"I am really stupid.

So I was scrolling through booktok one day looking for a good fantasy romance, and I kept seeing this book pop up under whatever I put as search terms (I think it was probably spicy fantasy romance). I was like, "wow A LOT of people are recommending this alongside the likes of ACOTAR, FBAA, The Plated Prisoner, etc. - it must be really good!"

So I start reading it and am immediately confused. The writing feels off, the pace is inconsistent and the world-building isn't really doing it. So I go back to find these tik toks, and I discover... ALL OF THEM WERE POSTED BY THE AUTHOR. I'm not kidding when I tell you every single one that I saw was the author plugging her own book as if it wasn't her own book. Before anyone comes for me and wonders how I didn't notice it was the same girl, a lot of the tik toks didn't have her face in them!!! I was so DUPED. I totally get this was a marketing ploy, and I applaud Mads for this but also I clearly was just having a bad media literacy day to not notice this.

Anyway, this book was pretty bad I can't lie. I don't necessarily agree with the reviews on here that it was just an ACOTAR rip-off, but either way... it wasn't very good.

ROSE 🌹: ...

I really don't have one, I'm sorry. Some people may like it though!

The cover is pretty!

THORN ⚔️ : A LOT...

Just going to make a quick-hit list of what made this not good.

- What the hell time period was this??? I know, I know: it's a fantasy book. But they have things like electricity & stainless steel, Delilah wears short dresses, Knox wears suits, there's restaurants etc. yet they're still riding horses for transportation, there's supposed to be a sort of "grand" royalty feel, it clearly wants to be high fantasy... so what's going on?? This honestly took me out of the book so much.

- STOP BEING RUDE DELILAH. Yet again, the FMC was an insanely rude and "sassy" brat. Why are you being so mean to a man you literally JUST met? I know there's trauma with men for her, but she had absolutely NO sense of self-preservation.

- Why was she so good at magic when she just got it like two seconds ago? You're telling me that this girl (who thought she was human her whole life), is a master of magic? And can beat the most powerful fae lord in not only magic battles but also hand-to-hand combat? Something doesn't add up here.

- All the side characters fell so flat. I had zero interest in Knox's friend group, who suddenly appeared about halfway through. It felt like the author just wanted to shove a found family trope in without actually doing it well. Hazel was okay, I guess.

BUD 🌷: STOP BEING SO DUMB (a note to myself)

This is not the first (or probably the last) time I have been burned by Book Tok. I really need to use more critical thinking skills in the future."