Marvels and Misfits

Trixie Towers #1

by Scarlett Dawn

Death this way comes,
To souls who break Fae law.
So it is written,
So carved in blood.
Mighty are the Fae who watch us all.

I’m screwed. Royally screwed. Of all the ways to mess up, I picked a real gem this time—of the dastardly shifter sort. Especially because I’m the crowned elven princess.

A forbidden soul mating with the cruel King Athon was not why I attended the royal summit of magical races. Our kinds do not mix, as is written in death-blood. And I’ll be damned before I let some arrogant alpha tell me what to do, and for once I’m not talking about my father.

But now, I’m on the quest of a lifetime.
My crew of accomplices—sworn enemies.
Including King Athon and my father.
Our mission—retrieve ancient artifacts lost forever.
Good luck there.

And if we fail?
No worries. The giants will crush the realm.

Between all the secrets and lies, my name is Trixie Towers; and that’s the only truth that won’t get me dead.

Genres: Fantasy, Fae, Paranormal, Magic, Shapeshifters, Romance, Enemies To Lovers

247 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 27, 2019

About the author

New York Times bestselling author and award-winner, Scarlett Dawn, is the mastermind behind the Forever Evermore fantasy series, the Origin paranormal dystopian stories, the Vampire Crown paranormal romance thrillers, the Mark science fantasy saga, and the Lion Security contemporary romance series.

She lives in the Midwest, adores her music loud, and demands her fries covered in melted cheese.

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/4X1rv

Reviews

[Naadira Moodley (BookedMercy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvels and Misfits was beyond captivating and gripping. I was sucked into this beautiful world filled with badassery, forbidden touches and a quest to save the realm. The heroes are complete a**holes and the heroines hate that they crave them. I see the name Scarlett Dawn and I’m instantly drawn.



Trixie Towers is the Elven Princess. She is the only living heir of King Traevon and has been kept in seclusion throughout her 30 years of life but now the the realm may be in danger, she is introduced as the heir to the other kingdoms rulers. One of those rulers is King Athon, the Shifter King, who is as arrogant as he is ruthless. They are sworn enemies but that doesn’t change the fact that they suddenly have a craving that won’t go away. In the midst of that, they have to go on a quest with the other rulers and find artifacts that will be used to save their kingdoms.

I loved Trixie. I am obsessed with her! She was amazing. Her wit and remarks were hilarious. What made me crazy about this book was the fact that Trixie and Athon completely loathe each other. He was not tender or loving in any way but their were moments that made me swoon. I devoured this book (like all of Scarlett’s books). I definitely see a reread of this in my near future.

Scarlett, you are freaking extraordinarily. Gosh, I can’t wait for the next book and the fact that I don’t have any more information on it is driving me insane. I hope the wait is not long.

[Laura Thalassa]

I don’t care what it’s about. Scarlett Dawn wrote it. GIMME GIMME!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvels and Misfits was very entertaining...

****4.5 Stars****

Oh my lordy, Marvels and Misfits was so Fairy good. Laura Thalassa recommended this one in her newsletter, saying, “This woman writes steamy paranormal novels like no other”, which instantly had me scrambling to check it out. Thank you, Ms Thalassa, I will definitely be adding Scarlett Dawn’s backlist to my Want To Read shelf.

I’ve been a fan of paranormal romance for years and this one checked all my boxes. We are introduced to characters that came alive for me. The storyline was interesting and kept my attention from start to finish. There was an underlying sexual hum that started before the hero and heroine even met because it was obvious that the elves are very sexual creatures. What really surprised me, in a very pleasant way, was the humour as I just wasn’t expecting it.

The heroine, Trixie was snarky, smart and could wield a knife like a trained assassin. Trixie also happens to be a crowned elven princess and heir to the throne. When first meeting Trixie, I was worried she would be an immature selfish brat, but at the story progresses, you can see she’s trying to be worthy of her title.

It’s not easy when your father is King of the Elves. Trixie knows he loves her but his role as King makes him a very busy man with a lot of enemies. Luckily, Trixie has always had her grandmother to guide and love her. When her beloved grandmother dies, Trixie is sent away to protect/hide her, and have some freedom before she hits her majority. It will be years before she returns home and immediately, she is thrust into the role she has been training for her whole life. Imagine her surprise when her first engagement brings her face to face with their sworn enemy…and he ends up being her soulmate.

The hero is one of those heroes that comes into my life, and I’m instantly seduced. For starters, he’s a big, bad and sexy shifter. Sexy to me, that is. For once, I actually liked that the heroine wasn’t at all physically attracted to the hero. King Althon is the sworn enemy to the elves with a large death count for both sides. When all of the royal houses must come together to protect their people against the Giants, King Althon is amazed when the King of Elves brings his heir…and she turns out to be his soulmate.

It absolutely cracked me up that Trixie and Althon are physically repulsed by the looks of each other but sexually drawn together too. Their initial sex scene had me shivering with delight and chuckling at the same time. Scarlett Dawn has a knack for playing with your emotions and senses. You desperately want them together because their chemistry is HOT while also keen to see them battling their connection because it’s a crack up. I can’t wait to see their battles in the future.

If you’re a fan of paranormal romance, don’t mind a little swearing, and intrigued by Trixie and Althon’s off the charts chemistry with no physical attraction to each other, I highly recommend. I bought Marvels and Misfits for under a dollar on Amazon, which was a great investment to try out a new author.

Marvels and Misfits was a fairly short treat that I hated seeing come to an end. I have already preordered the next instalment, Scales and Skeletons which releases in September. I can’t wait to see what happens next between Trixie and Althon. Can they remove the spark to save their lives, or maybe the rules will just have to change.

[Lyndi W. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly the most disturbing sex scene I've ever read in my life. That might be the worst thing I've ever read outside of a straight up horror story.

Right up front there's a truly nauseating soulmate "mating urge" where the H calls the h disgustingly ugly and grotesque as they fuck. Like, they haaate each other and are vocal about it. Oh, and then he tries to rip her pelvis open with his claws to free his ginormous shifter cock because he doesn't want to cum in this horrendous excuse of a cunt... I AM NOT KIDDING!!

Then there is also this weird "confessions of a princess" thing at the beginning of each chapter that basically gives away the plot points of the whole chapter. I dunno why the author did that, but it was stupid.

The writing was bad. All of this is stupid and bad. Don't read it. I would have copy + pasted the atrocious sex scene right here for you, so you would know how awful it truly is, but I literally finished the scene, closed the app, and deleted the file. I refuse to bring that filth out of my recycling bin. Just take my word for it on this one.

[Elise ✘ a.k.a Ryder's Pet ✘ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱*Not A Bad Read*⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱

The book centers around Trixie ‘Trix’ Towers (18 in the prologue, 30 in chapter one), daughter of the King of the Elves and the heir to the throne. Having been kept hidden from everyone in all her life, being practically thrown into court business, Trixie has to prove herself. That makes it hard when she finds her soul mate who turned out to be her enemy and she hates him. Then there's the law that means death by them being different species. She wants him out of her sight, but that proves hard when she and the five Rulers must travel to the Blood Forest to find an artifact needed to save their land. Will they make it out of there?

These two characters hate each other. And when I mean hate, I do mean hate and not hate-turned love sort of way. Also, they physically despise each other, find the other ugly: shifters are big (really big) and brute compare to elven who are elegant, slim and shorter than shifters. “The King of Shifters are six feet, six inches tall. He wasn’t the tallest a shifter could be, but he sure wasn’t short for his kind, either. The king towered over the princess almost five feet of height by a Fae mile. The top of her head only reached the middle of his chest.” Which is funny since they are soul mates. Which they also hate. They would very much like to kill one another. Also it's forbidden for different species to be together, to have intercourse - punishment by death.

It was strange to read about characters who didn't find each other attractive. It's kinda the opposite to what I'm used to (character finds each other attractive but hate person instead) so that was kinda new. The concept of the story wasn't actually bad. I was afraid I wouldn't like it, had gone back and forth on whenever to read it or not, but I'm glad I ended up reading it. Trixie wasn't a brat or immature which I was afraid of, nor was there too much information like the author's Forever Evermore series - you just got enough to understand without it being an overload. Luckily I was prepared for there being no romance - specially in book one -, which is the same as her other series I mentioned above.

Overall, I liked it, I did. It was a bit strange with the characters hating each other so much, and there is no development in that department. They truly dislike each other and nothing will change that. I hope that in book two, we get to see them start to care for each other. I don't know if this will be a trilogy or if the series will have more book than three, but I do want to see romance in book two, and maybe some feeling/emotions towards one another being shown. That being said, it was a sorta quick read that was entertaining and I truly liked Trixie's relationship with her father. I thought he was gonna be really cold and hard, but he loves her and it's easy to see.

Characters with some information:
The list is long so I've put it in a spoilers tag.
→ Penelope, Trixie's Fae-gifted pegasus.
→ Traevon Towers (one thousand two hundred and fifty years), King of the Elves (Gatlin Grove, the Elf Kingdom’s capital city) and Trixie's father who has ruled a thousand years. Javon, the King's Fae-gifted pegasus and Penelope’s sire.
→ Isabella (over two thousand years old), Trixie's grandmother. LOTS OF INFORMATION -> Gets killed in the beginning of the book. Though her shell (body) may be dead, but her Fae-spark is very much alive (a ghost/spirit). The King guess is that ‘‘Only a pureblood Fae can completely bring someone back to life, as they did with the five originals who kept killing each other. So I believe Isabella has been Fae blessed, sent for a higher purpose, even if she is without her earthly body.’’
→ Minnie, the King's soul mate and Trixie's mother.
→ Caspian ‘Cas’, Trixie's cousin and the nephew of the king. The King's best - and secret - assassin and Trixie's best friend that slipped and told her about his assassination of the previous shifter king for the King.
→ Queen Alora, the merfolk queen.
→ King Elon Haxx, the Gorgons king (can turn you to stone?). LOTS OF INFORMATION -> Both he and Alora is incredibly close - always have each others back/back each other's ideas. They’ve ruled the longest of any of the kings and queens. It’s near impossible to break them apart, and even harder to disagree with them. They’ve seen too many rulers come and go, except for themselves. The two believe they are better than everyone else. - Egotistical and a superiority complex are their weaknesses.
→ Queen Mikko Boone (300), the caster queen for mere fifty years. LOTS OF INFORMATION -> Brilliant but too big of a heart. She cares too much. She cares about everything. If she’s not careful and doesn’t start using that brain of hers, her tender heart will be her undoing and her younger sister - who is a pain in the ass - will kill her off to take her place.
→ King Athon Alistair (500), of the shifters of three hundred years and a tiger. LOTS OF INFORMATION -> He and king Traevon will continuously fight because Traevon screwed up killing Athon's father when he didn't know just how powerful Anthon was. Although Traevon sit right in the middle of longest to shortest years on the throne compared to the other rulers, he have always had the most power in my Fae-spark—until King Athon took the throne. He is only five hundred years old, less than half Traevon age, and his power rivals his own. He fear to think how powerful he will be when he is Traevon current age so he needs to around to keep him in check. Since he has no heir and Athon's father killed all their relatives before Traevon could kill him, Traevon hasn't had him assassinated. Though despite how ruthless and cruel he can be, he is a great ruler to his people. He keeps the shifters in check, which is hard to do with such an unruly kind. Traevon has yet to find Athon's weakness. Traevon's weakness is his family - he is the only ruler who is soul-mated so far.
→ Bishop Marzel, personal assistant and personal guard to King Athon.
→ Louie, the name of the four Misfits (gremlins). LOTS OF INFORMATION -> “Originally, there had only been three of the dark Fae, born triplets. The Fae were not supposed to visit Trixie's realm unless it was necessary for punishment. The gremlin triplets met the three Fae-gifted Fates who lived in any kingdom they wished, celebrated by all. The Fates decided who was born, how their destinies wove through time, and when they died. The triplets got obsessed with the Fates and eat them. They were punished by the Fae who sent an Fae punisher who created a fourth gremlin that was indestructible and identical in looks to the other three, except this gremlin had no soul; it could not be swayed or swindled or care for anyone. In the place where a soul would have resided, the Fae punisher put the power of prophesied protection for our kingdoms and the power to deviate any of the gremlin triplets’ dark actions. The fourth gremlin now held all of the power for all of the creatures in this realm—a creation that could not care. The Fae punisher only noticed one problem. The fourth gremlin sheltered only the kingdoms, not caring what the Fae had planned for us. The Fae punisher tried to destroy the fourth gremlin, but he had made the gremlin indestructible. There was no rescinding his creation, only a Fae more powerful than he could do it. So the Fae punisher traveled back to Fairy to speak with the rulers. The Fae king and queen did not believe it was in the best interest of our realm to destroy the gremlin, so the Fae punisher’s job was complete. The Fae were still all-powerful over their created children, and there was now a power in Trixie's land that could keep them safe from destroying themselves—less work for them. They wore tattered old clothing colors that were the only way to tell them apart—red, blue, gold, and black.” The fourth Louie is black - the one without soul. Red Louie was the one holding the string of destiny (the triplets got all the powers that the Fates had after eating them). Blue Louie held the death strings.>
→ Axel, Athon's Fae-gifted pegasus.
→ Giants, LOTS OF INFORMATION -> “were the Fae-created children before Trixie's kind. There was only one family of giants in the realm, a test for the first creations the Fae made. There was a father, a mother, and a young son. The Fae made the giants large, too large for the realm they had built. The mother’s and father’s heads were as tall as the top of a mountain in the Shifter Kingdom, but they were happy. They loved one another deeply. One day, their son ventured too far away. He had gangly limbs, as most young do, and he tripped and fell into the ocean. All of his flounderings only pushed him out farther into the water. He screamed for help, but his parents weren’t fast enough. He went over the end of the ocean to his death.They (parents) were heartbroken, but their sorrow soon turned to anger. The two giants started destroying the realm, no longer being careful with its beauty. Soon, the entire realm was torn unrecognizable. This made the Fae angry, their beautiful creation almost entirely destroyed, which, at that time, was their path to their counterpart’s land—their own way of keeping the peace between the dark and the light Fae. But they didn’t want to kill the only two giants in existence, so they put them to sleep before remaking our realm even more beautiful. Then, the Fae created the first five originals of our kinds, but there they had to learn too because the originals kept killing one another. To keep everyone safe, they created the Blood Forest to keep us separated, and use it to travel to their counterpart’s land without disturbing our way of life.” And now they are waking up (the Fae buried them at High Pointe), and when they do the giants will lay waste to the kingdoms once more if they are not stopped.

Quick basic facts:
Genre: - (New Adult) Paranormal Romance.
Series: - Series, Book One.
Love triangle? - No.
Cheating? - No.
HEA? - No.
Favorite character? - Hmmm, Traevon Towers, I believe .
Would I read more by this author/or of series? - Yes.
Would I recommend this book/series? - Yes.
Will I read this again in the future? - Unsure.
Rating - 3.5 stars.

[Lien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay read

– It was weird reading about how ugly Trix and Athon found each other because they were not the same uh "breed"? One was an elf and the other a shifter, in my mind there weren't that many differences. Except for the ears, the coloring, and the size they were totally human, appearance-wise, so I really didn't get the digs.

– The hate was really, really strong in this one. They basically loathed each other. There was no romance or even the process of falling in love in this installment. Not yet anyway. spoiler
*
*
*

They do have a sex scene and there was the territorial "cuddling" from the H but it definitely wasn't enough, it just made me hope for more.

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– The book kinda dragged and with 250 pages I should've breezed through it. It was a fast read but because nothing much happens plotwise, the first half felt really long. Fortunately, it got better in the second half.

– Trixie was not the heroine I expected. Just like the Hero said, she's like a babe. If I had to guess her age by her mannerism and behavior I'd say she's 18 at best, younger depending on the situation. (She's 30.) It completely threw me off so I really don't know what to think of her.

+ Trixie and her father's relationship was very sweet, I loved that.

+ Setting aside the strong hate the main couple had for each other there was chemistry, at least sexually so I do intend to continue this series to see how the author will flip the switch from hate to love.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
➔ 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
#1. Marvels & Misfits | 3 stars
#2. My review of ➞ Scales & Skeletons | 4.5 stars
#3. My review of ➞ Crypts & Crimes | 4.5 stars
#4. My review of ➞ Beasts & Baubles | 4 stars
#5. My review of ➞ Apples & Ashes | 2.5 stars
#6. Icicles and Ironies | ➞ tbr
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oops, it was an accident and POOF, Trixie Towers, heir to the Fae Kingdom is mated to the overbearing, knuckle-dragging King Athon, alpha shifter. And as they say, the rest is history or perhaps the future could be the end of history, if a chosen group of rulers fail on a quest that could bring their world to an end.

Scarlett Dawn is back and MARVELS & MISFITS is just the start of another series that promises to roll over readers like a tsunami of action, attitude and dazzlingly entertaining characters!

I loved everything about Trixie from her wit and sarcasm to her brilliance and determination! Add her penchant to find trouble and this tale runs the gamut from laugh out loud craziness to nail-biting tension, pure Scarlett Dawn at her best!

Meet the rulers of magical kingdoms as they stumble through their quest to find relics that will save their pampered hides. Watch a mere elven princess outwit them all and become the unsung heroine that could save their bacon. Now, what she will do with her new mate is anyone’s guess…the guy is such a beast…

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Scarlett Dawn!

Series: Trixie Towers - Book 1
Publication Date: June 27, 2019
Publisher: Scarlett Dawn
Genre: Paranormal Suspense
Print Length: 256 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News, follow: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvels and Misfits is sure to be the start of another binge worthy series by the Queen of Snark, Scarlett Dawn.

Trixie, a royal princess, finds herself soul mated to the King of the shifters, Athon. All the royals are sent on a quest by the Fae to save the realm from giants, meaning she is going to have a lot of up close and personal time with not only her new mate, King Athon of the shifters, but all the royals from the different factions, who could have her executed for mating to the forbidden, someone from another magical race. And lets just say neither, Athon or Trixie, are thrilled with their fate.

Dawn captures the laugh out loud funny with the heart felt family moments and the power struggles of those who are used to leading having to cooperate with the other leaders to survive.

My only complaint, it ended way to soon for liking, but with most of Dawn’s works, I just couldn’t get enough of her characters and storytelling.

I received this ARC copy of Marvels and Misfits from Scarlett Dawn. This is my honest and voluntary review. Marvels and Misfits is set for publication June 27, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Scarlett Dawn
Series: Trixie Towers
Sequence in Series: 1
rint Length: 256 pages
Publication Date: June 27, 2019
ASIN: B07Q4L4K17
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marvels-Misfit...

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked this book, I opened it with no expectations and ho boy. I was sucked in.

Scarlett Dawn creates this beautiful and intricate world of fantasy. There's shifters, fae, and other creatures. They all have their own laws, government with their own set of royals, customs, etc. And it's heavily divided, filled with prejudices. But all of the lands/kingdoms come together in important circumstances. Which is where we find ourselves, a land under threat.

May I just say how much I love how badass and independent our main protagonist is. She is no damsel in distress and has so much sass. Im a sucker for sass

And she's no innocent. She's experienced and has enjoyed life without apologies. Even when alpha males try to control her. SHE BITES BACK.


So all the queens and kings of the various kingdoms come together to find pieces of an artifact that will save the land. And what I really like about this book is that Ms. Dawn really shapes the character of all these individuals by bringing life to their motivations and desires.

There was so many times where I was cracking up, and honestly thats what really made this book. Seriousness with a hint of humor.

On the romance part, i just loved loved Trixie and Athon. Its a love/hate relationship. And its forbidden.

All I can say is that I am sooo excited to read more!

[♡dreamy book lover♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry but I just couldn't finish Marvels and Misfits, it's just so needlessly verbose and as a result, very, very clumsily written.

I kid you not, the narration is absolutely awful like something a 10 year old who has just learned to use their "big words" would write:

The three workers merely stared, nothing emitting from their throats.

...my emerald eyes slamming to my father's profile

My mother's golden, expressive eyes, a gaze full of fear for me, fell onto my person.

My heart-shaped lips pinched in annoyance

These are just from the prologue alone, bruh!! Do you think I'm gonna subject myself to the torture that is reading this book in its entirety?



Nope!

Don't get me wrong, I love me some trashy fae-centred fantasy, but this? It's getting a hard pass from me. If I could give 0 stars I would, it's that bad.

And don't get me started on the sex scenes, possibly the cringiest, most poorly written "smut" I've read in my life!

[🅙𝔲𝔩𝔷 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was bad. The heroine was annoying the dialogue was like a bunch of school kids. The whole plot. It was bad.

[vee · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be completely honest, I wasn’t really interested in this book at first. The only reason I even got it is because I have loved a lot of Dawn’s previous works and I am so glad that I did. Although there is a slight resemblance to her Forever Evermore series, the two are vastly different and I found myself really devouring the book. My only complaint is that I wish it was a little longer - although it was a perfectly acceptable length I just felt like I might’ve benefited from another chapter or two.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trixie has spent most of her life in seclusion - she’s the beloved daughter of the elven king and his only heir. When she comes of age, she goes to the meeting of all the royalty to be groomed as her fathers heir.

Here’s a quick guide to the royalty over the different kingdoms -
King Traevon - elves
Queen Alora - mermaids
King Elon - gorgons
Queen Mikko - casters
King Alton - shifters

What she didn’t expect is to be soul bounded with her kingdom’s enemy King Alton. Especially since being soul mates to a different species is forbidden and punished by death.

I like fated mates/mandatory soul mates trope, but it can be overdone in fantasy. So I was glad to see this played with a little differently.

Trixie and Alton despise each other, and the soul mate bond doesn’t change that a bit. The only thing between them is a powerful physical attraction. The book ends with them hating each other just as much as at the beginning of the book- I can’t wait to see what happens over the series.


“Although, she would not give me her name, so you may still have the pleasure of introducing us if you like.”
Father’s lips unpinched to form a powerful smirk, his attention just as hard on the other king as the other’s was. “It would be my pleasure. King Athon, this is Princess Trixie Towers, the heir to the Elf Kingdom. My daughter, my one and only child. And if you behave wrongly against her, I will fucking kill you.”
My blink was slow. That was not very diplomatic.

My favorite relationship in the book wasn’t the romance - it was Trixie and her father, King Traevon. Traevon sent her away as a teen so she could have the freedom before taking on responsibility as heir. Trixie saw this as abandonment- she wanted to be close with her parents. But he loves her and protects her fiercely. It’s unusual in a fantasy romance to have living loving parents, but I hope this starts a trend.

“You banished me. Who does that to their own kid? I’ll tell you who. A Fae fucking dickhead. All in the name of this wonderful freedom I didn’t even want. I wanted you.”
Father stalled in taking a canteen from someone’s outstretched hand, his emerald eyes catching mine.
“One day, my daughter, you will realize what I did was for you and that you have always had me.”

My complaint with this book was some of the swearing was really awkward. There are a lot of Fae fucks and Fae shit. It was repetitive and jarring. Also Traevon calls Trixie my daughter a lot. Maybe it has to do with the fact he loves her and wants the other royalty to remember who she is to him, but it’s very stiff. But he also has a stilted relationship with her that’s awkward, you can tell he spends more time talking about his daughter than actually to his daughter. I would love to see him give her a pet name or something other than my daughter.

If you’re looking for a fantasy romance series that is just getting started - I really enjoyed this one.

Free on kindle unlimited.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three things first:

1. I finished reading this book last night (well, actually, at 3 o'clock this morning) and I started reading it yesterday afternoon.

2. For the last half hour I've been trying to find a similar book to read because

3. I'm honestly considering re-reading this again, like right now.

Let me preface this next sentence by saying that I love all of Scarlett's books, but for whatever reason this book has instantly become one of my favorites. I loved it. I devoured it. I laughed SO hard. And there is an amazing mix of tragedy, love, action, adventure, and so much damn excitement (from me). "One more chapter. Okay, one more chapter. No no, I mean it this time, just one more chapter."

I loved the humor, the new world, all of the characters, the cliffhanger without being a terrible cliffhanger, and the promise that this will be an amazing series like all of Scarlett's others.

[Heather Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

This is my first foray into a world created by Scarlett Dawn, but it will be far from my last. This fantasy adventure was simply fantastic! Fast paced, witty and full of life, I laughed even as I cheered... and cringed... for Trixie. She is wonderful, King Anton is annoyingly captivating and the relationships she had with the other royals is hysterical and a bucket full of snark fueled political drama. And the way she interacts with her father? Beyond perfect.

Pros:
- Funny, Funny, Funny!!
- The best kind of enemies to lovers trope, and they are FAR from figuring anything out! Hide the knives.
- Well written, this flows smoothly though I struggled to really understand the Blood Forest.
- World building. It’s tossed morsel by morsel till the picture is clearer, but not complete.

Cons:
- A wait till book 2. Ah well. Perfection can not be rushed.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/4/2022)! 🎁

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy.. where do I start. Okay so I struggled with this one at first, it didn’t immediately grab me… but I was still intrigued and wanted/hoped I’d reach a point where it would hook me and I couldn’t stop. I almost stopped and left it twice but at about 60% I got hooked and couldn’t get enough! it turned into what I love and look for when reading. It's laugh out loud funny I loved it and couldn’t get enough. Annoying though that I started to like it around 60% because that didn’t leave enough before it was suddenly done and I’m craving the next one!

reflecting back I think the start was just a bit rough for me to get into, it will be hard to do explain without spoilers but ill put a spoiler tag just in case something slips but this is why mainly the start was hard for me to get through.



1. Trixie did seem really immature at first, she was 18 (and maybe I am just getting old, this could be played off as a spoiled 18 yr old kid) but I had trouble even telling a difference when her age jumped. I kind of understood her being sent away from her fathers explanation? Like here take this time to yourself you will have thousands of years of responsibilities ahead, so relax have fun and figure out who you are while you’re away etc. Right that seems sane and logical? I thought so.. but I didn’t really get her reaction to this? Except for the fact her father didn’t contact her at all during this time which just seems so weird like it seemed like it couldn’t be decided if it was actually supposed to be a “vacation” or a punishment? it makes me want to assume something else was going on a this time? or am I reading more into that idk? so that whole issue I thought could have been fleshed out/explained better.

2. There was a lot of “just because” rules or things said that I didn’t understand or weren’t explained at first and we should just know ( I don’t like info dumps as much as the next reader so I get it might be hard to navigate, but the talk of the "fae gifts" and stuff like that left me lost) it seemed like “just because” rules because the no blades allowed was a rule and it wasn’t explained or a history why it had me pulling out of the story to ask questions. Later on we can figure it out by putting some things together. And I have to admit a lot does some what get resolved later, just the explanations take some time.
She is supposably this mystery Heir and unseen and apparently no one knows who she is/hasn’t left the castle ever publicly and is only identified by a fae gift so on her trip away a guard sees the fae gift and apparently and she goes "I wasn’t sure what happened to him but the other guards took care of it no one could know its me"(paraphrasing) .. and its like then why do the guards who take care of the other guard not know they are just going to react withouth knowing? but then some of the guards did seem to know her?! see even trying to explain it makes no sense to me it just confused the hell out of me.

3. I couldn’t tell if she was supposed to be the secret badass well trained by an assassin type one moment she would seem normal but then her like “pursed lips” or just mannerisms didn’t match up with who she seemed to be. Sometimes she would come across as assertive/badass/assassin but then she’s acting immature gawking at things not playing it cool etc. not sure if I explained that right or not. She went from seeming like a smart capable adult who can take charge to a dumb ass in moments and its like be better play it cool!! one example is she was told to stay still (the ground was moving) but then it was moving too much and everyone is like move!! and she’s like you told me to stand still! and I’m like palm to face oh god.

4. Her and her fathers lack of emotion or just anything really at the start with a huge event that happened in their life ( trying to be vague ) just threw me off like they were so casual about it and it was hard as a reader to have any sort of reaction to it because 1) it was at the very start of the book and I don’t have any attachments to them yet and 2) the characters didn’t even seem to be reacting how *I* would react in their situation so just came across as meh. you don’t care that much? I won’t either, okay moving on.

5. They seemed to go everywhere without guards! at the start at least, like they were mentioned being at the rulers meeting point but like if EVERYONE knows the Royals are having a meeting and the path you take to get there is well known? and you don’t have any guards travel with you isn’t that not safe?! like it was all the very tiny details like that that my brain couldn’t let go of and where I got irritated but then I’m like ok… I’m probably just being really irrational keep reading.

all of these things weren't huge issues really on their own but were things that pulled me out of the story and left me either vaguely annoyed/confused and that detracted from my enjoyment.



ANYWAYS… ALL of this (and my “issues” of it) takes place closer to the start, not sure if I explained myself right.. but nothing on its own was really a huge issue to put me off reading ( a lot are just my pet peeves with reading) but adding up all the issues together for me made me almost want to quit. because I kept getting irritated or impatient with not knowing why or what. But with that I have to say

STICK WITH IT! seriously

it got much better, I would like more back and forth’s between Anton and Trixie because those are awesome but I was bummed when it ended and I want the next one ASAP! I ended up laughing out loud or trying not to since I snuck read it while at work whoops. The characters are for sure individuals and unique which is really great and I really want to get to know them more. There seems to be untapped potential for them to grow so I am excited to see where they go in the next books. I also think this world seems interesting I would love to see a map to get a better view on how everything is laid out though. It seems like the Fae are their “gods” or just the beings that created them and rule over them from a distance. The Banter back and forth is great and Its one thing I really really love about Scarlett Dawns writing and keeps me coming back for more.

all that said its kinda hard for me to give it a star rating but I think I’ll rate it based on the end portion and for how much I do want to read the next and not really judge it on its start. 4.5 Stars

I think everyone should give the full book a shot and if you don’t feel its for you after that fair enough but I recommend checking it out.

I was giving an e-arc from the author for my honest review and I did that to the best of my abilities. Thank you for the opportunity!

[Jeanny · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
The H & h honestly have a STRONG dislike of each other. H was an asshole & treated the h poorly. Let me be clear this is not a love hate relationship. This was a hate hate relationship, romance was nonexistent & a death sentence hangs over their heads. They have no inclination to make things work. This was an adventure story. Not much character depth or growth & the story would’ve benefited from it. As it is the author seemed to put much of her effort into the world building & adventure itself. I’m happy I got this for free (KU) & may read book 2

[Tamika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay where to start? The story took too long to get interesting with a slow and droll start that was almost like an adolescent's story.
And when the climax came, I realised it's almost a rewrite of King Tomb. I've been following Scarlett Dawn for years now and all the books I've read pull you in from the get go. This one bore me till I got halfway through it.
Now, back to it being a KING Tomb rewrite,
1. Ezra and Lily's forbidden love because they're from different casts.... other forbidden love between castes
2. Though it hasn't yet been revealed I'm betting Alora and Elon are one such couple as well.
3. The bickering between Ezra and Lily... bickering between Trixie and Athon....
4. Ezra being tan, tall and muscular, while Lily was tiny, milky skin...Athon, tan, tall and Mascular, Trixie, tiny, milky skin.... 🙄.
Then enter in the Talking Mouse (Chronicles of Narnia-ish)
The talking walking tree (Lord of The Rings-ish).

While I'm curious to see how it unfolds, I am also quite disappointed. I've gotten used to fresh ideas pouring out of most of Scarlett's stories and this doesn't quite live up to the predecessors.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

At 15%, I nearly gave up, but I hate to not give a book a real chance. Surely it would get to be more than talking about sexual conquests and drinking ale. Eventually it did get more of a plot, I suppose, although it never really seemed to gel. And then the sex started again. I finally gave up. Surely something exciting was going to happen eventually, but it is going to have to happen without me. Biggest gripe otherwise: The constant repetition of "Fae....this" and "Fae....that". It grated badly.

[Mia LeNae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shit with pride!

I love the fact that these soulmates didn't have insta-love. Or any love... none! A phucking sneeze!!! Lmao. And they have to live with it. None of that say one thing but thinking something entirely opposite of what just came out of their mouths. I wonder how that will be explained. And since there are 6 artifacts will there be 6 books?? Love you Ms. Dawn, keep being amazing.

[Stephaniec · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*
Well, I didn't particularly like the H or the h so it was hard to get invested
Sometimes the writing was stilted & formal - especially between father/daughter and then it would switch to informal and flow more naturally, this kept taking me out of the story, it was really annoying.
Not sure but I might read the 2nd book, the world is worth a second chance even if the main protagonists are not

[Jojoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a bit weird, but in a good way! It feels as if the floodgates of creativity opened and poored out a story I didn't know I want to read. I like the world, I love the badass main character and I am looking forward to reading more about our 'hero'.

I honestly am a sucker for traditional romances, but this is something else. Try it out if you're up for something different written by an author who never disappoints.

[✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰Janeane ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received from author for an honest review

I have strayed away from PRN kinds of books for a while now, however I have liked the earlier series I have read by Ms Dawn, so it was great to come back to the fold with the start of the Trixie Towers series.

Now, I will say that it took me a while to get my head around who everyone is in this one, however that is to be expected when the set up for an entire series is contained in the first book.

We have elves, shifters, merfolk and all manner or mystical creatures here, all joining forces to save their worlds.

Trixie is the heir apparent and really gets thrown into the deep end here. Boy does she have some adventures.

I will say that I did take a while to get into this one. It didn't grab me immediately, and I did put it down and pick it up a few times before I stuck right through to the end.

I did have a couple of things that irked me, that probably won't worry any one else.

Trixie - she's supposed to be 30 for most of the book, however at times she came across as a teenager - though I guess when everyone else is hundreds or thousands of years old that is to be expected. And the other things was 'Fae' thrown in everywhere. It just seemed to interrupt the sentence flow and it really did start to irritate me - sorry Scarlett!

Whilst it did take me to the second half of the book to really get into it, once I did I found it was over before I wanted it to be, and now I am keen for more of the series to come.

[Seraphia Bunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you ready to meet Trixie? Well, if you're not...get ready! Trixie...elven princess...sent away after the brutal death of her grandmother. Her father wants her to live her next few years away from responsibility before it's time for her to take it on. Well...she essentially drinks away those years with her father's top assassin (he was being punished lol) and now she's called home. Well! Let the fun and games begin! Earthquakes, the Urge, and of course the joys of royalty and court. Buckle up! It's going to be epic!
This is the first book that I have read by Scarlett Dawn and I LOVED it! Trixie is such a fun feisty character and I couldn't help but laugh at certain moments between her, her father and other characters in this book. You definitely get the sense that on a level...she's a chip off the old block. I devoured this book as the author gives me just enough in all the right places BUT!!!! Grab a fan, a cold drink or just have a cold shower going because things get hot, steamy and intense before you know it! I ate it all up!
I will admit that I kept waiting on the double-sided hatred between the elves and shifters to take a back seat...if even just for one minute, but it seems that right now...that is too deeply ingrained. Can't fault for that when it is an ongoing animosity that spans hundreds of years. But this author gives readers a lot with this book and I loved it!
I am rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. I am eagerly anticipating the next book in this series because you know that things are only going to keep getting better from here. This author absolutely has garnered herself a new fan and permanent reader!

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this book from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Marvels and Misfits by Scarlett Dawn is the first in a brand-new series about a foul-mouthed Elven princess and her race to save the kingdoms. Y’all I was hooked from the first word to the last, managing to read this in one sitting. All I can say is it is perfection!

Trixie Towers is the daughter and heir of the Elven king. She’s high-spirited, cunning, and lethal. She wants for nothing except her father’s approval which she doesn’t realize she has. I love Trixie. She is thoroughly fleshed-out here. Her snark and wit are quite entertaining.

Then there is King Athon, the king of the Shifters. Athon is your typical Alpha male. Also he shifts to a tiger (why is that hot to me? *swoon*). Athon is not easy to like. He’s arrogant and the person responsible for the death of Trixie’s grandmother. Needless to say there is no love lost between them.

In a twist of fate, Trixie and Athon feel the “urge” for one another. This urge is a fae calling that cannot be ignored. One thing leads to another and a little sneeze sees the two mated. Trixie and Athon are a lot a like, so this could be perfect, except that it is illegal for a shifter and elf to be together….also they hate each other so there’s that too 😂 Lots of tension y’all….a LOT!

The plot of the story focuses on the mistake that leads the two to be mated but also these mysterious earthquakes. What is the cause and why do only the people with immense power seem to be affected? Scarlett Dawn‘s world-building is on point here! I found myself completely engrossed in Trixie’s world, the different kingdoms and species, and the history behind the world. It is all fascinating!

Overall I could not get enough of Marvels and Misfits! I love Trixie and Athon, they compliment each other perfectly. I can’t wait to see where Dawn will take these two characters. And Trixie’s dad….gah! I love him so much! His and Trixie’s relationship reminds me of my own dad which had me laughing out loud at times. If you enjoy a good paranormal romance complete with its own world, I highly recommend you move this to your TBR pile asap.

[Jessy's 🌘only escape from reality🌒 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars rounded up. I have to admit this book had a lot of laugh out loud moments. I'm going to continue on to the next book but I'm not very happy how the MC's treat each other after having their soul bond completed.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesomely different

The characters are diverse and well flushed out. Love the attitude of the characters. There are some differences in this book I didn’t expect that are great! No spoilers. Can’t wait for next book!

[Novel Grounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarlett did it again! She gave me a book that I intended to read nice and slowly and I did the exact opposite. I read it in entirely one sitting and then sat there wallowing because it was over and I had to wait for the next one.


Guys. But really, Scarlett did it again. I swear I haven't laughed  this much in a long time. I absolutely needed the laughs and the adventure and the love story. I swear there is one point in this book that I can't give details with it being a spoiler but I laughed so hard that I literally had my kids asking me if I was okay.  THAT funny guys.

Also though, this novel was absolutely an adventure that I still want to dive back into. Fantastical world building and a set of characters the leaves you wishing you had a story for each of them. I don't know what it is with Scarlett's books, but in each and every single one of them I grow ridiculously attached to the cast of characters. Literally I cannot explain the fact that I want a story for each and every single one of them. Please. All of the spinoff books.

But back to this one. This is a whole new ballgame in the world of Dawn, and I am for it. I loved the new cast and the new world. This world is increasingly visual and legit you spend so much time enthralled with the world, you have to remind yourself that it is a fantasy.

[Tink Magoo is bad at reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread February 2020 - up to 3 stars

This was better second time around, probably because I knew what to expect between them romance wise. I still didn't like them thinking the other was ugly, but I enjoyed the rest of the story.


Original review
2.5

I love this author's writing and the Forever Evermore series is my all-time favourite but recently I've found her characters (especially the lead females) to be carbon copies of each other. They're always brash, very sexual and drink a lot. In this book Trixie was right on the verge of unlikeable and rather than this being a love/hate it was a hate/hate with the main characters being disgusted with each (and actually telling each other that) during sex. I just can't see how any sort of love is going to come into this series at the moment. There is no chemistry between them, just that disgust I mentioned and contempt.

Having said all that, the world had interesting elements and the actual plot has potential. Another annoying issue was the constant use of fae instead of swearwords. For example - 'what the fae' 'Oh my fae' - I hate repetition in books.

Overall, I'm disappointed.