It’s been a few weeks since finishing this and it’s occupying so much of my brain. I can’t stop thinking about it and my desire to find out what happens next is overwhelming. I hope this comes out on audio quickly after the release date.

This was a really interesting read. It’s like a weird retelling of the myth of Atlantis with some Divergent/Hunger Games vibes. Throw in some magic, political intrigue and forbidden romance and you’ve got this book. My biggest issue was the world building and characters. There seemed to be a lot characters with duplicate names or similarly sounding names. At least on audio I found myself confused more often especially at the beginning with the names and world building. The world is complex and there are multiple kingdoms and politics that make things somewhat more confusing. This book is also heavy on the world building. The plot can seem slow at times and it takes a while to get going, however I didn’t mind that too much because it provided a lot of backstory and insight into character development.

The romance is sweet. There’s a bit of a love triangle going on, *sigh* I guess… However, I’m not sure the OG love interest is a true love interest. He’s more useful to the MC so she keeps him happy and puts up with his “attention.” He’s a pretty selfish boyfriend and gives off Tamlin vibes. The actual love interest is a nice mix of childhood friends to lovers then enemies to lovers then trainee/trainer trope. However, is he swoonworthy ❤️‍🔥 And all the damn tiktoks of this book rekindle my love for Rhyan over and over. Speaking of tropes…

🛏️ One bed
🩺 Taking care when injured
💢 “Who did this to you?”
And more…

This book isn’t really spicy, however I see spice in the future books for sure. There’s some suggestive cuddling but it’s not what I would call spice.

Also, you may want to check trigger warnings. This book is violent and discusses topics such as domestic abuse which might be harder for some readers to digest. But it’s really limited and more suggested than described.

Be aware this book ends on a baby cliffhanger and right as things start getting exciting. I’ll be waiting patiently for the next book to come out on audio 🙏

Overall,

Story⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice 🚫
Audio Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐