Of Darkness and Ruination

The Star Queen Chronicles #1

by Rachel Fallon

Starlight in her veins, and a soul that calls for darkness.On the magical continent of Celesterra, all humans are enslaved to the ruling fae...

Asteria Zagreus, a mortal young woman enslaved on Celesterra, must face Placement Day, the one day where all humans, at the age of Twenty-One, are placed in new kingdoms and given new masters to serve. Come Placement Day, Asteria is forced into the Dusk Kingdom and given to its Prince, Cyrus Tynan. When she refuses him and his desires, Asteria realizes she has only one escaping her enslavement and finding something thought impossible—freedom. Asteria must begin to play her own game within the court...and with the Prince of Dusk Kingdom himself.

Enemies come from all sides, however, and the merciless ruler of the Night Kingdom, King Calix Atarah Erebus, starts making his move against the Dusk Kingdom. Yet, darkness calls to Asteria in mysterious ways, and an equally mysterious soldier makes her question who the real monsters are—especially when it comes to a brutal king and a callous prince. With a bloody war brewing on the horizon, Asteria must decide who the true villain of her story is. Her choice, and the consequences of it, will ripple out across the continent.

Chaos rises, resistance gathers, and a soulmate bond is tested, while Asteria begins down a path that will change the course of history...

Of Darkness and Ruination is the first book in a compelling new adult romantic fantasy series featuring contrasting light and dark love interests and the delicate line of balance and chaos for a magical land. Plus fae shifters, court intrigue, resistance to slavery, a shadow daddy love interest who can shift into a dragon, and a heroine finding her own power and fighting for what she believes in. Perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas, Jennifer L Armentrout, Clare Sager, Nisha J Tuli, Carissa Broadbent, Chloe C. Peñaranda, and Raven Kennedy!

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Dragons, Fae, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance

546 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2024

Reviews

[Danielle Pulliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

**𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑶𝒇 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍 𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒏 (𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 #1)

Release Date: April 4, 2024

5⭐️5🌶

After rereading this amazing book, I remembered how much I love it. This is so much more than just a fantasy or romantasy. This is a book about rising up against oppression, and finding yourself after gaining your newfound freedom. It's also about trusting your new found friendship and trusting that your friends want the best for you. Plus, all the magic training, battle training, and political intrigue are top notch!

Asteria is a young human woman who up until recently lived in a small winery town with her parents, then she was required to go to placement day. Which is where all the humans from every kingdom come to be selected by a new fae master to go to a new kingdom when they come of age. Asteria is selected by the Crown Prince of Dusk Kingdom to be his personal slave, and she hates every minute of it. At first, he is nice enough and goes out of his way to care for her, but it very quickly becomes apparent that he is rotten to his core. He wants nothing more than to torture all those around him and will do anything to gain more power and station.

Asteria is looking for any way to get out of her situation when she meets a warrior from the Night Kingdom during one of their attacks on the Dusk Kingdom. However, he doesn't attack her or give her any feeling that she needs to protect herself. This is confusing, because all she's ever heard is that the Night Kingdom is horrible and kills humans and Fae alike. But those rumors do not seem to be all truthful.

Themes/Tropes:
🍁Enemies to lovers
🍁Human/fae relationship
🍁Human slaves-Fae in power
🍁Magical Warfare
🍁Hidden powers
🍁Chosen One
🍁Fated Mates

TW:
✨Graphic torture and whipping
✨Gaslighting
✨Battle/War sequences
✨Abusing others to keep one in line
✨Threating to abuse others to keep someone in line
✨Training sequences

[BJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say as excited as I was to read this I was incredibly disappointed with how it turned out. The writing was extremely poor, somewhat choppy and adolescent in places. If you could get past the cringy writing, the plot, while extremely predictable was mildly entertaining. It is a basic plot that seems like it was taken from other big name books, with basic tropes, but not totally boring to read. My biggest issue with the book was the choppy grammar, poor wording and phrasing, and overall childish writing. I gave it two stars for the entertainment value, but I won’t be reading the second book.

*Editing this review to say I am not referring to editorial errors such as missing punctuation, typos, or misspellings. I’m referring to the QUALITY of the writing itself.

[Amber's Book Cave]

(ARC) DNF at 55%.

It was hard for me to admit that it was time to DNF this one... I was really looking forward to reading this book. The main concept of the book intrigued me with the world-building, and I found the way the kingdoms were set up really unique.

However, I found myself unable to connect with the story due to not liking the way the writing flowed. The pacing felt very sluggish and drawn out, making it really difficult for me to stay engaged.

The book will be available on KU, so give it a shot and see if you enjoy it. I don't see myself revisiting this book after its release.

[Josie DeRosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sliiiiight spoilers ahead, but nothing that will bring ruination to the major plot points. See what I did there?

Did you devour ACOTAR in a weekend?
Did you pounce on Plated Prisoner when you realized it helped inspire ACOTAR?
Were you in love with Theo James in Divergent a decade ago?
Did you dream of riding the dragons alongside the Fourth Wing?
Did you live for the family feuds and court craziness of GoT?

BOY do I have the book for you.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ NOT for the weak minded
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ DEFINITELY for the weak kneed.

At multiple times throughout this book I found myself thinking “Am I reading the next Fourth Wing rn?”

Asteria is human, though her looks rival those of her Fae masters. Wanting to rebel against an ancient caste system from an early age, her defiance is tested to its limits as she’s placed in the brutal Dusk Kingdom as the personal slave of a cruel master. But war threatens the land of Celesterra, and Asteria—used to freedom only in her dreams—vows to turn them into reality.

Beware:
🐉dragon shifters
🐉morally grey purple-eyed soldiers
🐉and some spiiiiiicy spice

Rachel Fallon’s writing is clear, smooth, and invokes all the emotion I was craving. I laughed. I teared up. I found myself rooting for certain characters, and wanting to behead others. The dialogue never felt forced, and the balance between backstory and foreground events was well-done.

Asteria was strong without being TOO strong. She was witty, defiant, charismatic, and lovable. Cyrus, on the other hand, was behead-able. Calix… I’ll let you read about Calix yourselves👀

If you’re looking for another comfort romantasy to take your mind off the real world and raise your standards for men a little higher, this is the book for you.

[Geeky Katya · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is ACOTAR with different names and not as well written. Needlessly long. You can skip the first six chapters and not miss anything. Reads like fan fiction. The Prince is Tamlin. The girl is Feyre. The shadow daddy from the “Night Court”, I mean Night Kingdom , is Rhys. The different kingdoms: Dusk and Sunset (means the same thing), Sunrise and Dawn (means the same thing).

Would have benefited from a good editor.

[Nikki Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story and the world have a lot of potential. What I liked most about this book was the world building and the characters. The author did a great job of making you fall in love with the good characters and want to absolutely throttle the bad guys. The world she created was very interesting and well thought out. The world building was sprinkled throughout the entire book too so I enjoyed learning more along the way.

My biggest issue with the book was how long it was. I feel like it definitely could have been edited down quite a bit. There was a lot of repetitive writing of what the FMC thought and felt. When I read a book I want to be left wanting more and feeling like I don't want the story to end. With this one though I found I was ready for stuff to wrap up faster than it did and I kept checking how much longer until it was finished.

Some of the big plot reveals were a bit predictable because they were alluded to so many times in repetitive ways that it made it obvious what would happen.

Overall I feel like this series could have great potential and I will check out the second book based on the cliffhangers at the end. I'm excited to see where the author takes the story and I hope future books are edited down to be a little more digestible.

[Mumen Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seven hundred pages too long, i'll allow the map to stay

Worldbuilding has more flesh in the Guide than in the actual story, since it gets nonesensical as soon as you put any thought behind the information being dumped on you in buckets; there's so many names and places that are completely worthless you can simply ignore it, since none of them matter, the cities are just there to place the name of a lord on them, Night Kingdom of course has the best everything and made zero compromises to get what they wanted so they're the strongest military with the most powerful people, but they're also the most open culture...???? How do you do that? And of course they have perfect cities, that have....underground erectible walls...?? that's not good you know? Like, when you pull up the wall, it's gonna leave a huge gap under the earth, how you gonna fill that? And how are you gonna keep the wall up? Can we please write something that isn't blind wish fullfillment?

Even the enslaving of humans has no thought behind it: allowing the humans to stay with their family until their 21st year is counter productive to the goal of perpetuating their enslavement, their personality is mostly developed by then and their physical prime will deteriorate before they become experts in their assigned field. 14 or 15 is a much more pliable age and would allow the new master to chose how to develop the boy/girl into what they envision, without being too young and needing care. Now, i know WHY we're going with 21, but an explanation is not an excuse.

In the first half of the book it almost seemed like the politics were going to be a big part of the story, but they end up getting brushed aside when the plot just switches to "ACOMAF but worse" (and that's saying something), since apparently there is no opposition in the Night Kingdom. Not ONE nobleman who liked to have slaves, not one lady who doesn't agree with Calix's approach with the matters of inter-kingdom relationships, not one military officer who doesn't want to throw his men to their deaths to save twenty humans who will need extensive mental rehab, housing and a facilitated route into a job to even begin being useful, not ONE business owner who's job got stolen by immigrant humans, not one human who didn’t fit into the new world and took advantage of the high trust socety built around him. It's fucking disturbing okay? It makes this kingdom look like an oppressive dictatorship who deported all the dissidents and criminals

"There’s no one in this kingdom who doesn’t love our king.”

"Vell, off kourse, mein führer, eferybody lofs you"

And the magic is really not explained, every royal of a kingdom can shapeshift, others can too, but the others don't have the elemental magic of the kingdom, right? But then what magic do they even have? And why nobody ever uses their magic outside of Rhysand and Dr. Evil? Like, seriously, i SAW you guys shapeshifting into animals at the sex ritual, why don't you do that more often? Wasn't your kingdom so cool and good because you used magic all the time? And then we have the religion:

“Oh, child. Just because it’s always been males chosen doesn’t mean the females aren’t all waiting for the day an exception occurs.”

What the fuck are you even saying woman? The gods actively choose only males, they have been doing so for i don’t know how many hundreds of years (maybe thousands) why the fuck would anyone think there would be an exception? You gonna wait for fire to burn cold too? Are you really going to tell me that none of the six ruling families across the centuries have ever had a generation of only daughters? No, of course, which means whenever they got only daughters the gods picked a different family to rule, which means the gods actively do not want women in power and since the counsciously choose, it must mean there will never be

No— no, the gods required balance

Always this thing about balance that, it seems, everyone forgot because we needed the bad guys to be so evil they quite litterally go against the fabric of reality

Plot barely exists: protagonist is chosen by dr. Evil, protagonist does absolute jack shit in the palace, Rhysand comes to save her, queue in TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY PAGES of nothing at all "healing", then finale happens and then second finale happens because god forbid we have tension. I hope that we're not going to get the classic bullshit litterally eveyone does when the Fated Mates thrope happens, they fell in love regardless of it, He fell DESPITE it, She's never been against anything, don't even TRY to create drama out of it. Everything is laughably predictable, from the mysterious and evil Night Kingdom to the "Oh look my necklace is litterally your Soul Mark, let's not think about this for the rest of the book", to Asteria's attraction to magic, night and the dreams that get randomly thrown into the mix. Who could have guessed all the shocking twists? Her litteral name is the goddness's for fuck's sake

Speaking of her, author had the idea of a character arc for Asteria, but none of it felt like it was actually happening, since essentially everything always goes her way without her having to put any effort in what she does: everyone needs her, people simply like her and tell her things and give her positions of power, to the point she's become dull to compliments and attention

these Fae men. How did I manage to keep attracting them?

When your protagonist is so good that she's TIRED of getting something people strive for, maybe, just maybe, you have a problem, expecially when it's completely unearned, something which, again, is lampshaded, but highlights the complete lack of actual personality in Asteria:

So often, I was noted for my beauty. Ridiculed for it. Singled out for it. To me, beauty seemed to have been nothing but a curse. What I wouldn’t give to be noticed for something else, for once. To be given acknowledgment for something I did, or said, or in any way earned. To be recognized for…my soul. My brain. My talents.

"Ugh, it's so tiring to be complimented constantly, am i right fellow humans?". And of course "why can't i be complimented for something else?" What else is there to compliment girl? You have not shown ang talent, skill, unique prospective, significant insight into any field ever, what brain do you want me to praise you for, when you don't show it? And what "soul" do you want me to praise you for when you don't bother with people. (chapter 5)? The only connection you have outside your family (before going into Night Kingdom) is a dude you fucked over and over without creating any meaningful bond with him. So much so you were able to drop him the instant you no longer needed him.

Did you strike up a conversation during your first date with the prince? We're at the point when dr. Evil seemed to be a well adjusted person, so you don't have any reason to think he wouldn't at least listen to what your supposedly wonderful mind has to say. Did you use your extraordinay privileged position to try opening up his mind to the horrors of slavery? Did you talk to him about something YOU are interested in? Did you offer any meaningful insight into any field? No. You were contempt to stay silent and of course he filled the silence with whatever the fuck was right there in front of you, since of course he doesn't expect you to have meaningful knowledge into anything. You were given a golden opportunity to say something, ANYTHING, and you were contempt to stay silent. You deserve no praise for things you refuse to show. And having read your thoughts, i can honestly say there would be nothing to praise EVEN IF someone could read your mind. You're not a shy genius, you are an average human with below average social skills and you want praise for existing. Well, news flash, praise is only meaningful because it's given to the extraordinary, what is the meaning of a race if everyone gets first prize?

And can we stop reminding the readers every two lines what we're meant to think about the FMC's whole situation? Yes, I got it, she doesn't want to trade her body for a more luxurious life (even thought she was fine with having "just sex" with her friend, so she can clearly separate her body from her mind and soul, but let's not talk about that), I got that the first time, when she made that choice. Repeating over and over what her beliefs are won’t make them more clear, only more annoying. They're very basic, downright bland, and she can only get away with it because everyone likes her and allows her all the freedoms she can get

The dreams about Rhysand get introduced after more than one hundred pages, it's said they've always been there, then we repeat them a couple of times and then we forget about them again as soon as Rhys shows up to take us away to the Night Court

I was sure this wasn’t the first time I’d experienced the sky’s agony. I recognized this scene as one I’d dreamt of often.

My dreams always found me in the freedom offered by the sky, and this was no different. I’d often join the stars among the darkness and dance.

The two dragons often kept me company in my dreams.

I’d played with them in my dreams for as long as I could remember.

We had time for a thorough narration of dr. Evil's chores but we just couldn’t fit these dreams in, sorry there was just no way to set this up.

We get a glimpse, just a glimpse, of character progression regarding her supposed flaw of not trusting people

wishing I could fly up to the sky and escape the fate that awaited me on Adamah. But that was never going to happen. I forced myself off the floor. For once in my life, I wasn’t alone. Priscilla was right here, helping me through everything. Maybe the unknown wasn’t as frightening when you weren’t forced to face it alone.

And i was like "Character progression? This can't be true" so of course none of that matters for the rest of the story since the Night Court Kingdom just whisks Asteria away and everyone just says "you're being befriended, please do not resist" so it has essentially nothing to do with her past "enjoy life okay?" Which was something she already did with Soren.
Everything else only has to do with her absolute garbage approach to Rhysand trying to remain loyal to his Soul Mate, like seriously, she's just there to say "look how i make you cheat on your girl", it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the only unique thing this book had going for itself, and that was the idea of having a Fated Mate but also someone you like, yes it's very much clear from the start she's going to be said Mate, BUT it could still work if the author had put any thought on it. Seriously, just have him dragged closer and closer to her until he snaps and he's like "you know what? Fuck the gods, fuck Fate, i don't know this Fated Mate and i don't know if i'm even going to like her (look at Mates like the King and Queen of Sun Kingdom) so thank you gods, but i'm going to chose for myself". That would have been an actually good move since it would crown free will over predeterminated choices made by others, and this decision could be "rewarded" by snapping the Bond into place when he accepts he actually loves Asteria despite the supposed other girl. Wouldn't THAT be an actual story? But no, free will is a danger, clearly, and it would have to be earned by Asteria, and....

Maybe it was because I felt like I didn’t do much of anything yet.

Yeah, she never does anything worth going against the gods. She's just liked by everyone because she exists. Speaking of her relationship with Rhysand

He was a king, but he didn’t act like he was superior to anyone around him—treating me like an equal.

No he's not. Your house (-sized room) is his, your clothes are his, your jewels are his, your job is his, your freedom was gifted by him as well. You have nothing of yours past yourself, the iron dagger and the pendant. Everything else was a gift from Calix, how are you equals again? What are you bringing to the table? That one scene where he was like "I know i've been an angel descended on earth up until now, but trust me i'm a bad man" and she was like "Nah fam, you good", as if none of his friends and family could say the exact same.

I also wanted to point out some egregious shit from her right at the end

No man had ever tried protecting me before.

I mean, it's simply false. Some serious case of selective memory

“Come on, quick.” He cut me off, and I rolled my eyes as he yanked me, knowing it was futile. I let him try to pull me through the wall and wasn’t a bit surprised when I couldn’t go through.

“Night isn’t full of monsters.” I automatically defended, glaring at him. His incredulous look sort of pissed me off, despite the rescue attempt.

Why are you like this, woman? He clearly doesn't know all of what you know and he's risking his life to help you, after you dropped him with zero thoughts spared afterwards, why do you have to act like this?


As far as Rhysand goes (no i will not name him because i'm putting more effort into this than the author has), there isn't really much to say, he has even less edge and danger to him than the actual Rhysand and he's not even close to being funny, as i said, could have been good if he made a choice instead of bowing to the same Gods who chose only males as heirs. He laughably has done all the good things he's done just because he feels Asteria's discomfort with slavery throught the bond, but somefuckinghow we forget the bond exists when Asteria's no longer a slave, so he doesn't realize who she is. He's also really stupid:

"killing him as I’m sure we both wish would start a war too early, so that will need to wait.”

"some sparse attacks aren’t a war. We’re not quite ready for that—not yet.”

What the fuck do you even mean Rhys? You invade the royal palace and attacked the crown prince, after attacking multiple times their cities, in what world has the war not already started?

“Harpina lives and breathes battle, it’s why I made her Constable.”

A very poor choice, authorities on law enforcement shouldn't be bloodthirsty, quite the opposite actually.

“We can’t be seen here.” He whispered, ducking his head toward mine. “They’ll remember us, Asteria. This is the only way.”

Everybody knows it's you bud, don’t bother, no one else attacks the other kindgoms


dr. Evil is so comically evil i don't even hate him, he's just mentally ill. But he, like everyone, is stupid or smart depending on what the plot needs

Cyrus officially handed off the responsibility of overseeing his slaves to me, which included his spies. This put me in a perfect position, as it allowed me to gain information I wouldn’t have otherwise. It also meant that everything he learned was filtered through me.

Because handing out all your spies to someone you don't even trust is such a good idea (speaking of which, Asteria does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with all the information she has gathered as spymaster, the only relevant thing is the blood magic thing and she litterally stumbled upon it, but nevermind, THAT is also useless because it has no effect on the plot, everything else would play the exact same had she not known: they would eventually go out on another raid, the traditor would rat them out, dr. Evil would show up and he would use the blood magic to capture Asteria, Soren and Rhys would come for her and quite litterally nothing would change)

The side characters are all essentially superfluos, except....Priscilla? Maybe, and only because we need her for Asteria, the rest are complete filler and i'm positive so many people get introduced at the same time to make you forget anything happened

I almost felt bad for her. Was I not doing the same as she? I sought freedom, power over my own life. Princess Daneiris may seek to rise in power, but she was refusing to let men keep her down just because she was a woman.

This is what the author has to say about a princess almost succeding at breaking up her entire family, court and kingdom, made worse by the fact an enemy kingdom keeps invading them, because she wanted "more power". This is something much worse than what Cyrus did previously (we're not counting AFTER, since Asteria doesn't have foresight), yet he was judged a monster for it.

Sympathy weighed on my heart for Lady Siria. King Calix was her family, her blood. I didn’t know what made Lord Aibek choose as he did, but Lady Siria was loyal to her family.

Ah yes, she is good because she's loyal to her family, but HER HUSBAND can't be loyal to...his family, namely his wife???? Hello? Anyone home?

“You saved me from a lifetime of having my choices taken from me, either by the Fae, or men in general.”

Men? What human male has ever taken your choice away darling? It seems between your father, Soren and that one human slave in Dusk court, you were actually very lucky in finding caring and understanding men in your life, if you're gonna throw out a wild statement like that you have to back it up.

“So he kills some humans—even some Fae? What does it matter? As long as I was living in luxury, safe and sound, that was all that mattered.”

Cartoonishly evil villain n°2 is cartoonishly evil

“You think you’ve had it bad? The beautiful Asteria, whose princes and kings will do anything to have.” She scoffed. “Some of us don’t have the luxury of being singled out for such things, we have to slave away for years, to reach any kind of safety, and some don’t even get it then. You even had the luxury of growing up in a little village, where the Fae barely bothered you. Do you know how rare that is?”

But damn she drops the harshest truths

“No, I will not abide a woman inheriting my throne!” Aelius shook his head as he slammed his fist down on the table.

Cartoonishly evil villain n°3 will be cartoonishly evil next book.

Themes: free will should bow to superior authority and..."being a loner is bad"...? But there's nothing regarding said theme that gets properly explored past "healing". Uh...Those who don't want to be saved should't be saved, I guess? I don't know its next book's problem

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rtc

[kitkat (semi-hiatus ♡︎) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1⭐️
**SPOILERS AHEAD**

~if you enjoyed this book, i would keep scrolling if i were you - my opinions on this book are harsher than my normal reviews~

i try to find the best in books, because i feel like giving something 1 star that somebody worked so hard on is somewhat unfair, but this book was literally acotar rewritten. the originality just isn’t there. it was also VERY long, i think this book could’ve been split into 2 books at least. IF this book had been original, i definitely think the rating would’ve been around 4⭐️.

🎵 now playing - starlight - taylor swift
“we were dancing like we’re made starlight”

features -
**i would highly recommend checking your trigger warnings before reading this book, i was caught slightly off guard
💫 fae
💫 political plot
💫 dragon shifters
💫 shadow daddy
💫 abuse
💫 slaves
💫 OK writing style
💫 ACOTAR rewrite (in a bad way)
💫 lost heir

similarities to other books-
she is taken to cyrus’s court (sound familiar?) ➵ she is treated badly (tamlin core) ➵ then she’s taken to the shadow daddy’s court (RHYS MY MAN 🫢🫢) ➵ she is taken back to cyrus’s court (end of ACOMAF anyone?) ➵ then rescued by her shadow daddy who she will rule with in the next book (ACOWAR??)

the whole thing with calix was VERY similar with feyre and rhys. cyrus is basically tamlin on steroids. even her meeting with calix is almost the same as theirs. calix’s court city thing is a NIGHT COURT that is all about stars and starlight, just like velaris.

asteria - it was painful to be inside her head. everything is about her and she definitely has pick me vibes. she victimizes herself when she’s thinking about her old village and how nobody wanted to be friends with her. she also GROANS (groans!!) when somebody compliments her- like, full of yourself, eh? she also keeps pushing calix’s boundaries EVEN when he says that he’s trying to be loyal to his mate.

rest of rtc 💀
———————————

preread: shadow daddy who can shift into a dragon?? count me in��� 😈😈

[Pandora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer -
Originally, I did not finish this book. This was largely due to formatting issues which made it incredibly difficult to read and made the book seem slower than it actually was.
HOWEVER,
Rachel is incredible, and worked to fix the formatting issues and was generous enough to provide me with an updated copy.

I recommenced reading and absolutely devoured the remaining 70% of the book in far less time than it took me to get through the first 30% originally.

Having been able to properly read and finish this book, I highly recommend it. I knew this story had promise when reading originally and I was not wrong. The concept of humans being actual slaves to the Fae is not a concept I've seen done before. There are some very dark concepts explored in this book and some scenes that could be incredibly triggering to some readers (r4p3).
But boy oh boy are Calix and Asteria worth it. Calix is the morally grey male of your dreams and Asteria refuses to give in and sticks to her morals regardless of everything thrown at her. There were two big twists at the end that I absolutely did not see coming, and one that I did (and was hoping would come to fruition).

I absolutely cannot wait for book two especially after that cliffhanger of an ending!

[Emma Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of Darkness and Ruination by Rachel Fallon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Have you ever sat down and read a book that just feels like it speaks directly to your soul? A book that has every trope that sends you wild and sings to your inner dragon? One that makes you excited to find out how this all ends but sad that you know it has to finish and you will never be able to read it for the first time again? This book was that for me. From the very beginning I was intrigued. There was a detailed glossary and ways to say the names so there was no confusion on the pronunciation. We were told straight away what the courts were called, who was in them, what their sigils were. We were told how each court in their own right had to balance out the other which we know in fantasy books is always important. Because without balance, the scales are tipped and chaos could reign. When I saw all of this, I knew that this was an author who had thought of all the little details and this was before I had even started chapter one.

Firstly I want to make an important statement. There are huge trigger warnings that come with this book. So this may not be for the faint of heart. The heavy parts are truly heavy. The abuse, SA, slavery and failure to abide by a persons consent may be hard for people to digest. If this is you, that’s ok. Sometimes we don’t realise that things we read may trigger our own responses and that’s also ok. So if you feel you may be triggered by such things I do urge you to read the trigger warnings first. As I said and I will reiterate the triggers within this book are very confronting. So you have been warned in advance.

By now, those of you who follow my reviews know my rules in order to obtain five stars. However I will briefly outline for those of you who are new to my reviews what my process is. I require GREAT world building, character development, plot/pace, magic system (or tropes depending on genre) and most importantly the way the book made me feel. My reviews also contain NO SPOILERS. So you can read ahead and not worry about anything being spoiled for you.

Right from the beginning I started a little journal to keep all my notes and thoughts. Along with my highlights and comments on my kindle. I knew this book would be something special and I wanted to remember every detail. I began to take picture reactions which were then made into a reel to showcase all the feelings I went through in this book. Trust me, there was a lot. I have nicknamed Rachel the foreshadow queen and the evil temptress. Because not only did she drop Easter eggs in there for us to find if we listen carefully but she also had the ability to blind side me at every turn.

The intricate world building that takes place in this book was done so well. When Rachel writes, she describes things in such detail that I felt I was right there living this experience myself. There was never any areas where I felt I could not imagine the scene in detail. The way she has named the world, the cities, the courts and their people. It was done so well that I am so obsessed and want to live in this world forever. We need to remember also, this is a debut novel and generally we do not see this kind of precision to detail in novels by our baby authors and I couldn’t be prouder. The political intrigue and war that is brewing silently In the background, the secrets kept and hoarded like a dragon hoards treasure, the small details that would normally go unseen, all of these were written to be so melodic and beautiful. I was so impressed. This world will forever have a special place in my heart and I will die on this hill and never leave.

The character arcs were INTENSE. The way I felt while reading particular parts was so personal that I felt everything they went through. In chapter one, I cried. Who does that in chapter ONE!!!! I felt the pain all the parents felt. My motherly heart was distraught at what was happening. Rachel knows how to tug on your heart strings and make you connect with these characters on such a personal level. Her unassuming side characters were all as important, they went through their own journeys of discovery, healing and growth. I will be known as Emma Erebus from now and will not answer to anything else. I will not spoil it for you, thats not what my reviews are about. But when you find out why my name change is so important you will laugh and understand 😉. Hello, daddy 🐉.

The trauma in this book is going to be hard for some readers to experience and/ or digest but it is what makes this story so so good. The way things unfold and the healing that needs to take place is imperative to the plot. You may be a little taken back by what happens in certain areas, you may even like it and discover some weird part about yourself and that’s all ok. New kinks have been unlocked here haha. The characters develop, some digress, some blossom and some become stars. It’s all part of the process, but trust that it will all be ok in the end.

I absolutely ate up the storyline/plot. This book is for those who loved ACOTAR, Game of Thrones, Kiss of Iron and From Blood and Ash. The elements in this story are like the love child of all of those books combined and I absolutely ate that shit up. If you want to experience the way you felt reading ACOTAR for the first time, because let’s be honest, we ALL wish that we could feel that way again. You NEED to add this book to your TBR immediately. From beginning to end I was so consumed that I felt sad at the idea I will never get to experience this for the first time again. There was so much happening, I was never bored, I never felt it dragged on, I didn’t skip one section. I believe that when you get the opportunity to go read this for the first time you too will fall in love with Adamah and its inhabitants. Beware, this book - he THICK. So make sure you give yourself time to fully be emerged as you will not want to rush it.

I don’t want to give too much away about the magic system within this world . I don’t think I can truly comment without unraveling parts of the plot that are so important. I will say though, the way Rachel has created her magic system and the ways in which it works alongside the actual being of their world will be worth the wait. I will use this space to discuss the tropes though. Every single one of the tropes in this book are my jam and are what made me love to read. I haven’t seen enough fated mates being written lately. We see so many enemies to lovers tropes these days that reading a true fated mate series held my heart in a choke hold. Shadow daddies are my weakness and we have dragons, Pegasus, mermaids, sirens, phoenixes and so much more. This book has all of the fantasy elements that I will unapologetically and greedily consume.

This story is one full of magic and wonder. It will wrap you up and not let go. It made me feel so much that it has easily become a favourite and I believe when this is published everyone will love it. The character art created in advance, the small details in just the glossary are proof that this book was created with love and soul. Do yourself a favour and read this. You will not be disappointed!

Well done Rachel Fallon on creating an absolutely breathtaking debut novel. I cannot wait to dive into this world with you and all your readers.


** DISCLAIMER**
You may see comments about the editing on your journey through the reviews, but I want you to ignore them and remember arcs are Advanced Reader Copies that are sent before publication. This book is being edited as we speak for release day. The reviews will be based on the raw edit that arc readers received due to the book being so large that the author needed to give adequate time for arc readers to finish before the release day. These people were not asked to comment on editing style as it was mentioned in the arc email this book is still at the editors for final finishes and what was sent out is not the final product. Therefore, you should not determine your choices in reading this book based on any reviews on style, layout and editing. Many authors at the moment are being unfairly judged on arc edits and this has NOTHING to do with the storyline itself.

[Beatrix · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 76%

I just couldn't quite make it to the end. I did not like Asteria at all and after the millionth stupid thing she's done I was done. Which was a shame as the politics between the courts was actually interesting.

[Kiona Allain · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love shadow daddies, enemies to lovers, fated mates, touch her you die and fae shifters this is the book for you. This was so good!!! It’s a thick one but I flew through it. The chemistry was *chefs kiss. The ending has me wanting more I’m so ready for book 2 already! This is exactly what I needed to get out of my slump.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf at 20% oh my god...laughably bad, terrible characterization, unrelatable mc, none of the characters had any sort of nuance to them. There are far too many books now where the fmc is beautiful, badass, unstoppable, infallible etc etc it's just boring and lazy. Everything was TOLD to me, nothing was shown; it's like the author had zero faith in her audience. I didn't finish the book but I guarantee the main character is fae because no human can be THAT beautiful and THAT strong-willed; it felt like the author was trying to insult me as I read the book. Fmc's main attribute was "angry," which of course annoyed the shit out of me. Everyone else is happy to comply with fully enforced slavery but not her! She's got spunk!

oh and I wonder who she ends up with-the guy from house pegasus or the guy from house DRAGON?

PS if you're gonna rip off Game of Thrones maybe don't use the name "Daneiris"...just a thought.

[The_bookish_cave_of_wonders · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Game of Thrones and A Court of Thorns and Roses had a baby, this book would be it. The political machinations in this story were insane and one character in particular was giving me full on Joffrey vibes. I do recommend you read the trigger warnings as sensitive subjects such as SA are present throughout the story. (Not male love interest).

I annihilated this book as fast as I could. I absolutely loved it. Pretty sure @rachelfallonauthor is sick of finding me in her DM's now too 🤣. The plot was captivating, engaging and kept you hooked. Asteria I took a while to warm to because it initially felt like she was largely dominated by her libido instead of her brain, which initially had me thinking she was quite vapid. HOWEVER, she redeemed herself later in the book and became the badass I suspected she was underneath it all.

The tension between her and calix was scorching from the get go and literally had me page turning to try and find out what was going to happen next. It's really hard to describe this story properly without giving away spoilers. So, I will write a more detailed review after release. I loved the dynamic with the side characters, Eryx imparticular, the way he became a brotherly figure was so endearing and instantly warmed me to him, along with his sense of humour and fierce loyalty. What I will say is I loved the little easter eggs hidden throughout the story that give you vital clues as to what culminates at the end, however, they aren't obviously laid out as clues so could be easily missed if you aren't paying attention. Sneaky 😁.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I am desperate to see what happens in book 2. The book does end on a cliffhanger but it thankfully wasn't quite the cliffhanger I thought it was going to be, so whilst I am chomping at the bit, my soul didn't die a death 🤣 thank you Rachel.

100% recommend this series and thank you, @rachelfallonauthor for letting me read for you.

[Meg (fantasybook.adventurer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨Of Darkness and Ruination✨

Holy guacamole this book is 🥵🥵🥵🥵. Of Darkness and Ruination is a delightfully lengthy read full of some of the most intricate, immense, and immersive world building. You can tell that Rachel spent a lot of intentional time developing this world of fae, human slaves, and magic.

In ODAR, we follow Asteria, a human slave who is full of feminine rage as she seeks a life of freedom from slavery and for that of her fellow humans. Sold into an evil court to be the “assistant” to one of the nastiest villains I’ve ever read about, Asteria immerses herself in spies, lies, court and political intrigue, and… oh my, the PLOT TWISTS. I love that Rachel has created an intelligent and brave female hero who we get to know deeply. She’s angry and determined and sassy. No man can contain her. Not the despicable Cyrus nor the mysterious dragon king, Calix………..

I had such a good time reading this. It is not short, which I loved because I felt like I got to spend lots of quality time with the characters and the environment. It leaves you on a bit of a cliffhanger and I’m excited for books 2&3. Tropes include one horse/dragon, forced proximity, fated mates, touch her and 💀, language, spice is HIGH (at least 4 🌶️), please read the triggers, and found family.

Thank you, @rachelfallonauthor, for this gifted ARC. I’m excited to see how the chaos continues to ensue!

[Cait Ireen | caitireenreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5⭐️
4/5🌶️

HOLY TOLEDO!! I think this was the spiciest romantasy book I have EVER read!!! I kept telling everyone, as I was reading, that this book was SO hørny... and that was not an exaggeration. This book was delicious, long, well written and SEXY as all get out. The yearnin' and burnin' of the first half versus with the yearnin' and burnin' in the second half was an interesting shift in dynamics and power, keeping me on my toes as to where those could go. Couple this with the overarching conflict of the story, the struggles of the human versus faes and the politics of the castle... this book was non-stop entertainment.

The sheer amount of spice in this book was what led me to four peppers, and by no means was any of it tame. I was ALL.ABOUT.IT! The spice at the end? Which was that long? Chef's kiss, Madame Fallon. Absolute mastery and beauty.

Don't get me STARTED on the twist at the end of this book. The giant occurrence! The surprise POV at the end! Oh my good golly gosh, I cannot BELIEVE that is how it ended. What a cliffhanger!!

Full disclosure: there were some upsetting scenes. Check your triggers if you're at all sensitive, they're there for a reason <3

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts out a little slow. The first 250 pages or so took me several days to get through, but once I got past them, I flew through the rest of this book.

I absolutely loved it! It reminded me of the best parts of ACOTAR, From Blood and Ash, the Plated Prisoner Series, and the Coveted Series. Absolutely loved it.

This book breaks your heart, makes you hate characters, makes you love characters, and overall is not for the faint of heart.

I’ve never been so glad I have an ARC of book 2 as much as I am for this book.

[Beatriz Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75/5 ⭐️

Seguimos la historia de Asteria, una humana que vive en el reino de Celesterra donde los humanos son esclavos y los Fae sus gobernates. En este mundo los humanos son humillados y castigados con mucha crueldad.

Cuando los humanos cumplen 21 años son llevados a "La Colocación" (por lo menos así lo traduje yo) un evento tipo subasta donde son exhibidos a los gobernates de los diferentes reinos de Celesterra, en esta selección conocerán cual será su gobernante y a que reino pertenecerán toda su vida.

Asteria está llena de ira por las injusticias a la que ella y su especie son sometidos. Ella sueña con la libertad, las estrellas y los cielos. Después de la subasta es llevada al reino de Dusk y es puesta al servicio del principe Cyrus.

El libro está divido en dos partes. En la primera, Asteria, es testigo una y otra vez de cuan crueles puede llegar a ser los Faes como los humanos son castigados por cosas absurdas y se las tiene que ingeniar para poner en marcha un plan de escape y alcanzar su tan deseada libertad. Pero el camino es difícil pues la corte es un lugar lleno de intrigas y enemigos y no puede confiar en nadie. En la segunda parte del libro Asteria conoce nuevas amistades además de las pocas que ya tiene y comienza a generar ese sentimiento de pertenecia y hogar. La primera parte se me hizo un poco lenta, ya después en la segunda es que no podía parar de leer.

Asteria me gusto mucho, tiene fortaleza y un carisma que te atrapa desde el inicio, aunque también es vulnerable. Por otro lado, Calix es que fue amarlo desde el primer momento que entra en escena, es imposible no derretirse con él.

Ya si hablamos de otros personajes, amé con locura a Eryx, es de mis favoritos. Y luego Priscilla, Harpira, Baach, Delia, Lilith, entre otros es que los adoré. La dinámica entre ellos es maravillosa y te sacan muchas sonrisas.

Otros personajes son detestables y espero que su momento les llegue. Si hubo algunas escenas donde Asteria toma decisiones cuestionables que para mí no tenían mucho sentido.

El libro contiene escenas spicy muy explícitas, el romance está bien logrado y la historia es un poco predecible, no tiene mucho misterio, pero igual se disfruta muchísimo.

Algo que tengo que resaltar grandemente es que por favor lean muy bien las advertencias del libro, están por un motivo muy obvio y en el libro encontrarás todo lo que ahí mencionan. Hay escenas fuertes así que préstenles atención.

En general me gustó y espero que pronto salga la continuación pues quiero saber más de estos personajes, de como se desarrollará la historia y de este mundo mágico.

[Tiffany's TBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't stop thinking about Of Darkness and Ruination - and the timing couldn't be more perfect because I get to meet the author this week! 🖤

FULLY OBSESSED!

This book has everything I want in a fantasy:
✨ Magic that feels fresh and fully immersive
👥 Dual POV that keeps you glued to the page
🌑 A dangerously compelling shadow daddy
🏛 Political intrigue that's sharp and satisfying
⚔ A fierce, badass FMC who owns every scene
🐲 Shifters that add depth and danger
🌍 A unique magic system and world that's unlike anything I've read before
⚡ Gods

It's a masterclass in tension, worldbuilding, and character chemistry. I'm counting down the days until I can dive back into this universe!

[Jessica Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

What’s it about?
Humans are slaves to the fae, and on their 21st birthdays they are praised before the fae court lords and ladies and selected for their new slave positions.

Asteria is one such human, but she has a fiery spirit. Unfortunately she catches the eye of the Dusk Prince, and he is determined to own her in every way.

But Asteria wants to find a way out of slavery, and her hope will lie in the most unlikely kingdom, with a king who is more than the rumors say he is.

🔥 My thoughts?

I see books all the time that claim to be in the vein of the big romantasy titles, but this one delivers. It’s like ACOTAR and The Plated Prisoner series had a baby… and added more spice.

I was addicted to this story. It took me a while to finish because she’s a thick girl, but I did not want it to end.

It’s brutal and passionate. Asteria is a heroine you want to root for. And while she has big Feyre energy, I loved how quick she was to chase after the joys of life. She never craters and always pushes forward. She’s also super in tune with her own sexuality and boundaries.

And the villain in this one is so evil, but like not sexy evil. Like Midas in Plated Prisoner evil.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about this book. If you are a romantasy fan or an ACOTAR person, do yourself a favor and nab this one ASAP.

[Reaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out okay; but it quickly devolved into acotar but with random weird orgys? I mean it just came out of the blue. The court names are all the same thing just worded differently. I had some hope in the beginning but wow. A bit of a disappointment.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of Darkness and Ruination by Rachel Fallon is book one in The Star Queen Chronicles. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and oh my what a good read. The cover is what originally drew my attention but once I read the blurb I was fully in and I couldn’t wait to download. But just be warned it is on the longer side so be prepared to set some time aside because once you start you might not want to stop. I had an overall great time reading this book, I thought the book descriptions were done well. I could clearly imagine the world and characters easily. I also thought the characters were great and I did find myself feeling for most of them. Asteria once I warmed up to her I thought she was a strong and sassy woman. I found myself really digging Calix… can’t wait to see more in the next book. The chemistry between the characters is great and I really enjoyed the tension. Don’t even get me started on Cyrus. I will mention two things: first to check your trigger warnings to be on the safe side. The second is this book does end in a cliffhanger so be prepared for that. There are times in this book that I thought were a bit repetitive (could just be me) or things were over explained (if that makes sense). In the end there were more positives for me as I thought it was an enjoyable romantasy read. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Final review:
4 out of 5 stars

[Searra (Zoms_reading_nook) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more! Absolutely loved it!

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and holy fudge was it amazing. The voice actors absolutely brought it to life and I don't know if I can not imagine their voice when thinking of this book and these characters.

I really love Asteria and I found her to be a pretty enjoyable FMC and I can't wait to see her become the badass she was always meant to be. I love her with Calix, they are adorable and their chemistry is amazing.
Calix is a badass and I love him, what more can I say?

The ending of this book had me wanting to throw things because I just wanted to know what happens next and also was anticipating it from the very start of the book. And how dare that cliffhanger happened?! When's book 2 coming out?! I need it now! 👀😭

I highly recommend this book! Especially the audiobook! Absolutely beautiful work from the VAs! I am so excited to find out what happens next and I will be sitting in anticipation for the release of book 2 till I can get my hands on it! 👀

I was given this audiobook for free for a honest review. Thank you R&RBOOKTOURS & The author for this opportunity! Absolutely loved it!

[Kiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

☆☆☆☆☆
-
Honestly, I am so amazed at the talent of this author. For this to be her debut novel and it to be a 5 star read/one of the top reeds of my 2024 year, I cannot imagine what else we're going to get from Rachel Fallon.
For me to pick up a book and read the first page and feel that feeling I first got when I read ACOTAR because I was just so transported and so INVESTED- I seriously cannot get over how good this book was.
This book had everything from fantastical world building to heart break. The FMC is STRONG and the storyline is even stronger.
If you're someone who loves new adult fantasy with dragons/fae and a purposeful heroine, then this is for you. I can guarantee you it'll get you out of any reading slump and put your right back into your "dragon era."

[Lexi Rachelle Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was super nervous going into this just because of how massive it is. It’s always a little daunting when you pick up a 700+ page book. I’m so glad I did though! The world building was beautiful and the entire plot had me captivated.

The pacing in part 1 was a bit sporadic. I found myself skim reading sections because it felt like a lot of repetition and her saying/thinking the same things. But once I hit part 2, wow! I flew through it!

The chemistry and tension between Calix and Asteria was insane. I loved them so much and they had some ✨spicy✨ scenes! Calix has major Rhys vibes which I am here for.

I’m so excited to see how everything plays out after the intense ending! It wasn’t a massive cliffhanger but big enough that I really wish I had book 2 already🥲

✨please note✨ there are some HEAVY themes in this book and you should definitely check TW before starting.

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy to review!

[Rachel Hanwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Rachel for sending me an ARC of this!

There is absolutely nothing I didn't like about this book!

The world building is amazing. The villain will really make you hate them. The politics and intrigue of the courts are so intricate. And the chemistry between Asteria and her love interest is 🔥🔥🔥

I cannot wait for this series to continue! If you're thinking of picking it up on release, you will not regret it!

[frog · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Note: I refer to the MMC as Rhysand because I cannot remember his name. And he is literally just Rhysand with white hair. So.)

I have one question: why?

I'll be honest, I thought this book started off pretty decent. The worldbuilding was interesting, and the setting was well-established, despite how heavily it reeked of ACOTAR. I thought Asteria was a reasonably likeable character (at first) and wanted to see where her story would go.

Sadly, I now regret reading this book until the end.

The Stockholm Syndrome (or something like it) is pretty heavy here, though that's not the aspect of the book that I take issue with.

Anyway, the book begins with Asteria, the FMC, being sorted into a Kingdom where she will serve as a slave until she dies. The slavery for children begins at 21, which doesn't really make sense to me. I don't see the point in letting the humans that everyone hates just chill and relax for 21 years, but whatever. Asteria is sent to the Dusk Kingdom, (cough ACOTAR) because she has caught the eye of the freak prince, and she's going to be his sex slave. They don't call it that, but that's her purpose, let's be real. Again, this is not my real issue with the story.

Asteria mostly accepts her reality, because what else can she do, and just tries to live life in the Dusk castle and make friends with a few other slaves. Cyrus the prince is freaky and evil, and wants Asteria to be his sex slave willingly, but she's like "no thank you". Can't blame her. Cyrus's character, honestly, was the most well-written in my opinion. He was very hateable, but I also understood why he held such a sway over Asteria at times. He was a very good villain and made me feel uneasy, so he did his job.

My problem with this book begins when Asteria mentions her obsession with nighttime, and saying something about starlight magic in her dreams, which no one else has. This was very poor foreshadowing, and far too direct, because I instantly knew what was going to happen when Rhysand from the Night Court showed up in Dusk during an "attack". (Sigh. ACOTAR.) It was very clear to me that Asteria was fae all along, had magic, and was going to be mates with Rhysand. There was no point in the whole slow burn of all that, because the author made it obvious from the start.

The slow burn in this book was honestly taxing on my sanity. Asteria and Rhysand are just SO drawn together, they can't stay off of each other, and even though Rhysand keeps saying he does NOT want to be with Asteria, she continues to be obsessed with him, which is just annoying to me. Of course, this is because they are mates, so she can't help it, but come on, girl. Have a little self respect. I really think Rhysand at least deserved to be slapped or yelled at for leading her on in the way that he was. Just because he was waiting for his mate wasn't a good enough excuse for the things that he did. Especially because he was like "oh, it's a holiday, so we can have sex now, but only this one time because I'm waiting for my mate, but this doesn't count, because it's a holiday!" and Asteria just went along with it and allowed herself to be heartbroken when after, he inevitably said "hey I'm never touching you again". Please... just end my suffering.

Anyway, the book ends with Cyrus capturing Asteria again and continuing to be a freak, and then we get the big reveal, which is not at all a big reveal because it was obvious, that, OMG! Asteria is Fae! She's been Fae this whole time and she's super powerful! She's also royalty! And Rhysand is her mate! Wow that's so crazy!

It's safe to say I will not be reading the sequel, because there is no point. I really don't care about any of the characters, or where the plot may develop after this. I didn't completely hate this book, but with the plot twist being so obvious during my whole read, followed by the awful slow burn, I became sick of it by the end. I would only recommend this book to people who have a lot more patience than me, and who have not read ACOTAR, because it's the same fucking story.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am grateful for the eARC but unfortunately this was not for me & this review will contain my honest thoughts & opinions.

A 2 star read for me means I finished it but wish I hadn't. I DNFed this about 30% in, took a break and came back to it, then resisted DNFing it again quite a few times.

I want to acknowledge that I think this story had potential. The idea of humans being slaves to the fae, the celestial kingdoms, and dark versus light were all good but the execution was just not there.

Some major issues I had with this book:
- I did not enjoy the writing, it fell flat for me with a lot of unnecessary repetition
- This was way too long for a debut and the plot did not require 800 pages, it required significant editing [note - I have no idea if there was editing after ARCs were sent but in my opinion, ARCs should not be going out if SIGNIFICANT editing still needs to occur]
- In addition to my first two points - the pacing for this was rough. The chapters were long and dragged on.
- I can appreciate the effort that went into creating the guide in the beginning of the book but honestly it was just overwhelming and made me not want to start. Good world building happens throughout the book with things being explained as it comes up. If I didn't read this on my Kindle where I could search a word & be brought back to the guide I would have been confused
- so. much. cringe. was this spicy? yes, but it was so cringey I could barely enjoy the spice. If you read the scene on page 763 [according to my ARC copy not sure how this translates to the final version] and thought "wow so hot" instead of "that's fucking weird & not how it works" .. well I'm sorry that you've probably never read good spice.

Unfortunately this was a miss and I will not be continuing this series.

[Colourfulmind · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was simple and at some points I would have wished for it  to be  a bit ...better and more elaborate. At many parts the reading did not flow , it seemed childish and at some parts the author got into way  too much detail about unimportant things.It read like a first try by the author.
What also felt not right  most of the times, was the world building. It was too much. The author decides  to dump a mountain  of information of you, rather than weaving it into the story as it goes. I found myself overwhelmed  with all these  like tons of elaborate names, royalty, which colours belong to whom and which stones they are mining.


Asteria ,well... i don't know where to start.
I am not very fond of her. The author wants to present  her as this strong  and special woman  but come on....a male she despises  kills her friend  and two seconds  later she rides on his discostick.  But hey, she spends 36 times  telling us that her last sex  has been soooo  long ago (2 months) so what is she supposed to do?

She spends time after time discussing how unfair and bad the slaving  is and how she seems to be the only human not being comfortable getting owned and whipped. ( come on...)
I could not relate  to her or her motives at all.

The premise was interesting, but I could not bring myself to continue after the heroine acts  like a brainless horny moron.