¿Qué has hecho?

Infatuated Fae #2

by Jeneane O'Riley, Ankara Cabeza (translator)

Un amor que no muere

Una venganza por cumplir

Tres familias que nunca volverán a ser las mismas

Ahora que por fin se ha reunido con su familia en el Reino Luminoso, a Caly le cuesta asimilar lo que ha tenido que sacrificar para llegar hasta allí. Aunque aguarda con ansia la ceremonia en que recuperará la mitad perdida de su corazón, sabe que también tendrá que pagar un incómodo precio por volver a estar habrá de casarse con su amigo de la infancia, el príncipe Aurelius, para afianzar su posición en la Corte Luminosa.

Sin embargo, cerca de la fecha señalada, Caly comienza a verse asolada por el recuerdo de Malum Mendax, el príncipe oscuro, así como por el vínculo que compartieron en su reino y las fogosas chispas que saltaron entre ellos. Todavía siente la mirada de Mendax sobre ella, todavía se lo encuentra en su cama en sueños... y pronto descubrirá que no solo es su recuerdo lo que la atormenta.

Mendax no murió después de que Caly lo apuñalara y ha regresado para castigar tanto a su cachorrito como a aquellos que la apartaron de su lado.

Su regreso hace que la posición de Caly en el Reino Luminoso se tambalee.

Ahora sus planes corren en peligro.

Así como su vida.

Pero Mendax le hace sentir de tal forma que estaría dispuesta a dejarlo todo atrás con tal de tocarlo una última vez.

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

400 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2024

Reviews

[Lanae (findmeonsmutlane) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look, I liked book one. I really did. It was a wild ride. Not everything was amazing, but it was a good read that kept me hooked and ready for more. This? Dear lord. This was a horrid hot mess that I had to force myself to finish.

First off, the whiplash that the characters gave me. I was so confused the entire book. Literally between once sentence and the next characters were flip flopping on how they felt and what they were gonna do. It was so confusing and made it so hard to read.

The writing felt really jumbled and clunky. It felt like bad fanfic or like a high schooler wrote it. I don't remember the writing being this bad in the first book, but maybe I had amnesia.

The plot was actually interesting. The twists and turns were fun and honestly what kept me reading. I love how dark and twisty Mendax is. We love a villain that will burn the world down for a FMC. But like, is this turning into a why choose situation? The entire throne room scene threw me for a loop. AND THEN WALTER? Why? WHY?

And the ending has me so confused. Again it feels like a why choose, but then not. I don't think I can continue this series. The writing was just so bad, I had to force myself to finish and I just can't with the constant flip flopping around of thoughts and emotions.

[Brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok I’m actually a little pissed.

Jeneane needs to recall this book and try again.
It feels like she wrote it last weekend and just published it real quick without editing it at all.

I waited months for this book to come out because I loved the first one so much but this book did a complete nosedive into hell.
There were FOUR MAJOR spelling/grammar errors within the first 50% of the book. Which makes me feel like this book was super rushed, and honestly it’s giving first draft.

It’s insane how bad this book is.
I almost DNF but I waited so long to read it that I needed to see it through.

Caly’s bff becoming a love interest was the wrong fucking move. It made the story read like children arguing over their new girlfriend on the playground.

“No wait use MYYY armour”
“No don’t touch her she’s my girlfriend, right girlfriend?!”

You know those extremely cringe TikTok’s of people pretending to be wolves? And like howling while on all fours? That is the EXACT energy this book gives me.

Then the dark romance that I expected to pop off just didn’t??? We got a INCREDIBLY AWKWARD sex scene with the MMC and Caly but the worst part wasn’t that, it was our dark brooding MMC turned into this juvenile idiot, and completely lost all of his swag. He went from dark brooding guy to MGK. The cringe factor is just unreal.

I have a feeling this author got some love from the tiktok community and just rushed to write this book, and it shows.

Extremely disappointing. I had placed orders on Amazon for hard copies of both books and after reading 50% of this book, I cancelled both those orders.
Sad enough I paid the $4.99 or whatever to read this fanfiction garbage.

0/5 if I could.

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Do you know what happens to pets that run away from home, Calypso? They get punished.”

ngl, i was excited to read this after book 1, but i was disappointed. caly becomes really whiny in this one and while i like sherlock-esque scientific analysis moments she has, they're sporadic and inconsistent with her character the other 85% of the time. i was expecting mendax to go full psycho esp from the last book and TWs, but it was minimal. i don't mind eli as another love interest option, but we need more chemistry and contradiction in his character in order to be a better contrast to mendax (who, again, needed more push to the darker end of the spectrum for this to work). there were 2 scenes i liked w mendax as far as romance/smut, but it wasn't enough to save the book for me.

queen saracen's pov bogs down the story pacing with long scenes from the past, and the info dumping to explain artemi and the fallen fae are a lot. this could have used more editing and concise scenes to relay info in faster, more engaging ways. the plot is vague, leading to a lot of winded explaining.

spoiler for the end: unfortunately with all of the artemi info dumping by the time caly has her "reveal" twist at the end, it just feels really anti-climactic. there was so much going on with the princess and the queen, then the fallen fae, too much going on with not enough to hone in on specific plot lines that none of them had a great impact. i really hope walter isn't dead tho.

i didn't mind the love triangle and it almost even seems to be going into a RH direction, but it's moving very slowly and needs to be amped up imo.

overall, i don't know if i'll continue the series. i think it'll depend on other reviewers.

Tell me, do you ever grow tired of letting him think you are the princess in the tower and not the dragon that guards it?

__________________________________

i'm def excited to read this but that TW page has me like

[Abbey Foulds · Rating 1 out of 5]

huh?

[sof · Rating 1 out of 5]

i wish goodreads let us give 0 stars

[PS ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved book 1…. What happened here? The writing felt so juvenile. And the constant back and forth was too much. I was so excited for this and i feel let down. I was do bored to the point where i was skim reading just to get it over with. Dont think ill be reading the next one…

[breanna langley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to love and enjoy this book as much as the first one in the series. Unfortunately, it was a let down. The writing felt very juvenile, and there were SO MANY holes left in the story that were barely explored or explained. Overall, it just felt incredibly rushed.



also don’t hate me but the drama between eli and mendax was so incredibly cringey at the end.

[Laura Greenhalgh · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really loved book one and although i didn’t enjoy this one quite as much, i am still very much invested in the story and will be continuing the series for sure.

[Harlee duplantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont think i have NEVER been so disappointed in a book in my life. Coming from rating the first one 5 stars to this one being a 2 for me is horrible. Im usually not over critical when it comes to reading books, im just here for the vibes honestly. But the author completely butchered these characters. The contradictions in all the characters personalities were too much for me. Mendax had sooo much potential as a villain love interest and at the end his character got butchered by the contradictions to his personality.

ANDDD dont get me started on caly's inner monologue, it made no sense. It should have been written in 3rd person if the author wanted to keep the mystery factor to caly's motives and plans, cause the lying to herself in her thoughts and inner monologue was an extremely poor choice and completely unbelievable...

[taylor ❤️‍🔥 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 🌟

This book was…. not exactly what I expected 🫠 I was really disappointed.

The plot kind of felt all over the place. It read like it was a first draft of I’m being brutally honest.

I don’t even think Caly’s character seemed the same as the first book? And what the hell was with the random “genius” moments? AND HER USING PHYSICS TO GET OUT OF THE PIT? I just could not with this book. 🫠

Mendax was really the only “redeeming” part of this book and even then, I felt like he didn’t live up to his character this book. Especially in comparison to who he was in the first book?

I’m not sure I’ll want to read the next book.

[Emma ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first one so I was so, so excited for this book. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

Caly was whiny and annoying. Her toing and froing between the two MMCs was messy and frustrating. Mendax started talking like Shakespeare and made me cringe so hard I could hardly take him seriously.

The plot twist did get me. I was like "there's no way! She's done it again!"

But overall I'm disappointed, with the cheapness of the characters, writing that reads like a first draft, and boring POVs of characters we don't care for.

2.75

[☆EmilyEverAfter☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am nothing more than a soul without residence since you left me, and I refuse to bear a life without you. Should I die, let it be by your hand, so that your touch is what I remember when I haunt every single dwelling you inhabit. Soon enough, you will meet with me again in Tartarus."

Vague spoilers ahead.

I enjoyed the second book significantly more than the first! The grammar and spelling were 150 times better. I felt like in the beginning, the characters lacked depth. We really learned a lot more about Eli and Caly and all the things the queen made them do. Mendax is still a bit of a mystery, but when I say this man is a villain, I MEAN THAT!
(He skinned a man and wrapped him in a cocoon of his own skin.. Literally scarred Eli's whole body. He feels the need to murder anyone and everyone) 😅

I loved the fact that we got to see inside the Seelie realm. When I was a kid, fairies lived in the garden and looked like woodland creatures derived from earth and magic. * Yes, I was the fairy obsessed kid growing up if you were wondering.* This story brought the mystical, woodsy fairies back to life in my mind.

Now we can discuss the spice.. Because shadow daddy Mendax was fucking giving. The throne room was *hotttt* 🥵🫠 Then the bedroom scene with all three of them!? Please, that was fantastic. The angst and longing.. whew 😩

It think this was unique, I'm glad I continued.😊 Eli or Mendax? Who will it be?

[Alana]

This felt like the final draft was due at 11:59 and the author started writing the book at 11:30. Was it even edited at all?! What a bummer.

[🐍🖤 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I changed it.
At first I put it at 2 but I’m lying to myself.
It’s a 1.
This physically pains me to rate this so low… it’s a 1 but I can’t get over how disappointed and sad I am because of how much I loved the first book.
Because by the gods, I did.
I loved the first book.
I loved Calypso and Mendax, so so much.
How dark they were. How traumatized.
Like Rhysand and Feyre but 1000x darker.

Then the characters were butchered.
Sliced up, cut into tiny pieces and put together into some new characters I have never read before.
They were not the Mendax and Caly I loved from the first book.
Who were these cringey, annoying strangers?
I have never wished I could unread something I thought I would love.
Simply, because it feels like I, ME, got cheated on.
Where is the sexy, obsessed Mendax and the Caly that loved him, go?
Not to be found in these books.

Because… a love triangle.
At first, it was snuck on us. Hidden.
We believed it was just… an old crush.
Then Caly and Mendax with the whole sex scene in front of her friend and Eli that was just… idk a bit off character and weird. But I could sort of brush it aside.
But then…
The book really fell in the last 20%.
A fucking love triangle.
Where she is a different person with each love interest, not feeling whole without either - classic.
Gag.
I hate it.
She went from one of my favorite characters on par with Aelin, Feyre, and Diana from Book of Azrael to… Bella from twilight or any other love triangle YA book out there.
It ruined everything.
Now I don’t believe in either of their loves and neither in Mendax obsession. If he was, idk, why would he be chill with her kissing and professing her love to another?
It takes away from what I thought they had.
And I’m so so disappointed because I love(ed 💔) Caly and Mendax.
He’s truly a grey mc, like fr, but that makes it intriguing.
But now?
I got the ick.
So much.
I’m so sad and disappointed and I’m just going to pretend i didn’t read this tbh.
That way, Mendax and Caly’s fucked up love can be untouched and unspoiled in my head. Maybe someone can write a fanfiction and pick up where the first novel left off but just about those two without the walking bugger named Eli.
Idk even know if I’ll read the next book tbh.
There is nothing worse than a love triangle imo.
It’s only good if it’s done like in acotar where the transition is clear.
Or like in Book of Azrael where Diana’s cheating is part of her spiral and trying to hurt the mc - but their love is never put to question. Never a question of who are made for each other and who the other love.
This was so far from that I just sat moaning my heartache and ick the whole last 2h “noooo please noooo”.
I thought we would have a sweet childhood crush that she acknowledges but ultimately, she’s not a sunshine person anymore and she belongs with Mendax.
Apparently not. She actually has split feelings. Gag.
For her to accept Eli’s proposal, to want to marry him- gag.
All of it - gag.

Also some major editing mistakes, spelling, and missing words.
“Her short, immortal life” after she was revealed to be human…? Assuming it’s gonna be mortal there but that’s a big big mistake as it changes the meaning.
And the letter from her father was not highlighted or made in cursive which looked off and made me have to reread again.
I’m honestly on the brink of tears for how much this book hurt me. Truly.
I wanted Caly and Mendax so much, I thought it would be that kind of consuming love, fated mates but… this? This was the worst thing that could’ve happened.
I’m gonna go cry. Fr.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl, no, but really, what did YOU do?

I was entertained by this book until the pits scene, then it went downhill from there. The spice is the only thing that brought this up from two stars for me. They were clearly the most thought out and worked on scenes in the book.

Plot holes began appearing here and this may be an unreliable narrator but she has also become an inconsistent character. There was way too much melodrama at the end of this, and a ton of scene hopping. It's like the editor took a hacksaw to the work and pruned the branches way too far back.

Eli is annoying. I could have done without him being involved. C and M already have such an interesting dynamic, his involvement takes away from their tension more than it adds to it.

I can imagine I see where this is going and am only finishing the series to see if I am correct. I hope she puts more time into the next book because honestly, the last 25% of this was kind of a mess, no offense. The writing in the first book was much cleaner, thorough, and easier to follow. I'm not expecting this to win awards, but I was expecting to be entertained...

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dreadful. And the weird questions at the end, worse.

[Becampillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m really sad ☹️ this book did not give what it needed to give.

I loved book one. It was so unhinged and weird and just i don’t know.. different.

I was a sucker for Mendax & Calypso’s love/ hate relationship and the way that man worships at her feet; HOWEVER, i freaking hate love triangles when they’re not done right. I think that’s why I didn’t like this book as much. Like… what was the freaking point??? The way it was presented was not good (in my opinion). It felt rushed and forced and ugh no thank you.

calypso just annoyed the heck out of me. “I hate you Mendax” “I’m so in love with you, Mendax” “i don’t like Eli like that” “I’m disappointed Eli didn’t kiss me” girl, shut up. If you want both of them, that’s fine. Own it. The freaking back and forth frustrated the hell out of me. You never knew where she stood.

Eli is just the definition of a golden retriever. He’s been “in love” with Caly forever even though they hadn’t seen each other in like 10 years. i don’t love him but i also don’t hate him. He does nothing for me.

Now, Mendaxxxxx, he’s the only one that really didn’t change? He stayed true to who he was since book one, which i really appreciated. He’s dark and unhinged and just crazy in love with Caly. I love him.

The plot was.. wait what WAS the plot? It was more backstory than anything, which the author stated was necessary for the following books, so okay, i guess that’s fine.


Soooooooo, basically Caly went through all that trouble in book one, to finally go to the seelie kingdom and pull a double agent bullshit because she actually wanted THEM dead in order to avenge her family. Cool


In summary:

-Mendax isn’t dead.
-Caly FINALLY goes to the seelie court to get the other half of her heart back.
- the seelie queen says Sike. You gotta marry Eli first because i want your powers ( turns out she’s not human)
-Homegirl is like ewww no, he’s my bff. I’m not marrying anyone
-Mendax pays a lil visit to calypso and they get VERY physical and homegirl thinks it’s a dream???? You have his literal DNA all over you and you think it’s a dream??? Yeah ok bfr
-Caly & Eli go for a walk and he’s all “is marrying me so horrible?” Blah blah blah
-Caly sees Mendax. NOOO it’s not possible, he’s alive??? How come???
- we learn the queens hate each other because of a man. Go figure
- Caly sleeps with Mendax.
-Caly runs from Mendax
- Caly doesn’t know what she wants
- blah blah blah what even happened
-turns out the seelie queen killed calys family( no surprise there) and Caly has known the entire time( yeah okay)
- Caly goes to prison AGAIN
-Mendax is dead AGAIN
-the rat saves Caly from prison AGAIN
-we learn Eli’s sister is the only smart one
- Caly agrees to marry Eli
- SURPRISE Mendax isn’t dead….. again
- Caly gets her heart back…. And wait, she is human after all
- both queens are dead at this point.
- Caly is going on an adventure with Mendax…. And freaking Eli

The end

[Blade Rovalty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprising decline in quality and plot

Spoilers


I almost wondering if this book is related to the first one because there’s no way this is the sequel. The character depth was nonexistent, all the villains were Disney level evil, as in super obvious and predictable. There’s a lot of info dumping/monologue, I remember thinking the main character was so strong and intelligent for once in the first book. Using her science background to her advantage, outsmarting, and deceiving the villain in the first book.

But this book? She was d*ck hopping from one man to the next. Mind you, she supposedly killed Mendax and already planned to f*ck Eli and took contraceptives in preparation for it. Only to find out Mendax is alive, they do the dirty, Mendax “dies” again -which was anticlimatic and not believable in the slightest- she agreed to marry Eli 40 seconds later. Turns out Mendax is alive and she claims him being gone made her realize how much he meant to her but 40 seconds ago she agreed to marry Eli because he tastes “like sunshine and happiness” 🙄

It seems like Walter was written to be that comedic relief except he wasn’t funny and his death was very meh. It also could’ve been prevented had she just not let the queen monologue for 10 minutes.

[Raven Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The speed in which I inhaled this book is honestly quite disgusting. It definitely may have led to some mild child neglect and unhousewifely conduct but hey, we all kinda survived. If you don’t include my poor soul that is.

After the bombshell that the end of the first one was, I really did not know what to expect next for Mendax and Caly. I do not believe any of what happened in this book was even in my realm of possibilities. The flashbacks had me getting angry for Calypso, had me wanting to go track down all those who have wronged her.

And Mendax…. Daddy Mendax…. I have no words. I was quite literally salivating any time he opened his unhinged mouth. I’d happily let him call me pet, hell I’d put the collar on myself, get on all fours and bark without him even asking. I mean, who wouldn’t after the throne scene… THE THRONE SCENE.

Now for some major spoilers so please stop reading if you haven’t read it yet.




Ummm now Jeneane. I have questions. First of all, how could you do that to my sweet baby Walter? All he wanted was to protect Caly. I never thought I’d cry over a rat (other than my ex) but here we are. Second of all, where’s the next book? I need it expeditiously, I need it with the speed in which you run to the bathroom after Taco Bell, I need it more than my next breath. I also neeeeed atleast one threesome before daddy dearest gets his hands on one of these fine ass men. Please God, I never ask for anything😩

CHAPTER 22. CHAPTER 22. JENEANE. YOU MY DEAR GODDESS OF SMUT HAS CREATED THE ULTIMATE SMUT SCENE. THIS CHAPTER WILL LIVE ABSOLUTELY RENT FREE IN MY MIND FOREVER. WALTER HAD ME BLUSHINGGGG LIKE A SCHOOL GIRL, ELI WAS DONE SO DIRTY AND DADDY MENDAX IS SO UNHINGED IM OBSESSED WITH HIM😍

Ok, now one last thought for Jeneane. If you’re not Jeneane, just run along. If you happen to need an arc reader or even just a new neurodivergent friend… I’m right here, very open and willing.

[Kristine 📚 · Rating 1 out of 5]

So disappointed

I loved the first book, and I was really happy when the second book came up. The story was so hard to follow, and the jumping around between past and present was hard to understand. The storyline wasn’t great. The character interactions seemed off.

[Jessica Strachan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book to this honestly ruined me, I have thought about it daily for months and I’ve been beyond excited to read this for months! I really expected more of M and C but Eli being thrown in there all the time and constantly being in the way just irritated me so much. The plot had so much potential but I felt I read 386 pages of “which one do I love more” to still not have an answer - that is a full book about a love triangle. I personally could not care less about Eli, I kinda want to continue reading just to see what Cs dads all about but am I desperate for the next book? No which is completely upsetting because of the hold book one had. Again the plot twist of Cs powers was not seen which is really good, the scenes between C and M I loved. I felt C actually had more growing up to do in this book? She became annoying in scenes and Eli is the WORST type of golden retriever. I was going to give this book a two but Walter saved it - we Stan Walter.

[readingwithk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need the next book right now. I also need my feral man to be the chosen one or I will raise hell.

[Kathleen Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’M HERE AT 2AM ANALYZING AND GOING BACK EACH LINE AFTER I FINISHED READING THE FIRST BOOK!!

I can’t wait for book 2 😭

Please comment below if you have any uploaded prediction/theory re what’s going to happen in the next book once released next year.

I’ve got a few realizations but have not found anything online with theories haha

THIS BOOK WON’T MAKE ME SLEEP

[✿ Ash ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️ 376 pages (Book 2 of 4)
Dark Romantasy (check TW before reading‼️)
Forbidden love, love triangle, good vs evil

I really liked book 1 (How Does It Feel?) but this…. this was a hot mess. I’m so disappointed. The cliffhanger on book one set up book 2 with SO much potential. Manyyyy chapters in this dragged and some I felt like were not expanded on enough.

This was still entertaining in some parts but then the last 30% of this book ruined it all. It felt like every plot line imaginable thrown together and not in a good way. Very messy.

Also, it is dark romance so I knew the smut would bother me some but it truly gave me the ick. I couldn’t stand it.

I will not be continuing the series. I just want to remember how entertaining the first book was and leave it at that.

I feel like book 2 needs to be scraped and redone entirely 🥲

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hot fucking mess. 1.5/5. I’m here to deinfluence this series.

I can’t believe I persevered with this. It was worse than the first book, which is a feat in itself. I really should have trusted my gut and DNFed it, but I figured it was short enough that I wouldn’t spend too long finishing it. ‘What did you do?’ Is the salient question I am asking myself - it should be ‘why did you do that? Aka, why did you stick it out to the end?’

The story was a mess. It was repetitive, and pointless. The interweaving of science was clunky, jarring and inaccurate (take it from a science girly, her running around the edge of a hole would absolutely not cause her to accelerate. That’s not how that works. The inclusion of the normal force in that was wrong too, and frustrated the hell out of me). Caly not knowing she was Artemi, but suddenly knowing she was Artemi, but then forgetting she was Artemi and asking what she was, was an example of the terrible continuity.

And for a book that was meant to be dark and spicy? Eh. The darkness was Mendax repeating the same line 60% of the time, every time he spoke to Caly.

Absolute. rubbish.

I only continued reading because I thought we might be going into why choose territory, but even that didn’t happen, or happened so weakly that I wasn’t even interested.

[Vanessa Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeneane, Ma’am, I think the better question is what did YOU do!?!?!?! 🥲🫥🤧

[Olivia Alonzo ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

well that was a twist I didn't see coming, what the fuck?! I'm loving this series now! I'm hooked! I'm sad I can't immediately start the next audiobook but maybe I'll start reading it on kindle unlimited soon??

[Heathers_readss · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I actually liked this book more than the first one!

In this one we see Cali enter the Seelie world, I enjoyed the scenes of her exploring the different nature scenes and animals / shop markets and dealing with people of the realm.

I really enjoyed the world building and history in this second book. We come to understand how things came to be in the present, and the relationships between the royal families and how they came to fued.

We also got a lot more back story to Cali’s childhood, her upbringing and family, and how her relationship with the queen / Eli began. A lot of truths came to light and it ended on a cliff hanger that had me excited for the third book.

This series is on the edge of seriously weird yet entertaining and addictive. I will absolutely be reading the third instalment to see what happens next 🤣

[Jazmine Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

r y’all ok

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
This book well exceeded my expectations! It's definitely better than the first! More spice, more twists, and turns. Love triangle... but definitely team Mendax. That surprise information at the end, tho and....Walter....😢iykyk