I’m so pleased to have finished this book! The plot is interesting enough, though fairly straightforward—no major twists or complex themes to unravel here. The pacing was fine; I wasn’t bored, but what kept pushing me to the finish line wasn’t excitement—it was frustration.
The biggest issue? The FMC. She’s so self-absorbed it’s ridiculous. Nearly everything she does is driven by her own agenda. She’s inherently selfish—toward her wolf, the MMC, her friends, and even her own father. If Reyner doesn’t feel like dealing with something, everything gets put on hold until she decides otherwise. Even when she claims to be making the ultimate sacrifice for her pack, it’s really just about preserving her own self-worth and leadership aspirations.
Speaking of leadership, her obsession with being an “equal leader” is another major irritant. She has no experience, no training, and no real development in this area, yet she’s inexplicably furious whenever she isn’t considered equal to the king.
Then there’s Elias and his sudden personality shift to conveniently serve the plot. He spends most of the book being accepting, supportive, and borderline saint-like despite Reyner’s behavior. But suddenly, to create drama with the Dragon King, he undergoes a complete (and temporary) transformation, only to snap right back into his usual character once the conflict is resolved. It feels forced.
Reyner’s “growth” into a war leader is equally unconvincing. One moment she’s a court lady, the next she’s barking military orders like “Hold!” to an actual trained army—without any real preparation or experience to justify it.
Then there’s the writing itself. Certain words are so overused it’s distracting—gasp appears 99 times, sometimes multiple times in the same sentence. Then there are words like elegant and functional, which also get repetitive to the point of irritation. And finally, the book could have benefited from better editing. When you’re already frustrated with the main character, repeated or incorrect words only make it worse.
I didn’t realize this book was an entire series packed into one volume, but if it had been split up, I doubt I would have continued past the first installment.