So, we're going to part ways and I wish Andrews the best of luck in all of her future writing endeavors. For example, she is supposedly the key to curing Legion/Valen of his curse, and when he manages to cure himself in spite of this she is still lorded as the saviour. The plot was very predictable but it didn’t distract from the fact that I was enjoying reading the story. I'm just thrilled to have found this series because I very much still have a hole-shaped like the Blood And Ash Series in my heart because I'm waiting for more books to be released. Perhaps I am simply reading into things, but there’s enough of it that I’m more than comfortable in drawing these conclusions.

He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore. Had a lot of potential, what with the funny rebellious princess who doesnt care for titles (also missing some fingers? I really enjoyed this the characters really build and although it's not shocking in it's originality it's still well done. The world building I think needs the most help, this is supposed to have Vikings in it and I’m not getting that at all from this.The white saviour trope, for reference, is where a white character steps in to rescue non-white characters from their problems. I already had it on my kindle and picked it based on the title; not actually remembering any description. Dark and vivid, this YA Fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast was everything I was hoping for and didn't know I needed. All in all, this book was not for me (I’m just clarifying in case this super long review did not highlight this point 😂).

It’s often mentioned that because she is not the heir, she can have affairs or have children while unmarried.I honestly feel like I’m rereading ‘Blood and Ash’, but the characters are posher and I constantly need a dictionary. wow, la verdad es que es de esas historias que te atrapan bien fuerte desde el primer capítulo; tal vez por sus personajes tan geniales, por la chispa que surge entre Elise y Legion, o por todo el misterio que rodea a este misterioso caballero. I adore books like An Ember in the Ashes, The Night Angel Trilogy, Harry Potter, The Great Library series. This only really seems to have happened to introduce Legion/Valen and to set her up as rebellious, which for the rest of the book means… she doesn’t think black people should be slaves. A lot of their history is told, not shown through actual “history lessons” disguised as journal entries.

I always make sure I give a series a chance before I move on to something else, so I’ll be moving on with book 2. Mucho tiempo atrás, los antepasados de Elise le arrebataron la corona al rey de las hadas; ahora, ella, como sobrina del actual rey, debe asegurar que su familia mantenga el trono, lo que significa casarse con quien le indiquen, mientras que ella prefiere escaparse a garitos de juego con los criados. Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, Curse of Shadows and Thorns is the first book in The Broken Kingdoms series. Elise was a fun character to read about; I admired her independence and sense of duty to protect her loved ones.

I know this review was negative but I'm hoping the next book fixes a lot of these issues and it's just an issue of the first book. Of course, with me having read the spin-off first, the big plot twist came as no surprise to me but I tried to not let it influence my judgement. The trouble is, Elise would rather sneak into gambling halls with the servants than be a silent princess at a ball. I guess as the reader I was supposed to be upset but because the heartwarming moment barely had time to solidify it just didn't do much for me.

He's a tortured morally grey hero and I can't wait for him to make me question why I'm still on his side. While I do have minor issues with lack of clarity on certain plot points and poor world building and development of ideas, there is one glaring issue that I would much rather talk about - the way this book deals with race.This book is what you get when you take a pinch of Viking lore and mix it with a dash of Beauty and the Beast. Elise wants nothing more in life than to NOT be married but after the King threatens her deadly-ill father’s treatment she has to accept the negotiations. I found myself having to reread sections because with the first pass I’d somehow “miss something” and when that something was elaborated on I had to go back and reread the section to infer that “something” more clearly in the second pass.