⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
After reading The Empress, I was so excited to jump back into Towerfall, and this novella did not disappoint! Stella had sworn off love after finding her fiancé in bed with her neighbor, choosing to focus on the relationship with her best friend Elara. When Elara goes missing, leaving behind just a mysterious tarot card, Stella is pulled through a portal into the realm of Towerfall, and directly into the clutches of Prince Valen Greymourn of the Kingdom of Swords, and his guard Captain Marek Drayk. Prince Valen has two weeks to find a bride or his parents will force him to marry one of their choosing; this wouldn’t be a problem if he wasn’t completely in love with his best friend and guard captain, Marek. When the beautiful and intriguing Stella falls straight out of the sky, he concocts a plan to help her find her friend, while appeasing the marriage requirements of his parents and court. Clinging fragile hope, Stella, Valen, and Marek enter into a fake engagement, as they strive to rebuild trust and meet one another’s goals, but matters of the heart are never quite so simple.
What you can expect…
⚔️Tarot Inspired World
⚔️Fake Engagement
⚔️Why Choose - MMF
⚔️POC & LGBTQIA+ Representation
⚔️Political Intrigue
⚔️Very Well Written
⚔️Spicy 🌶️🥵🌶️
⚔️Friendship & Banter
⚔️Smart and Kind FMC
⚔️Broody and Distrustful Guard Captain
⚔️Charming and Optimistic Prince
⚔️Fantasy Romance Novella
⚔️Interconnected Standalone
I had such a good time reading this novella. I loved the fact that, while described as a spicy novella, there is such a good story line and character and relationship development, in addition to gloriously salacious content. Kristin and Gina did a fantastic job pouring such a wonderfully complete story with great pacing into such a small package.
Stella is an adorable, endearing, and kind character, who you can’t help but root for. (I think the world would be a much better place if more leaders cared as much about others as social workers!) While falling into a new realm might not have been her first choice, the deliciously dark and broody switch of a Captain mixed with the charmingly optimistic and dominant Prince are honestly a pretty fantastic consultation prize. It’s so refreshing that this is not just focused on the love story between Stella and the men too, but the depth of love shared between Valen and Marek is continuously exemplified.
This story was just a joy to read! Beautiful, fun, sexy, heartwarming, and a fabulous edition to the Towerfall series!
Thank you to Kristin and Gina for the eARC!!