A Whisper and a Breath

Riehse Eshan #2

by Adelaide Blaike

Mathias has bought his brother’s freedom with his own, but at what cost? Tensions are rising between the three countries of Riehse Eshan, and the true identity of Quareh’s hostage threatens half a century of tenuous peace.

And that’s not the only secret kept by the bloodied walls of la Cortina. Facing betrayal and subterfuge on all sides, Ren and Mat find themselves turning to each other as they’re forced to navigate Quareh’s increasingly dangerous politics. But even allied against a common enemy, they may not survive what comes next, not when it seems everyone has their own plans for the prince and his wayward northerner, including fate itself…

-

An enemies-to-lovers M/M dark fantasy romance where Reign meets Captive Prince: the Riehse Eshan Series blends humour, spicy scenes, LGBTQ+ representation, a Spanish-influenced setting, and the exploration of themes of belonging, sacrifice, overcoming ignorance and oppression, and challenging damaging long-held beliefs.

A Whisper and a Breath is the second book in the series, and contains a slow-burn gay romance. Recommended for adults only; reader discretion is advised.

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Magic, Royalty, BDSM

516 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2022

Reviews

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What I'm trying to say, you asshole," he finally gasped out, shoving me back with a fond smile on his face, "is that I care for you too. I know we weren't supposed to let it get that far, but damn you, you're in my head and you won't leave."
"I won't," I agreed. "I can be annoyingly persistent that way."
"Don't I know it."
~ they're everything to me. 🥺

THE ENDING?? HELLO? 😭

this series honestly took me by surprise. i wasn't sure what to expect (especially with Adelaide Blaike being a new author to me... also a new author in general bc i think this is their debut?), but i loved the characters, the romance, the world building. all the secrets revealed in this book specifically had me shook and i was just on the edge of my seat for most of the second half, but Ren and Mathias have me on a chokehold. i'd do anything for these two, they deserve all the hugs and the happiness!!

(IM)PATIENTLY WAITING FOR BOOK THREE. 😭

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5***** stars


BAHAHAHA, that intro. The two main characters bantering away off record, rehashing the events of the first book. Fabulous! And I only encountered it once before in another fantasy series and I must say, I really appreciate the authors’ thoughtfulness for giving a brief summary of previous events with each new book, especially when you read along their releases and aren’t binge-reading them like I am able to do now.



And damn, besides all the serious stuff that was going on, this book was full of light and happy and hilarious moments in the first part between Mat and Ren and the four of the Prince’s guards all having fun. I laughed out loud so many times I had the bestest time.

[…] gave me hope that he hadn’t heard anything… untoward coming from behind the doors he was guarding this morning. […]
“Something to say, Ademar?” I snapped, and he shook his head slowly, not bothering to wipe an ounce of the smugness off his face.
“I believe you’ve said it all,” he offered. “Or screamed it. What does da, bystreye! mean, anyway?”
“Yes, faster!” Ren helpfully supplied from behind me.

With the halfway mark rolling around then I got a little bored and frustrated there for a minute because nothing was working out, one interruption of important moments after another and a million failed attempts of various nature, and no answers leaving only unsolved mysteries.

That was until… well, until I was incapable of picking up my jaw from the floor. One unexpected punch to the plot after the next in a matter of only a few chapters. There were still no fucking answers right away but the twists were so jaw-dropping I was literally shouting: WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS HAPPENING?????

There was almost no reprieve in the aftermath up until the last page. Neither for us readers nor for the characters.

A blade in the gut, another spider-strewn trip through the tunnels, and now a cast-iron frying pan to the shoulder. The things I endured for ridiculous southern princes was confounding even me.

And of course. This book’s cliffhanger has me compelled to immediately dive into the next one…

*************
Riehse Eshan Series

Book 1 - A Knife and a Blade - 4.5 stars
Book 2 - A Whisper and a Breath - 4.5 stars
Book 3 - A Shadow and a Storm - 4.5 stars
Book 4 - An Oath and a Promise - 4.0 stars

novella - The Guard and the Gardener
novella - A Throne and a Crown - 4.25 stars

[haletostilinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES!

A MUST read if there ever was one!

What am I supposed to do with myself until the third book comes out in April?? How am I supposed to wait for more??

Also, there's going to be a fourth one too! Part of me feels I shouldn't have started this yet because now I have to waittt, but also I fucking LOVE this and couldn't put it down, so...

In this second installment in the series, we see Ren and Matthias/Nathanael grow closer than ever before.

This is almost 700 pages, almost twice as long as the first book, and it's worth every page.

After the cliffhanger of the last book, this starts out with Nat (blending the names as the book does, and it's easier that way as he's referred to with both names all the time) still being Ren's hostage.

But as the book, and time, goes on, they grow ever closer. As much as the fight haha.

These two push and pull constantly. They banter constantly. And all the while they're falling in love throughout this.

I LOVE that these books took the time to show that. They're barely in the feelings stage of their relationship by the end of the first book.

By the end of this book, they're solidly in love. There's even been a confession near the very end.

Only, outside forces want to make it impossible for these two to be happy. And we won't get that wonderful HEA until the fourth book, SO, we must endure.

As people around Ren and Nat continue to scheme and put them in the middle of their machinations, in the middle of all the intrigue and betrayals and drama, there is these two, falling in love.

We still don't even get full on penetrative sex, but I'm not even bothered.

The slow burn has been done SO WELL, and SO GOOD. The way this author is setting up, I know (very much hope) that their first time is gonna be EPIC. It better be, is all I'm saying after all the interruptions they indured.

There are some deliciously sexy scenes, but they're taking their time. Makes sense, as Nat has never been with a man and he has to let go of the homophobic views of the north to even get comfortable having sex with Ren, so they go slow. Slower than even Nat seems to want, but Ren has his very understandable reasons.

They get to a place where there's mutual handjobs, blowjobs, kissing all over, etc...just not the actual fucking.

They're almost there, when people interfere again and these two just can't have one fucking moment of peace, amiright??

The cliffhanger is more infuriating (in the best way possible) than the first. I can't handle this wait after THAT ending! GAH.

The climax of this story is insane too. People you think are the good guys turn out to not be that, and we lose one of Ren's 4 bodyguards who we've come to love over these 900+ pages of storytelling, and it's so sad. Now the 'group' as it were, feels incomplete. Another of Ren's bodyguards almost dies too, and it seriously makes you think he did for a time..

This book did not hold back on some shitty things happening, to everyone. And the vision that Nat has been having comes to fruition at least as well, and you come to understand it and just what happens even before it all unfolds.

I just can't believe I have to wait 3 months for the next installment! I can't handle it, this is just so good and I want these two with their HEA.

And with the summary for the next book, I'm worried for Ren. Ren, who seems just like a cruel prince on the outside, has been through so so much, through physical as well as mental and emotional pain. I don't want him to go through more! Nat either, as he's gone through some shit as well. Just let them be happy, mmkay?! 😭

Gah, this was just so so good and I can't recommend it enough! The slow burn, the subtle changes these two go through from enemies to lovers. How it's just so natural by the end of this for these two to be so in love.

And the plot, keeping you on the edge of your seat as these two young men - because yeah, they're only like 20 years old as this is all happening! - try to survive in this royal political landscape they find themselves in.

Just, go pick this up when you can! OR maybe wait until all 4 books come out, because now there is waiting I have to do and if you are one who can't handle the wait, then I'd wait for all 4 to come out.

But definitely keep this series in your to-read list! Because it NEEDS to be read!

I hope this series gets the attention it deserves, because it's so so good! I can't sing its praises enough.

And here I'll be, waiting month after month for the next installment so I can get my fill of Ren and Nat, together again 😍

My Ratings for the Riehse Eshan Series:

🔅 A Knife and a Blade: 5 stars (my review)
🔅A Whisper and a Breath: 5 stars
🔅 A Shadow and a Storm: TBR

[Devanshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I will give you everything, Nathanael, even when you fight me on it. Because there’s nothing on this whole fucking continent that I care for more than you."


SO GOOD! The romance, politics, banter, characters, plot, writing. Perfecto

WHERE IS THE NEXT BOOK?

“It’s an absurdly unenviable position you two find yourselves in. Doomed fucking love between enemy princes.”

[Iz · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ride!
This second installment is so much better than the first one: I wasn't sure I was going to finish off this series, but now I'm pretty sure I have to. The last few chapters were non-stop betrayals and cliffhangers, and I HAVE to know what happens next.

I found "A Whisper and a Breath" much more coherent from a world-building and character-building point of view than the first one, and I adored the writing here (despite some word use that I found a tad anachronistic in the high fantasy setting this series has). So all in all, I'm very happy with how some of things that made me dislike the first book were handled!

Mat and Ren are both infuriating main characters, but I still loved them and I adored their dynamic. Both of them have their share of trauma and vulnerabilities, and it was satisfying to see their relationship progress more, and to see them finally let go of their fears to try and give what they have together a go. Their relationship has a decidedly slow-burn vibe to it, and I can't tell you how many times I wanted to scream out loud at the constant interruptions (be it, Ren's pesky guards or his family, or The Plot™), but I'm sure it will make their HEA even more sweeter (WHEN they manage to get to it *sobs*)

I adored the side characters: I'd die for every single one of Ren's guards, and Starling owns my soul. I AM ANGRY at the sheer unfairness of some of the author's choices though ( I'll never forgive nor forget Ad's death, IT'S SO UNFAIR ugh, and Alta's betrayal left me so damned disappointed and upset ), but on the other hand, maybe I got used to all those lovely romance standalones where everyone is happy and whole by the end.
Also, I don't think this book should have been *that* long: despite loving most of it, I ended up skimming by the end because of how long it took to get to the point (impatient much?) and because of the anxiety those last few chapters gave me. I was planning on jumping into book three right away, but I'll give myself a few weeks to recover from that rollercoaster ending.

All in all, despite some niggles, I really enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else this author has in store for Mat and Ren.

TWs/CWs: rough sex, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, attempted rape, childhood abuse, torture, violence, death.

[yaishin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad the author didn't cut anything from this one because j loved reading it. even though the end did seem a bit rushed but ig these things do have a habit of appearing rushed.

[m. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 STARS

I don't want this to turn into a rant and I don't want for this to sound harsher or meaner than it needs to be as it's really not my intent so I'll keep this short and to the point.

I was really enjoying this book until the 30-35% mark, than it completely went downhill. The reason being that it had the one "trope" that is an absolute romance faux-pas for me, the one thing I absolutely cannot stand and that's the characters getting repeatedly interrupted in the lead up to sex, over and over again. A character walks in on them, a noise distracts them and breaks up the mood, someone abruptly changes their mind after remembering that they shouldn't have sex with this person, etc. If it happens once, I'm okay with it, it's fine to make me, the reader, and the characters wait in anticipation a bit. It's even exciting at times. Twice is starting to push my limit but the chances are I'll still excuse it. Thrice is where you're really starting to piss me off, at this point I'm likely annoyed but if you're delivering on everything else I might keep reading. This book (and if you include book 1 as well) did it more than three times. Without exaggeration, I think it might have happened 8-9 times total. I lost all my enjoyment in the book because of this. I was liking the characters and where it was headed but the constant hot and cold, and the cockblocking (for lack of a better word) completely soured the mood for me. It's not fun anymore, and instead of intensifying the anticipation and tension it completely kills and nullifies it. So much so that by the time things finally started to progress without interruption (though still not fully, somehow) around 70-ish% I literally had lost all interest and felt like skimming over it entirely out of sheer annoyance. I was finally getting what I wanted and didn't care anymore, how sad is that? That's not how you're supposed to feel reading romance.

I had other, smaller, issues as well but this is what I think is most important to mention and, like I said, I don't want this to turn into a mean rant so I'll leave it at that.

I won't be continuing on with the series, unfortunately. I wanted to know what would happen with the characters but I'm not feeling it anymore.

[Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy fuuuuuck 😟🤯🫡

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a doorstopper. And a cockblocker 😂
The first 2/3 were slow with focus on character and relationship development. It felt like a big chessboard and the pieces seemed to be put into place while the reader had no clue about what was really going on.
Intriguing.
The last part was so full of ACTION. I couldn't put the doorstopper down till the wee hours of today.
There is a lot of coffee involved and I'm not happy about the cliffie.
Next book where are you??

[David Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here we are with book 2 of Riehse Eshan, and, just like with book 1, I am likely *not* the target audience of this book.

However, just like book 1, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've never really got the whole "not the target audience" thing. Sure, I understand people having reading preferences and so on, but this is still fantasy. It's pretty dark. There are high stakes and political shenanigans. Battles too. And blood. Lots of blood. Blood-soaked world-building, you might say. On top of that, it's superbly written, and the characters of Mat and Ren are extremely well developed and act like real people, in my opinion. So what if it has romance, enemies-to-lovers, and it's a M/M romance, too? All elements are handled well, and I enjoyed, just like in book 1, experiencing a new set of subgenres.

What I'm trying to say is: if you like the usual staples of fantasy, then why not give something with a set of subgenres included you don't usually try a go? I did, and I'm very happy about it. Go me. Gold star!

A Whisper and a Breath sees the author Adelaide Blaike in good form, building on her work from book 1 and letting the story unfurl and the characters develop further without the constraints of introducing all the elements of Rieshe Eshan. It's a more confident book, and he pace is relentless for a book with so much political skullduggery at its heart. The dual POV works extremely well again, the two protagonists building off of one another in subtle ways and the ramifications their decisions have on one another are well explored.

The ending of the book is pretty full-on too, setting things up for a must-read book 3. Excellent stuff altogether, and well worth checking out if you're a fan of M/M romantic fantasy, or a fantasy fan looking for something a little different to your usual wheelhouse.

[Alethea Faust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an incredible continuation of an already amazing series! In spite of the the escalating political situation between their kingdoms, Ren and Mat's relationship continues to grow, and it is an absolute delight to witness. The subtle ways they play off of one another, the impact they have on not just each other's character but their actions is so well done, and it makes me love these contrary dorks even more.

I laughed, I cried, and I was GUTPUNCHED more than once during the course of this book. Few things make me stay up all night to read, but the ending of this book was a rollercoaster that I won't soon forget! I can't wait to see what Blaike throws at us next!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Basics

Author: she/her (Australia)
Genre: romantasy, M/M
Setting: fantasy historical-ish
Themes: loyalty, power dynamics, dominance & submission, political machinations
Vibes: tense, curious, devastating

Characters

Main Characters
🖕🐺 "Mathias" - "wildcat" Mazekhstam noble kidnapped and taken captive (pale skin, blue-grey eyes, short ash-brown hair)
🪢💅 Ren - Quareh's kinky sh*tstirrer second prince tasked with Mathias' captivity until a political trade (tan skin, dark brown eyes, long dark hair)

Ren's Team
🛡 Jiron - Ren's huge, loyal bodyguard
🛡🏹 Elias - Ren's slim archer guard, A's brother
🛡 Ademar - Ren's guard, E's brother
🛡 Luis - Ren's guard
♟️Alta - Moreno's daughter, Ren's friend/fiance
⭐️ Starling - doctor with the Touch

Other
👑 King Ivan - Quarehian ruler, Ren's father
🗡 Moreno - King Ivan's comandante
👸 Astrid - princess heir to Mazekhstam

World-Building

🗺 Riehse Eshan - the continent
❄️ Mazekhstam/North (Russian-inspired)
☀️ Quareh/South (Spanish-inspired)

Quotes

"And I couldn't let you die. Even if you hate me for it, because I'd rather have your hatred than your corpse...I will give you everything, [   ], even when you fight me on it. Because there's nothing on this whole fucking continent that I care for more than you."

Pros

+ MCs: bratty wildcat sub captive x unserious shitstirrer Dom prince
+ romance tropes: enemies to lovers, nicknames (my love), forbidden romance, grumpyxsunshine, touch him and die, 
+ 5 forms of sensory magic ✨️ (Touch, Hearken (extinct), Voice, Sight, Scent)
+ LGBTQIA+ rep: bi, ace, f/f, m/m, trans man
+ BDSM elements: safe word, bondage
+ jealousy jealousyyyyyyyy 🎶 🤭
+ forcing abstinence on a prince in the name of security (jealousy) 😆
+ I cannot overstate how good Blaike's bantery dialogue is 🤌💯
+ the way Jiron says "little one" 🥵
+ possessive phrases are so my cup of tea: "mine," "my man," "my boy," "my future husband"
+ to hurt him, you'll have to go through me 🤬
+ that red ribbon 🎀
+ the cliffhanger end!!!! I need #3 right now! 🤲

Neutral

/ when you mention something is extinct 3+ times, we all know it isn't actually gone 🙄 too many breadcrumbs there, for sure

Cons

- a few interruptions to delay their intimate scenes to build tension is one thing...8+ times is quite another, verging on cliche (annoyed with how often they are interrupted just before anything happens) 😫
- there's something about both mMCs being shit fighters that feels unbalanced to me (they're on the small side and easily physically overpowered/weak)

Comp Recs

+ Captive Prince trilogy* by C.S. Pacat
+ Into the North* - Amber Huxley

TW

horse death, massacre, burned bodies, poisoning, sawing off a finger, cutting, panic attack, murder, suicide, SA, attempted r*pe, slit throats, broken bones, transphobia, decapitation

[Ri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit that although the book started right where book 1 ended, I wasn't hooked right away. This book is also two times longer than the first one, so maybe that contributed as well.

However, once I was hooked, I couldn't predict every twist and casualty in the plot. These characters exemplified the "there are shades of grey, not just black and white" ideology. The torture was unexpectedly graphic, more so than the combat/battle scenes, which was to be expected. The descriptions still had me wincing though because ow, omg.

Don't have a drinking game based on how many times Ren and Mat/Nat get interrupted while they're trying to have intimate moments. You will perish.

Jokes aside, I enjoyed the relationship development and truly felt butterflies and all The Feels about their blossoming love. The worldbuilding was expanded on more as well; Riehse Eshan (the continent) feels richer and more grounded as a result.

So far, my favorite side characters are Starling (Estrella) and Elías. The friendships and found family aspects of the book were so well written and explored with complexity. I don't know if I'll ever heal from some of the side character losses because those were unexpected gut punches. I'm looking forward to the next book, as the cliffie wasn't as time sensitive (for me) to be anxiety-inducing.

[Caminpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book's story struggled at first when introducing us to the world and then by the end it started flowing and ended in a exciting way. So when I started reading the second book I wondered why the beggining of the story was so slow.

But before I talk about the story I have to talk about the recap: Yessss there's a recap. I read one after another so I didn't need to remember anything, but I love recaps. All books should have one, really. If is trending to have long series and each book releases in a avarage of a year to another and people complain that you should not wait until the series is finished to support the author, then at least the authors should do us the courtesy of putting a recap. So thank you Adelaide Blake. But not only that... the recap is amazing. It's written as a script of the protagonists talking and bickering about the events of the previous book, and it was so fun! It felt like tumblr posts of funny quotes and I love it.

So the book begins with them in a situation I'll talk about later, but then they come back to La Cortina and I'm reading and reading and I look at my progress and it's 40% and I think "when is something gonna happen again?".
About first half of the book it's kinda a long monologue of sexual desires with thing happening sometimes in the middle. They talk a lot about sex but there's too little friendship building to my personal taste.

Sometimes I read the story part between smut wishing it was straight smut, but now I see the importance of the plot. The first half is just sex talk nonstop and it gets kinda boring. If the purpose of the book is just to be erotic than I guess it's ok, since that's the goal... But if the aim is to tell a story then I was hoping to actually read the story... It gets a bit tiring when you have endless pages of sexual content and there's a interesting story behind that's not being told. And this book have an interesting story. Coming back to La Cortina they find a ruined town and really is something awful and intriguing, and we know Alta knows something about it but say nothing. It's very mysterious... And then there's pages and pages and pages of 'kinda sex'. Should mix better the ratio of alternating plot-smut.

For exemple: 1. The deadline for Mat's country's response letter established in the first book comes and goes and we don't even know it happens. All the time I was wondering what would be their move in the negotiations just for this topic to be approached later like "oh a dude came with the response and negotiations are happening"
2. At some point they talk about a solstice party that's about to happen and then at 80% Ren simply said it happened and it was dull...? Uhm excuse me? It happened a damn big beautiful ball or something and we were denied the angst of them wanting to dance, exchanging looks, maybe escaping the party unnoticed... I feel wronged, I think everyone must love some good fantasy ball scene.
I thought about putting a spoiler warning in these exemples but why? It spoils nothing because nothing happens. The events are not even in the story, they are just mentioned...

About their relationship: the rational part of my mind is a bit weirded out about the balance of power and abuse... sometimes it feels kinda wrong... but as the story progress it gets better, they seem to start finding a middle ground in their relationship.

But actually everything gets better the second half of the book. The story flows, their relationship blossom, plot twists happens. A lot of things happens quickly and maybe it should've been diluted with the first half of the book so everything could flow togheter.

and then comes the end of the book and I'm "oh sh*t here we go again... will our boys ever get their peace? I want the next one right now"

The book was fun, the story is interesting and we get to know better other characters. I'm very excited for the next one and for the fun recap.

And lastly: ever since that scene in the first book where Jiron holds Mat for Ren to search him and Mat is like "oh yeah I'm in the middle of two hot dudes. What an interesting feeling huh" I'm hoping for a threesome. Will it happen? Who knows?... but a girl can dream, right? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[KJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a second book in the series but not in a bad way. Far more character-driven as the plot focuses on the developing relationship between Ren and Mat. I appreciated that the change of POVs didn't keep us from seeing everything, which happens all the time with first person POVs in other books. Three stars instead of four because I find that the incredibly equal relationship between Ren and Mat doesn't translate into their romantic relationship at the moment. It feels very out of character to me. I'm hoping this is something that will change in the next book.

Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Most definitely.



See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book



CHARACTERS: The characters continue to develop, though I personally felt it was through the reader seeing different sides of them, rather than how they've changed and grown throughout the plot. Not a bad thing, as this is book 2 of 4. I personally love just how wonderfully equal they are (as they should be, considering they hold equal titles). It's refreshing to be able to see that in fictional relationships. Both have strengths and weaknesses and we get to see it with both. And I'm utterly thrilled by this. It's incredible in a way I can't describe. There's always 'the strong one' and 'the weaker one' I've found in the genre, but such is not the case here. My only hope moving forwards is that this will translate into how their romantic/sexual relationship develops as well. Because currently it feels completely at odds with who they are in every other respect.

PLOT: The plot is definitely more character-driven for most of this book, in my opinion. Also not a bad thing. In terms of the pacing, most of what occurs is between the main characters, though there is still enough external conflict that kept me very happy as well. It allows their relationship to grow outside of a vacuum, which is key to me. I wouldn't call it fast-paced, however it doesn't feel dull or bogged down. The only times I skimmed were during the sexual encounters, for the reasons mentioned above.

EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.

4 out of 5, high. I think the main reason for this, besides genuinely being invested in the characters, has to do with a magical plot point that strikes close to a 'trigger point', for me. That being said, it definitely isn't leaving me needing a therapist, so we're still good there. I believe there are more things that need to be resolved (that I HOPE will be resolved in the final two books). If they aren't, consider me preemptively frustrated.

CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled?

High. I'll give this one 90%. The bit about the romantic relationship between the characters being out of character hasn't fully been resolved yet, but I feel there is promise that it will happen. But the plot points that hit close to home for me (as mentioned above) were thankfully wrapped up. So I feel a deep relief for that.

[raccoon reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 to 3 stars.

I really went through some stages with this book.
- Why am I reading this?
- She's ripping off The Captive Prince Trilogy
- Ugh. okay, it's not so bad.
- Okay...she's got some original ideas.
- If she had an editor this might have real potential
and so on and so on.

Flaws: The page count is way to high and she even mentions it at the end of the book saying she knew that but couldn't bring herself to cut it. I wish she had an editor that could help her. She has serious potential. She has some good ideas and some original ideas. But she's leaning too heavily on the Captive Prince as her skeleton for her writing. She also has this horrible habit of writing these scenes that I think she thinks are clever and super funny but they just..ugh. rub me the wrong way. They are over the top like she watched a romcom movie with that scene and then tweaked it to fit her fantasy world. They feel forced and over the top. They also don't feel real. And while we know that it's fantasy and fictional characters, we fall in love with the writers who write characters so real we fall in love with them in turn and then they live rent free in our head you know? Her's just annoy me.

AND YET....

Good things: And yet I'm still reading. Like I said there's definitely raw potential here. She needs some help cleaning up unnecessary scenes and page length. And I can appreciate her bravery for putting out such a big story with such a deep sense of world building. I look forward to seeing what else she puts out. In the meantime I'll move on to book three which means it can't be that bad if I'm wanting to keep going. But I think this all should have been a trilogy and wrapped up sooner.. God here's hoping the next one isn't a million pages...

[Pam ✦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE (03/06/2025)

Still slaps!

ORIGINAL REVIEW (12/04/2023)

Oh, hell yes!

If you know me you know I don't usually do long books. I'm just more of a short and intense book type of girl, but for this book? I'll read as much as the author wants to give me.

The amount of domestic (if you can even call it that with these two) fluff we got in this book was ✨perfect ✨
I loved that, after the slow burn in the last book, we mostly got a somewhat stabilised relationship between Ren and Mat. I just love them, they tick all the right boxes on my list.

Also, I would personally like to thank the author for not ending the book when Mat's vision came true, I would have been so pissed.

So yeah, adding this saga to my fantasy favourites and I can't wait for the next book to come!

[Meerkt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge disappointment versus the first book. Pointlessly bloated with a circular plot that doesn't allow for any meaningful character development or action until the last 15% of a 600+ page book. I won't be reading the other 2 (!) books in this series when the author did so little with nearly a thousand pages already with these characters.

[Talya · Rating 4 out of 5]

dear adelaide blaike please hire an editor

also you’re telling me NOBODY thought to grab some earplugs so they could resist the Voice? the deaf kid being the only one who survived didn’t give them any ideas? they don’t have some wax lying around to shove in their ears or anything?

[Jessi Tremblay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was recommanded this serie, like many others, because I really enjoyed the experience of reading Captive Prince. In my pursue of the dragon, I gave it a chance.

The story is not entirely bad. There are good ideas, good plot points and some interesting characters. As many other reviews have mentionned already, the last 20% of book 2 was finally getting somewhere. There was some fast paced action, twists and turns and we finally got some plot points settled. The first and second book could have been one with a lot of well deserved editing to make everything more succinct and coherent.

I am not a fan of alternating POVs and this serie would have benefited from choosing the one POV of Mathias and not also Renato's. It was such at torture to be in his depraved head. He treats everybody he finds attractive as a sexual toy, sexually harassing them, desrcribing his throbing cock at every turn, imagining in detail how he would hurt and/or fuck the other characters... all of this, regardless is a situation called for it or not. I never rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation as much as when reading these books. It made me despise him right away, and this feeling never faltered despite the many occasions in which we were demanded to empathise with him. I couldn't.

I didn't really see real character evolution within the first two books. Renato's one note of sex addict with his sadocism fetish, egocentrism and lack of empathy doesn't really change at all, event when he feels sorry for himself. Everything he does, he does for his own benefit whether he says or thinks he does anything for the people he cares for. I would have believed in his secret caring persona if all of the above wasn't exposed to us in his POV. Because we have access to his inner monologue, everytime it is revealed that he is actually caring doesn't make sense. If all had been an act to make his enemies believe he doesn't pay attention and doesn't care about what's going on, the reveal of his caring and "genius scheemings" would have been believable had we not been in his head the whole time. It wasn't cute or sexy or endearing. I never felt like caring for him at all ever. He is a very one note kind of character who, sometimes, feels sorry for himself and makes other people suffer for it.

Mathias started of as a good main POV character. I believed in his internalised homophobia and really wanted to root for him. I wished for him to explore his sexuality through his discovering of a new culture, making friendships he never thought could make, witnessing new good and bad things in a land he had never been in. Except he was coerced into liking dicks and very quickly changed his mind about his upbringing. He forgives so fast and easily, it is really plot conveniant at this point. Nothing Renato does to him has real consequences, and I'm not even talking about the conveniant reveal of Alta's implications. Mathias gets way too thirsty too fast about Renato to the point of crossing his own boundaries to please the prince. His friendship with his FWB in his homeland isn't developped and believable enough for us to care.

And now, let's talk BDSM. There are so many wrong ways to exploit BDSM in M/M romance, and I have yet to read something that uses it the right way. This serie is no exception. Play cannot be imposed on someone else, it is called abuse and harrassment. Shame and humiliation play is a thing, but any form of play is agreed upon before it takes place, even if it's an ongoing day to day type of play, as in many s/D relationship dynamics. Boundaries, soft and hard limits, and safewords are voiced and agreed upon BEFORE play. Play start and end are also explicitely defined. With that said, NOTHING is the two books have respected that. Renato is a self proclamed BDSM conoiseur and practitionneur, but I have yet to see him truthfully practice any of the basic core rules of BDSM. There are BDSM lingo thrown in the books and explained with sensitivity, but with no real commitment to it. The use of safeword is forced upon Mathias during play while he doesn't understand why he would need of it. A person experienced in BDSM who agrees to play with someone with no experience should NEVER trust the new person with voicing their limits and boudaries DURING play. Nobody should, period! Renato want's to play and makes sure to shape it in a way in which he won't be perceived as the bad guy because he uses BDSM lingo and is confident about it. This is wrong on so many levels. When Mathias decides he doesn't want to play anymore and doesn't use his safeword, Renato blames and shames him for it. It is explained why Mathias acts like this by the end of book 2, but as a "BDSM expert", Renato has no excuse for such behaviour. It is not cute, it is not sexy, and it is damaging to the BDSM community. I was fuming.

Every character, in the end, suffers from that "one note" criticism I have. Nobody really evolves in their way. They all constantly insult and jab at each other in a "loving" kind of way, constantly, for no reason. Mathias is frustrated and voices his disaproving of everything without fear of consequences, whatever the consequences are, as if he never learns or fears any of it. The guards are plain and archetypes without true depth. Yay for trans representation, I guess? The female characters never speak to each other, except to speak about their mysoginistic culture and desires to start a revolution (you know, classic female discussions... /s)

The author says it herself that she couldn't bring herself to edit down, but she should have. There is such a thing as spending too many paragraphs on an idea, too many times during the same book. And there is such a thing as losing focus on the matters at hand with too many descriptions of how Renato would mouth fuck Mathias for his insubordination. We constantly lose focus of the plot with inner monologues that have no link to the presented subject and I found myself having to come back 1 or 2 pages to remember what was happening before having to read through what Renato was planing to do to Mathias with a riding crop, which never came to play, but was mentionned at least two times in the books. Not every living moment is the right moment to describe lust and sexual fantasies. Those books are saturated with them and it ends up not being even satisfying when it actually happens. I went through sexual burnout, I think.

Not only does the serie exploit real life languages to differenciate the cultures, but also the name and description of cultural foods as well as other things. It takes us out of the fantasy setting and sets us in a conflict between Spain and Russia. You know, Spain with its mysoginistic politics and acceptation of all types of love and sexual preferences, and Russia with its gender equality and flaming homophobia /s. How difficult was it not to associate any of the cultures in this serie to one real living of dead culture we know? As a French speaking person myself, I despise the use of my language in an English book to make characters appear more sexy and exotic. It is not. It's cringe as fuck, because it is never used properly by non French spearkers. French people communicating in English won't pepper French words here and there to demonstrate how bilingual they are. Unless they actually speak Frenglish, which we do in Montreal and in New-Brunswick. But only a person who speaks Frenglish would know how to write something like that. Which brings me back to this serie. Not only is it super cringe, but it has no reason to be like that. It is established that whenever characters speak, even if it's written in English, they speak a certain fantasy language. Whichever language is specified when important to the reader. If Mathias and Renato decide to speak to each other in Mathias' language so the guards don't understand them, it is specified and the readers understand it is so, even if the dialogue is still written in English. The rules have been established and we understand them. So, when Spanish pops up in a dialogue entirely spoken in Quarehian, what does that mean? What SHOULD it mean? I understand then that Quarehian, in this universe, is basically Spanish. So, if an English written dialogue that was established to be spoken in Quarehian beforehand is peppered with choice Spanish words, which were explained to be the manifestation of what Quarehian sounds and looks like in universe, what's the point? It looks like the character switches language in their dialogue, but logically, they don't. It just takes me out every single time. And of course, most of the Spanish and Russian words used are swear words. Good use of foreign languages. /s

Now, to the magic system. The idea is great and inventive. The use of the five senses and attribute different powers to them is super cool, something that is easily digestible and comprehensive. Creating a magic system can be very complex and it is why most writters prefer not to venture those waters, and I salute the effort. It had so much potential... It ended up being too plot flexible and conveniant.

Let's take Starling, our favourite healer. She is said to have the Touch, basically the power of healing through touch. Basic. We can all imagine what it does. It's clear and she demonstrates what and how it manifests at multiples instances. She touches the area she needs to heal and sparkles float over her hands until she is done, whichever time she needs. She is a STRONG healer, so she does so quickly and efficiently. Noted. Then, we discover that she can heal someone by touching them wherever and it works. Wow, she really is a strong healer. She doesn't need direct contact with the wounded area for her magic to work. She can even do it through clothes. Wow! How conveniant to explain how Renato doesn't have to suffer his damaged back for the rest of the book and Starling has only access to his leg for a couple of seconds as he's riding ouf of the palace. Ok, I guess it's cool... she was doing it because Mathias asked her to help and she is a good friend and didn't want it to be seen or known. Fine. Then, we discover that she can glue back severed members. Woah! That's intense magic and very conveniant to Renato's manipulations of Mathias after creating a scene in front of the King and Moreno to cut and send Mathias' finger to Astrid in a fucked up power play. It's cute that Renato thought of using Starling to fix Mathias' trauma afterwards. Oh, but now that Mathias has his finger back, it wouldn't be wise to show his five fingered hand to the King and Moreno, because they expect him to have four fingers now. No problem, we'll cover it with a glove. Oopsies, Moreno wants to see the cut finger under the glove. Shit, we didn't think about that. Oh yes, we did! Who's the strongest and most plot conveniant healer in town? Starling! Not only can she heal someone through undirect touch, but now she can UNHEAL THEM the same way :O But shhh, nobody has to know! And not only can she heal or unheal people through undirect touch, but she also can heal people THROUGH people. She grows stronger by the minute! And she can bring people back from the brink of death after they were stabbed and fell down 3 floors. At that point, that's what's most believable.

And Mathias' Sight is just as plot conveniant as Starling's Touch is. It would have been fun to see him have very mundane visions from time to time, or for the story to explain why his visions happen when he is in distress and on high alert, something to do with his own survival and preservation, or whatever anxiety is plaguing him at the moment of said vision. But it is not clearly so. Many of his visions happen when it is helpful to the story. I would have believed his 7 visions saving him from certain death as he climbed the wall outside of Renato's room if it had been established that he normaly had visions is such stress induced situations. He did, but not regularly enough that it was plausible at that moment. Why would he have a vision of a neutral Renato stabing him time and time again since way before he ever met the prince, then?

The influences of Captive Prince were flagrant throughout the books, but it missed the point entirely. Captive Prince is a story forward, characters driven and sex releaved type of story with one POV, leaving the mystery MYSTERIOUS as we discover the different political scheemes unfold before our eyes and Damen's alike, getting to know Laurent layer by layer, his deep and complex inner world, through the single POV character's experiences. Their relationship developes throughout the whole serie and goes through different very clear stages, making it a real and believable enemies to lovers story. Sexual explicit descriptions are a reward for the characters and the readers alike, giving us a very well deserved respite from all the anticipation and slow building tension, and are advancing the plot. Laurent never uses his tragic past to excuse his actions towards Damen and he proves through and through by his actions that he can be trusted, so when things go south, the reader has a feeling that Laurent is not to be blamed because we got to trust him. The characters are all well rounded and believable, well executed. No wonder why so many M/M fantasy romance writters try to chase that dragon too.

I will not continue passed book 2, at least not right now. I do see that this serie is well liked by the people enjoying it, and I understand that it is not for me. I will return to my chase of the dragon. It wasn't here after all.

[Megan the Nurse Next Door · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I jumped into this one immediately following the end of the first. I didn't realize this was a series, or that it was an uncompleted series when I started.

via GIPHY

This was a strung-out sort of book, which I haven't had in a while, like ignoring everyone and everything for a few days, including sleeping. I finished at about 4 am. I really need the next one.

Overall the book was great. It was fast-paced, and while the mystery aspect wasn't much of a mystery, there were a few surprises, and that's not what I was reading it for anyway. It was a little drawn out at the end, like a lot was happening, but since it is dual POV, the chapters ended on a cliffy over and over until we finally got to see the whole picture. That is always a bit frustrating, but the price you pay for dual POV. Did I mention I really need the next one, that's not out for three months?

[Stfnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

27 feb 2026: DNF. MM. i gave book 2 a second try after rereading Captive Prince by C. S. Pacat. It pushed me into a bookslump and this series at least had me interested enough to see where the plot would take me. Instead, i was again thoroughly bored by the endless inner monologue (which had me almost falling asleep) and the sexual banter that had me feeling young and giddy in book 1, made me feel burned out in book 2. I just wanted to focus on plot development but before that happens (in the last 20% apparently) i dnf’ed, again. For me this book has too much inner monologue, repetition, not enough mystery or character building and while the languages didn’t take me out of the story, it does beg the question why you would use existing languages but different names for the countries; it could have been implied. There was lots of telling instead of showing and while i do think the idea of their magic world and the plot was an excellent idea (as far as i’ve read at least), the first and second book could’ve been turned into 1 if all the ‘extra’ was taken out.

One thing that did confuse me was the guard Jiron using the endearment ‘little one’ for Mat. In BDSM it’s a pet name in DD/lb dynamics and it constantly made my heart melt and feel like he and Mat would be together (too) in the long run. It confused me as to why he used that particular pet name, other than Mat being tiny apparently and him being big, but Jiron also was protective of Mat and there was this one little moment in book 1 … just confusing.

17 feb 2026: DNF. MM. Might still change my mind and finish.
I’m soooooooo sad that i lost momentum and lost interest … i feel like there was a bit too much sexual stuff (between the actual smut scenes) which had the balance between smut and plot tipping over; and apparently my mind wants more plot. I did enjoy the 30% of the book though. Bc i might get back to it, i won’t give it a star rating.

[Dacia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, the development of the story and the characters in this second book has been amazing to read. The ups and downs are natural, and the climax of the book keeps you up reading. I enjoy the addition of other characters outside of the main ones, as they make the story so much better. I believe you'll be laughing at the antics as much as I did.
Forewarning: you'll also probably cry. Or want to cry. Because shit gets real!!! If you think Moreno is a snake, you're right. But the absolute shock will be his right hand helper.
However. The cliffhanger? Makes my heart hurt so much for these 2. They've already gone through so much just for one to get kidnapped. RAWR. I'm anxiously waiting for April for the 3rd book.

[Alastair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I have to wait until April to find out more 😭 this is so good

[Sari · Rating 5 out of 5]

No hay palabras para expresar cuanto ame este libro un poco mas que el primero y con ese final, leer el siguiente no es una necesidad, es más que eso.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!!

This book had a great storyline to it and is my favorite of the series so far! I loved how dramatic and interesting the plot was. Can’t wait to read the next book!

[boundbyfiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I say I’ve never read a sequel to a series THIS GOOD AND FUCKING MIND BLOWING??? THE PLOT TWISTS???. Love when the plot is so thick that it catches me by surprise!!!!

[addison · Rating 5 out of 5]

at least i didn’t finish this book in one day!!

[Claire Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a series this is turning out to be.

[Jen (Fae_Princess_in_Space) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god the drama. The deaths, the powers, the politics. Plus more of sweet babies Mat and Ren flirting and generally being assholes to each other.

This book had 50% more hidden tunnels, 10/10 Starling eyerolls, and ♾️ more political shocks - honestly, everyone is backstabbing everyone else. Sometimes literally.

Okay now onto the next one because holy cliffhanger Batman.

Sorry this review is not up to my usual standards - just too much drama to recount and I wanna get reading the next book already!!