A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Deluxe Edition)

Stars and Shadows #2

by Holly Renee

My fate is bonded to two princes– one born of blood, the other of power— but my trust lies in neither.

My skin is cursed by the stars, my fate damned by desire.

But when the dark prince offers me a bargain that will save his people and my life, the cruel and intoxicating male gives me no choice.

Our union is his revenge, and I am his sacrifice.

His lies are unforgivable. His wicked touch still bathes me in sin.

He is my mate, and he is tortured by a curse to protect his people from his own family.

I could now see him for exactly who he was. So why can’t I get his alluring touch out of my head?

I am the key to saving his kingdom, but he alone has the power to ruin me.

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

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2022

About the author

✨USA Today Bestselling Author
🤠 Cowboy Casual out October 7th

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorhollyrenee/
Join my Reader Group, Hollywood: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HollyRenee


🩷🤠COWBOY ROMANCE🤠🩷

Cowboy Casual | Coming October 7th


✨🌙⚔️FANTASY ROMANCE⚔️🌙✨

The Veiled Kingdom Series

The Veiled Kingdom
The Hunted Heir
The Rivaled Crown

The Stars and Shadows Series
A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows
A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal
A Kingdom of Venom and Vows
A Kingdom of Fire and Fate


🖤🫦CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE🫦🖤

The Boys of Clermont Bay Series
The Touch of a Villain
The Fall of a God
The Taste of an Enemy
The Deceit of a Devil
The Seduction of Pretty Lies
The Temptation of Dirty Secrets

The Good Girls Series
Where Good Girls Go to Die
Where Bad Girls Go to Fall
Where Bad Boys are Ruined

The Rock Bottom Series
Trouble with the Guy Next Door
Trouble with the Hotshot Boss}
[book: Trouble with the Fake Boyfriend

The Wrong Prince Charming
The Wrong Prince Charming

Reviews

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

didnt enjoy this as much as the first book, but its still an entertaining enough sequel.

entertaining if you enjoy mindless romance. lol. because thats all this is. and i guess a little character development. but there isnt any plot progression until the very last chapter, which forces me to label this as filler.

that said, i did enjoy this. fantasy romances are my guilty pleasure and this hit the spot. its still not the most well-written, the characters are pretty cookie-cutter, and the plot predictable. but thats exactly what i want from these kind of stories. something where i can turn my brain off and just enjoy an angsty bond between two characters who think they are enemies. lol.

so the only thing to do is continue the series, i guess. 🙃

↠ 3 stars

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

If I had to read the word "mate" one more time I was going to poke my eyes out with a fork.

I liked the first book in this series but this fell flat. The fmc was so back and forth the first half of this story she drove me crazy to the point I was going to stop reading.

Not really sure how many books are going to be in this series but alot of this felt like filler and it is only book two.

Who knows if I'll continue.

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows is one of my favorite books of this year, so I've been practically salivating waiting for A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal to land on my Kindle. Now that I've read it, I'm like a fiend waiting for my next hit already! I adore Evren and Adara so much. I simply can't get enough of them!



I was ready for Adara to be epically pissed off after the betrayal that's discovered at end of the first installment, and I wasn't disappointed there. She's angry and doesn't want the bond she shares with Evren,...or at least, she keeps saying that. What I wasn’t prepared for was Evren leaving her in his kingdom so soon after they arrived. That being said, it does happen often in second books of fantasy series, so when it occurred, I was scared I was in for a near Evren free read. Thankfully, the author doesn't make us suffer for long, and this is not one of those stories where the hero is gone for the entire damn book.

While Evren's away, I enjoyed seeing Adara try to learn more about herself and the Starblessed and watching her train to fight and use her newfound magic. Thalia and Sorin, Evren's besties, take great care of Adara, and it's impossible not to fall in love with them while they do. I was happy to see the addition of these characters. Not only does it give Adara someone to help teach her and guide her in the blood kingdom, but it gives the story some added comic relief and fun while showing Adara once again the kind of person Evren truly is.



Speaking of Evren! Forget being a badass fighter and king, Evren's favorite thing in life seems to be tasting what's between Adara's legs. That man needs a Tshirt that says, "I love 😸" or something, because Adara was having the time of her life, y'all! I mean her life and love may be in danger, but her nether regions have never been in a better situation!



Watching this story unfold, I was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and drop it did! Right at the end of the fucking book of course, so now I'm going to be losing my mind waiting for the next one. Well played, Holly Renee! Well played!



Fantasy romance fans, this one's for you!

[monica ✨ romantasyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

5✨

Happy Pub Day! I was lucky enough to get an arc of this book and I absolutely loved it.

“𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙩, 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨.”
“𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”
“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙖. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨.”

♡ ♡ ♡

I immensely enjoyed book 1 of the Stars and Shadows series. But this book? Completely blew it away for me. ALSO THE CLIFFHANGER.

Adara’s fate has never been hers. After the events of book 1, she has found every single choice stripped away from her. But instead of letting it break her, Adara’s character development goes in the complete opposite direction. She is now one of my top favorite characters because she is SUCH a bad ass.

I thought I loved Evren in book 1. Jokes on me because he completely surpassed my expectations in this one. The mouth on this man. UGH!! I also love how he gave Adara her power back in her choices after the events in book 1. He is flawed, morally gray, and the best romantasy mmc I’ve read in a while.

In terms of plot and world building, we get SO MUCH MORE in this one. The world completely explodes, and the character editions?? I want more of Thalia. Healthy female friendship depictions in books make my heart so happy, and she’s easily a top favorite in the series now. I also loved Sorin sm. He’s such a flirt and had me giggling every time he was on the page.

This book has twists, spice, betrayals, tension, and oh so much angst. I absolutely ate this up. Thank you so much to Holly Renee for this arc!! It comes out on 11/2. If you’re on the fence about reading this series, this is your sign.

Read if you like:
🖤 forbidden love
🖤 court politics
🖤 fae and vampyres
🖤 angst
🖤 tension and spice

[Ketharini · Rating 2 out of 5]

My main issue with this book was that there was NO plot whatsoever. If there ever was, it was probably lost in Adara's inner monologue about her MATE and the number of sex scenes. I understand that she didn't want to be a pawn in this game between the kingdoms, but spending every waking hour battling your lust for your MATE isn't really helping anyone. I lost track of what her power is, why she is so important, and why Evren is damn crazy about her. Plus it's also really hard to overlook all the similarities to FBAA and ACOTAR. I'm afraid I won't be reading the next one.

[Lin_reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 70%

Personally, I dnf'ed for one reason only and that is annoying FMC. Like 70% of the book she hates him, but then he says one sexy thing and she is spread out like a buttercream on a Sunday bagel before him. After they do it, we have to hear 2 page monologue how annoyed she is at herself for having sex with him, girl, WHAT?!! like fucking make up your mind, I don't want to hear you having regrets after very good times. I does not feel good to read that AT ALL.

And this goes on and on and on and on and on, its like copy and pasted.

Book 1 was a 5⭐️ read so I am very much disappointed to the max.

[Rachel Rowell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have I become a fantasy romance snob? 😂

I didn’t enjoy this as much as I did book 1. It felt like a retread of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, right down to the minor plot points - but with less heart. The author even used the phrase, “a war of two queens” completely unironically 😂

There were sex scenes in abundance, but I just wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Adara and Evren - it was all telling us how strong their attraction was, but not actually showing us any meaningful foundation behind it. Enemies to lovers can be a difficult trope to pull off believably, and this book didn’t quite hit the mark.

Aaaaaand the ending was a straight up ripoff of the ending from A Court of Mist and Fury 🙄

Just for closure, I’ll probably read the next book when it comes out in March, but I’m not expecting to be blown away.

[AmyHeartsFiction · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like redundancy with a side of filler. I'm yours, but I won't marry you because choice, but I choose to be yours, but I don't know if I love you, but you're everything, but......over and over. I hate wishy-washy characters, and our heroine was a wishy-washy selfish confused character and I just held no love for her. It didn't match with the few selfless acts she's performed in the two books we've been given. I also kept falling asleep, so the book didn't really give me endorphins or churn my noggin. I knew what was going to happen, and it did. I'd recommend waiting until the next book comes out, because surprise....ends on a cliffhanger just like all the books I've read from this author.....

[Meghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me sum up this book for you: Adara is the most miserable character ever. It’s the same scene over and over again with different words. Adara: I hate you. Evren: you belong to me. *they have the same sex* Adara: I still hate you. Evren: you will always belong to me. *Adara storms out dramatically* repeat scene.

I like spicy books but I skipped over half this book because I was desperate for plot and I never got it.

Honestly, I hope Adara dies and Evren hooks up with Thalia.

Will NOT continue this series.

[Southern Lady Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me just start off by saying I have been WAITING for this book to come out since I eagerly devoured the first book in I think 6 hours.

A LITTLE RECAP: If you read the first book - you know we left the story with Evran saving Adara from her arranged marriage with Prince Gavriel (who in my head I liken to Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones? Same ninny energy ya know?). They've ventured through the forest towards the Blood Kingdom and after being surrounded by Queen Veda's men, we learn that Evran is actually the Blood Prince (Queen Veda's son! *Gasp* - I actually didn't see that one coming.) SO where does that leave their fated mates' relationship?

MUSINGS: A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal was an amazing 2nd installment to the Stars and Shadows series. I can't get enough of Evran and Adara's relationship and watching it grow from half-truths and attraction to something real! I've seen a few negative reviews of A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal because the plot isn't complex - and while I agree with that - I think the plot needed to be simple because this part of the series needed to be character driven? This book can be summed up in a few thoughts: When things finally seem like they might be going your way and you think you have things under control.. that's when true tragedy strikes.

In thinking about Evran's character... I think we all expected for Adara's character to have growth because the story is mostly told from her point of view? What I truly didn't expect was the way Evran's graceful gallantry, just like everything else he does, allowed for his story and character to unfold in a deliciously masculine and suave way. In my mind, I likened his character to the sexy bad guy, General Kirigan, from the Shadow and Bone show on Netflix? Imagine, if you will, Ben Barnes the actor from that show with the same energy.. but a morally grey good guy whos not completely narcissistic. **Chef's kiss, mon amie!** Everyone loves a dark and tortured MMC, but I found myself really enjoying his dealings with his people and even his mother/Queen Veda. Definitely book-boyfriend worthy!

ENDING THOUGHTS: Love a good cliffhanger, and A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal definitely delivers! It's like every time I turned around with this book, there was something more to love and something I didn't expect! Also - I REALLY didn't expect to love this series, and it's taken me a really long time to love a Kindle Unlimited fantasy romance of any kind. With being so picky - I can tell you that I absolutely adoreddddd this series and will read the next one! (Which also doesn't happen often!)

Favorite Quote: 'power lies in knowledge. Even if we aren't able to find the answer we seek, we may find the answer we don't know we need.'

🌶🌶🌶🌶/5 - This book is NOT young adult or even new adult IMO. Yes there are elements that many would classify thematically as new adult, but the s3x scenes are definitely adult! Some of the best smut I've read in a while actually that isn't trying to hard like RH stories or barring any weird k!nks ya know? As a married woman, I get bored with most smut because it reads like a bad p0rn opening, but the entire series is tastefully done!

Other Notes:
- Forbidden love \ triangle
- arranged marriage
- fated mates
- betrayal
- strong FMC
- dark Love interest
- fae/vampyres
**Available on Kindle Unlimited

[Poppy Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

thought this was better than the first! I do feel like the plot and excitement is a little bit lacking, and there is a lot of spice that overshadows it slightly but honestly, Evren is the main event here, I absolutely love him! The things that come out of his mouth 😮‍💨
Adara kinda annoys me, in two books her character hasn’t come on much, she still distrusts everyone without any real reason and rejects Evren for no reason in my opinion, but there’s still two books left so I’m sure that will come with her character
I wish there was more emphasis around the vampires & fae sometimes I forget I’m reading a fantasy, I think those elements could be developed but I am enjoying it!

[Kursed Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Destiny. Desire. Duty.

As his mate, Evren is compelled to ensure the safety of Adara. Even when that means deceiving her and suffering the consequences when she discovers his duplicity.

“You can hate me in the light all you want, but the truth of us comes out in the dark.”

Arriving in the Blood Kingdom brings a myriad unexpected emotions for the Starblessed, not to mention companions.

Just when the Prince and his Princess have formulated a strategy to ensure her safety and that of Evren’s people, an invitation arrives from Gavril that will unearth new revelations and present challenges that couldn’t have been predicted.

The angst in AKOBB is real. The steam is epic. The suspense is next-level. The cliffy is heartbreaking. All this said, do yourself a favor and dive in blind. You really need to immerse yourself in this magical world that Holly has created.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🤍
Heat: 🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 😩😊🥵🥺🤯
Ending: 🧗🏻‍♀️ {Cliffy}
POV: 🧍🏼‍♀️ {Single}

🗂 Genre: Fantasy Romance

✨ Tropes: Arranged Marriage, Enemies-to-Lovers, Fae, Fated Mate, Kidnap/Captive, Manipulation, MINE!, Royalty, Vampire

💋 Kinks: Dirty Talk

⚠️ Warning: This book may cause blushing, squirming, combusting panties, and/or self-care.

🚩 Safety Squad: n/a

📣 Type: A Kingdom of Blood & Betrayal is part of the Stars & Shadows series and ends on a cliffhanger. This series must be read in order.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.

[Sydney Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLLY U HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO

Full review:
This book was everything I was hoping and more. Holly’s fast paced writing keeps you engaged the entire time and never misses a beat. The SPICE in this book is unmatched. Evren truly can’t be beat. This book beautifully told Adara’s story as she discovers who she is and what (and who) she truly desires in life. Holly does a beautiful job at providing character development for each character, and I especially loved the stories of the new side characters in this book. I’m going to be thinking about that cliffhanger ending until book 3 releases in February. If you haven’t read A Kingdom of Stars and shadows and A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal, DO IT.

[rosa · Rating 2 out of 5]

i need evren to try speaking like a normal person

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder how many times they will have to say “I am yours!” or “You are mine!” and last but not least “I am your mate!!” before one of them starts believing it. Talk about being insecure in your relationship…

The story was still sort of enjoyable but very predictable and a lot more repetitive with the whole mine mine mine back and forth. And it felt like I was reading a mix between the From Blood and Ash series and the Throne of Glass series at times.

Let’s hope for the best for book 3…

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

“He growled against my sex before he began eating at my flesh with ferocity.”

Straight to jail.

[Mikky]

DNF At 28%

I'm sorry but after how AMAZING the first book was this one is sorely lacking. WTF was this 28% I read?!

The heroine has turned into the densest and most stupid version of a person possible. She keeps repeating that she wants to be free which is understandable but refuses to learn how to defend herself, how to use her magic to defend herself, and to keep herself surrounded by people that will help her. No. She just wants to be FREE. It's like she forgets that because of who she is and what she was born with she can't just fade into the background and live a simple life. The hero is all but handing her what she needs to not only survive but actually live and all she knows to do is scream at him that she wants to be FREE. Oh for FFS. She's also extremely against the hero's people on the sole basis that everyone ever told her they're evil and different than HER people, therefore, they must not be worth the dirt on her shoes.

I can't take this anymore. I'm actively avoiding reading because I don't want to finish this book. Life to too short to read books that are disappointing follow-ups to a book you loved.

[Romantasy Ruined Me Cherice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book two… it was alright. Honestly, not much happened compared to book one, which left us hanging with that huge cliffhanger. That’s why I’m giving this one three stars, the story didn’t really move forward much.

Tropes
✔️ Second chances
✔️ Fae romance
✔️ Fated Mates

I did enjoy the moments between Shadow Daddy Evren and Adara. 💜 Those scenes had my heart racing, even though I felt Adara gave in a little too quickly to the mate bond. That’s always tricky with mate tropes, it can feel like being under a spell. Your body can’t resist, you think about them constantly, and in some fantasies books you even share thoughts. I get it, but it can make things move a little fast.

To be honest, I think book one and book two could’ve just been one book. Book two could have been part two, or act two, instead of being split. At only 270 pages, this easily could’ve been combined into one story. If that had happened, I think it would have pushed the series higher and made it overall stronger. I don’t understand why editors don’t step in and say, “Hey, this would work better as one book instead of two.” I honestly believe everyone would’ve enjoyed it more that way.

As for the story itself, it felt slower and lighter on action than I hoped. I liked it, but would I tell someone to dive into the series based on this one alone? Meh, I think I need to finish the series to give a fair overall judgment.

💌Verdict: The cute moments between Evren and Adara got my heart racing. I wasn’t ruined, but I was sorta swooning. Holly, I’m begging please ruin me with book three. 🙏🔥

[Holly Early · Rating 1 out of 5]

Vampyres, Mates, and two rulers fighting over the same powerful female, oh my! This book was completely unoriginal and a total rip-off of other popular fantasy series. I had quickly noticed the predictability and similarities in book one, but hoped with book two the series would find its own footing and some measure of originality. Instead, it’s a poor retelling of From Blood and Ash (which is a weak series to begin with) mixed with major plot themes from A Court of Thorns and Roses. Throw in a few elements from Kingdom of the Wicked and The Plated Prisoner series and you have this book. The rip-off is so blatant that the author even has the heroine wearing a sexy black dress and sitting on the mate’s knee in a throne room, but Adara and Evren are no Feyre and Rhys. It was enough to make me roll my eyes at several points through the story. The writing is poor, and the characters one-dimensional. If the author spent more time developing characters and the world, and less time writing boring, repetitive smut scenes that do nothing to advance the plot, this might be a semi-decent series. Instead, it’s just another over-hyped bookstagram/booktok disappointment.

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

''I can be your secret sin if that's what you want''

Safety warnings:
- No cheating
- No OW/OM drama
- Violence/d*ath
- Mention of assault and torture
- Cliffhanger

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

This book focused more on the ins and outs of the Blood Court. We get some new character introductions and so many secrets are revealed.

Adara is still reeling from the betrayal she felt from Evren at the end of book 1. She is having a lot of issues with trusting him but these two have so much chemistry and love for each other that they cannot stay apart for too long. You can see Evren's absolute devotion to her and how much he is willing to give up for her protections.

I don't blame Adara for how she feels but I don't think it's fair to compare him and his brother though, Gavril is the absolute villain of the story and has no remorse for anything he does. He will do anything to gain the power and beat everyone in his way and we see it at the end of this book how far he will go to get Adara back.

Not a lot of plot occurs for most of this book, but it all comes crashing down during the last 15%.

Adara's father is alive and has been held in a cell as a prisoner for the last 20 years by the Fae Court and Gavril uses him as a bargaining chip to get her back and she agrees in order to save him and Evren as well. She is taken and they go back to the Fae Court.

It’s revealed that Evren was the one who captured her father 2 decades ago which is another secret he kept to himself however it was by the order of the Fae Court and he had no choice nor did he know what would happen to him after the fact.

We do find out more that Evren’s mother once loved the Fae king and was played/betrayed by him, but I honestly want more information, his presence in the first book was very little and obviously in book 2 we do not see him so we do not get more insight but I am hoping we do get some form of info in book 3.

I also wonder if Adara will tell her mother that her father is alive and if he will go back to her? I can’t imagine he would as she gladly handed over their daughter when all he ever did was try to protect her.

[Milica · Rating 3 out of 5]

ughh, i don't know, it's still 2.5⭐ but it somehow got worse?
"i hate him, but oh i want him so bad even tho i just met him 5 minutes ago" girl 🙄 you hate him, we get it! but that's not stopping you, it seems 🤦🏼‍♀️ at least my dude had some self respect (at first) unlike her💀
and the word hate was mentioned 62 times in all of 240 pages 👍🏼
i kept rolling my eyes, i was afraid they're gonna stay that way 💀 and the number of times i actually caught myself grimacing at this dumbass fmc, i just cannot with her 🤣
but continuing the series bc i'm too invested to see what happens next, i'm rooting for the villain at this point hahahah 🤣

[Kat valentine ( Katsbookcornerreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal was everything I love and need in a fantasy paranormal romance!!!! Holly Renee is a fantastic storyteller who weaves a beautiful and passionate tale with complexed characters and enough angst and steam to keep everyone satisfied. AKOBAB picks up with Adara and Evren on their way to the blood kingdom and the once passionate lovers are at odds. Adara feels betrayed by Evren and starts to shut herself down from him but no matter how hard she tries the mating pull and Evren's touch sets her on fire. And when he leaves her to return to the fae court her fear of the unknown and worry about him drives her mad ! All her life people have whispered about the blood thirsty vampyres of blood court but when she meets Evren's people she is amazed at how normal they are and how much he is loved. And when she meets the beautiful Thalia she sees feeding scars and thinks she's Evrens true star blessed but she comes to find out that she bears the scars of the vicious fae prince Gavril ! At first she sees the beautiful and strong Thalia as a rival to Evren's heart because she is a star blessed too but soon finds out that she was rescued by him and that she has a deep loyalty to him. While Evren's gone Thalia helps Adara to control her powers and get physically stronger so that she will never be powerless again and a true friendship grows. I loved this book so much!!! This couple has a chemistry that's off the charts and the sex is phenomenal too! Theirs plenty of twists and turns with political court intrigue and Waring of two very powerful courts lead by two powerful women and neither one is backing down. I love all these characters and the charming vampire rogue Sorin ,captain of the blood army and best friend to Evren is delicious!!!! But alas he has eyes only for the beautiful Thalia!! But damn he is fine!!! Evren still is number #1 but I wouldn't mind Sorin stepping in every now and then😂 Get ready for a climactic ending because Gavril shows up with a major surprise for Adara but she has a surprise in store for him too!!!!
And when he realizes what she's done shits gonna hit the fan and send him over the edge! Can't wait for book 3 A Kingdom of Venom and Vows out March 23 !!!!! Until next time Luv's💕💋

[Morgann Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't tell if I like this more or less than the first one.

Listen, the romance is good, but the fantasy is lacking!!! I don't need tons of world-building or tons of fight scenes, but I feel like I have zero connection to this world. I want MORE and I want to be able to visualize the world they live in, but I just can't. What do the fae look like? Are they different than the vampyres? How long has the world been around? Idk there is just so many questions and no answers.

As far as fantasy romance novels go, this isn't my favourite, but I am mildly addicted to this series. Each book is less than 300 pages so there truly isn't a dull moment. I just wish we had more going on. It isn't boring, but it is very repetitive. I feel like it's a continuous cycle of training to fight, denial of feelings, and then sex. Not the worst cycle, but I am craving more!!!

One aspect of this book that I loved was the small incorporation of a found family. I had low expectations of the Blood Court, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a rocky start, but I loved how Adara began to trust Evren's friends. I adored Thalia and Sorin ugghhhh!!

The ending in this book was much less predictable, thank god. You can still figure it out pretty quickly, but not until the very end. But jeez, Evren and Adara need to figure their shit out. Like, come onnnn. I wish we had different plot twists because their lack of communication is getting embarrassing at this point. Now we just gotta wait until March for the third book. I definitely won't be counting down the days, but I will probably still read it *if I remember*. I'm just hoping there are fewer spicy scenes OR they get more interesting cause I get deja vu reading them now.

3/5 stars :)

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM SO UNWELL

- updated review -

Now that I've had time to reflect on the trauma this book caused, I'm ready to write a review. As always, this will be spoiler free (but has AKOSAS spoilers)!

Holly Renee has done it again. I don't know what she does to these books to write such a fulfilling, fast paced story that grips my heart, but she does it over and over. We pick up right where AKOSAS left off and Adara has a lot to deal with. She's been lied to her entire life, her enemy is her mate, and she has powers. She has a lot to handle and learn - which she does while battling her feelings for Evren.

Evren is even more steamy and spicy this time around, which I don't even know how Holly managed that. But she did and Evren is now book boyfriend #1.

I am counting down the days until it's time for A Kingdom of Venom and Vows.

[Wanda C · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 30% because i could no longer hear this woman use the word “hate”. This man use the word “mate”, nor the author use the word “nub”. I can’t.

FMC is childish, her actions her dialogue everything. And I felt like the author was trying to write the MMC in a way that came off as possessive, but instead he was giving ✨clingy✨ and it was one of the most unattractive things I’ve ever experienced.

[Lynnzie (lynnziebooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn’t love this one as much as the first. I’m still going to continue the series (at least I think so) but I’m a little let down by this one.

The majority of this book was Adaras inner turmoil on being with Evern. I totally understand her feelings but it lasted too long for such a short book. It felt repetitive and I was bored with constantly seeing her say the same thing.

Honestly, this book kind of felt like filler. It seemed like the main reason was to get the two main characters together and secure in their relationship. The conflict was just too long, I wouldn’t have minded it as much if other things were going on alongside it.

I liked the new characters introduced, they added some positives to the book. They broke up the monotonous feeling of the book and I hope to see more of them in the future.

Also, if you hate when reading the word mate over and over again, I’d recommend not picking this up or go into it warned.

[Cassidy Chivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book (and book three) in one day. They are super quick and easy mostly cause book two is pretty much pure smut. It's enjoyable but I do wish we had more plot.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. I'm enjoying this series, but it's nothing special. It's your classic ACOTAR/FBAA copycat with all of the cookie-cutter tropes that BookTok eats up, all crammed together in 1 book. You know what I mean--the tropes that are now are found in every single romantasy book (i.e. one horse, one bed, touch her and die, mates, chosen one/hidden powers, training sequence, lots of smirking, etc.).

The real problem with this series for me is that it's solely focused on the romance aspect, which I normally love, and I did love in book 1, but I was just bored of it in this book. There's only so many times I can read "you're mine" and "my mate" without wanting to skip ahead.

The world-building is really weak and full of holes. I think that I am pretty generous when it comes to world-building because I read most romantasy books mostly for the romance with a side of fantasy, but this world-building is severely lacking and not fleshed out. For one thing, it still makes no sense that Evren's mom (aka the completely absent vampire queen) attacked them at the end of book 1. They've offered half-ass explanations that truly don't make any sense.

I'm also confused as to why Adara is so much more special than all of the other Starblessed. She's not the only Starblessed--in fact, there seems to be a lot of them. So why is Adara the chosen one in this situation that the princes are fighting over? It's never really explained. Is it just because her mark is big? Additionally, I don't understand what her power is. Is it just like, a whip of power that strikes people or is it darkness or is it some power that can apparently render people immobile/unable to move?

What has really bothered me throughout both books is that mating bonds/mates are never really explained in this world. Adara and Evren are abruptly declared mates, which is apparently extremely rare in this world and barely exist anymore, but I'm confused as to how they know they are mates. Like how do they know for sure? Did a mating bond snap into place and if so when? Unless I missed something, it seemed like one second they were just into each other and the next moment they're calling each other mates. Have they known the entire time? What does being mates do for them? Is no one curious as to how they're mates when mates are so rare? Can you be mates with vampyrs, fae, and/or humans? It's really skimmed over how they became mates and how they know for sure when it's apparently so rare, and the gaps in explanation were pretty glaring to me considering they said the word "mate" about 4 times every page.

Moving on. I was also confused about the marriage part. If everything hinges on who Adara marries, why didn't she and Evren get married ASAP when she finally agreed to his proposal? If it's sooo important that he marries her before Gavriel, why would they delay that? It made no sense to me. They're like, Gavriel will be here in a couple days, so let's go research in the library and then have sex 5 times before he gets here. Really? That's how we're going to spend our time when we're on a time crunch here?

Finally (and the following comments are NSFW 18+), while I thought that the spicy scenes in book 1 were fantastic, the spicy scenes in this were extremely repetitive. They always start with them frantically coming together making out, then he goes down on her, and then they have sex in a bunch of diff positions while he says the exact same dirty talk. Literally it felt like the same scene was copied and pasted 4 different times in this book. The dirty talk was verbatim word for word in every scene. I also hate the word "nub" to describe her clit--it made me think that she has an unnatural protrusion on her body, and I was like girl you should get that checked out (and it killed the vibe for me). In fact, I completely skipped the sex scene in chapter 19 because I was so bored of them and just trying to get to the plot action at the end.

Anyways, I still read this book in less than 24 hours. It's not a great book, but I love this kind of cheesy romantasy, and these books are super short, so I'll probably still read book 3. I'm just hoping it's not more of the same without any answers. This was a filler book. I'll still give it 3.5 to 4 stars because at the end of the day, I did enjoy it, but I clearly needed to vent in this review lol

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this one far more than the first. I think it had more to do with learning more about Evren and vampyres in general and how wrong the legends were that Adara grew up hearing. She took far too long to put her prejudice and ignorance aside for my taste. Honestly, I got really tired of her nonsense, but I lived for the moments I got to spend with Evren, Sorin and Thalia. They were the highlights of this story for me and I'm looking forward to seeing how (because there is no IF) everyone will take down Gavril and his wicked family.

[Meg ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

will you people stop thinking with your genitals for five fucking minutes