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Cursed Kingdoms #2
Shadows and Lies
After getting out of her arranged marriage—though not without bloodshed—Jane finds herself transported to a new land with two men she doesn’t know if she can trust. To save herself and her kingdom, Jane needs to untangle the web of lies she is caught in to figure out who she is behind all of her carefully curated masks.
“A beast, even trapped behind the bars of a cage, is still a beast.”
Alone once more with only the skills of a political pawn, Driata has few options. She must decide whether she will continue to play a game controlled by others or master her own and take control of her future. Will she be able to rally her embittered people to stand against the oppression of the wicked crown? Driata must determine if she is ready to go to war in order to save her kingdom.
“True power came from those who knew how to manipulate the ones who wield it.”
Liam is the villain in Jane’s story, but he's desperate to be her hero. Baltazar’s constant threats may not be the only danger he has to face…and his soul may be stained in the process. What lengths is Liam willing to go to protect the few he cares for? The cost of Liam’s freedom may be too great.
“I would not flinch. I would not falter. He would not break me.”
“A beast, even trapped behind the bars of a cage, is still a beast.”
Alone once more with only the skills of a political pawn, Driata has few options. She must decide whether she will continue to play a game controlled by others or master her own and take control of her future. Will she be able to rally her embittered people to stand against the oppression of the wicked crown? Driata must determine if she is ready to go to war in order to save her kingdom.
“True power came from those who knew how to manipulate the ones who wield it.”
Liam is the villain in Jane’s story, but he's desperate to be her hero. Baltazar’s constant threats may not be the only danger he has to face…and his soul may be stained in the process. What lengths is Liam willing to go to protect the few he cares for? The cost of Liam’s freedom may be too great.
“I would not flinch. I would not falter. He would not break me.”
526 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2023
66 people are currently reading
1382 people want to read
About the author
Deanna Ortega
5 books783 followersI'm just your local sewage rat writing about love in a world that makes it hard to believe in it.
I've been married for nine years to a man who is every bit a girl's girl. We love to stay up and gossip - by which I mean I babble, and he dozes off while snoring. We have two daughters, two dogs, and two cats who spend their time making me question my remaining threads of sanity while also keeping them intact.
Before becoming the gutter rodent you know and tolerate, I grew up in a small town outside of Tampa, Florida, where the librarians knew me by name. Getting lost in the worlds between pages saved me more times than I could count, and I'm hopeful that my books and the worlds I’ve created, inspire other people's journeys and vivid imaginations.
Connect with me here:
https://beacons.ai/deannaortega
I've been married for nine years to a man who is every bit a girl's girl. We love to stay up and gossip - by which I mean I babble, and he dozes off while snoring. We have two daughters, two dogs, and two cats who spend their time making me question my remaining threads of sanity while also keeping them intact.
Before becoming the gutter rodent you know and tolerate, I grew up in a small town outside of Tampa, Florida, where the librarians knew me by name. Getting lost in the worlds between pages saved me more times than I could count, and I'm hopeful that my books and the worlds I’ve created, inspire other people's journeys and vivid imaginations.
Connect with me here:
https://beacons.ai/deannaortega
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 12, 2022
So. This didn’t go well at all. This was probably the worst book I’ve ever read.
Before reading this book I reread the first one, and that didn’t go well either. The first time I read Ruin and Roses I thought my confusion was due to my lack of attention, but the reread proved that was not the case, other than making me realise that I must have been under the effect of some type of drug while rating and reviewing. I decided to give the second book a chance anyway. Wrong move.
I’ve actually written a very long and angry summary of the book that made me even more aware of the issues in it. And there were so many issues with this book.
First of all, the plot. The plot was non existent in the first book and it’s non existent in the second one. The story has nothing that brings it forward, we can only witness scenes that have no real value and, you guessed it, that make no sense. We are fed information upon information, that are either useless or just plot devices to make it make sense without bothering to give reasons.
But this book has 437 pages; how? Well, the thing is, nothing really happens, so we spend a lot of time into the characters’ heads, reading a lot of questioning, a lot of feelings, but most of all a lot of reminiscing: reflections about things happened in the first book, either to ‘explain’ them (something that would have been more useful in the first book) or to be dramatic about them and convey some sort of emotional message that fails to deliver; or things happened in the same book chapters before; or things happened in an unidentified past to give…background I guess.
The characters. Oh boy the characters, there’s so much to say.
• Jane, our ‘fierce’ main character. I felt sorry for her in the first few chapters, because she gets overwhelmed with the situation before her eyes and the new information. Me too girl, me too. But then her character goes further downhill, becoming so gullible when it comes to Liam and Blair. She’s basically slave of her own horniness. She is also very useless, she does nothing at all in the whole book. NOTHING. She just has sex, breaks THREE DIFFERENT NOSES, tries to kill Blair for no reason at all (not a reason I would kill for anyway, but you do you girl), she gets angry because she can’t leave Karhdaro, and learns how to use her magic in a second. Yes because she finds out she’s fae or part fae (I don’t fucking know) and she can do glamour! And in the span of I don’t know, an hour? she manages to go from struggling to change her own features (and then everyone still recognizes her, good job) to creating a whole big ass glamour with people dying to deceive Liam. Isn’t the magic system wonderful in this book?
• Driata. I kinda liked her in the first book. She was dumb, but harmless. Poor creature. In this book we see the ‘depth’ of this character. Which consists of: hating Liam, hating her father (that randomly returns at the end of the book and then DIES), and having the most disgusting relationship with Baltazar. She is now the next in line for the throne, and Baltazar wants to marry her…why? I don’t know, power I guess. So anyway, she lets him fuck her. I’m disappointed in you Driata. Then we discover that she’s apparently the head of a rebellion. And this is the biggest problem of the book, I’ll talk about it later. Driata is also so dumb that she uses a bow and arrows in a closed quarters combat situation. She probably thinks she’s Legolas, but no she isn’t, and she gets overpowered very quickly. Then she gets a very quick and weird villainization/revenge arc. She manages to fall over her own knife, stabbing herself in the back. She kills her father with his own sword, which is apparently the way to break the curse that no one cares about. Because we’re only told about it and its consequences on the people but never shown. Then moments later she “kills” Baltazar. I’ll explain the quotation marks later. So, Driata’s actions are limited to the last 5% of the book. Good job Driata. Also, Driata’s most frequent comments are about males being fragile and stupid. Alright.
• Liam. God, he’s insufferable. Let us not forget the marvellous line Liam provided us in the first book “I saved your life by fucking you”. He’s so deep. We find out that he has a blood oath with Baltazar and a different weird bond with Blair. What does that imply? I don’t know, we are not told, we only know that he can mentally talk to Blair and that they probably can both feel things, and that his will is subjugated by Baltazar’s…sometimes. Isn’t the worldbuilding wonderful in this book? Liam keeps treating Jane like shit and then fucking her, and we are led to believe that he does that because he wants her to hate him so that she won’t suffer from his absence, but he loves her poor creature. ☹ Anyway, he treats her like shit even when he has no reason doing so, and he treats like shit everyone else, with again, no reason. He assaults a guy that was training Kaleb (doing his job basically), he insults Lux, in the worst and pettiest and most malignant way possible. He is also so dumb and not funny when trying to be, gifting us such gems as: “He could have at least used a silencing spell” about Baltazar fucking Driata while Liam’s right outside waiting for Driata, instead of giving them privacy. Other wonderful sentences will be listed at the end of this angry review. Anyway, the blood oath with Baltazar apparently states that if you get killed you don’t die unless the other person is killed too. So when Baltazar dies Liam forces a drugged and hallucinating Jane to kill him, making his last and most asshole move toward her. Die, you little bitch, die. And stay dead. My theory is that Liam was meant to be the “dark haired, morally grey, misunderstood character” that I was supposed to love and hate to love, but uuuhh nope. Failure. Another reason to hate him: he uses “Who hurt you?” so many times both in the first and second book to be almost as ridiculous as he is unbearable. This trope has become my least favourite one, thanks Liam Tellyk.
• Baltazar. What a joke. He appears in like 4 scenes. He fucks, gives orders, has childish quarrel with Liam, the best parts of which I will list later, and then dies. That’s it. What a pathetic excuse of a villain he was.
• Lou. She was kind of important in the first book. I kinda liked her. She gave “dumb, angry lesbian” vibes. In this book she becomes insufferable because of her useless and over the top dislike for Blair, the reasons of which are never explained, I guess because there weren’t any and their scenes were supposed to be funny. I’ve just realised it. They were probably meant to be funny…oh God. Anyway, she is basically never present, we see her 5 times maybe, to tell us that her “messages” to Driata are being “blocked” for example. They must be magical messages. We’re never told, but we are told that Blair can’t travel back to Lunasa for the same reason, so yeah. Isn’t the worldbuilding WORDERFUL in this book? Lou proceeds to assimilate Karhdaro’s fashion trends and loving them, and to become a drunk. Sad.
• I almost forgot about Blair. Safe to say, he’s kind of useless. Says pretty stupid stuff. His dimples and hair are mentioned too many times. Kinda hate him.
• There’s a LOT of new characters introduced in this book. A lot. An unnecessary amount that I failed to distinguish from one another. They are useless, they do absolutely nothing to further the plot, they just serve as a background for the main characters. The only one I want to mention is Sloane. Or Jett if you prefer. The horse. Because the horse is actually a woman. Yeah, she’s the one that info dumps at the beginning of the book for the fun of it, because she knows everything. And as Jane rightfully says it was “the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard”. We are also given hints about the other useless characters’ relationships which are then not further explored because 1. There’s no time, they’re given at 75% in the book, and 2. come on!! SO MUCH has already happened in this book, leave some things to be explained in the next one! Or next TWO BOOKS!! Yes! Other two books are planned!! But who’s to say there won’t be MORE??? Oh god, have mercy.
• I want to give some space to the character that I hate almost as much as Liam: Tessa. I couldn’t stand her in the first book. Couldn’t stand her in this one. God I fucking hate Tessa. I’m so glad she dies. She managed to be stupid, bossy, ignorant and insulting, and provide us with the dumbest sentence in the history of fantasy: “You’ll understand when it’s time for you to understand”. And then again: “If the need arises, you’ll know what to do”. Uggh I fucking hate Tessa.
The worldbuilding, as I said a few times already, is just wonderful. Really. Let’s mention a few gems:
• Blood oaths exist, alright, fine. But…you can be forced into them. Liam is forced into making a blood oath with Baltazar. Immaculate.
• Karhdaro is a land of horny bastards that walk around naked or mostly naked and keep no weapons within the castle walls (when you stroll around mostly naked that does make sense, I’ll give you that) and that have orgies in the throne room when they have to celebrate something. Yay, what fun! Marvellous.
• There is a guy in a market that speaks in rhyme and makes a prophecy to Jane that is useless. He wants to touch her as a payment. Splendid.
• Cheddar exists in this world. Of all the types of cheese…the French are crying. Oh well. Brilliant! (Also, Liam is the one giving us such precious information, he gains a point for this. Superb.)
• Magic glowing doors. That’s it. Wicked.
• Some kind of bonds that make you feel the things the other person feels and telepathically talk to each other exist. Prodigious.
• Giant fae cats. Giant. Fae. Cats. This is…terrific.
• You can apparently glamour yourself stupid, Jane does that. She glamours herself without knowing. That is so funny, what the fuck. Formidable.
• Driata, as well as Jane’s brother and other sister and father, are several centuries old. So yeah. Jane’s nineteen and they’re centuries old. “No wonder they all hated her, she must have been like a baby to them!” You could say. But actually, no. because this random age gap has no real consequences in the relationships between the characters or in the worldbuilding. Astounding.
• Karhdaran leather, which is “supposedly one of the hardest materials to pierce with a weapon”. SUPPOSEDLY. Blades do indeed pierce through that leather unfortunately, as we will witness. Jane gets stabbed in it. Just…amazing.
So…Let’s talk language and writing. Dreadful business. I am so tired, I’ll just…
• A guard doesn’t knock before walking in while Blair and Jane are doing compromising things and they start insulting him, providing us with this gem: “If you wanted to suck Blair’s dick yourself, I’m certain you could have just asked.” The warrior sputtered behind the king. Surely thinking it was something that made him weak. Like any man would whose shitty ideals fought for space with their unexplored and repressed sexuality” And this is just stupid and insulting. But anyway!! The witty exchange with the guard doesn’t end here! Make way for Blair’s smart addition: “And if you’d like to suck my dick,” Blair snarled in his warrior’s face. “You can certainly wait in the line behind Jane” And Jane finds this so funny she has to repress her laughter! Ahah so funny right?! No.
• “It’s awfully crowded here with two large dicks. […] Oh I wouldn’t you want to misinerpret-I’ll clarify. I meant mine” I gestured towards my inseam before lifting my finger toward his face. “And you” (Guess who said this. Liam. Shocking) (Also, I think it was meant to be "I wouldn't want you to misinterpret", but anyway)
• “He was honey and smoke when he finally met my eyes” ?????? What have you been smoking Jane? I want some of that.
• “You know I can scent it – your desire for me” ????????? Blair, stop being creepy.
• “Being a giant dick won’t make yours grow any longer” says Driata to Liam, followed by his witty answer “Your sister never seemed to mind” Screaming, crying, but mostly throwing up.
• “From that day forward, those who sought to break me would only know me as death” Or ‘the beginning of the cringy villainization of Driata’
• “If you haven’t been fucked by Liam Tellyk, you won’t understand why it’s so easy to let him fall back between your legs” which only proves the dumbness of female characters in these books: Jane always lets Liam fuck her, because apparently he’s so good, and Driata lets Baltazar fuck her because she’s kind of fascinated by him, for whatever reason, and because she kinda has to…I don’t know. But it’s men that are idiots, according to Driata’s snarky and frequent comments!!
• I would like to know what the fuck ‘reptilian-like armor' means: “It clung to me, the metal and dark leather bonding together to form a sleek, reptilian-like armor”. JANE. STOP IT.
• Last one, there’s too many to keep going: “He barked a laugh that was full of secrets and dark promises” Jane…stop it with the drugs, goddammit, I beg you.
As you can see, dicks are the main device used to make us refined readers laugh. Both in this and the first book.
So, there's this little…timing problem in this book, but let me explain. The rebellion. Rebels camping right outside Tessa’s door. They’re rebelling against what? Against their poverty, the royals not caring about them, the curse plaguing their land. Why not before? Because they’ve got someone to guide them now, of course. And that’s Driata. What has she done to prove she’s worth following in a rebellion? Nothing! And how did she organise a rebellion, and how did she provide them with weapons from the castle? I don’t know, I guess with the help of the magic door and Kaleb’s uncle? Who appears twice in the book, for a few seconds, and disappears? Probably! But we aren’t given many clues, we are left to guess! But the worst part is that all these question have no meaning whatsoever, because they crossed my mind only after I asked myself: WHEN was she supposed to organize a rebellion and provide the people with weapons? and only after pretending that the timing was not in fact, completely off. You see, what has happened between the ending of the first book and the mention of a rebellion, happened in the span of two days. Lets go through the steps shall we:
- Jane is being forced to marry the pig guy, she manages to kill him thanks to Blair’s help, then Jane, Blair, Liam, Lou and the horse have a magical escape thanks to Blair, that brings all of them to Karhdaro or wherever. Meanwhile Driata stays behind to ‘help her people’
- Jane discovers all those weird things thanks to the horse spilling tea, and then has that weird foursome. Let’s just skip the foursome. Meanwhile we get to be in Driata’s funny little mind and thoughts, discover some things about her personality, her relationship with Baltazar develops into weird one
- The day after: Liam is gone, jane goes to the market, weir prophecy guy, tries to kill Blair, finds herself chained to the bed (she’s actually glamouring herself). In the meantime Driata meets Kaleb’s uncle and we are left to guess
- Liam returns to Baltazar, he and Driata are sent to retrieve Lux and boom! We are told about the rebellion!
Could this rebellion have been organised before? In the first book? Nope! No time.
I'd like to point out that this is a debut series, so the issues I've jokingly talked about are really not that big of a deal, it would have been way more strange (and suspicious) if they hadn't been there at all. Also, I can tell that the books are a fun project for the author to be working on and I wish her all the best, I'm sure that writing a book is both a stressful and rewarding process not to be taken lightly.
I still dreaded my time reading these books though.
I regret every single hour spent reading and thinking about them. I will now proceed to forget about them. Thank you very much, bye.
I was given an eARC of this book and this represents my honest opinion
Before reading this book I reread the first one, and that didn’t go well either. The first time I read Ruin and Roses I thought my confusion was due to my lack of attention, but the reread proved that was not the case, other than making me realise that I must have been under the effect of some type of drug while rating and reviewing. I decided to give the second book a chance anyway. Wrong move.
I’ve actually written a very long and angry summary of the book that made me even more aware of the issues in it. And there were so many issues with this book.
First of all, the plot. The plot was non existent in the first book and it’s non existent in the second one. The story has nothing that brings it forward, we can only witness scenes that have no real value and, you guessed it, that make no sense. We are fed information upon information, that are either useless or just plot devices to make it make sense without bothering to give reasons.
But this book has 437 pages; how? Well, the thing is, nothing really happens, so we spend a lot of time into the characters’ heads, reading a lot of questioning, a lot of feelings, but most of all a lot of reminiscing: reflections about things happened in the first book, either to ‘explain’ them (something that would have been more useful in the first book) or to be dramatic about them and convey some sort of emotional message that fails to deliver; or things happened in the same book chapters before; or things happened in an unidentified past to give…background I guess.
The characters. Oh boy the characters, there’s so much to say.
• Jane, our ‘fierce’ main character. I felt sorry for her in the first few chapters, because she gets overwhelmed with the situation before her eyes and the new information. Me too girl, me too. But then her character goes further downhill, becoming so gullible when it comes to Liam and Blair. She’s basically slave of her own horniness. She is also very useless, she does nothing at all in the whole book. NOTHING. She just has sex, breaks THREE DIFFERENT NOSES, tries to kill Blair for no reason at all (not a reason I would kill for anyway, but you do you girl), she gets angry because she can’t leave Karhdaro, and learns how to use her magic in a second. Yes because she finds out she’s fae or part fae (I don’t fucking know) and she can do glamour! And in the span of I don’t know, an hour? she manages to go from struggling to change her own features (and then everyone still recognizes her, good job) to creating a whole big ass glamour with people dying to deceive Liam. Isn’t the magic system wonderful in this book?
• Driata. I kinda liked her in the first book. She was dumb, but harmless. Poor creature. In this book we see the ‘depth’ of this character. Which consists of: hating Liam, hating her father (that randomly returns at the end of the book and then DIES), and having the most disgusting relationship with Baltazar. She is now the next in line for the throne, and Baltazar wants to marry her…why? I don’t know, power I guess. So anyway, she lets him fuck her. I’m disappointed in you Driata. Then we discover that she’s apparently the head of a rebellion. And this is the biggest problem of the book, I’ll talk about it later. Driata is also so dumb that she uses a bow and arrows in a closed quarters combat situation. She probably thinks she’s Legolas, but no she isn’t, and she gets overpowered very quickly. Then she gets a very quick and weird villainization/revenge arc. She manages to fall over her own knife, stabbing herself in the back. She kills her father with his own sword, which is apparently the way to break the curse that no one cares about. Because we’re only told about it and its consequences on the people but never shown. Then moments later she “kills” Baltazar. I’ll explain the quotation marks later. So, Driata’s actions are limited to the last 5% of the book. Good job Driata. Also, Driata’s most frequent comments are about males being fragile and stupid. Alright.
• Liam. God, he’s insufferable. Let us not forget the marvellous line Liam provided us in the first book “I saved your life by fucking you”. He’s so deep. We find out that he has a blood oath with Baltazar and a different weird bond with Blair. What does that imply? I don’t know, we are not told, we only know that he can mentally talk to Blair and that they probably can both feel things, and that his will is subjugated by Baltazar’s…sometimes. Isn’t the worldbuilding wonderful in this book? Liam keeps treating Jane like shit and then fucking her, and we are led to believe that he does that because he wants her to hate him so that she won’t suffer from his absence, but he loves her poor creature. ☹ Anyway, he treats her like shit even when he has no reason doing so, and he treats like shit everyone else, with again, no reason. He assaults a guy that was training Kaleb (doing his job basically), he insults Lux, in the worst and pettiest and most malignant way possible. He is also so dumb and not funny when trying to be, gifting us such gems as: “He could have at least used a silencing spell” about Baltazar fucking Driata while Liam’s right outside waiting for Driata, instead of giving them privacy. Other wonderful sentences will be listed at the end of this angry review. Anyway, the blood oath with Baltazar apparently states that if you get killed you don’t die unless the other person is killed too. So when Baltazar dies Liam forces a drugged and hallucinating Jane to kill him, making his last and most asshole move toward her. Die, you little bitch, die. And stay dead. My theory is that Liam was meant to be the “dark haired, morally grey, misunderstood character” that I was supposed to love and hate to love, but uuuhh nope. Failure. Another reason to hate him: he uses “Who hurt you?” so many times both in the first and second book to be almost as ridiculous as he is unbearable. This trope has become my least favourite one, thanks Liam Tellyk.
• Baltazar. What a joke. He appears in like 4 scenes. He fucks, gives orders, has childish quarrel with Liam, the best parts of which I will list later, and then dies. That’s it. What a pathetic excuse of a villain he was.
• Lou. She was kind of important in the first book. I kinda liked her. She gave “dumb, angry lesbian” vibes. In this book she becomes insufferable because of her useless and over the top dislike for Blair, the reasons of which are never explained, I guess because there weren’t any and their scenes were supposed to be funny. I’ve just realised it. They were probably meant to be funny…oh God. Anyway, she is basically never present, we see her 5 times maybe, to tell us that her “messages” to Driata are being “blocked” for example. They must be magical messages. We’re never told, but we are told that Blair can’t travel back to Lunasa for the same reason, so yeah. Isn’t the worldbuilding WORDERFUL in this book? Lou proceeds to assimilate Karhdaro’s fashion trends and loving them, and to become a drunk. Sad.
• I almost forgot about Blair. Safe to say, he’s kind of useless. Says pretty stupid stuff. His dimples and hair are mentioned too many times. Kinda hate him.
• There’s a LOT of new characters introduced in this book. A lot. An unnecessary amount that I failed to distinguish from one another. They are useless, they do absolutely nothing to further the plot, they just serve as a background for the main characters. The only one I want to mention is Sloane. Or Jett if you prefer. The horse. Because the horse is actually a woman. Yeah, she’s the one that info dumps at the beginning of the book for the fun of it, because she knows everything. And as Jane rightfully says it was “the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard”. We are also given hints about the other useless characters’ relationships which are then not further explored because 1. There’s no time, they’re given at 75% in the book, and 2. come on!! SO MUCH has already happened in this book, leave some things to be explained in the next one! Or next TWO BOOKS!! Yes! Other two books are planned!! But who’s to say there won’t be MORE??? Oh god, have mercy.
• I want to give some space to the character that I hate almost as much as Liam: Tessa. I couldn’t stand her in the first book. Couldn’t stand her in this one. God I fucking hate Tessa. I’m so glad she dies. She managed to be stupid, bossy, ignorant and insulting, and provide us with the dumbest sentence in the history of fantasy: “You’ll understand when it’s time for you to understand”. And then again: “If the need arises, you’ll know what to do”. Uggh I fucking hate Tessa.
The worldbuilding, as I said a few times already, is just wonderful. Really. Let’s mention a few gems:
• Blood oaths exist, alright, fine. But…you can be forced into them. Liam is forced into making a blood oath with Baltazar. Immaculate.
• Karhdaro is a land of horny bastards that walk around naked or mostly naked and keep no weapons within the castle walls (when you stroll around mostly naked that does make sense, I’ll give you that) and that have orgies in the throne room when they have to celebrate something. Yay, what fun! Marvellous.
• There is a guy in a market that speaks in rhyme and makes a prophecy to Jane that is useless. He wants to touch her as a payment. Splendid.
• Cheddar exists in this world. Of all the types of cheese…the French are crying. Oh well. Brilliant! (Also, Liam is the one giving us such precious information, he gains a point for this. Superb.)
• Magic glowing doors. That’s it. Wicked.
• Some kind of bonds that make you feel the things the other person feels and telepathically talk to each other exist. Prodigious.
• Giant fae cats. Giant. Fae. Cats. This is…terrific.
• You can apparently glamour yourself stupid, Jane does that. She glamours herself without knowing. That is so funny, what the fuck. Formidable.
• Driata, as well as Jane’s brother and other sister and father, are several centuries old. So yeah. Jane’s nineteen and they’re centuries old. “No wonder they all hated her, she must have been like a baby to them!” You could say. But actually, no. because this random age gap has no real consequences in the relationships between the characters or in the worldbuilding. Astounding.
• Karhdaran leather, which is “supposedly one of the hardest materials to pierce with a weapon”. SUPPOSEDLY. Blades do indeed pierce through that leather unfortunately, as we will witness. Jane gets stabbed in it. Just…amazing.
So…Let’s talk language and writing. Dreadful business. I am so tired, I’ll just…
• A guard doesn’t knock before walking in while Blair and Jane are doing compromising things and they start insulting him, providing us with this gem: “If you wanted to suck Blair’s dick yourself, I’m certain you could have just asked.” The warrior sputtered behind the king. Surely thinking it was something that made him weak. Like any man would whose shitty ideals fought for space with their unexplored and repressed sexuality” And this is just stupid and insulting. But anyway!! The witty exchange with the guard doesn’t end here! Make way for Blair’s smart addition: “And if you’d like to suck my dick,” Blair snarled in his warrior’s face. “You can certainly wait in the line behind Jane” And Jane finds this so funny she has to repress her laughter! Ahah so funny right?! No.
• “It’s awfully crowded here with two large dicks. […] Oh I wouldn’t you want to misinerpret-I’ll clarify. I meant mine” I gestured towards my inseam before lifting my finger toward his face. “And you” (Guess who said this. Liam. Shocking) (Also, I think it was meant to be "I wouldn't want you to misinterpret", but anyway)
• “He was honey and smoke when he finally met my eyes” ?????? What have you been smoking Jane? I want some of that.
• “You know I can scent it – your desire for me” ????????? Blair, stop being creepy.
• “Being a giant dick won’t make yours grow any longer” says Driata to Liam, followed by his witty answer “Your sister never seemed to mind” Screaming, crying, but mostly throwing up.
• “From that day forward, those who sought to break me would only know me as death” Or ‘the beginning of the cringy villainization of Driata’
• “If you haven’t been fucked by Liam Tellyk, you won’t understand why it’s so easy to let him fall back between your legs” which only proves the dumbness of female characters in these books: Jane always lets Liam fuck her, because apparently he’s so good, and Driata lets Baltazar fuck her because she’s kind of fascinated by him, for whatever reason, and because she kinda has to…I don’t know. But it’s men that are idiots, according to Driata’s snarky and frequent comments!!
• I would like to know what the fuck ‘reptilian-like armor' means: “It clung to me, the metal and dark leather bonding together to form a sleek, reptilian-like armor”. JANE. STOP IT.
• Last one, there’s too many to keep going: “He barked a laugh that was full of secrets and dark promises” Jane…stop it with the drugs, goddammit, I beg you.
As you can see, dicks are the main device used to make us refined readers laugh. Both in this and the first book.
So, there's this little…timing problem in this book, but let me explain. The rebellion. Rebels camping right outside Tessa’s door. They’re rebelling against what? Against their poverty, the royals not caring about them, the curse plaguing their land. Why not before? Because they’ve got someone to guide them now, of course. And that’s Driata. What has she done to prove she’s worth following in a rebellion? Nothing! And how did she organise a rebellion, and how did she provide them with weapons from the castle? I don’t know, I guess with the help of the magic door and Kaleb’s uncle? Who appears twice in the book, for a few seconds, and disappears? Probably! But we aren’t given many clues, we are left to guess! But the worst part is that all these question have no meaning whatsoever, because they crossed my mind only after I asked myself: WHEN was she supposed to organize a rebellion and provide the people with weapons? and only after pretending that the timing was not in fact, completely off. You see, what has happened between the ending of the first book and the mention of a rebellion, happened in the span of two days. Lets go through the steps shall we:
- Jane is being forced to marry the pig guy, she manages to kill him thanks to Blair’s help, then Jane, Blair, Liam, Lou and the horse have a magical escape thanks to Blair, that brings all of them to Karhdaro or wherever. Meanwhile Driata stays behind to ‘help her people’
- Jane discovers all those weird things thanks to the horse spilling tea, and then has that weird foursome. Let’s just skip the foursome. Meanwhile we get to be in Driata’s funny little mind and thoughts, discover some things about her personality, her relationship with Baltazar develops into weird one
- The day after: Liam is gone, jane goes to the market, weir prophecy guy, tries to kill Blair, finds herself chained to the bed (she’s actually glamouring herself). In the meantime Driata meets Kaleb’s uncle and we are left to guess
- Liam returns to Baltazar, he and Driata are sent to retrieve Lux and boom! We are told about the rebellion!
Could this rebellion have been organised before? In the first book? Nope! No time.
I'd like to point out that this is a debut series, so the issues I've jokingly talked about are really not that big of a deal, it would have been way more strange (and suspicious) if they hadn't been there at all. Also, I can tell that the books are a fun project for the author to be working on and I wish her all the best, I'm sure that writing a book is both a stressful and rewarding process not to be taken lightly.
I still dreaded my time reading these books though.
I regret every single hour spent reading and thinking about them. I will now proceed to forget about them. Thank you very much, bye.
I was given an eARC of this book and this represents my honest opinion
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2022
Okay, first things first. THAT ENDING!!
I want to thank the author for sending me an eARC copy of Shadows and Lies. Now before I start, let me just say that writing this review has been pretty hard since I can barely see the screen because of my tears!
This book was a solid 4.5/5 ✨. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. This book brought the right kind of pain and by that I mean that it hurt so good, but it still made me sob into my pillow for hours. The fact that this book was a multi-POV book made it even more amazing because I loved seeing the plot unfold from all sides. I really did love it.
Let's start with Jane. I don't think there will be a moment where I won't root for Jane and her happily ever after. She is such a badass. Were there moments where I want to smack her in the head? Duh, but no character is perfect and that is what makes them lovable. Now, that does not mean I would actually smack her in the head because she would end me in .02 seconds. That is a fact. And by the end of the book, I just want to hug her and sob together.
Now Liam. Insufferable and yet incredible Liam. I love you but ugh, I want to hate you too. Mainly because his POV made me want to protect him at all costs and yet his questionable actions, although you get to understand why he does certain things, still make you want to punch him in the face. But if there's one thing we know for certain, his love for Jane is unmatched and I love that about him.
BLAIR. BLAIR, BLAIR, BLAIR! Listen, the fact that we get to see MUCH more of him in this book is a blessing. If you loved him in the first book, get ready to fall even deeper because I was not ready. And it is not even because of the spice, although Deanna DELIVERED and more with the spice in this book, it is not the reason why you can't help but fall for Blair. We get to see a different, more caring side of him. Who he is past the glamour and I love that version of him most.
Driata, QUEEN VIBES FOR SURE. I want to see more of her and more of her with Lou. Seriously, I NEED it. But focusing on Driata, I can see a fierce Queen in the making. We have not seen her at her 100% and I know others are not ready for her, but I AM. I'm over here rooting for her to show those who have wronged her and those she loves what they get for crossing her.
I could go on because this book has so many incredible characters, however, I will wrap it all up with this. This series is very much worth it. You will fall in love with the world the author has created. And most importantly, you will hurt and sob and feel everything she wants you to and it will be the best feeling. I couldn't recommend this book and this series as a whole enough. Give it a shot! ♥️
I want to thank the author for sending me an eARC copy of Shadows and Lies. Now before I start, let me just say that writing this review has been pretty hard since I can barely see the screen because of my tears!
This book was a solid 4.5/5 ✨. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. This book brought the right kind of pain and by that I mean that it hurt so good, but it still made me sob into my pillow for hours. The fact that this book was a multi-POV book made it even more amazing because I loved seeing the plot unfold from all sides. I really did love it.
Let's start with Jane. I don't think there will be a moment where I won't root for Jane and her happily ever after. She is such a badass. Were there moments where I want to smack her in the head? Duh, but no character is perfect and that is what makes them lovable. Now, that does not mean I would actually smack her in the head because she would end me in .02 seconds. That is a fact. And by the end of the book, I just want to hug her and sob together.
Now Liam. Insufferable and yet incredible Liam. I love you but ugh, I want to hate you too. Mainly because his POV made me want to protect him at all costs and yet his questionable actions, although you get to understand why he does certain things, still make you want to punch him in the face. But if there's one thing we know for certain, his love for Jane is unmatched and I love that about him.
BLAIR. BLAIR, BLAIR, BLAIR! Listen, the fact that we get to see MUCH more of him in this book is a blessing. If you loved him in the first book, get ready to fall even deeper because I was not ready. And it is not even because of the spice, although Deanna DELIVERED and more with the spice in this book, it is not the reason why you can't help but fall for Blair. We get to see a different, more caring side of him. Who he is past the glamour and I love that version of him most.
Driata, QUEEN VIBES FOR SURE. I want to see more of her and more of her with Lou. Seriously, I NEED it. But focusing on Driata, I can see a fierce Queen in the making. We have not seen her at her 100% and I know others are not ready for her, but I AM. I'm over here rooting for her to show those who have wronged her and those she loves what they get for crossing her.
I could go on because this book has so many incredible characters, however, I will wrap it all up with this. This series is very much worth it. You will fall in love with the world the author has created. And most importantly, you will hurt and sob and feel everything she wants you to and it will be the best feeling. I couldn't recommend this book and this series as a whole enough. Give it a shot! ♥️
September 1, 2022
First I want to say a huge thank you to Deanna Ortega for sending me an ARC of Shadows and Lies. WELL where to begin…
This is book 2 in The Cursed Kingdoms series and when I say I loved EVERY minute of it, I’m not exaggerating. This book had me feeling every emotion possible from screaming to crying to laughing to blushing. We get multiple POVs, which gave so much more insight to certain characters we didn’t have in Ruin & Roses.
Jane is a fighter and you really got to see that throughout this book. She also has her faults and I think that is what makes her such a relatable character.
Driata’s POV were some of my favorite chapters. I loved getting a look into her brain and all the things she has to come to grips with. Her relationships with different characters were formed so beautifully that I had tears several times.
We get to see more of Blair and I think I fell more in love with him than I thought I was going to. He and Jane had so many tender moments and I’m such a sucker for those. There is definitely more to his story that I can’t wait to read about.
Now for Liam. There were so many times in this book I wanted to smack him but everything he does has a reason. We get to know certain things because of his POV and it helps you understand him a little better.
This book will hurt but every book worth reading breaks you in some way. There was never a slow moment where there didn’t need to be and so much more action than I could’ve imagined. Deanna has really created an amazing world filled with complex characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. Please read this series and thank me later.
This is book 2 in The Cursed Kingdoms series and when I say I loved EVERY minute of it, I’m not exaggerating. This book had me feeling every emotion possible from screaming to crying to laughing to blushing. We get multiple POVs, which gave so much more insight to certain characters we didn’t have in Ruin & Roses.
Jane is a fighter and you really got to see that throughout this book. She also has her faults and I think that is what makes her such a relatable character.
Driata’s POV were some of my favorite chapters. I loved getting a look into her brain and all the things she has to come to grips with. Her relationships with different characters were formed so beautifully that I had tears several times.
We get to see more of Blair and I think I fell more in love with him than I thought I was going to. He and Jane had so many tender moments and I’m such a sucker for those. There is definitely more to his story that I can’t wait to read about.
Now for Liam. There were so many times in this book I wanted to smack him but everything he does has a reason. We get to know certain things because of his POV and it helps you understand him a little better.
This book will hurt but every book worth reading breaks you in some way. There was never a slow moment where there didn’t need to be and so much more action than I could’ve imagined. Deanna has really created an amazing world filled with complex characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. Please read this series and thank me later.
September 3, 2022
She did it again!! The sequel to Ruin and Roses is great! I love the worldbuilding and magic, and how we learn more about both in Shadows and Lies. I wasn't sure how I was going to like having multi-pov, but I was pleasantly surprised! It added a lot to the book and I genuinely enjoyed it. I am still recovering from that ending... and I am excited to see how the story continues!
I am very thankful to have been able to receive an e-arc of this book.
I am very thankful to have been able to receive an e-arc of this book.
September 30, 2022
I really wanted to like this book. I gave the first 3 stars. I was excited when it came out…
Ultimately nothing of value really happens. It BARELY progresses the story and doesn’t explain any previous mystery/oath/curse/motive before adding about ten more mysteries.
And truthfully there were some parts of the book that just didn’t make a lot of sense. I thought maybe I was the one hallucinating on berries.
Ultimately nothing of value really happens. It BARELY progresses the story and doesn’t explain any previous mystery/oath/curse/motive before adding about ten more mysteries.
And truthfully there were some parts of the book that just didn’t make a lot of sense. I thought maybe I was the one hallucinating on berries.
August 31, 2022
I was lucky enough to get an ARC for this book, & after how much I enjoyed reading the first, I was super excited! I definitely was not disappointed! Book 2 was even better! It’s a great blend of magic, romance, spice, & adventure along with heartbreak! Be prepared! The ending is devastating & you don’t expect it! I loved this story & thought the author did a wonderful job at telling it! I’m eager to read the next one!
July 25, 2022
So, I got the honor to ARC read this book. I have already made a TikTok review and I sand behind that, but for the written review I wanted to add some more thoughts. This series is amazing, but so far has destroyed me. My heart breaks for Jane and Liam. This is the first series I have read that has caused me to feel each of my emotions on an extreme level. Deanna has made me cry more times than any other series I have read so far. I wouldn't have it any other way. Not to mention the the spice is fan yourself worthy. Deanna, thank you for bringing this series to life and showing your readers not only the beautiful side of love, but the real and emotionally damaging side. I strongly encourage you to pre order/buy this book when it releases. This is a need to read...binge worthy...make you question everything series. I know there is more to come and I CAN NOT wait to read what comes next!
July 29, 2022
Deanna back at it again with another amazing book.
Such an amazing story. The multiple POVs really brings this story together and gives you deeper insight and unravels truths/lies from book 1. So many times throughout I felt what the characters felt and was just fully immersed in this world. I did not want to leave ie. why I read this in like 3days
As a Blair girlie - this book made me fall more madly in love with him. So idk what more needs to be said
Only negative is that the book did not include a free therapy session afterwards as I will never recover from this emotionally but I’d let it destroy me again in a heart beat
Also I am begging for book 3 to come out asap plz
My non-spoiler reaction to my ARC read is posted on my TikTok @Jordy_Cosplay_
More review/cosplay content will be posted soon ❤️
Such an amazing story. The multiple POVs really brings this story together and gives you deeper insight and unravels truths/lies from book 1. So many times throughout I felt what the characters felt and was just fully immersed in this world. I did not want to leave ie. why I read this in like 3days
As a Blair girlie - this book made me fall more madly in love with him. So idk what more needs to be said
Only negative is that the book did not include a free therapy session afterwards as I will never recover from this emotionally but I’d let it destroy me again in a heart beat
Also I am begging for book 3 to come out asap plz
My non-spoiler reaction to my ARC read is posted on my TikTok @Jordy_Cosplay_
More review/cosplay content will be posted soon ❤️
August 19, 2022
*Spoiler Free* I feel very fortunate to say that I received an ARC of Shadows and Lies. And while I'm grateful that I was one of the first to experience this epic sequel to Ruin and Roses, I'm VERY upset that I have to wait LONGER to find out what happens!
Shadows and Lies kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time with its twists and turns. I never knew a character's next move which made the story THAT much more enticing. The introduction of new characters, as well as new POVs of existing characters helped draw me even further into this incredible world (and might have made me fall in love with Driata... just a little bit...).
I cannot recommend this series enough and while it might break your heart, the journey is 100% worth it. That being said, I'll just be waiting here [impatiently] for the next installment.
P.S. Chapter 9 changed my life <3
Shadows and Lies kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time with its twists and turns. I never knew a character's next move which made the story THAT much more enticing. The introduction of new characters, as well as new POVs of existing characters helped draw me even further into this incredible world (and might have made me fall in love with Driata... just a little bit...).
I cannot recommend this series enough and while it might break your heart, the journey is 100% worth it. That being said, I'll just be waiting here [impatiently] for the next installment.
P.S. Chapter 9 changed my life <3
October 10, 2022
Screaming, crying, throwing up. Absolutely heartbroken and extremely excited for book 3.
Deanna, you’ve completely ensnared me within the trap that is this world. I cannot express enough how amazing this writing is. You have me on the edge of my seat at every turn. I have questions, I have concerns (good ones because I’m invested in what is happening), but most of all, I’m excited to learn where Jane goes next alongside everyone else ❤️
And thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader for Shadows & Lies. Pick up Ruin & Roses today - you won’t regret it!
Deanna, you’ve completely ensnared me within the trap that is this world. I cannot express enough how amazing this writing is. You have me on the edge of my seat at every turn. I have questions, I have concerns (good ones because I’m invested in what is happening), but most of all, I’m excited to learn where Jane goes next alongside everyone else ❤️
And thank you for allowing me to be an ARC reader for Shadows & Lies. Pick up Ruin & Roses today - you won’t regret it!
November 3, 2022
Fun World, Sarcastic Characters
The characters I loved in the first book are back and they continue to grow. Ortega is weaving a tale that has many more secrets to reveal. The story and writing have improved from the last book, which is great!, and the multiple POV's have distinct character voices. There's lots of court intrigue and stabby sexy tension. What more can you want?
This series far surpasses many of booktok's darlings in quality, content, and passion. Books like King of Battle and Blood, From Blood and Ash, and the Zodiac Academy series are weak in comparison.
The characters I loved in the first book are back and they continue to grow. Ortega is weaving a tale that has many more secrets to reveal. The story and writing have improved from the last book, which is great!, and the multiple POV's have distinct character voices. There's lots of court intrigue and stabby sexy tension. What more can you want?
This series far surpasses many of booktok's darlings in quality, content, and passion. Books like King of Battle and Blood, From Blood and Ash, and the Zodiac Academy series are weak in comparison.
November 8, 2022
Confused
I read this book cover to cover and have no idea what happened. It's incredibly vague, like playing connect the dots but you're color blind and they're the same color as the mat. The plot is driven to the point that it feels half the book is missing in 10 page increments. and there's no character development.
I read this book cover to cover and have no idea what happened. It's incredibly vague, like playing connect the dots but you're color blind and they're the same color as the mat. The plot is driven to the point that it feels half the book is missing in 10 page increments. and there's no character development.
Read
March 13, 2023Read this as a buddy read with ACOFAE Podcast cohost ACOFAE Laura (https://www.goodreads.com/acofaelaura) and we had the opportunity to discuss the book more with the author for ACOFAE Podcast as well (can be listened to here: https://tinyurl.com/hvkh42j9)
One thing that Deanna does in her continuation of this series is this follow up to the first book is just as exciting! You're in it with the characters and you see so much growth. There's tropes (miscommunication, a one-horse trope that you will NEVER look at the same way again if you read fantasy), excitement, politics, and love in every capacity (familial and romantic.) If you're looking for a continuing romantasy series (there's a prequel in the works that comes out in April), you'll want to pick up Shadows and Lies as the second book of the Cursed Kingdoms series. The characters are wonderful and the spice is deliciously spicy. You get the continuation of the first book where the spice is spicy and so well written, toxic relationships are discussed, sibling dynamics and the pressures that come with upholding certain perceptions. It's a bit chaotic but that's why it's fun! The book is quotable. It's everything you want out of a fantasy book/series that doesn't focus on just romance, but rarely get!
Please note I pulled these CW/TW from the author's site directly for this book: Violence (Graphic), Death, Mature Content, Mature Language, Sexual Content, Mental Abuse, Physical Abuse, Misogyny, Sexual Coercion, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide (Mentioned), Sexual Assault, Death of a Parent, Child Abuse, Animal Death (Mentioned)
One thing that Deanna does in her continuation of this series is this follow up to the first book is just as exciting! You're in it with the characters and you see so much growth. There's tropes (miscommunication, a one-horse trope that you will NEVER look at the same way again if you read fantasy), excitement, politics, and love in every capacity (familial and romantic.) If you're looking for a continuing romantasy series (there's a prequel in the works that comes out in April), you'll want to pick up Shadows and Lies as the second book of the Cursed Kingdoms series. The characters are wonderful and the spice is deliciously spicy. You get the continuation of the first book where the spice is spicy and so well written, toxic relationships are discussed, sibling dynamics and the pressures that come with upholding certain perceptions. It's a bit chaotic but that's why it's fun! The book is quotable. It's everything you want out of a fantasy book/series that doesn't focus on just romance, but rarely get!
Please note I pulled these CW/TW from the author's site directly for this book: Violence (Graphic), Death, Mature Content, Mature Language, Sexual Content, Mental Abuse, Physical Abuse, Misogyny, Sexual Coercion, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide (Mentioned), Sexual Assault, Death of a Parent, Child Abuse, Animal Death (Mentioned)
September 4, 2022
Shadows and Lies is book 2 in the Cursed Kingdoms series and is an incredible sequel to Ruin and Roses. Book 1 was great, but Deanna knocked it out of the park with Book 2. The world building, character development, and spice are top tier. When you buy this book, prepare for THE emotional roller coaster of a lifetime.😅
Jane is a flawed main character and I love that about her. Her struggles after what happened in Ruin and Roses are so beautifully written.
Driata is THAT BITCH and I would literally do anything for her.
Blair shows he genuinely cares for Jane’s well-being and is a total sweetheart. I fell hard for him. Forever my pantless King.
Liam needed to be slapped a few times but seeing his thoughts and learning his side of things helped me understand him better.
Many new characters are introduced and I can’t wait for the next to learn more about each of them.
**Chapter 9 🔥🔥🔥 Y’all, she outdid herself with this one.
Deanna put her whole heart into this series and you won’t regret reading it. Can’t wait to see what’s next!!🖤🖤
Jane is a flawed main character and I love that about her. Her struggles after what happened in Ruin and Roses are so beautifully written.
Driata is THAT BITCH and I would literally do anything for her.
Blair shows he genuinely cares for Jane’s well-being and is a total sweetheart. I fell hard for him. Forever my pantless King.
Liam needed to be slapped a few times but seeing his thoughts and learning his side of things helped me understand him better.
Many new characters are introduced and I can’t wait for the next to learn more about each of them.
**Chapter 9 🔥🔥🔥 Y’all, she outdid herself with this one.
Deanna put her whole heart into this series and you won’t regret reading it. Can’t wait to see what’s next!!🖤🖤
August 31, 2022
Deanna has grown as an author so much that it makes me want to cry. As someone who loved Ruin and Roses, I am awestruck my Shadows and Lies From the reveals and twists that kept me on the edge of my seat, to the world building and character development, Shadows and Lies left me breathless. I am so proud to have been an ARC reader for this fabulous sequel, and will be counting the minutes until book three. Also, that ending? For the sake of my psyche it never happened. I will simply respond "I don't know what you mean" if you ask me about it. Dee came for my neck with it. I loved this. Madly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2022
This is the second book in the Cursed Kingdoms series. This book picks up right where Ruin and Roses left off so I do recommend reading this series in order or you’ll be lost. Also please check the trigger warnings. From the very first chapter I was hooked once again. This was such an amazing page turner. I loved the introduction of new POV’s and fell in love with understanding Driata better. Be prepared for an emotional ride.
You will fall even more in love with these characters. Jane is such a bada$$. Liam, I have a love hate relationship with him but he loves Jane and you see that. Blair, I can’t even talk about him, where’s my Blair in real life?! This series really is everything, all the emotions you’ll go through is so very worth it.
Enough said, go read this series now. You will fall in love, laugh, smile, cry, scream and have doubt but I promise it’s all worth it.
You will fall even more in love with these characters. Jane is such a bada$$. Liam, I have a love hate relationship with him but he loves Jane and you see that. Blair, I can’t even talk about him, where’s my Blair in real life?! This series really is everything, all the emotions you’ll go through is so very worth it.
Enough said, go read this series now. You will fall in love, laugh, smile, cry, scream and have doubt but I promise it’s all worth it.
August 29, 2022
I need the book character support hotline!! Deanna Ortega knocked it out again with her second instalment of the Cursed Kingdom series: Shadows and Lies.
The world building and character development was so well done, you feel like you are a part of the story. With multiple POV’s, much is revealed that was teased in Ruin and Roses, as well as so much more. I was trapped in this book from page one and went through every emotion while reading it. There were so many twists and turns; loads of spice, and lots of action. Shadows and Lies will break you, put you back together but it hurts so good.
Absolutely beautiful story and I cannot wait for more in Book 3! Get reading this amazing series now!
The world building and character development was so well done, you feel like you are a part of the story. With multiple POV’s, much is revealed that was teased in Ruin and Roses, as well as so much more. I was trapped in this book from page one and went through every emotion while reading it. There were so many twists and turns; loads of spice, and lots of action. Shadows and Lies will break you, put you back together but it hurts so good.
Absolutely beautiful story and I cannot wait for more in Book 3! Get reading this amazing series now!
September 2, 2022
This is the second book in the cursed kingdom series. I gave this book five stars but honestly I give it 10 stars. Deanna's writing makes you feel like you're in the world. The spice on point. If you haven't read ruin & roses do so, then read shadows & lies. Seriously can't wait for the next book.
September 5, 2022
WOW! I enjoyed book one but book two is beyond what I thought it would be. The only thing I think it was lacking was whatever Blair and Liam's connection is! Wasn't sad about Liam dying (if he even did). Give me all King Blair 🔥.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2022
Perfect blend of spice, magic, drama, action & romance. I absolutely loved the first book & was so excited to receive the ARC for the second book. I was not disappointed. 👏👏👏👏
Definitely check TW’s first because this is an epic fantasy romance that is both sizzling, nail-biting & crushing.
This second book is unraveling more of this fascinating world & I feel like we are just barely scratching the surface of possibilities.
This is an incomplete series but this world & these characters are nothing short of brilliant. I cannot wait for the next book. I have so many feelings & theories & that familiar hangover is sinking in.
One of the best NA Fae Romance series & it has been an absolute pleasure to discover this series. Highly recommend. Well done! I especially loved the Character Astrology signs! That was a fun touch!
Definitely check TW’s first because this is an epic fantasy romance that is both sizzling, nail-biting & crushing.
This second book is unraveling more of this fascinating world & I feel like we are just barely scratching the surface of possibilities.
This is an incomplete series but this world & these characters are nothing short of brilliant. I cannot wait for the next book. I have so many feelings & theories & that familiar hangover is sinking in.
One of the best NA Fae Romance series & it has been an absolute pleasure to discover this series. Highly recommend. Well done! I especially loved the Character Astrology signs! That was a fun touch!
August 18, 2022
WHAT A STORY!! This book was such an adventure and I loved every second of it (even the end which has broken me irreparably)!! I love the relationships between the characters, the big reveals and the small ones to mysteries that unwind slowly, and the storytelling was done in such a beautiful way that I was laughing and crying through the whole book. 5⭐️ without a doubt!! I can't wait (but I will, and patiently) for the next one!!
August 4, 2022
I loved this sequel so much. We learn so much: how the curse happened, more information on Driata and her story as well as Liam's, and information on the blood oath. I also really enjoyed the multiple POVs in this one. Jane is barely scratching the surface of her powers, Blair helps her overcome a new fear and encourages her to begin to learn how to wield her powers. We see how strong and brave Driata is and how far she'll go for her people and Jane. We do get to see some more spice between Jane, Liam, and Blair, but I'm a bit bummed there wasn't more going on there. The chemistry between Jane and each guy is too good and Jane deserves more stress release. The execution hit me like a gut punch and I got mad at Driata for not trying to use the necklace when the rebels were rounding everyone up. Somebody needs to tell Jane that everything horrible Liam ever did to her was Baltazar's fault, his orders. Especially because of that ending. I was expecting the death but the fact that he thought he had carried out the order when he died, hit me right in the heart. Did Jane specifically have to kill him or was it anyone, once Baltazar had died? I can't believe this was their ending. My heart hurts. But that was amazing and as a fellow author, I understand that the story needs to go a certain way. I can't wait to read the next one. I was hooked after the first one, and now I'm even more emotionally invested. Jane needs to let Blair into her heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2022
I was so lucky and honored to be an ebook arc reader for this book.
With no spoilers, this book was so freaking good. I love learning more about the magic system that Deanna created, as well as the world building and the character relationships. I love how easily I could slip back into this world and know exactly who was who. The spice was spicy, the bad guys were so hate-able and the main character was a hot mess, which is relatable honestly.
It was heartbreaking, entertaining and overall I love this world and can't wait to learn more about these characters and where they will go.
With no spoilers, this book was so freaking good. I love learning more about the magic system that Deanna created, as well as the world building and the character relationships. I love how easily I could slip back into this world and know exactly who was who. The spice was spicy, the bad guys were so hate-able and the main character was a hot mess, which is relatable honestly.
It was heartbreaking, entertaining and overall I love this world and can't wait to learn more about these characters and where they will go.
August 23, 2022
So many twists and turns for this sequel. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book. I laughed, I cried, i screamed. I loved getting the multiple POVs for this book. I’m even more attached and enamored with these characters than I was. Deanna has really created a work of art with this series and I can’t wait to find out what happens next in this adventure.
July 28, 2022
Although I did enjoy the first book in the series (Ruin and Roses), this second book was INFINITELY better! I am honestly still too stunned to speak after finishing this book. There is so many great things about this book, the plot line, the different POVs, the many “lightbulb” moments that connected the first book to it, and the endless amount of quotes that struck home for me!
This book had me fully captivated from beginning to end! It pulled on every one of my emotions and took me from laughing to crying in a matter of a few paragraphs. It’s one of those books that leaves you wanting more!
This book had me fully captivated from beginning to end! It pulled on every one of my emotions and took me from laughing to crying in a matter of a few paragraphs. It’s one of those books that leaves you wanting more!
July 30, 2022
OMG! I was absolutely not ready for that! The book was just as good if not better than Ruin and Roses. There were so many twists and I absolutely love that the reader only learns and realizes all of these insane truths and possibilities as Jane does! I also absolutely loved the way Dri matured and came into herself throughout the book- she was definitely one of my favorite characters from Ruin and Roses so I was SO happy to get to learn more about her and grow with her! I absolutely CAN'T wait for the next book! This was fantastic!
August 30, 2022
I received this book, first in its beta version, and now as an ARC copy and absolutely devoured its pages. It has a writing style that is both compelling and moves the plot along in such a way that no matter how many small nuggets of information (answers to questions we've all been asking) I was still constantly thinking about the next thing and the next thing and onward. The world of the Cursed Kingdoms is such a rich, beautiful world, and it was absolutely delightful to see more of it in this second installment. The world building, in my opinion, is beautifully done, and I know Deanna has put a lot of work into disseminating the information without it being a gaudy infodump like we see in many fantasy romances.
Characters are absolutely the best part of any book to me -- more than the plot or anything else, and the diverse cast in this series is only expanded upon further with the addition of POVs and the further expansion of the world. Personally, I would die for Driata Serpen. Her character in Ruin and Roses was already compelling, but it's a true testament to Deanna's craft that the moment we are allowed inside of Dri's head, an entirely different version of her emerges. Jane's POV in the first book is unreliable at best (always a fave of mine) and having the opportunity to see the same things through different eyes really aided in the overall storytelling of this book.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves high fantasy with a rich history of its world, anyone who has been vying for a sapphic love story, and anyone who loves enemies AND lovers. The ending was so beautifully written that I'm still thinking about it, even months after I initially read it.
Pre-order Shadows and Lies, out August 31st! You won't regret it.
Characters are absolutely the best part of any book to me -- more than the plot or anything else, and the diverse cast in this series is only expanded upon further with the addition of POVs and the further expansion of the world. Personally, I would die for Driata Serpen. Her character in Ruin and Roses was already compelling, but it's a true testament to Deanna's craft that the moment we are allowed inside of Dri's head, an entirely different version of her emerges. Jane's POV in the first book is unreliable at best (always a fave of mine) and having the opportunity to see the same things through different eyes really aided in the overall storytelling of this book.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves high fantasy with a rich history of its world, anyone who has been vying for a sapphic love story, and anyone who loves enemies AND lovers. The ending was so beautifully written that I'm still thinking about it, even months after I initially read it.
Pre-order Shadows and Lies, out August 31st! You won't regret it.
July 21, 2022
This book is absolutely beautiful. Deanna does such a good job of writing flawed characters that are so human and relatable, and who you root for even when you disagree with their choices. You laugh with them, you cheer for them, you scream into the book "what are you doing" and then clap for them in the same breath. She writes these one-liners that break your heart while making you feel so seen as a reader, because she truly understands human emotion and grief. This world she's created is so multifaceted and well thought-out. It will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page, and after it, you'll be demanding the next book. Brava!
July 25, 2022
Once again… I am speechless. The world Dee has created is mesmerizing. The characters, the plot, the style of everything is just perfect. I fall in love with every page as I go. Without spoilers, you’ll need a hefty amount of tissues by you for this second installment, for tears and laughter and heart wrenching moments, and everything in between.
Again… SO GOOD.
Again… SO GOOD.
July 21, 2022
This book had my heart racing within the first few chapters. There is so many moments that have to filling with anxiety, good anxiety, and needing to turn the next page. I thought I loved ruin and roses, but this took it to another level! This story is beautifully written and the spice mixed in definitely kept things interesting ;)
She is a fantastic author, she will make you fall in love, rip your heart out, in the best way, and I am already itching for the next! These books will be getting their own designated spot on my shelves!!!
She is a fantastic author, she will make you fall in love, rip your heart out, in the best way, and I am already itching for the next! These books will be getting their own designated spot on my shelves!!!
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