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Desperate Disguise #1
Lies Within the Darkest Tower
No one can know the newest guard in the Black Tower is a woman.
When my younger brother’s name is called in the lottery for life-long service in the most dangerous army in the kingdoms, I know my ruthless stepfather is responsible and I must take his place.
It doesn’t matter that I’m a woman and only men are allowed in the Black Tower. My cursed ability to sense when someone is going to die tells me my brother won’t survive a fortnight, and I refuse to lose my only surviving family member.
So I do the unthinkable. I secretly take on the spell that binds the lottery’s "sacrifice" to the Black Tower, cut my hair, and pretend to be my brother. All I have to do is keep quiet and avoid undue notice.
But things go wrong from the start. I walk through the fae ring to the Black Tower at night, drawing deadly shadow monsters to me and barely escaping. My mistake earns me the wrath of every guardsman, who makes it their mission to make my life miserable.
As if that weren’t enough, the three leaders of the Black Tower are beautiful fae, men who are as enticing as all the minstrels’ tales say, and they have far too much interest in me as the newest sacrifice.
I can't let them know the truth. I have to keep up my desperate disguise until my brother can bring our stepfather to justice, or I’ll have doomed both of us.
*Lies Within the Darkest Tower is the first book in a fantasy romance series with a determined heroine and hot dangerous men. This romantasy is a slow burn, steamy, girl disguised as a man that takes place in a magical world of kingdoms and shadowy monsters and is filled with fast-paced action.*
When my younger brother’s name is called in the lottery for life-long service in the most dangerous army in the kingdoms, I know my ruthless stepfather is responsible and I must take his place.
It doesn’t matter that I’m a woman and only men are allowed in the Black Tower. My cursed ability to sense when someone is going to die tells me my brother won’t survive a fortnight, and I refuse to lose my only surviving family member.
So I do the unthinkable. I secretly take on the spell that binds the lottery’s "sacrifice" to the Black Tower, cut my hair, and pretend to be my brother. All I have to do is keep quiet and avoid undue notice.
But things go wrong from the start. I walk through the fae ring to the Black Tower at night, drawing deadly shadow monsters to me and barely escaping. My mistake earns me the wrath of every guardsman, who makes it their mission to make my life miserable.
As if that weren’t enough, the three leaders of the Black Tower are beautiful fae, men who are as enticing as all the minstrels’ tales say, and they have far too much interest in me as the newest sacrifice.
I can't let them know the truth. I have to keep up my desperate disguise until my brother can bring our stepfather to justice, or I’ll have doomed both of us.
*Lies Within the Darkest Tower is the first book in a fantasy romance series with a determined heroine and hot dangerous men. This romantasy is a slow burn, steamy, girl disguised as a man that takes place in a magical world of kingdoms and shadowy monsters and is filled with fast-paced action.*
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 2, 2024
1306 people are currently reading
3980 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 234 reviews
February 2, 2025
Damn, I had a great time reading this. This is a fantasy Mulan-retelling why choose book, and I'm so invested in these characters already. It was pretty slow at the start, but by the end of it, I was itching for more. I'm happy that book 2 is already available - off I go!
December 8, 2024
Review for book 1 and 2
I normally wouldn't judge both books as one but it's a must for this series. Both these books are over 300 pages and honestly could have saved me a lot of time and annoyance by being one book. The writing style is very very repetitive. The heroine, Sage, is like a broken record and so are the MMCs the plot moves by two pages at the end of book 2. I'm not impressed.
Sage is a 20 year old female and this whole mess is about her saving her 15 year old brother from being conscripted into the guard. For her to "change" into a man she cut her hair (not military grade style, mind you) and bound her already small breasts (we are reminded about their size constantly). Believe it or not people that's all she does. Doesn't really talk differently, walk differently or change her mannerisms. In the Garden (A fae spiritual meeting place) boom long hair, a dress and she's the most beautiful woman they have ever seen. Just how blind are the men in a "military" guard post? ??? I think they have bigger problems than guarding the Gate cause surely intelligence, even just attention to detail should be a given.
We keep getting hints about Sages powers, hints. To keep us reading I suppose, she has a premonition and that made me read book 2 thinking any minute now. Sigh.... If the whole series plot was meant to be about her hazing and being bullied then a job well done.
I know am rolling on a tangent here but what part of her watching Riders (one of the MMCs) sister have sex with her mates was meant to be enticing. It would have been just as icky as watching her own brother. So again just Why??? Could have picked any other orgy to make whatever point that was meant to be.
The only thread of the plot that kept my interest was hoping to watch Sage grow into her powers or explanations about her heritage, you know the meaty stuff. That's over 600 pages lacking in any weighted depth that would make me endure book 3.
I normally wouldn't judge both books as one but it's a must for this series. Both these books are over 300 pages and honestly could have saved me a lot of time and annoyance by being one book. The writing style is very very repetitive. The heroine, Sage, is like a broken record and so are the MMCs the plot moves by two pages at the end of book 2. I'm not impressed.
Sage is a 20 year old female and this whole mess is about her saving her 15 year old brother from being conscripted into the guard. For her to "change" into a man she cut her hair (not military grade style, mind you) and bound her already small breasts (we are reminded about their size constantly). Believe it or not people that's all she does. Doesn't really talk differently, walk differently or change her mannerisms. In the Garden (A fae spiritual meeting place) boom long hair, a dress and she's the most beautiful woman they have ever seen. Just how blind are the men in a "military" guard post? ??? I think they have bigger problems than guarding the Gate cause surely intelligence, even just attention to detail should be a given.
We keep getting hints about Sages powers, hints. To keep us reading I suppose, she has a premonition and that made me read book 2 thinking any minute now. Sigh.... If the whole series plot was meant to be about her hazing and being bullied then a job well done.
I know am rolling on a tangent here but what part of her watching Riders (one of the MMCs) sister have sex with her mates was meant to be enticing. It would have been just as icky as watching her own brother. So again just Why??? Could have picked any other orgy to make whatever point that was meant to be.
The only thread of the plot that kept my interest was hoping to watch Sage grow into her powers or explanations about her heritage, you know the meaty stuff. That's over 600 pages lacking in any weighted depth that would make me endure book 3.
October 7, 2024
I really wish I hadn't picked this up, as I did not realise how brutal that cliffhanger would be! I am honestly desperate to know what happens next.
This started off as a slow burn for me, I wasn't sure it was really pulling me in at first as there was a lot of world building and mainly FMC POV...but it really crept up on me and by the time I got to the end I was not ready to leave the characters.
I loved the whole world created, the characters were all really interesting too. It felt like there was a lot of thought and effort put into the creation of this. Each character came across as really well developed, and it was easy to distinguish one from the next. It is still early on, so the focus was mainly on the FMC and getting to know her and the world but the snippets we get of the MMCs has me hooked...
This started off as a slow burn for me, I wasn't sure it was really pulling me in at first as there was a lot of world building and mainly FMC POV...but it really crept up on me and by the time I got to the end I was not ready to leave the characters.
I loved the whole world created, the characters were all really interesting too. It felt like there was a lot of thought and effort put into the creation of this. Each character came across as really well developed, and it was easy to distinguish one from the next. It is still early on, so the focus was mainly on the FMC and getting to know her and the world but the snippets we get of the MMCs has me hooked...
Read
October 15, 2025Time of death 38%, page 115.
Yeah, this is a solid no for me. Unfortunately, I don’t really have anything nice to say because there wasn’t one thing I actually liked about this book in what I had read so far of its contents. It drug by soooooo slowly and harped on things not only that weren’t interesting to me as a reader, but just weren’t necessary in general. The author had so much to say about particularly nothing at all. It was the damndest thing, because even 115 pages in, the plot had not made any progress at all. She had JUST made it to the guard tower and I had yet to read anything that captured my attention. Toss in there that I started to suspect this was a why choose so I went to the reviews to confirm and yep, I’m definitely out of here! I won’t leave a rating, but, to put it plainly, I don’t like it.
Yeah, this is a solid no for me. Unfortunately, I don’t really have anything nice to say because there wasn’t one thing I actually liked about this book in what I had read so far of its contents. It drug by soooooo slowly and harped on things not only that weren’t interesting to me as a reader, but just weren’t necessary in general. The author had so much to say about particularly nothing at all. It was the damndest thing, because even 115 pages in, the plot had not made any progress at all. She had JUST made it to the guard tower and I had yet to read anything that captured my attention. Toss in there that I started to suspect this was a why choose so I went to the reviews to confirm and yep, I’m definitely out of here! I won’t leave a rating, but, to put it plainly, I don’t like it.
December 21, 2024
2.75⭐️
at first the premise was good and the way she writes is good, but at like the 30% mark it kind of fell flat. it was dragging way too much, to the point where i had to stop multiple times because i was getting bored, the love interests’ personalities are kind of flat and boring, i don’t feel connected to them at all, i liked sage her personality was enjoyable, and the cliffhanger was shockingly good!
also i don’t like how she dragged on the “dream manifesting sequence” because it got boring way too quickly, also i hated how everything was being presented to sage on a silver platter, where it should’ve been more suspenseful and it should’ve been presented not all at once.
i still don’t know if i’ll read the second book, but all i know it wont be right now!
at first the premise was good and the way she writes is good, but at like the 30% mark it kind of fell flat. it was dragging way too much, to the point where i had to stop multiple times because i was getting bored, the love interests’ personalities are kind of flat and boring, i don’t feel connected to them at all, i liked sage her personality was enjoyable, and the cliffhanger was shockingly good!
also i don’t like how she dragged on the “dream manifesting sequence” because it got boring way too quickly, also i hated how everything was being presented to sage on a silver platter, where it should’ve been more suspenseful and it should’ve been presented not all at once.
i still don’t know if i’ll read the second book, but all i know it wont be right now!
Did Not Finish
March 6, 2025some books are character driven, some are plot driven, this book was yap driven !!
was so excited to read this book but it's not moving at all !! events of chapter 27 should've been happening around chapter 5 or something.
was so excited to read this book but it's not moving at all !! events of chapter 27 should've been happening around chapter 5 or something.
November 9, 2024
Buddy read, 4 stars, this one surprised me! Good pick but the next book isn't out yet so be prepared to wait. Cliffhanger but not as brutal as some I have read.
This story is mostly "told" to you, so the style is a little forced. You do get used to it as the story and characters suck you in. The book blurb is spot on, not much I can write here that gives you more. It seems like the magical vagina trope, we do have MM partners looking for the 1 woman and she can make all their problems disappear.
I was surprised that Sage can all of a sudden manifest as well as that whole SPICY detour. Very unique, so well done. Rider, Talon and Quill and set up as separate characters so its easy to keep them apart. Ash, he is awarded the first O and he is intriguing since we have no idea which Novice he is during training.
Actually really looking forward to finding out.
Highlights and Spoilers-
-
Sage has her brothers number:
Yes, fighters needed to be pushed past their limit to grow, but Sawyer could trip over his own feet without moving.
Lord Commander upon meeting Sage (as Sawyer) "the Idiot":
“Congratulations, Vyell. Your evening stable shift has been cut in half for the rest of your rotation. This idiot here will take your first half of the shift after the evening meal.”
“Yes, Lord Commander,” Vyell said. The fae, the Lord Commander of the Black Guard, turned his attention back to me. “You’re also getting the full stable shift in the morning, too. Report to the stable at the second bell. You’ll muck the stalls, day and night, until you’re no longer stupid.”
-HA- that's going to be a while!
And ha, love the justification to have dream sex:
I was never going to get anything so incredible in real life because sex wasn’t like that, and I wasn’t a woman that men desired, so I might as well get it in my dreams.
When Sage wakes up:
What were the odds that the men of the Black Tower liked to freshen their sheets with petals?
Talon and Quill, sob:
He’d latched onto this human female in a desperate, probably unconscious need to fulfill his heart’s desire. “She’ll break your heart,” I whispered. And that would break mine. I loved Quill so deeply it hurt. It had taken me far too long to figure out how I felt about Quill and by then I’d spent years succumbing to the desire of the shadow trapped with in me.
-------
And then I’d realized the truth. That I was desperately in love with Quill and that the shadow took something it needed from my sexual partners. I weakened them when we had sex, but I couldn’t ignore the compulsion to have sex, or I’d lose control of the monster inside me. And that could never be allowed to happen again.
We find out why Talon is a slut and how badly his monster wants Sage :)
This story is mostly "told" to you, so the style is a little forced. You do get used to it as the story and characters suck you in. The book blurb is spot on, not much I can write here that gives you more. It seems like the magical vagina trope, we do have MM partners looking for the 1 woman and she can make all their problems disappear.
I was surprised that Sage can all of a sudden manifest as well as that whole SPICY detour. Very unique, so well done. Rider, Talon and Quill and set up as separate characters so its easy to keep them apart. Ash, he is awarded the first O and he is intriguing since we have no idea which Novice he is during training.
Actually really looking forward to finding out.
Highlights and Spoilers-
-
Sage has her brothers number:
Yes, fighters needed to be pushed past their limit to grow, but Sawyer could trip over his own feet without moving.
Lord Commander upon meeting Sage (as Sawyer) "the Idiot":
“Congratulations, Vyell. Your evening stable shift has been cut in half for the rest of your rotation. This idiot here will take your first half of the shift after the evening meal.”
“Yes, Lord Commander,” Vyell said. The fae, the Lord Commander of the Black Guard, turned his attention back to me. “You’re also getting the full stable shift in the morning, too. Report to the stable at the second bell. You’ll muck the stalls, day and night, until you’re no longer stupid.”
-HA- that's going to be a while!
And ha, love the justification to have dream sex:
I was never going to get anything so incredible in real life because sex wasn’t like that, and I wasn’t a woman that men desired, so I might as well get it in my dreams.
When Sage wakes up:
What were the odds that the men of the Black Tower liked to freshen their sheets with petals?
Talon and Quill, sob:
He’d latched onto this human female in a desperate, probably unconscious need to fulfill his heart’s desire. “She’ll break your heart,” I whispered. And that would break mine. I loved Quill so deeply it hurt. It had taken me far too long to figure out how I felt about Quill and by then I’d spent years succumbing to the desire of the shadow trapped with in me.
-------
And then I’d realized the truth. That I was desperately in love with Quill and that the shadow took something it needed from my sexual partners. I weakened them when we had sex, but I couldn’t ignore the compulsion to have sex, or I’d lose control of the monster inside me. And that could never be allowed to happen again.
We find out why Talon is a slut and how badly his monster wants Sage :)
November 22, 2024
Oooooh this book was amazing.
The world building was good and easy to understand (Can't wait to find out more)
The FMC is really a strong and brave woman. I absolutely froth for the secret girl trope and this book has not disappointed me yet. I know she has some real hard times coming up, and I can't wait to read more.
The world building was good and easy to understand (Can't wait to find out more)
The FMC is really a strong and brave woman. I absolutely froth for the secret girl trope and this book has not disappointed me yet. I know she has some real hard times coming up, and I can't wait to read more.
February 20, 2025
DNF - writing is clunky and nothing happens.
February 23, 2025
Is this particularly any good? Not really. But the way I ate it up! Ooof! The characters and plot were such a mess but it was a FUN mess.
January 18, 2026
I really am loving this storyline but to call this fast-paced action is WILD given how slowwwww this series is.
October 18, 2024
Sage only has her brother Sawyer left of her true family. Sage has a premonition that shows danger and performs a spell she doesn’t fully understand and has no time to figure out. She must swap places and go to the guardsman. The shadow gate and dark tower have fae and humans… but is there something else lurking under sage’s exterior… I loved reading this. The descriptive details, open relationships and protection of the fae give ‘Sawyer’? the freedom to watch, observe, wander and learn while feeling safe. I loved the inner battles each character had. The character and world building were well done. I could drown myself in the fae males and females fascinating stories over and over again. I really hope there will be more on each character that played a significant role in capturing my attention. Thank you booksirens and Tessa Cole for the opportunity to read and review this lovely book a head of schedule. I rate this a 5/5⭐️ and recommend to anyone who loves reading about the fae! Happy reading!
June 6, 2025
I dnf at 32%.
I like the story idea of Mulan mix with a little of Divergent elements, but the story is just so slooooow. It draaaags and progresses VERRRRRY SLOW. Very repetitive and I’m just like on the verge of like having dyslexia mix with amnesia. Like, didn’t I just read what the FMC is thinking?
Honestly, this book has potential, if it has the right pacing with less repetitions. I’m not sure how the characters are altogether since, like I said, dnf at 32%. I would like to see character developments, why they do the things they do, why they are where they are in the first place, and etc.
HRMM, onto next.
I like the story idea of Mulan mix with a little of Divergent elements, but the story is just so slooooow. It draaaags and progresses VERRRRRY SLOW. Very repetitive and I’m just like on the verge of like having dyslexia mix with amnesia. Like, didn’t I just read what the FMC is thinking?
Honestly, this book has potential, if it has the right pacing with less repetitions. I’m not sure how the characters are altogether since, like I said, dnf at 32%. I would like to see character developments, why they do the things they do, why they are where they are in the first place, and etc.
HRMM, onto next.
November 23, 2024
*Why Choose
*Fantasy
*Multi-1st-PoV
*Fae
*Shadow Monsters
*FMC in disguise
*Established Harem (4)
*Slow building
*Mid Burn
*Book 1/?
Gripping start 😃
This book focuses on Sage and what she will do to protect her brother, which leads to some serious mishaps and risky situations! In their world of far and humans there’s a gate the Black Tower watches to ensure the shadow monsters don’t come through…and it’s a lottery of who gets chosen 😖 I’m sure you can imagine what happens next! Disguising herself as a human boy she managed to do just about everything wrong 🤦♀️ but in doing so she manages to catch the eye in some way of the three lots of the tower ….not necessarily in a good way 😳 on top of that she has these weird dreams that gives her qualities outside of her everyday life and creates more questions!
There’s a lot of action in this book to keep you interested and looking forward to the next one 😃
*Fantasy
*Multi-1st-PoV
*Fae
*Shadow Monsters
*FMC in disguise
*Established Harem (4)
*Slow building
*Mid Burn
*Book 1/?
Gripping start 😃
This book focuses on Sage and what she will do to protect her brother, which leads to some serious mishaps and risky situations! In their world of far and humans there’s a gate the Black Tower watches to ensure the shadow monsters don’t come through…and it’s a lottery of who gets chosen 😖 I’m sure you can imagine what happens next! Disguising herself as a human boy she managed to do just about everything wrong 🤦♀️ but in doing so she manages to catch the eye in some way of the three lots of the tower ….not necessarily in a good way 😳 on top of that she has these weird dreams that gives her qualities outside of her everyday life and creates more questions!
There’s a lot of action in this book to keep you interested and looking forward to the next one 😃
October 22, 2024
This book was really good. Different to what I expected but I really enjoyed it.
I wish there was more though. I didn’t realise it was a series when I started reading it, and now I have to wait to find out what’s going to happen next!
I’m still wondering which guys are part of ‘it’. At the moment, I’m feeling Rider, Talon, Quinn and Ash, but is that a lot. Is it all of them, or just three?
Really good story, I love that she’s a girl but better than them, but they don’t know she’s a girl, it’s great.
Can’t wait for more!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I wish there was more though. I didn’t realise it was a series when I started reading it, and now I have to wait to find out what’s going to happen next!
I’m still wondering which guys are part of ‘it’. At the moment, I’m feeling Rider, Talon, Quinn and Ash, but is that a lot. Is it all of them, or just three?
Really good story, I love that she’s a girl but better than them, but they don’t know she’s a girl, it’s great.
Can’t wait for more!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 21, 2024
Kindle.
Solid four.
This is the first book in a while that I have read that generally grabbed and kept my attention. I love a secret girl trope. Slower burn, good world building, good character development. I like how the build up is done which is rare for me.
It had a good plot to smut ratio. Well written and was easy to read in general and flowed well. Minor spelling errors. I can see how some of her “pep” talks/justifications to herself can become redundant, I didn’t mind.
I just hate waiting for the big reveal.
Definitely continuing on to the next book.
Solid four.
This is the first book in a while that I have read that generally grabbed and kept my attention. I love a secret girl trope. Slower burn, good world building, good character development. I like how the build up is done which is rare for me.
It had a good plot to smut ratio. Well written and was easy to read in general and flowed well. Minor spelling errors. I can see how some of her “pep” talks/justifications to herself can become redundant, I didn’t mind.
I just hate waiting for the big reveal.
Definitely continuing on to the next book.
December 17, 2024
Cliffhanger ending. RH, dressed as a man, m/m, fae, shadow, powers, keep hidden, saving sibling, personal sacrifice, prophecy. Strongish female lead, almost grape, abusive home life.
Needs more filling.This book series has been cut up into too smaller bites. I hate it. She can see into the future, but hardly anything is based around that. I wish she would try and grow her skills. I like the male characters and the writing style. Good world building(she needs more than four men)
Needs more filling.This book series has been cut up into too smaller bites. I hate it. She can see into the future, but hardly anything is based around that. I wish she would try and grow her skills. I like the male characters and the writing style. Good world building(she needs more than four men)
January 15, 2025
3.5 stars
I think this has so much potential, but there was too much repetitive filler & I felt like I was on a mouse wheel running in circles. The story doesn't progress a lot. A BUNCH could have been taken out & it would've made for a much more engaging & progressing read, in my opinion.
I think this has so much potential, but there was too much repetitive filler & I felt like I was on a mouse wheel running in circles. The story doesn't progress a lot. A BUNCH could have been taken out & it would've made for a much more engaging & progressing read, in my opinion.
September 26, 2024
"Lies Within the Darkest Tower" was a great start to a new fantasy why choose series. Seriously, I loved this book, and I wish it was possible to dive into book two immediately because I was absolutely not done with these characters yet. I love the whole mystery around Sage's "status", the mix of fae and humans, the dangers lurking in the background (and sometimes at the forefront as well), how our fmc has to hide she's a woman between a bunch of men, ... There is so much to unwrap in this series, and even more to look forward to.
It's hard to explain this without giving away any spoilers, but the author created an interesting background to do the character building of the men in this story. It's as if we see them in two different roles, and I loved getting to know them this way alongside our fmc. It's a little hard to pick out favorites at the moment, but I believe Talon might be my current favorite. His treatment of Sage makes the most sense to me, and he managed to touch me the most. Still, even though there is no real bullying from the men towards our fmc, their treatment of him/her does influence others to do what they do, so if the bully trope is a hard no this might be triggering. For me, it makes me all the more excited to see what happens when they find out the "boy" is actually their fated soulbond.
Usually, as a reader, I'm not a fan of characters having lots of spicy thoughts and being a part of them because they are all written down. It did make me skip a few parts, but it's definitely not enough to stop me from continuing the rest of the series. And I'm hopeful those thoughts will be toned down once the real work starts...
All in all, I really loved this book, and I can't wait to get my hands on part two!
It's hard to explain this without giving away any spoilers, but the author created an interesting background to do the character building of the men in this story. It's as if we see them in two different roles, and I loved getting to know them this way alongside our fmc. It's a little hard to pick out favorites at the moment, but I believe Talon might be my current favorite. His treatment of Sage makes the most sense to me, and he managed to touch me the most. Still, even though there is no real bullying from the men towards our fmc, their treatment of him/her does influence others to do what they do, so if the bully trope is a hard no this might be triggering. For me, it makes me all the more excited to see what happens when they find out the "boy" is actually their fated soulbond.
Usually, as a reader, I'm not a fan of characters having lots of spicy thoughts and being a part of them because they are all written down. It did make me skip a few parts, but it's definitely not enough to stop me from continuing the rest of the series. And I'm hopeful those thoughts will be toned down once the real work starts...
All in all, I really loved this book, and I can't wait to get my hands on part two!
October 14, 2024
I have been mindlessly reading books with one blending into another and stumbled upon this.
I did absolutely nothing except breathe (and ok maybe I had a small snack) while reading this book.
Too often, books are too wordy (or, in some cases, lack plot). Don't get me wrong, there are times that we need those books.
This book was perfect, just the right amount of detail and the right amount of teasing. I was thrilled to realize that I did not have to go into work until later the next day and happily anticipated binging the series ... until tragedy struck....
The next book is not out yet !!! My husband cannot understand my dismay, and frankly, I am a little lost.
What am I supposed to do until December, and then, gods help me, what will I do until the rest of the series comes out???
Please, read this book, write a review, and beg the author to do nothing except sleep eat and write the rest of the series so that we do not have to live in a world with just this tease.
Tessa Cole... pure genius.
I did absolutely nothing except breathe (and ok maybe I had a small snack) while reading this book.
Too often, books are too wordy (or, in some cases, lack plot). Don't get me wrong, there are times that we need those books.
This book was perfect, just the right amount of detail and the right amount of teasing. I was thrilled to realize that I did not have to go into work until later the next day and happily anticipated binging the series ... until tragedy struck....
The next book is not out yet !!! My husband cannot understand my dismay, and frankly, I am a little lost.
What am I supposed to do until December, and then, gods help me, what will I do until the rest of the series comes out???
Please, read this book, write a review, and beg the author to do nothing except sleep eat and write the rest of the series so that we do not have to live in a world with just this tease.
Tessa Cole... pure genius.
March 15, 2026
Thoroughly enjoyed this but I am such a slut for the Mulan/Twelfth Night storyline.
I do agree with some of the other reviews that there are some typos and errors that should’ve been fixed but somehow it didn’t ruin it for me. ( I mean, I definitely have left reviews screaming about the typos and lack of editing). I just enjoyed it enough that it didn’t ruin the story for me. Don’t get me wrong, that should be addressed (TESSAAAA! I will help you edit the next ones! Please!!).
I wish I had a little more of a cliffhanger ending but I did like it a lot anyway.
It is a slower paced book but, again, story was enjoyable and I know there’s 3 more books so I was fine. I hope the next one is a little faster paced. I mean, this whole first book was literally like 3 days TOTAL. Wild. Give me some time jumps in the next one puh-leez.
Anyway. Loved it. I gave it 5 cuz I was hooooked and this book knocked me out of a reading sluuuuump caused by depressy spaghetti which is a hard thing to do. So. I think it earned it.
I do agree with some of the other reviews that there are some typos and errors that should’ve been fixed but somehow it didn’t ruin it for me. ( I mean, I definitely have left reviews screaming about the typos and lack of editing). I just enjoyed it enough that it didn’t ruin the story for me. Don’t get me wrong, that should be addressed (TESSAAAA! I will help you edit the next ones! Please!!).
I wish I had a little more of a cliffhanger ending but I did like it a lot anyway.
It is a slower paced book but, again, story was enjoyable and I know there’s 3 more books so I was fine. I hope the next one is a little faster paced. I mean, this whole first book was literally like 3 days TOTAL. Wild. Give me some time jumps in the next one puh-leez.
Anyway. Loved it. I gave it 5 cuz I was hooooked and this book knocked me out of a reading sluuuuump caused by depressy spaghetti which is a hard thing to do. So. I think it earned it.
August 24, 2025
No one can ever know that the newest guard in the Black Tower is actually a woman.
When Sage's younger brother's name is called in the lottery for life-long service is the most dangerous army in the kingdoms, Sage knows that her ruthless stepfather is responsible and now she has to take his place.
It doesn't matter that Sage is a woman and only men are allowed in the Black Tower. Sage has the cursed ability to sense when someone is going to die, and that sense tells her that her brother isn't going to survive the next two weeks, and Sage refuses to lose her last surviving family member.
So Sage does the unthinkable. Sage secretly takes on the spell that binds the lottery's “sacrifice” to the Black Tower, she cuts her hair, and Sage pretends to be her brother. All she has to do is keep her head down, keep her mouth shut, and avoid any undue notice.
But, right from the very start things start to go wrong for Sage. Sage has to walk through the fae ring to get to the Black Tower at night, and it draws deadly shadow monsters to her and Sage manages to barely escape. And her mistake earns her the wrath of every single guardsman, and they all make it their mission to make Sage's life as miserable as possible.
And if that's not enough trouble for Sage, the three leaders of the Black Tower are stunningly beautiful fae, the men are just as enticing as all the minstrels' tales say and they are way too interested in having Sage as their newest sacrifice.
Sage knows that there is no way that she can let them know the truth. She has to keep up the desperate disguise that she has crafted until her brother can bring their stepfather to justice, either that or Sage has just doomed them both.
*Lies Within the Darkest Tower is the first book in a fantasy romance series with a determined heroine and hot dangerous men. This romantasy is a slow burn, steamy, girl disguised as a man that takes place in a magical world of kingdoms and shadowy monsters and is filled with fast-paced action.*
Lies Within The Darkest Tower is the 1st book in the Desperate Disguise series by Tessa Cole. This is the first book by Tessa Cole that I have read and I was surprised by this book. I waited till book 3 was out before I read this series and finally got into this series.
I found that this story is rather a “told to you” story over a “shown to you” story. It takes a bit of getting used to but I love the way that the characters pull you in and they enthrall you. We do get an MM pairing in this book but they are looking for their female partner to join them and they believe (I think wrongly) that all their problems will disappear overnight if they just have that female partner.
It was a shock that Sage was able to suddenly manifest add to that the entire spicy and hot detour that we got taken on. It was really a very unique take and I found it to be really well done. Rider, Talon, and Quill are all beautifully set up as their own unique and individual characters and I had no problem whatsoever keeping them apart. Ash, is the lucky man to be given the first O, and that is honestly rather interesting in and of itself as we have no idea which Novice he is during training.
There are a few things that I am really looking forward to finding out in the next books:
- Sage has and controls her brother's number and is doing her best to protect him and what's going to happen if she is discovered.
- We know that fighters need to be pushed, but Sawyer could trip over his own feet, and he doesn't need to move to do it.
Quotes I loved:
Lord Commander upon meeting Sage (as Sawyer) "the Idiot":
“Congratulations, Vyell. Your evening stable shift has been cut in half for the rest of your rotation. This idiot here will take your first half of the shift after the evening meal.”
“Yes, Lord Commander,” Vyell said. The fae, the Lord Commander of the Black Guard, turned his attention back to me. “You’re also getting the full stable shift in the morning, too. Report to the stable at the second bell. You’ll muck the stalls, day and night, until you’re no longer stupid.”
I loved the way that Tessa wrote in a justification to have a s*x dream:
“I was never going to get anything so incredible in real life because sex wasn’t like that, and I wasn’t a woman that men desired, so I might as well get it in my dreams.”
And then when Sage wakes up:
“What were the odds that the men of the Black Tower liked to freshen their sheets with petals?”
We also get the chance to see Talon and Quill both, sob:
He’d latched onto this human female in a desperate, probably unconscious need to fulfill his heart’s desire. “She’ll break your heart,” I whispered. And that would break mine. I loved Quill so deeply it hurt. It had taken me far too long to figure out how I felt about Quill and by then I’d spent years succumbing to the desire of the shadow trapped within me.
-------
And then I’d realized the truth. That I was desperately in love with Quill and that the shadow took something it needed from my sexual partners. I weakened them when we had sex, but I couldn’t ignore the compulsion to have sex, or I’d lose control of the monster inside me. And that could never be allowed to happen again.
I loved when we got the opportunity to learn why Talon is the sl*t that he is and just how badly his monster wants Sage and why.
I really enjoyed this book and I was so happy that I got the opportunity to jump straight into the next 2 books. I can't help but recommend this book and I know that this book is going to find a great home in a lot of readers' hands.
I will warn you that this book does end in a cliffhanger, although it isn't as bad as some of the cliffhangers that I have read (I'm looking at you Zodiac Academy, once again). But, thankfully you don't have to wait to jump right into the next books as books 2 and 3 are already out for your reading enjoyment.
When Sage's younger brother's name is called in the lottery for life-long service is the most dangerous army in the kingdoms, Sage knows that her ruthless stepfather is responsible and now she has to take his place.
It doesn't matter that Sage is a woman and only men are allowed in the Black Tower. Sage has the cursed ability to sense when someone is going to die, and that sense tells her that her brother isn't going to survive the next two weeks, and Sage refuses to lose her last surviving family member.
So Sage does the unthinkable. Sage secretly takes on the spell that binds the lottery's “sacrifice” to the Black Tower, she cuts her hair, and Sage pretends to be her brother. All she has to do is keep her head down, keep her mouth shut, and avoid any undue notice.
But, right from the very start things start to go wrong for Sage. Sage has to walk through the fae ring to get to the Black Tower at night, and it draws deadly shadow monsters to her and Sage manages to barely escape. And her mistake earns her the wrath of every single guardsman, and they all make it their mission to make Sage's life as miserable as possible.
And if that's not enough trouble for Sage, the three leaders of the Black Tower are stunningly beautiful fae, the men are just as enticing as all the minstrels' tales say and they are way too interested in having Sage as their newest sacrifice.
Sage knows that there is no way that she can let them know the truth. She has to keep up the desperate disguise that she has crafted until her brother can bring their stepfather to justice, either that or Sage has just doomed them both.
*Lies Within the Darkest Tower is the first book in a fantasy romance series with a determined heroine and hot dangerous men. This romantasy is a slow burn, steamy, girl disguised as a man that takes place in a magical world of kingdoms and shadowy monsters and is filled with fast-paced action.*
Lies Within The Darkest Tower is the 1st book in the Desperate Disguise series by Tessa Cole. This is the first book by Tessa Cole that I have read and I was surprised by this book. I waited till book 3 was out before I read this series and finally got into this series.
I found that this story is rather a “told to you” story over a “shown to you” story. It takes a bit of getting used to but I love the way that the characters pull you in and they enthrall you. We do get an MM pairing in this book but they are looking for their female partner to join them and they believe (I think wrongly) that all their problems will disappear overnight if they just have that female partner.
It was a shock that Sage was able to suddenly manifest add to that the entire spicy and hot detour that we got taken on. It was really a very unique take and I found it to be really well done. Rider, Talon, and Quill are all beautifully set up as their own unique and individual characters and I had no problem whatsoever keeping them apart. Ash, is the lucky man to be given the first O, and that is honestly rather interesting in and of itself as we have no idea which Novice he is during training.
There are a few things that I am really looking forward to finding out in the next books:
- Sage has and controls her brother's number and is doing her best to protect him and what's going to happen if she is discovered.
- We know that fighters need to be pushed, but Sawyer could trip over his own feet, and he doesn't need to move to do it.
Quotes I loved:
Lord Commander upon meeting Sage (as Sawyer) "the Idiot":
“Congratulations, Vyell. Your evening stable shift has been cut in half for the rest of your rotation. This idiot here will take your first half of the shift after the evening meal.”
“Yes, Lord Commander,” Vyell said. The fae, the Lord Commander of the Black Guard, turned his attention back to me. “You’re also getting the full stable shift in the morning, too. Report to the stable at the second bell. You’ll muck the stalls, day and night, until you’re no longer stupid.”
I loved the way that Tessa wrote in a justification to have a s*x dream:
“I was never going to get anything so incredible in real life because sex wasn’t like that, and I wasn’t a woman that men desired, so I might as well get it in my dreams.”
And then when Sage wakes up:
“What were the odds that the men of the Black Tower liked to freshen their sheets with petals?”
We also get the chance to see Talon and Quill both, sob:
He’d latched onto this human female in a desperate, probably unconscious need to fulfill his heart’s desire. “She’ll break your heart,” I whispered. And that would break mine. I loved Quill so deeply it hurt. It had taken me far too long to figure out how I felt about Quill and by then I’d spent years succumbing to the desire of the shadow trapped within me.
-------
And then I’d realized the truth. That I was desperately in love with Quill and that the shadow took something it needed from my sexual partners. I weakened them when we had sex, but I couldn’t ignore the compulsion to have sex, or I’d lose control of the monster inside me. And that could never be allowed to happen again.
I loved when we got the opportunity to learn why Talon is the sl*t that he is and just how badly his monster wants Sage and why.
I really enjoyed this book and I was so happy that I got the opportunity to jump straight into the next 2 books. I can't help but recommend this book and I know that this book is going to find a great home in a lot of readers' hands.
I will warn you that this book does end in a cliffhanger, although it isn't as bad as some of the cliffhangers that I have read (I'm looking at you Zodiac Academy, once again). But, thankfully you don't have to wait to jump right into the next books as books 2 and 3 are already out for your reading enjoyment.
April 17, 2026
1.5☆
I'm giving +0,5☆ because it's not the author's fault I'm picking books that are out of my preferred genres. Although I'm still willing to try more Reverse Harems 💔
This book plays your typical Mulan type of trope. Girl wants to protect [insert family member], in this case, her younger brother, so she disguises herself as him and goes in his place. In this case, to the Black Tower to serve as a guard alongside human and fae men.
If you know me, you’d know one of my favorite tropes is secret identity. Especially this type of story in which a female character has to disguise herself and enter a male dominated space in order to protect someone or complete a mission. And if you truly know me well, you'd also know I'm in a quest to find a good Reverse Harem story. Although this seemed EXACTLY the type of setting I'd love, it failed. Or I failed myself more likely. Because no matter how I long to enjoy these stories, they seem to always dismiss the writing and the fantasy elements in detriment of an overly sexual narrative. And that's why I mostly blame the RH genre and not the author: it's in its nature to be like this.
This is a fae story. I didn't know that. You'll come to realize I didn't know a lot of things, actually, since I didn't read the synopsis previously. All I've seen was that this was a slow burn story in which the FMC stays in disguise for a very long time throughout the books. From that briefly summary, it seemed like the perfect recipe! No one is more sad than me that it didn't work...
Here are my overall negative critics:
● Writing: repetitive; some grammatical errors; overall shallow; "Swell" was used too many times to mean "Great" sarcastically (annoyed me)
● The FMC:
I thought she was going to be more interesting at first. She isn't. Worse! She's DUMB. D-U-M-B.
This might overlap with the writing criticism but what do you mean that: she sees that in the "Garden" she looks like a fae -> she realizes that the place "Garden" isn't a dream -> goes on questioning what this "Garden" place is -> the fae tell her that it is a place where faes manifest. Hence, only faes can enter it. They make that abundantly clear... Please tell me why this dumbass doesn't connect the dots that she's clearly a fae...? The thought doesn't even CROSS her mind. I'm done. She also has no personality or whatsoever.
● Romance over everything else:
Over writing, over worldbuilding, over characterization... Authors should realize that to build a good romance, you should prioritize the other things first and foremost. Then, you can craft the romance. I promise you, readers will love the romance much more once ALL is well executed.
● Steamy scenes:
Not my cup of tea. Especially because this was supposed to be a slow burn. ALTHOUGH, I must say, that it was only one (that dragged out), and it wasn't in the context of her in the disguise. I'll talk a bit more on the positive points.
● Plot:
WHAT PLOT???????? I could describe this book in three sentences: FMC goes to the Black Tower; FMC goes into the "Garden" fae while 'sleeping' [insert steamy scene]; FMC has a prowess evaluation. That is ALL that happens, guys. It is so uneventful that is laughable. Sure it's supposed to be character driven, but I've never read a book where the plot is as nonexistent as this one!!! LOL.
The pros to end on a good note:
○ Fast and entertaining read:
Look. If it ain't gonna be a good book, then make it not boring. And it wasn't. It had a good pace, and I read it in a day. That's how I want my trashy books to be.
○ MMCs:
I actually didn't hate the male love interests, and there are 4 of them..! This book feels like a brief introduction to them. I'm impressed that no one was abusive or intentionally violent towards the FMC, that's new...
I'm also interested in their relationship with each other: Talon and Rider are said to have a history together; Quill and Talon are kinda together too (which was only introduced late in the book and it felt kinda ?huh?? but whatever, again, the writing is the problem). I also found it cute how Talon cared for the FMC when she's in disguise (and he believes that she's just a random boy) that is kinda being bullied by the other guards. It was sweet.
Another thing that I found somewhat interesting was: since the reader already knows that they will obviously be her mates, but they aren't aware that she's a girl in disguise, the mating bond is manifesting differently for each of them towards her. They obviously don't realize it's that, but we do. Talon low-key has to chill a bit though...
○ Secret identity trope:
FMC is dumb. She is. I don't know how, with such a small amount of grey cells, she was able to keep the disguise throughout the whole book, but she did! And that's a win in my book. Usually, the reveal is made too soon, just so the romance can be rushed in. Boring.
That's why, although I disliked that steamy scene, I didn't mind how it was done: essentially our FMC is disguising as a boy in the "real world" in the guard, but in this "Garden" place she doesn't need to hide what she is: a woman... a fae one at that (although her stupid ass doesn't realize that yet)! And the stupid MMCs also can't connect the dots. I'm not sure if it's because they're just as dumb, if they're not expecting it, or if she looks different in her fae form from her human one. So because everyone is stupid, I'm guessing it will draggggggg out. Which is good.
-
1☆ because there are too many things that should've been edited in this book. I could've enjoyed it a lot more, as I really liked the trope implemented, and brushed off some negative stuff more easily, if it were. As it is, I can't. Nope.
The question now is: will I read the other ones? I don't know. The reason I read this was because I was stressed out with college work and needed junk food for the brain. So maybe next exam season I'll be here again..!
I'm giving +0,5☆ because it's not the author's fault I'm picking books that are out of my preferred genres. Although I'm still willing to try more Reverse Harems 💔
This book plays your typical Mulan type of trope. Girl wants to protect [insert family member], in this case, her younger brother, so she disguises herself as him and goes in his place. In this case, to the Black Tower to serve as a guard alongside human and fae men.
If you know me, you’d know one of my favorite tropes is secret identity. Especially this type of story in which a female character has to disguise herself and enter a male dominated space in order to protect someone or complete a mission. And if you truly know me well, you'd also know I'm in a quest to find a good Reverse Harem story. Although this seemed EXACTLY the type of setting I'd love, it failed. Or I failed myself more likely. Because no matter how I long to enjoy these stories, they seem to always dismiss the writing and the fantasy elements in detriment of an overly sexual narrative. And that's why I mostly blame the RH genre and not the author: it's in its nature to be like this.
This is a fae story. I didn't know that. You'll come to realize I didn't know a lot of things, actually, since I didn't read the synopsis previously. All I've seen was that this was a slow burn story in which the FMC stays in disguise for a very long time throughout the books. From that briefly summary, it seemed like the perfect recipe! No one is more sad than me that it didn't work...
Here are my overall negative critics:
● Writing: repetitive; some grammatical errors; overall shallow; "Swell" was used too many times to mean "Great" sarcastically (annoyed me)
● The FMC:
I thought she was going to be more interesting at first. She isn't. Worse! She's DUMB. D-U-M-B.
This might overlap with the writing criticism but what do you mean that: she sees that in the "Garden" she looks like a fae -> she realizes that the place "Garden" isn't a dream -> goes on questioning what this "Garden" place is -> the fae tell her that it is a place where faes manifest. Hence, only faes can enter it. They make that abundantly clear... Please tell me why this dumbass doesn't connect the dots that she's clearly a fae...? The thought doesn't even CROSS her mind. I'm done. She also has no personality or whatsoever.
● Romance over everything else:
Over writing, over worldbuilding, over characterization... Authors should realize that to build a good romance, you should prioritize the other things first and foremost. Then, you can craft the romance. I promise you, readers will love the romance much more once ALL is well executed.
● Steamy scenes:
Not my cup of tea. Especially because this was supposed to be a slow burn. ALTHOUGH, I must say, that it was only one (that dragged out), and it wasn't in the context of her in the disguise. I'll talk a bit more on the positive points.
● Plot:
WHAT PLOT???????? I could describe this book in three sentences: FMC goes to the Black Tower; FMC goes into the "Garden" fae while 'sleeping' [insert steamy scene]; FMC has a prowess evaluation. That is ALL that happens, guys. It is so uneventful that is laughable. Sure it's supposed to be character driven, but I've never read a book where the plot is as nonexistent as this one!!! LOL.
The pros to end on a good note:
○ Fast and entertaining read:
Look. If it ain't gonna be a good book, then make it not boring. And it wasn't. It had a good pace, and I read it in a day. That's how I want my trashy books to be.
○ MMCs:
I actually didn't hate the male love interests, and there are 4 of them..! This book feels like a brief introduction to them. I'm impressed that no one was abusive or intentionally violent towards the FMC, that's new...
I'm also interested in their relationship with each other: Talon and Rider are said to have a history together; Quill and Talon are kinda together too (which was only introduced late in the book and it felt kinda ?huh?? but whatever, again, the writing is the problem). I also found it cute how Talon cared for the FMC when she's in disguise (and he believes that she's just a random boy) that is kinda being bullied by the other guards. It was sweet.
Another thing that I found somewhat interesting was: since the reader already knows that they will obviously be her mates, but they aren't aware that she's a girl in disguise, the mating bond is manifesting differently for each of them towards her. They obviously don't realize it's that, but we do. Talon low-key has to chill a bit though...
○ Secret identity trope:
FMC is dumb. She is. I don't know how, with such a small amount of grey cells, she was able to keep the disguise throughout the whole book, but she did! And that's a win in my book. Usually, the reveal is made too soon, just so the romance can be rushed in. Boring.
That's why, although I disliked that steamy scene, I didn't mind how it was done: essentially our FMC is disguising as a boy in the "real world" in the guard, but in this "Garden" place she doesn't need to hide what she is: a woman... a fae one at that (although her stupid ass doesn't realize that yet)! And the stupid MMCs also can't connect the dots. I'm not sure if it's because they're just as dumb, if they're not expecting it, or if she looks different in her fae form from her human one. So because everyone is stupid, I'm guessing it will draggggggg out. Which is good.
-
1☆ because there are too many things that should've been edited in this book. I could've enjoyed it a lot more, as I really liked the trope implemented, and brushed off some negative stuff more easily, if it were. As it is, I can't. Nope.
The question now is: will I read the other ones? I don't know. The reason I read this was because I was stressed out with college work and needed junk food for the brain. So maybe next exam season I'll be here again..!
November 29, 2024
Nothing happened. Felt like one big prologue.it should have been longer to flesh out the story.
March 17, 2026
The only reason I gave this book 4, rather than 5, stars is because the pacing is a bit slow. It took a bit for me to get captivated by the story, but once I was, I was HOOKED! I think the reason for the slow pacing is all the time the author spent on world and character building. While it was a lot, it really set the stage and I could almost feel myself there.
Our heroine, Sage, is living an abusive nightmare. when her father died, her mother married and man who turned out to be an utter asshole. Once her mother died, his true colors really came out and he pretty much beats and starves Sage and her younger brother, Sawyer. You can read the blurb for the rest of the storyline, I want to get to the characters!!
Sage She's pragmatic, smart, and brave - even if she doesn't think so. she's learned to make herself small and do whatever it takes to avoid her stepfather. Now the story takes a "mulan-ish" turn when Sawyer is conscripted to the Black Tower. these warriors are positioned to fight back the "darkness" that nearly overwhelmed both fae and human kingdoms alike. So now, there's a lottery so human and fae men are "drafted" into service. The catch? Once they're drafted, they can never leave. She takes her brother's place and is now trying to pass as a man.
Quill The first fae she has ever met and she has a hard time taking her eyes off him - well, we all know how gorgeous the fae are - so I can't fault her there. I don't doubt for a second that he will be one of the men in her "harem." He's got a pretty gentle demeanor, especially compared to the other commanders at the Tower.
Rider Fae. He heads up the Tower and takes his responsibilities very seriously. In fact, he's pretty rough, but he still looks out for all the men in his command. I actually liked him a lot. He will end up being the second man in her harem.
Talon Fae. Oooh, this man is so sexy. Of course, the first time she sees him is in the bath house. she's on the hunt for soap and towels so she can clean herself up in her room. So he gets out of the pool in all his beautiful glory and she's mesmerized. He sees this and assumes that he is fae touched (fae touched are humans that have a touch of magic, OR a gay man). We find out that Talon has some type of dark shadow in him that makes him irresistible to hum and fae alike. The problem is that it also makes him want to have sex. Like nearly all the time. Fae, human, man, woman, it doesn't matter. That part made me feel bad for him because how can he form a true bond with anyone? His "shadow" also siphons energy from his sexual partners so he has to be careful who he sleeps with and how often. Obviously, he's the third man in her harem.
Ash This guy is a bit of a mystery. He's not in this book very much. Indeed, he only has 1 chapter, but it provides a lot of insight. Apparently something happened in his past that left half his face, shoulder and torso scarred. He's desperate for a mate, specifically a fae woman, but he knows it will never happen due to his disfigurement. It looks like he will probably be joining the harem, but I'm not 100% sure yet. But his encounter with Sage in "The Garden" was steamy. Even though he only had a single chapter, I could f e e l his emotions and longing for a connection, a soul bond, that he feels will never happen for him. *cries*
The Garden - it seems to be a "dream" plane where fae can meet. Sage somehow ends up there and watches a woman (who happens to be Rider's sister) have sex with her 4 lovers and she is mesmerized. So when she hears a soft, crooning "like what you see?" in her ear, she is so hot and bothered . . . and so was I!! They have a brief little Tête-à-tête that made me intrigued with him. Ok, not as much as Talon, but I thought this encounter was incredibly sexy particularly because he had her facing a wall, while he was behind her so she never saw his face.
So, my verdict . . . Did I love the book? Yep. Am I going to continue with Books 2? Also Yes. It's been a while since I've read a Fae romance book so this was a nice departure from tons of wolf shifter romances I have been reading lately.
Our heroine, Sage, is living an abusive nightmare. when her father died, her mother married and man who turned out to be an utter asshole. Once her mother died, his true colors really came out and he pretty much beats and starves Sage and her younger brother, Sawyer. You can read the blurb for the rest of the storyline, I want to get to the characters!!
Sage She's pragmatic, smart, and brave - even if she doesn't think so. she's learned to make herself small and do whatever it takes to avoid her stepfather. Now the story takes a "mulan-ish" turn when Sawyer is conscripted to the Black Tower. these warriors are positioned to fight back the "darkness" that nearly overwhelmed both fae and human kingdoms alike. So now, there's a lottery so human and fae men are "drafted" into service. The catch? Once they're drafted, they can never leave. She takes her brother's place and is now trying to pass as a man.
Quill The first fae she has ever met and she has a hard time taking her eyes off him - well, we all know how gorgeous the fae are - so I can't fault her there. I don't doubt for a second that he will be one of the men in her "harem." He's got a pretty gentle demeanor, especially compared to the other commanders at the Tower.
Rider Fae. He heads up the Tower and takes his responsibilities very seriously. In fact, he's pretty rough, but he still looks out for all the men in his command. I actually liked him a lot. He will end up being the second man in her harem.
Talon Fae. Oooh, this man is so sexy. Of course, the first time she sees him is in the bath house. she's on the hunt for soap and towels so she can clean herself up in her room. So he gets out of the pool in all his beautiful glory and she's mesmerized. He sees this and assumes that he is fae touched (fae touched are humans that have a touch of magic, OR a gay man). We find out that Talon has some type of dark shadow in him that makes him irresistible to hum and fae alike. The problem is that it also makes him want to have sex. Like nearly all the time. Fae, human, man, woman, it doesn't matter. That part made me feel bad for him because how can he form a true bond with anyone? His "shadow" also siphons energy from his sexual partners so he has to be careful who he sleeps with and how often. Obviously, he's the third man in her harem.
Ash This guy is a bit of a mystery. He's not in this book very much. Indeed, he only has 1 chapter, but it provides a lot of insight. Apparently something happened in his past that left half his face, shoulder and torso scarred. He's desperate for a mate, specifically a fae woman, but he knows it will never happen due to his disfigurement. It looks like he will probably be joining the harem, but I'm not 100% sure yet. But his encounter with Sage in "The Garden" was steamy. Even though he only had a single chapter, I could f e e l his emotions and longing for a connection, a soul bond, that he feels will never happen for him. *cries*
The Garden - it seems to be a "dream" plane where fae can meet. Sage somehow ends up there and watches a woman (who happens to be Rider's sister) have sex with her 4 lovers and she is mesmerized. So when she hears a soft, crooning "like what you see?" in her ear, she is so hot and bothered . . . and so was I!! They have a brief little Tête-à-tête that made me intrigued with him. Ok, not as much as Talon, but I thought this encounter was incredibly sexy particularly because he had her facing a wall, while he was behind her so she never saw his face.
So, my verdict . . . Did I love the book? Yep. Am I going to continue with Books 2? Also Yes. It's been a while since I've read a Fae romance book so this was a nice departure from tons of wolf shifter romances I have been reading lately.
January 2, 2025
This could've easily been a 5 star read, closer to a 4.5 but rating as a 4.
The summary gives hints that we'd be getting a story of mainly a girl pretending to be a boy, to save her brother, and her trials and tribulations as a novice in the Black Tower. And having to deal with sexy fae men who may or may not be her fated mates/lovers. With the fact that she had magical abilities mentioned, and this being considered a fantasy, my brain immediately though there was going to be an overworld plot going on, especially at 300+ pages.
It takes until Chapter 25 (out of 38) before she arrives at the tower. And then after that, just a little more than 24 hours go by before we get to a cliffhanger like ending that reads like a chapter end than a book end.
The thing is, I really loved every single word written. I can't be like "this could've been edited down or lose 100 pages easily" because I appreciated all the thoughts and details we got from Sage, and the few times we get to see in the other men's heads. But nothing happens than just a lot of world set up, and we don't even get answers to everything. The pacing is extremely slow.
So this is a very complicated review that again I can see why people give it five stars, but also it kind of does a disservice to itself. I feel like this trilogy (with the third part coming out in April) was originally one huge manuscript that got sliced up, cause who wants to read a 900 page smutty book where nothing happens? (Me. I'm that person. Especially when the smut is great, the characters are beyond excellent and we have normalized queerness in at least one realm). It should've been then edited to give a proper beginning, middle, and end to each part.
But gods... I do love this book. I love the angst, the juxtaposition of Sage's world view of what it's like to be a human woman compared to what it's like to be a fae woman, and also despite all the shittiness of pretending to be here brother in a place that hates the kind of person they think he is, she still has all the freedom. This is also not a virginal girl (though sort of in some ways), and she takes what she wants when she feels safe to do so, with consent of course. I love that. It's as much of a romance as it is a smut book, and doesn't shy away from either.
And then the men we get introduced to. They all have vary distinct personalities and backstories and how they treat Sage is so fascinating. I almost wish we had more chapters (yes I know) with their perspectives. There's such a nice slow burn, and the fact that some of the men are in love with each other too? *chef's kiss*
The worldbuilding about why the Fae realm is the way it is, by acknowledging different forms of love was fantastic. We also get hints on the magic, and how other human kingdoms view the draft. Also, as this is fated mates, the way it's done... It's so good. It's not just instalove/insta sex. It's not just simply accepting it at "mated at first sight" as there has to be approvals and consent. And Sage's reasonings for not wanting to be bonded/mated makes absolute sense.
I want more of this world, of these people. I hope we get more of that after this "trilogy" is done. If any of this sounds interesting, please check it out, just know that you won't be satisfied until the entire series is out and done with. But luckily we won't have to wait too long.
As for the cover... I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy trend of just using random dramatic objects and fabrics, especially when it's a romance... However, I'll take that any day over AI art. The purple is gorgeous, and the sword is too. But the title and the artwork really doesn't fit with what we get in this book. Still, an attention grabber~!
The summary gives hints that we'd be getting a story of mainly a girl pretending to be a boy, to save her brother, and her trials and tribulations as a novice in the Black Tower. And having to deal with sexy fae men who may or may not be her fated mates/lovers. With the fact that she had magical abilities mentioned, and this being considered a fantasy, my brain immediately though there was going to be an overworld plot going on, especially at 300+ pages.
It takes until Chapter 25 (out of 38) before she arrives at the tower. And then after that, just a little more than 24 hours go by before we get to a cliffhanger like ending that reads like a chapter end than a book end.
The thing is, I really loved every single word written. I can't be like "this could've been edited down or lose 100 pages easily" because I appreciated all the thoughts and details we got from Sage, and the few times we get to see in the other men's heads. But nothing happens than just a lot of world set up, and we don't even get answers to everything. The pacing is extremely slow.
So this is a very complicated review that again I can see why people give it five stars, but also it kind of does a disservice to itself. I feel like this trilogy (with the third part coming out in April) was originally one huge manuscript that got sliced up, cause who wants to read a 900 page smutty book where nothing happens? (Me. I'm that person. Especially when the smut is great, the characters are beyond excellent and we have normalized queerness in at least one realm). It should've been then edited to give a proper beginning, middle, and end to each part.
But gods... I do love this book. I love the angst, the juxtaposition of Sage's world view of what it's like to be a human woman compared to what it's like to be a fae woman, and also despite all the shittiness of pretending to be here brother in a place that hates the kind of person they think he is, she still has all the freedom. This is also not a virginal girl (though sort of in some ways), and she takes what she wants when she feels safe to do so, with consent of course. I love that. It's as much of a romance as it is a smut book, and doesn't shy away from either.
And then the men we get introduced to. They all have vary distinct personalities and backstories and how they treat Sage is so fascinating. I almost wish we had more chapters (yes I know) with their perspectives. There's such a nice slow burn, and the fact that some of the men are in love with each other too? *chef's kiss*
The worldbuilding about why the Fae realm is the way it is, by acknowledging different forms of love was fantastic. We also get hints on the magic, and how other human kingdoms view the draft. Also, as this is fated mates, the way it's done... It's so good. It's not just instalove/insta sex. It's not just simply accepting it at "mated at first sight" as there has to be approvals and consent. And Sage's reasonings for not wanting to be bonded/mated makes absolute sense.
I want more of this world, of these people. I hope we get more of that after this "trilogy" is done. If any of this sounds interesting, please check it out, just know that you won't be satisfied until the entire series is out and done with. But luckily we won't have to wait too long.
As for the cover... I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy trend of just using random dramatic objects and fabrics, especially when it's a romance... However, I'll take that any day over AI art. The purple is gorgeous, and the sword is too. But the title and the artwork really doesn't fit with what we get in this book. Still, an attention grabber~!
January 15, 2025
What in the Wattpad did I read? Seriously 300 pages with very little structure, bones or plot. I liked the premise of this story but the execution was just bad. The main characters inner monolog rambled on and on and on over the same things. The repitition got on my nerves. Not to mention how many times her body, her breath, her essence stuttered. Apparently she's a stuttering fool...and what the heck is her essence. It's repeated so many times. It made my essence do this, feel that...like what?
When the inner repetive monologuing wasn't getting on my nerves, it was just cringe. Sage spend countless hours talking about how she has to pretend to be a man...and yet barely dies anything to change or act like a man and yet all these men and fae don't seem to notice...really?
Then there's the chapter breaks...the placement is weird. Chapters are usually a break in a scene or to change pov but these just roll on continuously. Picking right up where the other left off. Like...why was that chapter ended there? There's no big thought to make us think about something, no pause to give us a breath between scenes. It's like the author was like...yea I need chapters so I'm going to throw random darts at pages and put them right here and keep on rolling with the same scene and conversation.
The pots were the same. The few looks into another characters pov didn't sound like a different character, they all thought and directed and inner monologuing the same way Sage did, making it seem like none of the characters are fully fleshed out.
But the story itself doesn't seem fleshed out either. Several times they refer to a goddess, then a father, then a shadow, as if these are dieties, but there's no explanation on thier religious system. There's this weird spiritual garden thing thrown in at Random where all far basically have origins, and stuff, and it's obvious all these fae men are Sages mates even though she's not a fae. So I suppose it's trying to lead up to revealing oh look at that she's not a human even though everyone thinks she is. And the sex scene she watched was a little cringe. Mostly because her thoughts and inner monologuing distracted from the scene, and it was like she was trying to sound innocent and inexperienced but failing at it and knew she was so she was trying to cover it with excuses, like oh yea it's cause Talons fae magic, and this why my fantasy is like this. Very cringe.
Reading this made my essence stutter...😒
And then the book ends on a cliff hanger. At least it continues with the same plot, but honestly it's not that much of a surprise.
I'm so mad at how highly rated this book was. I for sure thought it was going to be better than this, but it's really not worth how many stars it's given. Normally goodreads ratings aren't that far off the mark, but reading through the other ratings I'm wondering if we read the same book, it sure doesn't sound like it.
When the inner repetive monologuing wasn't getting on my nerves, it was just cringe. Sage spend countless hours talking about how she has to pretend to be a man...and yet barely dies anything to change or act like a man and yet all these men and fae don't seem to notice...really?
Then there's the chapter breaks...the placement is weird. Chapters are usually a break in a scene or to change pov but these just roll on continuously. Picking right up where the other left off. Like...why was that chapter ended there? There's no big thought to make us think about something, no pause to give us a breath between scenes. It's like the author was like...yea I need chapters so I'm going to throw random darts at pages and put them right here and keep on rolling with the same scene and conversation.
The pots were the same. The few looks into another characters pov didn't sound like a different character, they all thought and directed and inner monologuing the same way Sage did, making it seem like none of the characters are fully fleshed out.
But the story itself doesn't seem fleshed out either. Several times they refer to a goddess, then a father, then a shadow, as if these are dieties, but there's no explanation on thier religious system. There's this weird spiritual garden thing thrown in at Random where all far basically have origins, and stuff, and it's obvious all these fae men are Sages mates even though she's not a fae. So I suppose it's trying to lead up to revealing oh look at that she's not a human even though everyone thinks she is. And the sex scene she watched was a little cringe. Mostly because her thoughts and inner monologuing distracted from the scene, and it was like she was trying to sound innocent and inexperienced but failing at it and knew she was so she was trying to cover it with excuses, like oh yea it's cause Talons fae magic, and this why my fantasy is like this. Very cringe.
Reading this made my essence stutter...😒
And then the book ends on a cliff hanger. At least it continues with the same plot, but honestly it's not that much of a surprise.
I'm so mad at how highly rated this book was. I for sure thought it was going to be better than this, but it's really not worth how many stars it's given. Normally goodreads ratings aren't that far off the mark, but reading through the other ratings I'm wondering if we read the same book, it sure doesn't sound like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2025
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Wow. Can our female lead keep her eye on the target rather than on the eye candy?
Nope. Not at all.
I should have guessed what I was walking into with this one, but I figured it would be more drooling than loaded with nudity, sexual thoughts, actual sex in both the real and the dream world tossed in around a plot of a girl, Sage, who disguised herself as her brother, Sawyer, and takes his spot serving the Black Tower as one of its new human recruits (chosen via lottery). The reason? Sage has premonitions from time-to-time, but upon fae Lord Quill’s arrival to her family’s home, Sage has a vision of her brother’s dead body and realizes Sawyer will die within days of reaching the Black Tower.
Of course it’s only natural for a woman pretending to be a man spending most of her time fighting her attraction (or fantasizing over it) to four different fae even though they all think she’s a prepubescent young man. No problem, because it turns out that in the tower where there are no women allowed, boy on boy is totally acceptable, so now the tower recruits believe she’s a boy currying favor from their leadership.
Geez.
Of course this leads to hostile and bullying behavior from a lot of the tower’s residents.
And the men she wants fill her dreams in a fae garden of sex and attraction, and her days with hard training to where she’s about to drop from pain and exhaustion. Not to mention she is still recovering from the cracked ribs and deep bruising down her torso from her abusive stepfather before she ran away to the tower. Talk about a deck stacked against her favor.
If only the boys who are attracted to her in the “dream” (nope, the fae garden is totally real) realized that she is the very same boy they are putting through training hell during the day. Boy would that change their attitudes fast… and land her either in chains or her head on the chopping block.
The main male characters are immensely likable- heck, even some of the secondaries are (Kit and his crew), but it’s the men who really carry the weight here. Yes, our female lead is stubborn and refuses to break. She is tough and determined and will not back down… but she spends far too much time thinking with her tingly bits instead of focusing on the matter at hand.
It’s our four leads- Ash (a spy who is pretending to be one of the new recruits, but in the garden is Sage’s lover), Talon (Captain of the Gold Tower and the hottest fae whose talents include creating lust in others), Rider (Captain of the Dark Tower who lost his first love and isn’t looking for another) and Quill (Captain of the White Tower, who is a fae without magic, thus he is doomed to never fulfill his wish to find a mate to have a family with) who keep you moving forward with the story, as there is a backstory building of political authority corruption that is in motion, along with the mystery of why there are more and more shadow beasts showing up if the Shadow Gate has been firmly closed for eons.
Too bad Sage’s new vision has revealed that instead of Sawyer’s death it is now she who is destined to die at the foot of the Shadow Gate.
So far I’m conflicted with either following the story or not, but am going to move ahead anyway- I guess you’ll have to look for the next book’s review to see if I made it through or not.
Wow. Can our female lead keep her eye on the target rather than on the eye candy?
Nope. Not at all.
I should have guessed what I was walking into with this one, but I figured it would be more drooling than loaded with nudity, sexual thoughts, actual sex in both the real and the dream world tossed in around a plot of a girl, Sage, who disguised herself as her brother, Sawyer, and takes his spot serving the Black Tower as one of its new human recruits (chosen via lottery). The reason? Sage has premonitions from time-to-time, but upon fae Lord Quill’s arrival to her family’s home, Sage has a vision of her brother’s dead body and realizes Sawyer will die within days of reaching the Black Tower.
Of course it’s only natural for a woman pretending to be a man spending most of her time fighting her attraction (or fantasizing over it) to four different fae even though they all think she’s a prepubescent young man. No problem, because it turns out that in the tower where there are no women allowed, boy on boy is totally acceptable, so now the tower recruits believe she’s a boy currying favor from their leadership.
Geez.
Of course this leads to hostile and bullying behavior from a lot of the tower’s residents.
And the men she wants fill her dreams in a fae garden of sex and attraction, and her days with hard training to where she’s about to drop from pain and exhaustion. Not to mention she is still recovering from the cracked ribs and deep bruising down her torso from her abusive stepfather before she ran away to the tower. Talk about a deck stacked against her favor.
If only the boys who are attracted to her in the “dream” (nope, the fae garden is totally real) realized that she is the very same boy they are putting through training hell during the day. Boy would that change their attitudes fast… and land her either in chains or her head on the chopping block.
The main male characters are immensely likable- heck, even some of the secondaries are (Kit and his crew), but it’s the men who really carry the weight here. Yes, our female lead is stubborn and refuses to break. She is tough and determined and will not back down… but she spends far too much time thinking with her tingly bits instead of focusing on the matter at hand.
It’s our four leads- Ash (a spy who is pretending to be one of the new recruits, but in the garden is Sage’s lover), Talon (Captain of the Gold Tower and the hottest fae whose talents include creating lust in others), Rider (Captain of the Dark Tower who lost his first love and isn’t looking for another) and Quill (Captain of the White Tower, who is a fae without magic, thus he is doomed to never fulfill his wish to find a mate to have a family with) who keep you moving forward with the story, as there is a backstory building of political authority corruption that is in motion, along with the mystery of why there are more and more shadow beasts showing up if the Shadow Gate has been firmly closed for eons.
Too bad Sage’s new vision has revealed that instead of Sawyer’s death it is now she who is destined to die at the foot of the Shadow Gate.
So far I’m conflicted with either following the story or not, but am going to move ahead anyway- I guess you’ll have to look for the next book’s review to see if I made it through or not.
August 18, 2025
Caveat:
4 stars if you can overlook the pedophilia that is not pedophilia but sure feels like pedophilia.
FL (20 yrs old) pretends to be her brother (15 yrs old) who everyone believes to be barely 16 years old, which is the age of maturity in this story. Mind you, many characters suspect that FL, posing as her brother, is less than 16. For the sake of my sanity, I am mentally aging her fake age up to closer to 20. I don’t care that this is fiction; people like to say that even historically people used to marry earlier than they do now so we just need to put aside our modern, real-world mindsets, but that’s not really a valid argument here. The romantic leads often think of her and refer to her (posing as her brother) as a “child” and they’re not entirely convinced that she’s hit the age of maturity, so, no, even by their standards, their sexual feelings towards her are not okay. Even if there weren’t any reason to suspect that she, as her brother, was in fact below the age of 16, this would still seem weird. The romantic leads are decades and decades older than her real age, and it says something about them that they mentally and sexually connect with someone they would think has all the mental maturity of a 16 year old (and that’s not even getting into the potential grooming aspect). My sanity requires them to think of her (posing as her brother) as a scrawny albeit mentally mature 20 year old, and her (as herself) as a 20+ shy yet completely age-appropriate adult.
Side note: I’m also rather annoyed that the 2 MLs who are at least semi-sexually attracted to her when she is posing as her brother are the two most solidly queer MLs of the group. This feeds a false notion that a certain group of people like to push who cant see the difference between being queer and a pedo. One of them straight up just cant help his sexual attraction because of the demon (here, shadow) inside him, which is the exact argument pedos use. The other is only sort of attracted to FL as her brother because he sees visions of the real her when he looks at fake her. It crossed a line, though, when he considered offering to help her get off, tho, cuz there he was really thinking of her as her brother, and trying to deny his visions of her as herself in that consideration. Even if we were to ignore that particular incident, tho, I mean, really? I guess I can go hump Stacy so long as I think of her as her mom, and that will be the story I’m sticking to, judge, right?? No. Not right. And it’s really doing a disservice to the queer community when the two ML characters who most distinctly identify as queer are the most pedo in this situation
4 stars if you can overlook the pedophilia that is not pedophilia but sure feels like pedophilia.
FL (20 yrs old) pretends to be her brother (15 yrs old) who everyone believes to be barely 16 years old, which is the age of maturity in this story. Mind you, many characters suspect that FL, posing as her brother, is less than 16. For the sake of my sanity, I am mentally aging her fake age up to closer to 20. I don’t care that this is fiction; people like to say that even historically people used to marry earlier than they do now so we just need to put aside our modern, real-world mindsets, but that’s not really a valid argument here. The romantic leads often think of her and refer to her (posing as her brother) as a “child” and they’re not entirely convinced that she’s hit the age of maturity, so, no, even by their standards, their sexual feelings towards her are not okay. Even if there weren’t any reason to suspect that she, as her brother, was in fact below the age of 16, this would still seem weird. The romantic leads are decades and decades older than her real age, and it says something about them that they mentally and sexually connect with someone they would think has all the mental maturity of a 16 year old (and that’s not even getting into the potential grooming aspect). My sanity requires them to think of her (posing as her brother) as a scrawny albeit mentally mature 20 year old, and her (as herself) as a 20+ shy yet completely age-appropriate adult.
Side note: I’m also rather annoyed that the 2 MLs who are at least semi-sexually attracted to her when she is posing as her brother are the two most solidly queer MLs of the group. This feeds a false notion that a certain group of people like to push who cant see the difference between being queer and a pedo. One of them straight up just cant help his sexual attraction because of the demon (here, shadow) inside him, which is the exact argument pedos use. The other is only sort of attracted to FL as her brother because he sees visions of the real her when he looks at fake her. It crossed a line, though, when he considered offering to help her get off, tho, cuz there he was really thinking of her as her brother, and trying to deny his visions of her as herself in that consideration. Even if we were to ignore that particular incident, tho, I mean, really? I guess I can go hump Stacy so long as I think of her as her mom, and that will be the story I’m sticking to, judge, right?? No. Not right. And it’s really doing a disservice to the queer community when the two ML characters who most distinctly identify as queer are the most pedo in this situation
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2025
🌶️🌶️/5
This book is so bland and forgettable. Honestly, I’m disappointed in myself for finishing it. The writing is rough. It’s not even that long of a book, but it took me four days to get through it because it’s just not engaging at all. I kept finding other things to do rather than pick it back up.
There’s barely any world-building. The plot? Nothing new. And the author doesn’t even try to put a fresh spin on anything. A story like this, I’d usually knock out in a day, but wow, this one dragged.
Also, authors really need to stop throwing magical creatures into their books just because they want the aesthetic. If you’re not going to actually make them real magical or fantastical, what’s the point? The fae in this book exist only to be hot and pretty. There’s nothing about them that really sets them apart from humans besides their huge size and pointy ears. Half of them don’t even have magic. What’s the point of calling them fae?
The main character is incredibly cringey and painfully bland, probably so readers can easily self-insert. Her entire personality boils down to:
1) traumatized and demure (the word 'demure' used at least 7 times)
2) super tiny so everyone thinks she’s a boy
3) self-sacrificing andwants don't want pity
4) constantly horny.
That’s it. That’s the character.
The author repeats information so much that I honestly felt like I was being talked down to. Like yes, I remember you said that already. We don’t need to be reminded in almost every single chapter about:
1. How weak her brother is
2. How she’s secretly a better warrior
3. How she’s only pretending until her brother can escape
4. How everyone sucks and being a noble means nothing
5. How she a noblewoman won’t know what true love is
6. How her first time was bad and how inexperienced she is
7. How she’s meek but somehow trained to be a secret warrior
8. Please remember how incredibly petite she is
The entire book only takes place over two days, which just makes everything feel even more rushed and fake, especially the relationships. Her “magical skill” are barely fleshed out, and overall she just feels like a meek Mary Sue.
Honestly, how does this book have such a high rating? I don’t get it.
This book is so bland and forgettable. Honestly, I’m disappointed in myself for finishing it. The writing is rough. It’s not even that long of a book, but it took me four days to get through it because it’s just not engaging at all. I kept finding other things to do rather than pick it back up.
There’s barely any world-building. The plot? Nothing new. And the author doesn’t even try to put a fresh spin on anything. A story like this, I’d usually knock out in a day, but wow, this one dragged.
Also, authors really need to stop throwing magical creatures into their books just because they want the aesthetic. If you’re not going to actually make them real magical or fantastical, what’s the point? The fae in this book exist only to be hot and pretty. There’s nothing about them that really sets them apart from humans besides their huge size and pointy ears. Half of them don’t even have magic. What’s the point of calling them fae?
The main character is incredibly cringey and painfully bland, probably so readers can easily self-insert. Her entire personality boils down to:
1) traumatized and demure (the word 'demure' used at least 7 times)
2) super tiny so everyone thinks she’s a boy
3) self-sacrificing and
4) constantly horny.
That’s it. That’s the character.
The author repeats information so much that I honestly felt like I was being talked down to. Like yes, I remember you said that already. We don’t need to be reminded in almost every single chapter about:
1. How weak her brother is
2. How she’s secretly a better warrior
3. How she’s only pretending until her brother can escape
4. How everyone sucks and being a noble means nothing
5. How she a noblewoman won’t know what true love is
6. How her first time was bad and how inexperienced she is
7. How she’s meek but somehow trained to be a secret warrior
8. Please remember how incredibly petite she is
The entire book only takes place over two days, which just makes everything feel even more rushed and fake, especially the relationships. Her “magical skill” are barely fleshed out, and overall she just feels like a meek Mary Sue.
Honestly, how does this book have such a high rating? I don’t get it.
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