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Into the Nether Court #1
The Starless King
Night after night she roams, driven by an irresistible lure, until she meets the outstretched hand of Death—and reaches back.
Cora has seen it all in the years of travel, training and trauma preparing her as the next Mistress of the Granary, the world’s greatest farming region. From now on, her life will be rooted to the land she loves and nothing can shake her resolve, let alone scare or surprise her.
Then her lookalikes start turning up brutally murdered, and a god abducts her cousin.
Despite nearly matching him in strength, her mortal form can’t withstand his brutal magic. When Death arrives, the connection she felt the fateful night before returns tenfold.
Instead of taking her life, the enigmatic God of the Underworld transports her to his dreaded Nether Court, where he gives her an ultimatum. He has two problems: The King of the Gods is missing, and his suspected descendants are being eliminated. And after he refused to take the throne, the gods demanded he takes a wife. She will be his undercover agent in his investigation into the god’s disappearance—and his chosen contestant for a Goddess of the Underworld.
Forced to compete against the gods’ immortal candidates, she mustn’t only survive impossible odds, but also the terrible danger of igniting the desires of Adamantus, the cold, lethal king who never wanted anything before her.
As their ill-fated connection plunges into unforeseen depths, so does the mystery that surpasses their worst fears. There’s a divine succession war brewing, and it threatens to destroy both the mortal and immortal realms—and she is at the center of it all.
Cora has seen it all in the years of travel, training and trauma preparing her as the next Mistress of the Granary, the world’s greatest farming region. From now on, her life will be rooted to the land she loves and nothing can shake her resolve, let alone scare or surprise her.
Then her lookalikes start turning up brutally murdered, and a god abducts her cousin.
Despite nearly matching him in strength, her mortal form can’t withstand his brutal magic. When Death arrives, the connection she felt the fateful night before returns tenfold.
Instead of taking her life, the enigmatic God of the Underworld transports her to his dreaded Nether Court, where he gives her an ultimatum. He has two problems: The King of the Gods is missing, and his suspected descendants are being eliminated. And after he refused to take the throne, the gods demanded he takes a wife. She will be his undercover agent in his investigation into the god’s disappearance—and his chosen contestant for a Goddess of the Underworld.
Forced to compete against the gods’ immortal candidates, she mustn’t only survive impossible odds, but also the terrible danger of igniting the desires of Adamantus, the cold, lethal king who never wanted anything before her.
As their ill-fated connection plunges into unforeseen depths, so does the mystery that surpasses their worst fears. There’s a divine succession war brewing, and it threatens to destroy both the mortal and immortal realms—and she is at the center of it all.
447 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2022
41 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Lucy Tempest
14 books309 followersAs the spawn of Trekkie comic book nerds, the importance of storytelling is an integral part of my being. Spinning tales since I learned to speak, now my books can take others through my adventures and necessary escapism.
I live with one foot in Florida with my family and two spoiled cats, and the other firmly lodged in fantasy.
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I live with one foot in Florida with my family and two spoiled cats, and the other firmly lodged in fantasy.
Follow me on Bookbub
Join my VIP mailing list by clicking HERE!
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 27, 2022
Brought to you by:
1. Almost ten years of planning and development that nearly drove me mad. Esp the last 3 yrs, where I got very sick A LOT & came up with some of the wildest concepts while fevers cooked my brain. (ex. Polyope's introduction).
2. A writing soundtrack consisting of Florence + the Machine, Hozier, AURORA, Dua Lipa and My Chemical Romance.
3. My distaste for pop culture associating Hades with Satan. #hadesdidnothingwrong 😤
4. The desire to see a ball-busting, ferocious Persephone that implements all my grandma's stories as a Mediterranean farm-girl.
5. Many references to Mediterranean dishes and sweets I craved (and ate) while writing. I will now treat myself to some moussaka and lokum.
The Starless King was in development long before I wrote the first book I put out, in which Cora was introduced. The whole time I've been tinkering with her story, debating how ambitious I could get with its execution, and wrote 20K words that missed the final manuscript. But, it helped me realize that Cora was too big (lol) and too powerful to be at the tail-end of a series, and she needed her own space to thrive.
*blows kiss to the skies* For all the tall girls, Cora feels your pain, she's like 6’5.
Grueling as it was, this was the most fun I've had writing, and I'm beyond excited for you to see where I take this trilogy, so please don't forget to review on here and Amazon.
Happy Reading! <3
1. Almost ten years of planning and development that nearly drove me mad. Esp the last 3 yrs, where I got very sick A LOT & came up with some of the wildest concepts while fevers cooked my brain. (ex. Polyope's introduction).
2. A writing soundtrack consisting of Florence + the Machine, Hozier, AURORA, Dua Lipa and My Chemical Romance.
3. My distaste for pop culture associating Hades with Satan. #hadesdidnothingwrong 😤
4. The desire to see a ball-busting, ferocious Persephone that implements all my grandma's stories as a Mediterranean farm-girl.
5. Many references to Mediterranean dishes and sweets I craved (and ate) while writing. I will now treat myself to some moussaka and lokum.
The Starless King was in development long before I wrote the first book I put out, in which Cora was introduced. The whole time I've been tinkering with her story, debating how ambitious I could get with its execution, and wrote 20K words that missed the final manuscript. But, it helped me realize that Cora was too big (lol) and too powerful to be at the tail-end of a series, and she needed her own space to thrive.
*blows kiss to the skies* For all the tall girls, Cora feels your pain, she's like 6’5.
Grueling as it was, this was the most fun I've had writing, and I'm beyond excited for you to see where I take this trilogy, so please don't forget to review on here and Amazon.
Happy Reading! <3
September 1, 2022
I enjoyed reading Lucy Tempest’s other novels, so I thought that I would like this one. However, the commitment to a darker theme and a more adult audience leaves a lot to be desired of both the heroine and the story in general. We are led to believe that Cora has been studying to rule the granary from birth and yet every decision she makes is rash, arrogant and thoughtless. Rashly leaping headlong into danger is not leadership. These giant flaws in her character cause her to find herself in trouble over and over again which means the “one chosen by the fates” is pretty much useless against the gods she finds herself fighting. I also found the relationship between her and Death forced and unrealistic as they have barely interacted and yet just looking at her causes the following quote: “The lash of heat hit me right over my belly button this time. I spasmed with the pleasure that forked between my legs to my toes so hard, I almost climaxed.”
I couldn’t finish this book. Some parts were very well written but I found the overall tone to be nonsensical and ridiculous. If you are looking for clean, fairy tale romance like her other books, just pass this one by. It is not worth your time.
I couldn’t finish this book. Some parts were very well written but I found the overall tone to be nonsensical and ridiculous. If you are looking for clean, fairy tale romance like her other books, just pass this one by. It is not worth your time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
February 7, 2023DNF AT 31% writing style just didn’t jive with me.
March 1, 2023
The wait I did for this book—it taught me patience.
But…. 😮💨
Where do I even start?
This book or shall I say Cora had so much potential.
Like seriously I could literally write only explaining on how Cora could have been the best protagonist Lucy could’ve ever written.
Now yes, this wasn’t my book and Lucy has every right to write the way she wants to write her characters but…
😮💨
First the book or plot: The Hades/Persephone retelling?!! Who doesn’t love that?? Although this was going to be my second retelling and my first one was—a major disappointment but let’s stick with this disappointment.
I was super stoked about this one—mainly because of Cora, my favourite character and Death as well. I was so curious about him and I knew from the first book that Cora and his story was going to come soon and they were going to be together because of Cora’s badass personality in the books.
I loved how strong willed and opinionated she was, without being mean and how she encouraged independence and determination in others and how she inspired others by her bravery, while being still logical and not so rash. She also seemed wise.
But in this?? Despite being all of the above and being so well-rehearsed and mature—she acted so rash ALWAYS!!!
Like yeah, once in a while a rash action is fine—realistic, but Cora acted rash throughout the book. Like I can’t even recall her doing anything logically or thinking first and then doing.
Her bravery? It was more like stupidity in this. I know when someone is so stupidly brave in the face of danger, but Cora was made so unrealistic in her bravery. I wanted her to be mature and brave, but while being smart and thorough and strong. She’s 25!!!
Cora was thoughtless, rash, annoying, stupid, lusty and immature throughout that I couldn’t even finish the ending chapters.
Now the romance.
Gosh. It was so weird. It felt forced on both sides. It was Insta-lust for Cora which I despised. This was supposed to be a high fantasy not romance. I wanted that slow-burn enemies to lovers with the perfect steam and sparks, the push and pull with the small details. All I got was Insta-lust and weirdness. They weren’t even enemies. Just people annoying each other non stop. Literally. He legit told her of the dangers and she happened to run literally into them. For what?? Nothing!!
Not even her never ending curiosity. For someone who berated not thinking to her friend, she sure abandoned it at first thought.
She never listened to him. Yes, I love when a heroine stands up for herself and doesn’t let anyone tell her what do to or control her, in this, he was legit warning her from serious dangers but she didn’t listen and then didn’t even learn.
I wouldn’t call their romance romance. It was Insta-lust and nothing else. And that was so forced. The amount of times Cora was thinking of her body’s response felt so forced like she was forcing us to know she was attracted to him. No feelings whatsoever. It was all body body and no feelings. At least not from her side. It did sometimes feel that he was getting feelings for her. There was no growth whatsoever. It was all tell and no show.
I want to rant and rant and rant about the disappointment this was. These both—I waited so much and for what??
It was not worth it at all. I wish this could be written again and I do believe it could be better.
But…. 😮💨
Where do I even start?
This book or shall I say Cora had so much potential.
Like seriously I could literally write only explaining on how Cora could have been the best protagonist Lucy could’ve ever written.
Now yes, this wasn’t my book and Lucy has every right to write the way she wants to write her characters but…
😮💨
First the book or plot: The Hades/Persephone retelling?!! Who doesn’t love that?? Although this was going to be my second retelling and my first one was—a major disappointment but let’s stick with this disappointment.
I was super stoked about this one—mainly because of Cora, my favourite character and Death as well. I was so curious about him and I knew from the first book that Cora and his story was going to come soon and they were going to be together because of Cora’s badass personality in the books.
I loved how strong willed and opinionated she was, without being mean and how she encouraged independence and determination in others and how she inspired others by her bravery, while being still logical and not so rash. She also seemed wise.
But in this?? Despite being all of the above and being so well-rehearsed and mature—she acted so rash ALWAYS!!!
Like yeah, once in a while a rash action is fine—realistic, but Cora acted rash throughout the book. Like I can’t even recall her doing anything logically or thinking first and then doing.
Her bravery? It was more like stupidity in this. I know when someone is so stupidly brave in the face of danger, but Cora was made so unrealistic in her bravery. I wanted her to be mature and brave, but while being smart and thorough and strong. She’s 25!!!
Cora was thoughtless, rash, annoying, stupid, lusty and immature throughout that I couldn’t even finish the ending chapters.
Now the romance.
Gosh. It was so weird. It felt forced on both sides. It was Insta-lust for Cora which I despised. This was supposed to be a high fantasy not romance. I wanted that slow-burn enemies to lovers with the perfect steam and sparks, the push and pull with the small details. All I got was Insta-lust and weirdness. They weren’t even enemies. Just people annoying each other non stop. Literally. He legit told her of the dangers and she happened to run literally into them. For what?? Nothing!!
Not even her never ending curiosity. For someone who berated not thinking to her friend, she sure abandoned it at first thought.
She never listened to him. Yes, I love when a heroine stands up for herself and doesn’t let anyone tell her what do to or control her, in this, he was legit warning her from serious dangers but she didn’t listen and then didn’t even learn.
I wouldn’t call their romance romance. It was Insta-lust and nothing else. And that was so forced. The amount of times Cora was thinking of her body’s response felt so forced like she was forcing us to know she was attracted to him. No feelings whatsoever. It was all body body and no feelings. At least not from her side. It did sometimes feel that he was getting feelings for her. There was no growth whatsoever. It was all tell and no show.
I want to rant and rant and rant about the disappointment this was. These both—I waited so much and for what??
It was not worth it at all. I wish this could be written again and I do believe it could be better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2022
This is the long awaited story of Cora. I am so excited to see another Folkshore story. That being said, this is a change in direction from the author but one I fully embrace and feels fits the Hades and Persephone myth and the darker elements that are normally found in Greco/Roman myths. We get to see the lush, green lands of the Granary and the inner workings of Cora as she navigates not only her intended responsibilities but those that come with the adventure she goes on. Once we shift into the ‘Underworld’ we are now gifted with even more richly described and unique areas befitting the place. The one thing I enjoyed the most was Cora. Her actions are restricted while in the Granary but become more free and unfiltered once she is no longer home and she is an absolute terror and treasure to read. You can see several of the Greek gods present, obviously with different names, and it was fun trying to figure out who was who. I also enjoyed the allusion to other Underworld/Hell stories and how those were incorporated. The plot had me intrigued and kept me engaged, needed to know what happens next. Not all questions are answered which is fine since this is a trilogy and enough was left at the end that I am anxiously awaiting book 2.
August 19, 2022
I really enjoyed this read. Tempest weaves together and engaging story so quickly that it's easy to fall in and read all day. The pacing, the characters—chef's kiss. I lvoe the stories from this author, and highly recommend this read.
April 5, 2023
Definitely more on the adult side from her previous series but i liked how this is a continuation of the first series but can be read as a stand alone, interesting take on hades and Persephone, I’m looking forward to the next one
October 17, 2022
I liked it 🤷🏻♀️
August 16, 2023
Dark retelling
I really enjoyed the story, some of the text needs to be edited on the kindle version due to missing words but I am extremely excited for the next book!
I really enjoyed the story, some of the text needs to be edited on the kindle version due to missing words but I am extremely excited for the next book!
December 20, 2022
Thumbs down. 👎🏻 Cora was super immature and frustrating.
September 6, 2023
This is a much darker book than previous ones and is a little bit spicy which I was not expecting. The writing in the storyline are not lacking but it was definitely a departure from the tone of the Aladdin retelling series which I really loved. So if you like dark broody fantasy with a little bit of spice and some graphic Gore it's for you. It just wasn't for me.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews