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Institute of the Shadow Fae #2
Court of Darkness
I would not say things are going well, exactly. I live in a burnt-out car under a bridge, surrounded by rubbish. When Ruadan shows up to bring me back to the Institute, I leap at the chance.
That is, until he throws me into the dungeons. I’m on the naughty list, and the mentor who once trained me is cold as ice. Now, I must pass every single trial, or the Institute’s executioners will rip me to pieces. Good thing I can handle it. I was the queen of the gladiator ring, and I do not go down easily.
This book is from the Demons of Fire and Night world.
That is, until he throws me into the dungeons. I’m on the naughty list, and the mentor who once trained me is cold as ice. Now, I must pass every single trial, or the Institute’s executioners will rip me to pieces. Good thing I can handle it. I was the queen of the gladiator ring, and I do not go down easily.
This book is from the Demons of Fire and Night world.
244 pages, ebook
First published August 27, 2018
3826 people are currently reading
16706 people want to read
About the author
C.N. Crawford
80 books8,763 followersTo get sneak peaks at the next book, sales, and news about releases, Sign up here.
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C.N. Crawford are Wall Street Journal bestselling authors of romantasy books, including books with fae, demons, and magical academies.
We write fantasy romance, urban fantasy, and portal romance. Our books often include trials, banter, and enemies to lovers stories.
CN Crawford’s books are perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, K.F. Breene, and Laura Thalassa.
Note: We are actually two people--a former biologist (Nick) and a former school psychologist (Christine).
To join C.N. Crawford's fan group and chat to the authors, Click here.
To stalk on instagram, Click here.
For a free standalone novel, Sign up here.
C.N. Crawford are Wall Street Journal bestselling authors of romantasy books, including books with fae, demons, and magical academies.
We write fantasy romance, urban fantasy, and portal romance. Our books often include trials, banter, and enemies to lovers stories.
CN Crawford’s books are perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, K.F. Breene, and Laura Thalassa.
Note: We are actually two people--a former biologist (Nick) and a former school psychologist (Christine).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 600 reviews
September 23, 2023
Another enchanting, whimsical and action packed fantasy.
Queen of the ring, former Gladiator Arianna must win every trial to survive the sure death within the institute that relishes in destroying the strongest and most willing of opponents. For sheer pleasure. Only the best can endure these brutal battles.
The continuation of Ruadan’s and Arianna’s story also plays out in this wonderfully written book. Their mistrust lingers, their banter delights and their slow burn romance keeps the reader hooked.
Characterisation - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot / Twists - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing Style - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
World Building - ⭐⭐⭐
Banter - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An enjoyable, solid and immersive 4-star book from this newly discovered fantasy author for me. I loved that this was a shorter read. In fact, I read all 4 books in the series in two days it is that quick and easy to read.
Lighthearted and uncomplicated but charming!!!
Excellent book and series so far.
Queen of the ring, former Gladiator Arianna must win every trial to survive the sure death within the institute that relishes in destroying the strongest and most willing of opponents. For sheer pleasure. Only the best can endure these brutal battles.
The continuation of Ruadan’s and Arianna’s story also plays out in this wonderfully written book. Their mistrust lingers, their banter delights and their slow burn romance keeps the reader hooked.
Characterisation - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot / Twists - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing Style - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
World Building - ⭐⭐⭐
Banter - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
An enjoyable, solid and immersive 4-star book from this newly discovered fantasy author for me. I loved that this was a shorter read. In fact, I read all 4 books in the series in two days it is that quick and easy to read.
Lighthearted and uncomplicated but charming!!!
Excellent book and series so far.
May 26, 2025
literally had to tell myself to slow my horses because I’m reading these books so fast.
October 8, 2018
4 stars
Um so this was awesome.
Why hasn't the next book come out yet....
Um so this was awesome.
Why hasn't the next book come out yet....
July 30, 2024
This was kind of entertaining in a completely Wattpad sort of way. Just... no.
- Not continuing this series.
- Not continuing this series.
August 29, 2018
If you need to know one thing about this book, it is that this book was as good as the first one. Non-stop action has us rooting for Arianna as she is back trying to win the coveted Shadow Fae spot. Along the way, we learn more hints about who Arianna really is (and I have my suspicions), find out more about Ruadan’s past and family, and learn secrets about Arianna’s friends. To be honest, it’s hard to really say much about this book as there was a lot of things happening I don’t want to spoil. I loved every minute of this second book, and it’s still on track to by my favorite series by these authors. If you are also a fan, you need to pick this up! Highly recommend!
July 22, 2025
Cette série est vraiment excellente. Je pense que je lirais tous les tomes un après l’autre si c’était possible. Vraiment j’adore. Il n’y a vraiment pas de temps morts et les traits d’humour sont bien réussis.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ : Adoré
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ : Adoré
February 9, 2024
The Wraith and the Thief
Arianna and Ciara have been on their own, and all though they haven’t been doing particularly well, they might be doing better since Arianna just stole that gold bar from the dragon. Unfortunately dragons don’t give up their gold easily, and when Ruadan caught up to Ariana, the dragon was hot on her tail.
Ruadan was still as gorgeous and as frightening as he ever was, but Arianna knew he was attracted to her even if shadow knights were supposed to be celibate. This time he was there for a social call, he came for the stone that allowed Arianna to shadow jump that she had stolen from the Institute and Ruadan was told to take her back.
It wasn’t long before both Arianna and Ruadan found out they both had enemies old and new maybe even in the Institute itself. Once again they are a great team in more ways than one, whether or not they can do anything about it.
C. N. Crawford did it again with another excellent adventure with lots of action and I find myself really hoping this isn’t the end for these two.
Arianna and Ciara have been on their own, and all though they haven’t been doing particularly well, they might be doing better since Arianna just stole that gold bar from the dragon. Unfortunately dragons don’t give up their gold easily, and when Ruadan caught up to Ariana, the dragon was hot on her tail.
Ruadan was still as gorgeous and as frightening as he ever was, but Arianna knew he was attracted to her even if shadow knights were supposed to be celibate. This time he was there for a social call, he came for the stone that allowed Arianna to shadow jump that she had stolen from the Institute and Ruadan was told to take her back.
It wasn’t long before both Arianna and Ruadan found out they both had enemies old and new maybe even in the Institute itself. Once again they are a great team in more ways than one, whether or not they can do anything about it.
C. N. Crawford did it again with another excellent adventure with lots of action and I find myself really hoping this isn’t the end for these two.
May 8, 2019
I stood tall. “The Amazon Terror is nothing less than amazing.”
“That’s a ridiculous name.”
“Okay, Wraith.”
“You’ll notice I do not refer to myself in the third person.”
Arianna gets dragged back to the Academy to finish the tasks. But the head of the Academy is determined to eliminate Arianna.
Ruadan speaks in this one and I really enjoy his back and forth with Arianna. We still don’t know what Arianna’s other half is, but I’m ninety percent sure I figured it out. And it’s a doozy.
“That’s a ridiculous name.”
“Okay, Wraith.”
“You’ll notice I do not refer to myself in the third person.”
Arianna gets dragged back to the Academy to finish the tasks. But the head of the Academy is determined to eliminate Arianna.
Ruadan speaks in this one and I really enjoy his back and forth with Arianna. We still don’t know what Arianna’s other half is, but I’m ninety percent sure I figured it out. And it’s a doozy.
March 4, 2024
oooof!
i see why people have rated this book series so high, it’s a winner of a series. Just pick it up!
i see why people have rated this book series so high, it’s a winner of a series. Just pick it up!
November 5, 2022
I liked this one a smidgen less than the first, but not enough to change my rating. Arianna is still a fun and badass character. This book cracked me up at times and I loved the action as well.
August 17, 2025
Loved this! I need to read book 3 ASAP!
April 19, 2021
I already wanted to write this in my review of the first book in the series but I thought it premature at the time. But after this second book, I am pretty confident in my assessment.
The author has a deep-seated bitterness against men that has festered into resentment and even disdain.
Except for the one fetishized perfect fictional love-interest that she painted in the most shallow and sexist strokes.
The portrayal of men in this series almost feels like some kind of payback for some slight she suffered by the male gender in general.
She (the author and the MC) even goes so far as to mock and humiliate a guy for an inborn deformity instead of his repugnant character. It's what a typical bully would do and it's disgusting. And this is not just some shortcomings of the MC either. You can clearly hear the voice of the author in those passages.
While this annoyed me even more than the more frequently seen casual sexism against women does (which often is also written by women), it still only makes up a small part of the book.
The magic is just being made up on the spot and contradicts itself horribly.
The larger worldbuilding is decent but I'd say that is to be expected after the author already wrote 13 books in the same world prior.
Everything that doesn't immediately contribute to the plot (and even a lot of stuff that does) is soaked in lust.
Lust magic is affecting the MC every second page. It's ridiculous. The MC loses her clothes constantly. It's like she has some kind of weird strip compulsion.
Well, I guess it makes sense that she frequently needs to change clothes considering that her panties are probably like Genesis 7:17.
And the action scenes (which are to 90% drenched in some weird lust bs as well) are just plain bad. The author tried to write them play-by-play, which just isn't the way to do fights in writing and only really works in film but I digress, but she totally fails to portray even halfway believable fight choreographies. It's more like you expect AI in a computer game to behave that is designed to not overwhelm the player but despite that enemies manage to hit her in the back but only ever with shallow cuts and tears every single fucking fight. How can you cut someone shallowly if you surprise her from behind? (She usually only notices that she has been hit in the back due to the pain of the injury.) The entire sequences are just copy-paste for almost every fight.
In short SHALLOW and LOW-EFFORT.
I am done with this author for good.
The author has a deep-seated bitterness against men that has festered into resentment and even disdain.
Except for the one fetishized perfect fictional love-interest that she painted in the most shallow and sexist strokes.
The portrayal of men in this series almost feels like some kind of payback for some slight she suffered by the male gender in general.
She (the author and the MC) even goes so far as to mock and humiliate a guy for an inborn deformity instead of his repugnant character. It's what a typical bully would do and it's disgusting. And this is not just some shortcomings of the MC either. You can clearly hear the voice of the author in those passages.
While this annoyed me even more than the more frequently seen casual sexism against women does (which often is also written by women), it still only makes up a small part of the book.
The magic is just being made up on the spot and contradicts itself horribly.
The larger worldbuilding is decent but I'd say that is to be expected after the author already wrote 13 books in the same world prior.
Everything that doesn't immediately contribute to the plot (and even a lot of stuff that does) is soaked in lust.
Lust magic is affecting the MC every second page. It's ridiculous. The MC loses her clothes constantly. It's like she has some kind of weird strip compulsion.
Well, I guess it makes sense that she frequently needs to change clothes considering that her panties are probably like Genesis 7:17.
And the action scenes (which are to 90% drenched in some weird lust bs as well) are just plain bad. The author tried to write them play-by-play, which just isn't the way to do fights in writing and only really works in film but I digress, but she totally fails to portray even halfway believable fight choreographies. It's more like you expect AI in a computer game to behave that is designed to not overwhelm the player but despite that enemies manage to hit her in the back but only ever with shallow cuts and tears every single fucking fight. How can you cut someone shallowly if you surprise her from behind? (She usually only notices that she has been hit in the back due to the pain of the injury.) The entire sequences are just copy-paste for almost every fight.
In short SHALLOW and LOW-EFFORT.
I am done with this author for good.
July 13, 2021
This series went down hill for me. The heroine is just stupid. I mean really. How she couldn’t figure out Ruadan was protecting her boggles the mind…. I mean he saves her life, keeps her secret, heals here but when they are in public with a man who obviously hates him he treats her poorly. Hmmmm I don’t know maybe he’s trying to play a part. I just don’t understand how she doesn’t get this. Then when she finally figures it out because he tells her it’s all about them being turned on by one another. Her teasing him and trying to get him turned on. A bit much. Add to that she has a best friend that she doesn’t want imprisoned or used against her. She asks Ruadan to bring her to the institute. WHY!!!! Why would you bring a human right in to the thick of your battle?!!! WTH. It went downhill so fast.
June 21, 2022
It is on me that I write this review at a two/three months distance since I finished reading the book.
I can barely remember one thing of this series, least of all of this particular book.
Out of the three books that I read from this installment, only the review for the first book is coherent.
I can pinpoint only to a general impression that this series left me, and that was it is good for when you are in a reading slump.
September 10, 2021
Nope
That instantly got worse. I hate convenient solutions to huge problems and suddenly convenience abounds. I appreciate the building of sexual tension between our two main characters, but that is the only redeeming quality about this book. That budding romance is super convenient for our heroine, though. Not going to waste my time in reading anymore of this series. Two out of five stars to Court of Darkness.
That instantly got worse. I hate convenient solutions to huge problems and suddenly convenience abounds. I appreciate the building of sexual tension between our two main characters, but that is the only redeeming quality about this book. That budding romance is super convenient for our heroine, though. Not going to waste my time in reading anymore of this series. Two out of five stars to Court of Darkness.
May 3, 2024
« Tu sais ce que j’aime ? Les hommes qui ne parlent pas trop. »
👁️👄👁️
Ce deuxième tome est une très bonne continuité du premier. La chronologie se suit parfaitement, et on retrouve Arianna dans ses nombreuses galères. Car oui, il faut appeler un chat un chat, elle a vraiment pas de chance.
L'intrigue est à la fois similaire et différente du premier tome, donc j'ai beaucoup aimé en savoir plus sur certains aspects, et en découvrir de nouveaux.
Arianna nous cache à tous quelque chose, et je peux vous dire que j'ai vraiment hâte de connaître son "petit" secret.
Elle est toujours confrontée à des épreuves mortelles qui feront d'elle, ou non, une chevalière de l'ombre. Néanmoins elle est entourée de personne qui veulent sa mort, alors c'est pas toujours facile.
J'aime toujours autant Ruadan, et je suis très contente car ce tome 2 nous en apprend un peu plus sur lui et son histoire.
Hâte du tome 3.
Lecture ultra fluide, et rapide. On ne voit pas les pages défiler.
Et Arianna est quand même bien badass.
👁️👄👁️
Ce deuxième tome est une très bonne continuité du premier. La chronologie se suit parfaitement, et on retrouve Arianna dans ses nombreuses galères. Car oui, il faut appeler un chat un chat, elle a vraiment pas de chance.
L'intrigue est à la fois similaire et différente du premier tome, donc j'ai beaucoup aimé en savoir plus sur certains aspects, et en découvrir de nouveaux.
Arianna nous cache à tous quelque chose, et je peux vous dire que j'ai vraiment hâte de connaître son "petit" secret.
Elle est toujours confrontée à des épreuves mortelles qui feront d'elle, ou non, une chevalière de l'ombre. Néanmoins elle est entourée de personne qui veulent sa mort, alors c'est pas toujours facile.
J'aime toujours autant Ruadan, et je suis très contente car ce tome 2 nous en apprend un peu plus sur lui et son histoire.
Hâte du tome 3.
Lecture ultra fluide, et rapide. On ne voit pas les pages défiler.
Et Arianna est quand même bien badass.
July 31, 2023
Some minor issues:
- A few phrases, conjugations and pieces of punctuation I would've tweaked
- The foreshadowing was a little too obvious at times.
- Also, "panties" is an Americanism - the book is set in London. Knickers or pants, please.
But who cares? Court of Darkness is absolutely fucking hilarious. It had me positively cackling. It calls out slut shaming and differing attitudes to male and female sexuality. There's a little free the nipple moment. Melusine is weird and brilliant and oddly specific and I love her. There's so much to enjoy and I thoroughly recommend it!
As a side note - I must stop reading books that mention syphilis. My predictive text is wild.
- A few phrases, conjugations and pieces of punctuation I would've tweaked
- The foreshadowing was a little too obvious at times.
- Also, "panties" is an Americanism - the book is set in London. Knickers or pants, please.
But who cares? Court of Darkness is absolutely fucking hilarious. It had me positively cackling. It calls out slut shaming and differing attitudes to male and female sexuality. There's a little free the nipple moment. Melusine is weird and brilliant and oddly specific and I love her. There's so much to enjoy and I thoroughly recommend it!
As a side note - I must stop reading books that mention syphilis. My predictive text is wild.
January 21, 2022
2.5 stars
December 13, 2024
This book practically reads itself. Amazing thing 😁
April 6, 2025
Better than book 1, but not good enough.
November 12, 2024
girl be so fucking for real. A DEMON?!?
July 25, 2024
Love these little novellas. The main character is a ruthless, unapologetic killer.... but not a flat Mary-Sue, and not in a way that makes the MMC weak and lame. Love the dynamic between the two. These are very slow burn... and not spicy YET... but I think they will take that turn.
June 7, 2024
This series of books are definitely my guilty pleasure at the moment. I love them!
February 5, 2023
Well, this has become one of those series that instead of getting better as they go along, they got worse. So I will be stopping here with both this series and C.N. Crawford as a whole.
The good things were that the book is short. I still like the main pairing.
But the main pairing, enemies to lovers trope clearly engaged in a slow burn… except the slow is much TOO SLOW and unnatural and unrealistic. The way their intimate scenes are portrayed so far, these overwhelming and animalistic urges, but then nothing actually happens or comes from them…? It makes ZERO sense, except for the author trying to string along her readers. The MMC is an Incubus who feeds and thrives off sexual energy, and is not allowed to act on it?
Also, for the amount of plot twists and turns in here, the way they were done, so quickly, felt like it cheapened the story. For example, you’re hearing about one guy being “the bad guy” and you turn the page and now that guy is dead and you have another “bad guy” that magically resurrected. There were too many complicated issues that got solved too conveniently and quickly. It felt like I was getting whiplash from this story.
I was and still am intrigued by the story but after this one, it’s not worth it to me to continue on and finish..
The good things were that the book is short. I still like the main pairing.
But the main pairing, enemies to lovers trope clearly engaged in a slow burn… except the slow is much TOO SLOW and unnatural and unrealistic. The way their intimate scenes are portrayed so far, these overwhelming and animalistic urges, but then nothing actually happens or comes from them…? It makes ZERO sense, except for the author trying to string along her readers. The MMC is an Incubus who feeds and thrives off sexual energy, and is not allowed to act on it?
Also, for the amount of plot twists and turns in here, the way they were done, so quickly, felt like it cheapened the story. For example, you’re hearing about one guy being “the bad guy” and you turn the page and now that guy is dead and you have another “bad guy” that magically resurrected. There were too many complicated issues that got solved too conveniently and quickly. It felt like I was getting whiplash from this story.
I was and still am intrigued by the story but after this one, it’s not worth it to me to continue on and finish..
May 7, 2023
Apples and pine, apples and pine - sung to the tune of "Berries and Cream". We know Ruadan smells piney. And appley. I didn't need the reminders every couple pages.
This book had some of my favorite quips and banters, and Crawford really excels at that. But there's a lot of what was written that felt loosely bound and not 100% cohesive. From the magic system to the fact we've still only gotten a hint of what Arianna actually is after TWO BOOKS I got more and more frustrated as I read.
I will give the next in the series an attempt and am hoping for better.
This book had some of my favorite quips and banters, and Crawford really excels at that. But there's a lot of what was written that felt loosely bound and not 100% cohesive. From the magic system to the fact we've still only gotten a hint of what Arianna actually is after TWO BOOKS I got more and more frustrated as I read.
I will give the next in the series an attempt and am hoping for better.
September 3, 2018
Agh!!!!!
*Major Spoiler Warning*
No way can Ruby be dead!!! I had an inkling since the first book that Arianna is Ruby and Death's daughter. Looks like I was right. I cannot accept the fact that Ruby is dead, though. Didn't she become immortal at the end of her trilogy?!?!
What happened to their son?!?!
I cannot wait for the next book! This series is by far the best CN Crawford has put out!!!!
*Major Spoiler Warning*
No way can Ruby be dead!!! I had an inkling since the first book that Arianna is Ruby and Death's daughter. Looks like I was right. I cannot accept the fact that Ruby is dead, though. Didn't she become immortal at the end of her trilogy?!?!
What happened to their son?!?!
I cannot wait for the next book! This series is by far the best CN Crawford has put out!!!!
January 24, 2024
For a book that focuses so heavily on the sexualization of nearly everything, there is a complete lack of explicit content that makes me question why I’m even still reading this series.
May 17, 2024
https://my-bo0ks.over-blog.com/2024/0...
3.5/5
En février dernier je découvrais le premier tome de cette nouvelle série. Certes, il y avait quelques bémols mais j'avais quand même bien envie de poursuivre pour voir où l'autrice allait nous emmener. Et je dois dire que je ressors de ma lecture un peu plus convaincu que le premier volet. Un bon point donc.
Arianna pensait pouvoir fuir La cour des ombres mais c'était sans compter le Grand Maitre et les plans du destin qui semble prendre un malin plaisir à la mettre dans de mauvaises postures. Et ce n'est autre Ruadan, le spectre aux charmes redoutables, incube qui ne parle pas beaucoup et celui qu'elle a poignardé dans son propre lit qui vient la récupérer. Plus le choix, elle va devoir obéir aux ordres de l'Académie des Faes et survivre. Plus en tant que recrue mais prisonnière qui va devoir faire ses preuves.
Je trouve que dans ce tome, l'ensemble est bien plus équilibré. L'univers n'est pas à son maximum, mais on développe quand même plus le tout en comparaison avec le premier tome. On en apprend plus sur Arianna, Ruadan également et ça, c'est chouette. Autre bon point, on a également un peu (je dis bien un peu) moins de spicy (tant au niveau des scènes qui sont presque absentes) qu'aux allusions et au rapport à ça. C'est vrai que c'était l'un des points noirs du premier tome, ces allusions à tout bout de champ et ce côté réducteur qui m'agaçait. Tout se résumait au plan physique. Ici, c'est moins le cas. Même si, on est davantage sur une attirance entre les personnages que des sentiments très forts, on s'en rapproche plus.
Bien sur, reste encore des incohérences et quelques bémols. Je pense notamment au fait que l'héroine passe son temps, même dans les missions en mini robe, souvent blanche et transparente et qu'elle se retrouve bien trop souvent à poil à la vue de tous. Franchement, j'ai levé les yeux au ciel pas mal de fois. Malgré tout, il y a du positif. Je trouve notamment que le personnage de Ruadan continue d'être le point fort de l'histoire. J'aime assez le côté mystérieux et solitaire et j'ai vraiment apprécié qu'il soit plus mis en avant. De plus, l'amie humaine d'Arianna, Ciara gagne aussi en importance et en intérêt. L'action est au rendez-vous et les pages défilent toutes seules.
En conclusion, je dirais qu'on tient quelque chose. Un seconde tome avec davantage de potentiel, des personnages plus approfondis, une héroine encore bien mystérieuse. Tout n'est pas parfait, mais j'ai passé un bon moment.
3.5/5
En février dernier je découvrais le premier tome de cette nouvelle série. Certes, il y avait quelques bémols mais j'avais quand même bien envie de poursuivre pour voir où l'autrice allait nous emmener. Et je dois dire que je ressors de ma lecture un peu plus convaincu que le premier volet. Un bon point donc.
Arianna pensait pouvoir fuir La cour des ombres mais c'était sans compter le Grand Maitre et les plans du destin qui semble prendre un malin plaisir à la mettre dans de mauvaises postures. Et ce n'est autre Ruadan, le spectre aux charmes redoutables, incube qui ne parle pas beaucoup et celui qu'elle a poignardé dans son propre lit qui vient la récupérer. Plus le choix, elle va devoir obéir aux ordres de l'Académie des Faes et survivre. Plus en tant que recrue mais prisonnière qui va devoir faire ses preuves.
Je trouve que dans ce tome, l'ensemble est bien plus équilibré. L'univers n'est pas à son maximum, mais on développe quand même plus le tout en comparaison avec le premier tome. On en apprend plus sur Arianna, Ruadan également et ça, c'est chouette. Autre bon point, on a également un peu (je dis bien un peu) moins de spicy (tant au niveau des scènes qui sont presque absentes) qu'aux allusions et au rapport à ça. C'est vrai que c'était l'un des points noirs du premier tome, ces allusions à tout bout de champ et ce côté réducteur qui m'agaçait. Tout se résumait au plan physique. Ici, c'est moins le cas. Même si, on est davantage sur une attirance entre les personnages que des sentiments très forts, on s'en rapproche plus.
Bien sur, reste encore des incohérences et quelques bémols. Je pense notamment au fait que l'héroine passe son temps, même dans les missions en mini robe, souvent blanche et transparente et qu'elle se retrouve bien trop souvent à poil à la vue de tous. Franchement, j'ai levé les yeux au ciel pas mal de fois. Malgré tout, il y a du positif. Je trouve notamment que le personnage de Ruadan continue d'être le point fort de l'histoire. J'aime assez le côté mystérieux et solitaire et j'ai vraiment apprécié qu'il soit plus mis en avant. De plus, l'amie humaine d'Arianna, Ciara gagne aussi en importance et en intérêt. L'action est au rendez-vous et les pages défilent toutes seules.
En conclusion, je dirais qu'on tient quelque chose. Un seconde tome avec davantage de potentiel, des personnages plus approfondis, une héroine encore bien mystérieuse. Tout n'est pas parfait, mais j'ai passé un bon moment.
May 5, 2024
J’avais bien aimé le premier tome qui était une entrée en matière dans l’univers de Shadow Faé. Dans cette suite, nous retrouvons notre héroïne, Arianna qui va se confronter une nouvelle fois à la Cour des Ombres en tant que prisonnière. Cependant, si elle ne veut pas mourir, elle doit réussir les différentes épreuves imposées par le Grand Maître (un sacré enf***ré).
Dans l’ensemble, j’ai préféré ce deuxième tome au premier. La relation entre Arianna et le taciturne Ruadan m’a beaucoup plu. Au départ, on ne sait pas trop à quel jeu il joue avec notre héroïne. On reste sur un trope à la enemies to lovers et un slow burn qui me tient en haleine, enfin dans mon cas. J’ai trouvé ce côté-là très addictif.
Ce qui m’a le plus emballé toutefois, c’est qu’on en apprend bien plus sur Ruadan et l’univers dans lequel évoluent nos protagonistes. Tout comme Ciara, la seule amie d’Arianna qui a un rôle un peu plus visible dans cette suite.
Entre mystère, complots politiques et survie, j’ai passé un super moment de lecture avec La Cour de la Nuit. Ce titre a su tenir ses promesses même si, peut-être, je trouve que par moment, tout va un peu trop vite ou est légèrement superficiel dans l’intrigue. Cela dit, je ne boude pas mon plaisir et c’est l’essentiel avec cette romantasy que je vous conseille si vous voulez vous évader vers des contrées sombres et dangereuses.
J’ai hâte de lire la suite, car Arianna reste le plus grand mystère de cette histoire.
Dans l’ensemble, j’ai préféré ce deuxième tome au premier. La relation entre Arianna et le taciturne Ruadan m’a beaucoup plu. Au départ, on ne sait pas trop à quel jeu il joue avec notre héroïne. On reste sur un trope à la enemies to lovers et un slow burn qui me tient en haleine, enfin dans mon cas. J’ai trouvé ce côté-là très addictif.
Ce qui m’a le plus emballé toutefois, c’est qu’on en apprend bien plus sur Ruadan et l’univers dans lequel évoluent nos protagonistes. Tout comme Ciara, la seule amie d’Arianna qui a un rôle un peu plus visible dans cette suite.
Entre mystère, complots politiques et survie, j’ai passé un super moment de lecture avec La Cour de la Nuit. Ce titre a su tenir ses promesses même si, peut-être, je trouve que par moment, tout va un peu trop vite ou est légèrement superficiel dans l’intrigue. Cela dit, je ne boude pas mon plaisir et c’est l’essentiel avec cette romantasy que je vous conseille si vous voulez vous évader vers des contrées sombres et dangereuses.
J’ai hâte de lire la suite, car Arianna reste le plus grand mystère de cette histoire.
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