Nova has to unravel her family secrets before the dark power can overtake her, or her dad is going to be lost forever and she will become exactly what she fears the most. A pirate.

I was just very disappointed after all this build up tension, and all these cute encounters, to find the spice scene being like all other spice scenes in all the other spicy books. As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs. Characters are fleshed out well! I wanted to hit Mattis over the head a few times. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed Ari. I thought I was going to hate him but I enjoyed his clever mind and witty banter. Halvar is one of my absolute favorite characters!! He's just so funny and endearing! The world building and battle scenes are epic! I saw it, I felt it, I loved it all! I definitely got more Vikings vibes out of this book than the first and I'm here for it! I felt the pacing was really well done in this book and I couldn't put it down! Another book I read all in 1 sitting!! She has a formal degree in Occupational Therapy, and has loved her time serving those that are in the geriatric population. Her real love is literature and writing, though, and she figured it was about time to work on fulfilling this dream.Elise is also presented as a typical white saviour, in quite a literal fashion. 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 white saviour trope, for reference, is where a white character steps in to rescue non-white characters from their problems. It is a clear theme throughout the novel, and follows the idea that people of colour are not capable of doing things for themselves. In real life this translates to money being given to white organisations (such as tourism for volunteering and missionary trips) instead of directly to the marginalised communities in question, where it would arguably be more effective. 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. Prayer and Affirmations: Engaging in prayers, affirmations, or mantras focused on breaking the curse and invoking positive energies can be a powerful practice. This can involve reciting specific prayers or creating personalized affirmations that affirm your intention to release the curse’s grip and invite positive change into your life.

This is the kind of fantasy I have been looking for, the high stakes, secrecy, and star-crossed lovers' story that you get trapped in and don't want to end. however, while i loved the story, the writing drove me bonkers. the prose itself isnt terrible, but the structure is just… odd. like missing sentences, random jumps between chapters/events, characters showing up in a scene when its never mentioned that they are present, information presented in a way that assumes the reader is already aware of it, and just inconsistent pacing. it wasn’t actually boring, even fast-paced, but i was irritated with writing and sudden twists in characters’ motivations etc. She goes by a pen name because it’s a little fun having an alternate identity. And the name was formed by people that are dear to her heart. She has been writing ever since she was able to spell, and thankfully all this time later her writing has improved. The plot also really doesn’t go anywhere, it’s almost like most of this could have just been added to book 1 (to make it longer than it was) and made this a duology, instead of have us suffer through a book with “middle book syndrome.”Everything happened so fast. In true Game of Thrones fashion, the potential for character building and plot and world building was there. But BAM. Rush through it all and make it a letdown.