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Runes of Pain and Peace #1
The Prince's Captive
A decoy bride sent to die. The soldier prince sent to capture her. How far will he go to save her life when even she has accepted her death? Marcella is a mediocre mage whose only value to her people is the fact she looks like the clan’s heir. When she is ordered to take her place and be captured by their enemies so the heir can fulfill a marriage alliance, Marcella obeys. Her only hope of surviving after her capture is for them to believe she’s the heir long enough for her to escape. Unfortunately the commander who captures her is sharper than anticipated. When he figures out the truth, she is as good as dead… isn’t she? Upon discovering he captured a decoy instead of the heir his people needed for peace, Gavril is torn between his duty and his growing affection for a girl the world has deemed worthless. But what if she isn’t? In her, he sees a path to peace. But if he’s going to keep her alive long enough to prove it, he might just have to tie himself to her forever. With enemies on every side, and his own heart lost to her, how is he going to protect a woman who will always hate him?
For lovers of epic magic, complex characters, and slow-burn, intense enemies-to-lovers romance full of tension with no spice, The Prince's Captive is an upper YA fantasy romance perfect for fans of Tara Grayce, Kenley Davidson, and Sarah K. L. Wilson!
For lovers of epic magic, complex characters, and slow-burn, intense enemies-to-lovers romance full of tension with no spice, The Prince's Captive is an upper YA fantasy romance perfect for fans of Tara Grayce, Kenley Davidson, and Sarah K. L. Wilson!
387 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 18, 2023
231 people are currently reading
1165 people want to read
About the author
Celeste Baxendell
23 books1,028 followersCeleste Baxendell has always read anything she could get her hands on, but once she read her first fantasy novel, she was hooked and hasn’t looked back since.
Her love of magic, adventure, and romance hasn’t waned with age, and she endeavors to write nail-biting stories with compelling, complex characters, and finding light in dark times.
She is incredibly blessed to spend her time writing from her favorite chair with her legs curled up under her as she fights the southern heat. When she isn’t writing, she’s either reading, drawing, or sewing, in that order, and most likely thinking about writing as she does.
Her love of magic, adventure, and romance hasn’t waned with age, and she endeavors to write nail-biting stories with compelling, complex characters, and finding light in dark times.
She is incredibly blessed to spend her time writing from her favorite chair with her legs curled up under her as she fights the southern heat. When she isn’t writing, she’s either reading, drawing, or sewing, in that order, and most likely thinking about writing as she does.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
September 18, 2023
Ahhh I loved this book so much, it was unlike any fantasy book I’ve ever read before. It had me on the edge of my seat the whole entire time wondering who was who, what was what, I was so intrigued with the story and trying to figure out who to trust.
Marcella and Gavril are absolutely amazing, the enemies to something, the slow burn and the he falls first are seriously incredible!! Wooow just perfection 😉
It had me hating and loving and hating and falling in love with their chemistry the whole book was just sooo good. This book keeps you guessing, on your toes with anticipation and by the end you’re binge reading needing to know what’s gonna happen next.
I need to read the second book asap! Very rarely am i ever wanting to immediately read the next book in a series as much as this has made me want to read the next one, if it wasn’t because the second book doesn’t come out until a few days from now I would have been reading the next one right now lol
I loved it, I just wished the language barrier between Marcella and Gavril wasn’t so hard to translate in writing because it made it quite frustrating to read. Otherwise this is an underrated fantasy masterpiece!! ❤️❤️❤️
Marcella and Gavril are absolutely amazing, the enemies to something, the slow burn and the he falls first are seriously incredible!! Wooow just perfection 😉
It had me hating and loving and hating and falling in love with their chemistry the whole book was just sooo good. This book keeps you guessing, on your toes with anticipation and by the end you’re binge reading needing to know what’s gonna happen next.
I need to read the second book asap! Very rarely am i ever wanting to immediately read the next book in a series as much as this has made me want to read the next one, if it wasn’t because the second book doesn’t come out until a few days from now I would have been reading the next one right now lol
I loved it, I just wished the language barrier between Marcella and Gavril wasn’t so hard to translate in writing because it made it quite frustrating to read. Otherwise this is an underrated fantasy masterpiece!! ❤️❤️❤️
September 10, 2023
Interesting world, but there wasn't any actual world building, the reader is simply dropped into a clan feud with two new languages and a dozen names. It was confusing, then fully half the book has to be broken translations so we don't have any clue of what's going on at all. Than we get to all the lies, it's a wonder he even can know her enough to fall in love with her at all.
THEN the entire reason for centuries of hate and death is that one clan casts magic with two hands and the other sometimes casts with just one. Like, that's it. The entire reason.
Ends on a cliffhanger and I'm not sure I care enough to go through another book of those painful broken conversations.
THEN the entire reason for centuries of hate and death is that one clan casts magic with two hands and the other sometimes casts with just one. Like, that's it. The entire reason.
Ends on a cliffhanger and I'm not sure I care enough to go through another book of those painful broken conversations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2023
Marcella is a mediocre mage and soldier, but she has one thing going for her: she looks like Hypatia, her clan's heiress. When Marcella is asked to take Hypatia's place as a decoy for their enemy she doesn't mind. When she's captured she just has to convince her captors that she's Hypatia until she can escape. But their leader, commander Gavril, soon realise that she's not who they think. Instead of killing her he hopes that she's the answer to his prayer of peace between their people, but neither his own family nor Marcella believes in him.
Here we have two clans with rune magic. They speak different languages and they have some prejudice about each other. They’re sworn enemies and convinced they're better than the other. We get both Marcella's and Gavril's POV's, but more of hers. To the reader it's clear early on that Gavril is a good guy and really do want peace, but from Marcella's point of view it's understandable that she doubts him. She believes that he’s lying and manipulating her into trusting him. Although I can understand her it becomes somewhat tiresome eventually. It's also a bit annoying with the language barrier. Gavril can make himself decently understood in her language, but it's easy to get things wrong when you don't have all the words. Marcella only understands some words in Gavril's language, which puts her in a disadvantage. These are still minor issues for me and I can hardly wait to read the next book - especially with that cliffhanger!
* I received an ARC from the author and I'm giving my honest review. *
Here we have two clans with rune magic. They speak different languages and they have some prejudice about each other. They’re sworn enemies and convinced they're better than the other. We get both Marcella's and Gavril's POV's, but more of hers. To the reader it's clear early on that Gavril is a good guy and really do want peace, but from Marcella's point of view it's understandable that she doubts him. She believes that he’s lying and manipulating her into trusting him. Although I can understand her it becomes somewhat tiresome eventually. It's also a bit annoying with the language barrier. Gavril can make himself decently understood in her language, but it's easy to get things wrong when you don't have all the words. Marcella only understands some words in Gavril's language, which puts her in a disadvantage. These are still minor issues for me and I can hardly wait to read the next book - especially with that cliffhanger!
* I received an ARC from the author and I'm giving my honest review. *
December 18, 2025
2.5 stars rounded down.
THE GOOD
1) Book chemistry. Any fantasy or historical fiction book with the storyline of a kidnapped bride/warprize like Warprize or the broken translation/miscommunication trope like Radiance is probably going to be an obligatory read.
2) Clean.
THE BAD
I had to check multiple times if this was the second in a series because otherwise, why is the reader abruptly dropped into the middle of an action sequence with no exposition or explanation to follow? There are people and clans and powers and history and world building that is never explained, which rather than draw the reader in serves to push me away instead. And the broken translations for the entire book? Do you know how frustrating it -- read -- string of what -- call info-dumping -- up like this?
FINAL THOUGHTS
Skim read this super fast to get the gist. Won't be back for a reread or the sequel.
THE GOOD
1) Book chemistry. Any fantasy or historical fiction book with the storyline of a kidnapped bride/warprize like Warprize or the broken translation/miscommunication trope like Radiance is probably going to be an obligatory read.
2) Clean.
THE BAD
I had to check multiple times if this was the second in a series because otherwise, why is the reader abruptly dropped into the middle of an action sequence with no exposition or explanation to follow? There are people and clans and powers and history and world building that is never explained, which rather than draw the reader in serves to push me away instead. And the broken translations for the entire book? Do you know how frustrating it -- read -- string of what -- call info-dumping -- up like this?
FINAL THOUGHTS
Skim read this super fast to get the gist. Won't be back for a reread or the sequel.
did-not-finish
August 16, 2023DNF @40%
The synopsis of this book is really promising, but from the start it turned out to be a though read. The story gets into action right away, which makes that there is no time to get to know the characters. Marcella obeyed to pretending to be someone else, even if this means letting her face gets scared and maybe even death. She wants to learn about the people who kipnapped her, which is interesting. However this is all the book is about. She is captured, doesn't really understand the language and is awaiting a vision in which she dies.
This book is called The Prince's Captive, but there is no prince to find in this book. There only is a commander who soon figures out Marcella isn't the person they should have kidnapped, but he it just doesn't matter to him. He isn't trying to do his job and take the real heir, but is satisfied with a fake one.
The writing style itself is just like you would expect of Celeste Baxendell, so there is nothing to say about that at all. It is a nice writing style with a good pace.
However, just because everything in this storyline seems to be just the same up to 40% into the book, it is real difficult to read through. For me it got boring and I just couldn't enjoy the story anymore causing me to DNF unfortunatly.
I really hope the next books by Baxendell will be better, since I used to really enjoy her books
The synopsis of this book is really promising, but from the start it turned out to be a though read. The story gets into action right away, which makes that there is no time to get to know the characters. Marcella obeyed to pretending to be someone else, even if this means letting her face gets scared and maybe even death. She wants to learn about the people who kipnapped her, which is interesting. However this is all the book is about. She is captured, doesn't really understand the language and is awaiting a vision in which she dies.
This book is called The Prince's Captive, but there is no prince to find in this book. There only is a commander who soon figures out Marcella isn't the person they should have kidnapped, but he it just doesn't matter to him. He isn't trying to do his job and take the real heir, but is satisfied with a fake one.
The writing style itself is just like you would expect of Celeste Baxendell, so there is nothing to say about that at all. It is a nice writing style with a good pace.
However, just because everything in this storyline seems to be just the same up to 40% into the book, it is real difficult to read through. For me it got boring and I just couldn't enjoy the story anymore causing me to DNF unfortunatly.
I really hope the next books by Baxendell will be better, since I used to really enjoy her books
August 15, 2023
When I first received the ARC for The Prince's Captive by Celeste Baxendell, I thought that it was her entry for the upcoming Once Upon a Prince series. However, I quickly realized that it is the first book from her newest fantasy series, Runes of Pain and Peace. Her gender-bent fairy tale retelling, The Wicked Prince, is yet to come. The Prince's Captive is quite a bit longer and more intense than a light-hearted fairy tale retelling. It tells an original fantasy story for young adult readers that gives off Romeo and Juliet vibes in a world with mages who cast spells using runes similar to my own fantasy trilogy. Though it was a riveting book, the circumstances behind the romance were so troubling that it felt like a guilty pleasure. The female lead was a prisoner like Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," Yet that story is rather tame compared to the level of torment that Marcella suffers in this book.
Marcella's appearance is both a blessing and a curse. She is fortunate to look nearly identical to her clan's leader, Hypatia, who she idolizes. However, when Hypatia has a vision of getting captured by the enemy on her wedding night, Marcella is the only person who looks convincing enough to stand in for her. It is Marcella's duty and privilege to pretend to be Hypatia, even if that means getting brutally maimed to replicate her leader's scar and suffering all of the torture that the Inimicus clan have in store for her. Marcella is surprised to learn that her primary captor, Gavril, is intelligent enough to figure out her true identity. She is even more surprised to learn that he is not willing to reveal her secret to the rest of the clan so they can dispose of her and instead chooses to protect her in any way possible, including performing a marriage ceremony to make her his wife. He does this by convincing the clan that marrying "Hypatia" himself would prevent her marriage alliance with another clan. Their language barrier and cultural differences prevent Marcella from understanding the significance of the ceremony.
This book does a fantastic job of portraying a love story between two people from different cultures who speak different languages. It rarely incorporates words from their own languages that would only read as gibberish and instead uses broken English to reveal the little parts of each language that Marcella and Gavril understand from each other. The broken-up dialogue makes it easy for the reader to sympathize with both characters and how little or how much they are able to understand, which makes it believable that Marcella doesn't realize that Gavril married her. It also makes Gavil's love for Marcella all the more endearing as he works hard to protect her despite her hatred of him and his lack of ability to understand her. Instead of trying to force her to speak his language, he devotes all of his time and effort to getting better at her language and learning more about her likes, dislikes, and customs that differ from his own culture. It would be a beautiful metaphor for an interracial marriage if it weren't for the fact that Marcella does not realize they are married and is Garvil's prisoner for the majority of the story.
Though I found this book to be a thoroughly enjoyable and captivating love story, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about Marcella's situation. It is explained multiple times why Gavril is unable to grant her his freedom due to his duty and loyalty to his clan, but he still allows his people to lock up and torture her whenever he is not with her. While he does his best to stop them whenever it is in his power, he never goes so far as to betray them entirely in order to liberate her from her miserable state of being. He also never reveals to Marcella that he made her his wife despite having ample opportunity to do so because he is worried she will be angry with him, which is likely correct. These are things that will probably be addressed in the next book from this series, The Prince's Mage, but it is troubling to enjoy a love story so much when one of the characters holds so much power over the other. Marcella suffers immensely throughout this book and winds up in some horrifying situations that give her PTSD. As much as Gavril tries to comfort her, it is simply never enough.
In light of the intense and complex dynamics portrayed in The Prince's Captive by Celeste Baxendell, the novel delves into the intricate themes of power, language barriers, and the struggles of two individuals from different cultures. Despite the discomfort that may arise from the unequal power dynamics between Marcella and Gavril, the story captures the audience's imagination and emotions, leaving them eagerly waiting for the next book in Runes of Pain and Peace. Readers of this series must critically engage with the complexities presented, understanding that it provides a safe space for exploring challenging narratives and pushing the boundaries of our own understanding. The Prince's Captive undoubtedly sparks important discussions about love, loyalty, and the lengths one will go to protect those they care about, prompting us to ponder the blurred lines between captivity and affection. Due to the nature of its themes, I would recommend this series to older readers who are in the mood for something dark and heavy.
Marcella's appearance is both a blessing and a curse. She is fortunate to look nearly identical to her clan's leader, Hypatia, who she idolizes. However, when Hypatia has a vision of getting captured by the enemy on her wedding night, Marcella is the only person who looks convincing enough to stand in for her. It is Marcella's duty and privilege to pretend to be Hypatia, even if that means getting brutally maimed to replicate her leader's scar and suffering all of the torture that the Inimicus clan have in store for her. Marcella is surprised to learn that her primary captor, Gavril, is intelligent enough to figure out her true identity. She is even more surprised to learn that he is not willing to reveal her secret to the rest of the clan so they can dispose of her and instead chooses to protect her in any way possible, including performing a marriage ceremony to make her his wife. He does this by convincing the clan that marrying "Hypatia" himself would prevent her marriage alliance with another clan. Their language barrier and cultural differences prevent Marcella from understanding the significance of the ceremony.
This book does a fantastic job of portraying a love story between two people from different cultures who speak different languages. It rarely incorporates words from their own languages that would only read as gibberish and instead uses broken English to reveal the little parts of each language that Marcella and Gavril understand from each other. The broken-up dialogue makes it easy for the reader to sympathize with both characters and how little or how much they are able to understand, which makes it believable that Marcella doesn't realize that Gavril married her. It also makes Gavil's love for Marcella all the more endearing as he works hard to protect her despite her hatred of him and his lack of ability to understand her. Instead of trying to force her to speak his language, he devotes all of his time and effort to getting better at her language and learning more about her likes, dislikes, and customs that differ from his own culture. It would be a beautiful metaphor for an interracial marriage if it weren't for the fact that Marcella does not realize they are married and is Garvil's prisoner for the majority of the story.
Though I found this book to be a thoroughly enjoyable and captivating love story, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about Marcella's situation. It is explained multiple times why Gavril is unable to grant her his freedom due to his duty and loyalty to his clan, but he still allows his people to lock up and torture her whenever he is not with her. While he does his best to stop them whenever it is in his power, he never goes so far as to betray them entirely in order to liberate her from her miserable state of being. He also never reveals to Marcella that he made her his wife despite having ample opportunity to do so because he is worried she will be angry with him, which is likely correct. These are things that will probably be addressed in the next book from this series, The Prince's Mage, but it is troubling to enjoy a love story so much when one of the characters holds so much power over the other. Marcella suffers immensely throughout this book and winds up in some horrifying situations that give her PTSD. As much as Gavril tries to comfort her, it is simply never enough.
In light of the intense and complex dynamics portrayed in The Prince's Captive by Celeste Baxendell, the novel delves into the intricate themes of power, language barriers, and the struggles of two individuals from different cultures. Despite the discomfort that may arise from the unequal power dynamics between Marcella and Gavril, the story captures the audience's imagination and emotions, leaving them eagerly waiting for the next book in Runes of Pain and Peace. Readers of this series must critically engage with the complexities presented, understanding that it provides a safe space for exploring challenging narratives and pushing the boundaries of our own understanding. The Prince's Captive undoubtedly sparks important discussions about love, loyalty, and the lengths one will go to protect those they care about, prompting us to ponder the blurred lines between captivity and affection. Due to the nature of its themes, I would recommend this series to older readers who are in the mood for something dark and heavy.
August 7, 2023
I love a book where the characters are given time to build their relationship and grow to love each other. I love it even more if they begin with a rocky start or as enemies. This book delivers! These two are thrown together as enemies, with a language barrier and conflicting goals. I was definitely left eager to read on, and to read the next book.
(I received an ARC copy from the author.)
(I received an ARC copy from the author.)
January 4, 2024
3.5 stars.
An actual enemy to lovers. They are warring clans. A slow burn, he fell first story. Marcella is to be a decoy. She knows she doesn’t hold much value to her people other than being a look-alike. Gavril just wants peace. His mission is to capture the enemy’s princess or as they call her the demon. He soon realizes they captured the wrong woman. He doesn’t tell anybody trying to decide what to do with her.
This is a slow burn, so if you want romance before 50% or even 75%, this book isn’t for you. They are enemies for the majority of the book. I like the first book. It sets up the world and slowly builds the relationship. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
It does end on a cliff hanger.
An actual enemy to lovers. They are warring clans. A slow burn, he fell first story. Marcella is to be a decoy. She knows she doesn’t hold much value to her people other than being a look-alike. Gavril just wants peace. His mission is to capture the enemy’s princess or as they call her the demon. He soon realizes they captured the wrong woman. He doesn’t tell anybody trying to decide what to do with her.
This is a slow burn, so if you want romance before 50% or even 75%, this book isn’t for you. They are enemies for the majority of the book. I like the first book. It sets up the world and slowly builds the relationship. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
It does end on a cliff hanger.
November 12, 2023
Highly recommend for all romantasy lovers , who like selfless chivalrous heroes, actual enemies to lovers trope, magic and swords, clean fantasy, and female characters strong in thier own way .
Read
September 11, 2023DNF @ 20%
This ought to be just my jam. Greco-Roman inspired. Linguistics. An implied look at trauma and mental health.
Yet, for reasons I can't fully put my finger on, I've been thinking about DNFing since a few pages in. The closest I've come to a reason is that the writing feels excessively wordy and I'm not a fan of the staccato sentence breaks used to add emphasis. There aren't any major issues, although I noted a few pieces I would change. Besides that, I think it's that the heroine's voice is so... determinedly religious? Blinkered? Xenophobic? But also defeated. Some combination of all of these. Don't get me wrong - this is consistent with her life/world. I'm simply saying - it's no joy to read.
This ought to be just my jam. Greco-Roman inspired. Linguistics. An implied look at trauma and mental health.
Yet, for reasons I can't fully put my finger on, I've been thinking about DNFing since a few pages in. The closest I've come to a reason is that the writing feels excessively wordy and I'm not a fan of the staccato sentence breaks used to add emphasis. There aren't any major issues, although I noted a few pieces I would change. Besides that, I think it's that the heroine's voice is so... determinedly religious? Blinkered? Xenophobic? But also defeated. Some combination of all of these. Don't get me wrong - this is consistent with her life/world. I'm simply saying - it's no joy to read.
September 23, 2023
A decoy bride sent to die. The soldier prince sent to capture her. How far will he go to save her life when even she has accepted her death?
The Prince's Captive is the first book ya fantasy romance series called Runes of Pain and Peace by Celeste Baxendell. I really enjoyed The Prince's Captive. This book was a classic enemies to lovers fantasy with plenty of politics and warring kingdoms involved.
In The Prince's Captive, we meet our two main characters- Marcella and Gavril. Marcella is a mage who looks like her clan's princess. She takes her place as a decoy to go to an enemy clan. When their leaders figures out the truth, he decides to use this as his advantage to try and broker peace between the two clans. I enjoyed both Gavril and Marcella. Their clans both have magic, but they are very much foreign to each other. There is a language barrier that obviously posed some issues for the two of them, not to mention the cultural differences and the ingrained ideas of who the other is that they will need to overcome.
The Prince's Captive was a nice enemies to lovers romance. It is told in dual narrative between Marcella and Gavril, which I think was totally needed with the language barrier between the two of them. The dual narrative gave a chance to get to know each of the characters really well from their own perspective. I really enjoyed seeing these different cultures blending through the main characters. If you like magic, foreign politics and compelling characters, I would recommend that you check out The Prince's Captive.
Check out The Prince's Captive if you like:
Touch her and die
Who did this to you
Soldier prince
Decoy bride
Language barrier
Pet names
Enemies to lovers
Rune magic
Dramatic rescues
The Prince's Captive is the first book ya fantasy romance series called Runes of Pain and Peace by Celeste Baxendell. I really enjoyed The Prince's Captive. This book was a classic enemies to lovers fantasy with plenty of politics and warring kingdoms involved.
In The Prince's Captive, we meet our two main characters- Marcella and Gavril. Marcella is a mage who looks like her clan's princess. She takes her place as a decoy to go to an enemy clan. When their leaders figures out the truth, he decides to use this as his advantage to try and broker peace between the two clans. I enjoyed both Gavril and Marcella. Their clans both have magic, but they are very much foreign to each other. There is a language barrier that obviously posed some issues for the two of them, not to mention the cultural differences and the ingrained ideas of who the other is that they will need to overcome.
The Prince's Captive was a nice enemies to lovers romance. It is told in dual narrative between Marcella and Gavril, which I think was totally needed with the language barrier between the two of them. The dual narrative gave a chance to get to know each of the characters really well from their own perspective. I really enjoyed seeing these different cultures blending through the main characters. If you like magic, foreign politics and compelling characters, I would recommend that you check out The Prince's Captive.
Check out The Prince's Captive if you like:
Touch her and die
Who did this to you
Soldier prince
Decoy bride
Language barrier
Pet names
Enemies to lovers
Rune magic
Dramatic rescues
October 15, 2023
Illusions and Sparring
Marcella is a weak mage with only one thing going for her. She looks like the clan's heiress, Hypatia. When Hypatia has a vision that depicts her capture, Marcella is put in her place and taken. The commander that captured her tries to gain her trust and protect her but forces keep working against him. Marcella wants to stay off his healer tables and he will do anything to guarantee her safety.
I was not disappointed. Such a good story!
Marcella is a weak mage with only one thing going for her. She looks like the clan's heiress, Hypatia. When Hypatia has a vision that depicts her capture, Marcella is put in her place and taken. The commander that captured her tries to gain her trust and protect her but forces keep working against him. Marcella wants to stay off his healer tables and he will do anything to guarantee her safety.
I was not disappointed. Such a good story!
August 17, 2023
4 stars
GENERAL REVIEW
This book was epic.
It’s the first book where Celeste goes completely off any basis story (not a retelling) so this is pure, 100% original work by her and she did NOT disappoint.
The concept of the story was awesome. It is set in a Roman Empire-ish world where the Inimicus or Runae (depending on whose side you’re on) fight against smaller tribes. The language the Inimicus use is Latin, which I found really cool as someone who studied Latin in school since I could understand most of it straight away. The world and magic system are complex and you can see that this book is just an introduction to a larger story - many things still have to be explained.
Of course it doesn’t help that our female MC doesn’t understand our male MC’s language (language barrier trop anyone? 🤩) and it leaves the reader with lots of questions.
Also, BEWARE, because the story ends on the most SHOCKING and ILLEGAL CLIFFHANGER EVER!! (Thank goodness book two is not far in sight)
CONTENT WARNING
The reason I removed a star is essentially because of content. This book is definitely more on the mature side of things (don’t recommend for young teens - I’d say adults essentially) because it contains some innuendo. The story in itself is clean, but there are situations, mockery and jesting from soldiers which imply things, and some “torture” scenes (non graphic) which could lead younger readers to be uncomfortable or simply are not wholly appropriate for young readers. Other than this, romance-wise there is nothing, not even a kiss, but romantic tension is quite strong sometimes.
I received a complimentary copy from the author. The opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are my own.
GENERAL REVIEW
This book was epic.
It’s the first book where Celeste goes completely off any basis story (not a retelling) so this is pure, 100% original work by her and she did NOT disappoint.
The concept of the story was awesome. It is set in a Roman Empire-ish world where the Inimicus or Runae (depending on whose side you’re on) fight against smaller tribes. The language the Inimicus use is Latin, which I found really cool as someone who studied Latin in school since I could understand most of it straight away. The world and magic system are complex and you can see that this book is just an introduction to a larger story - many things still have to be explained.
Of course it doesn’t help that our female MC doesn’t understand our male MC’s language (language barrier trop anyone? 🤩) and it leaves the reader with lots of questions.
Also, BEWARE, because the story ends on the most SHOCKING and ILLEGAL CLIFFHANGER EVER!! (Thank goodness book two is not far in sight)
CONTENT WARNING
The reason I removed a star is essentially because of content. This book is definitely more on the mature side of things (don’t recommend for young teens - I’d say adults essentially) because it contains some innuendo. The story in itself is clean, but there are situations, mockery and jesting from soldiers which imply things, and some “torture” scenes (non graphic) which could lead younger readers to be uncomfortable or simply are not wholly appropriate for young readers. Other than this, romance-wise there is nothing, not even a kiss, but romantic tension is quite strong sometimes.
I received a complimentary copy from the author. The opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are my own.
October 3, 2023
3 stars because this book took me a month to read.
I was so excited for this book to release because the premise and snippets the author was revealing on IG sounded like all my favorite tropes in one book. I also read Stalks of Gold by this author and remember loving it, so I was excited for her next book. Sadly, this one disappointed.
The worldbuilding was exquisite. The magic system was very thought out and I loved the intricacies of the world's political system and feuds. What I didn't like was the characterization and pacing. The middle of the book dragged because it got very repetitive. I understand that it was all building character for Marcella's eventual change in motivation, but it took forever. I got so sick of her wanting to be unalived every other paragraph. Gavril falling in love with Marcella gave me the ick because I don't think they communicated enough for him to fall in love with her. She cussed him out every other interaction, when did he have time to fall in love?
I just could not deal with the slow pacing. That's my main issue with it. I had the same problem in Stalks of Gold, but the ending picked up in that book and "evened out" the middle. That didn't really happen in this book, so I was bored and easily drawn away from it. Eh.
I was so excited for this book to release because the premise and snippets the author was revealing on IG sounded like all my favorite tropes in one book. I also read Stalks of Gold by this author and remember loving it, so I was excited for her next book. Sadly, this one disappointed.
The worldbuilding was exquisite. The magic system was very thought out and I loved the intricacies of the world's political system and feuds. What I didn't like was the characterization and pacing. The middle of the book dragged because it got very repetitive. I understand that it was all building character for Marcella's eventual change in motivation, but it took forever. I got so sick of her wanting to be unalived every other paragraph. Gavril falling in love with Marcella gave me the ick because I don't think they communicated enough for him to fall in love with her. She cussed him out every other interaction, when did he have time to fall in love?
I just could not deal with the slow pacing. That's my main issue with it. I had the same problem in Stalks of Gold, but the ending picked up in that book and "evened out" the middle. That didn't really happen in this book, so I was bored and easily drawn away from it. Eh.
August 14, 2024
*Trigger warnings included at bottom*
I've had this on my TBR for the LONGEST time and I regret every procrastinating minute. Love love love this story!
What do I love?
--Gavril: He is smart, skilled, kind (in a rough sort of way), and misunderstood. He has serious golden retriever energy (shows up a little more after the half-way point in the book), but there are some dark secrets he's hiding.
--Marcella: She is focused, determined, and tough. She puts others ahead of herself, sometimes (oftentimes) to her detriment. She is an engaging character and I really wanted things to end well for her.
--The *SWOONINESS* (is that a word?): this is a clean romance that is somewhat slow burn. Lots of holding and cuddles (it's amazing), but very little true romance.
This book ends on a cliffhanger and I downloaded the second book within minutes of finishing (even during post-midnight hours that night--sleep is not needed, answers are).
Definitely recommend this series if you like Tara Grayce, Selina R. Gonzalez, and Laura VanArendonk Baugh.
Rated PG-13 for abuse/torture
--clean romance
--little to no language
--moderate gore, including death and battles
--no sexual content, though mild threat of sexual abuse (prevented; nothing graphic)
--moderate to high torture and abuse (limited in graphic content, but significant piece of the worldbuilding and storyline)
I've had this on my TBR for the LONGEST time and I regret every procrastinating minute. Love love love this story!
What do I love?
--Gavril: He is smart, skilled, kind (in a rough sort of way), and misunderstood. He has serious golden retriever energy (shows up a little more after the half-way point in the book), but there are some dark secrets he's hiding.
--Marcella: She is focused, determined, and tough. She puts others ahead of herself, sometimes (oftentimes) to her detriment. She is an engaging character and I really wanted things to end well for her.
--The *SWOONINESS* (is that a word?): this is a clean romance that is somewhat slow burn. Lots of holding and cuddles (it's amazing), but very little true romance.
This book ends on a cliffhanger and I downloaded the second book within minutes of finishing (even during post-midnight hours that night--sleep is not needed, answers are).
Definitely recommend this series if you like Tara Grayce, Selina R. Gonzalez, and Laura VanArendonk Baugh.
Rated PG-13 for abuse/torture
--clean romance
--little to no language
--moderate gore, including death and battles
--no sexual content, though mild threat of sexual abuse (prevented; nothing graphic)
--moderate to high torture and abuse (limited in graphic content, but significant piece of the worldbuilding and storyline)
September 13, 2023
This was a pretty interesting world that I wished was explored more. With incomplete descriptions and a clan feud without a defined reason, it was pretty hard for me to immerse myself into the story.
The notion of MCs being unable to understand each other was intriguing. I enjoyed watching them try to understand each other throughout the book in spite of all the lies and secrets surrounding them. Marcella was an interesting character with her loyalty to her clan and the extent she is willing to go to prove it.
I couldn’t get the point of Gavriel’s actions, with the secrets he kept and the decisions he made. I tried going back and reading the beginning chapters, but I cannot understand the reason behind him falling in love with Marcella. They had barely spoken two times before he realised he was in love.
I wish the author took the time to explore the world and the rivalry. I would have liked to see the MCs get the time they need to get closer. It would have made a huge difference in the way the story progressed.
Thank you to the author and BOMM for sending me a copy to review.
The notion of MCs being unable to understand each other was intriguing. I enjoyed watching them try to understand each other throughout the book in spite of all the lies and secrets surrounding them. Marcella was an interesting character with her loyalty to her clan and the extent she is willing to go to prove it.
I couldn’t get the point of Gavriel’s actions, with the secrets he kept and the decisions he made. I tried going back and reading the beginning chapters, but I cannot understand the reason behind him falling in love with Marcella. They had barely spoken two times before he realised he was in love.
I wish the author took the time to explore the world and the rivalry. I would have liked to see the MCs get the time they need to get closer. It would have made a huge difference in the way the story progressed.
Thank you to the author and BOMM for sending me a copy to review.
September 26, 2023
Confusing
First, I have to say I LOVE this author. However, I found this book a little confusing. The language differences between the main characters were difficult to follow for me. When the MMC was talking to people in his language, I had to figure out what he was trying to say with all the broken apart words. Also, he fell in love with the FMC and I can’t figure out why. There didn’t seem to be any relationship or good feelings and then all of a sudden he was in love with her. I am going to read the next book in the series and hopefully it will make more sense. I’ll post a review on the second book when I finish. All Celeste’s other books I really like, so we’ll see.
First, I have to say I LOVE this author. However, I found this book a little confusing. The language differences between the main characters were difficult to follow for me. When the MMC was talking to people in his language, I had to figure out what he was trying to say with all the broken apart words. Also, he fell in love with the FMC and I can’t figure out why. There didn’t seem to be any relationship or good feelings and then all of a sudden he was in love with her. I am going to read the next book in the series and hopefully it will make more sense. I’ll post a review on the second book when I finish. All Celeste’s other books I really like, so we’ll see.
November 2, 2023
This is such an intense, emotional and beautifully unfolding story. The gentle, steady care of the prince for the girl he is trying to save is heartwarming. The cliffhanger though! I absolutely stayed up late reading this one!
August 19, 2023
Marcella is a soldier in the Clan Desero and a minor mage. She looks almost exactly like the heir of their clan, Hypatia. Hypatia is set to marry into the Clan Montis to gain an alliance against their enemy, the Inimicus. However, Hypatia is also a seer and has a vision that shows her that the enemy attacks them on the way to the Clan Montis, and they take someone who looks like her as captive. Because Marcella looks just like Hypatia, they disguise her to look like the bride Hypatia and she’s taken captive instead. And now Marcella has do everything she can to live and hopefully escape somehow.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. This is definitely a 3.5 ⭐️ read for me. It went up from 3 because the ending was pretty good. And I will explain later why I rated it 3.5 ⭐️.
What I liked is this world is like a Greek/Roman gladiator type world. They wear chitons and have chariots. There is magic and clans, which means there is a bit of political intrigue. There are a few different clans and we learn a bit about Marcella’s clan but primarily we learn about Gavril and his clan and people. I really liked the world and the magic system.
I adored Gavril. He is a cinnamon roll who deserves more and deserves better than what he gets in this story. There’s a point where he says that he wanted peace and wonders why he didn’t just get peace for himself, and honestly, he should have 😅 What this man goes through, and yet he’s still so kind, gentle and generous, and wants peace between the clans, even with Marcella who I don’t think deserves his kindness 😅 He was such a great character of someone who had a goal he’s trying to reach and doesn’t give up on it no matter how much he may suffer and never gives up his morals and continues to be kind to achieve that goal. He is just perfect 👌🏻
Some things I had a hard time with:
The pacing of events was a bit confusing for me. The way it starts caused me much confusion and then the third chapter is where we get a flashback as to what led to the events that started in chapter one. I think there should have been a prologue and then the first chapter started with the flashback, it was confusing and hard to keep track of if you didn’t pay close attention.
The primary reasons I gave this 3.5 ⭐️ is because I was annoyed through 70% of the book and that is not okay, and Marcella is who annoyed me. For being a soldier, you would think she would learn her enemy’s language for strategic reasons and be strategic about the situation she was in to get out of it or trick them into trusting her and letting her go. She was never logical and just allowed anger to dictate her actions and what she said. She also complained a lot about how terrible Gavril pronounced her name and her language and I’m sitting here like “girl you don’t even know his language and refuse to speak it! Stopping being a hypocrite!”. I just don’t think I should feel annoyed and frustrated(in a bad way) through more than half of a book especially with a main character. Oh and because Marcella couldn’t understand the language, more than half the dialogue in this book has a lot of spaces between the words and no full sentences, and I get that we are going through what the main character is experiencing, but it was the whole book and I just can’t, I skipped through a lot of dialogue since it was so difficult to read.
I know many will love this book, I just don’t think it was quite for me. It’s a bummer too because there were a lot of tropes I loved in here like enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, marriage of convenience(sort of 😅) and a cinnamon roll male MC. The ending helped improve my rating and I MIGHT continue the series.
I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. This is definitely a 3.5 ⭐️ read for me. It went up from 3 because the ending was pretty good. And I will explain later why I rated it 3.5 ⭐️.
What I liked is this world is like a Greek/Roman gladiator type world. They wear chitons and have chariots. There is magic and clans, which means there is a bit of political intrigue. There are a few different clans and we learn a bit about Marcella’s clan but primarily we learn about Gavril and his clan and people. I really liked the world and the magic system.
I adored Gavril. He is a cinnamon roll who deserves more and deserves better than what he gets in this story. There’s a point where he says that he wanted peace and wonders why he didn’t just get peace for himself, and honestly, he should have 😅 What this man goes through, and yet he’s still so kind, gentle and generous, and wants peace between the clans, even with Marcella who I don’t think deserves his kindness 😅 He was such a great character of someone who had a goal he’s trying to reach and doesn’t give up on it no matter how much he may suffer and never gives up his morals and continues to be kind to achieve that goal. He is just perfect 👌🏻
Some things I had a hard time with:
The pacing of events was a bit confusing for me. The way it starts caused me much confusion and then the third chapter is where we get a flashback as to what led to the events that started in chapter one. I think there should have been a prologue and then the first chapter started with the flashback, it was confusing and hard to keep track of if you didn’t pay close attention.
The primary reasons I gave this 3.5 ⭐️ is because I was annoyed through 70% of the book and that is not okay, and Marcella is who annoyed me. For being a soldier, you would think she would learn her enemy’s language for strategic reasons and be strategic about the situation she was in to get out of it or trick them into trusting her and letting her go. She was never logical and just allowed anger to dictate her actions and what she said. She also complained a lot about how terrible Gavril pronounced her name and her language and I’m sitting here like “girl you don’t even know his language and refuse to speak it! Stopping being a hypocrite!”. I just don’t think I should feel annoyed and frustrated(in a bad way) through more than half of a book especially with a main character. Oh and because Marcella couldn’t understand the language, more than half the dialogue in this book has a lot of spaces between the words and no full sentences, and I get that we are going through what the main character is experiencing, but it was the whole book and I just can’t, I skipped through a lot of dialogue since it was so difficult to read.
I know many will love this book, I just don’t think it was quite for me. It’s a bummer too because there were a lot of tropes I loved in here like enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, marriage of convenience(sort of 😅) and a cinnamon roll male MC. The ending helped improve my rating and I MIGHT continue the series.
I received a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 27, 2023
Ever since stumbling upon my first story written by Celeste Baxendell I have been a fan of her writing and stories and this one was everything I expected from her. The story is told from dual POV at times between Clan Desero solider and minor mage Marcella and Commander Gavril. Marcella unfortunately closely resembles the daughter of her clan leader Hypatia and when news of a possible kidnapping of Hypatia to stop her marriage of alliance, Marcella is thrown in as a decoy. She is ultimately expected to be a sacrifice for the heir to her clan to save her people. This mission brings several different emotions from Marcella and through out the story we do see her struggle with what she wants for herself and what is best for her clan. Gavril is the commander of the group sent to capture whom they think is Hypatia and stop the marriage for alliance against their people. Gavril shows up several different sides of him and I thoroughly enjoyed the complexities of him and seeing things from his view point throughout the story. This is a slow burn romance with emphasis on the slow but full of action and intrigue which keeps the reader hooked.
Some of the issues I have with this story however the dialogue. Gavril and Marcella speak different languages and while Marcella claims to know some of his language we see very little of that. Gavril however seems to have a little bit better grasp on her language and attempts to communicate with her often. We see the difference in their understanding of their languages by using lots of spaces and dashes between words with not a lot of full sentences. What frustrated me the most is that Marcella is a solider (granted a minor one) and makes the statement that she needs to pay attention and try to learn their language but never does. She spends days/weeks with this people and picks up on nothing? I was also frustrated with the fact that she didn't act like a solider but a whiny prisoner with no logical thinking. She let her anger and distrust of Gavril to fuel her which resulted in her character being annoying.
Some of the pace of this book is a little off as well and what I dislike a lot of the times with books is when there are flashbacks but we aren't really clued into that that is what's happening until half way through the flashback which makes me have to go back and reread. The amount of time that passes does get slightly confusing at times as well. All in all it was an interesting read and I look forward to seeing where this story goes.
I received an ARC copy from the author and leaving my honest review voluntarily.
Some of the issues I have with this story however the dialogue. Gavril and Marcella speak different languages and while Marcella claims to know some of his language we see very little of that. Gavril however seems to have a little bit better grasp on her language and attempts to communicate with her often. We see the difference in their understanding of their languages by using lots of spaces and dashes between words with not a lot of full sentences. What frustrated me the most is that Marcella is a solider (granted a minor one) and makes the statement that she needs to pay attention and try to learn their language but never does. She spends days/weeks with this people and picks up on nothing? I was also frustrated with the fact that she didn't act like a solider but a whiny prisoner with no logical thinking. She let her anger and distrust of Gavril to fuel her which resulted in her character being annoying.
Some of the pace of this book is a little off as well and what I dislike a lot of the times with books is when there are flashbacks but we aren't really clued into that that is what's happening until half way through the flashback which makes me have to go back and reread. The amount of time that passes does get slightly confusing at times as well. All in all it was an interesting read and I look forward to seeing where this story goes.
I received an ARC copy from the author and leaving my honest review voluntarily.
August 7, 2023
Marcella’s only value is that she looks like her cousin, the clan heir. When her cousin has a vision about being captured on her way to unite the clans, she sends Marcella in her place. But Marcella’s captor isn’t what she expected. He wants peace, and doesn’t believe that torturing her is the way to get it. After a lifetime of living in fear of his people, can she really trust him?
Gavril wants peace more than anything, and he believes his captive is the answer. But when he discovers she’s not who she’s supposed to be, has he lost his chance? Or will he be able to convince her, and the king, that she’s not as worthless as she seems?
“Why hadn’t he told anyone she was worthless? Why was he still treating her like she wasn’t?”
These two seriously give me all the feels. Baxendell writes real, raw characters, and Gavril and Marcella live up to that reputation. Gavril is amazing, protecting Marcella even before he knows she’s not the enemy he’s after. Marcella just wants to live, but it’s hard to stand up to test after test when you have nothing to live for.
This book is packed with all the best tropes: Hidden identity; only one horse; he falls first; touch her and face the consequences; language barrier. I never knew these were my favorite tropes until now.
I loved the world-building. Roman-based cultures, each with similar beliefs, but different enough to think the other is heinous for how they deal with certain things. The language barrier is handled well, with both the reader and Marcella stressing over what hasn’t been understood.
The ending is a cliff-hanger, but the next book is due out in September so we don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens to these two. Because I NEED to know what happens to them!!
(Also, I’m going to need blond Liam Hemsworth cast as Gavril, mkay?)
5 Roses. Amazing. Baxendell knows how to write a compelling story that draws you in and doesn’t let go for all 400 pages.
A few in-world swears, nothing major. There are in-world slurs implying certain things about the female prisoner.
No kissing, but there’s a hand-brushing moment worthy of the Darcy hand-flex.
Injuries, but not dwelt on in any gory detail. Minor scenes of torture; implications of abuse.
Gavril wants peace more than anything, and he believes his captive is the answer. But when he discovers she’s not who she’s supposed to be, has he lost his chance? Or will he be able to convince her, and the king, that she’s not as worthless as she seems?
“Why hadn’t he told anyone she was worthless? Why was he still treating her like she wasn’t?”
These two seriously give me all the feels. Baxendell writes real, raw characters, and Gavril and Marcella live up to that reputation. Gavril is amazing, protecting Marcella even before he knows she’s not the enemy he’s after. Marcella just wants to live, but it’s hard to stand up to test after test when you have nothing to live for.
This book is packed with all the best tropes: Hidden identity; only one horse; he falls first; touch her and face the consequences; language barrier. I never knew these were my favorite tropes until now.
I loved the world-building. Roman-based cultures, each with similar beliefs, but different enough to think the other is heinous for how they deal with certain things. The language barrier is handled well, with both the reader and Marcella stressing over what hasn’t been understood.
The ending is a cliff-hanger, but the next book is due out in September so we don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens to these two. Because I NEED to know what happens to them!!
(Also, I’m going to need blond Liam Hemsworth cast as Gavril, mkay?)
5 Roses. Amazing. Baxendell knows how to write a compelling story that draws you in and doesn’t let go for all 400 pages.
A few in-world swears, nothing major. There are in-world slurs implying certain things about the female prisoner.
No kissing, but there’s a hand-brushing moment worthy of the Darcy hand-flex.
Injuries, but not dwelt on in any gory detail. Minor scenes of torture; implications of abuse.
July 29, 2023
A page turning exciting enemies to friends for Marcella at the end but for Gavril it turned to love shortly after Marcella was captured as the decoy princess Hypatia and Gavril deduced she was not the
demon princess he was sent to capture. Something he saw in her made him want to protect her even though she told him she was nothing, a disposable person to be cast aside by her people to save their heir to the crown.
She feels he wasn’t truthful and blames him for the
pain and anguish she suffers even though he did all he could to protect her. Slowly she wonders if his caring may not be an act after all but be genuine but when she comes to that conclusion, he leaves on a mission and his brother breaks her wrist and turns her over to their “healers” not to mend her but to torture her further. It leaves in a cliffhanger as Gavril races to try and get to Marcella in time!
This is an excellent book which deals with how years and years of mistrust and hate between two clans festers so much resentment that trust is not believed by Marcella at Gavril’s actions until the end. There is a second book coming out entitled The Prince’s Mage which will continue this story and I’ll be sure to
be reading it when it comes out! It will complete the cycle from enemies to lovers I’m sure as well as tying to bring peace between two clans who have been fighting each other for so long!
I enthusiastically recommend this book as one I know you’ll enjoy even though I myself received an ARC of it before it’s publication. The story is very believable and how after so many months one person finally starts to see that the other’s intentions have been honest all along even though he hid who he was initially and the action he took to try and save her from what his brother put her through anyway.
You’ll enjoy this book I can guarantee it!
demon princess he was sent to capture. Something he saw in her made him want to protect her even though she told him she was nothing, a disposable person to be cast aside by her people to save their heir to the crown.
She feels he wasn’t truthful and blames him for the
pain and anguish she suffers even though he did all he could to protect her. Slowly she wonders if his caring may not be an act after all but be genuine but when she comes to that conclusion, he leaves on a mission and his brother breaks her wrist and turns her over to their “healers” not to mend her but to torture her further. It leaves in a cliffhanger as Gavril races to try and get to Marcella in time!
This is an excellent book which deals with how years and years of mistrust and hate between two clans festers so much resentment that trust is not believed by Marcella at Gavril’s actions until the end. There is a second book coming out entitled The Prince’s Mage which will continue this story and I’ll be sure to
be reading it when it comes out! It will complete the cycle from enemies to lovers I’m sure as well as tying to bring peace between two clans who have been fighting each other for so long!
I enthusiastically recommend this book as one I know you’ll enjoy even though I myself received an ARC of it before it’s publication. The story is very believable and how after so many months one person finally starts to see that the other’s intentions have been honest all along even though he hid who he was initially and the action he took to try and save her from what his brother put her through anyway.
You’ll enjoy this book I can guarantee it!
August 20, 2023
This is definitely different than other books by Celeste Baxendell, but I like it. Before reviewing, I actually read it more than once, and was able to see so many things I missed the first time. If you like to reread a book before starting the next in the series, this would be good news for you. And on that note, Book 2 releases in just a month so we don't have long to wait to find out what happens with Marcella and Gavril. Normally I abhor cliffhangers, but the turnaround time with this one is so short that I think it's certainly reasonable.
When I first started reading this, I found it a bit harder to get into since we are looking at two main characters who do not speak the other's language. Once I was able to push through that, I was immersed in the story- both times I read it. I absolutely love stories- real, fiction, most any genre. I like them written or just spoken in conversation. When a story is unique, it's even better. This one, I would definitely classify as unique compared to any I have before read, and it's a winner in my book. I think I will eventually be acquiring paperbacks of it for my limited bookshelf space, lol.
Anyway, on to recommendation. I would say age-wise, at least 15. There isn't really any "gore" but there is violence and broken bones. Also some mentions of torture. I did not find it disturbing, but I would be careful with recommending it to a child. Relationship/romance-wise, completely clean. There is mention of a female being called a "she wolf."
All in all, book 2 can't release soon enough and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
While I was provided an Advanced Reader Copy, all opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are solely my own.
When I first started reading this, I found it a bit harder to get into since we are looking at two main characters who do not speak the other's language. Once I was able to push through that, I was immersed in the story- both times I read it. I absolutely love stories- real, fiction, most any genre. I like them written or just spoken in conversation. When a story is unique, it's even better. This one, I would definitely classify as unique compared to any I have before read, and it's a winner in my book. I think I will eventually be acquiring paperbacks of it for my limited bookshelf space, lol.
Anyway, on to recommendation. I would say age-wise, at least 15. There isn't really any "gore" but there is violence and broken bones. Also some mentions of torture. I did not find it disturbing, but I would be careful with recommending it to a child. Relationship/romance-wise, completely clean. There is mention of a female being called a "she wolf."
All in all, book 2 can't release soon enough and I am eagerly looking forward to it.
While I was provided an Advanced Reader Copy, all opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are solely my own.
August 24, 2023
An exciting yet sometimes violent start to a new world building fantasy series
This was an enemies to “beginning to be friends” story; didn’t quite make it to “lovers”. There are at least two different “ethnic races” which are at war, both with different cultures, languages, beliefs, etc. Although, the author showed the difficulty of two people with different languages having trouble communicating, it sometimes interfered with the flow of the story and became frustrating. The use of Latin was a nice touch, and had me going for awhile.
There was physical abuse and torture for Marcella, the main female protagonist, indicating a theme of man’s inhumanity to man, especially for those not understood or different. It was no wonder there was so much mistrust between the races, with both races feeling superior and intolerant towards each other. I really liked Marcella’s character; she wanted so badly to be faithful to her country, no matter what, and she didn’t trust easily. I also really liked Gavril, who also wants to do what’s right and be faithful to his country, but who also wants peace between the nations.
Celeste’s writing style seems a little different, not quite as clear, maybe like the story was written in a hurry. There are a few questions which need answering, such as: what anniversary haunts Nikias, and who keeps abusing Gavril; he keeps showing up with bruises, split lip, etc. There is a cliffhanger, however, the author assures us the next book in the series will arrive quickly. I received an ARC copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This was an enemies to “beginning to be friends” story; didn’t quite make it to “lovers”. There are at least two different “ethnic races” which are at war, both with different cultures, languages, beliefs, etc. Although, the author showed the difficulty of two people with different languages having trouble communicating, it sometimes interfered with the flow of the story and became frustrating. The use of Latin was a nice touch, and had me going for awhile.
There was physical abuse and torture for Marcella, the main female protagonist, indicating a theme of man’s inhumanity to man, especially for those not understood or different. It was no wonder there was so much mistrust between the races, with both races feeling superior and intolerant towards each other. I really liked Marcella’s character; she wanted so badly to be faithful to her country, no matter what, and she didn’t trust easily. I also really liked Gavril, who also wants to do what’s right and be faithful to his country, but who also wants peace between the nations.
Celeste’s writing style seems a little different, not quite as clear, maybe like the story was written in a hurry. There are a few questions which need answering, such as: what anniversary haunts Nikias, and who keeps abusing Gavril; he keeps showing up with bruises, split lip, etc. There is a cliffhanger, however, the author assures us the next book in the series will arrive quickly. I received an ARC copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 12, 2024
Intriguing story
I know the author markets her books as ya, but this book definitely has darker and more mature themes in it that I think mark it as new adult. The lack of spice doesn’t automatically make something ya. I enjoyed the slow burn, and how it’s a true enemies-to-lovers and doesn’t just quickly get over the enemies part. I loved the complex plot, as both sides believe they are in the right. The story was captivating and kept me reading without being able to put it down.
I only have 2 complaints, and one of them isn’t even that big of a deal. The fmc and mmc speak different languages, and while it’s realistic that one of them doesn’t just automatically learn the others language, it did get a little frustrating when the mmc would speak to someone else and it was written with just a few of the words that the fmc picked up on. This happens a lot in the book, and it gets a little annoying even though I completely understand the reason for it and it is more realistic. So that’s not a huge deal. The second complaint I have is that, especially during the first half of the story, there is a lot of telling what’s happening instead of showing. I feel like the author should use more descriptive story telling to show what is being felt or done instead of just telling the audience.
But overall I definitely recommend this book. I’ll be immediately purchasing the second one so I can finish the story!
I know the author markets her books as ya, but this book definitely has darker and more mature themes in it that I think mark it as new adult. The lack of spice doesn’t automatically make something ya. I enjoyed the slow burn, and how it’s a true enemies-to-lovers and doesn’t just quickly get over the enemies part. I loved the complex plot, as both sides believe they are in the right. The story was captivating and kept me reading without being able to put it down.
I only have 2 complaints, and one of them isn’t even that big of a deal. The fmc and mmc speak different languages, and while it’s realistic that one of them doesn’t just automatically learn the others language, it did get a little frustrating when the mmc would speak to someone else and it was written with just a few of the words that the fmc picked up on. This happens a lot in the book, and it gets a little annoying even though I completely understand the reason for it and it is more realistic. So that’s not a huge deal. The second complaint I have is that, especially during the first half of the story, there is a lot of telling what’s happening instead of showing. I feel like the author should use more descriptive story telling to show what is being felt or done instead of just telling the audience.
But overall I definitely recommend this book. I’ll be immediately purchasing the second one so I can finish the story!
November 26, 2025
Marcella is a soldier who is sent as a decoy bride to protect the real princess. She's captured by the Inimicus soldiers and taken to their camp, where she meets the commander Gavril.
I liked that there was a language barrier. It sure made things interesting. I also liked reading about the vitae and magic.
I enjoyed the first part of the story, even though many parts made me cringe (such as Gavril frequently touching her without permission), but then when she gets to the Inimicus' capital, things go from bad to worse. There's a torture scene, and instead of being freed, (even after Gavril forces her to marry him), she's kept in the dungeon.
I found it painful to read, since throughout the entire book she's always imprisoned in some way and always some sort of restraint is used whether it's magical or physical.
The cover shows a couple embracing and gazing lovingly at each other, but that scene never occurred in the book. And then the book ends in a cliff hanger. So definitely not a book to read before bed when you want to relax.
It was painful reading about a woman being treated this way. She's alone in enemy territory and the only friend she has is Gavril, who sometimes acts like an enemy. She had no one else and it's just horrifying all the things she goes through.
I'm also mad at Hypatia for sending her to die and for putting that scar on her. And Nikias is a horrible person. And Gavril should have asked her instead of forcing her to marry him.
I liked that there was a language barrier. It sure made things interesting. I also liked reading about the vitae and magic.
I enjoyed the first part of the story, even though many parts made me cringe (such as Gavril frequently touching her without permission), but then when she gets to the Inimicus' capital, things go from bad to worse. There's a torture scene, and instead of being freed, (even after Gavril forces her to marry him), she's kept in the dungeon.
I found it painful to read, since throughout the entire book she's always imprisoned in some way and always some sort of restraint is used whether it's magical or physical.
The cover shows a couple embracing and gazing lovingly at each other, but that scene never occurred in the book. And then the book ends in a cliff hanger. So definitely not a book to read before bed when you want to relax.
It was painful reading about a woman being treated this way. She's alone in enemy territory and the only friend she has is Gavril, who sometimes acts like an enemy. She had no one else and it's just horrifying all the things she goes through.
I'm also mad at Hypatia for sending her to die and for putting that scar on her. And Nikias is a horrible person. And Gavril should have asked her instead of forcing her to marry him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2023
Marcella is sent to her death. She is a decoy for the chief’s daughter and knows she will be captured by the enemy. Her clan is trying to form an alliance through marriage with another clan against the Inimicus. The war between the clans and them is coming to a head with an all out assault on the horizon. Marcella’s goal is to pretend to be Hypatia long enough for the wedding to happen. Her identity is discovered by a commander named Gavril but he doesn’t kill her or reveal her identity to others. She can tell something is different about Gavril from how the rest of the soldiers treat him but can’t figure out why due to a language barrier. While getting closer to the Inimicus home, she is forced to perform a ritual that with Gavril’s rough understanding of her language explains is to protect her. But when they get to the palace, things do not go as planned and Marcella is forced to face her worst nightmares. Gavril does anything he can to free her from them but has to compromise his morals to do so. But he has hope that the greatest thing he wants can be achieved through Marcella, peace.
This is a darker tone from Celeste’s fairytale retellings. I quite enjoyed it. It isn’t super dark but there is depiction of violence and torture so be prepared for it. One thing she excels at writing is morally gray characters who have flaws but redemption. There are lines crossed and things done in the name of peace while others have actions pretending to seek the same thing. It is messy and real and I loved it.
I received an ARC and my review is voluntary
This is a darker tone from Celeste’s fairytale retellings. I quite enjoyed it. It isn’t super dark but there is depiction of violence and torture so be prepared for it. One thing she excels at writing is morally gray characters who have flaws but redemption. There are lines crossed and things done in the name of peace while others have actions pretending to seek the same thing. It is messy and real and I loved it.
I received an ARC and my review is voluntary
September 9, 2023
It's my first time reading a story with language barrier as a one of the trope and I actually enjoyed the story alot. Marcella was a lonely soldier, a mediocre mage. she considered herself worthless so eventhough it seems dangerous and cruel she thought it is worth to be a decoy to protect the clan’s heiress, Hypatia from the enemy attack. Marcella was captured by the Prince of enemy territory also a commander, Gavril . They spoke different languages so there was misunderstandings between them and that made things worse. The author used broken English to reveal parts the characters understand from each other’s conversation. The Prince found Marcella strong and endearing but Marcella couldn't trust her captor. All the prince wanted was peace but his goals are not easy to achieve. He is torn between his feelings for Marcella and his dream to achieve peace. He is sure about one thing- He loves her. Marcella didn't want to trust the prince who lied to her many times but his warmth and affection made hating him difficult . In short, this is the story of two people who had misunderstandings about the other’s culture, the ways they wield magic. The situation in which Gavril and Marcella found each other is not ideal but I m hoping they will understand each other better. The story ended with a cliffhanger so I can't wait to read what happens in the next part.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2023
Finished this at 1 AM and wanted to read the next one but I needed sleep
WOW
Not gonna lie at first I was like this book is lame
BUT
It started to pick up and I wanted to know what was gonna happen to Marcella
I really felt for her because she felt she was worthless in the eyes of her people and that she only held value as Hypatia’s decoy….
But Gavril….
He truly saw HER, even thought he tried only to see her as an enemy
This is a true enemies to lovers bc I really was questioning if they’d EVER like each other or at least tolerate the other
But ooooooweeeeeee
GIIIIIRLIE
yall will gobble this swallow THIS
I don’t wanna give away anything to give it away but just prepare to not put it down
Let me just say too that the hero and heroine don’t speak the same language and the broken speech was killing me
Like I wanted to pull my hair out and was hoping it wouldn’t be the whole book but it was
Thankfully he got better at speaking her language
But you’ll see the issues in them not knowing certain words..hehehehehe
It makes the plot that much juicer though
Can’t wait for the next one!!
WOW
Not gonna lie at first I was like this book is lame
BUT
It started to pick up and I wanted to know what was gonna happen to Marcella
I really felt for her because she felt she was worthless in the eyes of her people and that she only held value as Hypatia’s decoy….
But Gavril….
He truly saw HER, even thought he tried only to see her as an enemy
This is a true enemies to lovers bc I really was questioning if they’d EVER like each other or at least tolerate the other
But ooooooweeeeeee
GIIIIIRLIE
yall will gobble this swallow THIS
I don’t wanna give away anything to give it away but just prepare to not put it down
Let me just say too that the hero and heroine don’t speak the same language and the broken speech was killing me
Like I wanted to pull my hair out and was hoping it wouldn’t be the whole book but it was
Thankfully he got better at speaking her language
But you’ll see the issues in them not knowing certain words..hehehehehe
It makes the plot that much juicer though
Can’t wait for the next one!!
March 4, 2024
The Prince's Captive by Celeste Baxendell : New-Adult High Fantasy Romance. Stockholm Syndrome. Language Barrier. Dark. Trust. Magic. Duel POV. Secret Marriage. Siblings. Courts. Clans. Cultural Clash. Unexpected Twists and Turns.
It's a good romance fantasy, but there's limited subplots outside the romance which is why my rating isn't higher. It builds suspense well and the character are likeable although morally grey at times. I liked the complexities of the interactions between characters. My favourite parts were the cultural clash scenes and the satisfying injury tropes.
How Much I liked it? 4 Stars
Ideas - World Building: 4.5 Stars
Ideas - Plot: 3.5 Stars (nothing wrong, just basic)
Character Depth: 4.5 Stars
Character Interactions: Standard (focuses on main cast)
Animal Characterisation: n/a
Non-human Characterisation: n/a
Warnings: On Page Torture. PTSD. Off-Page Parental Abuse.
Execution: 4.7 Stars (one proofreading error and two awkward sentences near start).
It's a good romance fantasy, but there's limited subplots outside the romance which is why my rating isn't higher. It builds suspense well and the character are likeable although morally grey at times. I liked the complexities of the interactions between characters. My favourite parts were the cultural clash scenes and the satisfying injury tropes.
How Much I liked it? 4 Stars
Ideas - World Building: 4.5 Stars
Ideas - Plot: 3.5 Stars (nothing wrong, just basic)
Character Depth: 4.5 Stars
Character Interactions: Standard (focuses on main cast)
Animal Characterisation: n/a
Non-human Characterisation: n/a
Warnings: On Page Torture. PTSD. Off-Page Parental Abuse.
Execution: 4.7 Stars (one proofreading error and two awkward sentences near start).
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