A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales Book 1)

Product Information

Then come the castle characters, who really are all sorts of hilarious in their own twisted and cursed way, but also make the reader feel for them for having to live with the palace version of the curse. Hadriel, Nyfain’s butler, is a character I really fell in love with (not that kind of love, folks; he’s gay) and one I can’t help but wish to see thriving under a broken curse (assuming that the curse will be broken at some point). Letting all the crazy out He immediately froze, though, so perhaps it was accurate. He slowly brought his palms up in a placating gesture. That’s it! Nothing more than that for the blunt lines of similarities. Although there might be some singing somewhere in the book, and some form of dancing, but we’re not in the Disney realm of either, thank the Maker!

Fantastic, he was playing the guilt angle. How low was that? If I said no, I’d be the bad guy. That would make for a very pleasant rest of my life… Well.” Hannon rubbed his face. “I’m going to bed. Father is sleeping peacefully right now. The elixir earlier really helped. Maybe he’ll be lucid tomorrow.”Its progress had been utterly silent. Not one puff of breath or massive footstep had alerted me to its presence. But it had followed me all the same. If not him, then I guess you’ll be happy to hear that a certain someone has decided to finally take a wife…” He turned and slid his arm around my shoulders. “We will have the grandest wedding. A plate of meat for everyone. You wouldn’t want to deny the village of a celebration, do you?”

I had to push past it. I had to ignore the sudden, brain-fogging desire to drop down right now and spread my legs, begging to be taken. To be dominated. Finley is a suppressed shapeshifter (as are all shapeshifters) but this side of her nature begins to speak to her during this book. You do not know what kind of shapeshifter she is. Finley is tough and capable, but also extremely loyal and caring towards her family. She has a strong interest in medicinal use of herbs and flowers. She discovers a way to slow down the progression of an illness affecting many people in the kingdom that resulted from the demon king’s takeover. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I didn’t give in to them. To save my family, I’d do anything, including running blindly toward the Forbidden Wood so it would chase me. So that my family could get out. I was a little dubious at the start of this book, because it was pretty strange. The people have odd names and the heroine’s name is Finley and had been doing all these adventurous things to care for the family, an honestly I’m not certain how long it took to figure out she was a she. It was hard to breathe. That strange feeling in my chest rolled outward, fire leaking out from my center and into my limbs. But even as my body burned, my blood had turned to ice. I couldn’t move from fear.Devious Rita grinned at me from over the wooden counter in the tomato stall. “Well, hello, Miss Finley. Bed any demons lately? I hear the demon king likes virgins in particular.”

That did nothing to shake my certainty. Something lurked in the patches of darkness nestled between the branches in front of me. Something watched and waited. It was impossible to know. Nobles weren’t known for hobnobbing with poor commoners, and we were the poorest in the kingdom. We had the least fertile lands and worst commodities. We were one of the farthest out from the castle. Whatever had happened, I doubted anyone in this village had known more than mere rumor. It was probably why no one continued to speculate. Why I hadn’t heard anything more about the curse once I was old enough to understand the larger picture. Bah.” She swatted the air. “That’s what happens when you mate a woman who is too supportive. You make a fool of yourself.”Time passed in a series of familiar movements. At some point, Dash brought out a bowl of stew and then hung around, listening as I described what I was doing. Working with plants—this one especially—calmed me in a way I couldn’t describe. I enjoyed the careful finesse it required. The way its properties changed with its environment.