A Fae prince with fading powers. A human woman marked by his magic. Was she destined to save his world, or to save him? When a political scandal shakes up her life, Renya flees Los Angeles to avoid rumors and gossip—but is completely unprepared for where fate takes her.
Bound by duty, Grayden is a handsome Fae prince who is determined to restore the magic fading from his world. When he finds Renya, unconscious and near death on the frozen boundaries of his lands, he’s hoping she’s the savior promised to his realm.
Obsessed with returning home to her world, Renya makes Grayden promise to open a portal to send her back. But can she give up the intense and passionate connection they share?
Fans of ACOTAR, fated mates, possessive male leads, deliciously evil villains, and strong female protagonists will fall in love with this fast-paced, spicy fantasy romance read!
I love this little world! Very easy and interesting read. I enjoy the characters and their personalities. I absolutely love the mix of our modern world with a fae world, I have yet to read a book like that. I just ordered book 2 on Amazon and definitely recommend to my fellow fantasy lovers.
If you are an avid romance reader and/or New Adult reader and looking to transition into fantasy romance, this is the perfect book for you! It's a fast-paced, high energy book that can be read quickly! It's a fun little ride!
I was honestly attracted because of the title and book cover!
Once I started reading, I could not put it down! It is a great-paced story with a slow burn. My ONLY complaint was that a cliff hanger?? Rachel!!
The characters were so sweet and stubborn (coming from someone who recognizes it lol) I cannot wait for the next book! I will be letting Renya and Grayden live rent free in my head from now on.
I would like to thank Rachel for the Ebook and note that all of my thoughts/opinions are completely my own.
Rachel creates a fascinating world with characters and settings that make you want more!! I love Renya’s spunk and atubbornness, Grayden’s devotion and caring, and Selenia’s frivolity and spark. I cannot wait to learn more about these characters - even Cressida - with the next installment.
I absolutely loved this book! I came across this title through a TikTok edit, and I am so glad that I did. I love the dynamic between the characters, and it was definitely a fast read! I devoured this book in 24 hours and I am about to start the second book immediately!
This was so bloody good. I loved the world building, story, the characters, the plot development, just everything! I loved the Will they/ won’t they feel to the romance. It flowed well, I loved the cliffhanger ending/ twist. The second book is available on kindle unlimited, which I’ll 100% be reading.
Interesting story. I thought the world-building was intriguing as well. I think Rachel Avery is very creative, and I love a lot of the elements she created. For example, the animals in the fae realm, I was so interested in them. They made the world feel very magical and different from the human world. I love that you can actually identify differences between the fae and humans, which sometimes you don't really get in other similar stories.
I like Renya a lot. She's a strong woman, she's brave. I had some moments I really loved about her. But, I didn't like Grayden as much.
Overall, I felt like the book was a bit empty. It seems like Renya was pretty isolated, and I wish we had seen her engage with the world a bit more. There's also a lot of telling instead of showing.
I also found some contradictions which made the book a bit confusing. For example, Renya seems quite small (Grayden calls her little fawn, and when he first sees her, he assumes she's a child). However, we are later told that Renya wouldn't fit into Selenia's clothes because she's much taller than Selenia. Or, at first, some characters comment on Renya's clothes being inappropriate for a woman, but then later a lot of her fae-realm dresses seem to be quite revealing.
Story is fast-paced, and it sucked me in right away. Loved the main characters right away. This borders adult and new adult romantasy. There is some open door action, but it's slow burn, and it does not take away from the story. Highly recommended!
An easy read but a clear copy of ACOTAR. Some of the characters were seriously cringe and I had to skip sections because of that rip but hey it was a free kindle book 😅
I liked this book until about 80% through….wait scratch that, I liked it in waves because Reyna never stood up for herself and claimed her powers or her destiny plus didn’t tell dear aunt Agatha that it as her life to decide what to do with it. I absolutely loved prince Grayden! I feel Aunt Agatha should have told her EVERYTHING aaannd been training Reyna to become the successful light bringer she was destined to be! So about 80% this book just took a major nosedive into sucking in my opinion. The next book better show some improvement or I’ll have to give up on this series.
A huge thank you to the author for letting me read this book early!
I really wish Goodreads let us do half or 3/4 stars because this book definitely deserves it. I did go back and forth between a 3 and 4 star rating. This book hits my all time favorite genre of high fantasy with magic and romance and maybe dragons?
It is a quick and fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The chapters are short and would be perfect for reading on quick breaks or while feeding baby or riding the bus.
That brevity is also the big drawback to the book. If you don't like short, sweet and to the point with minimal to no descriptions then this isn't the book for you. What is described is described well but we are left to our imagination much of the time. I was also left wondering what the big conflict was going to be for this book and while there was one I'm also left still holding my breath waiting for it to happen.
The book does have one minor sexy-ish scene at the very end and does end on a cliffhanger. Thankfully the second book comes out soon so we don't have to wait too long to find out what happens!
I will absolutely be waiting for book 2 and reading it ASAP!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Saw a snippet from the author on social media. It is my go to genre so i picked it up. I loved the title and the cover. I tore through the book in under 5 hours. I enjoyed this book. The main characters are likable. There was only one thing that was nagging at me that kept me from investing the full 100%. They are elves but they are young. In their 20's young. I like my elves a bit .... Older. Hitting their late 900's type older. Its low level spice and that keeps this just out of YA category imo. Its a light, quick read and I will finish the series because i am interested in seeing how the story plays out.
Love the slow burn and how easy they got along until they realized they loved each other. The jealous moments for so fun to read how. Finished in one day and already started on the second book.
Well, this book made my DNF list this year. I hadn’t heard much about it when I saw it in a few different places, courtesy of Bookstagram, so I didn’t come in with any particular expectations. Well, other than what the Bookstagram readers promised. I was told it was a novel featuring fated mates, which I suppose is in the unofficial title, and spicy-spice. I trudged through about 52% of the book before I gave up entirely and returned it to Kindle Unlimited.
I would say that my biggest complaints were the poor story development, character development, and romantic development. We could get into more than that, but I’ll keep it simple here. We’ve got Grayden as the MMC, the heir apparent—though, apparently, he and his older brother share the burden of responsibility for their kingdom—and we have Reyna as the FMC, a writer escaping scandal and humiliation.
On story: The author fails to take us on a path to discovery. There’s some sort of prophecy which, go figure, speaks of Reyna. We know it’s about her because she apparently has a fae name which has to do with light. And then there’s the lust part of the prophecy, which is obvious by the number of times the author mentions Grayden’s arousal. There is so much that the author just gives away far too easily and readily and conveniently in conversation that the story loses any sense of mystery or tension. Instead of showing us, she tells us.
On character: Much like with story, the author spells out information about Grayden and Reyna instead of showing the reader their personality and attributes by the way they interact with each other, the way they respond to their circumstances, and the way they view the world—which ties back to behavior fueled by beliefs. There is also a lack of discovery here and we don’t get to enjoy uncovering different elements about the pair because there’s too much ink (or pixels, in my case) spent on explicitly describing personality traits.
On romance: Long story short, Grayden is easily aroused. Reyna and Grayden both think the other is pretty hot. There’s an undeniable attraction that they can’t explain—this is incredibly cliché, but I love it in books like From Blood & Ash or ACOMF because it’s developed over time with a delightfully slow burn. Whereas in A Lands of Snow and Sunset, it’s as subtle as a Fourth of July fireworks show. And, much like the character development, the dialogue is kind of pathetic. There’s quite a few comments from Grayden’s POV about how much he loves Reyna’s argumentativeness, stubbornness, and fiery words—but we only see these qualities in maybe one or two short conversations. So, it’s not especially convincing to me when he starts hoping his kid sister grows up to be like the human wonder that is Reyna.
Thank you so much to the fantastic Rachel Avery for the opportunity to read and review this book!!
Lands of Snow and Sunset is a fantasy romance and the first book in the A World of Sun and Shadow series! Renya is living in Seattle after escaping a scandal in California. She’s settling into her new life, but she remains fascinated with the mysterious book shop across the street - where people always seem to enter but never leave. Meanwhile Prince Grayden knows that his lands are failing and magic is disappearing, so when he finds a human woman who claims she fell through a door in a bookshop, he feels like this might be the answer to all his troubles
This book was such a fantastic read!! I really loved Renya and thought she was a wonderful, compassionate character! Grayden was such a great match for her and I adored him as well! I loved this story and the world building was beautiful! This book definitely had some scenes that hit me right in the feels!
Overall this was a solid 4 star read for me! I felt like some parts of this story moved a little fast for me personally, but that’s a “me” issue and not a book issue. I really enjoyed the story overall and can’t wait to read the next one in the series! This book was definitely a slower burn and had a few make out scenes and one smutty-ish scene…so two flames for spice!
If you enjoy books with sassy women, broody princes bound by responsibility, beautiful Fae world building and an engaging story, definitely pick this one up!
Grayden is a Fae prince. His lands are in a strange time, with issues arising because of waning magic and people relying on him. They seem to be in a land of winter. He needs a miracle to save his land and his family, which he holds dear. I love the winter vibes in the story.
Renya is a journalist researching a mysterious bookstore in Seattle. The portal in this store is almost poetic, but it could be fate. I love how the author describes it and encaptures the bibliophiles with those rare editions and the descriptions.
Wow, she is basically hypothermic, walking in the worst clothing through nothing but snow and ice. It must be fated that the winter prince finds her, and there seems to be a return of the magic in his land. While predictable, this story is intriguing.
Grayden is such a gentleman but this book almost goes historical in how they talk and the prophecy. I do love that he is a total cinnamon roll and is proud of her strength and heroine qualities. I like this prince as he is charming and charismatic. But it is a political storyline.
Things heat up as they get intimate and beyond rescuer and rescuer. However, the shadow queen's motive ruins it again. Oh twisted just as all seems well it comes down like an avalanche once again.
The book gets steamy right at the end it is more of a new adult steamy but it does have mild spice. I can’t believe he is letting her go after all they have been through.
Of course, after all the heartbreak and portal travel the villain is awaiting them continuing this story. While I loved the initial storyline and tropes of this book I’m not interested in reading about the political villain any further. It was just too much a part of the storyline for me.
Renya accidentally travels through a portal from the human world to the fae realm. Discovered by the Grayden, the prince of the Snowden lands, Renya is welcomed into the Snowden home. She quickly develops feelings for Grayden, but she also wants to return home. Unfortunately, the fae are at war, and Renya's aunt has kept secrets from her. Renya must survive in the world of the fae, discover her origins, and fulfill a prophecy.
I enjoyed Lands of Snow and Sunset. There was magic, fae, secret identities, and an evil queen trying to conquer all the fae lands. There is romance and some spice at the end of the book. It's the perfect recipe for a great romantic fantasy. However, I did feel the book was a little too romantasy formulaic, Grayden was just a little too perfect, and Renya wasn't a strong enough character. I'm hoping for some character development as the series continues. The book is short, so it's a quick read. However, there are 4 books in the series so there is more story to come after book 1 ends on a cliffhanger. This is a 4 star book!
Great story but I wish there was more character description as they were introduced. My mind kept changing what they looked like until about the middle of the book. And, spoiler, I wish there was a better reason for her wanting to go back to that shit life even after finding out more about herself and that she might belong there more than the human world. Maybe I’m just more of the wanting to help mentality and having purpose but she was in run away mode so I couldn’t relate. Hello! Dark hair, green eyes, hot guy who makes you feel treasured and you wanna go back to living alone in a room eating granola bars. Annoying. But other than that I loved the story and the villain and I read it right in December so all the snow got me in the winter spirit. I’m looking forward to the next book to see what happens.
This was a short read that I enjoyed. Somehow the author was able to fit so much plot in under 300 pages and created a romance I thoroughly was invested in. I did however felt like the ending was rushed, the climactic scene happened at about 80-90% of the way through the book. The thing that bothered me the most about this book was the description of the characters, in one part Grayden has dark almost black hair and in another part of the book he has brown, this also happens with Renya is mentioned to have both blue and green eyes. In total I'd say this book is 3.5⭐️ and I'm going to give the second book a read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
En realidad es un 3.8 It was ok... If I were being objective I would say this book wasn't the best, BUT I'm currently in a reading slump, soooo, I can't be objective, I enjoyed it and I finished it. That's something, I mean it, just check my dnfs. Now, it has insta-lust and insta-love, because #fatedmates, so If you don't like these two things together, maybe this one isn't for you. On the other hand, if you don't care, then Lands of Snow and Sunset is a good option to read if you are bored, the book is very short.
I really liked this book! It took me a couple days to finish the first chapter but then I hit chapters 2&3 and tore through the rest. Both characters are extremely likable (due to their character traits, not due to the author trying to write to make you like them as so many authors are prone to do) and I was rooting for their love. I’m new to the fae fantasy world but I’ve read a few books and this one can hang with the rest. Definitely would recommend it!
This book accomplished its task for me. I wanted something romantasy but quick and short to break up heavier and longer series. I really like Grayden, but Renya is not necessarily my favorite. She had a little pick me energy and is full of doubt. It doesn't take from the story, though. She is who she is, and not every character needs to be some perfect person. I feel the author is showing human traits and how different we all can be and react to situations differently. Enjoyable read.
Ok this had a ton of potential but just didn’t feel right. I couldn’t get into and took me forever to get through the book. I’m not sure if it was the writing or the narrating.. the story seems to lacking something to keep interest and I just can’t figure it out! It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as good as it could have been either. Honestly this had everything I love in fantasy books but just didn’t keep me interested.
I saw this on Instagram and decided to give it a try. It was good. Easy to read and the chapters are shorter. I love the multiple POV. I love the idea of soulmates but with this book the relationship between the two characters developed a little to fast for me(still cute) The story definitely ended with a MASSIVE cliffhanger.
I liked this book sometimes…and other times i just wanted to finish it. it wasn’t horrible…but it wasn’t that good. it was easy to follow which was nice but Renya just bugged me and Graydon wasn’t the typical MMC that i like. I wouldn’t say don’t read it, cause for others it could be a good book, it just wasn’t the book for me