Synopsis:
Wicked men stole the boy she loved. But when she found him again, he’d become more wicked than them all.

Malin Strom has been searching for Kase, her childhood sweetheart, since he was lost at the annual masquerade years ago.

With her gift for stealing memories, Malin crosses more than one dangerous line to take secrets from those who know what goes on behind the curtain of the wicked festival.

But when her brother is traded into the masquerade as punishment for using magic to hide Malin’s gift, her only chance to save him is to enlist the services of a brutal crook—the Nightrender—and he bears a striking resemblance to a face from the past.

No longer the boy she knew, her lost love, Kase, now rules as the amoral leader of brutal thieves. Pulled into his world of tricks and schemes, tantalizing attraction returns, but so do the secrets behind Kase’s disappearance, and the masquerade.

When their plan to save Malin’s brother takes them back to the dangers of the festival, painful betrayal forces Malin to face a cruel choice: save her brother’s life? Or give up the thief who has always held her heart.

Filled with luscious world building, spicy romance, and epic battles, this first book in the Eastern Kingdom is part Viking, part Cinderella.

Review:
This book had me drawn in from the beginning. Kase might be dark and lost in his own pain, not wanting to let others in because they could be hurt, but Malin was willing to do whatever it takes to free not only her brother but Kase as well. Seeing the two try to reacquaint themselves and deal with the darkness that people often face (though perhaps not to that extreme) when growing up and taking on more responsibilities. I absolutely love this well developed world where no one is a stock character; everyone has hopes, thoughts, dreams, ambitions. I also love how Andrews ties in fairytale elements without mimicking the plot of said fairytale. There is more spice in this book than some of the previous ones but it isn’t overly descriptive. I absolutely adored this book, and have already started the second in this series (technically the 5th in the Broken Kingdoms series). Highly recommend.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯