morally grey

Review of The Book of G by Lily Archer

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Synopsis:
Villains don’t get happily ever afters, do they?

I have a glorious past full of achievement and renown. I mean, I feel like I must, right? The problem is, I can’t remember it. I can’t even remember my own name. I was found in a river, body mangled and face scarred, with nothing to identify me besides a single embroidered letter.

My memory is a murky blur, but I have a quest, one that will give me back everything I’ve lost. The voice in the water told me so. But the voice seemed to miss a few important highlights—namely the woman who challenges me at every twist and turn of my journey. The woman who tells me I’m a villain. The woman who becomes every fervent whisper of my heart, and every last thought in my head.

If I can complete my quest and recover what I’ve lost, she’ll see we’re meant to be. But villains don’t get happily ever afters, do they?

Lily’s Note: Sometimes falling from a great height can lead to a whole new life. This is a full-length standalone fantasy romance. Let your imagination run wild about who G is and just how wide his evil streak can be (hint: massive.)

Review:
Holy. Crap. I knew I liked morally grey, and enemies to lovers can be amazing, but this Beauty and the Beast retelling is one I never expected to find, and a “villain” I never thought I’d love and resonate with. While I did know who G was from the start, I absolutely fell headfirst into this story and was held captive. I didn’t want to put it down! The writing is concise, the world building on point. The spice was incredible and a 5/5 on that alone. There was never a point where I thought I had the ending figured out, and there were still surprises up to the very epilogue. In taking away G’s past, we’re left seeing why he might think of things the way he did: nature vs. nurture, as well as a general lack of education beyond being a manly man. I absolutely love that while he did grow as a person his quirks and flaws remained the same and became understood and almost endearing. The banter and tension in this book is absolutely perfect. All that being said, this book was amazing and I quite loved it, and strongly recommend it if you like: morally grey, enemies to lovers, Beauty and the Beast retellings, and a whole lot of spice.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of To Carve a Fae Heart by Tessonja Odette

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Synopsis:
Every young woman dreams of marrying a king.
Everyone except for me.
Because the king I am to wed has razor sharp fangs and a thirst for blood.

All my life I knew I’d come of age during the Hundred Year Reaping. According to the ridiculous treaty, two human girls are sent to the faelands as brides for the fearsome fae king and his devilish younger brother.

Not me. I was supposed to be safe. Two girls were chosen from my village already. But when they are executed for offending the king, my sister and I are sent in their place.

What a mess. Then again, maybe it’s not so bad. The younger brother I’m paired with doesn’t seem as monstrous as I’d expected. He’s delightfully handsome too. But nothing compares to the chilling, dangerous beauty of the fae king. And when my sister flees the castle and her terrifying husband-to-be, I’m left to marry him instead.

If I go through with this, I might not survive my wedding night. If I don’t, no one is safe, neither human nor fae. An ancient war will return, bringing devastation we haven’t seen in a thousand years. Can I sacrifice myself for the good of my people? Or will a dangerous desire be the death of me first?

If I don’t lose my heart, the king will certainly lose his. I’ll carve it out with an iron blade if I have to.

To Carve a Fae Heart is an enemies-to-lovers fantasy, perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince, ACOTAR, and Kingdom of the Wicked. If you like snarky fae, brooding royals, sizzling romance, and fierce heroines, you’ll love this breathtaking fae fantasy.

*NOTE: This series is Upper YA/NA and contains sexual situations, moderate steam, and some violence.

To Carve a Fae Heart is the first book in The Fair Isle Trilogy, set in the same world as the Entangled with Fae series. To Carve a Fae Heart takes place twenty years before the Entangled with Fae books. Journey back to Faerwyvae or start your adventure for the first time with this epic fantasy tale!

Review:
This book had me from the very first line. I absolutely adore that Tessonja Odette’s heroines/protagonists have lives, aspirations, goals, and not everything in their heads disappears the instant there is a chance of romance. This book is a perfect mesh of faerie tales and the duality of what you see from the outside of someone versus what they may be harbouring within. I absolutely loved how Evelyn is always at war between her head and her heart, there were a few times that she seemed to do things that she absolutely should have known better than. While I believe the couples have great tension, I do wish a certain royal explained better why he felt as he did. Sure, I can deduce that much, but clearly Evelyn couldn’t, so it would have been nice to have it spelled out.

Quite enjoy her differences between Seelie and Unseelie courts, and the explanation of the different powers different creatures have. Evelyn seemed to take up the sayings of the fae quite quickly, whereas as someone raised human, you would think she would have kept those instead, but that could be because of how immersed she quickly had to become in the fae. Evelyn’s narration is quirky, amusing, and fun and this book was entirely impossible to set down. Highly recommend, and have already finished the second book before writing this review (oops!)

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Phantom by Greer Rivers

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Synopsis:
A dark, modern, romantic retelling of the musical classic, Phantom of the Opera.
But this time, the man behind the mask won’t stop until she is his.

She is my muse, and I am her demon of music.

A year ago, I witnessed sweet Scarlett Day’s dark side. She’s been my obsession ever since.

I was content with being her secret. Content with protecting her from afar… until an enemy from my past sets his sights on her.

Our families have a deep history of hatred, and Scarlett is caught in the middle.

Meanwhile, her mind plays tricks on her. When a panic attack goes horribly wrong, I emerge from the shadows to save her.

Now that she’s mine, I can’t let her go.

I’ve mastered the darkness. She tempts me with her light.

But when my mask is gone, will she fear the monster underneath?

PHANTOM is a spicy story set in modern-day New Orleans and a complete STANDALONE in the Tattered Curtain series. Guaranteed HEA.

Author’s Note: All CWs/TWs can be found in the front of the book, the author’s website, or on Goodreads. Mature readers only.

Review:
I love the Phantom of the Opera. I have since I was 13 years old. I’ve liked a few retellings, but this, this blew me away! Firstly, the location and use of French was spot on and absolutely splendid. Rivers did an excellent job of describing an opera house, the costumes, the performances, and what goes into music as well as the musical connection between our phantom and ingenue. The characterizations and descriptions of them, ailments, and distinguishing features was perfect.

Wasn’t sure I’d be alright with the name change but it was spot on, especially the connection between Scarlett’s father’s nickname for her and a certain poser. Seeing how people who believe they have power will do anything and everything in their power to manipulate someone, both because of age and/or gaslighting and how hard it can be to see that and get away was really well written. Recognizing that what you thought you want may not be what actually makes your heart sing is a lesson that not many get until they’re in a position that they can no longer leave to go do whatever would have made them happy, so it was really interesting to see multiple people’s takes on that, and how someone supportive versus controlling reacts.

I loved how our two main characters call to each other, both darkness and light. This is certainly a very hot read, and I thought the spice was absolutely perfect. While their connection is instant, our ingenue can be quite dense and overtly naïve. I do think the characters grew quite a lot during the story, more our Phantom than Scarlett. While I likely wouldn’t want to encourage falling into this type of relationship, I can’t deny that I found this book to be absolute perfection, and may have cried when it was over because I wanted more.

This book was everything I wished POTO the musical gave you; the spice, the tension, the desire. I highly intend to read more of Greer Rivers’ novels, if this is any indication of how brilliant she is.

Edit to add (January 4, 2022): I love how perfectly morally grey our Phantom is, as well as what he means by she’ll sing only for him.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Review of Desperate Measures by Katee Robert

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Synopsis:
Once upon a time, I was a sheltered princess.

On the night Jafar takes everything from my father, he offers me a devil’s bargain—walk with my freedom and nothing else, or attempt to best him and regain my inheritance. In my arrogance, I play right into his hands. I foolishly assume I have a chance to come out on top. I’m wrong.

Now Jafar owns me, body and soul.

We fight during the day, but when night comes, we play out every fantasy I’ve never allowed myself to admit to having. I can’t hide them from Jafar, though. We know each other—and the dark desires we share—far too well. He sees to my every need, no matter how carnal or extravagant. It’s almost enough for me to be happy…

But a gilded cage is still a prison, and I’ll do anything to obtain my freedom—even betray the man I’m falling for.

Review:
This book was a great romance novel with some properly described BDSM elements. The heat between Jafar and Jasmine is tangible, and it is easy to believe she wanted to trust him and let him give her what she was never allowed to have: a man who actually supported her and her ambitions to move forward in life. While the intertwined fairy tale/myth elements were interesting, especially the use of Rajah, I feel as if this story was quite brilliant and very much could have stood on its own without trying to draw people in with the fairy tale element; that being said, I’m almost certain that’s why I was originally drawn in to purchase said novel.

The one issue I did have was how rushed the ending/climax felt. It seems unrealistic that Jasmine would have changed so quickly to become a much more assertive and self assured person willing to force her position on others, especially given the multiple instances where she’s mentioned/felt/shown that she isn’t that type of person and didn’t have enough life experience/knowledge to be able to do such a thing. That being said, I did very much like the ending, it could have just happened in a more convincing manner.

If you like fairy tales, like the morally grey villain, and like well written smut (romance) then I’d highly recommend you read this.

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯