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The Iron Crystal #1
To Charm a Dark Prince
To save a kingdom, she must charm a monster.
Transported to the magical realm of Avalon, Gwen finds herself in the hands of its dark and beautiful ruler— Mordred, the Prince in Iron .
The prince holds total power in Avalon, trapping his rivals in an enchanted crystal prison. But he shows a strange gentleness to Gwen.
Seeing no other way to escape, Gwen strikes a deal with Mordred’s enemy. If she can break the crystal, she will be free to go home.
Gwen joins Mordred’s court with a plan to steal his heart and destroy his prize.
Desire sparks between them at once. But Mordred is a dangerous host. As they draw closer, his passion and anger burn brighter.
Gwen would be foolish to trust him.
And even more foolish to betray his trust…
A gripping dark fairy tale and a seductive fantasy romance, with slow-burning attraction, enemies-to-lovers banter and an alluring villain. The Iron Crystal series will enchant fans of Sarah J. Maas, Elisa Kova and Danielle L. Jensen.
Transported to the magical realm of Avalon, Gwen finds herself in the hands of its dark and beautiful ruler— Mordred, the Prince in Iron .
The prince holds total power in Avalon, trapping his rivals in an enchanted crystal prison. But he shows a strange gentleness to Gwen.
Seeing no other way to escape, Gwen strikes a deal with Mordred’s enemy. If she can break the crystal, she will be free to go home.
Gwen joins Mordred’s court with a plan to steal his heart and destroy his prize.
Desire sparks between them at once. But Mordred is a dangerous host. As they draw closer, his passion and anger burn brighter.
Gwen would be foolish to trust him.
And even more foolish to betray his trust…
A gripping dark fairy tale and a seductive fantasy romance, with slow-burning attraction, enemies-to-lovers banter and an alluring villain. The Iron Crystal series will enchant fans of Sarah J. Maas, Elisa Kova and Danielle L. Jensen.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 18, 2023
1035 people are currently reading
3535 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Ann Kingsley
66 books2,450 followersKathryn has always been a storyteller. Years of scriptwriting for performances on stage and for tourism in Boston led her to writing romantically dark, fantastical tales, which was an obsession of hers that began once seeing The Phantom of the Opera at a young age.
When she isn’t penning new villainous leads, she works in video game development. There, she has been everything from Creative Director to Chief of Staff, Design Manager, Executive Producer, and Principal Writer for various companies in the industry.
She shares her antique home with three very fluffy animals and one very patient and loving husband.
When she isn’t penning new villainous leads, she works in video game development. There, she has been everything from Creative Director to Chief of Staff, Design Manager, Executive Producer, and Principal Writer for various companies in the industry.
She shares her antique home with three very fluffy animals and one very patient and loving husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 372 reviews
August 3, 2023
3.5 Villains Do It Better ✨'s
To Charm A Dark Prince is an engaging Arthurian romantasy set in the world of Avalon, featuring morally gray characters, world-building, and magic. The story follows Gwen, a 19-year-old, who suddenly finds herself stuck in a new world with powers she can't control and a tyrant prince, Mordred, who wants to keep all magic at bay even at the cost of others' lives and happiness. Mordred is determined to figure out who brought Gwen to Avalon and is certain that she will betray him just like everyone in the past has done. With constant tellings of Mordred's cruel deeds, Gwen is unsure who to trust. She quickly finds herself struggling with her growing connection to Mordred and her desire to do what she thinks is best for everyone in Avalon even if it goes directly against him.
I think this was an amazing introduction to the start of the Iron Crystal series! I absolutely loved the Arthurian background and world, there is so much potential for magic and plot in the coming books. While I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, I think the characters and writing could use some work. I struggled to connect with Gwen, I really love a strong FMC in fantasy books and Gwen wasn't really that, she had some spunk but was kind of frail and would go around second-guessing herself. The almost juvenile tone of the book did not help with that, it definitely reflected Gwens' young age. I would have loved to see some character development from her but I think she is set up to grow in the next book. Overall, I'm not much of a fantasy reader but I will definitely be continuing with this series and can't wait for the next one; that cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat and practically frothing at the mouth.
~I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
To Charm A Dark Prince is an engaging Arthurian romantasy set in the world of Avalon, featuring morally gray characters, world-building, and magic. The story follows Gwen, a 19-year-old, who suddenly finds herself stuck in a new world with powers she can't control and a tyrant prince, Mordred, who wants to keep all magic at bay even at the cost of others' lives and happiness. Mordred is determined to figure out who brought Gwen to Avalon and is certain that she will betray him just like everyone in the past has done. With constant tellings of Mordred's cruel deeds, Gwen is unsure who to trust. She quickly finds herself struggling with her growing connection to Mordred and her desire to do what she thinks is best for everyone in Avalon even if it goes directly against him.
I think this was an amazing introduction to the start of the Iron Crystal series! I absolutely loved the Arthurian background and world, there is so much potential for magic and plot in the coming books. While I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, I think the characters and writing could use some work. I struggled to connect with Gwen, I really love a strong FMC in fantasy books and Gwen wasn't really that, she had some spunk but was kind of frail and would go around second-guessing herself. The almost juvenile tone of the book did not help with that, it definitely reflected Gwens' young age. I would have loved to see some character development from her but I think she is set up to grow in the next book. Overall, I'm not much of a fantasy reader but I will definitely be continuing with this series and can't wait for the next one; that cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat and practically frothing at the mouth.
~I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
August 24, 2023
I feel like I almost need to give up on Kathryn Ann Kingsley as an author that I insta read from. She either totally knocks it out of the park, or like in the case of this book, totally drops the ball.
This story was advertised as an "enemies to lovers" romance, which it is not. I don't think at any point Gwen could be considered Mordred's enemy. She doesn't ever actually want to do anything to thwart him or actively do anything bad against him, or at least until the very end of the story, and even that was a half-handed effort to do the "right" thing.
Tbh Mordred, our supposed "villain", actually isn't that bad of a guy. At his worst he's a room temp anithero and at his best he's actually a very considerate and caring Prince/King of Avalon. He actually does a lot of things that make sense! Like lock up all of the Elementals that were killing all of the citizens of Avalon, so they can live in peace. I mean what he did to the knights of the round table was kind of crap, but they kind of deserved after they betrayed him. They didn't even have a good reason for betraying him either, other than him being Morgana's child and not knowing who his dad was. Arthur even picked him as his successor! It didn't make any sense on why they betrayed him.
Gwen is the most annoying FMC that I have ever read. I mean one good thing she has going for her is that she's self aware, she literally admits at one point that she's "Just a dumb kid from Kansas", which she is. She doesn't make any informed decisions on what she does, and I mean why does she get to decide whether or not the deadly Elementals get released from their prison? I mean Mordred's right when he mentions that he lived for over a 1000 years with them razing Avalon before he decided to lock them away, and that she has no idea what literal hell on Earth that she would be releasing.
One good thing that this story had going for it was the lore/history that Kat crafted for Mordred and Avalon/Camelot. That was really interesting admittedly. That Merlin transported Arthur and his knights from Camelot to Avalon in order to save Arthur's life. I also liked the swap from Excalibur to Caliburn (the original English name for the sword).
Mostly this felt like a cheaply done version of Kat's Under series. Which in my opinion is a lot more original and interesting than this. At least Aon lives up to his villain potential in that series, where Mordred seems like Superman in comparison.
This story was advertised as an "enemies to lovers" romance, which it is not. I don't think at any point Gwen could be considered Mordred's enemy. She doesn't ever actually want to do anything to thwart him or actively do anything bad against him, or at least until the very end of the story, and even that was a half-handed effort to do the "right" thing.
Tbh Mordred, our supposed "villain", actually isn't that bad of a guy. At his worst he's a room temp anithero and at his best he's actually a very considerate and caring Prince/King of Avalon. He actually does a lot of things that make sense! Like lock up all of the Elementals that were killing all of the citizens of Avalon, so they can live in peace. I mean what he did to the knights of the round table was kind of crap, but they kind of deserved after they betrayed him. They didn't even have a good reason for betraying him either, other than him being Morgana's child and not knowing who his dad was. Arthur even picked him as his successor! It didn't make any sense on why they betrayed him.
Gwen is the most annoying FMC that I have ever read. I mean one good thing she has going for her is that she's self aware, she literally admits at one point that she's "Just a dumb kid from Kansas", which she is. She doesn't make any informed decisions on what she does, and I mean why does she get to decide whether or not the deadly Elementals get released from their prison? I mean Mordred's right when he mentions that he lived for over a 1000 years with them razing Avalon before he decided to lock them away, and that she has no idea what literal hell on Earth that she would be releasing.
One good thing that this story had going for it was the lore/history that Kat crafted for Mordred and Avalon/Camelot. That was really interesting admittedly. That Merlin transported Arthur and his knights from Camelot to Avalon in order to save Arthur's life. I also liked the swap from Excalibur to Caliburn (the original English name for the sword).
Mostly this felt like a cheaply done version of Kat's Under series. Which in my opinion is a lot more original and interesting than this. At least Aon lives up to his villain potential in that series, where Mordred seems like Superman in comparison.
July 28, 2023
Thanks NetGalley for baby’s first ARC, here’s my honest review 😁
3.5⭐️
Yay new fantasy romance series!!!
Ok so first off this is a slow burny, King Arthur influenced, portal to another dimension fantasy romance. It has a regular 19 year old named Gwen whose mysterious cat sets fire to her house and opens a portal to a magical place. Or formerly magical place. Gwen only real character trait is she is a normal person, which kinda left her feeling flat sometimes. I wanted to like her, she had some great one liners. But other than being from Kansas I don’t feel like we had a lot to go on.
Our villain/love interest on the other hand was *chefs kiss* Not only is he the bad guy but it makes sense! He isn’t trying to change anyone’s mind, he’s doing what he thinks is right even if no one agrees. If you love a villain love story, here ya go.
I will say I enjoyed the lack of a clear path for our characters , you spend the book wondering what choice Gwen will make without there being a front runner.
Also there is a dog, so bonus points
I will definitely be continuing on with the series
3.5⭐️
Yay new fantasy romance series!!!
Ok so first off this is a slow burny, King Arthur influenced, portal to another dimension fantasy romance. It has a regular 19 year old named Gwen whose mysterious cat sets fire to her house and opens a portal to a magical place. Or formerly magical place. Gwen only real character trait is she is a normal person, which kinda left her feeling flat sometimes. I wanted to like her, she had some great one liners. But other than being from Kansas I don’t feel like we had a lot to go on.
Our villain/love interest on the other hand was *chefs kiss* Not only is he the bad guy but it makes sense! He isn’t trying to change anyone’s mind, he’s doing what he thinks is right even if no one agrees. If you love a villain love story, here ya go.
I will say I enjoyed the lack of a clear path for our characters , you spend the book wondering what choice Gwen will make without there being a front runner.
Also there is a dog, so bonus points
I will definitely be continuing on with the series
August 18, 2023
I’m not sure what this was, but I know that it wasn’t good.
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June 23, 2025
Thank you so much Net Galley for the eARC!
2 ⭐️ I need to stop reading YA.
First of all, I want to praise whoever it was that made the gorgeous cover of this book. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover and all that, but come on... I think being a little judgemental sometimes is healthy, and pretty book covers call to me. What can I say??
Now, the premise of this book sounds like something that would be right up my alley! It's not necessarily original, but it has its charm: Gwen is transported to Avalon -yes, it's the same Avalon from Arthur and the sword in the stone story- and she's trapped there sharing some crazy magical fire powers with a some random cat called Merlin. So far pretty interesting if not a bit weird, but sure, cool, whatever. The King of this new age, other dimension Avalon is Mordred (Arthur's nephew). He's a tyrannical ruler who entraps the souls of any and all elementals -people with magic- in the Crystal, where their souls are kept for eternity. Now, you would think that such a cold, cruel figure would be hard to be redeemed, given that he's supposed to be the romantic interest here and all... And you'd be right! And that's cause he never is! There's not a redeemable thing about this overgrown man-child in the entirety of this book. It was like watching a toddler have a temper tantrum, expect this toddler is all powerful and gets a kick out of torturing people. Fun, huh?
And listen, I like my heroes morally grey as much as the next romance book lover, but the thing about mmcs is that they usually tend to treat the fmc a lot better than anyone else. The whole "she's the one" thing, but not here. He treats her marginally better, but only because he thinks he could possibly get s3x out of her before killing her and throwing her soul in a prison for... well, forever. And she's so incredibly childish and annoying, too! In different ways, but they are two sides of the same stup!d coin!
The whole book seems rooted in naivety and hidden cruelty. The writing was immature -typical of YA, but still-, and the narrative and overall pacing went by at a snail's pace. It was quite the frustrating read, to be honest. The plot and world building was interesting, but there are many, many things to polish here.
I would recommend this book if you're a teenager just getting into fantasy, but you don't really want to jump into the big, famous books out there. Also, I'm no SJM fan, but even I can tell you that comparing this to ACOTAR is ridiculous.
2 ⭐️ I need to stop reading YA.
First of all, I want to praise whoever it was that made the gorgeous cover of this book. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover and all that, but come on... I think being a little judgemental sometimes is healthy, and pretty book covers call to me. What can I say??
Now, the premise of this book sounds like something that would be right up my alley! It's not necessarily original, but it has its charm: Gwen is transported to Avalon -yes, it's the same Avalon from Arthur and the sword in the stone story- and she's trapped there sharing some crazy magical fire powers with a some random cat called Merlin. So far pretty interesting if not a bit weird, but sure, cool, whatever. The King of this new age, other dimension Avalon is Mordred (Arthur's nephew). He's a tyrannical ruler who entraps the souls of any and all elementals -people with magic- in the Crystal, where their souls are kept for eternity. Now, you would think that such a cold, cruel figure would be hard to be redeemed, given that he's supposed to be the romantic interest here and all... And you'd be right! And that's cause he never is! There's not a redeemable thing about this overgrown man-child in the entirety of this book. It was like watching a toddler have a temper tantrum, expect this toddler is all powerful and gets a kick out of torturing people. Fun, huh?
And listen, I like my heroes morally grey as much as the next romance book lover, but the thing about mmcs is that they usually tend to treat the fmc a lot better than anyone else. The whole "she's the one" thing, but not here. He treats her marginally better, but only because he thinks he could possibly get s3x out of her before killing her and throwing her soul in a prison for... well, forever. And she's so incredibly childish and annoying, too! In different ways, but they are two sides of the same stup!d coin!
The whole book seems rooted in naivety and hidden cruelty. The writing was immature -typical of YA, but still-, and the narrative and overall pacing went by at a snail's pace. It was quite the frustrating read, to be honest. The plot and world building was interesting, but there are many, many things to polish here.
I would recommend this book if you're a teenager just getting into fantasy, but you don't really want to jump into the big, famous books out there. Also, I'm no SJM fan, but even I can tell you that comparing this to ACOTAR is ridiculous.
July 27, 2023
Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a quick, fun read. It was reminiscent of the Cruel Prince to me, and I loved the world. I have never read a book set in Avalon or based of the legend, so I was excited to pick this up. This book had a lot of tropes I liked. Grumpy sunshine, portal fantasy, and a grumpy talking cat. There is a lot of positives here to keep a reader interested.
The writing was digestible, but somewhat young in tone. The characters also felt young, especially Gwen, the main character. She was insufferably talkative and definitely a damsel in distress, but not in a good way. I would have liked to see the characters a bit more fleshed out. Having said that, the banter was pretty good.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a plot-focused quick read, or a younger audience. If you go into this not expecting a lot of depth, I'm sure you'll like it.
This was a quick, fun read. It was reminiscent of the Cruel Prince to me, and I loved the world. I have never read a book set in Avalon or based of the legend, so I was excited to pick this up. This book had a lot of tropes I liked. Grumpy sunshine, portal fantasy, and a grumpy talking cat. There is a lot of positives here to keep a reader interested.
The writing was digestible, but somewhat young in tone. The characters also felt young, especially Gwen, the main character. She was insufferably talkative and definitely a damsel in distress, but not in a good way. I would have liked to see the characters a bit more fleshed out. Having said that, the banter was pretty good.
Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a plot-focused quick read, or a younger audience. If you go into this not expecting a lot of depth, I'm sure you'll like it.
dnf
August 26, 2023DNF 41%
July 30, 2023
This book was.. something.
The main female character faints at every inconvenience.. and the phrasing is so annoying. I can not finish this book.
Here are some quotes from the Gwendolyn (FMC)
“Can.. we get something out of the way, like, first?”
“Um….”
“Kinda.”
“This sucks!”
And a lot of more questions that have “like” in the middle.
I love a good fantasy romance, but the phrasing and immaturity of Gwen, is extremely off putting for me. 🤷♀️ not for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for a honest review.
The main female character faints at every inconvenience.. and the phrasing is so annoying. I can not finish this book.
Here are some quotes from the Gwendolyn (FMC)
“Can.. we get something out of the way, like, first?”
“Um….”
“Kinda.”
“This sucks!”
And a lot of more questions that have “like” in the middle.
I love a good fantasy romance, but the phrasing and immaturity of Gwen, is extremely off putting for me. 🤷♀️ not for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for a honest review.
July 18, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!
Okay let’s start with the good, this book has a interesting villain who you expect to redeem himself cause he’s the love interest but just keeps justifying wrongs. You get to slowly watch the main character realize that she’s naive which is interesting.
Okay the bad.
-the main character’s tragic backstory is that she’s from “nowhere” Kansas and bored and got cheated on by a dude she dated in high school who went off to college. I am BEGGING the author to have at least GOOGLED Kansas before she wrote the character from Kansas. The details are god off and she doesn’t even give the character a town to be from. It’s clear the author probably hasn’t ever been to Kansas and this shouldn’t have been where she based her main character from with 0 research.
-the main character is extremely flat. We get only surface level info about her which is that she wants a more exciting life and she likes animals. That’s pretty much her entire character. That and she gets panic attacks which are solved pretty fast in this book and then she stops getting them suddenly.
-the main love interest is the villain. He has no redeeming qualities, he’s selfish and only see how other people’s actions affect him. That and he’s literally enslaved a whole type of people and jailed them in a magical crystal. I don’t see how he could ever be a viable love interest cause he’s not redeemable.. every time you think they’ll be some kind of justification for this act… there isn’t. He also straight up slices the main girl with his sword and is still supposed to be a interest??
-the character has like two training sessions to master her powers
- most of the characters are the knights of the round table from King Arthur. The main character straight up fangirls about this during the book. It feels like a Magic The School Bus or enchanted tree house adventure at this point. I wish they were different knights just based off of King Arthur cause I think that would have been more immersive during the story. Every time I read “lancelot” it just immediately took me out of it.
-this story reads like a fanfiction. The character’s monologue is pretty juvenile and it’s very clunky at times. It reads like a kids book to me but has a sex scene in it so def not a kids book.
-the ending is very sudden and it doesn’t make a lot of sense why Mordred does what he does. The whole ending sequence was fast and it felt like the book ended abruptly
Okay let’s start with the good, this book has a interesting villain who you expect to redeem himself cause he’s the love interest but just keeps justifying wrongs. You get to slowly watch the main character realize that she’s naive which is interesting.
Okay the bad.
-the main character’s tragic backstory is that she’s from “nowhere” Kansas and bored and got cheated on by a dude she dated in high school who went off to college. I am BEGGING the author to have at least GOOGLED Kansas before she wrote the character from Kansas. The details are god off and she doesn’t even give the character a town to be from. It’s clear the author probably hasn’t ever been to Kansas and this shouldn’t have been where she based her main character from with 0 research.
-the main character is extremely flat. We get only surface level info about her which is that she wants a more exciting life and she likes animals. That’s pretty much her entire character. That and she gets panic attacks which are solved pretty fast in this book and then she stops getting them suddenly.
-the main love interest is the villain. He has no redeeming qualities, he’s selfish and only see how other people’s actions affect him. That and he’s literally enslaved a whole type of people and jailed them in a magical crystal. I don’t see how he could ever be a viable love interest cause he’s not redeemable.. every time you think they’ll be some kind of justification for this act… there isn’t. He also straight up slices the main girl with his sword and is still supposed to be a interest??
-the character has like two training sessions to master her powers
- most of the characters are the knights of the round table from King Arthur. The main character straight up fangirls about this during the book. It feels like a Magic The School Bus or enchanted tree house adventure at this point. I wish they were different knights just based off of King Arthur cause I think that would have been more immersive during the story. Every time I read “lancelot” it just immediately took me out of it.
-this story reads like a fanfiction. The character’s monologue is pretty juvenile and it’s very clunky at times. It reads like a kids book to me but has a sex scene in it so def not a kids book.
-the ending is very sudden and it doesn’t make a lot of sense why Mordred does what he does. The whole ending sequence was fast and it felt like the book ended abruptly
July 1, 2023
"Boyfriend's betrayal. House on fire. Portal to somewhere. Falling to her death. Waking up in a flaming crater unable to burn. Naked. And now her cat could talk. Sure. Okay. Fine."
A quick thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Second Sky for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Let's start with Gwen. Gwen is a 19 year old stuck in her hometown. After she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, while attending the college she couldn't afford, Gwen finds herself wishing for a new life. That wish is granted when she is catapulted into Avalon right into the arms of the iron prince himself, Mordred.
Mordred has contained all elemental magic of his world within a prison in the form of a giant crystal. That is, until Gwen quite literally falls from the sky. But will he imprison her too? Or has the prince learned the error of his ways?
This one is getting 4.5 stars from me because I think this really set up a fun series that piqued my interest enough to want the next book. Gwen was immature but also relatable, and Mordred was the dark, brooding prince most of us look for in our fantasy reads.
I did find some of the story underdeveloped, but I've come to expect that with starting books in a series. I believe this set up the next book perfectly and I'm excited to see what happens in the world of Avalon, and more importantly what happens between Mordred and Gwen.
To Charm a Dark Prince is a slow burn story full of angst, sexual tension, and betrayal. Fast-paced and addictive, you wont be able to put it down!
A quick thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Second Sky for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Let's start with Gwen. Gwen is a 19 year old stuck in her hometown. After she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, while attending the college she couldn't afford, Gwen finds herself wishing for a new life. That wish is granted when she is catapulted into Avalon right into the arms of the iron prince himself, Mordred.
Mordred has contained all elemental magic of his world within a prison in the form of a giant crystal. That is, until Gwen quite literally falls from the sky. But will he imprison her too? Or has the prince learned the error of his ways?
This one is getting 4.5 stars from me because I think this really set up a fun series that piqued my interest enough to want the next book. Gwen was immature but also relatable, and Mordred was the dark, brooding prince most of us look for in our fantasy reads.
I did find some of the story underdeveloped, but I've come to expect that with starting books in a series. I believe this set up the next book perfectly and I'm excited to see what happens in the world of Avalon, and more importantly what happens between Mordred and Gwen.
To Charm a Dark Prince is a slow burn story full of angst, sexual tension, and betrayal. Fast-paced and addictive, you wont be able to put it down!
September 10, 2023
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.In To Charm a Dark Prince, Kingsley transports readers to the Avalon. In this version of Avalon, King Arthur is dead and Mordred, the Prince in Iron, rules. The people of Avalon fear Mordred, but not in a good way. He imprisoned Elementals, hence entrapping magic. He had good reason to do so, as the Elementals became reckless, thus creating chaos. However, this action led to Avalon becoming a desolate and depressing city.
He faced opposition from many angles, one of which came from Gwendolyn, a nineteen-year-old from modern day Kansas. The manner in which Gwen got caught in this whole scenario was quite hilarious. I will not go into many details, but I will say this much. It involved a cat and fire.
It was interesting getting to know Mordred. The story portrays him as controlling, a tyrant, and brutal. However, it seemed he had a bit of a soft spot for Gwen, which may lead to his downfall. Also, there were times throughout the story when I kept wondering if Mordred was really the villain. Sticking to his convictions and not being easily swayed was his most admirable trait. Some readers may find Gwen’s behaviour annoying. However, given the sheltered life she lived, it came as no surprise. She shows some growth as the story progressed, but there is room for improvement.
Mordred and Gwen’s interactions reeked of sexual tension and humour. It was quite interesting, given the circumstances. Mordred doesn’t trust her, and with good reason.
The world Kingsley created fascinated me and fed my desire for everything Arthurian. The story started out slow, and it took sometime for it to pick up. This was mainly because of the author introducing readers to the new Avalon, and providing information as it relates to the reasons for Mordred’s actions.
To Charm a Dark Prince delivered a fun start to The Iron Crystal series. I am curious to learn if Gwen will succeed in her mission to bring down Mordred, or will they join forces? So many questions, especially with that explosive ending. This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading
He faced opposition from many angles, one of which came from Gwendolyn, a nineteen-year-old from modern day Kansas. The manner in which Gwen got caught in this whole scenario was quite hilarious. I will not go into many details, but I will say this much. It involved a cat and fire.
It was interesting getting to know Mordred. The story portrays him as controlling, a tyrant, and brutal. However, it seemed he had a bit of a soft spot for Gwen, which may lead to his downfall. Also, there were times throughout the story when I kept wondering if Mordred was really the villain. Sticking to his convictions and not being easily swayed was his most admirable trait. Some readers may find Gwen’s behaviour annoying. However, given the sheltered life she lived, it came as no surprise. She shows some growth as the story progressed, but there is room for improvement.
Mordred and Gwen’s interactions reeked of sexual tension and humour. It was quite interesting, given the circumstances. Mordred doesn’t trust her, and with good reason.
The world Kingsley created fascinated me and fed my desire for everything Arthurian. The story started out slow, and it took sometime for it to pick up. This was mainly because of the author introducing readers to the new Avalon, and providing information as it relates to the reasons for Mordred’s actions.
To Charm a Dark Prince delivered a fun start to The Iron Crystal series. I am curious to learn if Gwen will succeed in her mission to bring down Mordred, or will they join forces? So many questions, especially with that explosive ending. This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading
July 21, 2024
So so fun - I love a villain-gets-the-girl story, and the light humor was entertaining. Definitely finishing this series!
August 7, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for sending me an ARC for an honest review-
So this book, I was invested in the synopsis of it, I truly had high expectations for it and was inherently let down. The FMC, Gwen read like a pick me and she just read way too young for me, I almost thought I was mistaken and it was a YA book I was reading. I honestly felt like I was reading a fanfiction and honestly not even a good one. It was unfortunate, BUT I might have to give this author's other books a try before completely making my decision on her writing style not being for me.
So this book, I was invested in the synopsis of it, I truly had high expectations for it and was inherently let down. The FMC, Gwen read like a pick me and she just read way too young for me, I almost thought I was mistaken and it was a YA book I was reading. I honestly felt like I was reading a fanfiction and honestly not even a good one. It was unfortunate, BUT I might have to give this author's other books a try before completely making my decision on her writing style not being for me.
March 30, 2024
Hello little 3.5 surprise! This was much better than I thought it would be. A King Arthur/Camelot retelling(extension? reimagining?) was not what I expected this to be. I'm definitely jumping straight into the next one. For readers considering picking this up, the entire first 87% of the book reads very YA. However, the spicy parts are more NA. She is 19 and he is ancient AF. So, do with that info what you will. She's a bit annoying but the rest of the characters are fantastic 😍
September 28, 2024
This was an okay read although it was too slow for me. If you like slowburns and Arturian retellings you should read this. The fmc is a 19-year-old who acts that age and younger sometimes, she finds herself trapped in a new to her kingdom with the "villain" mmc. There is lots of magic, an mmc trying to curtail magic, and a bit of a love triangle. Aside from the pace, another issue i had was how childish the main characters acted lol. I did like the plot and the twist on King Author and Avalon's story. Thanks to the publisher for this arc.
August 11, 2023
Received via Netgalley for an honest review.
I loved listening to this. It was like cotton candy. The aftertaste of this book was sugary sweet. I was surprised how much I thought about this book after I put it down.
The main character's defining characteristic is that she is a human in a magic world. Gwen falls fairly flat. She's from Kansas, and that's about it. I am assuming the Kansas bit is a nod to The Wizard of Oz.
The love interest/villain had much more going on. It feels like more time was spent creating him.
The world building is a fun twist on the classic Arthurian Legends.
The narrator for the audiobook does a good job.
If you are looking for a slow burn villain fantasy romance, this is for you.
I loved listening to this. It was like cotton candy. The aftertaste of this book was sugary sweet. I was surprised how much I thought about this book after I put it down.
The main character's defining characteristic is that she is a human in a magic world. Gwen falls fairly flat. She's from Kansas, and that's about it. I am assuming the Kansas bit is a nod to The Wizard of Oz.
The love interest/villain had much more going on. It feels like more time was spent creating him.
The world building is a fun twist on the classic Arthurian Legends.
The narrator for the audiobook does a good job.
If you are looking for a slow burn villain fantasy romance, this is for you.
October 3, 2023
3.5
I enjoyed this fantasy novel and listened to the audiobook in less than 24 hours it was easy to get lost in the story! We have our FMC who lives a boring life on a farm and one day it catches fire and the only way out is to follow her cat Merlin through a portal and they end up in a new magical world, and to her surprise Merlin can talk and be tells her they are in the land where he is from and that people like him are trapped in a crystal and he needs her help to get it and let the people free. But the only problem is it is guarded by the Prince of the land and what they have to say about him isn’t good. Our FMC becomes imprisoned by the Prince and as she gets to know him she really doesn’t believe all that is said about him, and does a lot of Contemplating of what is right and wrong. This one has has so many fun things, prisoner and captive, a love triangle, a
Magical land and a pretty big Clift hanger! I am looking forward to reading the next one!
I enjoyed this fantasy novel and listened to the audiobook in less than 24 hours it was easy to get lost in the story! We have our FMC who lives a boring life on a farm and one day it catches fire and the only way out is to follow her cat Merlin through a portal and they end up in a new magical world, and to her surprise Merlin can talk and be tells her they are in the land where he is from and that people like him are trapped in a crystal and he needs her help to get it and let the people free. But the only problem is it is guarded by the Prince of the land and what they have to say about him isn’t good. Our FMC becomes imprisoned by the Prince and as she gets to know him she really doesn’t believe all that is said about him, and does a lot of Contemplating of what is right and wrong. This one has has so many fun things, prisoner and captive, a love triangle, a
Magical land and a pretty big Clift hanger! I am looking forward to reading the next one!
August 29, 2023
Listen, at this point, I'm starting to believe if you've read one KAK book, you've read them all.
✅ FMC is down on her luck/desperate/socially isolated.
✅ Magic shit happens and she is transferred to another world
✅ FMC has all the personality of a wet paper napkin. She has a limited emotional range throughout the series. She'll spend most of the series confused, shocked, and scandalised with a miniscule portion of it confident and self-assured. Her anger is futile and lacks teeth.
✅ Villain is hot (bonus points for angular face and a slutty waist), in a position of systemic and magical power, and is also incredibly well-endowed btw.
✅ Human girl discovers actually she likes being collared, restrained, etc. by villain character. KAK emphasises that if she were to ask to stop, nothing more would happen. Cannot recall a time when that actually happens, because FMC is shocked that she and her traitorous body wants him to keep going, but would be happy to be corrected on this point.
✅ Human girl struggles with what she knows ought to be right vs her desire for the villainous love interest. What a pickle!
✅ KAK tries to convince you from the MMC's POV that the FMC with very little power (or, alternatively, doesn't know/can't control her full power) who is perpetually confused is ACTUALLY the one with all the power and influence over the villain love interest.
✅ Main narrative involves some cat-and-mouse with assistance from some side characters you won't remember two months from now.
✅ Superficial world building, usually focused on environments and scenery-building.
Found myself feeling bored with this one. Skimmed. Shan't continue. This review is as much a memo to myself as it is a review of some tired, tired patterns: let it alone, damn you, it IS just as bad as you remember!
✅ FMC is down on her luck/desperate/socially isolated.
✅ Magic shit happens and she is transferred to another world
✅ FMC has all the personality of a wet paper napkin. She has a limited emotional range throughout the series. She'll spend most of the series confused, shocked, and scandalised with a miniscule portion of it confident and self-assured. Her anger is futile and lacks teeth.
✅ Villain is hot (bonus points for angular face and a slutty waist), in a position of systemic and magical power, and is also incredibly well-endowed btw.
✅ Human girl discovers actually she likes being collared, restrained, etc. by villain character. KAK emphasises that if she were to ask to stop, nothing more would happen. Cannot recall a time when that actually happens, because FMC is shocked that she and her traitorous body wants him to keep going, but would be happy to be corrected on this point.
✅ Human girl struggles with what she knows ought to be right vs her desire for the villainous love interest. What a pickle!
✅ KAK tries to convince you from the MMC's POV that the FMC with very little power (or, alternatively, doesn't know/can't control her full power) who is perpetually confused is ACTUALLY the one with all the power and influence over the villain love interest.
✅ Main narrative involves some cat-and-mouse with assistance from some side characters you won't remember two months from now.
✅ Superficial world building, usually focused on environments and scenery-building.
Found myself feeling bored with this one. Skimmed. Shan't continue. This review is as much a memo to myself as it is a review of some tired, tired patterns: let it alone, damn you, it IS just as bad as you remember!
August 18, 2023
★ ★ | 🌶 .5
!! POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!
*A special thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
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Starting off, the cover of this book is gorgeous and my kudos goes out to the designer because man, that’s a pretty cover.
Now, getting into the meat and potatoes, the premise of this book is something new to me as a reader. I love the idea of a mythical and fantasy version of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table. The premise has a boat load of potential. But, plot and character wise, I think it fell flat.
The world building here is very minimal. There’s interesting additives like the knights having specific elements associated with them, but other than that the world is lack luster.
But, let’s give the benefit of the doubt and say that’s intentional due to the “crystal”. I still wasn’t wowed by the world building outside of just the portrayal of the physical world.
I also think it was a mistake to make this a high fantasy, where the FMC is from a normal, everyday, modern 2023. It just didn’t fit. It felt clunky and I didn’t love the “I’m just a girl from Kansas” vibe.
The characters felt two-dimensional as well. There was nothing attaching me to the characters or the relationship between Gwen and Mordred. It felt a lot like I was being told that they liked each other and not shown. And what was supposed to be considered slow burn, literally felt like filler plot which just made the book drag.
Don’t even get me started on the ending. Why did it end so abruptly? Was was the motive? Why did it feel so random?
!! POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION !!
*A special thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
.
.
.
.
.
Starting off, the cover of this book is gorgeous and my kudos goes out to the designer because man, that’s a pretty cover.
Now, getting into the meat and potatoes, the premise of this book is something new to me as a reader. I love the idea of a mythical and fantasy version of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table. The premise has a boat load of potential. But, plot and character wise, I think it fell flat.
The world building here is very minimal. There’s interesting additives like the knights having specific elements associated with them, but other than that the world is lack luster.
But, let’s give the benefit of the doubt and say that’s intentional due to the “crystal”. I still wasn’t wowed by the world building outside of just the portrayal of the physical world.
I also think it was a mistake to make this a high fantasy, where the FMC is from a normal, everyday, modern 2023. It just didn’t fit. It felt clunky and I didn’t love the “I’m just a girl from Kansas” vibe.
The characters felt two-dimensional as well. There was nothing attaching me to the characters or the relationship between Gwen and Mordred. It felt a lot like I was being told that they liked each other and not shown. And what was supposed to be considered slow burn, literally felt like filler plot which just made the book drag.
Don’t even get me started on the ending. Why did it end so abruptly? Was was the motive? Why did it feel so random?
December 17, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to listen to the unedited ARC audiobook.
To Charm a Dark Prince is the first book in the fantasy series Iron Crystal by Kathryn Ann Kingsley. This series is a twist on the myths of Avalon, magic, the legend of King Arthur, Gwendolyn and other beloved characters. The first book's story focuses on Gwen, Merlin, Mordrad and the island of Avalon in a state of disarray for a millennium. Mordrad is an anti-hero, morally grey, brooding dark prince of Avalon and Gwen is an unexpectedly human that finds herself in Avalon after a series of unfortunate events in her life. The plot is filled with grear banter and suspense. The relationship between Gwen and Mordrad made it difficult to finding a good stopping point. I wanted to keep the story going!
There were many twist and turns along this slow burn romance adventure and an unexpected ending that left me wanting Book 2 immediately!
#netgallery #netgalleryreviewer #tocharmthedarkprince #kathrynannkingsley #Morallygrey #Slowburnromance #willthevilliangetthegirl #suspense #kingarthur #darkbroodingprince #spice 🌶️🌶️
Thank you so much to @netgallery for the arc for provide my honest opinion and thoughts on this book.
To Charm a Dark Prince is the first book in the fantasy series Iron Crystal by Kathryn Ann Kingsley. This series is a twist on the myths of Avalon, magic, the legend of King Arthur, Gwendolyn and other beloved characters. The first book's story focuses on Gwen, Merlin, Mordrad and the island of Avalon in a state of disarray for a millennium. Mordrad is an anti-hero, morally grey, brooding dark prince of Avalon and Gwen is an unexpectedly human that finds herself in Avalon after a series of unfortunate events in her life. The plot is filled with grear banter and suspense. The relationship between Gwen and Mordrad made it difficult to finding a good stopping point. I wanted to keep the story going!
There were many twist and turns along this slow burn romance adventure and an unexpected ending that left me wanting Book 2 immediately!
#netgallery #netgalleryreviewer #tocharmthedarkprince #kathrynannkingsley #Morallygrey #Slowburnromance #willthevilliangetthegirl #suspense #kingarthur #darkbroodingprince #spice 🌶️🌶️
Thank you so much to @netgallery for the arc for provide my honest opinion and thoughts on this book.
August 15, 2023
3.5 stars but lots of potential!
Let me start off by saying I finished this story in one day. It was easy to read and the plot was not too difficult to follow. We start off with Mordred- the Dark Prince- our morally grey mmc who holds all of the magic of the world of Avalon inside of a crystal. Magic and the people who once wielded its power are all trapped for the betterment of the world- according to Mordred. Gwen, our fmc, is a 19 year old from Kansas (and you will be reminded of this MANY times... She is from KANSAS!) who finds herself in Avalon and at the hands of our Dark Prince. Seeing no other way to escape, Gwen strikes a deal with Mordred’s enemy. If she can break the crystal, she will be free to go home, back to Kansas. Simple enough right?
Mordred is fascinated by Gwen as the two become close. The immediate flirting and sexual tensi0n between Mordred and Gwen drew me in! I wouldn't call this true enemies to lovers because they don't truly hate each other upon meeting but to each their own. I loved the details of the world of Avalon and the characters there although I believe some of the story is underdeveloped. Mordred is our dark and brooding villain (chef's kiss) but I felt like we needed to SEE more of his internal struggle besides telling the reader that he has nightmares. Gwen was very immature and her dialogue including slang from the modern world started off endearing but ended with me rolling my eyes. It does read a little YA but with a little more fleshing out and detail- I think this could be a 5 star read!
I will be looking forward to the next book in the series to find out what happens to Avalon and where Gwen and Mordred end up.
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!
Let me start off by saying I finished this story in one day. It was easy to read and the plot was not too difficult to follow. We start off with Mordred- the Dark Prince- our morally grey mmc who holds all of the magic of the world of Avalon inside of a crystal. Magic and the people who once wielded its power are all trapped for the betterment of the world- according to Mordred. Gwen, our fmc, is a 19 year old from Kansas (and you will be reminded of this MANY times... She is from KANSAS!) who finds herself in Avalon and at the hands of our Dark Prince. Seeing no other way to escape, Gwen strikes a deal with Mordred’s enemy. If she can break the crystal, she will be free to go home, back to Kansas. Simple enough right?
Mordred is fascinated by Gwen as the two become close. The immediate flirting and sexual tensi0n between Mordred and Gwen drew me in! I wouldn't call this true enemies to lovers because they don't truly hate each other upon meeting but to each their own. I loved the details of the world of Avalon and the characters there although I believe some of the story is underdeveloped. Mordred is our dark and brooding villain (chef's kiss) but I felt like we needed to SEE more of his internal struggle besides telling the reader that he has nightmares. Gwen was very immature and her dialogue including slang from the modern world started off endearing but ended with me rolling my eyes. It does read a little YA but with a little more fleshing out and detail- I think this could be a 5 star read!
I will be looking forward to the next book in the series to find out what happens to Avalon and where Gwen and Mordred end up.
Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!
April 22, 2024
4.5⭐️
I had no idea this was an Arthurian retelling and it was the best surprise! It had a super unique twist on it with portal magic and simple world building. I immediately connected to the story and read it in less than a day.
Mordred is the definition of morally grey. The entire book I couldn’t decide who was right and who was wrong because both had valid points. I loved that it wasn’t black and white. His POV’s were my favorite and I hope we get a few more in book 2.
I wasn’t expecting the end to go the way it did and really enjoyed the twist! I can’t wait to start the next book to see what happens!
Perfect if you love…
⚔️dark Arthurian retelling
🔥slow burn romance
⚔️captive/captor romance
🔥villain gets the girl
⚔️anxiety and panic attack rep
🔥morally grey characters
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!
I had no idea this was an Arthurian retelling and it was the best surprise! It had a super unique twist on it with portal magic and simple world building. I immediately connected to the story and read it in less than a day.
Mordred is the definition of morally grey. The entire book I couldn’t decide who was right and who was wrong because both had valid points. I loved that it wasn’t black and white. His POV’s were my favorite and I hope we get a few more in book 2.
I wasn’t expecting the end to go the way it did and really enjoyed the twist! I can’t wait to start the next book to see what happens!
Perfect if you love…
⚔️dark Arthurian retelling
🔥slow burn romance
⚔️captive/captor romance
🔥villain gets the girl
⚔️anxiety and panic attack rep
🔥morally grey characters
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!
dnf
May 11, 2025DNF @ 13%
I think I hate most portal fantasy’s. Girlie pop traveled to A fantasy world with a cat called Merlin (who’s basically Salem from the 90s Sabrina the teenage witch) and proclaims to the first peasant she sees she’s from
Earth. 🥴🥴 literally so dumb
I think I hate most portal fantasy’s. Girlie pop traveled to A fantasy world with a cat called Merlin (who’s basically Salem from the 90s Sabrina the teenage witch) and proclaims to the first peasant she sees she’s from
Earth. 🥴🥴 literally so dumb
August 11, 2023
I read the eArc on Netgalley and the only problem I have with this is I have to wait for the next book.
It felt like all the action happened at the start and end of the book though. The middle could have had some more substance.
But all around a great book. 😁
It felt like all the action happened at the start and end of the book though. The middle could have had some more substance.
But all around a great book. 😁
Read
July 6, 2024Dnf @ 22%
Made it further than last time but I just can’t do it
Made it further than last time but I just can’t do it
July 9, 2023
Um okay, I absolutely loved this! Morally grey anti-hero, slow burn romance, all set in an Athurian legend fantasy world. 4.5 stars 💫
'Hot and egotistical. Great'.
Synopsis
After finding out her boyfriend has cheated on her, all Gwen wants to do is have a beer and relax. But her stray cat 'Merlin' has different plans, knocking over a candle and setting the house alight.. then opening up a portal, which Gwen has to jump through or risk being burned alive.
Once she's through the portal, she realises she's not in Kansas anymore. For one, she's on fire and it's not hurting her, and two.. her cat Merlin is speaking to her.
Gwen ends up landing in The Prince of Iron, Mordred's, custody, but she is an elemental - she can alight herself in flames and it not harm her - but Mordred has captured all elementals, locking them away in a giant crystal to protect the land. Will he do the same with Gwen?
Thoughts
This is a great start to the series, a morally grey and broody Prince, a slow burn romance filled with tension, the fantasy world of Avalon, the plot and the betrayals.
As a avid fantasy reader, anything with a dark and broody Prince steals my attention. Mordred has a great, dry sense of humour and witty banter with Gwen. But Mordred is his own worst enemy, having little to zero trust of anyone.
I'm so excited to read the next book in this series to see where Gwen and Mordred's relationship goes and if it can be fixed, it does end on a cliffhanger and definitely keeps the reader wanting more. I hope we see more character development in the next book, as I really want to know more backstory and who some characters are.
'What were a few nightmares between friends? Or whatever they were. Or whatever they were going to become. Friends. Lovers. Enemies'.
Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky for this copy. This review is voluntary.
'Hot and egotistical. Great'.
Synopsis
After finding out her boyfriend has cheated on her, all Gwen wants to do is have a beer and relax. But her stray cat 'Merlin' has different plans, knocking over a candle and setting the house alight.. then opening up a portal, which Gwen has to jump through or risk being burned alive.
Once she's through the portal, she realises she's not in Kansas anymore. For one, she's on fire and it's not hurting her, and two.. her cat Merlin is speaking to her.
Gwen ends up landing in The Prince of Iron, Mordred's, custody, but she is an elemental - she can alight herself in flames and it not harm her - but Mordred has captured all elementals, locking them away in a giant crystal to protect the land. Will he do the same with Gwen?
Thoughts
This is a great start to the series, a morally grey and broody Prince, a slow burn romance filled with tension, the fantasy world of Avalon, the plot and the betrayals.
As a avid fantasy reader, anything with a dark and broody Prince steals my attention. Mordred has a great, dry sense of humour and witty banter with Gwen. But Mordred is his own worst enemy, having little to zero trust of anyone.
I'm so excited to read the next book in this series to see where Gwen and Mordred's relationship goes and if it can be fixed, it does end on a cliffhanger and definitely keeps the reader wanting more. I hope we see more character development in the next book, as I really want to know more backstory and who some characters are.
'What were a few nightmares between friends? Or whatever they were. Or whatever they were going to become. Friends. Lovers. Enemies'.
Thank you to NetGalley and Second Sky for this copy. This review is voluntary.
November 16, 2023
Really good start to this series. I was a little confused at the very beginning but then things started becoming clearer. I like the adventure feels and both the MCs were great. This does leave off on a cliffhanger in more than one way but I will for sure be reading part 2!
The only reason I didn’t give this five stars is because book 1 teased us so much and gave very few sexy times, plus some of the dialogue tone and word choice sounded too similar among very different characters. Also, she sure did get friendly with everyone fast in an unrealistic way. The story basically takes place over one week and so much happens, not sure why it was such a rushed timeframe.
The novel did a great job of having complex, deep characters and problems with no obvious solution that were multi-layered. All of that and the attractiveness of M as a tortured dark prince made this a cut above for books in this genre.
The only reason I didn’t give this five stars is because book 1 teased us so much and gave very few sexy times, plus some of the dialogue tone and word choice sounded too similar among very different characters. Also, she sure did get friendly with everyone fast in an unrealistic way. The story basically takes place over one week and so much happens, not sure why it was such a rushed timeframe.
The novel did a great job of having complex, deep characters and problems with no obvious solution that were multi-layered. All of that and the attractiveness of M as a tortured dark prince made this a cut above for books in this genre.
July 31, 2023
This might've got off on the wrong foot with me but honestly by the end of it I was really impressed with the slow burn of not just the romance, but the story as a whole. I can completely see the trajectory of this story in my mind and it makes me very excited for the future of the series. ARTHURIAN LEGEND FANTASY ROMANCE!!!!!!!!
To Charm A Dark Prince follows Gwen in her adventure in the world of Avalon where magic and powerful beings called "elementals" have been entrapped in an Iron Crystal which was created by our other mc Mordred, the Prince in Iron. The reason that Mordred has been keeping the magic entrapped is because hundreds of years before, elementals had become much too powerful and reckless with their magic, wreaking total destruction on the world. While maintaining this sort of prison within the crystal keeps Avalon relatively "safe", it's become a quite miserable existence with no vibrancy, no joy, and a super precarious relationship between the people of Avalon and Mordred being kind of a tyrant with his rule. Gwen is wrapped up in all of this by accident? fate? definitely a meddling Merlin who escaped Mordred's entrapment in Avalon years before and had been latched onto Gwen in her backwater Kansas world for a decade. Cheating boyfriend, house on fire, magical portal opened, Gwen crashes into Avalon as a fire elemental... someone who could potentially pose a threat to Mordred's tyrannical reign and the iron-clad control he exerts over the land, the people, his fellow knights, his iron creations, and all the souls desperate to escape the crystal.
LISTEN!!!! THE FACT THAT I CAN EVEN SUMMARIZE THIS NOVEL AT ALL AND ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE FANTASY OF IT ALL IS A TESTAMENT TO THE AUTHOR'S COMPETENT WORLD-BUILDING AND SUPER ACCESSIBLE WRITING STYLE!!! swear to god I barely understand ANY fantasy I ever read, despite it being one of my favourite genres lol.
The key secondary characters in the story were super enjoyable to get to know, pretty unique, and all have very distinct roles to play in supporting Gwen and/or Mordred. I adored Galahad being like a gentle and wise father-figure to Gwen and a kind of reluctant ally to Mordred, even though their relationship/history is complicated. I loved Lancelot being a smarmy little bitch but kind of in a cute way and just a "good guy" foil to Mordred because fr, we love Mordred for being a brutal, controlling, sharp-edged warlord... we love him for being a very atypical villain or very atypical hero, depending on how you look at it. GWEN WAS FUCKING ANNOYING IN THE BEGINNING I'LL GIVE U THAT, I definitely had to suspend my judgment and push through the "real world" beginning...I feel the author's storytelling strength is in the medieval setting NOT the modern setting. So please do note, the beginning was a bit boring and ridiculous and set Gwen up to come across as super fucking naive and annoying BUT there was growth for her!!! there really was... I gave her more chances and I wasn't disappointed lol.
I recommend this to readers who enjoy ACOTAR and TOG, as well as the Naomi Novik girlies out there!!!! The magic and characters are giving Uprooted and Spinning Silver whereas the drama and the setting are giving SJM.
IN CONCLUSION, KIND OF INTERESTING AND I FEAR THE SPICY SCENE AT THE VERY END WAS UTTERLY SCINTILLATING AND WILL CERTAINLY HAVE ME RETURNING FOR THE SEQUAL!!!
*this review is based off an e-arc provided by netgalley*
To Charm A Dark Prince follows Gwen in her adventure in the world of Avalon where magic and powerful beings called "elementals" have been entrapped in an Iron Crystal which was created by our other mc Mordred, the Prince in Iron. The reason that Mordred has been keeping the magic entrapped is because hundreds of years before, elementals had become much too powerful and reckless with their magic, wreaking total destruction on the world. While maintaining this sort of prison within the crystal keeps Avalon relatively "safe", it's become a quite miserable existence with no vibrancy, no joy, and a super precarious relationship between the people of Avalon and Mordred being kind of a tyrant with his rule. Gwen is wrapped up in all of this by accident? fate? definitely a meddling Merlin who escaped Mordred's entrapment in Avalon years before and had been latched onto Gwen in her backwater Kansas world for a decade. Cheating boyfriend, house on fire, magical portal opened, Gwen crashes into Avalon as a fire elemental... someone who could potentially pose a threat to Mordred's tyrannical reign and the iron-clad control he exerts over the land, the people, his fellow knights, his iron creations, and all the souls desperate to escape the crystal.
LISTEN!!!! THE FACT THAT I CAN EVEN SUMMARIZE THIS NOVEL AT ALL AND ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE FANTASY OF IT ALL IS A TESTAMENT TO THE AUTHOR'S COMPETENT WORLD-BUILDING AND SUPER ACCESSIBLE WRITING STYLE!!! swear to god I barely understand ANY fantasy I ever read, despite it being one of my favourite genres lol.
The key secondary characters in the story were super enjoyable to get to know, pretty unique, and all have very distinct roles to play in supporting Gwen and/or Mordred. I adored Galahad being like a gentle and wise father-figure to Gwen and a kind of reluctant ally to Mordred, even though their relationship/history is complicated. I loved Lancelot being a smarmy little bitch but kind of in a cute way and just a "good guy" foil to Mordred because fr, we love Mordred for being a brutal, controlling, sharp-edged warlord... we love him for being a very atypical villain or very atypical hero, depending on how you look at it. GWEN WAS FUCKING ANNOYING IN THE BEGINNING I'LL GIVE U THAT, I definitely had to suspend my judgment and push through the "real world" beginning...I feel the author's storytelling strength is in the medieval setting NOT the modern setting. So please do note, the beginning was a bit boring and ridiculous and set Gwen up to come across as super fucking naive and annoying BUT there was growth for her!!! there really was... I gave her more chances and I wasn't disappointed lol.
I recommend this to readers who enjoy ACOTAR and TOG, as well as the Naomi Novik girlies out there!!!! The magic and characters are giving Uprooted and Spinning Silver whereas the drama and the setting are giving SJM.
IN CONCLUSION, KIND OF INTERESTING AND I FEAR THE SPICY SCENE AT THE VERY END WAS UTTERLY SCINTILLATING AND WILL CERTAINLY HAVE ME RETURNING FOR THE SEQUAL!!!
*this review is based off an e-arc provided by netgalley*
July 9, 2023
When Gwen stays home after a messy breakup, she never expects her house to catch on fire. Or her cat to open a portal to the world of Avalon, which is stuck centuries in the past. As she falls through the portal, she draws the attention of Mordred, the cruel prince who rules the land and keeps magic imprisoned. Loosely based off of Arthurian lore (ignoring the French versions), To Charm a Dark Prince combines Outlander and the infamous Camelot to create a fantasy romance that is a delight to escape into.
Gwen survived and made friends by being kind. Now, I understand that kindness is powerful and absolutely a strength, but Gwen was also rather passive. My main issue with the story was that she didn't really seem to be an active agent in it. Things happened to her; she didn't happen to the setting. Some readers enjoy passive characters, and there's nothing technically wrong with a passive FMC, I just prefer heroines who take an active role in their stories.
Also, Gwen supposedly suffers from panic attacks, but they only happen when it's plot relevant and logical. As someone who has dealt with anxiety, my experience (which is by no means universal--there's no wrong or right way to feel) is that panic attacks are not convenient and they certainly aren't something to be used to make a character more approachable to a love interest. Anxiety is a real disorder, and while creating characters who struggle with it is crucial to removing stigma, allowing the disorder to be ignored or brushed over once it no longer becomes plot important doesn't help anyone.
That being said, I loved the dialogue and the construction of Avalon. As someone who loves Arthurian lore, I appreciated that the author created a world that while based in mythology can stand on its own and doesn't require a ton of explanation. The focus of the novel is on romance, so the details of the magic system weren't necessary, and I'm glad the author didn't include them just to wrack up the word count.
Overall, To Charm A Dark Prince was a fun, relaxing way to spend a few hours. Though far from perfect, it was transportative, and I didn't notice I had finished reading until the very last chapter. Fans of fantasy romance, Arthurian lore, dark and broody heroes, and whip-smart dialogue will certainly want to pick this one up!
An e-ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.
Gwen survived and made friends by being kind. Now, I understand that kindness is powerful and absolutely a strength, but Gwen was also rather passive. My main issue with the story was that she didn't really seem to be an active agent in it. Things happened to her; she didn't happen to the setting. Some readers enjoy passive characters, and there's nothing technically wrong with a passive FMC, I just prefer heroines who take an active role in their stories.
Also, Gwen supposedly suffers from panic attacks, but they only happen when it's plot relevant and logical. As someone who has dealt with anxiety, my experience (which is by no means universal--there's no wrong or right way to feel) is that panic attacks are not convenient and they certainly aren't something to be used to make a character more approachable to a love interest. Anxiety is a real disorder, and while creating characters who struggle with it is crucial to removing stigma, allowing the disorder to be ignored or brushed over once it no longer becomes plot important doesn't help anyone.
That being said, I loved the dialogue and the construction of Avalon. As someone who loves Arthurian lore, I appreciated that the author created a world that while based in mythology can stand on its own and doesn't require a ton of explanation. The focus of the novel is on romance, so the details of the magic system weren't necessary, and I'm glad the author didn't include them just to wrack up the word count.
Overall, To Charm A Dark Prince was a fun, relaxing way to spend a few hours. Though far from perfect, it was transportative, and I didn't notice I had finished reading until the very last chapter. Fans of fantasy romance, Arthurian lore, dark and broody heroes, and whip-smart dialogue will certainly want to pick this one up!
An e-ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.
July 27, 2023
I want to thank NetGalley, Second Sky, and Kathryn Kingsley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a solid three stars for me. It was not good and it was not bad. The world building was absent from the whole story, and the book being only 300 pages meant that everything moved at high speed levels. The main female character, Gwen, was extremely naive granted she was 18 and is falling in love with a thousand year old prince that is related to King Arthur. This book was all over the place for me and although I read it super fast and it read really easily it just fell super flat. Kingsley spent way too much time on things that in the end were not necessary and seemed to waste time whereas she could have made the book longer and been able to beef up the reality of the love interest. Mordred, the so called Dark Prince, fell in love with Gwen way too fast and it just did not make sense whatsoever. The sex was okay but I felt that it could be better, but I did not the enemies to lovers storyline.
Some of the things that made this three stars for me was the humor of Gwen, she was very funny and witty and I enjoyed her personality as a character. I also like how Kingsley portrayed Mordred as a seriously awful person and while he was kind to Gwen 95% of the time you can see how she did not have him change upon falling in love with Gwen. He stayed the villain regardless of his love for Gwen and I appreciated that.
If you like writing like Grace Draven specifically her Radiance book then this is the story for you. I did not hate this book but I was not obsessed with it.
This book was a solid three stars for me. It was not good and it was not bad. The world building was absent from the whole story, and the book being only 300 pages meant that everything moved at high speed levels. The main female character, Gwen, was extremely naive granted she was 18 and is falling in love with a thousand year old prince that is related to King Arthur. This book was all over the place for me and although I read it super fast and it read really easily it just fell super flat. Kingsley spent way too much time on things that in the end were not necessary and seemed to waste time whereas she could have made the book longer and been able to beef up the reality of the love interest. Mordred, the so called Dark Prince, fell in love with Gwen way too fast and it just did not make sense whatsoever. The sex was okay but I felt that it could be better, but I did not the enemies to lovers storyline.
Some of the things that made this three stars for me was the humor of Gwen, she was very funny and witty and I enjoyed her personality as a character. I also like how Kingsley portrayed Mordred as a seriously awful person and while he was kind to Gwen 95% of the time you can see how she did not have him change upon falling in love with Gwen. He stayed the villain regardless of his love for Gwen and I appreciated that.
If you like writing like Grace Draven specifically her Radiance book then this is the story for you. I did not hate this book but I was not obsessed with it.
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