What do you think?
Rate this book
The Kingdom of Crows #3
House of Striking Oaths: Kingdom of Crows, Band 3
Ich werde Königin von Luce werden … oder bei dem Versuch sterben. Es gibt wenige Menschen, die ich mehr verabscheue als Dante Regio. Doch meine Tante Bronwen, mein Großvater Justus und meine Schabbat-Großmutter Meriam stehen direkt neben dem Feenmonarchen auf meiner Liste der verabscheuungswürdigen Wesen. Vor allem, nachdem sie dem Herrscher der Feen bei meiner Entführung geholfen haben. Eingesperrt in einer schwarzen Unterwelt, die keine Krähe erreichen kann, nicht einmal ihr König, erfahre ich bald, dass die Dinge nicht so sind, wie sie scheinen. Die Menschen sind nicht so, wie sie scheinen. Und die Geschichte … Ich versuche immer noch, die Wahrheit mit dem in Einklang zu bringen, was mir zuvor gesagt wurde. Meine neuen Verbündeten haben einen Zeitplan, aber ich habe einen eigenen. Obwohl es Überschneidungen gibt – wir sind uns alle einig, dass Dante sterben muss –, wünsche ich mir mehr als alles andere, nach Luce zurückzukehren, bevor er das Königreich dem Erdboden gleichmacht, um mich zu finden ...
Dies ist der dritte Band der Reihe. Alle Hörbücher des Fantasy
-- Band 1: Kingdom of Crows. House of Beating Wings
-- Band 2: Kingdom of Crows. House of Pounding Hearts
-- Band 3: Kingdom of Crows. House of Striking Oaths
Dies ist der dritte Band der Reihe. Alle Hörbücher des Fantasy
-- Band 1: Kingdom of Crows. House of Beating Wings
-- Band 2: Kingdom of Crows. House of Pounding Hearts
-- Band 3: Kingdom of Crows. House of Striking Oaths
Audible Audio
First published June 29, 2023
3505 people are currently reading
22317 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Wildenstein
46 books5,209 followersOlivia is a USA Today best-selling author of romantasy. When she’s not swooning over her characters’ steamy escapades, or plotting their demise, you can find her sipping wine and crafting her next twisted, romantic masterpiece, all while trying to convince her children and leading man that she loves them more than her laptop.
Ready to fall in love? Sign up to her Newsletter to claim your FREEBIE: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/hmniv0406r
WEBSITE: http://oliviawildenstein.com
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/olives21/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@owildwrites
FACEBOOK READER GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Olivi...
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/olivi...
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Olivia-Wildens...
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/OWildWrites
Ready to fall in love? Sign up to her Newsletter to claim your FREEBIE: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/hmniv0406r
WEBSITE: http://oliviawildenstein.com
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/olives21/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@owildwrites
FACEBOOK READER GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Olivi...
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/olivi...
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Olivia-Wildens...
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/OWildWrites
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,612 reviews
April 15, 2024
....unsatisfied. That's how I feel finishing this trilogy. There was too much missing, or that just fell flat, for me to fall in love with it.
In this one, there's a mistake at just 6% (and I don't mean a typo, I mean mixing up characters), and the first 20%, is entirely one massive info-dump, so I started to switch off. Tbh, I found it really hard to immerse myself in the first 50% of this book.
Dante was such a stereotypical bAd GUy that he almost didn't seem like a credible threat in the end. The pacing was strange. High-stakes scenes were anticlimactic because the characters would decide to have a completely unnecessary conversation midway through, or the tone would suddenly change (for example, one minute Fallon's breaking down after traumatic events, the next Lore's 🐓 "springs into her" and it's all forgotten). Is reader whiplash a thing? I didn't know if I was meant to be empathising with her character or...
Lore - did he even have a purpose in this instalment? He's practically non-existant in the first half, and when he does get page time, his character is so watered down he was barely recognisable.
I also felt like the author sacrificed a really satisfying conclusion - any conclusion really - to Lore and Fallon's trilogy, in favor of setting up the next book/couple.
These characters, in this world, using modern colloquialisms, is in no way believable, and it has jarred for the entire series. One minute, they're calling someone "dullard" or "codpiece", the next they "have beef" and they're slinging words around like "besties" and "whatevs". Make it make sense!
There were a few moments in this that I really enjoyed. To say I really didn't like Fallon in books 1 and 2, she does demonstrate growth in this one. Overall, I suppose it's a mildly entertaining read. But throughout the series, I've found myself frustrated because there was so much potential for it to be so much more.
In this one, there's a mistake at just 6% (and I don't mean a typo, I mean mixing up characters), and the first 20%, is entirely one massive info-dump, so I started to switch off. Tbh, I found it really hard to immerse myself in the first 50% of this book.
Dante was such a stereotypical bAd GUy that he almost didn't seem like a credible threat in the end. The pacing was strange. High-stakes scenes were anticlimactic because the characters would decide to have a completely unnecessary conversation midway through, or the tone would suddenly change (for example, one minute Fallon's breaking down after traumatic events, the next Lore's 🐓 "springs into her" and it's all forgotten). Is reader whiplash a thing? I didn't know if I was meant to be empathising with her character or...
Lore - did he even have a purpose in this instalment? He's practically non-existant in the first half, and when he does get page time, his character is so watered down he was barely recognisable.
I also felt like the author sacrificed a really satisfying conclusion - any conclusion really - to Lore and Fallon's trilogy, in favor of setting up the next book/couple.
These characters, in this world, using modern colloquialisms, is in no way believable, and it has jarred for the entire series. One minute, they're calling someone "dullard" or "codpiece", the next they "have beef" and they're slinging words around like "besties" and "whatevs". Make it make sense!
There were a few moments in this that I really enjoyed. To say I really didn't like Fallon in books 1 and 2, she does demonstrate growth in this one. Overall, I suppose it's a mildly entertaining read. But throughout the series, I've found myself frustrated because there was so much potential for it to be so much more.
July 2, 2023
If you’ve finished reading 𝓗𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓢𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓼 and want more Lore and Fallon, then I have a little treat for you. You can now grab your extra-🌶️🌶️🌶️ bonus epilogue here:
>> https://BookHip.com/MBHPJPB
>> https://BookHip.com/MBHPJPB
Want to read
April 19, 2023i really want to read this book right now but i desperately need fallon to STOP being ignorant, bratty, and ungrateful
October 20, 2023
A large portion of this felt like a chore to read.
I will say, the last ~40% or so vastly improved my reading experience when the plot finally got to moving, but having the first 60% of the final book in a trilogy be this much of a slog is just brutal and unnecessary.
I wish I was exaggerating but truly the first half is stagnant, I felt like I was being punished for something by being subjected to pages and pages of endless monologues and convoluted backstories being explained. The world set up in the previous 2 books was actually so unique and introduced well, with the right amount of detail, but then the first half of the book is entirely dedicated to textbook style explanations of why everything we knew was wrong, and all this lore and new curses and feuds and spell breaking tactics are explained in the most boring way and it just does not stop. Also, I had this complaint with the previous 2 books so just to reiterate, the modern dialogue is way too jarring. We have characters speaking very old school fantasy and then randomly they’ll throw in “whatevs” or something super modern and it totally takes me out.
Finally, though, the skies do clear and we get some plot and action. While Fallon continues to be kinda annoying, I appreciated some of the growth she had. She actually accomplished quite a bit and while her personality still had hints of obnoxiousness, it was much better than the previous book. As always, Lore was my favourite character but he felt a little subdued and not his usual self here either. He was kinda just there? The side characters were overwhelming, but I did really enjoy some of their development, namely Justus and Cathal! The last third, just prior to the final act was my favourite portion, there was a good amount of action, the reveals made sense and we got some good character heavy moments.
The ending then felt a bit rushed too. I’m glad we got some closure, but as a lot of other reviews seem to point out, most of it felt unsatisfying because it seemed to be rushing towards setting up the spinoff instead. While I think I’ll give it a try, something mentioned in the bonus epilogue makes it sound super depressing (but I’m hoping that gets fixed…idk)
I will say, the last ~40% or so vastly improved my reading experience when the plot finally got to moving, but having the first 60% of the final book in a trilogy be this much of a slog is just brutal and unnecessary.
I wish I was exaggerating but truly the first half is stagnant, I felt like I was being punished for something by being subjected to pages and pages of endless monologues and convoluted backstories being explained. The world set up in the previous 2 books was actually so unique and introduced well, with the right amount of detail, but then the first half of the book is entirely dedicated to textbook style explanations of why everything we knew was wrong, and all this lore and new curses and feuds and spell breaking tactics are explained in the most boring way and it just does not stop. Also, I had this complaint with the previous 2 books so just to reiterate, the modern dialogue is way too jarring. We have characters speaking very old school fantasy and then randomly they’ll throw in “whatevs” or something super modern and it totally takes me out.
Finally, though, the skies do clear and we get some plot and action. While Fallon continues to be kinda annoying, I appreciated some of the growth she had. She actually accomplished quite a bit and while her personality still had hints of obnoxiousness, it was much better than the previous book. As always, Lore was my favourite character but he felt a little subdued and not his usual self here either. He was kinda just there? The side characters were overwhelming, but I did really enjoy some of their development, namely Justus and Cathal! The last third, just prior to the final act was my favourite portion, there was a good amount of action, the reveals made sense and we got some good character heavy moments.
The ending then felt a bit rushed too. I’m glad we got some closure, but as a lot of other reviews seem to point out, most of it felt unsatisfying because it seemed to be rushing towards setting up the spinoff instead. While I think I’ll give it a try, something mentioned in the bonus epilogue makes it sound super depressing (but I’m hoping that gets fixed…idk)
May 9, 2024
5/5
Czas poznać finał historii o dziewczynie, która myślała, że szuka miłości podczas gdy uwolniła potwora, który zapragnął jej jak i korony.
Początek tego tomu pokazał jak bardzo Fallon zmieniła się od momentu gdy pierwszy raz ją poznaliśmy. Już w drugim tomie chciała przejąć ster i zacząć rozstawiać pionki niż być jednym z nich ale wystawienie na próbę, jakie czekało ją w trzecim tomie, sprawiło, że w końcu mogła się wykazać w knuciu, spiskowaniu by przesuwać swoją granicę moralności. Jednak przy tym wszystkim, nie traci swojego lekkiego charakteru, tego specyficznego poczucia humoru i niekonwencjonalnych pomysłów przez które czytelnik uśmiecha się pod nosem.
Lepszego zakończenia tej historii nie mogłam sobie wyobrazić. Wszystkie tribiki wskoczyły na swoje miejsce gdy poznaliśmy osobiście postacie, które wspominane były w poprzednich tomach. W zorientowaniu się jakie koneksje łączą bohaterów pomaga nam drzewo genealogiczne na początku książki oraz słowniczek. Powtórzę to trzeci raz: uwielbiam różnice kulturalne 3 nacji, które wytworzyła autorka i to jak one ze sobą współgrają.
Lore i Fallon tak świetnie do siebie pasują, szczególnie w tej części czuć było ich więź przeznaczenia, tęsknotę, uczucie i to ile dla siebie oboje znaczą. Przeszli przez cały kalejdoskop wyzwań i emocji. Ogromnie podobała mi się scena gdy Fallon akceptuje to, kim się stała i gdzie miłość do Lore ją zaprowadziła.
Nie mogę uwierzyć, że to koniec! Krótka nowelka na końcu osłodzi wam smutki, a nam pozostaje liczyć, że Lore i Fallon pojawią się w kolejnej części, już dedykowanej innemu bohaterowi.
Czas poznać finał historii o dziewczynie, która myślała, że szuka miłości podczas gdy uwolniła potwora, który zapragnął jej jak i korony.
Początek tego tomu pokazał jak bardzo Fallon zmieniła się od momentu gdy pierwszy raz ją poznaliśmy. Już w drugim tomie chciała przejąć ster i zacząć rozstawiać pionki niż być jednym z nich ale wystawienie na próbę, jakie czekało ją w trzecim tomie, sprawiło, że w końcu mogła się wykazać w knuciu, spiskowaniu by przesuwać swoją granicę moralności. Jednak przy tym wszystkim, nie traci swojego lekkiego charakteru, tego specyficznego poczucia humoru i niekonwencjonalnych pomysłów przez które czytelnik uśmiecha się pod nosem.
Lepszego zakończenia tej historii nie mogłam sobie wyobrazić. Wszystkie tribiki wskoczyły na swoje miejsce gdy poznaliśmy osobiście postacie, które wspominane były w poprzednich tomach. W zorientowaniu się jakie koneksje łączą bohaterów pomaga nam drzewo genealogiczne na początku książki oraz słowniczek. Powtórzę to trzeci raz: uwielbiam różnice kulturalne 3 nacji, które wytworzyła autorka i to jak one ze sobą współgrają.
Lore i Fallon tak świetnie do siebie pasują, szczególnie w tej części czuć było ich więź przeznaczenia, tęsknotę, uczucie i to ile dla siebie oboje znaczą. Przeszli przez cały kalejdoskop wyzwań i emocji. Ogromnie podobała mi się scena gdy Fallon akceptuje to, kim się stała i gdzie miłość do Lore ją zaprowadziła.
Nie mogę uwierzyć, że to koniec! Krótka nowelka na końcu osłodzi wam smutki, a nam pozostaje liczyć, że Lore i Fallon pojawią się w kolejnej części, już dedykowanej innemu bohaterowi.
July 2, 2023
Hard to finish
I liked the first 2 books and couldn't wait for this one. The consept was pretty unique.
Once I started reading however, the book fell quite short of my expectations.
The story got really convoluted early on and stalls out repeatedly due to overly wordy descriptions that were irrelevant to keeping the story in motion.
There were so many failed assassinations and the opposing army knew a lot of the MC's plans and secrets. This doesn't build dramatic effect, it reads as though the MC and her army are a bunch of bungling morons, that just happen, to finaly get lucky.
The biggest disappointment was Lore, in the first 2 books he comes off as a brilliant strategist who really takes charge, in this book he not only bungled around a lot but also seems petty and immature.
This book could have and should have been a lot better.
I liked the first 2 books and couldn't wait for this one. The consept was pretty unique.
Once I started reading however, the book fell quite short of my expectations.
The story got really convoluted early on and stalls out repeatedly due to overly wordy descriptions that were irrelevant to keeping the story in motion.
There were so many failed assassinations and the opposing army knew a lot of the MC's plans and secrets. This doesn't build dramatic effect, it reads as though the MC and her army are a bunch of bungling morons, that just happen, to finaly get lucky.
The biggest disappointment was Lore, in the first 2 books he comes off as a brilliant strategist who really takes charge, in this book he not only bungled around a lot but also seems petty and immature.
This book could have and should have been a lot better.
August 24, 2023
I'm really disappointed in this series. It's like the author took all her time building up the secondary characters' personalities and forgot to make the main one's any deeper than a puddle. I hated it but couldn't stop myself from finishing it. Seriously it was like watching a train go off the rail. And the ending? Oh my God. You'd think you'd deserve closure after that catastrophe but noooo. Honestly, no amount of unanswered questions or bullshit built up suspense would make me pick up the next book.
July 25, 2023
DNF @ 79%
I really tried to get through this, I really did, but I don’t have it in me to keep forcing it. I loved the first book but the story nosedived in book 2 and is crashing to the ground with this one.
There are way too many characters, the world building is confusing, the dialogue is strange, Fallon is incredibly stupid and hard to like, the side characters exist but have absolutely no substance, and honestly the story is boring. It’s gone so far off track that I barely understand what’s happening. The first portion of the book was Fallon captured and Justus suddenly becoming the most developed and interesting character in the book. I don’t have specific examples but it feels like the magic and just point of the series keeps changing to the point where I am left absolutely confused. There was even another hunt for one of Lore’s crows which was entirely unnecessary and honestly we have had enough hunting for crows. It’s time to move onto something meaningful to drive the plot forward.
Lore was previously the only semi-likable character, but like many NA fantasy love interests, his entire purpose seems to have shifted to being Fallon’s cheerleader. His personality now is to be obsessed with her. So boring and Fallon is so awful I can’t root for them.
Also, the huge amount of characters is almost laughable. People die but I can barely remember their purpose/who they were.
Altogether this felt incredibly meaningless and a huge waste of time. The story is an endless rambling mess taking nonsensical turns for the purpose of additional pages. I truly believe the author wrote the first book, which again I liked, and then shrugged her shoulders and didn’t bother with planning the rest of the series. Every single plot point feels either entirely disconnected to the rest of the story or is just 100% repetition.
This turned out a bit harsher than I intended, but I’ve been in such a slump lately and am continually disappointed in sequels that are being churned out. I think most readers agree that we would prefer quality vs. pumping out a 6 book series in 3 years that ends up being awful.
I really tried to get through this, I really did, but I don’t have it in me to keep forcing it. I loved the first book but the story nosedived in book 2 and is crashing to the ground with this one.
There are way too many characters, the world building is confusing, the dialogue is strange, Fallon is incredibly stupid and hard to like, the side characters exist but have absolutely no substance, and honestly the story is boring. It’s gone so far off track that I barely understand what’s happening. The first portion of the book was Fallon captured and Justus suddenly becoming the most developed and interesting character in the book. I don’t have specific examples but it feels like the magic and just point of the series keeps changing to the point where I am left absolutely confused. There was even another hunt for one of Lore’s crows which was entirely unnecessary and honestly we have had enough hunting for crows. It’s time to move onto something meaningful to drive the plot forward.
Lore was previously the only semi-likable character, but like many NA fantasy love interests, his entire purpose seems to have shifted to being Fallon’s cheerleader. His personality now is to be obsessed with her. So boring and Fallon is so awful I can’t root for them.
Also, the huge amount of characters is almost laughable. People die but I can barely remember their purpose/who they were.
Altogether this felt incredibly meaningless and a huge waste of time. The story is an endless rambling mess taking nonsensical turns for the purpose of additional pages. I truly believe the author wrote the first book, which again I liked, and then shrugged her shoulders and didn’t bother with planning the rest of the series. Every single plot point feels either entirely disconnected to the rest of the story or is just 100% repetition.
This turned out a bit harsher than I intended, but I’ve been in such a slump lately and am continually disappointed in sequels that are being churned out. I think most readers agree that we would prefer quality vs. pumping out a 6 book series in 3 years that ends up being awful.
July 7, 2023
The first book in this series showed promise, I enjoyed that one. The second and third have progressively gotten worse in my opinion. The writing is just not for me. So wordy with such unimportant things and then other things that should be detailed feel so choppy. I wanted to love it but I actually strongly disliked it.
Jumping off this series.
Jumping off this series.
July 2, 2023
I don’t know what happened, but this novel just…..bored me to death. I really liked the first and second books at the time I read them, yet this one not only couldn’t hold my attention, it made me fervently wish for the end so the torture would be over. The whole story felt jumbled and chaotic, and there wasn’t a single character that made me care. Even Lorcan felt watered down and uninteresting, and I liked him best in the other books. I suppose for me, it felt like the story was seriously diluted in order to add a 3rd book, when it could have worked best as a duo. Sadly, I won’t be reading any more books by this author, and I seriously hope to never read the word MATE ever again. 🤷♀️🤦🏼♀️
October 23, 2023
When thinking about how long this book took me to finish I initially thought I was the problem. But now that I’m done, no I don’t think I was. This book was underwhelming. The ending was not satisfying at all I felt like it was anticlimactic to say the least.
Deaths I was looking forward to were …boring.
Reunions I waited two books for were reduced to two short paragraphs??
I also wish I saw more trauma healing from our FMC. like she was a captive for some time and came back and when she starts thinking about what she went through in captivity our MMC comes in and fucks hers brains out and that’s it? They don’t talk about it outside of him repeatedly telling her “it’s not your fault”. … lore baby I don’t expect you to be a therapist but you have a few centuries on our girl here. Surely you could give us more ?
Anyways those are the thoughts I could give without getting too spoiler-y. Overall I loved this series. But sad that I didnt get any closure from our main couple here because the set up for the next couple overshadowed them.
Deaths I was looking forward to were …boring.
Reunions I waited two books for were reduced to two short paragraphs??
I also wish I saw more trauma healing from our FMC. like she was a captive for some time and came back and when she starts thinking about what she went through in captivity our MMC comes in and fucks hers brains out and that’s it? They don’t talk about it outside of him repeatedly telling her “it’s not your fault”. … lore baby I don’t expect you to be a therapist but you have a few centuries on our girl here. Surely you could give us more ?
Anyways those are the thoughts I could give without getting too spoiler-y. Overall I loved this series. But sad that I didnt get any closure from our main couple here because the set up for the next couple overshadowed them.
July 27, 2024
So, I just finished this 3rd book of the series and... meh. I mean, don't get me wrong, it had its moments, but something was just off. The plot kinda dragged in places, and I kept waiting for that big twist or epic showdown that never really hit the mark. The characters? Some of them were cool, but a few felt flat and predictable. I wanted more depth, more excitement. Maybe my expectations were too high after the first two books, but this one just didn't do it for me. It wasn't terrible, but definitely not what I was hoping for.
July 3, 2023
Plot twists that you had no way of predicting aren't clever, it just makes for unreliable narrators.
July 19, 2023
*SIGHS DRAMATICALLY IN EXASPERATION*
God this series could have been so good, but it just couldn’t get out of its own way.
Fallon, our FMC, did show some growth this book, so I’ll give some credit there. She was a completely naive, WILLFULLY ignorant little moron the first 2 books, so it was nice to see her START to grow into more of a leader? Kinda? I still wouldn’t put her in charge of a country or a race of beings, but she made some progress.
Lore, dude, wtf. His character was essentially reduced to a jealous Neanderthal. That was depressing.
My biggest complaint (ok ONE of my biggest) about this series is the ridiculous amount of side characters. The family trees made my head spin and I don’t think these were cared for very well.
^me, trying to figure out who the hell all these people are and how they're related.
And I gotta be honest…I skimmed a lot. There were too many plots and FAILED assassination attempts and side quests. It just got too frustrating.
The 🌶️ was niiiiiice, though, when we got there. Olivia really knows how to be…ahem…descriptive with those scenes.
God this series could have been so good, but it just couldn’t get out of its own way.
Fallon, our FMC, did show some growth this book, so I’ll give some credit there. She was a completely naive, WILLFULLY ignorant little moron the first 2 books, so it was nice to see her START to grow into more of a leader? Kinda? I still wouldn’t put her in charge of a country or a race of beings, but she made some progress.
Lore, dude, wtf. His character was essentially reduced to a jealous Neanderthal. That was depressing.
My biggest complaint (ok ONE of my biggest) about this series is the ridiculous amount of side characters. The family trees made my head spin and I don’t think these were cared for very well.
^me, trying to figure out who the hell all these people are and how they're related.
And I gotta be honest…I skimmed a lot. There were too many plots and FAILED assassination attempts and side quests. It just got too frustrating.
The 🌶️ was niiiiiice, though, when we got there. Olivia really knows how to be…ahem…descriptive with those scenes.
March 23, 2024
" I know the mark you wear is that of my people, Behach Éan, but f**k if it doesn’t feel like mine, and mine alone on you"
This book left me with a myriad of emotions. I went from excitement , to fear, to sadness and hope and I was left wanting more. More of Lore and Fallon, more of the plot and the curse and more on the fate of Fal’s friends. I really hope there will be answers in the spin-off book coming this year because this ending wasn’t enough.
4.5 ⭐️
This book left me with a myriad of emotions. I went from excitement , to fear, to sadness and hope and I was left wanting more. More of Lore and Fallon, more of the plot and the curse and more on the fate of Fal’s friends. I really hope there will be answers in the spin-off book coming this year because this ending wasn’t enough.
4.5 ⭐️
April 27, 2024
niedługo premiera, na legimi już jest, to mój patronat
innymi słowy: MUSICIE TO PRZECZYTAĆ
innymi słowy: MUSICIE TO PRZECZYTAĆ
June 23, 2023
“I turn my face back toward the blustering sky and await my midnight king, and as he rages, I finally calm.”
Holy crow. Olivia has written another outstanding, literary masterpiece. I eely don’t think I’ll ever recover from this story, and honestly, I’m not even mad. I am wrecked, in the best of ways. 🤣
🐦⬛ TROPES & THEMES 🐦⬛
✔️ fae, halflings, crow shifters
✔️ hidden powerssss ✨
✔️ possessive MCs 🤌🏽
✔️ Fated friggen mates
✔️ character growth, but they don’t lose that sparkle 🤣
✔️ world building and exploration
✔️ action packed, binge worthy
✔️ shadow handssssssssssssssssssss
Omg. Okay. Firstly; thank you so much to Olivia and Telisha for picking my feral butt out amongst so many to be part of the street team. It is an incredible honor, and I’ve enjoyed the ride so much.
This arc was so good y’all. I’m gonna review it mentioning vibes alone because I do not want to spoil it.
So the vibes?! EELY FRIGGEN EPIC!!! no matter the situation, Fallon will never cease to make me laugh my butt off. Omg. I’m pretty sure I highlighted half the book, and most of it is Fallon’s hilarious commentary.
This book takes place right after the last one, so… IYKYK. 👀 we get to watch Fallon come into her own and become so strong and miles of growth since we first met her in HoBW.
The beginning we got a lot of answers to some of the questions in their history. But also a lot more questions. 🤣 the story gave us so much. It’s a big book; I’m pretty sure it’s the biggest of the series. Did I binge it in like 24 hours? I did. What did I call anyone who interrupted me while reading? If you guessed annos dófain you are correct.
Olivia delivered and put so much into this book - it’s an absolute TREASURE to the series. And yes, there was 🌶️ 😎 and it slayed. Did I fall for Lore even more? That’s a big ol YEP. 😮💨
This book left me screeching and swiping for more pages, when there were indeed no other pages. 🫠🤣 but I have NO doubt that Olivia knows what she’s doing, and those questions we still have? We will have answers to when it’s time. 😎
As for now, if this series has been on your radar and you’ve been wandering about it, GO NOW. It’s one of my absolute FAVORITE of ALL TIME series. The slow burn is everything. The wit, the banter, the world building, the tension. Every single molecule of this book will rock your world. I promise.
Now I guess I’ll go and lay in a puddle and think about how much I love this gosh darn series. SIGH.
Holy crow. Olivia has written another outstanding, literary masterpiece. I eely don’t think I’ll ever recover from this story, and honestly, I’m not even mad. I am wrecked, in the best of ways. 🤣
🐦⬛ TROPES & THEMES 🐦⬛
✔️ fae, halflings, crow shifters
✔️ hidden powerssss ✨
✔️ possessive MCs 🤌🏽
✔️ Fated friggen mates
✔️ character growth, but they don’t lose that sparkle 🤣
✔️ world building and exploration
✔️ action packed, binge worthy
✔️ shadow handssssssssssssssssssss
Omg. Okay. Firstly; thank you so much to Olivia and Telisha for picking my feral butt out amongst so many to be part of the street team. It is an incredible honor, and I’ve enjoyed the ride so much.
This arc was so good y’all. I’m gonna review it mentioning vibes alone because I do not want to spoil it.
So the vibes?! EELY FRIGGEN EPIC!!! no matter the situation, Fallon will never cease to make me laugh my butt off. Omg. I’m pretty sure I highlighted half the book, and most of it is Fallon’s hilarious commentary.
This book takes place right after the last one, so… IYKYK. 👀 we get to watch Fallon come into her own and become so strong and miles of growth since we first met her in HoBW.
The beginning we got a lot of answers to some of the questions in their history. But also a lot more questions. 🤣 the story gave us so much. It’s a big book; I’m pretty sure it’s the biggest of the series. Did I binge it in like 24 hours? I did. What did I call anyone who interrupted me while reading? If you guessed annos dófain you are correct.
Olivia delivered and put so much into this book - it’s an absolute TREASURE to the series. And yes, there was 🌶️ 😎 and it slayed. Did I fall for Lore even more? That’s a big ol YEP. 😮💨
This book left me screeching and swiping for more pages, when there were indeed no other pages. 🫠🤣 but I have NO doubt that Olivia knows what she’s doing, and those questions we still have? We will have answers to when it’s time. 😎
As for now, if this series has been on your radar and you’ve been wandering about it, GO NOW. It’s one of my absolute FAVORITE of ALL TIME series. The slow burn is everything. The wit, the banter, the world building, the tension. Every single molecule of this book will rock your world. I promise.
Now I guess I’ll go and lay in a puddle and think about how much I love this gosh darn series. SIGH.
July 3, 2023
After reading this book I will read the fourth because this is who i am and I am currently in a long sickness situation. But the ending to this novel has convinced me to never read another series by this author ever again. Sacrificingnot a 'satisfying ending'... just an ending, ANY ending for the two main characters in the novel in order to create an artificial cliffhanger for the next book is plainly insulting. To the characters mostly, I could have closed the book at any point.
And I seriously mean ANY point. There's something that drives me crazy here and surprisingly is not Fallon (or Fallan as at some point is established we should be saying). Characters move from place to place, they occupy a space and then another they were not close to. The epiloge is such a good example of it that a reread with this in mind will help you see it if you haven't yet. It is crazy. The law of physics clearly do not apply to anybody in this novel.
Dante. Dante. Seriously, Dante? I am ok with him being so stereotypically villainy that reminds me of the Jafar in Aladdin. That's ok. But he becomes two dimensional. Makes me think the author had something else in mind for him and changed her mind at some point.
Also, characters appear for no other reason than the fact that they exist in the space. The BFFs, what was their contribution to the case exactly? A few scenes with the MC. Bye. Go back to your cupboard.
Anyway, the writing has somehow gotten worse with practise, which doesn't make any sense at all. I hope the author is doing well in her life and is happy and all but the good 10 pages of this book were dialogue between Fallon and the Crow. Maybe that's what she should be writing about.
***major spoiler below***
They will have a daughter that will somehow kill a princess in the future.
Here. What are we supposed to do with that information i don't know. But what are the characters supposed to do with that major lore drop? Nothing. In this book it simply works as a way of... what? I don't know. Not even used for intrigue. Oh then are the visions wrong? Why didn't I kill her? Who is that then? THAT is major lore used for something. THAT is a way to establish anything else. Alternative timelines, the role of fate, a future family, a-ny-thing. But not, it's a daughter. So we will probably see her soon.
****** major spoiler over****
And I seriously mean ANY point. There's something that drives me crazy here and surprisingly is not Fallon (or Fallan as at some point is established we should be saying). Characters move from place to place, they occupy a space and then another they were not close to. The epiloge is such a good example of it that a reread with this in mind will help you see it if you haven't yet. It is crazy. The law of physics clearly do not apply to anybody in this novel.
Dante. Dante. Seriously, Dante? I am ok with him being so stereotypically villainy that reminds me of the Jafar in Aladdin. That's ok. But he becomes two dimensional. Makes me think the author had something else in mind for him and changed her mind at some point.
Also, characters appear for no other reason than the fact that they exist in the space. The BFFs, what was their contribution to the case exactly? A few scenes with the MC. Bye. Go back to your cupboard.
Anyway, the writing has somehow gotten worse with practise, which doesn't make any sense at all. I hope the author is doing well in her life and is happy and all but the good 10 pages of this book were dialogue between Fallon and the Crow. Maybe that's what she should be writing about.
***major spoiler below***
They will have a daughter that will somehow kill a princess in the future.
Here. What are we supposed to do with that information i don't know. But what are the characters supposed to do with that major lore drop? Nothing. In this book it simply works as a way of... what? I don't know. Not even used for intrigue. Oh then are the visions wrong? Why didn't I kill her? Who is that then? THAT is major lore used for something. THAT is a way to establish anything else. Alternative timelines, the role of fate, a future family, a-ny-thing. But not, it's a daughter. So we will probably see her soon.
****** major spoiler over****
June 26, 2023
I won an ARC giveaway for this one so I was able to read it early!!! Let’s just say I can’t wait for the next installment🥰
Can’t wait for this one😍
Can’t wait for this one😍
July 4, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up.
Let me start by saying that I love this series with my whole heart. I was really reluctant to get into it at first, but by the second book, I was so far gone for these characters that the series quickly became a favorite of mine. In fact, book two was one of my favorite reads of the first half of 2023. So I was super exited to get into book three, especially after the crazy cliffhanger in book two.
I wish I could say that this book was everything I wanted and more, but there were a lot of things that didn’t work.
1. The info dumps. Every single page of this book was full of new information, reveals, and history. It was way, way too much information to read. Furthermore, the way the information was presented was not subtle. It was very lecture-esque every single time. There was no natural flow of info.
2. Lore. I don’t understand what happened between book two and three, but the Lore in book three was oddly subdued. He didn’t seem himself. There was no fantastic banter or teasing, he didn’t even really seem that ferally possessive of Fallon. Nor did he show any of the numerous personality quirks that I came to love about him. Unless to count his toxic levels of unnecessary jealousy as being possessive. He just fell flat.
3. Fallon and magic. *spoilers in this paragraph* Fallon magically had a personality change from the cliffy in two to being imprisoned in three. Like out of nowhere she’s suddenly brave, and knows how to use weapons, and cares about justice and logic. And when her magic awakens, she suddenly knows how to use it with little direction. It was all too convenient and had little development.
4. The magic. The blood magic in this book was far too complicated. For everything there seemed to be obnoxiously precise circumstances needed for things to work a certain way. Additionally, I really disliked that *spoiler* as soon as Fallon’s magic appeared she could speak the langue of that particular magic, fluently. It just seemed cheap.
5. The entire book felt like the author was already done with Fallon and Lore, and was moving on to Cathal and Daya. This entire book just felt like a set up for book four.
6. The ending. This was not a real ending. It felt like the book ended in the middle of a book, not at the end. Even the bonus epilogue did little to make me feel settled. Because there was no resolution to any of the things the info dumping was setting up, it honestly made me feel like the entire book was unnecessary. Or at least, the majority was unneeded.
I really wanted to love this addition. But I just didn’t.
Let me start by saying that I love this series with my whole heart. I was really reluctant to get into it at first, but by the second book, I was so far gone for these characters that the series quickly became a favorite of mine. In fact, book two was one of my favorite reads of the first half of 2023. So I was super exited to get into book three, especially after the crazy cliffhanger in book two.
I wish I could say that this book was everything I wanted and more, but there were a lot of things that didn’t work.
1. The info dumps. Every single page of this book was full of new information, reveals, and history. It was way, way too much information to read. Furthermore, the way the information was presented was not subtle. It was very lecture-esque every single time. There was no natural flow of info.
2. Lore. I don’t understand what happened between book two and three, but the Lore in book three was oddly subdued. He didn’t seem himself. There was no fantastic banter or teasing, he didn’t even really seem that ferally possessive of Fallon. Nor did he show any of the numerous personality quirks that I came to love about him. Unless to count his toxic levels of unnecessary jealousy as being possessive. He just fell flat.
3. Fallon and magic. *spoilers in this paragraph* Fallon magically had a personality change from the cliffy in two to being imprisoned in three. Like out of nowhere she’s suddenly brave, and knows how to use weapons, and cares about justice and logic. And when her magic awakens, she suddenly knows how to use it with little direction. It was all too convenient and had little development.
4. The magic. The blood magic in this book was far too complicated. For everything there seemed to be obnoxiously precise circumstances needed for things to work a certain way. Additionally, I really disliked that *spoiler* as soon as Fallon’s magic appeared she could speak the langue of that particular magic, fluently. It just seemed cheap.
5. The entire book felt like the author was already done with Fallon and Lore, and was moving on to Cathal and Daya. This entire book just felt like a set up for book four.
6. The ending. This was not a real ending. It felt like the book ended in the middle of a book, not at the end. Even the bonus epilogue did little to make me feel settled. Because there was no resolution to any of the things the info dumping was setting up, it honestly made me feel like the entire book was unnecessary. Or at least, the majority was unneeded.
I really wanted to love this addition. But I just didn’t.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2023
OK friends. HoSO was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and... Olivia DELIVERED. This book had EVERYTHING I wanted and MORE. I'm SO HAPPY I was able to snag this ARC - y'all I straight up binged this giant book in 24 hours. We get CONSTANT action, TONS of big reveals, AMAZING spice, Fallon crows up, Lore is swoony. THERE IS EVEN AN EEL REFERENCE. Phew. I was constantly gasping, fanning myself, screaming, or crying. If you haven't read this series, get started now. It is INCREDIBLE. So well-written, so unique, and never a dull moment.
As usual with an ongoing series, I'll be vague (especially after the cliffhanger at the end of HoPH). This book fills in a TON of gaps in the history of the world, Fallon's past, and Bronwen's prophecies. Fallon FINALLY starts acting a little more mature and stops being so impulsive. She has some huge revelations about herself, yet she continues to be absolutely hilarious (I laughed out loud MULTIPLE times). We get to see A LOT of Lore (haha literally *winks*), and he stops hiding things from Fallon (most of the time). He is possessive, he is morally grey, he's got shadows, he is OBSESSED with Fallon - seriously top book boyfriend material. We are no longer dealing with slow burn, so we get a LOT of good spice. Makeup is applied. Hidden powers get revealed. Side characters aren't who they seem. There are family connections all over the place. We get to call hated characters annos dófains. It. Is. EPIC.
The ending is SO SATISFYING yet I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS. Thrilled to note that there are planned spin-offs because I NEED ANSWERS. I'm rattling around I'm so excited, and I know now that I'm permanently in my crows era, forever in love with a bird.
LONG LIVE THE CROWS.
As usual with an ongoing series, I'll be vague (especially after the cliffhanger at the end of HoPH). This book fills in a TON of gaps in the history of the world, Fallon's past, and Bronwen's prophecies. Fallon FINALLY starts acting a little more mature and stops being so impulsive. She has some huge revelations about herself, yet she continues to be absolutely hilarious (I laughed out loud MULTIPLE times). We get to see A LOT of Lore (haha literally *winks*), and he stops hiding things from Fallon (most of the time). He is possessive, he is morally grey, he's got shadows, he is OBSESSED with Fallon - seriously top book boyfriend material. We are no longer dealing with slow burn, so we get a LOT of good spice. Makeup is applied. Hidden powers get revealed. Side characters aren't who they seem. There are family connections all over the place. We get to call hated characters annos dófains. It. Is. EPIC.
The ending is SO SATISFYING yet I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS. Thrilled to note that there are planned spin-offs because I NEED ANSWERS. I'm rattling around I'm so excited, and I know now that I'm permanently in my crows era, forever in love with a bird.
LONG LIVE THE CROWS.
May 25, 2024
AAAA TO BYŁO WSPANIAŁE
April 30, 2024
İlk iki kitaptan çok daha iyiydi 💥
November 5, 2023
Lorcan, baby, tat a feather on me please. 🪶
Absolutely OBSESSED with this series. I am so glad it didn’t end on a crazy ass cliffhanger so I’m not in distress waiting for the next book.
Absolutely OBSESSED with this series. I am so glad it didn’t end on a crazy ass cliffhanger so I’m not in distress waiting for the next book.
October 19, 2024
3.5🌶️ ugh Lore and Fallon have my whole heart. this romantasy series truly is one of the best i’ve ever read. i loved every single second of the these characters’ story. the found family, the political intrigue, the side characters, the romance, the slow burn. the perfect balance of romance and plot. this series has everything i look for in a good romantasy. i love how Olivia ended this particular book and gave us closure with our main characters and the main plot line but left us with just enough to want to read the next book immediately and move seamlessly into the next main characters story. i laughed, i loved, i cried, i was on the edge of my seat. this series is a rollercoaster of emotions which is always the best when a book/series can give you all the feels. i highly highly recommend this series to any romantasy lover. i was not expecting to love this series as much as i do, Lore and Fallon have a place in my heart forever now.
July 8, 2023
Such a bummer
The writing is great and I enjoyed the 1st book so much I couldn’t wait for the 2nd and then I wound up hating that one and this was no better and primarily it’s because Fallon is literally the worst female protagonist I’ve ever suffered through. I wanted to DNF so many times, but my OCD doesn’t allow me to. But seriously, it’s like Fallons character just was dumber with each book. Literally the first nearly 30% of this book (which I even checked with my kindle) is her making smart ass comments KNOWING Dante has her friend and then every time he threatens said friend, she’s suddenly like “oh no I’ll listen” and it like for 2 sentences until he has to threaten her again and it’s the her naivety of it all that just irks me so much. Most of the characters were great but honestly one of the worst and most annoying female leads I’ve ever read in a series.
The writing is great and I enjoyed the 1st book so much I couldn’t wait for the 2nd and then I wound up hating that one and this was no better and primarily it’s because Fallon is literally the worst female protagonist I’ve ever suffered through. I wanted to DNF so many times, but my OCD doesn’t allow me to. But seriously, it’s like Fallons character just was dumber with each book. Literally the first nearly 30% of this book (which I even checked with my kindle) is her making smart ass comments KNOWING Dante has her friend and then every time he threatens said friend, she’s suddenly like “oh no I’ll listen” and it like for 2 sentences until he has to threaten her again and it’s the her naivety of it all that just irks me so much. Most of the characters were great but honestly one of the worst and most annoying female leads I’ve ever read in a series.
August 11, 2023
First off let me say that I absolutely ADORED the first two books in this series. I thought the premise was amazing, loved the characters and the plot was intricate and interesting.
I was really disappointed in this book, unfortunately. It just felt incomplete to me, rushed, needed more review and streamlining before publishing. I found myself skimming and skipping entire sections just to get to the conclusion of the arc, when I was REALLY looking forward to this addition to the series. There was SO MUCH info in the beginning of the book I almost DNF at around 45%.
It does pick up... and I do think it has a satisfying (if not a little rushed) ending, but would have really liked to have seen more for Lore & Fallon.
If you loved the first two books like I did, then definitely finish the series, but be advised.... there are def some issues with this one.
I was really disappointed in this book, unfortunately. It just felt incomplete to me, rushed, needed more review and streamlining before publishing. I found myself skimming and skipping entire sections just to get to the conclusion of the arc, when I was REALLY looking forward to this addition to the series. There was SO MUCH info in the beginning of the book I almost DNF at around 45%.
It does pick up... and I do think it has a satisfying (if not a little rushed) ending, but would have really liked to have seen more for Lore & Fallon.
If you loved the first two books like I did, then definitely finish the series, but be advised.... there are def some issues with this one.
January 18, 2025
Please, please let this be better than Book 2....
Update - My prayers were not answered. This book was way more terrible than the second book. It takes a lot for me to DNF a final book in the series but this one did it. I was tired of Miriam's pov, shabbin witches, serpant mother, lore with his ever missing crows, Fallon's monologues and Dante's villainous actions. There is too much going on in this book and most of it is not enjoyable read. In my opinion, read the first book as a stand alone book and skip the next two as those were a huge let down for me.
Update - My prayers were not answered. This book was way more terrible than the second book. It takes a lot for me to DNF a final book in the series but this one did it. I was tired of Miriam's pov, shabbin witches, serpant mother, lore with his ever missing crows, Fallon's monologues and Dante's villainous actions. There is too much going on in this book and most of it is not enjoyable read. In my opinion, read the first book as a stand alone book and skip the next two as those were a huge let down for me.
Want to read
April 12, 2023might consider reading this if the author actually does decide to kill off the MC like she says in the book description and that’s all I have to say on the matter (I’m not sorry)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,612 reviews