Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 300 pages
Author: Kate Stradling
Publisher: Eulalia Skye Press
Release Date: February 19th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An evil princess, a ruthless persecutor, a wretched match.

Tormented at home and bullied during her studies abroad, second-born Iona of Wessett hides in the quiet corners of her father’s castle. Her art and music provide refuge, but her cruel sister Lisenn ever lurks like a monster stalking its prey.

Such has been her life for twenty years.

However, a promise of reprieve and retribution arrives when the neighboring kingdom of Capria proposes an alliance between their new crown prince and Wessett’s heir to the throne. The treaty will rid Iona of the toxic Lisenn, and the potential groom is none other than her erstwhile bully, Jaoven of Deraval. The marriage could not be more poetic: each deserves the misery the other might inflict.

Except that Jaoven, humbled by the war that elevated his rank, appears to have reformed, and the fate of both kingdoms now hinges on the disastrous union he’s about to make.

A GOOD STANDALONE.

After a friend’s recommendation I found an audio copy ready to download and here we are. A quick romantasy standalone that I very much enjoyed! It’s got your classic vibes and tropes for the spare ending up with the prince, but it was a good time nonetheless. I liked Jaoven and Iona. There was good banter and I easily saw the chemistry between them. I appreciated how often they ended up in the same location to build those interactions because that can be tricky in a standalone fantasy.

There’s no magic system and I found the world building easy to follow. It’s an uncomplicated fantasy that heavily focuses on the romance (no complaints, jus commentary). I liked being whisked away to this setting and got through this quickly.

What did bother me was why in the world Lisenn was so terrible? I hate when there’s an antagonist with no backstory. Or any obvious reason for why they’re awful. Lisenn does a bunch of crap and I wish I just knew WHYYY.

Otherwise, good book.

Overall audience notes:

• Fantasy Romance
• Language: a little
• Romance: kisses
• Violence: medium
• Trigger/Content Warnings: abusive sister relationship, torture

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