I have been aching to write this review since 10% in. This book ensnared me from page 1. It has everything, mystery and intrigue, yearning and tension, it is sweet and tender, and heartwrenching and heartpounding. Everything I could possibly want and need. But more than that the writing is captivating. The author's descriptions are so precise and detailed, that it’s like watching a movie with every turn of the page. The world building was inventive and imaginative, nothing I have read before. According to Goodreads, I have read approx. 30+ books this year, and I can honestly say, this is in my top 10. If this does not go to the top of your TBR, you are missing out on some fantastic writing, the flirtiest MMC and a strong willed FMC, and a world that is beautiful, mysterious and intriguing. Thank you @NetGalley and @authornoelia for creating such a beautifully written book, and @troubedor for allowing me the opportunity to read Tale of Lillies. I am so thrilled to own a copy of this book.
SPOILERS: - DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT
This story doesn’t hesitate to grab you. The FMC, Delaira, feels stifled in her small town, and is selected from a lottery to become a maid at the castle in the city. Along the way, she meets our MMC, Acheron - he is mysterious and intriguing from the start, but then again, so is she. This is the start of their relationship and a fine duo they make. He is flirtatious and a bit cocky, but when he speaks it makes you want to melt. But our FMC’s strong will and determination to find something more, something better for herself, does not easily succumb to his flirtatious ways. While at the castle, she becomes privy to an underlying turmoil, not just in the castle, but in the city, she senses tension and discord, while all the while, our MMC makes appearances as though he is silently watching her, but the author is so good at hiding his true intentions, it seems he is around for his own nefarious reasons. The plot takes shape and we are made aware that there is an underground rebellion, quite literally, to overthrow the Crown. And if the story wasn’t good already, this is where the story gets really good. There is lore intertwined in the story of their gods and magic, and all of it inventive, new and beautiful. I can’t wait to read more and hope this becomes a series.