Curse of Shadows and Thorns (Broken Kingdoms book 1) by L.J. Andrews
Blurb
A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.
As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs.
When her uncle holds the life of her deathly-ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.
As their attraction grows, so do the dangers: attacks from black-eyed people, a cursed enemy who is more beast than man, and rumors of fae returning for the crown they believe was stolen from them long ago.
After a bloody coup upends the kingdom, Elise flees with Legion, but nothing is as it seems. The man she allowed into her heart reveals his own secret plans with the return of magic—and he has every intention of using Elise to see them through.
With war between magic and mortal on the horizon, Elise must pick a side to protect her kingdom. Does she stand with her people who stole the throne? Or with a man who lied his way into her heart and whose secret past could bring her destruction?
Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, this first book in the dark, fantasy romance series, The Broken Kingdoms, part Viking, part fairy tale.
Rating and Review
Overall Rating: 3.5-4/5 stars
This was my first time reading a TRUE fantasy. Before, I would primarily read romance, but my only experience reading something fantasy-related was reading Werewolf or Vampire Smut on Wattpad.
Yes, I know. I survived the trenches. But anyway, because I only read romance and bad Wattpad fanfiction, I've never ventured into a real fantasy novel. This was definitely an experience, to say the least. I wasn't prepared for how many characters there were going to be, dictionary words the author created, world-building, everything.
But boy, did I have fun anyway.
My Thoughts
I had a lot of fun reading this. I liked the characters, the world, the romance, and the retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I'm not a huge fan of Vikings, but I still enjoyed that part of the story. I finished this book in seven days, which for me is very fast. I usually finish books within one to two weeks, so the fact that I finished this in a solid seven is pretty great for me. This book held me captive in the best way possible!
You may be wondering, "Well, N.G. If you liked the book so much, why isn't the rating higher? Why did you give it 3.5 to 4 stars instead of 4.5 to 5 stars?"
That's because, like I said before, I haven't read many fantasy books. I don't want to rate this book a 4.5/5 or 5/5 because what if I read another fantasy that had much better world-building or much better development in the romance plot? This book was really good, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to rate it highly because there could be something so much better. I just have to find it.
Thanks for Reading My First Post!
If you've made it to the end, thank you so much for reading my very first blog post! I love you so much, and I hope you stick around for future posts about the other books I've read and will read.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments! Also, let me know of any romance novels or fantasy romance novels you think I should read!
See you next week!
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