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Black Blood Fae #2
King of Always
A fae prince with a poisoned heart. A mortal girl with a personal motto—when life gets weird, bake!
Isla, an aspiring baker, has just made the biggest mistake of her life. After bargaining her way into Faery, she meets the arrogant heir to the Seelie throne who insists she’s his fated mate. But no matter how compelling the depths of his amber eyes, there’s no way she’s getting hitched to save him from some stupid curse.
Rafael, the Prince of Fire, is thrilled to finally meet his foretold queen, even if she is a disagreeable human whose pistachio nut cookies make his courtiers cry. Shame she doesn’t like him much—or at all. Doesn’t every girl want to marry a fae prince and be Queen of the Seelie Court? Apparently not.
After a kidnapping and a bungled rescue attempt land Raff and Isla in an Unseelie prison, Isla has to find a way to break them out before the dark court realizes she’s a fraud and kills them both.
Life would’ve been simpler if she’d just stayed in the mortal world waiting tables and baking eclairs!
King of Always is book 2 in a spellbinding YA, fated mates, paranormal romance series with a guaranteed HEA at the end of each story. Double your fun and devour book 1 first!
Enemies to lovers romance – check!
Cursed fae princes – check!
Snarky mortal gals thrown into Faery – yep!
Lovable animal sidekicks – double check!
Grab King of Always today and fall in love with a captivating cruel prince romance set in the enchanting world of Faery!
Isla, an aspiring baker, has just made the biggest mistake of her life. After bargaining her way into Faery, she meets the arrogant heir to the Seelie throne who insists she’s his fated mate. But no matter how compelling the depths of his amber eyes, there’s no way she’s getting hitched to save him from some stupid curse.
Rafael, the Prince of Fire, is thrilled to finally meet his foretold queen, even if she is a disagreeable human whose pistachio nut cookies make his courtiers cry. Shame she doesn’t like him much—or at all. Doesn’t every girl want to marry a fae prince and be Queen of the Seelie Court? Apparently not.
After a kidnapping and a bungled rescue attempt land Raff and Isla in an Unseelie prison, Isla has to find a way to break them out before the dark court realizes she’s a fraud and kills them both.
Life would’ve been simpler if she’d just stayed in the mortal world waiting tables and baking eclairs!
King of Always is book 2 in a spellbinding YA, fated mates, paranormal romance series with a guaranteed HEA at the end of each story. Double your fun and devour book 1 first!
Enemies to lovers romance – check!
Cursed fae princes – check!
Snarky mortal gals thrown into Faery – yep!
Lovable animal sidekicks – double check!
Grab King of Always today and fall in love with a captivating cruel prince romance set in the enchanting world of Faery!
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 24, 2020
737 people are currently reading
1401 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
May 30, 2021
DNF
The main character is too young and willfully clueless to be interesting. She gets good advice she ignores and then is surprised when things go badly. Her temper is childish and the dialogue is stilted. I often found the shifts between scenes jarring. The plethora of physical descriptions without notable world building left me floundering in a universe that felt shallowly constructed. I gave up about 35% in.
The main character is too young and willfully clueless to be interesting. She gets good advice she ignores and then is surprised when things go badly. Her temper is childish and the dialogue is stilted. I often found the shifts between scenes jarring. The plethora of physical descriptions without notable world building left me floundering in a universe that felt shallowly constructed. I gave up about 35% in.
December 22, 2020
Oh sweet beautiful Raff 😌 I thought I loved Ever but along comes his little brother and his story is even better. I love him. Isla is Lara’s cousin and she is a firecracker! I was rooting for them from the beginning. This was an enjoyable read with lovable characters and I definitely recommend this series.
January 24, 2021
Annoying heroine alert!
This book is tough to finish. I almost DNFed it by 20% but I pushed through because I liked Lara and Ever. However, the heroine's annoying conceitedness rubbed me the wrong way so I started skimming pages just to finally get this bore over with. My other issue with this book is that the dialogues are stilted. For a book that's supposed to share timelines/world with modern age, the human heroine here talks like she came out of 18th century. Like, come on, talk normal girl, you ain't fae! So with the way she speaks and acts unreasonable ALL THE FREAKING TIME, she became too much to bear for me that I find myself wanting to slap her so bad. She's nowhere near as amazing as Lara as the author made the heroine here out to be. I wish it was Lara who had the bigger role in this book series' entirety. Giving the crown to a conceited teenager like Isla here is just wrong. She's not deserving of it. Lara exude queenly attributes and acted like it while Isla is the opposite. I dont know what the author is thinking. ALSO! I want to add that the writing/plot here sometimes doesn't make sense. The first book suffered the same and it seems this book did it again too. It's not just the dialogues that are stilted, the story and the progression of it, too!
OVERALL, I dont recommend reading this book.
This book is tough to finish. I almost DNFed it by 20% but I pushed through because I liked Lara and Ever. However, the heroine's annoying conceitedness rubbed me the wrong way so I started skimming pages just to finally get this bore over with. My other issue with this book is that the dialogues are stilted. For a book that's supposed to share timelines/world with modern age, the human heroine here talks like she came out of 18th century. Like, come on, talk normal girl, you ain't fae! So with the way she speaks and acts unreasonable ALL THE FREAKING TIME, she became too much to bear for me that I find myself wanting to slap her so bad. She's nowhere near as amazing as Lara as the author made the heroine here out to be. I wish it was Lara who had the bigger role in this book series' entirety. Giving the crown to a conceited teenager like Isla here is just wrong. She's not deserving of it. Lara exude queenly attributes and acted like it while Isla is the opposite. I dont know what the author is thinking. ALSO! I want to add that the writing/plot here sometimes doesn't make sense. The first book suffered the same and it seems this book did it again too. It's not just the dialogues that are stilted, the story and the progression of it, too!
OVERALL, I dont recommend reading this book.
July 27, 2022
Isla was incredibly annoying- I know that her “fiery” spirit was a point to be made to match with the fire prince, but it became repetitive and whiny. I read the first 2 books of the series and probably will not reach for the third in the installment.
April 3, 2024
DNF @ 40% i found the FMC so annoying and trying to portray her as this strong independent woman actually made her just straight up rude 😭
September 24, 2020
Better than the first one
I enjoyed this fantasy spun tale, this time including the second fae kingdom. I look forward to the next one when it comes out.
I enjoyed this fantasy spun tale, this time including the second fae kingdom. I look forward to the next one when it comes out.
August 8, 2023
King of Always continues on from the first book, Prince of Never. Rafael is now the new heir of the Seelie Court, and the Black Blood curse has spread to him, so he's looking for his fated mate. Isla is human, and after her cousin, Lara, and her new fae prince husband return to Faery, she decides to follow them. Following her arrival, Rafael quickly realises that Isla is his mate, but she wants to marry for love so soon shuts him down. After getting captured by the Prince of Merits, Isla and Raff have to start making plans for an escape, and as they do, their relationship builds (supposedly).
Let me start off by saying that this book is advertised as enemies to lovers, but it is absolutely, definitely not. There is a mild dislike on Isla's side, and that's simply because she doesn’t want to be told what she should do, but that is it. Despite this being a book about Isla and Raff, it felt like 80% of it was just Isla mingling at the merit court. There was no relationship build up bar a couple of tension induced kisses in a cell, and even that fell very flat. Then, after spending the whole book denying being with him, Isla has one odd conversation with the mages and is confessing her love for him? Just no. I highlighted ONE quote in the whole book from conversation between the two of them, so if that doesn't indicate what the relationship was like, then I don't know what will.
"I have every right to call in the bargain we struck on Mount Cúig and make you kiss me.” “And you would be a fool to waste your command on something I would give you freely a thousand times over.”
The writing style really did not improve from the first book, and I'm not sure why I hoped that it would. I struggled with it sounding really immature and also using vocabulary that sounded out of place for the setting that it was in. Isla also seemed to switch from talking really formal and old-fashioned like the fae, to sounding like a modern teenager, and it all just felt a bit weird. See below for some of the worst quotes that made me cringe...
"I’m a good person, an awesome cook, and I even possess a wicked bit of burgeoning fire magic."
"He guides me so smoothly I begin to think I’ve been doing this all my life. I can dance! Wheeeeeeeee!"
“Whoa. That’s wicked, Raff!"
Ugh, overall, I'm frustrated that I wasted my time on this. I only did because I liked Raff's character in the first book, but that was not the same man I read about here...
Let me start off by saying that this book is advertised as enemies to lovers, but it is absolutely, definitely not. There is a mild dislike on Isla's side, and that's simply because she doesn’t want to be told what she should do, but that is it. Despite this being a book about Isla and Raff, it felt like 80% of it was just Isla mingling at the merit court. There was no relationship build up bar a couple of tension induced kisses in a cell, and even that fell very flat. Then, after spending the whole book denying being with him, Isla has one odd conversation with the mages and is confessing her love for him? Just no. I highlighted ONE quote in the whole book from conversation between the two of them, so if that doesn't indicate what the relationship was like, then I don't know what will.
"I have every right to call in the bargain we struck on Mount Cúig and make you kiss me.” “And you would be a fool to waste your command on something I would give you freely a thousand times over.”
The writing style really did not improve from the first book, and I'm not sure why I hoped that it would. I struggled with it sounding really immature and also using vocabulary that sounded out of place for the setting that it was in. Isla also seemed to switch from talking really formal and old-fashioned like the fae, to sounding like a modern teenager, and it all just felt a bit weird. See below for some of the worst quotes that made me cringe...
"I’m a good person, an awesome cook, and I even possess a wicked bit of burgeoning fire magic."
"He guides me so smoothly I begin to think I’ve been doing this all my life. I can dance! Wheeeeeeeee!"
“Whoa. That’s wicked, Raff!"
Ugh, overall, I'm frustrated that I wasted my time on this. I only did because I liked Raff's character in the first book, but that was not the same man I read about here...
October 7, 2021
Sad second
The first book in the story was 4 to 5 star - this book didn't have that mystery of enemy.to.Loved feel the first book had me fall.I'm love with it - this book has a spoiled brat heroine and a spoiled prince and basics
My they r good inn the last 10% of the book that the gate witches say they should be together so even though this theme was present thru their stories it is like suddenly now they listen just diminish their story - it was the weakest story line I have read and that made me sad her I loved the first book
The first book in the story was 4 to 5 star - this book didn't have that mystery of enemy.to.Loved feel the first book had me fall.I'm love with it - this book has a spoiled brat heroine and a spoiled prince and basics
My they r good inn the last 10% of the book that the gate witches say they should be together so even though this theme was present thru their stories it is like suddenly now they listen just diminish their story - it was the weakest story line I have read and that made me sad her I loved the first book
August 8, 2025
I liked this one but I feel as if it’s simply repeating the same framework as the first book in the series. I’ll continue to read them but I’ve a feeling that the rest of the books will be the same
December 14, 2025
Better - but still not great. Again, lacking world building and there is abrupt character changes. I also got bored several times throughout, something I never do with reads as easy as this
September 15, 2022
Ok going in, I didn’t think I would like this story more than Ever and Lara’s….but I did! Isla is even feistier and more stubborn than Lara, which makes her all the more fun! Raff is completely different from the last time we met him. He’s no longer the carefree, jovial trouble making younger brother he was in Prince Of Never. Now Raff is the current Black Blood Prince and the curse has him deep in it’s clutches. Prince of Always brings us back to Faerie with Isla, but it’s much different this time around. As bad as tensions were in Prince of Never, the stakes are even higher this time around, making everyone more vulnerable and a bit more reckless. Don’t worry, as always (see what I did there), a human, an insignificant, dust destined human, will ultimately save the day, and get a HEA HER way…just maybe.
July 19, 2022
Rough read
I flew through the first book finishing it in 5 hrs. so I thought I would love the next one especially since I loved Raff in book one but that was not the case. I hate the FMC she was cruel and at times heartless it made it hard to like her. This was trying to be an enemies to lovers trope but fell flat it took everything not to DNF it. I gave it a 2 star cause she is a good writer even if I didn't like the story.
I flew through the first book finishing it in 5 hrs. so I thought I would love the next one especially since I loved Raff in book one but that was not the case. I hate the FMC she was cruel and at times heartless it made it hard to like her. This was trying to be an enemies to lovers trope but fell flat it took everything not to DNF it. I gave it a 2 star cause she is a good writer even if I didn't like the story.
April 23, 2023
Honestly, I was really excited for his story. He was such a sweetheart. I disliked Isla, she was always trying to be so independent, when she couldn’t be.
I feel like the author should of did a longer ending, it felt rushed. Like I feel like they needed more time to love each other truly. I think they were starting to become friends more than anything, not lovers.
I feel like the author should of did a longer ending, it felt rushed. Like I feel like they needed more time to love each other truly. I think they were starting to become friends more than anything, not lovers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2023
Slightly better than the first one.
I liked Raff more than Ever, however other then that, reading this book felt like a waste of time. I finished it simply because I didn't want to DNF and give it a fair chance. Disappointing because I feel that this story and couple had potential, a wasted opportunity by the author.
I will NOT be reading the next book or any other book by this author.
I liked Raff more than Ever, however other then that, reading this book felt like a waste of time. I finished it simply because I didn't want to DNF and give it a fair chance. Disappointing because I feel that this story and couple had potential, a wasted opportunity by the author.
I will NOT be reading the next book or any other book by this author.
January 7, 2021
AH MAZING!!! The characters are AMAZING!!! LOVED the good guys so much. The bad guys were TERRIFYING!!! The writing was so graphic!! I felt and saw everything the characters did.
It's a DARN GOOD BOOK!!!!! I am so glad I discovered this series and especially this AUTHOR!!!
It's a DARN GOOD BOOK!!!!! I am so glad I discovered this series and especially this AUTHOR!!!
January 31, 2021
Amazing!!!
So enjoyed this book and the first one the characters are so enthralling and I did not want to put it down. Actually it took me 3 days to read books 1+2, looking forward to the 3rd one now.
So enjoyed this book and the first one the characters are so enthralling and I did not want to put it down. Actually it took me 3 days to read books 1+2, looking forward to the 3rd one now.
October 20, 2020
Isla the badass
Loved the character development, main character Isla is strong and witty. Raff must battle his own self to successfully court Isla
Loved the character development, main character Isla is strong and witty. Raff must battle his own self to successfully court Isla
April 24, 2023
DNF 71%
Oh boy. A couple weeks ago, I was in a book slump and decided to go back and read some of my 5-star reviews for comfort. When I saw my review for Prince of Never, I was prepared to be absolutely blown away when I reread it. And... It did not impress me as much the second time. HOWEVER, it was still a cozy read and I was excited to continue the story.
I need to get this out of the way first: one of my least favorite PNR tropes is when the normal human girl finds her Magic Soulmate and then the same Rare Magicky Goodness happens to all of her loved ones. At the end of PoN, I groaned a little reading about Isla's tattoo. I think that a reason a lot of authors use this trope is because their FMC is uprooting her entire life and the author wants her to have companions in whatever new realm she goes off to.
It ends up feeling like every single character is smooshed together like this.
I knew this going into the book, and virtually slammed it shut (I aggressively closed my Kindle app) when I got to the next "pairing". It grossed me out. That's right ladies and gents, this book is going full Renesmee.
I had a lot of other issues with the book, but let's say something nice. After all, I did like it enough to make it almost to the end.
1. The Merits are actually really cool. I thought it would have been a fun twist if Isla fell for one of them instead of Raff. I know it wouldn't be possible because of FATE and all, but we actually got to see her doing... some stuff (not a lot) here and I was enjoying that. I wish their society had been expanded upon more, specifically the pendants.
2. Isla, for a decent part, acted her age. (I'll talk about the flip to this later) Her response to finding out she's a soulmate to some old prince? Telling him no, because that's weird and she isn't going to uproot her life because of it. She was annoying, sometimes rude, disrespectful, and sassy. All things I expect out of children. At 18, she's barely more than a child. The author didn't need to remind us 4 times that she is 18. It was obvious through her behavior. I found her quite unlikable as a heroine, which was fine, because I have teenagers and expect most of them to act like that.
I'll go over minor annoyances next:
1. Lara and Ever just like... chose to not tell Isla about her tattoo meaning. Despite the fact that Lara was lured into Fairyland (sorry I forgot what it's called) because of her connection and could have died, they chose to keep Isla in the dark. This is a minor annoyance because I can see how they might not want to share that information with Immature Isla.
2. It was laughably easy for Isla to find a way in. Also, she was so gung-ho about it. Why? Surely, she could have eventually convinced Ever and Lara to take her.
3. This world feels like a "But wait! There's MORE!" of love-related curses. Not uncommon for PNR series, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's just like... okay.
4. Isla would sometimes talk like a teenager, and other times take on this old timey language, let me find an example... ah. "Your magic musn't be depleted yet." Ma'am. Just like... A week ago you were saying things like "Put me down you shit-for-brains douchebag jerkwad! Prick!" It just didn't fit.
Now the things that really grated on me:
1. Several times in this book, events were just glossed over in a sentence. "Oh by the way, I met with The Bad Guy, alone, and he was like annoying or whatever." I hate to be a reviewer who repeats "Shooooooooooooooow, don't tell!" over and over, but this book could have done with some worldbuilding.
2. This may be a critique on monarchy as a whole, but what in Dana's name is everyone thinking having an 18-year old on the throne? This is a terrible idea lmao. Feels like those sitcom dream episodes where the high school student becomes mayor or whatever for a day and is first like "Yeaaaaaaah! This is awesome! Free ice cream for everyone!" and then 10 minutes later in the episode has an angry mob at the door because the moral of the story is Adulting Is Hard.
3. And you know, baby grooming matchmaking. Thanks I hate it.
Look, this just isn't gonna be the series for me. I'm not gonna spend more time dragging it. If this book works for you, I'm really glad!
Oh boy. A couple weeks ago, I was in a book slump and decided to go back and read some of my 5-star reviews for comfort. When I saw my review for Prince of Never, I was prepared to be absolutely blown away when I reread it. And... It did not impress me as much the second time. HOWEVER, it was still a cozy read and I was excited to continue the story.
I need to get this out of the way first: one of my least favorite PNR tropes is when the normal human girl finds her Magic Soulmate and then the same Rare Magicky Goodness happens to all of her loved ones. At the end of PoN, I groaned a little reading about Isla's tattoo. I think that a reason a lot of authors use this trope is because their FMC is uprooting her entire life and the author wants her to have companions in whatever new realm she goes off to.
It ends up feeling like every single character is smooshed together like this.
I knew this going into the book, and virtually slammed it shut (I aggressively closed my Kindle app) when I got to the next "pairing". It grossed me out. That's right ladies and gents, this book is going full Renesmee.
I had a lot of other issues with the book, but let's say something nice. After all, I did like it enough to make it almost to the end.
1. The Merits are actually really cool. I thought it would have been a fun twist if Isla fell for one of them instead of Raff. I know it wouldn't be possible because of FATE and all, but we actually got to see her doing... some stuff (not a lot) here and I was enjoying that. I wish their society had been expanded upon more, specifically the pendants.
2. Isla, for a decent part, acted her age. (I'll talk about the flip to this later) Her response to finding out she's a soulmate to some old prince? Telling him no, because that's weird and she isn't going to uproot her life because of it. She was annoying, sometimes rude, disrespectful, and sassy. All things I expect out of children. At 18, she's barely more than a child. The author didn't need to remind us 4 times that she is 18. It was obvious through her behavior. I found her quite unlikable as a heroine, which was fine, because I have teenagers and expect most of them to act like that.
I'll go over minor annoyances next:
1. Lara and Ever just like... chose to not tell Isla about her tattoo meaning. Despite the fact that Lara was lured into Fairyland (sorry I forgot what it's called) because of her connection and could have died, they chose to keep Isla in the dark. This is a minor annoyance because I can see how they might not want to share that information with Immature Isla.
2. It was laughably easy for Isla to find a way in. Also, she was so gung-ho about it. Why? Surely, she could have eventually convinced Ever and Lara to take her.
3. This world feels like a "But wait! There's MORE!" of love-related curses. Not uncommon for PNR series, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's just like... okay.
4. Isla would sometimes talk like a teenager, and other times take on this old timey language, let me find an example... ah. "Your magic musn't be depleted yet." Ma'am. Just like... A week ago you were saying things like "Put me down you shit-for-brains douchebag jerkwad! Prick!" It just didn't fit.
Now the things that really grated on me:
1. Several times in this book, events were just glossed over in a sentence. "Oh by the way, I met with The Bad Guy, alone, and he was like annoying or whatever." I hate to be a reviewer who repeats "Shooooooooooooooow, don't tell!" over and over, but this book could have done with some worldbuilding.
2. This may be a critique on monarchy as a whole, but what in Dana's name is everyone thinking having an 18-year old on the throne? This is a terrible idea lmao. Feels like those sitcom dream episodes where the high school student becomes mayor or whatever for a day and is first like "Yeaaaaaaah! This is awesome! Free ice cream for everyone!" and then 10 minutes later in the episode has an angry mob at the door because the moral of the story is Adulting Is Hard.
3. And you know, baby
Look, this just isn't gonna be the series for me. I'm not gonna spend more time dragging it. If this book works for you, I'm really glad!
October 30, 2024
I liked the first book, The Prince of Never, and was excited when I read that book 2 would follow Raf. Then I started actually reading it….
There were definitely some fun parts, some interesting characters, etc, but unfortunately they just weren’t mapped out or developed in a way that made sense.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
First of all, I don’t know how this can be considered fantasy romance when the two main characters have no real meaningful interactions and are literally separated for well over 50% of the book.
Isla is attracted to Raf initially but does a 180 when he tells her they’re fated and need to get married to break the curse. The rest of their interactions for the entire book are variations of the same conversation. He’s excited about meeting her and breaking the curse, she is freaked out by this and thinks he has no interest in actually knowing her as a person. Over and over again until she gets kidnapped.
Then Raf goes to save her, fails miserably, and is taken prisoner by the unseelie as well. 50% of the book is him being locked in a jail cell and her scheming to free him because she’s allowed to walk around. She visits him a couple of times but that’s it. Then they make their escape, they argue about the same stuff, and split up again because he had to stop and recharge his magic.
She doesn’t see him again until she decides she wants to leave, has a very random run in with the fates or witches or whatever they are, and decides that she doesn’t actually want to leave because they tell her a few terrible riddles and she realizes she has feelings for Raf.
Cool, so maybe now they’ll spend time together and get to know each other right?? Nope! The book is 90% over at this point. After talking to the witch ladies she decides that not only should she be honest about her feelings, but she needs to set herself on fire and make Raf watch. Makes sense right!?!?! How else can they be together if she doesn’t?? So she writes a gibberish note to Raf telling him to meet her somewhere, she admits her feelings, they make out, and then she’s like “ok, glad that’s out of the way, now just stand there and watch me set myself on fire, K?” Then she does and that’s pretty much the end.
Overall the book wasn’t terrible, I enjoyed the scenes with Ever and Laura, some of the unseelie characters were good as well. It wasn’t until the last 85% or so and that it really went off the rails. Just don’t go in expecting a romance or an ending that makes sense or you‘ll be disappointed and confused.
There were definitely some fun parts, some interesting characters, etc, but unfortunately they just weren’t mapped out or developed in a way that made sense.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
First of all, I don’t know how this can be considered fantasy romance when the two main characters have no real meaningful interactions and are literally separated for well over 50% of the book.
Isla is attracted to Raf initially but does a 180 when he tells her they’re fated and need to get married to break the curse. The rest of their interactions for the entire book are variations of the same conversation. He’s excited about meeting her and breaking the curse, she is freaked out by this and thinks he has no interest in actually knowing her as a person. Over and over again until she gets kidnapped.
Then Raf goes to save her, fails miserably, and is taken prisoner by the unseelie as well. 50% of the book is him being locked in a jail cell and her scheming to free him because she’s allowed to walk around. She visits him a couple of times but that’s it. Then they make their escape, they argue about the same stuff, and split up again because he had to stop and recharge his magic.
She doesn’t see him again until she decides she wants to leave, has a very random run in with the fates or witches or whatever they are, and decides that she doesn’t actually want to leave because they tell her a few terrible riddles and she realizes she has feelings for Raf.
Cool, so maybe now they’ll spend time together and get to know each other right?? Nope! The book is 90% over at this point. After talking to the witch ladies she decides that not only should she be honest about her feelings, but she needs to set herself on fire and make Raf watch. Makes sense right!?!?! How else can they be together if she doesn’t?? So she writes a gibberish note to Raf telling him to meet her somewhere, she admits her feelings, they make out, and then she’s like “ok, glad that’s out of the way, now just stand there and watch me set myself on fire, K?” Then she does and that’s pretty much the end.
Overall the book wasn’t terrible, I enjoyed the scenes with Ever and Laura, some of the unseelie characters were good as well. It wasn’t until the last 85% or so and that it really went off the rails. Just don’t go in expecting a romance or an ending that makes sense or you‘ll be disappointed and confused.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2022
I liked the others better.
Likes:
HEA
Learned more about Lara & Ever & two bad guys are removed
Dislikes:
Isla bargains for a favor and never uses it, while constantly referring to it, which is a strange loose end.
Ever was free of the curse on Earth and Raff could have gone there to be free instead of saying hateful things to Isla and never apologizing for them while demanding she marry him.
Isla decides her chemical attraction is love and that she’s a lying coward because she wants Raff to treat her with respect using his words and actions and try to build a relationship based on him actually liking her and seeking her good. He never does and she was right to reject him until he changed and offered affection instead of belittling her.
Isla wants him to offer her some romance where he sees her as desirable seeks to fulfill her desires as much as his own. He never does and she has sex with him anyway because she wants to believe so badly that attraction and good sex equals love, which is patient, kind, and seeks the good of the one loved ahead of the one who loves. Raff has not acted loving one time in the book. Letting Isla self-harm is not love and it definitely isn’t faithful. Raff is a horrible romantic hero. I like him much in books 1 and 3, where he acts like others matter. He isn’t justified in being emotionally abusive because he hurts or he’s physically attractive. Abuse is not ok in any form. Raff needs serious counseling help.
It was difficult to give 2 stars, but Isla, Lara, Ever, Riven & his sister were pretty awesome aside from Raff’s horrible example.
Likes:
HEA
Learned more about Lara & Ever & two bad guys are removed
Dislikes:
Isla bargains for a favor and never uses it, while constantly referring to it, which is a strange loose end.
Ever was free of the curse on Earth and Raff could have gone there to be free instead of saying hateful things to Isla and never apologizing for them while demanding she marry him.
Isla decides her chemical attraction is love and that she’s a lying coward because she wants Raff to treat her with respect using his words and actions and try to build a relationship based on him actually liking her and seeking her good. He never does and she was right to reject him until he changed and offered affection instead of belittling her.
Isla wants him to offer her some romance where he sees her as desirable seeks to fulfill her desires as much as his own. He never does and she has sex with him anyway because she wants to believe so badly that attraction and good sex equals love, which is patient, kind, and seeks the good of the one loved ahead of the one who loves. Raff has not acted loving one time in the book. Letting Isla self-harm is not love and it definitely isn’t faithful. Raff is a horrible romantic hero. I like him much in books 1 and 3, where he acts like others matter. He isn’t justified in being emotionally abusive because he hurts or he’s physically attractive. Abuse is not ok in any form. Raff needs serious counseling help.
It was difficult to give 2 stars, but Isla, Lara, Ever, Riven & his sister were pretty awesome aside from Raff’s horrible example.
August 18, 2021
I think this book hits its stride midway in the land of the Merits. I thought that the section in their kingdom was written better and was more engrossing than any other section in the series so far. I love the new Merit characters introduced and can't wait for their story. However, getting there was a little tough. It was very difficult for me to get past the first section of the book because the heroine grated against me. She is only 18, which might excuse her total lack of maturity, but that didn't make her easier to read. Her very speech patterns are bratty and conjured up the very worst images of an entitled teen. On top of that, her vices are spun as virtues - she's called brave and independent when she's actually just not smart enough to be scared and too impulsive to be cautious. Her "passionate nature" is really just a bad temper and it's tiring to have scenes like the one where Prince Raff says something as innocent as he thinks he's seen her before and, for no reason, she flies off the handle and almost curses him out. Is someone thinking they recognize you some sort of grave insult ? It's unfortunate that I struggled so much with her because I think she's potentially a strong character in her standing up for her species and pushing Raff to soften. There are two things that redeem the book from her crude, spoiled teen act: 1) That the Merit section is so engaging and interesting, and 2) That there is something of an acknowledgement near the end of the book that she's been acting like a prideful child.
May 9, 2023
The 14th Black Blood Heir. A once sunny dispositioned Raff has turned into a sour individual under the weight of the curse and finding his fated mate. He dreams of her often. A girl with a phoenix tattoo and a love for fire who can satiate the curse in his blood. The problem? This girl may not want to fall in love and marry him. You see? Isla doesn’t just want a marriage of convenience, she wants a marriage of true love or no marriage at all. Let’s not forget about the pesky Merit (unseelie) Prince Temnen who has so graciously been blessing us with his rudeness for the last two novels. It seems the Merits have found something they want, but what is it? And why? Raff and Isla have many hard days and many hard fights ahead, but the only way to figure out what happens to them, is to read, and I suggest you do.
I will say, so far Raff & Isla are my least favorite couple. Isla was kind of a jerk in some scenes even though she was told ahead of time that Raff and other Fae do not speak in the same way as humans. Poor Raff was tripping over his own tongue trying to say the right thing while she just acted like a jerk. I get she is a spitfire and was offended, but this was just bad communication and misunderstandings which can be a bit old after the 16th argument on a subject. Isla clearly still has some growing up to do before Queenhood, as does Raff.
I will say, so far Raff & Isla are my least favorite couple. Isla was kind of a jerk in some scenes even though she was told ahead of time that Raff and other Fae do not speak in the same way as humans. Poor Raff was tripping over his own tongue trying to say the right thing while she just acted like a jerk. I get she is a spitfire and was offended, but this was just bad communication and misunderstandings which can be a bit old after the 16th argument on a subject. Isla clearly still has some growing up to do before Queenhood, as does Raff.
March 23, 2024
Enjoyable read but it was a contrast for the leads considering how different Isla was to Lara. And the character that we knew of before the curse was bestowed on him, Raffael was not how I expected him to be romantically. Isla was hella rude too just randomly reminding him that she would never marry him and she didnt care about the curse at all. Like she didnt give a damn about her destiny and fate but was thankful that Raffael was hot though. It was interesting to see the Unseelie Court and their traditions/innovations combining technology with magic... I was always suspicious of the new characters that were introduced but overall glad to see new relationships being developed to help the story along. It was interesting that Islas initial experience in Faery would be opposite of Laras where she received guest treatment almost to the level of royalty as a "Change Bringer" to the Unseelie while Raffael would receive the opposite despite being the crowned Prince of Fire. The explanation on why Isla was able to control fire wasn't very clear to me in the end. I would chalk it up to fate being the reason both Lara and Isla were naturally drawn to things that were tied to their Elemental mates. But baking her emotions into food that affect the emotional state of others to being able to control and conjure fire on her own seemed a bit of a stretch to me. But I liked the book still.
November 16, 2021
It was alright
The first book ended up growing on me and so I wanted to read the sequel to see how Raff turned out because I really enjoyed him in the first book.
Now, I appreciate that the author tried to change the story up so it was not like a Retelling of the first book, but the story was so rushed! It’s a romance! Don’t rush the romance!
There was no real time or growth for the bond or love to develop like it did in the first book. And Isla went from f-you to I love way to quick. Honestly her hostility in the beginning made no sense. She knows and understands magic and the curse and what happened to Laura so I don’t get why believing she is the fated mate is so unbelievable to her?
And she wanted Raff to admit he loved her when really they spent no time together and she avoided him constantly. I really wish, since this was a romance book, that the author gave the romance more time and care.
Because The overall story itself and the world is very cute and fascinating. So, it was a fair read but not one of my favorites. I may still read the third just to see how it all ends.
The first book ended up growing on me and so I wanted to read the sequel to see how Raff turned out because I really enjoyed him in the first book.
Now, I appreciate that the author tried to change the story up so it was not like a Retelling of the first book, but the story was so rushed! It’s a romance! Don’t rush the romance!
There was no real time or growth for the bond or love to develop like it did in the first book. And Isla went from f-you to I love way to quick. Honestly her hostility in the beginning made no sense. She knows and understands magic and the curse and what happened to Laura so I don’t get why believing she is the fated mate is so unbelievable to her?
And she wanted Raff to admit he loved her when really they spent no time together and she avoided him constantly. I really wish, since this was a romance book, that the author gave the romance more time and care.
Because The overall story itself and the world is very cute and fascinating. So, it was a fair read but not one of my favorites. I may still read the third just to see how it all ends.
October 18, 2024
After hardly being able to put down the first book in this series until I finished it, I knew I was in for more of the same when I saw that there were more books. What I did not expect were the new settings, and how vastly they contrasted what I’d already come to understand the world of Faery after book one. I was truly on my toes throughout this book and was so much more satisfied with the ending than I was with the ending of book one. Raff was one of my favorite characters, so I knew I would love him. Isla, however, was a treat to get to know as the story unfolded! Often, I find characters in these multiple POV books to sound similar but both MCs truly held their own and felt very different from Ever and Lara.
Now, onto book three!!
Now, onto book three!!
October 25, 2024
Well
So good, Isla and Raff fight tooth and nail to not be with each other, to not accept the bond as mates.
Raff used to be so sweet and funny, but because of the curse he has become angry and unpredictable with his moods.
Isla has magic not only can she bake emotions into her food but she can also create fire and manipulate it just like the fire prince. So flipping cool.
She wants love and he wants the curse to end, she will not marry for the benefit of others, she will not settle for anything else.
They go through some really messed up things, obviously Everything that they say to each other is a lie, even the Fae who is not supposed to be able to lie, does just that.
After everything they get to have their HEA.
So good, Isla and Raff fight tooth and nail to not be with each other, to not accept the bond as mates.
Raff used to be so sweet and funny, but because of the curse he has become angry and unpredictable with his moods.
Isla has magic not only can she bake emotions into her food but she can also create fire and manipulate it just like the fire prince. So flipping cool.
She wants love and he wants the curse to end, she will not marry for the benefit of others, she will not settle for anything else.
They go through some really messed up things, obviously Everything that they say to each other is a lie, even the Fae who is not supposed to be able to lie, does just that.
After everything they get to have their HEA.
January 30, 2021
Interesting read
I really love Fae books and the tropes in Juno's books. I rated the first book higher, because I do not really like sci-fi/steampunk settings, and thus did not like the Court of Merits much. A personal preference.
However, her books are written well, with bright imagery and beautiful descriptions, I enjoyed her world of Faerie. Even the lyrical way she writes, almost like it could be a poem or song by a bard. I also enjoyed the plot, trying to figure out the Curse and meeting the characters. Eagerly awaiting the next installment.
I really love Fae books and the tropes in Juno's books. I rated the first book higher, because I do not really like sci-fi/steampunk settings, and thus did not like the Court of Merits much. A personal preference.
However, her books are written well, with bright imagery and beautiful descriptions, I enjoyed her world of Faerie. Even the lyrical way she writes, almost like it could be a poem or song by a bard. I also enjoyed the plot, trying to figure out the Curse and meeting the characters. Eagerly awaiting the next installment.
March 7, 2024
This book felt a bit drawn out to me. I really liked Isla and I love how the author gave her power through baking. I absolutely believe that food can affect people that way. I wanted more Raff in this book. I get why he wasn’t in it more but I felt his absence. They had great chemistry when they were together so maybe the fact it didn’t happen as often made the book feel slower than the previous books. I’m intrigued about the ending of this curse and series. It’s going to be messy for sure but I think I’m going to like Riven if only because of how he talks to the animals.
October 3, 2022
Could have been so good
This felt like a first draft; great story idea, but no depth. The FMC wasn't strong, smart and sassy. She was just spoiled and b!tc#y. I really wanted to love this book, but it was missing any character depth or beautiful undertones that could have easily been added. I would add examples but I don't want to add any spoilers. I wish her editor would have pushed her harder because I believe she has the ability to make fantastic stories.
This felt like a first draft; great story idea, but no depth. The FMC wasn't strong, smart and sassy. She was just spoiled and b!tc#y. I really wanted to love this book, but it was missing any character depth or beautiful undertones that could have easily been added. I would add examples but I don't want to add any spoilers. I wish her editor would have pushed her harder because I believe she has the ability to make fantastic stories.
February 16, 2024
Good read
I love the fire magic characters. I wanted to love the book but honestly the first was way better. I felt like the characters just didn't connect the way the needed to and the romance was rushed. I didn't get that excited turn page sensation to see what happened next to the slow burn romance feel either. That being said I will read the next book and enjoyed the first. While it was a good read it wasn't my favorite story.
I love the fire magic characters. I wanted to love the book but honestly the first was way better. I felt like the characters just didn't connect the way the needed to and the romance was rushed. I didn't get that excited turn page sensation to see what happened next to the slow burn romance feel either. That being said I will read the next book and enjoyed the first. While it was a good read it wasn't my favorite story.
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