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Kingdoms of the Compass #1
Crown of War and Shadow
An outcast burdened with a curse and a mercenary who's out for himself collide in this star-crossed, slow-burn, high-stakes romantic fantasy
In the dead of night, passions rise and empires fall.
Welcome to Kingdoms of the Compass.
The Fulcrum is failing, and demons are slipping into the mortal world, stalking the night.
No one is safe.
Especially not Sorrel. An orphan and an outcast, she’s spent her whole life within the walls of her small village, ostracized for her mystical abilities. She wants to survive…and maybe find somewhere she can call her true home. But Fate has other plans.
Sorrel has been chosen. Cursed.
She must cross the Badlands to return the Queen's crown and convince the fearsome female to save their world from destruction.
Well aware she’s no brave hero, Sorrel makes a dangerous deal with Merc, a brooding, commanding mercenary known only by his unscrupulous profession.
The deal? A night in his bed that she will never forget, in exchange for her safe passage.
But Merc has secrets of his own, and even though passion runs hot between them, enemies are around every corner, and danger and betrayal threaten at every turn.
In the dead of night, passions rise and empires fall.
Welcome to Kingdoms of the Compass.
The Fulcrum is failing, and demons are slipping into the mortal world, stalking the night.
No one is safe.
Especially not Sorrel. An orphan and an outcast, she’s spent her whole life within the walls of her small village, ostracized for her mystical abilities. She wants to survive…and maybe find somewhere she can call her true home. But Fate has other plans.
Sorrel has been chosen. Cursed.
She must cross the Badlands to return the Queen's crown and convince the fearsome female to save their world from destruction.
Well aware she’s no brave hero, Sorrel makes a dangerous deal with Merc, a brooding, commanding mercenary known only by his unscrupulous profession.
The deal? A night in his bed that she will never forget, in exchange for her safe passage.
But Merc has secrets of his own, and even though passion runs hot between them, enemies are around every corner, and danger and betrayal threaten at every turn.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 17, 2026
About the author
J.R. Ward
218 books53.3k followersJ.R. Ward is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of numerous novels, including the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. She lives in the South her family.
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August 14, 2025I'm sorry, am I to understand that the MMC is a mercenary called *checks notes* ...Merc?
February 17, 2026
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of Crown of War and Shadow by J.R. Ward
Yeahhhhhh.. so if you find yourself needing me this year. Don't. I shall remain huddled in my lair reading Netgalley books until further notice. Unless it's the second coming of Hercules leave me and my books the heavens alone!
I continue to wonder what is in the water these authors are consuming.. Just when I am BEYOND positive I cannot be impressed any further.. I pick up the next book and I am reminded just how wrong I can actually be.
I do apologize in advance, this might be one of those explanations that sound better in my head but, here goes nothing. In most other circumstances this would almost be considered "too much" as far as lyrical writing goes but the author writes it in such a way where it works here . I think it's the constant momentum the author keeps throughout the book. While the text is very dense and rich the story itself is in an endless forward motion. This resulted in an absolutely beautiful read.
However, while it was beautiful I do recommend checking the trigger warnings here. Some topics might be hard depending on where you are in your healing journey. As always this book will be here waiting when you think you're ready. Honestly, it's not even so much the topics themselves but more of the hauntingly realistic way the author writes through the topics.
Until next time
Hades
🩵
Yeahhhhhh.. so if you find yourself needing me this year. Don't. I shall remain huddled in my lair reading Netgalley books until further notice. Unless it's the second coming of Hercules leave me and my books the heavens alone!
I continue to wonder what is in the water these authors are consuming.. Just when I am BEYOND positive I cannot be impressed any further.. I pick up the next book and I am reminded just how wrong I can actually be.
I do apologize in advance, this might be one of those explanations that sound better in my head but, here goes nothing. In most other circumstances this would almost be considered "too much" as far as lyrical writing goes but the author writes it in such a way where it works here . I think it's the constant momentum the author keeps throughout the book. While the text is very dense and rich the story itself is in an endless forward motion. This resulted in an absolutely beautiful read.
However, while it was beautiful I do recommend checking the trigger warnings here. Some topics might be hard depending on where you are in your healing journey. As always this book will be here waiting when you think you're ready. Honestly, it's not even so much the topics themselves but more of the hauntingly realistic way the author writes through the topics.
Until next time
Hades
🩵
November 20, 2025
This dark romantacy was an unputdownable book! I really loved the story, the characters and the world building! It also comes with a magnificent beautiful cover. This is my first book that I have read by this author. I will definitely be reading more of this author’s books, because this one was just breathtaking. Some of the themes that I noticed in this book were fate versus choice, trust and betrayal, secrecy and survival!
This is a forced proximity, hidden magic novel. I found that the characters in the story were strongly developed and it came with vivid imagery! The world building in this book is phenomenal. I love that this book had twists in it, that I did not expect. I would consider this a slow burn romance and it being more of a subplot in the book. Overall, I give this novel a 4 out of 5 stars rating! This book gave me The Lord of The Rings movie vibes!
Thank you to NetGalley, author J.R. Ward and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for this great eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be released on February 17, 2026!
This is a forced proximity, hidden magic novel. I found that the characters in the story were strongly developed and it came with vivid imagery! The world building in this book is phenomenal. I love that this book had twists in it, that I did not expect. I would consider this a slow burn romance and it being more of a subplot in the book. Overall, I give this novel a 4 out of 5 stars rating! This book gave me The Lord of The Rings movie vibes!
Thank you to NetGalley, author J.R. Ward and Tor Publishing Group | Bramble for this great eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review and feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be released on February 17, 2026!
May 13, 2026
*2.5* Generously rounding up. A strong setup, and I enjoyed the first part of the story. The Fulcrum is failing, demons are slipping into the mortal world, and Sorrel, an orphaned outcast (cursed with strange abilities), is forced to cross the Badlands to do the impossible.
Sorrel’s powers are revealed slowly, and she doesn’t fully understand them either. There were moments in this book that were genuinely beautiful. I also liked all the little hints that something deeper was happening with her. However, some of these abilities were ridiculous, she doesn’t know how to ride a horse, but somehow she's an expert rider. She thinks she can’t swim, then jumps into the water and suddenly grows fins???
There’s an immaturity throughout the book that was really annoying. Merc (H) keeps insinuating she’s a prostitute even though she’s a virgin, and Sorrel cannot stop lusting after his muscles. A lot of their dialogue and attraction felt very juvenile to me.
Their first intimate scene was awful. Really awful.
The twist at the end was nice, but it took me AGES to get through this book and I didn’t necessarily enjoy the experience of reading it. This book made me question how I felt about Ward's previous stories. Were they all this bad and I was too swept up in that universe to notice?
TW: Graphic gore/violence. Giant ass spiders!!
Sorrel’s powers are revealed slowly, and she doesn’t fully understand them either. There were moments in this book that were genuinely beautiful. I also liked all the little hints that something deeper was happening with her. However, some of these abilities were ridiculous, she doesn’t know how to ride a horse, but somehow she's an expert rider. She thinks she can’t swim, then jumps into the water and suddenly grows fins???
There’s an immaturity throughout the book that was really annoying. Merc (H) keeps insinuating she’s a prostitute even though she’s a virgin, and Sorrel cannot stop lusting after his muscles. A lot of their dialogue and attraction felt very juvenile to me.
Their first intimate scene was awful. Really awful.
The twist at the end was nice, but it took me AGES to get through this book and I didn’t necessarily enjoy the experience of reading it. This book made me question how I felt about Ward's previous stories. Were they all this bad and I was too swept up in that universe to notice?
TW: Graphic gore/violence. Giant ass spiders!!
January 13, 2026
2.5 ★— I think this book is another victim of me having read too many fantasy romance stories and thus not being able to read something that feels like it’s following a story I’ve seen played out far too many times before.
Also, I just started off on the wrong foot with this one. Sorrel is introduced as an outsider in the village she lives in, a healer that people rely on while simultaneously looking down at her for her powers. But then she learns she’s the Chosen One and runs into Merc, the aptly named mercenary, who helps her traverse the Badlands and… see, even the blurb of this is cookie-cutter!
And like this summary, Sorrel felt like a very indistinct type of character who is thrust into this world with a sort of sweet naivety that I just didn’t find charming and which mostly made me yearn for more competence.
Much like her, Merc felt similarly archetypal. He meets her, thinking she is a sex worker which was the first instance of this book giving me the ick, as he quite literally makes a dirty joke to her about being “interested in her fold”! And that, ladies and gentlemen, killed any hope of this book redeeming itself, as Sorrel blushed at this weird ass dirty talk Merc threw at her.
He then proceeded to beg her for sex several times until he finally learned that she wasn’t actually a sex worker, and I just can’t- This book ruined the future dynamic between Sorrel and Merc for me, and I forced myself to finish reading it, as the story gave me a fairly predictable “twist” and an ending I expected. I will not continue this series, but J.R. Ward fans who want a more adventure-focused, fantasy-tinged romance and are okay with familiar tropes might find enjoyment here.
🎧 Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
The narrator had a great voice, and I thought she did a good job of immersing me in the story and helping me follow the plot.
___________
Thank you to Tor Books for the ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
Also, I just started off on the wrong foot with this one. Sorrel is introduced as an outsider in the village she lives in, a healer that people rely on while simultaneously looking down at her for her powers. But then she learns she’s the Chosen One and runs into Merc, the aptly named mercenary, who helps her traverse the Badlands and… see, even the blurb of this is cookie-cutter!
And like this summary, Sorrel felt like a very indistinct type of character who is thrust into this world with a sort of sweet naivety that I just didn’t find charming and which mostly made me yearn for more competence.
Much like her, Merc felt similarly archetypal. He meets her, thinking she is a sex worker which was the first instance of this book giving me the ick, as he quite literally makes a dirty joke to her about being “interested in her fold”! And that, ladies and gentlemen, killed any hope of this book redeeming itself, as Sorrel blushed at this weird ass dirty talk Merc threw at her.
He then proceeded to beg her for sex several times until he finally learned that she wasn’t actually a sex worker, and I just can’t- This book ruined the future dynamic between Sorrel and Merc for me, and I forced myself to finish reading it, as the story gave me a fairly predictable “twist” and an ending I expected. I will not continue this series, but J.R. Ward fans who want a more adventure-focused, fantasy-tinged romance and are okay with familiar tropes might find enjoyment here.
🎧 Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
The narrator had a great voice, and I thought she did a good job of immersing me in the story and helping me follow the plot.
___________
Thank you to Tor Books for the ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
February 23, 2026
We have to be honest about what this was. This was a last ditch attempt at an author who ruled the trending romance subgenre a good 20 years ago to stay relevant.
In her prime JR Ward was everything. She was the queen of paranormal romance with her BDB vampire books. 15 year old me worshipped at her altar.
However, it's been 2 decades, 20+ books, various spinoff series and some weird attempts at contemporary romance and her star has dimmed. Dare I say she's lost the spark that made her spectacular. I say this as a beloved reader but also as someone who has to look at the numbers. Dark Lover currently has 355,627 ratings on goodreads vs her latest BDB release Lover Forbidden which sits at 4,004 ratings. That's quite the dip.
It's normal for long running series to wane. Interests shifts. Paranormal romance supremacy eventually evolved into urban fantasy which has now shifted into romantasy being the next big thing. And this shift from her (6 years too late mind you) is... kind of desperate.
This had none of her former magic. The world building was inexistent, the characters were flat, and the plot was so fucking uninspiring. It was like she had a checklist of fantasy plot points and just threw them all in there. The protagonists had little chemistry and Sorrel was so reminiscent of a chosen it was irritating.
I did appreciate her attempt to shift her prose, from urban fantasy to more high fantasy. But at times it was unnecessarily flowery, and it just became annoying. She tried to end every single of the 95 chapters in a cliffhanger which just made the sentence structures annoying.
No amount of generic romantasy plot twists at the end could save this. I just hope she abandons this series as quickly as she did that firefighter series and that YA boarding school girls thriller.
Seriously, she needs to stop trying to be trendy and just write what comes to her. Like she did at the very beginning.
In her prime JR Ward was everything. She was the queen of paranormal romance with her BDB vampire books. 15 year old me worshipped at her altar.
However, it's been 2 decades, 20+ books, various spinoff series and some weird attempts at contemporary romance and her star has dimmed. Dare I say she's lost the spark that made her spectacular. I say this as a beloved reader but also as someone who has to look at the numbers. Dark Lover currently has 355,627 ratings on goodreads vs her latest BDB release Lover Forbidden which sits at 4,004 ratings. That's quite the dip.
It's normal for long running series to wane. Interests shifts. Paranormal romance supremacy eventually evolved into urban fantasy which has now shifted into romantasy being the next big thing. And this shift from her (6 years too late mind you) is... kind of desperate.
This had none of her former magic. The world building was inexistent, the characters were flat, and the plot was so fucking uninspiring. It was like she had a checklist of fantasy plot points and just threw them all in there. The protagonists had little chemistry and Sorrel was so reminiscent of a chosen it was irritating.
I did appreciate her attempt to shift her prose, from urban fantasy to more high fantasy. But at times it was unnecessarily flowery, and it just became annoying. She tried to end every single of the 95 chapters in a cliffhanger which just made the sentence structures annoying.
No amount of generic romantasy plot twists at the end could save this. I just hope she abandons this series as quickly as she did that firefighter series and that YA boarding school girls thriller.
Seriously, she needs to stop trying to be trendy and just write what comes to her. Like she did at the very beginning.
April 16, 2026
DNF
23% in and I couldn't go any further!
I definitely prefer Ms Ward as a Vampire Romance author as opposed to this type of storyline... I did not feel as though I was reading a JR Ward book at all.
Very disappointed
23% in and I couldn't go any further!
I definitely prefer Ms Ward as a Vampire Romance author as opposed to this type of storyline... I did not feel as though I was reading a JR Ward book at all.
Very disappointed
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I'm honestly over the "poor/orphan girl's quest who develops new powers when it's convenient" plot, and I found this hard to want to finish, the only reason I didn't dnf is because it's an arc and an audiobook.
I think the story lost me when the MMC offers to help our FMC if she sleeps with him (13% in) and she was into the idea basically saying "well, I don't want to die a virgin anyway" I got the immediate ick. When he says he wants access to her wet folds (gross) in order to help her, it just really turned me off.
And though it literally says in the synopsis "The deal? A night in his bed that she will never forget, in exchange for her safe passage." But let's be real, I didn't read that far in the synopsis, but even that on its own doesn't sound too bad, but the way it was written in the book was bad.
It didn't matter what he did/said after that, I already had a negative image of him.
The dialogue is insanely cringy.
Not the best narrator choice, she reads very slowly and with a melodic tone of voice. The narrator sounds like she's whisper talking, like she's trying to read quietly in a singsongy voice. It almost reminds me of an older (time not age) Disney princess with the mousy faint voice, and it's quite distracting.
- Forced proximity
- Chosen mates
- Hidden magic
- Who did this to you?
I think the story lost me when the MMC offers to help our FMC if she sleeps with him (13% in) and she was into the idea basically saying "well, I don't want to die a virgin anyway" I got the immediate ick. When he says he wants access to her wet folds (gross) in order to help her, it just really turned me off.
And though it literally says in the synopsis "The deal? A night in his bed that she will never forget, in exchange for her safe passage." But let's be real, I didn't read that far in the synopsis, but even that on its own doesn't sound too bad, but the way it was written in the book was bad.
It didn't matter what he did/said after that, I already had a negative image of him.
The dialogue is insanely cringy.
Not the best narrator choice, she reads very slowly and with a melodic tone of voice. The narrator sounds like she's whisper talking, like she's trying to read quietly in a singsongy voice. It almost reminds me of an older (time not age) Disney princess with the mousy faint voice, and it's quite distracting.
- Forced proximity
- Chosen mates
- Hidden magic
- Who did this to you?
February 19, 2026
Absolutely breathtaking.
Did Not Finish
January 23, 2026DNFed at ~25%.
This book felt like I was watching a wild TLC show, with Sorrell’s innocence shadowing the entire book. Why did she not correct him that she was in fact the opposite of a prostitute? Was she 15? Or was she just a prudish 20 something who had been living under a rock?
The amount of giggling and “I’m sorry what”’s that came out of my mouth were astounding. What do you mean she thought she couldn’t swim but then when she jumped in the water she grew fins?
All just too much of a fever dream for me.
This book felt like I was watching a wild TLC show, with Sorrell’s innocence shadowing the entire book. Why did she not correct him that she was in fact the opposite of a prostitute? Was she 15? Or was she just a prudish 20 something who had been living under a rock?
The amount of giggling and “I’m sorry what”’s that came out of my mouth were astounding. What do you mean she thought she couldn’t swim but then when she jumped in the water she grew fins?
All just too much of a fever dream for me.
July 13, 2026
A fantasy novel by J.R. Ward
Sorrell is an orphan who is gifted with herbs and helps deliver babies with her abilities. The town knows what she does, but no one acknowledges it in the daylight. She has only one friend, whose health is declining. For the most part, she is an outcast who works at the local pub.
There are whispers that the Fulcrum is failing and demons are slipping into the mortal world, stalking the night and killing unsuspecting humans. If the Fulcrum fails completely, the demons will win.
Sorrell is told that she is the future. In order to preserve the Fulcrum, she must travel to the Badlands to ask for the Queen’s help. She is given a crown to take on her journey. However, Sorrell can’t do it alone. Bad things are waiting for her on the way to the Queen’s land. She enlists the help of a mercenary named Merc, who mistakes her for a prostitute and offers to help her in exchange for sleeping with him. Can she reach the Queen in time, and can she give her body to him? I guess you’ll have to read it to find out.
I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward, and I wanted to read The Crown of War and Shadow to immerse myself in a new world created by her. Sorrell is a determined young woman, and her character growth was well done. Merc came out of nowhere but was willing to help and protect her. The world-building was extensive and will help set up the next book in the series.
As a whole, I enjoyed this novel, but not as much as the BDB books.
Cliffhanger: Yes
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Tor Publishing Group|Bramble via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Sorrell is an orphan who is gifted with herbs and helps deliver babies with her abilities. The town knows what she does, but no one acknowledges it in the daylight. She has only one friend, whose health is declining. For the most part, she is an outcast who works at the local pub.
There are whispers that the Fulcrum is failing and demons are slipping into the mortal world, stalking the night and killing unsuspecting humans. If the Fulcrum fails completely, the demons will win.
Sorrell is told that she is the future. In order to preserve the Fulcrum, she must travel to the Badlands to ask for the Queen’s help. She is given a crown to take on her journey. However, Sorrell can’t do it alone. Bad things are waiting for her on the way to the Queen’s land. She enlists the help of a mercenary named Merc, who mistakes her for a prostitute and offers to help her in exchange for sleeping with him. Can she reach the Queen in time, and can she give her body to him? I guess you’ll have to read it to find out.
I love the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward, and I wanted to read The Crown of War and Shadow to immerse myself in a new world created by her. Sorrell is a determined young woman, and her character growth was well done. Merc came out of nowhere but was willing to help and protect her. The world-building was extensive and will help set up the next book in the series.
As a whole, I enjoyed this novel, but not as much as the BDB books.
Cliffhanger: Yes
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Tor Publishing Group|Bramble via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
March 3, 2026
OOF.
We’ve moved from morally gray to *throw the whole man away*. This was not a good time.
**Spoilers below**
The FMC meets the MMC at the inn where she works. He immediately assumes she’s someone he can hire for the night. She doesn’t correct him. Instead, she makes a deal with him. She’ll sleep with him, and in exchange, he’ll take her where she needs to go. They leave together and eventually they come to a town with an Inn/brothel and they get a room together. He tells her to not leave the room while he's gone doing things.
They eventually become intimate, he services her and then just leaves. She wakes up alone.
The FMC is a healer and a man in the village comes to her requesting assistance for his pregnant wife. She ends up helping the woman through a difficult childbirth. She comes back to the inn and finds the MMC leaving a room that is very much not theirs with an undressed woman in the bed behind him.
She is upset and calls the deal with him off. He argues with her about it, follows her back to their room, and only after some more arguing does he agree to leave.
She goes to the man who runs the brothel side of the Inn seeking protection and offers him something in exchange, she’ll tell him how he dies. The MMC then comes back, sees this other man in the room, and is immediately jealous. The other man leaves. Then the MMC and FMC immediately have sex. What? Lol.
And after he finishes.. He gets up, gathers his things, and walks out. Just leaves leaves. Walks out of the Inn. Gone.
She ends up leaving on her own and ends up travelling the same way he is and surprise, surprise, they continue together.
When she opens up and tells him she was a virgin before they slept together, his response? That she was a “well-plowed field I slid into last night.”
Excuse me, sir??? 😤
At one point she actually confronts him on the fact that he went to bed with another woman. His response? "A man has needs." Oh boy. A man can also stay in a committed relationship with his own hand for the rest of eternity!
I genuinely don’t know how we were expected to recover from this nonsense. It wasn’t angst. It wasn’t banter. He was demeaning, crude, and an ASS. Their relationship never felt like something I could root for. I haven’t been this consistently disgusted by an MMC in a long time.
The story progresses, they're travelling together, he never apologizes or treats her any better, he only admits that he was jealous whenever they're in a hairy situation that might not end with both of them alive.. then they get caught by the southern kingdom and thrown in a dungeon.. she proceeds to tell him she loves him.... what? how? why? when did this happen? what did this lame-ass do to earn your love again? I needed character growth. I needed groveling. I NEEDED emotional payoff. WE GET NOTHING.
If you love toxic, degrading MMCs with no real accountability, this might work for you. But for me? Absolutely not.
We’ve moved from morally gray to *throw the whole man away*. This was not a good time.
**Spoilers below**
The FMC meets the MMC at the inn where she works. He immediately assumes she’s someone he can hire for the night. She doesn’t correct him. Instead, she makes a deal with him. She’ll sleep with him, and in exchange, he’ll take her where she needs to go. They leave together and eventually they come to a town with an Inn/brothel and they get a room together. He tells her to not leave the room while he's gone doing things.
They eventually become intimate, he services her and then just leaves. She wakes up alone.
The FMC is a healer and a man in the village comes to her requesting assistance for his pregnant wife. She ends up helping the woman through a difficult childbirth. She comes back to the inn and finds the MMC leaving a room that is very much not theirs with an undressed woman in the bed behind him.
She is upset and calls the deal with him off. He argues with her about it, follows her back to their room, and only after some more arguing does he agree to leave.
She goes to the man who runs the brothel side of the Inn seeking protection and offers him something in exchange, she’ll tell him how he dies. The MMC then comes back, sees this other man in the room, and is immediately jealous. The other man leaves. Then the MMC and FMC immediately have sex. What? Lol.
And after he finishes.. He gets up, gathers his things, and walks out. Just leaves leaves. Walks out of the Inn. Gone.
She ends up leaving on her own and ends up travelling the same way he is and surprise, surprise, they continue together.
When she opens up and tells him she was a virgin before they slept together, his response? That she was a “well-plowed field I slid into last night.”
Excuse me, sir??? 😤
At one point she actually confronts him on the fact that he went to bed with another woman. His response? "A man has needs." Oh boy. A man can also stay in a committed relationship with his own hand for the rest of eternity!
I genuinely don’t know how we were expected to recover from this nonsense. It wasn’t angst. It wasn’t banter. He was demeaning, crude, and an ASS. Their relationship never felt like something I could root for. I haven’t been this consistently disgusted by an MMC in a long time.
The story progresses, they're travelling together, he never apologizes or treats her any better, he only admits that he was jealous whenever they're in a hairy situation that might not end with both of them alive.. then they get caught by the southern kingdom and thrown in a dungeon.. she proceeds to tell him she loves him.... what? how? why? when did this happen? what did this lame-ass do to earn your love again? I needed character growth. I needed groveling. I NEEDED emotional payoff. WE GET NOTHING.
If you love toxic, degrading MMCs with no real accountability, this might work for you. But for me? Absolutely not.
March 24, 2026
I liked this book a lot......up until the ending. I loved the journey that the main characters take. It is enjoyable, except for the spiders of which I have a terrible phobia. The ending just seemed rushed, as if the author got tired of the book and just wanted it to end. The chapters are short, 4 to 5 pages, so it is easy to stop anywhere, but you don't want to. You are constantly wanting to see what's next.
February 19, 2026
**𝔄ℜℭ ℜ𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔢𝔴** ℭ𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔬𝔣 𝔚𝔞𝔯 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔖𝔥𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴 𝔟𝔶 𝔍. ℜ. 𝔚𝔞𝔯𝔡 (𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔡𝔬𝔪𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔰 #1)
Release Date: February 17, 2026
5⭐️3🌶
This is MOST unlike anything I've read from J. R. Ward, and I'm not even a little bit mad about it. The voice feels different, but the level of emotion and depth of characters is the same. She's still a master a weaving together an amazing plot with characters that have real emotional depth.
This book has a slow burn romance that is full of tension and a tad bit of jealousy. The hidden powers and lost princess vibes play a prominent role, but this lost princess is not taking lip from anyone!
Blurb (minor spoilers):
Sorrel has lived her entire life confined within the high walls of her small village. Orphaned a birth, she has never had any family to care for her, and she's worked as a kitchen maid for the local innkeeper since before she can remember. She also has the ability to recall someone from deaths door. The villagers won't look at her or even talk to her, but they will call upon her skills when a woman is in labor and appears that she and the baby may die.
Merc arrives in this small town and mistakes Sorrel for a "lady of the night". However, she's never shared her body with another person before, but she's willing to play along with his misassumption, so long as he can get her out of her current situation.
The village is convinced that Sorrel is behind the murder of several young men from her village that occurred in the forest. Despite it not being her fault, they assume it to be her because she is the cursed one with dark and unexplainable powers. Sorrel can either leave town on her own or hire Merc to guild her to the next town. He agrees, but only will take payment from her body. She agrees to this stipulation, despite having no experience in the area of using your body for payment, or using your body for anything really.
Merc is not your typical "knight in shining armor". He is a mercenary that will take payment in many forms. He also pretends like he doesn't care for her current charge, Sorrel, other than getting her to where he's agreed to take her. But he always puts her needs first despite how dire their situation is.
Sorrel is so strong and soft at the same time. I love her as a character, because she's not cut and dry. She has a lot of gray to her. Sorrel frequently has panic attacks and doesn't know what to do, but she trusts her gut and she trusts that Merc will protect her.
This series has absolutely captivated me, and I cannot wait to see where Merc and Sorrel go in the next installment.
Themes/Tropes:
🍁Shadow Daddy/Healer
🍁Hidden magical abilities
🍁Lost princess vibes
🍁A cursed outcast
🍁Morally gray mercenary
🍁Kingdom on the brink of collapse
🍁Sizzling tension
TW:
✨Violence
✨Attack from beasts/animals
✨Outcast from society
✨Bribery/manipulation
✨Sexual content
Thank you to @netgalley and @jrward for the ARC copy!
Release Date: February 17, 2026
5⭐️3🌶
This is MOST unlike anything I've read from J. R. Ward, and I'm not even a little bit mad about it. The voice feels different, but the level of emotion and depth of characters is the same. She's still a master a weaving together an amazing plot with characters that have real emotional depth.
This book has a slow burn romance that is full of tension and a tad bit of jealousy. The hidden powers and lost princess vibes play a prominent role, but this lost princess is not taking lip from anyone!
Blurb (minor spoilers):
Sorrel has lived her entire life confined within the high walls of her small village. Orphaned a birth, she has never had any family to care for her, and she's worked as a kitchen maid for the local innkeeper since before she can remember. She also has the ability to recall someone from deaths door. The villagers won't look at her or even talk to her, but they will call upon her skills when a woman is in labor and appears that she and the baby may die.
Merc arrives in this small town and mistakes Sorrel for a "lady of the night". However, she's never shared her body with another person before, but she's willing to play along with his misassumption, so long as he can get her out of her current situation.
The village is convinced that Sorrel is behind the murder of several young men from her village that occurred in the forest. Despite it not being her fault, they assume it to be her because she is the cursed one with dark and unexplainable powers. Sorrel can either leave town on her own or hire Merc to guild her to the next town. He agrees, but only will take payment from her body. She agrees to this stipulation, despite having no experience in the area of using your body for payment, or using your body for anything really.
Merc is not your typical "knight in shining armor". He is a mercenary that will take payment in many forms. He also pretends like he doesn't care for her current charge, Sorrel, other than getting her to where he's agreed to take her. But he always puts her needs first despite how dire their situation is.
Sorrel is so strong and soft at the same time. I love her as a character, because she's not cut and dry. She has a lot of gray to her. Sorrel frequently has panic attacks and doesn't know what to do, but she trusts her gut and she trusts that Merc will protect her.
This series has absolutely captivated me, and I cannot wait to see where Merc and Sorrel go in the next installment.
Themes/Tropes:
🍁Shadow Daddy/Healer
🍁Hidden magical abilities
🍁Lost princess vibes
🍁A cursed outcast
🍁Morally gray mercenary
🍁Kingdom on the brink of collapse
🍁Sizzling tension
TW:
✨Violence
✨Attack from beasts/animals
✨Outcast from society
✨Bribery/manipulation
✨Sexual content
Thank you to @netgalley and @jrward for the ARC copy!
January 30, 2026
Rating: 4/5 ⭐
I received an ARC of Crown and War Shadows and overall, it was a really good Romantasy read! I loved the dynamic between Sorrel and Merc—they’re both great characters, and I was rooting for them most of the time. The world-building was also solid.
I think the book could have benefited from some more editing in certain spots to help the flow, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Can’t wait for the sequeL!
Thanks Netgalley and Tor for the advance copy!
I received an ARC of Crown and War Shadows and overall, it was a really good Romantasy read! I loved the dynamic between Sorrel and Merc—they’re both great characters, and I was rooting for them most of the time. The world-building was also solid.
I think the book could have benefited from some more editing in certain spots to help the flow, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Can’t wait for the sequeL!
Thanks Netgalley and Tor for the advance copy!
February 24, 2026
I did not enjoy this book, but I did enjoy hating this book.
World building? Barely there
Plot? Confusing
Romance? Hated it
It's been a long time since I hated an MMC as much as I hate Merc. That man is entirely horrible and I do not like a single thing about him.
The FMC wasn't the best either. She was constantly either making bad decisions, acting a fool, or pining over the MMC who kept treating her like little more than a sex toy.
Safe to say I will not be continuing this series
World building? Barely there
Plot? Confusing
Romance? Hated it
It's been a long time since I hated an MMC as much as I hate Merc. That man is entirely horrible and I do not like a single thing about him.
The FMC wasn't the best either. She was constantly either making bad decisions, acting a fool, or pining over the MMC who kept treating her like little more than a sex toy.
Safe to say I will not be continuing this series
August 28, 2025
I always love J.R. Ward books, but I especially loved this beginning of a new series. There were some twists I saw and some I didn't. Very much already looking forward to the next installment. Welcome addition to the world of fantasy/romantasy.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for access to the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for access to the ARC.
February 16, 2026
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I enjoyed JR Ward's writing over the years in one of her UF/PNR series so I was really excited to see how she would take on a new series in a new genre. Crown of War and Shadow, a Fantasy with some romance, is the first book in The Kingdoms of the Compass series. I vacillated back and forth on how to rate this. While there were some points that initially I wasn't super on board with, others that made me *grrr* out loud, I can say I was really engaged the entire time and it was difficult for me to put the book down. So whatever my thoughts were while reading the book my feelings were engaged and ultimately it paid off by the end.
A world with some magic in it has trapped an evil King and his demons behind a magic wall. That wall or fulcrum is starting to weaken and crack, demons are crossing over and once is it weak enough, The Dark King will be able to cross back into this world or plane of existence. Sorrel has lived her life in a small village as a servant in an Inn. She is an orphan and has always been there as long as she can remember, helping the women of the village give and survive dangerous births. She also has a special gift, if she looks you in the eye she can see your death.
When the fulcrum starts to fail and her village almost doomed Sorrel learns she has a fate, one that will take her on a journey into great danger to find the Queen who talks to no one and convince her to use her armies to fight against the demons. A mercenary will help her travel to this Queen, but there is a cost, one that Sorrel is willing to pay, to spend a night of passion with him. Merc is scarred, strong and something about him pulls at Sorrel immediately.
I thought this would be your basic Orphan is the chosen one story. And while it is set up that way, there is much more underneath that is slowly hinted at and teased out. Sorrel has a destiny and there is a prophecy she is a part of, along with a reason behind her hidden magic. I liked that so much of it was a mystery and we discover all of it with her character.
There is a romantic sub plot also happening between her and her escort Merc. He too has a past that is unclear but the reader is sure it is full of heartbreak as well. As they journey together to find the Queen they have many obstacles to overcome and each builds the bonds between them. I liked the slow burn of the romance, even if at times it was infuriating, I was definitely a fan of the relationship building between them. Merc, was a bit stupid at times as he had mistaken Sorrel as a prostitute in the beginning, so some of his assumptions about her were wildly unfounded, still I did love his protectiveness of her and willingness to march towards certain death to help her.
The overall story was a great set up. There is a lot going on in this world and as we are discovering it with the MC. I did struggle with the pacing as at times it moved slowly and then at other times so quick. This could be part of the writer's intent though, so that we are in tune with the single POV main character. There is a great backstory and lore, a curse, betrayal from an unexpected source and a building love that will cross plains of reality (probably). Getting to the end was definitely worth the journey. There is a bit of a cliff hanger type ending. I'm so excited to see what Sorrel will do in the next book and how much more magic there is to be uncovered.
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I enjoyed JR Ward's writing over the years in one of her UF/PNR series so I was really excited to see how she would take on a new series in a new genre. Crown of War and Shadow, a Fantasy with some romance, is the first book in The Kingdoms of the Compass series. I vacillated back and forth on how to rate this. While there were some points that initially I wasn't super on board with, others that made me *grrr* out loud, I can say I was really engaged the entire time and it was difficult for me to put the book down. So whatever my thoughts were while reading the book my feelings were engaged and ultimately it paid off by the end.
A world with some magic in it has trapped an evil King and his demons behind a magic wall. That wall or fulcrum is starting to weaken and crack, demons are crossing over and once is it weak enough, The Dark King will be able to cross back into this world or plane of existence. Sorrel has lived her life in a small village as a servant in an Inn. She is an orphan and has always been there as long as she can remember, helping the women of the village give and survive dangerous births. She also has a special gift, if she looks you in the eye she can see your death.
When the fulcrum starts to fail and her village almost doomed Sorrel learns she has a fate, one that will take her on a journey into great danger to find the Queen who talks to no one and convince her to use her armies to fight against the demons. A mercenary will help her travel to this Queen, but there is a cost, one that Sorrel is willing to pay, to spend a night of passion with him. Merc is scarred, strong and something about him pulls at Sorrel immediately.
I thought this would be your basic Orphan is the chosen one story. And while it is set up that way, there is much more underneath that is slowly hinted at and teased out. Sorrel has a destiny and there is a prophecy she is a part of, along with a reason behind her hidden magic. I liked that so much of it was a mystery and we discover all of it with her character.
There is a romantic sub plot also happening between her and her escort Merc. He too has a past that is unclear but the reader is sure it is full of heartbreak as well. As they journey together to find the Queen they have many obstacles to overcome and each builds the bonds between them. I liked the slow burn of the romance, even if at times it was infuriating, I was definitely a fan of the relationship building between them. Merc, was a bit stupid at times as he had mistaken Sorrel as a prostitute in the beginning, so some of his assumptions about her were wildly unfounded, still I did love his protectiveness of her and willingness to march towards certain death to help her.
“There are many things you can question about me. Morals, scruples, the very air in my lungs. But never doubt that I want you.”
The overall story was a great set up. There is a lot going on in this world and as we are discovering it with the MC. I did struggle with the pacing as at times it moved slowly and then at other times so quick. This could be part of the writer's intent though, so that we are in tune with the single POV main character. There is a great backstory and lore, a curse, betrayal from an unexpected source and a building love that will cross plains of reality (probably). Getting to the end was definitely worth the journey. There is a bit of a cliff hanger type ending. I'm so excited to see what Sorrel will do in the next book and how much more magic there is to be uncovered.
April 10, 2026
This was fun & entertaining, a popcorn epic fantasy with enough earnest heart, substance, & intriguing twists on familiar tropes to carry its cheesier moments. I’ve never read Ward’s BDB series (nor do I wish to), but I found these MCs very likable despite Sorrel’s Chosen One/Mary Sue energy & Merc being the usual bulky, grumpy romantasy archetype. (Bonus points for not stuffing Thane or Julion into a lame love triangle for angsty page-filler.) Also: the Dark King’s soul collecting is reminiscent of the villain in Mortal Kombat, but eh, who cares? I used to play that game every afternoon on my secondhand SuperNintendo, so the association is a good one. 🥲
4 stars; a solid foundation with unresolved threads & the potential for future growth. I’ll be picking up Book 2 when it’s released.** 😬
NB: The story is narrated only from Sorrel’s perspective. THANK YOU!
**Hopefully it doesn’t fizzle out like Green Rider or Empire of the Wolf, both of which I’ve abandoned for lack of interest. Humbug.
4 stars; a solid foundation with unresolved threads & the potential for future growth. I’ll be picking up Book 2 when it’s released.** 😬
NB: The story is narrated only from Sorrel’s perspective. THANK YOU!
**Hopefully it doesn’t fizzle out like Green Rider or Empire of the Wolf, both of which I’ve abandoned for lack of interest. Humbug.
January 26, 2026
I’m a longtime fan of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, so I went into this book with high expectations and a lot of goodwill. I wouldn’t have committed to an almost 20-hour audiobook if I didn’t truly think I was going to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me.
The pacing felt very slow, with long stretches between plot points that didn’t always seem to connect clearly. I also struggled with the FMC, whose self deprecating inner dialogue and poor decision making made it difficult for me to care for. The love interest was more interesting, but the romance itself lacked the tension and spark I was expecting.
I did appreciate that the final chapters introduced a lot. There were some interesting revelations.
However, for me, that late payoff didn’t quite make up for how drawn out and confusing much of the journey felt. Overall, this just wasn’t the book I was expecting going in.
The pacing felt very slow, with long stretches between plot points that didn’t always seem to connect clearly. I also struggled with the FMC, whose self deprecating inner dialogue and poor decision making made it difficult for me to care for. The love interest was more interesting, but the romance itself lacked the tension and spark I was expecting.
I did appreciate that the final chapters introduced a lot. There were some interesting revelations.
However, for me, that late payoff didn’t quite make up for how drawn out and confusing much of the journey felt. Overall, this just wasn’t the book I was expecting going in.
April 3, 2026
I’m a massive fan of J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, its various spin-offs, and even her soapy contemporary series, so I was massively looking forward to her romantasy debut. I generally like second-world fantasy more than real-world fantasy! Unfortunately, I’m not sure this one lived up to my sky-high expectations. It was just… OK.
It was a bit of a strange one. It mixed elements of modern-day romantasy with elements of old-school fantasy. Like, 1980s old-school fantasy! We got a classic coming-of-age tale, magic, prophecy, a lead with a secret past, an old-school dark lord, and a sequence of quests to save the world. The modern-day romantasy element was the slow-burn romance between the lead and the mercenary she hires to protect her. That relationship basically just replaced the old mentor relationship that we got in those classic 1980s tales. It all felt weirdly old-school in vibe!
The plot was actually quite sturdy. We got a classic superstitious village where Sorrel had to keep her magic hidden to avoid getting murdered by the very locals she helped with her powers. It all goes awry when evil demons start threatening the town and Sorrel gets the blame. She hires a mercenary to get her out of there but quickly gets caught up in a quest to put a stop to the Dark Lord’s plot to escape the magical prison of the Fulcrum.
I’m not entirely sure why it never fully clicked for me. Sometimes I was sucked into the tale, and other times it felt like the story was stuck in a bit of a lull. It has taken me two weeks to get through this one, which is crazy as I’m usually totally addicted to J.R. Ward’s books! I’ve been wanting a book with classic fantasy vibes for ages, so I’m absolutely horrified by my disappointment now that I’ve actually got what I thought I was craving!
I liked both Sorrel and Merc as characters, though I feel like this was definitely Sorrel’s tale. She was the one driving the story, and Merc was mostly just there to support her.
The worldbuilding was quite solid. This was a decent intro to a fairly well-established fantasy world. It had magic, an evil Dark Lord trying to escape his prison, and a lead with a hidden past and secrets she had to learn about herself if she was going to oppose the Dark Lord and save the day. All this on top of the fact that she had to deal with a bunch of regular humans being just as useless or evil as the demons!
All in all, I’m a little disappointed. I was so hyped for this one. I’ll probably still read the sequel, though I’ll be going into it with more manageable and lower expectations.
Rating: 3 Stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Stina Nielsen. I feel like she did a decent job with the book and with Sorrel, but her narration had a very earnest tone to it that gave this Ward book a more serious feel than her other books. She just has such a different energy about her than a guy like Jim Frangione, and that carried into the performance.
It was a bit of a strange one. It mixed elements of modern-day romantasy with elements of old-school fantasy. Like, 1980s old-school fantasy! We got a classic coming-of-age tale, magic, prophecy, a lead with a secret past, an old-school dark lord, and a sequence of quests to save the world. The modern-day romantasy element was the slow-burn romance between the lead and the mercenary she hires to protect her. That relationship basically just replaced the old mentor relationship that we got in those classic 1980s tales. It all felt weirdly old-school in vibe!
The plot was actually quite sturdy. We got a classic superstitious village where Sorrel had to keep her magic hidden to avoid getting murdered by the very locals she helped with her powers. It all goes awry when evil demons start threatening the town and Sorrel gets the blame. She hires a mercenary to get her out of there but quickly gets caught up in a quest to put a stop to the Dark Lord’s plot to escape the magical prison of the Fulcrum.
I’m not entirely sure why it never fully clicked for me. Sometimes I was sucked into the tale, and other times it felt like the story was stuck in a bit of a lull. It has taken me two weeks to get through this one, which is crazy as I’m usually totally addicted to J.R. Ward’s books! I’ve been wanting a book with classic fantasy vibes for ages, so I’m absolutely horrified by my disappointment now that I’ve actually got what I thought I was craving!
I liked both Sorrel and Merc as characters, though I feel like this was definitely Sorrel’s tale. She was the one driving the story, and Merc was mostly just there to support her.
The worldbuilding was quite solid. This was a decent intro to a fairly well-established fantasy world. It had magic, an evil Dark Lord trying to escape his prison, and a lead with a hidden past and secrets she had to learn about herself if she was going to oppose the Dark Lord and save the day. All this on top of the fact that she had to deal with a bunch of regular humans being just as useless or evil as the demons!
All in all, I’m a little disappointed. I was so hyped for this one. I’ll probably still read the sequel, though I’ll be going into it with more manageable and lower expectations.
Rating: 3 Stars.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Stina Nielsen. I feel like she did a decent job with the book and with Sorrel, but her narration had a very earnest tone to it that gave this Ward book a more serious feel than her other books. She just has such a different energy about her than a guy like Jim Frangione, and that carried into the performance.
March 3, 2026
Oh boy, where do I even start. This book had me uttering "oh my god" Bob Belcher style and rolling my eyes throughout the entire ~19 hour audiobook runtime. I desperately wanted to dnf at about the 20% mark. Since it was given to me as an alc however, I powered through.
Sorrel has the kind of pick-me energy you would find in most first-time authors' ya romantasy. She's an orphan with mysterious powers and falls for the first dark and brooding guy that walks through the door.
Merc (who claims to have no name, so Sorrel just calls him by a shortened version of his profession: mercenary), is devoid of personality except for that one time where a village set on fire makes him cry a little. And he doesn't want to talk about it.
The chemistry between the two is laughable. Sorrel connected more with the horse. Less than 20% in, he mistakes her for a prostitute and propositions her, which she declines, but doesn't bother correcting him on. His misogyny continues throughout the book; calling her 'woman' half the time he addresses her, bringing up their arrangement constantly, and (after one such reminder) banging her against a wall then promptly leaving. Like, leaving the town, not just the inn. Shockingly, they're in love by the end of the book.
The writing and pacing was so all over the place. The amount of sudden sentence stops during her internal dialogue had me pulling my hair out. Just finish your sentence! The term "register of cash" was used in place of cash register, which still feels out of place in a world that still barters with coin. Merc referred to Sorrel's privates as a "well-plowed field" (just another misogynistic red flag), and Sorrel referred to a man's privates as his "flesh weapon".
The first half of the book dragged along, then seemed like a non-stop action sequence where they're battling one creature after another.
By the end of it, I couldn't have cared less about the big plot reveal, I was just glad it was over.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the alc.
Sorrel has the kind of pick-me energy you would find in most first-time authors' ya romantasy. She's an orphan with mysterious powers and falls for the first dark and brooding guy that walks through the door.
Merc (who claims to have no name, so Sorrel just calls him by a shortened version of his profession: mercenary), is devoid of personality except for that one time where a village set on fire makes him cry a little. And he doesn't want to talk about it.
The chemistry between the two is laughable. Sorrel connected more with the horse. Less than 20% in, he mistakes her for a prostitute and propositions her, which she declines, but doesn't bother correcting him on. His misogyny continues throughout the book; calling her 'woman' half the time he addresses her, bringing up their arrangement constantly, and (after one such reminder) banging her against a wall then promptly leaving. Like, leaving the town, not just the inn. Shockingly, they're in love by the end of the book.
The writing and pacing was so all over the place. The amount of sudden sentence stops during her internal dialogue had me pulling my hair out. Just finish your sentence! The term "register of cash" was used in place of cash register, which still feels out of place in a world that still barters with coin. Merc referred to Sorrel's privates as a "well-plowed field" (just another misogynistic red flag), and Sorrel referred to a man's privates as his "flesh weapon".
The first half of the book dragged along, then seemed like a non-stop action sequence where they're battling one creature after another.
By the end of it, I couldn't have cared less about the big plot reveal, I was just glad it was over.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the alc.
January 27, 2026
DNF at 25%
No one is more disappointed than I am with my rating. I’m very familiar with JR Ward’s books and writing style. I love her BDB series and was thrilled when this book was announced. Despite this having a very exciting premise, it was a very boring book.
I got a little over 5 hours into the audiobook and very very little had happened. I wasn’t really excited by the book or the storyline. It could’ve been really cool but it just didn’t deliver. After five hours I knew little about our two main characters or their goals.
The narrator was a poor choice as well. She used a veryyy slow, melodic tone of voice, which I wasn’t a fan of and it didn’t match the character. If I were to just rate her I’d probably give 2/5.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
No one is more disappointed than I am with my rating. I’m very familiar with JR Ward’s books and writing style. I love her BDB series and was thrilled when this book was announced. Despite this having a very exciting premise, it was a very boring book.
I got a little over 5 hours into the audiobook and very very little had happened. I wasn’t really excited by the book or the storyline. It could’ve been really cool but it just didn’t deliver. After five hours I knew little about our two main characters or their goals.
The narrator was a poor choice as well. She used a veryyy slow, melodic tone of voice, which I wasn’t a fan of and it didn’t match the character. If I were to just rate her I’d probably give 2/5.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
January 28, 2026
4.5 stars! Thank you NetGalley and J.R. Ward for the introduction to this amazing world.
This really feels like the start of something special.
Crown of War and Shadow pulled me in fast with its mix of magic, danger, and slow-burn romance. What I loved most was the character growth. Instead of an instantly badass FMC, we actually get to watch Sorrell find her strength, which made everything feel more real and earned.
Sorrell and Merc’s relationship builds naturally, with tension, trust, and emotion that never feels rushed. Every chapter felt purposeful, the worldbuilding had depth without being overwhelming, and even the side characters mattered.
By the end, I was already frustrated that I have to wait for book two because I’m fully invested.
This really feels like the start of something special.
Crown of War and Shadow pulled me in fast with its mix of magic, danger, and slow-burn romance. What I loved most was the character growth. Instead of an instantly badass FMC, we actually get to watch Sorrell find her strength, which made everything feel more real and earned.
Sorrell and Merc’s relationship builds naturally, with tension, trust, and emotion that never feels rushed. Every chapter felt purposeful, the worldbuilding had depth without being overwhelming, and even the side characters mattered.
By the end, I was already frustrated that I have to wait for book two because I’m fully invested.
October 3, 2026
Was für ein Fiebertraum war das denn? Und unter wie viel Zeitdruck standen die Übersetzer, dass sie so viele Fehler drin gelassen haben?
Ich habe Fanfictions gelesen, die waren weniger unlogisch und besser korrigiert - aber gut, ich will kein Fanfiction-Bashing betreiben. Eine Menge waren qualitativ unglaublich gut und deutlich besser als das hier. Aber "Crown of War and Shadow" erinnert sehr an diese Zeiten. Eine Geschichte, die irgendwie mit einer vagen Idee beginnt und eine Romance sein will, dann aber auf abenteuerlichen Pfaden durch eine halb ausgegorene Welt jagt, immer mal wenn es passt sich an die Romance erinnert, Enemies-to-lovers mit viel Geschrei garniert und bei der jede Enthüllung die Prota noch mehr zur allmächtigen Mary Sue macht, als sie es nicht ohnehin schon war.
Dieses Review wird nicht spoilerfrei. Man fühle sich gewarnt. Ich habe ungefähr 2 Dutzend Screenshots zu sichten von den Stellen, die bei mir am meisten Kopfschütteln ausgelöst haben, was vielleicht also nicht unbedingt sortiert rüberkommt.
Von Anfang an.
Sorrel ist eine unscheinbare junge Frau, die in einem kleinen Dorf lebt und Fähigkeiten hat, die sie besser verstecken muss, schließlich gibt es in ihrer Welt keine Magie mehr. Oder nur noch die dunkle Magie des dunklen Königs, der ins Fulcrum verbannt wurde. Aber ihre Magie ist anders und eigentlich profitieren die meisten gern davon, aber öffentlich zugeben will es keiner. So lebt sie denn in einem Bordell unter einer Treppe und wird des Nachts von Dörflern aufgesucht, die ihre Hilfe brauchen als Heilerin. Gleichzeitig kann sie von jedem, dem sie in die Augen sieht, den Tod sehen. Ja, diese Fähigkeiten haben schon so Potential, das Leben für sie ziemlich gefährlich zu machen. Gleichzeitig wäre sie aber eigentlich auch dadurch recht mächtig? Eine Stimme in ihr sagt ihr aber, sie soll sich verstecken und das macht sie ja ziemlich überzeugend.
Bis hierhin noch ein normaler Anfang (relativ).
Dann taucht ein fremder Söldner im Dorf auf. Und da er der Love Interest werden soll, wird das Arrangement jetzt etwas gezwungen und etwas seltsam. Denn als Sorrel in Gefahr gerät, weil sie nun doch verdächtig und gejagt wird (nach all der Zeit - dazu später mehr), bietet er ihr einen Deal an: eine Nacht mit ihr, und er bringt sie in Sicherheit. Klingt irgendwie im Klappentext cooler als es ist, denn hallo? Creepfaktor? Und Sorrel versucht ihm zu sagen, dass sie keine der Damen aus dem Bordell ist, aber er glaubt ihr nicht (mit unglaublich groben Worten) und das SCHAFFT SIE DAS GESAMTE BUCH NICHT aufzuklären? OMG, es heben nun bitte alle die Hand, die sich eine romantische Beziehung mit jemandem vorstellen kann, der einen für eine Prostituierte hält und das Gegenteil niemals glaubt (und 500 Seiten später nach dem Sex sagt, er wusste ja dass sie gelogen hat, weil sie "gut besucht war" - ich muss das genaue Zitat raussuchen, aber es ist widerlich).
Es folgen hunderte Seiten wilde Abenteuer und Flucht, die sich flott weglesen lassen und hier und da recht nette Nebencharaktere haben. Die Lovestory ist derweil eigentlich nur, dass sie zusammen reisen, was für mich nichts mit slowburn zu tun hat. Merc ist eifersüchtig, als Sorrel sich mit jemand anderem auch nur unterhält (sehr romantisches Gebaren) und löst das, indem er in einem anderen Wirtshaus eine Prostituierte aufsucht. Sorrel ist deswegen (verständlich) eifersüchtig, aber das gibt sich dann, als sie erfährt, dass er da keinen hochbekommen hat. Sehr erwachsen und gesund, Leute, ehrlich.
(Wunderschönes Zitat dieser Liebesgeschichte: "Oh Sichelmond, du hast meinen Körper genommen -" - Jep, so rede ich auch immer darüber.)
Von da an geht das ganze immer weiter bergab.
Zum Beispiel, als man irgendwann erfährt, dass sie wochenlang eine gefährliche Reise in ein Königreich im Süden auf sich genommen haben, um aus diesem dann in einem Tag in Sorrels Heimatdorf zurückreisen zu können. Weil die Karte ein Kreis ist und sie am Anfang den äußeren Rand genommen haben. Und jetzt sind die in Eile und nehmen deshalb den kürzeren Weg. Logisch.
Oder anderes Beispiel, wie Sorrel beim Reiten irgendwann geradeaus starrt und dabei die Erkenntnis bekommt, dass sie die Tochter des dunklen Königs ist. Klar. War ja vorhersehbar und ist immer so in Büchern, dass man so was erfährt, während man durch die Gegend reitet, denn warum nicht?
Oder am Ende als Sorrel sich über sich selbst die Wahrheit erkennt und mal so nebenbei die Jahrhunderte in ihrem Dorf erwähnt:
Das Dorf, wo sie sich versteckt hat, unter der Treppe gelebt hat und Dörfler geheilt und das seit JAHRHUNDERTEN UND NIEMANDEM IST DAS AUFGEFALLEN??!?!?!
Ach ja, weil sie nämlich erkennt, dass sie tot ist. Zitat:
Ja, alle Enthüllungen sind ungefähr so einschlagend wie die, mit viel Zeit, das zu verdauen und emotionalem Gewicht dahinter.
Ich habe mich durch die letzten Seiten einfach nur noch gequält und wollte, dass es vorbei ist.
Noch dazu finde ich die deutsche Ausgabe nicht gelungen.
Ein paar Zitate mit abstrusen Formulierungen:
- "Ich senke den Kopf und lege Worte in meine tiefste Angst. "Merc." "
Also eigentlich ist das nur ein Wort und häh? Wie legt man Worte in Angst?
- "Ich mache keine Zusagen darüber, was bei Eurer Rückkehr geschehen wird, selbst wenn Ihr den verlorenen Edelstein Ihrer Erhabenen Hoheit mitbringen." Bei so viel Durchlaucht und Erhaben und Euch beugen sich nicht mal mehr die Verben.
- ""Das war doch gar nicht so schwer, oder?", hauche ich.
"Die Spinnen oder die Zulassung", antwortet er trocken."
Das deutsche Wort wäre wohl Geständnis. Oder etwas ausführlicher, dass er die Gefühle zugelassen hat. Aber in keinem Fall das da.
Und noch so ein Highlight:
- "Er verbeugt sich und streckt seinen Arm mit spöttischer Galanterie aus, dann geht er zu seinem Pferd, steckt das Breitschwert in das Holster auf seinem Rücken und reitet davon.
Als er bei seinem Sattel angekommen ist, schiebt er die verschiedenen Rollen und Bündel beiseite und nimmt eine Trinkblase heraus."
Entweder haben wir hier sehr viele verschiedene Ers, oder er wäre eigentlich schon weggeritten oder aber ... keine Ahnung wie die Zeitleiste Sinn ergibt.
- "Er füllt Beutel aus verschiedenen Behältern und weigert sich, Geld anzunehmen, wobei er von den Kupfermünzen der verängstigten Kunden verscheucht wird. Ich mache eine Geste über meinen Arm und zeige auf die drei Glasbehälter, die Lena mich ihr bringen lassen sollte, und er nickt mir zu."
Irgendwann muss ich das Original suchen, um zu verstehen, was hier eigentlich passieren soll. Ist er jetzt verscheucht von den Münzen oder noch da und kann nicken? Und was sollte Lena?
Oh und das noch:
- "Obwohl ich die Augen fest zusammenkneife, weiß ich durch den schrecklichen Ruf des geflügelten Raubtieres, dass es meine Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat."
Ich weiß eigentlich auch immer, was meine Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat, ohne zu sehen oder zu hören, denn es ist meine Aufmerksamkeit o.O
Und ja, ich bereue, dass dieses Buch meine Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat. Ich habe schon viel von Ward gelesen, und ja, das ist nicht High End Literatur, aber bei der Black Dagger Brotherhood und auch ein paar anderen Romances wurde ich gut unterhalten, ohne Nackenprobleme durch zu viel Kopfschütteln und eine mittelschwere Sinnkrise ob der Frage, warum Bücher wie dieses hier veröffentlicht werden.
DO NOT READ. Keine Empfehlung von mir.
Ich habe Fanfictions gelesen, die waren weniger unlogisch und besser korrigiert - aber gut, ich will kein Fanfiction-Bashing betreiben. Eine Menge waren qualitativ unglaublich gut und deutlich besser als das hier. Aber "Crown of War and Shadow" erinnert sehr an diese Zeiten. Eine Geschichte, die irgendwie mit einer vagen Idee beginnt und eine Romance sein will, dann aber auf abenteuerlichen Pfaden durch eine halb ausgegorene Welt jagt, immer mal wenn es passt sich an die Romance erinnert, Enemies-to-lovers mit viel Geschrei garniert und bei der jede Enthüllung die Prota noch mehr zur allmächtigen Mary Sue macht, als sie es nicht ohnehin schon war.
Dieses Review wird nicht spoilerfrei. Man fühle sich gewarnt. Ich habe ungefähr 2 Dutzend Screenshots zu sichten von den Stellen, die bei mir am meisten Kopfschütteln ausgelöst haben, was vielleicht also nicht unbedingt sortiert rüberkommt.
Von Anfang an.
Sorrel ist eine unscheinbare junge Frau, die in einem kleinen Dorf lebt und Fähigkeiten hat, die sie besser verstecken muss, schließlich gibt es in ihrer Welt keine Magie mehr. Oder nur noch die dunkle Magie des dunklen Königs, der ins Fulcrum verbannt wurde. Aber ihre Magie ist anders und eigentlich profitieren die meisten gern davon, aber öffentlich zugeben will es keiner. So lebt sie denn in einem Bordell unter einer Treppe und wird des Nachts von Dörflern aufgesucht, die ihre Hilfe brauchen als Heilerin. Gleichzeitig kann sie von jedem, dem sie in die Augen sieht, den Tod sehen. Ja, diese Fähigkeiten haben schon so Potential, das Leben für sie ziemlich gefährlich zu machen. Gleichzeitig wäre sie aber eigentlich auch dadurch recht mächtig? Eine Stimme in ihr sagt ihr aber, sie soll sich verstecken und das macht sie ja ziemlich überzeugend.
Bis hierhin noch ein normaler Anfang (relativ).
Dann taucht ein fremder Söldner im Dorf auf. Und da er der Love Interest werden soll, wird das Arrangement jetzt etwas gezwungen und etwas seltsam. Denn als Sorrel in Gefahr gerät, weil sie nun doch verdächtig und gejagt wird (nach all der Zeit - dazu später mehr), bietet er ihr einen Deal an: eine Nacht mit ihr, und er bringt sie in Sicherheit. Klingt irgendwie im Klappentext cooler als es ist, denn hallo? Creepfaktor? Und Sorrel versucht ihm zu sagen, dass sie keine der Damen aus dem Bordell ist, aber er glaubt ihr nicht (mit unglaublich groben Worten) und das SCHAFFT SIE DAS GESAMTE BUCH NICHT aufzuklären? OMG, es heben nun bitte alle die Hand, die sich eine romantische Beziehung mit jemandem vorstellen kann, der einen für eine Prostituierte hält und das Gegenteil niemals glaubt (und 500 Seiten später nach dem Sex sagt, er wusste ja dass sie gelogen hat, weil sie "gut besucht war" - ich muss das genaue Zitat raussuchen, aber es ist widerlich).
Es folgen hunderte Seiten wilde Abenteuer und Flucht, die sich flott weglesen lassen und hier und da recht nette Nebencharaktere haben. Die Lovestory ist derweil eigentlich nur, dass sie zusammen reisen, was für mich nichts mit slowburn zu tun hat. Merc ist eifersüchtig, als Sorrel sich mit jemand anderem auch nur unterhält (sehr romantisches Gebaren) und löst das, indem er in einem anderen Wirtshaus eine Prostituierte aufsucht. Sorrel ist deswegen (verständlich) eifersüchtig, aber das gibt sich dann, als sie erfährt, dass er da keinen hochbekommen hat. Sehr erwachsen und gesund, Leute, ehrlich.
(Wunderschönes Zitat dieser Liebesgeschichte: "Oh Sichelmond, du hast meinen Körper genommen -" - Jep, so rede ich auch immer darüber.)
Von da an geht das ganze immer weiter bergab.
Zum Beispiel, als man irgendwann erfährt, dass sie wochenlang eine gefährliche Reise in ein Königreich im Süden auf sich genommen haben, um aus diesem dann in einem Tag in Sorrels Heimatdorf zurückreisen zu können. Weil die Karte ein Kreis ist und sie am Anfang den äußeren Rand genommen haben. Und jetzt sind die in Eile und nehmen deshalb den kürzeren Weg. Logisch.
Oder anderes Beispiel, wie Sorrel beim Reiten irgendwann geradeaus starrt und dabei die Erkenntnis bekommt, dass sie die Tochter des dunklen Königs ist. Klar. War ja vorhersehbar und ist immer so in Büchern, dass man so was erfährt, während man durch die Gegend reitet, denn warum nicht?
Oder am Ende als Sorrel sich über sich selbst die Wahrheit erkennt und mal so nebenbei die Jahrhunderte in ihrem Dorf erwähnt:
Und es tauchen noch mehr auf, die ich gerettet habe, in den Hunderten von Jahren, die ich in meinem Dorf verbracht habe.
Das Dorf, wo sie sich versteckt hat, unter der Treppe gelebt hat und Dörfler geheilt und das seit JAHRHUNDERTEN UND NIEMANDEM IST DAS AUFGEFALLEN??!?!?!
Ach ja, weil sie nämlich erkennt, dass sie tot ist. Zitat:
Außerdem habe ich gelernt, dass ich tot bin, was erklären würde, warum ich nie einen Menstruationszyklus wie andere Frauen hatte.
Ja, alle Enthüllungen sind ungefähr so einschlagend wie die, mit viel Zeit, das zu verdauen und emotionalem Gewicht dahinter.
Ich habe mich durch die letzten Seiten einfach nur noch gequält und wollte, dass es vorbei ist.
Noch dazu finde ich die deutsche Ausgabe nicht gelungen.
Ein paar Zitate mit abstrusen Formulierungen:
- "Ich senke den Kopf und lege Worte in meine tiefste Angst. "Merc." "
Also eigentlich ist das nur ein Wort und häh? Wie legt man Worte in Angst?
- "Ich mache keine Zusagen darüber, was bei Eurer Rückkehr geschehen wird, selbst wenn Ihr den verlorenen Edelstein Ihrer Erhabenen Hoheit mitbringen." Bei so viel Durchlaucht und Erhaben und Euch beugen sich nicht mal mehr die Verben.
- ""Das war doch gar nicht so schwer, oder?", hauche ich.
"Die Spinnen oder die Zulassung", antwortet er trocken."
Das deutsche Wort wäre wohl Geständnis. Oder etwas ausführlicher, dass er die Gefühle zugelassen hat. Aber in keinem Fall das da.
Und noch so ein Highlight:
- "Er verbeugt sich und streckt seinen Arm mit spöttischer Galanterie aus, dann geht er zu seinem Pferd, steckt das Breitschwert in das Holster auf seinem Rücken und reitet davon.
Als er bei seinem Sattel angekommen ist, schiebt er die verschiedenen Rollen und Bündel beiseite und nimmt eine Trinkblase heraus."
Entweder haben wir hier sehr viele verschiedene Ers, oder er wäre eigentlich schon weggeritten oder aber ... keine Ahnung wie die Zeitleiste Sinn ergibt.
- "Er füllt Beutel aus verschiedenen Behältern und weigert sich, Geld anzunehmen, wobei er von den Kupfermünzen der verängstigten Kunden verscheucht wird. Ich mache eine Geste über meinen Arm und zeige auf die drei Glasbehälter, die Lena mich ihr bringen lassen sollte, und er nickt mir zu."
Irgendwann muss ich das Original suchen, um zu verstehen, was hier eigentlich passieren soll. Ist er jetzt verscheucht von den Münzen oder noch da und kann nicken? Und was sollte Lena?
Oh und das noch:
- "Obwohl ich die Augen fest zusammenkneife, weiß ich durch den schrecklichen Ruf des geflügelten Raubtieres, dass es meine Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat."
Ich weiß eigentlich auch immer, was meine Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat, ohne zu sehen oder zu hören, denn es ist meine Aufmerksamkeit o.O
Und ja, ich bereue, dass dieses Buch meine Aufmerksamkeit erlangt hat. Ich habe schon viel von Ward gelesen, und ja, das ist nicht High End Literatur, aber bei der Black Dagger Brotherhood und auch ein paar anderen Romances wurde ich gut unterhalten, ohne Nackenprobleme durch zu viel Kopfschütteln und eine mittelschwere Sinnkrise ob der Frage, warum Bücher wie dieses hier veröffentlicht werden.
DO NOT READ. Keine Empfehlung von mir.
Did Not Finish
February 26, 2026I am a fan of Ward’s BDB series and it pains me to say, this book did not work for me. The synopsis seems fine in theory but the execution just wasn’t there. I got to 23% in the audiobook and will not be finishing.
A few different reasons, the pacing was slow and fast. I cannot imagine the amount of needless fluff in this 466 page, 14 hour 54 minute book. The weird sexualization of this seemingly young FMC made me uncomfortable. Additionally, the narrator’s voice also skewed very young, very whimsical, and I just couldn’t get into it.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook copy.
A few different reasons, the pacing was slow and fast. I cannot imagine the amount of needless fluff in this 466 page, 14 hour 54 minute book. The weird sexualization of this seemingly young FMC made me uncomfortable. Additionally, the narrator’s voice also skewed very young, very whimsical, and I just couldn’t get into it.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook copy.
September 14, 2026
Inicio de una saga compuesta por un total de cuatro libros, de una autora que, bajo mi opinión, es una de las mejores escritoras de romántica sobrenatural.
Resulta inconfundible, el toque oscuro e incluso gótico de una fantasía muy bien estructurada, que aglutina elementos de lo más interesantes y deja espacio para una trama sustentada en pequeñas dosis de misterio. J.R. Ward, con este libro, sorprende incluso hasta sus lectores más fieles, al cambiar en parte su registro literario al revestir su estilo de un toque más lírico, más profundo e intrigante, facilitando así que se disfrute de una historia catapultada por giros argumentales nada dados a ser planos, aun cuando estos se rodean de un ritmo pausado.
Se trata de un libro cargado de aventuras, incesantes peligros, secretos, grandes enemigos, pequeñas sorpresas y un romance calmado, pero con gran capacidad para resultar adictivo. Su ambientación oscura, le lleva a ser un libro al que es fácil engancharse puesto que sabe mantenerte en vilo, al cobijar escenas de acción y enfrentamientos con criaturas de lo más aterradoras.
Respecto al romance, cumple sobradamente con las expectativas, tanto Sorrel como Merc logran entablar gran conexión con el lector, cobijarse bien entre las sombras, siendo un misterio por resolver, creando escenas entre ellos son delicadas, con gran peso de lo personal y las emociones de ambos, con espacio para escenas spicy sutiles, que no copan gran atención, puesto que la autora ha apostado por un romance que resulte natural y creíble. El viaje de ambos personajes esconden sorpresas y secretos que están muy bien y que te llevan a considerar este primer libro, una de las mejores lecturas de este año. Una fantasía que acierta con su madurez.
A pesar de que su número de páginas pudiera resultar apabullante, lo cierto es que se trata de un libro muy cómodo de leer, adictivo, que sabe atrapar.
Reseña completa en el blog: https://aeternamdea.blogspot.com/2026...
Resulta inconfundible, el toque oscuro e incluso gótico de una fantasía muy bien estructurada, que aglutina elementos de lo más interesantes y deja espacio para una trama sustentada en pequeñas dosis de misterio. J.R. Ward, con este libro, sorprende incluso hasta sus lectores más fieles, al cambiar en parte su registro literario al revestir su estilo de un toque más lírico, más profundo e intrigante, facilitando así que se disfrute de una historia catapultada por giros argumentales nada dados a ser planos, aun cuando estos se rodean de un ritmo pausado.
Se trata de un libro cargado de aventuras, incesantes peligros, secretos, grandes enemigos, pequeñas sorpresas y un romance calmado, pero con gran capacidad para resultar adictivo. Su ambientación oscura, le lleva a ser un libro al que es fácil engancharse puesto que sabe mantenerte en vilo, al cobijar escenas de acción y enfrentamientos con criaturas de lo más aterradoras.
Respecto al romance, cumple sobradamente con las expectativas, tanto Sorrel como Merc logran entablar gran conexión con el lector, cobijarse bien entre las sombras, siendo un misterio por resolver, creando escenas entre ellos son delicadas, con gran peso de lo personal y las emociones de ambos, con espacio para escenas spicy sutiles, que no copan gran atención, puesto que la autora ha apostado por un romance que resulte natural y creíble. El viaje de ambos personajes esconden sorpresas y secretos que están muy bien y que te llevan a considerar este primer libro, una de las mejores lecturas de este año. Una fantasía que acierta con su madurez.
A pesar de que su número de páginas pudiera resultar apabullante, lo cierto es que se trata de un libro muy cómodo de leer, adictivo, que sabe atrapar.
Reseña completa en el blog: https://aeternamdea.blogspot.com/2026...
June 11, 2026
Honestly, it just didn’t hold my attention. There was potential for sure especially in the beginning but then it just fell flat for me.
November 11, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for the gifted copy of this eARC.
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
⭐️ 3.5/5
🌶 2/5
🧠 4/10
Cliffhanger: 3/10
Noteworthy: Book 1 of an incomplete series. Single first-person POV. There are some darker elements in this story. Publication date 2/17/2026.
This was a big book for a first in a series. It feels like a lot happens but also not a lot. Probably because we spend a lot of time with the two main characters but there are parts of the story that feel a little stuck in the mud. The world itself gave me midevil Witcher vibes. Everything feels like it has a layer of grit on it. Nothing ever felt comfortable at any point. There is so much mystery surrounding our FMC Sorrel and MMC Merc. Some twists you may see coming but probably not everything.
The romance feels very much like a subplot that teases a lot. For me, Merc does not give us a classic Romantacy MMC. It felt like even the reader is kept at arms length with his hot and cold routine but it only adds to the air of mystery surrounding him. The plot is a little clunky in spots. At points it seems to drag and others it moves at lightning speed when it should have slowed a bit to add to story. But I really did like this book enough to want to continue the series. I would like to see how these characters continue to develop and where the story is going.
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
⭐️ 3.5/5
🌶 2/5
🧠 4/10
Cliffhanger: 3/10
Noteworthy: Book 1 of an incomplete series. Single first-person POV. There are some darker elements in this story. Publication date 2/17/2026.
This was a big book for a first in a series. It feels like a lot happens but also not a lot. Probably because we spend a lot of time with the two main characters but there are parts of the story that feel a little stuck in the mud. The world itself gave me midevil Witcher vibes. Everything feels like it has a layer of grit on it. Nothing ever felt comfortable at any point. There is so much mystery surrounding our FMC Sorrel and MMC Merc. Some twists you may see coming but probably not everything.
The romance feels very much like a subplot that teases a lot. For me, Merc does not give us a classic Romantacy MMC. It felt like even the reader is kept at arms length with his hot and cold routine but it only adds to the air of mystery surrounding him. The plot is a little clunky in spots. At points it seems to drag and others it moves at lightning speed when it should have slowed a bit to add to story. But I really did like this book enough to want to continue the series. I would like to see how these characters continue to develop and where the story is going.
June 18, 2026
Mich macht das Buch immer noch so wütend. Ich habe lange kein Buch mehr gelesen, dem ich nur einen einzigen Stern gegeben habe. Hier gab es aber leider kaum etwas, das mir gefallen hat.
Der Schreibstil war grausam zu lesen. Völlig verschachtelte Sätze mit abertausenden Nebensätzen und Einschüben gepaart mit einer furchtbaren Übersetzung, Grammatik- , Rechtschreib- und Satzzeichenfehlern. Manche Sätze haben keinen Sinn ergeben, es haben Buchstaben gefehlt oder die Groß- und Kleinschreibung war falsch, oder oder oder.
Dazu kommt, dass ich die Nebencharaktere hier teilweise sympathischer fand als unsere Protagonisten Sorrel und Merc. Was zunächst als körperliche Anziehung beginnt, wandelt sich innerhalb von gefühlten drei Tagen in die große Liebe um. Gleichzeitig fand ich Merc aber so furchtbar unsympathisch: Er bevormundet Sorrel und befiehlt ihr, was sie zu tun und lassen hat, er redet sie sehr oft völlig random mit "Frau" an, statt ihren Namen zu wählen,
Sorrel entwickelt aus dem Nichts heraus immer die passenden Fähigkeiten und kann sich aus jeder Situation nahezu problemlos befreien. Gleichzeitig bemitleidet sie sich selbst aber ständig. Ihrer Naivität waren auch gar keine Grenzen gesetzt. Meiner Meinung nach war das sehr ermüdend. Die anderen männlichen Charaktere sind bis auf einen allesamt ziemlich widerlich und behandeln Frauen wie Müll und/oder Sexsklavinnen. Das fand ich auch ziemlich unangenehm beim Lesen, weil das stellenweise einfach als "normal" hingestellt wurde, bzw. das so gar nicht kritisiert wurde. Bäh!
Der Spice war lieblos und eher unangenehm zu lesen, was bestimmt auch and der merkwürdigen Wortwahl liegen mag. Scheinbar ist hier nicht die Übersetzung schuld, laut ein paar englischen Reviews auf Goodreads ist das im Original genauso. Wer also von lesen möchte, der ist hier richtig. Ich fand es wirklich grauenhaft.
Der rote Faden ist im Mittelteil überhaupt nicht erkennbar, alles dümpelt so vor sich hin und Sorrel und Merc reiten halt durch die Gegend. Aus dem Nichts überschlagen sich dann zum Schluss die Ereignisse. Der Plot ist sonst überladen mit Klischees, als hätte die Autorin eine Romantasy-Stichpunktliste geführt und abgehakt. Die "Plottwists" waren allesamt sehr erwartbar und haben mich dann eher mit den Augen rollen lassen. Worldbuilding gab es kaum, man hat wirklich nur das absolut Nötige erfahren und das war's dann schon.
Insgesamt kann ich das Buch nicht weiterempfehlen.
Der Schreibstil war grausam zu lesen. Völlig verschachtelte Sätze mit abertausenden Nebensätzen und Einschüben gepaart mit einer furchtbaren Übersetzung, Grammatik- , Rechtschreib- und Satzzeichenfehlern. Manche Sätze haben keinen Sinn ergeben, es haben Buchstaben gefehlt oder die Groß- und Kleinschreibung war falsch, oder oder oder.
Dazu kommt, dass ich die Nebencharaktere hier teilweise sympathischer fand als unsere Protagonisten Sorrel und Merc. Was zunächst als körperliche Anziehung beginnt, wandelt sich innerhalb von gefühlten drei Tagen in die große Liebe um. Gleichzeitig fand ich Merc aber so furchtbar unsympathisch: Er bevormundet Sorrel und befiehlt ihr, was sie zu tun und lassen hat, er redet sie sehr oft völlig random mit "Frau" an, statt ihren Namen zu wählen,
Sorrel entwickelt aus dem Nichts heraus immer die passenden Fähigkeiten und kann sich aus jeder Situation nahezu problemlos befreien. Gleichzeitig bemitleidet sie sich selbst aber ständig. Ihrer Naivität waren auch gar keine Grenzen gesetzt. Meiner Meinung nach war das sehr ermüdend. Die anderen männlichen Charaktere sind bis auf einen allesamt ziemlich widerlich und behandeln Frauen wie Müll und/oder Sexsklavinnen. Das fand ich auch ziemlich unangenehm beim Lesen, weil das stellenweise einfach als "normal" hingestellt wurde, bzw. das so gar nicht kritisiert wurde. Bäh!
Der Spice war lieblos und eher unangenehm zu lesen, was bestimmt auch and der merkwürdigen Wortwahl liegen mag. Scheinbar ist hier nicht die Übersetzung schuld, laut ein paar englischen Reviews auf Goodreads ist das im Original genauso. Wer also von lesen möchte, der ist hier richtig. Ich fand es wirklich grauenhaft.
Der rote Faden ist im Mittelteil überhaupt nicht erkennbar, alles dümpelt so vor sich hin und Sorrel und Merc reiten halt durch die Gegend. Aus dem Nichts überschlagen sich dann zum Schluss die Ereignisse. Der Plot ist sonst überladen mit Klischees, als hätte die Autorin eine Romantasy-Stichpunktliste geführt und abgehakt. Die "Plottwists" waren allesamt sehr erwartbar und haben mich dann eher mit den Augen rollen lassen. Worldbuilding gab es kaum, man hat wirklich nur das absolut Nötige erfahren und das war's dann schon.
Insgesamt kann ich das Buch nicht weiterempfehlen.
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