Carla ✨

As a non english speaker some of the descriptions in this book were so out of my vocabulary that I just decided to vibe with them and the sound they made.

And that's what I usually do, I won't lie. But all of those descriptions sounded so beautiful, I actually didn't care that I didn't know the meaning of all those words.

(My next mission is to reread this someday on a kindle so I can search for their meanings 🙈)

I, I just don't know what to say. This book was so beautiful it destroyed me in the best way possible. And I think thats the word for it if I had to describe it: beautiful... and dark. But that combo was just what I needed and what I didn't know I was craving for.

I am one to love books that keep me in the dark. Books that don't explain everything right away. I love playing detective and plotting possibilities and then discovering the truth. I love feeling so lost at the start of a story that I have the need to keep reading

I guess that's not what most people like, but if you do? Give this book a chance.

Also, Lane and Colton have a special place in my heart from now on. Their relationship was so special and different and ugh, I just love them. That's it.

I'm speechless, I don't even know what to say. Just, go read it? I bet I'm not the only one who recommended you this book.

And if I am? Do yourself a favor and start it already 🥲

4.5⭐ It was a close 5⭐, not gonna lie.

This book had my heart from the start. I am a sucker for mythology. I don't care where it comes from, I don't even care if I've never heard of it or if you twist the lore to mesh it better to the story.

In this case it was Nubian myths come to life with a dash of enemies to lovers, a healthy amount of slow burn with fated soul mates and chosen one trope. All of this tied by Ra's sexiest thoughts about the woman of her life. Like come on, it's *chef's kiss*.

STOP! You might want to skip this part if you are going to read the book. Possible spoilers 🙆🏼‍♀️.

The world building was beautifully described and I actually loved the fight scenes. (view spoiler). That scene will live rent free in my mind for the rest of my days.

The fact that it didn't make it to 5⭐ is, because as the story starts developing itself at the Hall (the main location), the feeling of emotion, surprise and adventure kinda fell through. I'm not gonna lie, I was expecting a big ass cliffhanger at the end, but unfortunately my wishes didn't come true 🥲.

But, let us talk a bit about our MCs, shall we?

Onia was such a fearless and strong character from the first moment she appeared on the page. We LOVE a determined woman in this household, and the fact that we also see that even when she appears strong, she also has a vulnerable side to her... had me in pieces and crying of happiness. I feel it is rarely shown in fiction that the strongest characters can also break down. That weight on someone's shoulders has to tear you apart at some point.

And Ra, my love, my life. I was pinning for him with Onia throughout all the damned book. Compared to Onia, I feel we got to see so little of his story, despite the most important bits, which were heart-wrenching. He is protective of what he loves, a born leader to their house and a lover. Because as Keanu Reeves said once, to be a lover you have to fight for what you love. And I feel that describes Ra perfectly.

Still, it's worth mentioning his protective demeanour never came across as alphahole to me. He was respectful, sweet, and knew exactly what Onia needed at her side. Which is what made their relationship so wholesome. (I'm gonna turn a blind eye to the fact that he lied by omission to her... but it was for the sake of the story, so I won't complain 👀)

The chemistry between them both was awesome. Basically what a good slow burn needs to be: endless pinning and a bunch of "I want to touch you, but I can't"s.

To narrow it down, this book got me out of a reading slump that was killing me. And I feel like, books that can get you out of that headspace, are the ones worth giving a chance! Now I'm gonna go back to meddling my friends with this book so that they read it too 😂

I want to thank RA Moreau for opening the ARC up to everyone who wanted to give it a go! As a first timer in NetGalley, getting ARCs is hard enough and the fact that I could start with this awesome book has been priceless 🙈

This was a 3.5⭐ for me.

I did a lot of thinking while reading this book. Obviously read the warnings before going into it, but those topics made me question a loooot of things.

Which is good. When a book makes you question things, it's a good book.

I'm usually a dark romance gal that reads about topics that are usually quite far away from my life, you know? Murder is not near my vecinity fortunately, so I can read about that without remorse. But rape is something that as a girl is quite a touchy subject. So that's where I became uncomfortable, but a curious kind of uncomfortable.

But hey, it's a dark romance, right? So I kept reading!

While the story definitely trapped me and I wanted to know more about the revenge that was going on, the writing sometimes felt repetitive. Which for me that can be one of the reasons I start detaching from a book.

And I'll be honest. It has taken me 3 weeks to finish this book, which is far more than it usually takes me. But not gonna lie... the spice was goood, and it's what kept me hooked.

So all in all, would I recommend this book?

If you're up for a mind wreacking journey with the hottest and spiciest smut? Go ahead and don't let this review stop you!

3.5⭐

This is Folklore by Taylor Swift in book format, more specifically Cardigan.

Or at least that's how it felt for me.

I loved how insidious it was on feelings and healing relationships with others and within yourself. But I felt like I lacked the ambiance needed to be reading this book: a house in the woods, a porch with a rocking chair, hot tea and a blanket. Which unfortunately I dont have 🥲

Despite all of that, I think it's a good book, it just felt so chill, and I like my books to make me suffer 🥲😂

the only reason it gets 4* is because it ended too fast 🥲

(wasn't trying to make a pun but... kinda pun intended 😂)

just give me pinning, hot scenes and drama, and make it STEM? and the book is surely to get me out of a reading block

1st read: 4.5⭐

2nd read: 4.5⭐

that missing .5 has nothing to do with the book, it's just this one was more info dumping than the first one, specially at the start when it felt slower, and i don't do well with that after my emotions have been played with 🥲

so it's a purely personal .5, disregarding that, its a fucking 5⭐ masterpiece.

et's skip talking about how stupid and silly kelsey is, and the fact that jo couldn't understand that no, means no, at the start of the book, and let's appreciate three-chapters-later jp messing with kelsey till she was fuming 😂

i L A U G H E D so hard with this book, not even a not so meet cute made me laugh this hard, i guess kelsey's stupidity made it extra funny for me, sorry 😂

anyway, my poor baby jp 💔 i wanted to hug him so many times all throughout the book, because someone 👀 was so oblivious to him 🤦🏼‍♀️

anyway, it is a 4.5* but goodreads still hates me and doesn't let me add halves 🤷🏼‍♀️

ah, the fake dating trope 💖

never gets old, does it? specially when you get laughing out loud scenes that just make it that much more enjoyable 😌

loved hux and lottie, could have gone without that little miscommunication moment at 72% of the book, but it always needs to be there doesn't it? is it even romance if it doesn't break the couple when the book is almost over? nah, i guess not 🤷🏼‍♀️

it was a 4.5* for me, again, goodreads, let me add halves 😤

this shorts give me the serotonin boost i didn't think i needed :')

p: they also give me impossible love life expectations, but that's a massive me problem 😂

the only reason it gets 4* is because it ended too fast

1st read: DNF 73% Reading block got the best of me, but we are picking it up again in 2023

I will keep giving this comic 5* throughout all the volumes cause it just has my heart in a tight grip.

My heart is bursting with LOVE.

Why haven't I read this earlier?

𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐠. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

My soul is destroyed.

If you could only see see the amount of markers I placed down 🥲 If you asked me now, 50% of those pages should be all considered works of art all on their own.

I don't think I can choose a favorite quote or moment because each of them feel so special in the grand scheme of the story... I mean, thats the point of the book, isn't it? Every moment is special on it's own and it deserves to be remembered ❤️

What surprised me is that the story itself doesn't really move forward that much, it feels like it takes place in such little time, but all those memories make it feel like you are moving backwards while still slowly crawling forward.

I have to say I was lost almost all the way till the end, because you don't get much explanation on to how all the magic happens and I am a need-to-know kind of person. But that didn't take any of the magic out of the story.

If you like sad books with happy endings, romances that happen to be fiction, and quotes that make you reconsider your way of living? This is your book 🍒

PS: Please do tell me where I can find a Saul, because I need someone like him in my life, thank you.

So, the book went from 4*, to 3.5*, to 4* again. Let me explain myself.

I really enjoyed the world Mariel built for her story, but at times I felt myself getting lost in the quick change of locations, and actions and everything that was happening. Blame it on me and English not being my mother tongue, but at times it felt like a situation wasn't finished being explained and something else entirely different happened and needed to be explained. If that makes sense 🤔

I feel like this world is so big and full of things to explain that trying to convey everything and making the reader understand them in a single book was a hard task. I am so ready though, to keep reading about it because it feels so hella interesting 👀

As for the characters... canIhaveLúcchokemethanks- what?😳 Okay, now seriously, Aheia has such a journey ahead of her I am thrilled to read the second book as soon as possible. Arioch, baby, I feel like I don't know you even though I know stuff? But hey, I'll be waiting for more of that backstory in the next books 👀

And omg, so many side characters, and ship possibilities, and backstories, jeeeez, I'm swooning over here just thinking about it 😭

This is a first book for her as I understand, so I'm here to see growth happen, and yeah... sign me in for more Arioch and Aheia (and Lúc & Tariq 👀 AND SO MANY MORE SHIPS THAT I'M BUILDING IN MY HEAD GOD, it was a good book😭)

ps: spice rating? good spice, reeeal good spice 👀👌🏻

I didn't want to give it 5*, it was 4.5* rounded to 4* until page 740.

I got this book so spoiled, SO SPOILED, I hated looking at it, I dreaded finishing it, I just couldn't.

Throne of Glass is my favorite saga of Sarah but Crescent City made it's way to my Top 5 with book one, and I was so excited for book two that when I got spoiled all that was going to happen, I just raged.

So I'm here to tell you that those 60 pages I had left, were worth it. Worth it because a hope I had been harbouring after I read ToG has become a reality, and I just sobbed my way through that part 🤷🏼‍♀️

I also kind of expected more about the book...? It felt like reading AKOFAF in some way, though not as badly because at least this time I kind of remember what has happened before the apocalyptic finale. But yeah, it's felt like all the good things were reserved for those last 60 pages.

Dont mind my rant here, I might change the ranking on this book when I reread it come CC3. But regardless, it's a good book that I really enjoyed and I'd really recommend you reading if you love Sarah's work ☺️

3.5* but I'm not rounding up in 2022 🤷🏼‍♀️ (or at least I'll try not to 😅)

I had fun reading it, kinda not my style? I really did not enjoy the extent the revenge went but hey, to each their own, right?

I don't think I have anything else to say, just be careful of the trigger warnings, this book has plenty 😅

4*

Fun, light, REALLY quick paced read!

The representation? The rope play? I mean, yes please, I couldn't ask for more!

I really needed something lightweight to keep me going through the reading block, and this did it!

This is gonna be a short one and will have a spoiler. I'll try to make it as light as possible but please be careful if you keep reading 😅

Also, don't really take into account my or others reviews if you feel like reading the book. Do it, and then judge by what you've read and by your preference standards 🤷🏼‍♀️ That's what we all do 😂

I enjoyed (? the book... kinda... I've personally never read major age gap romance books (? - excluding fantasy and the ridiculous age gaps between humans and fae... let's be honest about that😂 - soooo...

The 19 year age gap was way too much for me and it made me cringe at times :') (times where I couldn't make myself forget about it and rewrite it in my head😂)

But also... I cried, yeah, I cried like a MF BECAUSE

*cue the spoiler*

*really, SPOILER AHEAD*

SOMEONE DECIDED TO KILL MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

And he wasn't even a main character, but GOSH I LOVED HIM, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO IT GIANA, WHY.

Anyway, back to the review. I dont think I have anything else to say and I think I'll rate this one 3 stars. Enjoy the book if you read it, I guess :')

I'd have to rate this 4.5⭐.

Maybe it was what my brain was asking me for, or maybe that I got too invested in the romance to care for anything else. But, while I loved the whole dynamic between the Valleydan Interludes and the Wilderwood POVs, but... every time a Valleydan Interlude came I felt like I was getting deprived from getting more Eammon and Red content, #sorrynotsorry.

It got so bad that at some point, eveytime it happend i was like 'Neve, I don't care' 😭. And then again, obviously those chapters where there for a reason, and after the 6th or 7th one I started to get the hints that maybe I should be paying more attention to those interludes 😭😂.

Anyhow, at the end of the day, did I wish maybe the interludes had opened up to other characters like Arick and Raffe? Yeah.

Apart from that, what I loved the most about the book was the character development of Eammon and I'd love to know more about his past in a precuel or something (pretty, please Hannah?🥺)

But yeah, I really enjoyed the book and if you're looking for a rollercoaster of emotions, this is the one!

ps: so much shaming Neve's interludes but now I am super excited for her adventure on book 2 too 👀.

I don't know whether to give it a 5* or 4*.

Cause in one hand I really enjoyed the banter and loved the characters.

On the other Caleb was such a man written by a woman that I'm kinda like... just maybe make it less obvious?😅

Either way, I really loved the badass babes vibes all the women in the story gave me. And specially in a historical romance (if it can be called that, cause I suck at knowing the genere books belong at😂).

*SPOILERISH BIT*

Next book is Adelaide's apparently buuut, I can't wait for Imogen and Pecks book, and if we don't get one I'm gonna be real mad.

*please consider this a TW: there's depictions of sexual assault, and non consentive behavior in the book, so proceed with caution if those are topics you feel triggered by*

It's a 4.5*, soooo so so so close to a 5* I promise :')

I started noticing with KotW towards the end, specially the last scene that I started getting lost with what Kerri described and throughout KotC it happened again, multiple times. That kind of makes me angly cause i have to read a scene twice sometimes thrice before i get what's happening. Thats why it's not getting the 5* :')

Aside from that, I am so mad at the ending, I wanted the full scene goddamnit 😭

It was so close to 5* but in my mind it's 4.5*🙈

I'd review the book as best as I could but it would be way to spoilerish, so let me just say... Pushing through the first book was definitely worth it just to get to this beast.

I wouldn't know whether Glint or Gleam are my favorite out of the threw books but I just loved how the story kept on going.

I hope the forth book is as stounding because right now I have zero idea where the story will lead.