Raised with her brother by a brutal faerie warrior, Liserli Vaelus has grown bored of her small village life—and bored of the small village romance she has let herself enjoy.
When she breaks the law to go to Shyal, the bustling faerie city full of magic, Liserli has to face the consequences. She must serve the faerie court, and its three princes, one of whom is intent on tormenting her. Through her punishment, Liserli realizes life among the faeries isn't quite so amazing as she hoped.
As dangers grow, Liserli must learn where to place her allegiances—with her brother as he fights in the human resistance, or with the faeries who promise her all she's dreamed of.
From the author of the Twisted Fates trilogy and Soul Stealer Saga comes a thrillingly dark fantasy with twists and lust at every turn.
Raised in the Deep South, Manuel is an author who revels in creating new worlds. As a general book addict and wordsmith, Manuel often finds herself lost in daydreams and plot trees. She's also an editor for other fantasy writers, so her whole world is books, books, books!
The Firenian universe now spans six books—the Twisted Fates trilogy, completed in 2022, and the ongoing Soul Stealer Saga.
Flames Like Darkness is a new series co-authored with the incomparable Angelina J. Steffort. The third and final installment is expected late 2025.
The Broken Court, the second book in the Shyal Chronicles trilogy, was released in late 2024 to eager readers.
We follow the story through Liserli, a human who was adopted with her brother by a Death Faerie after he killed their bio dad. Nice right? Daddy death has to be one of my favourite characters in this book.
After breaking the law, she is punished and has to work for the heir of the throne. Omg. I loved him so so much. The princes; Aimas, Bard and Cadoc were amazing and I loved how their personalities are different from one another.
Cadoc is my new fictional crush and he must be protected at all cost.
The story was amazing, from the world building to the plot twist to everything honestly.
Cadoc kind of reminded me of Cardan from « The Cruel’Prince » by Holly Black with his amazing ability to express his feelings.
And weirdly enough, Lis reminded me of Belle from « Beauty and the Beast » cause she wants more than her provincial life.
If you like this book and the Disney movie, this book is for you. Well, add a bit of tension, betrayal, murders, and a few other things.
Note : I recommend listening to Taylor Swift’s album « Midnight », « Evermore » and « Folklore »
Whew, are the Fae wild! I'd call this book a new adult fantasy due to some language and the sexual undertones throughout.
Now that that's out of the way. WHAT?!?! Y'all need to stop sleeping on this book. I did not want to put this down at all. Fast paced. Good characters. Great world building. Conflict, drama, and all the OMG moments *chef's kiss* can not wait to see what happens next in Shyal. Cadoc better... just ...he better! 😂
Yall! I got the opportunity to beta read this book and I have been thinking about it for months still. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy because it will be an IMMEDIATE reread! It has lots of tense moments full of lust, anger and injustices in the world. My new book boyfriend is Cadoc the spoiled roguish prince type that has a little more to show than what’s presented. Liserli is a dreamer and wants to take all of what the world has to offer but does that ever turn out how we hope? Magic vs non magic, enemies to more, royalty and fae. You need to check this book out!
Ahhhh I need book two! This was the most addictive read. I couldn’t put it down when I started. The world building and character development were so good. And the plot - nothing happened the way I thought it would. So so so good!!!
The Faerie Throne by Belle Manuel is a fabulous fantasy novel. Belle Manuel really did a wonderful job putting together a story full of intrigue, romance and faerie fantasy. Liserli is only a 19 year girl and she is written so well. She escapes her boring small village for the excitement of the bustling faerie city thus breaking the law. For her punishment she must serve the faerie court and the three princes. Liserli’s back story is very intriguing. As the story unravels and so does a brewing war between humans and faeries we are taken on a wild ride that leaves you begging for more. I really enjoyed this story. I can not wait for more. The author did a great job of building a world and bringing the characters to life. Highly recommend!!
This book took me a few chapters to really get into but the world building is amazing and I came to love all of the characters. I can’t wait for the next one in the series now!
Slow start but once it got going it was good. If you love fantasy then read this. Gave me many different vibes. I thought for sure they were going to find out she did have powers. Now on to book 2
I found this book to be highly enjoyable. Once I started reading it, I was so engrossed, I couldn’t stop until I finished! The storyline was very entertaining, and the banter between Liserli and Cadoc so fun to read, I found myself laughing our loud several times.
This faerie fantasy with little romance and spice has great world building, character development, enemies to almost lovers, political intrigue, action and more. It’s always hard to read about a people being marginalized, but it was so integral to the plot and done so well. The character growth was also written nicely and subtly.
And that ending? Ugh. Now the wait for book two is going to be so long. For all fantasy romance lovers, this book is one you don’t want to miss!
I received an advance reader copy from the author, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I cannot begin to say how excited I am for this book to come into the world. I absolutely love Shyal, and the entire world Belle has created here. Liserli is desperate to enter the faerie city of Shyal, to learn and experience everything she possibly can. Of course, she finds her way being punished for entering too soon, and will now be serving the crown for two years.
Ledger is angry and has been keeping secrets from Liserli and Drystan. His presence in Shyal is far from what Liserli expected it to be, and she's not sure how to get him out of his mess. They both become involved with the crown when he does something stupid and Liserli has to pair with Prince Cadoc, an unlikely ally. As she works with him, he changes in ways she isn't quite sure she's seeing.
Becoming friends with Amias and Bard was unexpected, but a welcome result for Liserli....now if she could just figure out Cadoc. He keeps going from being aloof and teasing, to serious and sincere, and Liserli can't figure out which us the real Cadoc....or which one she wants him to be.
There is zero spice in this book, but the tension and banter was so amazing I didn't even care. The draw between Liserli and Cadoc was exquisite, and his slow descent into realization was a beautiful thing to see unfold before us. I cannot wait to see where Belle takes us next.
This story left me mad for more! It features a favorite plot: a War of Roses with political plots to overthrow the government by old-school bluebloods vs a more moderate approach towards humans in faerie lands.
It’s gritty. It’s sometimes bloody. And here is Liserly, a 19-year-old who visits the capital and is conscripted (hired/punished) for breaking a minor law. I love how bookishly competent she is, and she ends up the trusted prrsonal assistant to the heir.
Her romance with the second son, though, just tears me up inside. Prince Cadoc is a flirt and obviously taken with her, but she doesn’t seem to notice. Have you noticed that her name rhymes with miserly? Be prepared for heatache. Not to mention the ending! Aaa as rgh!
☆☆☆☆☆ - An absolute banger. Cleared my skin and boosted my job performance
This book... THIS BOOK YA'LL! Oh my god I was absolutely CAPTIVATED by this book. It had me kicking my feet and punching the air and audibly gasping...Oh, did you think I was finished? Because there was also cackling and giggling and silent screaming and a lot... and I mean A LOT of 😳ing.
God I don't even know what else to say, I have so many words but also none at all because there are not positive enough words in my vocabulary to properly describe the vise-like grip this goddamn book had on me. From the plot, to the world, to the characters... I loved all of it. LIKE LITERALLY ALL OF IT! It's actually quite sickening. And speaking of things that are sick--
MOTHER FUCKING PRINCE CADOC. Get out of my face I mean it. Leave me alone. No, I don't want to talk about it. I really don't. But I will anyway because you made it to paragraph 3 of this review and therefore I feel you may be interested in my thoughts. SO LIKE... Imma be real I was not totally sold on Cadoc at first. Mans is devious. Kinda wanted to beat him up a little bit. But he quickly grew on me and now I wanna protect him AND beat him up. I would yank him around by his horn but he might like that too much 🤭
But no really I fucking LOOOVE Cadoc dude. He is such an interesting character with so many delightful layers. I really enjoyed his progression and how his dynamic with Liserli changed as the story went on. He's definitely the type of character that everyone pegs as one thing, but is truly so much more (and imo not in a cringe or overdone way). Aside from making me laugh, gasp, and silent scream (ok maybe it wasn't always silent but whatever) I really enjoyed the little glimpses into his mind throughout the story. Like he really is such a fascinating character and I can't stress enough how much I adore him. He's definitely one of the more memorable ones I've read recently.
In general, I think Belle Manuel does a fantastic job of creating characters that feel real and are interesting, multi-faceted, and well-developed. I really loved all of the princes--each had a very distinct personality, and their unique faerie attributes were also fun and suited them well. The dynamic they had with each other vs Liserli was also very interesting and enjoyable.
I also really liked Drystan as a character. His backstory was fun (in a kinda morbid way lol) and his relationship with Liserli and Ledger respectively felt very real and believable as well. I especially enjoyed that although Liserli had chosen to accept Drystan as her father, it didn't erase the things he did. Watching her grapple with her conflicting feelings towards him at times was really interesting to see. Whereas Ledger really leaned into his resentment, Liserli was mostly forgiving and accepting of Drystan, but sometimes floated more towards the middle of the spectrum. It was very believable and made sense for her character. That said, all of the characters felt consistent and well-defined.
The only "critique" I have for this book is that the last 15-ish% felt a tad rushed to me compared to the rest of the book. Things escalated very quickly, and though it was exciting and kept me fully engaged, it all also happened so fast that I was just like oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD?? Ya girl was stressed ok. Like in a mostly good way but yeah.
Other than that, some might consider this kinda spoilery so:
And then for the super spoilery:
All that being said book 2 canNOT come fast enough. But I will be (im)patiently waiting 🙏 IN BELLE MANUEL WE TRUST! 🗣️🗣️🗣️
It might have started out slow but the more that I got into it the more that I couldn’t put it down. It was an amazing read that can break your heart and make you jump for joy all at the same time.
I love the relationships that were formed within this book between not only the main character but also with the side characters. I think that this has to be one of my favorite books by this author and I think that this is a really strong set up for the rest of the series to follow.
I can not wait for more in this world and to see where it goes from here.
4/5 It took me a bit to get into it, I was struggling with names / places / who was talking, etc just getting used to the writing style. But once I was in it, I SUNK. I snagged this one on a stuff your kindle day I think, it’s also avail on KU. But I loved it 🤌🏻 can’t wait for the next.
Faerie rulers, history not known about so many things, so many questions, magical powers, slow burn, enemies to lovers?, kindness found in unlikely places, tragedy, confusion, chaos, small moments of 🥹🥹.
A cute lil read but defs want more of this world & these characters
This book was in the right place at the right time. I downloaded it on Stuff Your Kindle day last year. Ngl, the other two books I downloaded were pretty terrible, so I felt like I needed a little break before diving into this one.
I picked it up before a long flight, and I really enjoyed it. It was the best written of any of the books I got for free. The MMC was different to most of the Fae romances I've read, which was refreshing.
Only thing lacking was the magic system. The FMC didn't seem at all interested in learning about magic, which was funny, especially in the main fight scene. People started using their magic, and she was like, "oh! that's what they can do!" Seemed pertinent to me.
Fans of Cruel Prince will love this. The book is a blend of banter, lust, and courtly problems. Cardoc certainly challenges Liserli, but in the end his intentions seem better off than they were originally perceived. The Fae in this book are worthy of old English and Celtic lore. They are seductive and mischievous with nothing but play and meddling in sight. I liked the idea of death Faeries. There is a confusing element with Drystan, why did allow his children to go with the princes? I feel like Ledger could use a bit more weight in the story for emotional gains. I really liked Liserli’s battle with Cardoc throughout the book.
The world building was simple, you could dive into it easily. The story line is flowed well, so you can fallow along with and not get lost. It is a little spicy but it’s not at the same time. The spice is happening in the background. My heart was broken by the end of the book, but I am ready for the next one to come out. The story is left on a cliffhanger.
It was hard to put this down! The Cruel Prince x Powerless x Spark of the Everflame. There were a few typos, the majority of the conflict is internal aka the FMC fighting her feelings/principles, and there’s some kissing but no smut - over all it was an easy enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to a sequel.
Thoroughly surprised with how much I liked this! I was in a reading slump and having a hard time choosing a book and this one immediately drew me in. Love Drysten & Prince Amias. Prince Cadoc is of course problematic but that’s the fun part. Not a fan of Wrenly & Ledger, I definitely think they’re hiding something and I wish Liserli would be more critical of her friend. Interested to see how Cadoc and Liserli’s relationship develops.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I’m so sad I have to wait for the second book. I LIVE for the slow burn and the tension but the ending was insaneee I gotta know what’s gonna happen between them. I really liked this, the plot was something new and Cadoc is so yummy 🙈
I recieved an ARC Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I have a lot of feelings about this one!
The Faerie Throne, in terms of pacing, felt a little slower in the beginning, as the author used the earlier parts of the novel to build her world and power systems. I enjoyed the fact that this novel focuses on the darker and more unique elements of faerie lore. I loved learning about the different types of faeries, how they interacted with humans throughout the different cultures, and reading into the different motivations of the factions active within the story. I feel that this pacing gave a good insight into Liserli's character and history, which left me feeling like I had a thorough understanding of her motivations by the time the story picked up.
The pacing picked up for me as I got to see more of the interactions between Liserli and the various faeries with whom she works closely in the palace. I really enjoyed the friendship that she developed with each of the three brothers, and I thought the progression was very natural and unique in each instance. I have a soft spot for each brother in for reasons specific to each--my heart went out to Bard in particular, and I loved how she was able to be more empathetic toward him as a result of her backstory with Drystan. Her relationship with her brother confused me at times, since his attitude toward her seemed varied based on his affiliations at the time, but I enjoyed Ledger's character development by the end. Of course I particularly enjoyed Liserli's relationship development with Cad.
I was very invested by the end of my read, although the final moments of the book seemed to happen very fast (as did Cad's emotionally volatile reaction to receiving surprising news. This novel left me very interested in seeing what happens next in the series.
I would like to thank Belle Manuel for allowing me the opportunity to receive an ARC Copy of this novel in exchange for a review. I had hoped to write this review far sooner, but life things caused a delay. Nevertheless, I so enjoyed this story, and I can't wait to read more from this author in the future!
I enjoyed it more than I thought, the plot is intriguing. Still unsure if I want to continue the series. The fairies and the magic won me over. Although the ending makes a lot of people angry, I think it makes sense because mmc is a fae, he's not human.