Review and Blog Tour Courtesy of Valentine PR
Thanks so much to the author and Valentine PR for the complimentary advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. All opinions are entirely my own. { partner } All of my reviews can also be found on Instagram @Tackling_TBR and on Goodreads.
Book Description from Goodreads:
Gifted thief Romeria has flourished from her days as a street kid pilfering wallets to survive. Now she thrives, stealing jewels from the rich under the involuntary employ of New York City’s most notorious crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom.
Her quest is straightforward: Steal a stone from Islor’s sacred garden without anyone discovering her true identity, which would earn her certain death. But the identity she has inexplicably assumed is that of the captured Ybarisan princess—an enemy to Islor after she poisoned their beloved king and queen on the day she was to marry the prince.
Her betrothed, the newly crowned King Zander, detests her with every grain of his handsome being. Fortunately for Romeria, she is more valuable to him alive than dead. Zander gives her a choice: life in a cell, or an acquittal of all charges in exchange for her help in exposing the growing plot against him.
Romeria sees no other option and embraces the tricky role of smitten queen-to-be until she can escape, a ruse that brings her far closer to the king than she anticipated and threatens more than her safety. As she digs deeper into this sacred garden and the ancient feud between Ybaris and Islor, she discovers monstrous truths that could spell ruin for all.
She would know the world of vengeful gods and monsters, and the lengths one would go for love. And nothing would ever be the same for her again.
Review: (5 Stars)
TW: murder, torture, some violence
People who know my blog or my podcast know that I am slowly working my way into the fantasy genre. I always had a hard time connecting with the genre, because I tend to want more character driven story and less super intense world building. But I’m slowly reading more fantasy, and so when I saw that this book was coming out I knew I needed to read it. What can I say, KA Tucker is an auto-read author for me. And y’all, this book was everything I wanted.
Let’s talk about the story itself. Young woman who is used to looking out for herself gets unwillingly thrown into a world of magic and fantasy, with no information about this new world, and has to fake her way through this other woman’s life all while trying to stay under the radar, learning about her surroundings, and completing her secret mission. It was just so enjoyable! It’s a bit witchy, a bit vampirical, and a bit chosen girl. Just a little bit of everything!
I found Romy immediately likeable as a main character – she was strong and smart and stubborn, which made for plenty of opportunities for sassy banter. Which I love and seek out in practically all of my reads. Since she is so alone in each of these situations, most of the other characters really took some time for me to warm up to, because the narrator hadn’t warmed up to them yet. But I really came around to a few of them in the end, and I think that other than Romy my favorite characters were the king and his sister.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, and I think I already have at least once or twice by now (what can I say, I’ve been mid-move for a few months, and I am very behind on all things reviews). I would say that I would recommend it either to my friends who already love fantasy, and the ones like me who have already been dipping their toes into that pool. There is a good bit of necessary world building and explaining the politics that are a bit of a slow read, so I don’t know that this would necessarily appeal to folks who are reading fantasy for the first time – although the rest of the story is super fun and magical and engaging, so I guess that would all depend on what folks are looking for from their fantasy. I think that the perfect way to read this book is in a bubble bath or by a roaring fire with a large glass of wine!
Meet Kathleen:
K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.
She is the internationally bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild, Be the Girl, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.
K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto. \
Connect with Kathleen
Website: https://www.katuckerbooks.com/
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