Dragons are extinct. Witches are outcast. Magic is dying.
But human lust for power is immortal.
Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it's her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard...though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.
When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.
The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride...but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.
Magic is not dead...it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.
Reviews with the most likes.
I don't often read romantasy books, preferring fantasy over the romance aspect, but this book gave me everything that I could possibly want for a book in its genre; an arranged marriage despite a potential love triangle, a hidden identity (both known and unknown) and hinted soul mates with confirmation towards the end due to them both being Dragons/dragon shifters.
The initial half of the story gave me massive Under the Oak Tree / Marriage of Convenience vibes, with the demand of a princess as a reward for massive war deeds, and the medieval time period it seems to be set in. I also must admit I saw a pretty big spoiler for this book, but it didn't take away from the experience and actually had me seeing signs right from the very beginning. Not only that, but I didn't expect this book to focus so much more on the fantasy aspect and experiences Tamsyn went through over the steamy scenes that romantasies are usually more known for, but I thoroughly enjoyed it all.
Despite all the above, I was not prepared for the ending at all. It definitely left me wanting, and I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel because there are just too many unanswered questions.
OMG!!!! I need book 2 IMMEDIATELY!!! This book was absolutely incredible. The love story between Fell and Tamsyn was so beautiful and the tension between them two was soooooo palpable and excruciating in the best way. I cannot wait to see how the next book plays out with everything that was revealed in this one. Probably my favorite book of the year. If I could give this book 6 stars I would.
