There is a lot of world building and working on what becomes their relationship/friendship/situationship through the story. My favorite aspect was the dual POV that provides for deep insight into the mind of the sexy LI--the All-Beast.

I think that the reader can discover the complex characters and their motivations throughout the whole novel. the only way for the FMC to develop her magic is to ignore all of her internal alarms and let the man she thinks has kidnapped her to starve and hit her on a regular basis? Rhaim and Lisane are immensely different, they come from two different worlds and are brought together by appalling circumstances. It centers around the magician Rhaim, who shapeshifts into big hairy beast (whom I pictured in my head as Egyptian god Osiris for some reason) and the princess Lisane. I’d say about 2/5 🌶️ on the spice meter, which I know everyone’s thresholds for spice are different, this is just coming from my perspective and I read several very steamy books last year.I thoroughly enjoyed the two narrators for Lisane and Rhaim, they did an incredible job bringing the story to life. The book is written from dual pov, which in theory makes sense but wasn't executed well, leaving the book lacking in story and character development. Spice 🌶🌶, now there wasn't really much spice in this book, and that is OK as the plot and world building are more important.

It did take me a little bit to get fully into the characters and writing style, but the story concept had me from the first page. Surprisingly of my favorite elements of the story was the plot against the Deathless and the unique magics that each mage possessed. Rhaim is a mage and each mage is shown how they’re going to die and in Rhaim’s vision he sees a woman. This is the first book in a dark fantasy romance series that follows the story of a princess that is kidnapped by the All-beast. One of my favorites elements is how protective Rhaim is of Lisane, he gives off total "touch her and I'll kill you" vibes!

Seeing the relationship between Rhaim and Lisandro gradually grow and develop (slow burn for the WIN) was so satisfying, and kept me turning the pages, so eager to find out what would happen!

Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Fiji, Finland, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U. I really enjoyed the important role of mages in this story, as well as the political intricacies of the kingdoms. There was a short plot twist towards the end that I didn’t really expect so it gave it some nice excitement. On the eve of their Ascension, every mage is granted a single clear vision just before they receive the mage-mark brand. Despite the things I’ve mentioned above, there’s an understanding that grows with each passing day between Rhaim and Lisane.

The romance builds up throughout the novel as the attraction and chemistry between the two increases. Lisane starts out fierce but for most of the book she seems meek and whiney, always scared and always reacting wildly that this new thing is either more terrible than the last or not as bad, and then changing her mind about it later.

Rhaim and Lisane are such vastly different characters brought together by shocking circumstances…I won’t explain Lisane’s circumstance because I really enjoyed watching it all unfold as you get further into the story, but pretty early on in the book you learn that Rhaim knows Lisane…has known her for centuries, in fact….After deciding she wants to become a mage, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and begins to explore the depths of her power. And so, when a group of soldiers brought a bound and drugged woman to my doorstep, to bribe me to fight in their war, and pulled the bag off of her head and I saw her there-the woman from the vision at my Ascension, and who has haunted my dreams ever since-I knew it was the beginning of my end. There was a bathroom scene, though, that was delicious, and I am patiently awaiting to read more about a certain cheeky piercing.