Castle of Dusk and Shadows: A Fae Pride and Prejudice Retelling (Fae of Brytwilde)

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So, this was my first book by Rachel L. Schade and let me tell you... I AM NOT DISSAPONTED. I tend to read most P&P retellings, but Rachel's version has taken it to whole new level. She, masterfully, combined the Gothic and the Fantasy with the P&P story line while still keeping it original and adding her own touch. Plus, she was able to do all of that and still kept it as a clean romance 😍. Just because of that you should give this book a chance, but if you like to focus more on the story, then continue reading to see what my opinion of the story was. When I tell you I devoured this book, I devoured it! Castle of Dusk and Shadows is not my normal fae fantasy read where all the "dark and dangerous" fae are actually...dark and dangerous. This book, however, was different. Although we definitely do have some very good fae, there are others that want nothing more than to kill. I knew going into this book that it was a loose Pride and Prejudice retelling but I forgot until I was halfway through the book which caused me to get a little impatient with the pace of Elle's thinking...that was until I realized that this followed the storyline of P&P very loosely. Silly me, totally my fault... This was marketed as a clean romance, and it was definitely that, but I wish it had been...a little less...clean... Just wow. This gothic vibes, fantasy romance, loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice is everything I was hoping for and more. There are SO many great elements here that Schade executed flawlessly. As a longtime fan of Rachel’s books, I knew this was going to be good but oh man, did this one blow me away. I can honestly say this one is 100% worth all the hype.

How Elle realizes that the key to her salvation might be her arrogant, cold husband, Prince Fitz, whom she’d planned to rob and abandon Our FMC bravely steps into her sister's place to fulfill a decades-long agreement made between her parents and a Fae queen: marriage to the queen's son. While adapting to her new life, she tries to protect her family, avoid Fae wine (lol, she fails), tolerate her new husband, and seek out the ghost of her father in the nearby woods. Taking her sister's place, Elle marries Prince Fitz to steal his power. But in a world of bloodthirsty fae and vengeful ghosts, being a mortal comes with constant risks. As Elle navigates a kingdom of monsters and tragic secrets, she realizes she might not survive to save her family.But Elle has a plan to change their fate. For she knows that ghosts wander Ashwood Forest until the royal family sends them into the afterlife. Ghosts that can be returned to life. And she's determined to save her father from his premature death. How Elle’s parents made a desperate deal with the fae kingdom of Ashwood, leading to Elle’s sister marrying Prince Fitz, heir of Ashwood

The second part of the Fae of Brytwilde book series are Fortress of Blood and Power that will be released on December 15, 2023. So, here our author introduces a Gothic & Fantasy Pride and Prejudice (loose) retelling. In this retelling, Elle, our FMC, is forced to make rashed decisions that end up getting her married to the cold, dark, mysterious, and handsome (😍) fae prince, Fitz, to save her family. She is convinced that her plan will work, but what she wasn't counting with was falling for her husband. How will the story unfold? Can she trust her husband and her feelings for him? Overall, the writing is good enough. There is a lot of Elle’s internal angst that isn’t very poignant and so comes across repetitive and dull. This FMC is a truly distasteful person, in both her behavior and character, and combined with the single-sided POV, the writing was hard to stay focused on. I found myself reading chunks of this, making myself get to the next 10% mark so I could get through it on schedule. It was not a sit-down-and-binge-read book. But Elle has a plan to change their fate. For she knows that ghosts wander Ashwood Forest until the royal family sends them into the afterlife. Ghosts that can be returned to life. And she’s determined to save her father from his premature death.Dive into this new world where danger and drama is always around the corner and even those closest to you can't be trusted. The romance is very slow burn (which Rachel excels at 😆) and there is plenty of tension and glances when they don’t think the other is looking 😂 I’ll include a list of tropes below but Fitz is the kind of fae to maim and ask questions later.. especially when it comes to his bride!! PDF / EPUB File Name: Castle_of_Dusk_and_Shadows_-_Rachel_L_Schade.pdf, Castle_of_Dusk_and_Shadows_-_Rachel_L_Schade.epub

Last, but not least...the only thing I would absolutely love that would make this story even more enthralling is... to have the book narrated from Fitz point of view. It would be super interesting to be inside his head and to be able to read his actual thoughts when the story was unfolding. 🤩 Until Elle's father died, forcing Elle's sister to marry Prince Fitz, heir of Ashwood. But Elle has a plan to change their fate. She knows that ghosts wander Ashwood Forest until the royal family sends them into the afterlife. Ghosts that can be returned to life, and she's determined to save her father from his premature death. All she needs is powerful magic—magic Prince Fitz possesses. This would be a great book to read in the fall because it has all of the spooky vibes with the haunted forest and castle, but of course any time is a good time for spooky-ness!! I cannot wait to see what else Rachel pulls from this world! It is just so interesting and I know there are so many more amazing stories to tell with these brutal fae and scrappy heroines 😆 Pride and Prejudice meets Gothic fae fantasy in this loose retelling, full of plenty of romantic tension (not spice). The story is ridiculously repetitive in so many ways. Felt like the author was trying to hit the word count on an essay.As a side note: this book's blurb sells it as a "Pride and Prejudice-inspired" story, and honestly, the book has very, very little in common with P&P: there's a bunch of sisters who need to marry because they're poor and the cousin might take over their home.....the hero is named Fitz...yeah, that's it. This book is not a P&P retelling with fae accents, just FYI. Taking her sister’s place, Elle marries Prince Fitz to steal his power. But in a world of bloodthirsty fae and vengeful ghosts, being a mortal comes with constant risks. As Elle navigates a kingdom of monsters and tragic secrets, she realizes she might not survive to save her family. Since the beginning, the reader gets the P&P feeling, which is something I liked because of how much I love P&P. It was also hilarious to see Fitz teasing Elle throughout the whole book. I also enjoyed the secondary couple 😏... would be very interesting to see a small epilogue or story about them. I do have to mentioned that even though most characters played their typical P&P roll, the most out of character was the Mom..., but it was refreshing to see the story with different twist in the characters or their attitudes. I loved this book! For one, it was fun having a broody, sort-of-grumpy fae who WASN'T really morally grey but was actually more of a "do-gooder," cinnamon roll type. It was also nice seeing a first love interest who (mild s Swoony. Emotional. Magical.

But Elle has a plan to change their fate. For she knows that ghosts wander Ashwood Forest until the royal family sends them into the afterlife. I think my enjoyment of this book is down to the author's excellent plotting skills. The plot had some nice twists and revelations, and even if I saw a couple coming, the emotion of those scenes was engaging. The pacing in this book is great with a good balance between action and character-driven scenes as well, which is hard to pull off, honestly. The author also did a great job creating a novel take on how the fae and their kingdoms work. Since there are approximately 9 zillion fae-themed fantasies nowadays, even a couple new twists on familiar mythology and tropes is nice.

Customer reviews

Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide. The key to her salvation might be her arrogant, cold husband—the one she'd planned to rob and abandon. If only she can trust him. I have the next book on my TBR but I don’t know if I will get to it right at release. The next one is a Mansfield Park retelling (if I remember correctly) and so already not one of my favorite JA books. For this one, if you’re a fan of Pride & Prejudice and just want to read all the retelling and adaptations and fandom, then it is worth it. If you are interested in grabbing the upcoming book of romance series of Rachel L. Schade, then refer to the link below to grab your book copy and love reading. Castle of dusk and shadows read online details Book Name