Devastation

by Sapphire Lebesque

I cast a spell in the forest to make my boss love me... or else leave me the hell alone. I was crushing big time on Cardew Bishop, my boss, even though he was the world's biggest bully. With Gran’s help, I designed the spell and went to the forest to do it. Gran had connections to the woodland tree spirits – so she claimed. Cardew was also the owner's son, and king of the garden centre. His family made its money by destroying the environment, so it was easy to hate him... even though he was annoyingly handsome. But when my best friend and I learned his company - the one I work for - was going to cut down the town’s 1000-year-old forest for a big engineering project, we were determined to make a stand. That made Cardew Bishop my enemy, and my all-consuming attraction to him was difficult to separate from my hatred of everything he and his family stood for. But I still wanted him. More than ever. At the very least, I'd be out of a job and I risked my college diploma if he didn’t sign off my work placement at the garden centre. At the worst, I’d have given up my principles to satisfy my desires. Dark Forest Dryad Book 1, Devastation , Gran told me I was descended from a woodland tree spirit. I’d always assumed I was a nobody, like my predatory handsome boss thought, but she’d said I was fae royalty, and somehow I knew my mysterious connection to the forest would cast a shadow over my future. If you like sexual tension between dark, dominant but irresistibly handsome heroes and feisty troubled heroines, you’ll love Dark Forest Dryad, Devastation.

Buy the book at a bargain introductory price! Grab it cheap, now! Fae Romance, Fantasy Romance, Urban Fantasy, Magical Realism, New Adult. This story contains adult themes, infidelity, stalking, ecological vandalism, bullying and problems arising from relationships. Cliffhanger ending, continued in Book 2.

This book was previously published as Dark Forest Dryad Book 1, DESTRUCTION in 2021. WHAT THEY SAID

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Lucy's character. Can't wait for book 2. Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the romance story, the magic elements and Lucy's family. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I would definitely read the next book. ★ ★ ★ ★

Definitely an enjoyable read, and I even cried, too. ★ ★ ★ ★ Coming soon... Dark Forest Dryad Book 0 , Origin Story, tells of the mystical origins of the tree spirit. (Coming soon) Dark Forest Dryad Book 2, Renewal , follows Lucy’s confused relationships with Cardew and Terrance. Having tried to undo the disastrous consequences of the spell she cast, she was forced to make a devastating choice. (Preorder now) Dark Forest Dryad Book 3, Resurgence , takes Lucy into the fantasy world of the autumn court where the dark fae lord holds sway. He's looking for a bride and he’s chosen her. (Preorder now) Dark Forest Dryad Book 4, Drannor, advances the story of Nightshade Hall and the perils of the goblin wars, from the point of view of the dark fae lord's right hand man. (Coming soon) If you like sexual tension between dark, dominant but irresistibly handsome heroes and feisty rebellious heroines, you’ll love Dark Forest Dryad Book 1, Devastation . Buy it now!

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 10, 2023

About the author

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/author/sapphir...

Sapphire Lebesque dwells on Cloud Nine on the liminal fault line where mortal and magic worlds collide.

She wanders to and fro, seeking out stories of troubled rulers, scorned princesses and maligned queens.

Sapphire is timeless, mayhap eternal. like the fae kingdoms she frequents, scribing the lives and loves of their heroes and heroines.

Reviews

[Redhead Haze · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Tropes: Greek Lore, Fae, Boss Romance, Bully, Best Friend Romance
Series: Dark Forest Dryad #1
Cliffhanger: Yes, but mild
Rating: 1/5⭐
Spice: 0/5 🌶

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you BookSirens and Sapphire Lebesque for this opportunity.

》》The Plot《《

Lucy is working while finishing her final year of study and, being smitten with her boss (who's constantly bullying her), decides to listen to her grandmother. So she goes into the forest to cast a love spell, hoping to see results.
To add to her pile of worries, the local forest is in danger of demolition and, as she is descend from tree spirits, her connection with the forest is something worth fighting for.

"And so begin the days of summer,
Belenus casts off winter’s shiver,
Chases out the dark and cold,
Bathes the Earth in warm and gold,
Rising in the shimmering blue,
All living things rejoice in you.
 
Sunshine, Earth, Air and Rain,
May your blessings flow on us again,
May single souls find husband or wife,
Renew our hope and love and life."

Now, I know this book is marked as New Adult, but I would rather say it's Young Adult (due to the subjects it touches) with the writing style suitable for Middle Grade. The action is fast-paced but it also feels kind of rushed and, while the idea is nice and I want to know how the story goes on, I have the general feeling I'm constantly missing things, or that the details don't always add up.

》》Characters and Relationships《《

👩🏻Lucy

She's unremarkable and definitely lacking confidence. I wish I could say I saw some character development along the way but, apart from her no longer having a crush on Cardew, there was no improvement.

👨🏻‍🦰Terrance

I could have liked him, but the way he was described made it difficult to take him serious. For instance:

"Being with Terrance was easy, like chilling on your favourite couch; he was perfect for me."

How can I think romantically about someone described like this? Again, for a book that was tagged as New Adult, I was expecting a different approach.

🧑🏻Cardew

There wasn't one single moment of this book where I thought he was nice in any way. He's just a bully and, apart from being hot, there's no way I can be convinced Lucy could have crushed on him because there's absolutely not one good quality for him.

"I rubbed my upper arms thoughtfully and carefully. I had pressure bruises where Cardew’s fingers had gripped me. I also had purple bruises on my shins and ankles where he’d kicked me."

It's impossible for me to understand his character and I'm honestly not interested in trying at this point.

》》Conclusion《《

Overall, the idea was cute but the execution was lacking. I stand by my initial impression that this should be for Middle graders, because I mostly felt like reading the Wikipedia summary of the book, not the novel itself. I want to keep reading the series as I'm hoping for some more fantasy in the next books. After the first volume I can't say I'm attached to any of the characters, which is something I find important while reading, but I'm hooked in a weird way and I want to know how this goes.

P.S. I loved the cover.

[Annabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took me a while to finish not only because of my computer crashing but also because I wasn't invested in the story as I thought I would be. I honestly had a different story in my head than the one I just read, this author is very descriptive with the scenery and don't get me wrong it sounds beautiful but I feel like those descriptions took over a lot. The romantic feelings she had for cardew didn't feel right, it felt like "Oh he's fae, so I love him!" That's not how it works at all, also I found it weird that this is basically set in modern day but with Fae driving Porsche cars and motorcycles, etc. This just wasn't for me, I know other people like it but these characters kind of felt bland and the plot felt rushed in a weird way.

[Lauren Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: This book is almost at four stars, but not quite there. I absolutely adored the concept and thought the integration of a modern Ireland with the lore of Fae was done wonderfully. Though the writing is solidly a 2/5, the plot and and pace of the story make up for it. I will likely read the next book because I am sucker for a good cliffhanger!

The plot: The plot was intriguing. I do not consider myself a conservationist but I found myself being devastated by the destruction. The author artfully brought in witchy lore to add complexity to an otherwise simple plot. There is very little interaction with Fae in this book but I thought it set up the next several books very well for more interaction. Also, I was fully prepared for an enemies to lovers plot in this book but the twist in romance was pleasantly surprising. I am excited to see where the next book takes this love triangle. There is so much room to explore passion vs love.

The characters: This is one of the areas that the book fell flat for me. The main character Lucy was written so naïve and the inner dialogue didn't add to her character much. It took me a good 3/4 of the way through the book to buy into her character. Tasha, Lucy's mom, and Terrance experienced dramatic changes in character from the start to the finish that seemed to happen out of the blue with little explanation. Cardew and Grans characters were spot on though. His evolution was done in a way where you aren't sure if he will end up good or bad at the beginning of the book. Gran was key in driving the plot along and I honestly want her to be my witchy forest spirit Gran.

The writing: I think this book could have been worlds better with some editing. There was a lot of repetitive and useless inner dialogue going on. I think the pages would have been better used by showing more character and scene interaction. I also felt like the main character was all over the place. I found myself starting a new paragraph confused because the topic or scene would change abruptly. However, I do enjoy a book that has easy and simple sentence structure that is a breeze to read and I flew through this book.

[Marissa Pekurny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and thought it was well written. It had a lot of info packed into it and had a good storyline. Lucy is trying to finish her exams and has to work at the garden centre to finish her schooling but everything is getting in the way of that happening. She faces challenges with Cardew and Terrance as well as having to try to save her fig tree. The ending was wild and I didn't see it coming. I am looking forward to reading book 2 and cannot wait to start it.

[gung-ho_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed the characters initial outline, however I wish they'd been developed more as the concept of the book is intriguing. I would recommend to readers who enjoy a fast paced read with interesting build up. More payoff would be satisfying and add to the overall experience and world building.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a spectacular, un-put-downable read. The story starts out strong and ends even stronger. Now, I'm on to the next book in the series.

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

100% AI free????

100% AI free is a strange thing to have in your book description and given how bad this book was I’m convinced the reason it’s there is because this is 100% AI. This book is an awful lot of pages for not a whole lot. The plot is half formed and a quarter explained, the characters are annoying and make no sense, and the prose makes me genuinely question if I even speak English. The first book is over and I couldn’t possibly tell you what the next book would be about. Not worth the read at all.

[SI Vann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for any Fae story, especially if it has a different twist than the majority. The setting was nice and the description of them makes me want to see those places. However, it was really hard for me to relate to the MC and especially her fixation on a guy who was absolutely horrible to her and due to his families business and the destruction it brings, more enemy than lover. However, the story grew on me and the love triangle made it a bit more interesting. I do wish it had a bit more stringent editing and hope that the writing in the next book goes up a few grades and that the MCs actions become a bit more relatable.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[stephanie cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastation: Dark Forest Dryad by Sapphire Lebesque

New Adult - Fantasy Romance - Best Friend Romance

Whoa - Devastation is just book one in the Dark Forest Dryad series and I am already head over heels! This was such an enjoyable read. The Authors writing style was nice and the storyline/plot brought it full circle. The character is great, I like Lucy, Cardew, and Terrance. I do hope we get to see a little more character development as the story goes on, always room for growth. I love the ending, did not see this coming and am diving into book two ASAP.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[JACQUELINE GIBSON · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn’t understand the mains characters obsession with the guy who was so horrible to her, No clarification as the books went on as to peoples motivations behind their actions. Could have been much better with more development of the backstory, some parts of book and peoples actions were just plain odd which I found quite frustrating.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming little story for teens and young adults. Lucy often had a very rough time and I felt very sorry for her at times. She had constant rotten luck. I liked the way magic gradually became more apparent as the story went along. It'll be interesting to see how the author develops the story in the next book

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this but the writing made it very hard. It felt like an inner monologue the entire time and was so shifty it was difficult to follow. Made it about 1/2 way through and did not finish. No spice. No world building - I wasn’t even sure if there was even a magic system at this point and didn’t know enough about any of the characters to want to keep reading.

[anna_79_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars

It’s a good start to this new series, an easy read and I really like the plot and the way the author connects the modern Ireland with the lore of the Fae. I feel the writing could be better bit I will absolutely read the second book in the series.

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

A nice deep dive into a young woman’s search to understand herself and to protect her family and her forest. It blends the modern world with a fae world and has strong ecological themes and a page turning ending!

[I Climbed Mount Halsin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was boring and slow. Mc did nothing but whine, and it feels like the main point of the plot was forgotten. Maybe it will be better in book two, but this was a dud.