gretchen powell fox – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 466 pages
Author: Gretchen Powell Fox
Publisher: Hopewell Media
Release Date: March 11th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Birthed in shadow. Forged in fire.

A Splintered Kingdom

An ancient grudge has kept humans and the magical races of Arcanis at odds for centuries. The Arcane Crucible, a legendary series of trials that occurs every 25 years, offers a chance for peace.

A Haunted Warrior

Elyria Lightbreaker, once a celebrated fae war hero, is a shadow of her former self. Drowning in grief after losing the man she loved to the previous Crucible, now she must rise to stop his sister from falling to the same fate.

A Vengeful Knight

Hardened by loss and fueled by hate, Cedric Thorne’s lifelong goal to conquer the Crucible on humanity’s behalf is finally within reach. The only problem? Getting through the trials alive means working with Elyria—the very fae he blames for his parents’ deaths.

An Unwinnable Challenge

With alliances fragile as spun glass and betrayal lurking at every turn, Elyria and Cedric must navigate deadly trials that test their strength, spirit, and magic… as well as their increasingly complex feelings for each other.

This is the Arcane Crucible.

I’M TIRED.

Reallllll tired of the *lets go through a competition trial* trope. I think I’ve read too many back to back and now they all sound the same. And they used to be so good!!

The use of the trials feels like a weak plot device to move the story forward when nothing major has been happening. I was bored both during the trial and outside of it too. The romance had no sticking power and I won’t be continuing this series.

My positive note is that the audiobook is DUET. Which I will never stop saying is one of the best audio formats out there.

Overall audience notes: