Daisy returns to the past and makes a deal with Marquess Killian Essel to escape her toxic family and make him heir to Duke Silverstein. She is disappointed that she has to take on the contract marriage personally, but they negotiate terms and begin their fake three year relationship. Daisy helps capture public opinion, recruits some talented individuals, and makes plans to establish her own dress shop. Meanwhile Killian re-establishes connections with the imperial family, maintains his business empire, and battles with his step brothers. They both grow closer with time. * * * * *-------* * * * * -------* * * * * This one contains many of the expected tropes of romance fantasy fiction. There are ball gowns, nobility infighting, imperial politics, debuts, jovial servant sidekicks, etc. There are complicated family relationships and a rebirth to establish our revenge elements and prophetical information to be exploited. The audience understands the feelings of our characters long before they admit to them, allowing for some fluffy moments. It moves at a decent but not chaotic pace. One thing this one does a bit differently than others is the openness in which it tackles the physical relationship of our contracted couple. This not only normalizes these activities it allows for a direct confrontation of the issues Daisy has regarding her former boyfriend/boss/abuser. It looks at infertility, disrespectful language, trauma, and compares that to a healthier model. The curse elements eventual become a key factor to the plot but are almost non existent in the first few volumes other than as rumors. @Ch 153
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.