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The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #2

A Crown of Victory and Vengeance

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He shattered my heart on our wedding day. Now we must set aside our heartbreak and join forces to save our world from the brink of chaos.

Betrayed at the altar by the man I love, I don’t have the luxury to mourn my broken heart. The Blood Brotherhood Clan is under attack and dark secrets from my past begin to claw their way to light.

Now I must fight beside the man who almost destroyed me.

As the merciless prince leads his army on the battlefield, I wage my own war in the treacherous court, where smiles are sharper than blades and words can change the fate of a dynasty. If either of us falters, both of our Clans will be doomed.

With my trust in pieces, despite his groveling and promises, I’m torn between vengeance and forgiveness. But the blood oath silencing his tongue cuts deeper than any betrayal and mercy is a weakness I can’t risk.

The fierce bond between us doesn’t care about human heartache, though. It tightens its grip and brings us closer than we thought possible. We’re cursed to rise and fall together–if one of us dies, the other will follow, and the darkness hounding us will destroy everyone and everything I love.

A Crown of Victory and Vengeance is book 2 in the first duology of the A Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows series and completes the story of Evie and Zandyr. It’s a slowburn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy where banter is a love language and secrets can kill. The series starts out hot and only gets hotter as the mystery grows.

In the War of the Clans, which side will you choose? Protectorate VS Blood Brotherhood.

688 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2025

456 people are currently reading
1136 people want to read

About the author

Vera Raye

11 books138 followers

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5 stars
1,030 (38%)
4 stars
1,069 (39%)
3 stars
487 (18%)
2 stars
78 (2%)
1 star
18 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
Profile Image for Danielle Pulliam .
509 reviews100 followers
February 24, 2025
**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑨 𝑪𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑽𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝑹𝒂𝒚𝒆 (𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 #2)

Release Date: February 25, 2025

5⭐️4🌶

This book has landed Vera Raye as one of my must read authors. This is the second book in The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows series, and I cannot get enough! The first book ended on a cliffhanger of epic proporations. Evie has called into question everything she knows and loves due to the betrayal in the first book. Zandyr did what he had to, but now things he should have done everything differently. The conflict between these two is so FIREY!

The Blood Brotherhood Dynasty is preparing for war against the Serpents. But when Zandyr leaves for war, he leaves his new wife to try and keep the capital safe from the underhanded, cold-hearted advisors that have done nothing for the common people of Pheonix Peak. Banu and Valuta have convinced the Blood Brotherhood Court that they only want the best for them, but they're really spinning everything to their own advantage. Including, defaming Evie to the point that all the common people believe her to be nothing more than a shallow gold digger that just wants Zandyr for his title.

The political machinations in this book, plus the spicy tension, plus the battles and training sequences! I ate up every crump and was not hungry afterwards. I highly recommend this series for Jennifer Armentrout, Sarah Maas, Danielle Jensen, and Elise Kova fans!

Themes/Tropes:
🍁Enemies-to-lovers
🍁Arranged Marriage
🍁Fated Mates
🍁Rival Kingdoms at war
🍁Political backstabbing
🍁Grumpy-grumpy
🍁Hidden princess

TW:
✨Murder
✨Battle sequences
✨Gore
✨Political betrayal/slander
✨Indifferent parents
✨Parental Abandonment (past)
Profile Image for Jocie (semi-hiatus).
280 reviews9 followers
December 26, 2025
5 ⭐
3🌶

This series is so underrated, it is criminal! It should not only be read more, but more people should be talking about it! It had me hook, line, and sinker, from the very first chapter. I will not only be reading the rest of this series, but this author has received a new fan for sure! The world-building, the progression, the character development, the relationship, just the whole thing was fantastic!
Profile Image for Mikky.
1,000 reviews291 followers
March 13, 2025
This was SUCH A GOOD BOOK! I adored the audio narration! This would make for such a good Graphic Audio edition. I loved the characters, the story, and the intrigue. Things are far from completely resolved by the end, but the overall story will continue in the next duology. The redemption arc the hero went through with this one was an interesting one. Can't wait to see what happens next!
Profile Image for Darci Muller.
174 reviews6 followers
May 21, 2025
It was good, but felt it was a lot more underwhelming than the first book. A few things really grinded my gears.
1) how does she remember everything grandpa Constantine said when she was five years old. 😑😑😑 my five year old barley remembers to put on clothes.
2) the ending felt so rushed and that’s what really disappointed me.
Profile Image for Ali.
188 reviews
September 11, 2025
ok that was goooood. just too much “ugh i can’t forgive him poor me” in the first half. like gurl be so fkin forreal pls
Profile Image for see nic read.
760 reviews18 followers
October 6, 2025
Well this was a disappointment. This was so full of plot and schemes that you barely have interaction between the two until the end of the book. And even then, it’s assassination attempt and assassination attempt. There’s no building back of trust so much as just eventually she gets over it despite being like “I’m not just gonna let myself get over it without proof of actions.”

And the most egregious thing here was I was catfished with the spice. Book one was pretty mid, but the synopses said the spice increases with each book. Well I’d say there was even less spice here since they barely have time together. When they do finally do it, it’s one quick fade to black scene at the very end. Let’s be real, I’m not reading romantasy trying to find the best world-building and dense plots, that’s what epic fantasy is for. If there’s barely any romance and you market this as spicy, I’m gonna leave bitter.

🌶️: 2/5
Profile Image for Doxie.
73 reviews1 follower
September 12, 2025
For some reason I didn’t remember reading the first book in this series and I did not check on goodreads what review score I gave it because I gave the first book a terrible review but wound up reading the second book months later after it was recommended to me on audible.

The writing is so incredibly sloppy it is a brutal read. There are SO MANY things that are briefly mentioned and then never explained:
-old gods and new gods- what’s the story here? Who are the old gods and who are the new gods?
-Xamor the god- Zandyr used his name a lot but we never get any backside into why he is so important. Is he alive? Why did they use incantations to ward off his presence if he is the person they praise?
-Evie’s power: we barely get an explanation for it. All we learn is she has some sort of blue fire tendrils. We don’t know where it comes from or how the magic works. Evie also sometimes spoke an ancient language that even she couldn’t decipher, and turned into this thing that would bite people- no explanation on that, ever.
-The Vhageara bloodline- why were they such a big deal? Why are they so powerful? Why did the unknown group want Evie dead even at a young age? We needed more backstory.
-The serpents power- why do they bleed green? We know their power is dark but WHY is it dark? Where does it come from? Where do the runes originate?
-The blood brotherhood power- what is the secret ritual that Zander can do to make people live longer? What did he do to his soldiers during the battle with the serpents? If he and his clan are fueled by blood why wouldn’t they be vampires and bite their enemies? Surely that would be easier than waiting for enemies to die and leak blood onto the floor, no?

How one author could leave out so much is honestly mind boggling. And to make matters worse the reveal of the oath was infuriating. It wasn’t a powerful enemy that forced him to make the oath.. no it was his own dumbass. Needless to say I will not be continuing with this series.

(Narration- the narrators were wonderful but I will always be unsatisfied with duet narration. How am I supposed to take a spice scene seriously when it’s a male voicing the MMC and the same male voicing the FMC with a high pitched cringy woman voice? Duel narration should be the gold standard in audiobooks because there is way too much cringe in duet.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Liliana.
288 reviews5 followers
August 20, 2025
I enjoyed this second book much more than the first
The push and pull between the main couple was great.
Again I still think the world building leaves a lot to be desired from in this series, and I get it we are learning just as the characters learn but still, we don't really know how the world works, and a lot of things seem to be thrown in there for convenience sake to move the story along.
Profile Image for Lucina.
927 reviews70 followers
March 10, 2025
5.0+ stars

This story was more focused on the political intrigues and war (which was the reason I liked the second book less, because that isn't what I generally love) but I still liked the story

After the heartbreaking ending of the last book I was curious how the story would continue. And I loved it. It took Evie a long time and some revelations to truly forgive Zandyr, but she wasn't completely shutting him off before. She was still in love with him and had a hard time dealing with the anger, disappointment and love.

Zandyr tried his best. His efforts weren't the most original, he primarily said he's sorry, but it was obvious he really tried and loved her. The scene with the fake Evie was hard. Not that he didn't deserve the pain, he did, but it was one of the better grovels I read in romances.

The ending was good but I'm sad we never found out what he wrote in his letter. And I was confused by some aspects. He can't talk about the oath but his family knew what was happening so he could've warned Evie? But he didn't trust her family and feared to lose her? That was confusing. As was her position. Some people called her future queen although that's Kaya's position as the favourite? And what does "the other love match" mean? She called it "that makes me the love match" but that sounds positive when I don't think that being the second wife with a fuggly crown is something positive? Or is just this crown magicked, I didn't think so? I was surprised she kept it for her second wedding though.

There are 8 more books, 4 duologies planned, and I honestly don't know how the author can fill so many duologies but we will see. I will definitely have a look at Allie's and Ryker's story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Beth.
497 reviews2 followers
June 11, 2025
~duology vibes~
Enemies-to-lovers
Fated mates
Arranged marriage
Clan rivalry
Witty banter
Delicious tension and slow burn
Blood oaths
Magic
Dual POV

The end of Evie and Zandyr’s story did not disappoint.

🖤 𝑬𝒗𝒊𝒆 and 𝙕𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙮𝙧. After the shocking ending with book 1, I was so excited to open this book up to find out what happened. I love their build-up and their banter is everything. He has called her ‘𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦’ from the beginning. It’s too cute. This is probably one of my favorite arranged marriages books that I have read because of the ‘events’ that happen. I literally loved the whole cast of characters from this book.

A fantastic romantasy duology that will have you kicking your feet and rooting the FMC and MMC on. I loved the Bridgerton vibes in book 2 with the town gossip pamphlets. The book is well written and easy to follow. Great character depth. The pace is steady, not fast but not slow, it kept my attention. The ending was a perfect conclusion for these two characters.

This is a series that needs more hype because it deserves it! Romantasy fans, you will not be disappointed if you add to your tbr.
Rating: 4.75/5
Profile Image for Elena.
6 reviews
September 23, 2025
I thought the first one was amazing, and this one expanded on it and left me speechless once again! It is one of my favorite romantasy series now, and I plan on adding a physical copy to my personal library. SPICE, DRAMA, and so much more that had me reacting out loud as I listened to the audio book throughout the whole book! It truly was an experience! Highly recommend and am very excited for the third one to be released in October.
Profile Image for Emily.
7 reviews
March 5, 2026
I really enjoyed the start of this series, and I like the FMC and MMC, but the excessive uses of "licked my lips" and "toothy grin" is what brings my rating down and is my decision for not continuing. Overall a good story full of slow burn and politics
Profile Image for Lesly Sarabia.
580 reviews30 followers
Did not finish
February 27, 2025
I got bored... I should've known nothing good lasts forever.
Profile Image for Jennifer, Just beyond normal ♑.
497 reviews
August 21, 2025
I actually really enjoyed this book. It may have a bit annoying the not being able to forgive, but I just had to keep putting myself in her shoes to understand.
Profile Image for Irna Amidala.
89 reviews
September 24, 2025
First book was ok. I lost interest in this one. Its free on audible. I will listen to the last book if thats free too. Not great but an ok listen.
Profile Image for Josie.
203 reviews4 followers
November 12, 2025
A really good book but someone get this girl some chapstick 😭 she always licking her lips.
Profile Image for Jordan Goulet.
180 reviews
August 6, 2025
While there was a little more action in this one, it is just a solid average book for me. I didn’t care for how it wrapped up either.
Profile Image for Wendy.
93 reviews
August 13, 2025
The second book is definitely better, but the ending felt rushed. It wrapped things up—sort of—but in an anticlimactic way. The series is missing a lot of filling (if you know, you know). Other than that, it wasn’t a bad storyline.
Profile Image for Gabriela.
80 reviews
February 24, 2026
good, but i skimmed through a lot of it, some stuff was just unnecessary
Profile Image for Erin.
654 reviews
June 16, 2025
Free on Kindle unlimited and audible plus. That's a win in my books.

So happy to have this book be a duology. Technically more are coming. But these two got their happy ending.
Profile Image for cake.
77 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2026
It was okay, not as good as the first book. Evie and Zandyr barely interact throughout the story. Their marriage and relationship issues feel like it was resolved too easily, and the plot is so convoluted at times with the schemes and tricks happening.
275 reviews9 followers
February 26, 2025
4⭐️
2🌶️

Loved this duology and so happy there’s going to be more done for this story!

After the ending of book 1, I have been eagerly waiting for this next book because I NEEDED to know how we move forward from here!

Evie was such a strong character for me in this book. I feel a lot of times I end up being so annoyed with FMCs, but I absolutely adored Evie. She was strong but vulnerable considering what happened in book 1. And we needed some Zandyr groveling in this book and we got it for sure.

I only gave this one 4 ⭐️ because while it’s a 5 ⭐️ series for me, I did feel like the ending felt rushed. The author did such a great job with this book being longer but meaningful in its story. It didn’t seem to drag, but when we get to the end and while this technically closed out this duology with more to come following other characters, I still don’t feel like Evie and Zandyr’s story feel quite complete….

The spice 🌶️ was literally dragged out to the very end. I’m not saying the story did not call for it to be slow burn after the events of book 1, but I felt like there could and SHOULD have been more. Evie and Zandyr’s chemistry was such fire, I felt disappointed in the payoff for their spicy scene. Again, I know their story is “complete” (they’ll obviously be in other stories as side characters) but I don’t feel as if their story truly is. I needed way more honestly….

I’m super excited for Allie and Ryker’s story though. I think they’ll be another set of characters with killer chemistry!
August 23, 2025
Idk man like it isn’t a bad book but it isn’t like mind blowing I honestly didn’t care for anyone involved. I personally wouldn’t take a male who was promised to me since birth who then promised himself to another back. Like I get it he was saving his best friend’s life but nope. Mate or no mate he will not be added to my fiction boyfriends list. The 2 brides thing was so stupid for me like really? And then the anticlimactic ending of the so feared advisers they basically killed themselves like okay… the best part of this book in my opinion is that is over.
20 reviews1 follower
July 22, 2025
Book 1 was better, but still a solid 4 🌟

Book 1 left me eager for consequences for grovelling, regret, and a fierce response from Evie. She was set up as strong and smart, but by halfway through Book 2, she’d basically forgiven him while still saying she hadn’t. I liked her scheming and games, but she never put it to use on the MMC. His betrayal and that blood oath didn’t make much sense, and he showed no real remorse. I get she is your friend, but come on!!

I kept waiting for Evie to take a stand to make him feel even a fraction of her pain, but it never happened. The setup had so much promise, but the payoff felt rushed and unearned.
Profile Image for G W.
171 reviews4 followers
April 12, 2025
I was very, VERY underwhelmed by their sex scene. I LOVED this entire duology UP until that point. It’s been clear that romance is not the main feature of this book, and that she wanted to set up for the rest of the series, but it was so unbelievably short that it was disappointing. All that build up, for what?

I’m VERY disappointed with a duo that u fully was ready to recommend to everyone.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews