and apparently getting lower all the time).

Now onto good jolly spirits; I loved this book! Loved the shortcomings of it, loved the brilliant parts, overall would sleep next to it for the next 5 years (and that's a lot from a girl who can't commit) A lot of people say how Kathryn Ann Kingsley is the queen of villain gets the girl. She makes heroes that are truly morally bankrupt and terrible and makes them love interests throughout the course of her series. I've read Illusions of Grandeur by her and I didn't enjoy that one. Unfortunately I found this one to have a lot of similarities to that book as well. He literally is done (minor spoiler, but also CW) flaying a child alive in front of Abigail and the next morning he wakes up and is grinding up on her and she's getting the flutters? Oh no. No, ma'am. Goodbye. Facing the choice of killing the Bloody Prince or winning she starts to think that maybe she should just give up the desire to win. Abigail is a lonely woman whose husband left her and everyone keeps their distance from her because she's a witch.I thought I would try The Unseelie Prince since I like fairytale-esque fae books where the fae are actually scary, so I thought I'd have a higher chance of liking this book. But pretty much nothing worked for me in this one.

Valroy also goes too soft for the heroine too soon with no real indication as to why. Again, Abigail is a wet tissue, so what's the deal? I did not expect the fae in this book to be anymore different than the other fae I encountered in other books: gorgeous, hot, but evil and cruel. What I didn't expect, however, was to meet such a diverse cast of creatures — some were the stuff of nightmares, while others were monstrously beautiful. The longer she traverses the maze the less sure she is about the difference between evil, love, hate, right, wrong allies, and enemies. With every turn and twist, she finds that she is gradually getting trapped in the amorphousness of the maze. stars equals “Meh.” I will not read this book again, it had a lot of problems and I did not care for it.

Publication Order of Deal of Shadows Books

I loved Valroy yes he’s most definitely a villain of that there’s no doubt but I do have a soft spot for unrepentant baddies and there was just something about him that drew me in. With Abigail he’s actually learning and discovering all sorts of emotions for the first time basically it’s baby steps yet and he still has his training wheels in place he’s on a major learning curve and these emotions are all so new to him. Me explico, yo iba con la premisa y con la necesidad de leer algo light, porque últimamente es lo único que necesito. Empecé el libro y me pareció el típico libro de fantasía, pero no le di tanta importancia. Lo bueno llegó a medida que avanzaba el libro. I have a love/hate relationship with powerful-strong female leads because they tend to be made wrong most of the time!