Action-packed and will keep you entertained from the very first page. Written very well and very in-depth. Fantastic world-building.

One True Love is such a unique and interesting concept for a fantasy. While the concept has the feel of something of a contemporary novel, the author manages to blend it into a fantasy world rather well.
The mix of sweet romance and fantasy makes it a great introduction to fantasy for those new to the genre.

I loved the cover of this one but a good cover does not a good book make. This one was ok. It was meh. It was passable. Thats about all I can say. It didnt make much of an impression.

I really liked this story. I voluntarily reviewed an Reader Copy of this book which I received through
Netgalley.

This was a really decent read. To me I found it hard to get hooked at the start but as the story went on I found it hard to put down. I needed to know what was going to happen.

I struggled between loving this story and becoming quickly confused by the world these characters inhabit. I loved Urban and Vienne's hot and forbidden connection. I also thought that the true love mark aspect was very intriguing. Urban's shows of devotion to Vienne is one of the the hottest parts of the story. Vienne endures a lot with her terrible sister (the Queen) bossing her around and her disgusting husband Soren doing the same, that I couldn't help but feel like she was a doormat that needed rescuing. The only problem that I had with this story is that I couldn't connect with the other characters beyond Urban and Vienne. I love this author's other books, though, and I will definitely read more of her books in the future. 3.5 stars.

Prince Urban travels to another kingdom with his sister, Allera. She is marry Brentley, a Prince of Donnelly. The marriage is to broker peace between the two kingdoms. While there Prince Urban finds his true love, but she's already married. Although he has promised to stay away from Vienne he finds his attraction is too great. As accidents and deaths start occurring Urban realizes a dark magic user may be in the castle and he has been tasked to find her/him before the kingdom is destroyed.

As hard as I tried to get into the novel I had a lot of trouble. The plot felt long, drawn out and boring. There were whole pages where the only thing that occurred was Urban dreaming over Vienne. I understand it was for character development but the first few chapters would have been enough. The reader gets it, Urban has the hots for Vienne and against her better judgement she has the hots for him. When there was some action it was crammed into the last few pages. The reader missed out on major battles, they were just crammed into the epilogue like a last minute thought.

The characters were okay but I wish it would have focused more on other characters. I found the secondary characters, like Allera, far more interesting than Vienne. Vienne felt too damsel-in-distress while Allera actually fought for her freedom, safety and love.

The conclusion was interesting but rushed. I knew who one of the bad guys was (can't have a love triangle) but the other ones I didn't see coming. The rationale for the murders felt a little far fetched, I cannot see anyone being that egotistical or unsure of themselves but then again people will surprise me.

Alright romantic fantasy story. Glad I read it. Thanks for this free ARC.

I really liked the sound of this book but i just I couldn't get into I tried twice and only read 20% of the book. I love a good fantasy book but this one did nothing for me.
I received this book from netgallery in exchange for a honest review

Interesting idea the tattoo. Was hard to get started but I did enjoy it. Wasn’t a book I couldn’t put down but still good.

Cute read, I loved the idea of the itching tattoo when your true love was near and although they faced some MAJOR hurdles, true love did conquer all.

DNF at 7% unrated.

If I continued it would be a very low rating. I cannot work with the writing style which is fantasy with a historical-Kingdom feel and a hero that speaks like he’s from the hood. It doesn’t work in any shape or form for me. Also the phrase ‘one true love’ has been uttered or thought so many times by 7%. This is all a pity considering I’ve enjyed many of Linda Kage’s books but clearly this one just isn’t for me.

I’ve always enjoyed books by this author but I struggled with this one. While the world building was great, the writing as phenomenal as always, the characters well developed and the plot engaging, it had an element to it that I struggled with. Through the whole story.

Vienne, the heroine, is married until the very end of the book. Urban has a magical mark that alerts him when he meets his one true love and it lets him know fast that Vienne is the one. Soren, the husband, is not abusive, he’s not mean or evil. He’s just not involved or loving or romantic. And he doesn’t give orgasms. So it was hard for me to get behind any building relationship between the hero and heroine.

Urban fights against all his instincts to stay away from Vienne. It’s a pretty angsty read in that regard. While Urban is experiencing all the feels, Vienne is unaware of the mating bond that has consumed him and therefore, she is not suffering such emotions.

There is a lot of action moving this story along and I did enjoy that. Vienne is pregnant from the beginning and while I’m not a fan of heroine’s being pregnant when they meet the hero, I have to say that Urban was incredible when it came to Vienne’s baby. I loved his tenderness and care and would have loved to have more of these scenes.

This has a slow pace to it but not the type that makes you skim. It has a historical romance feel to it with the fantasy elements added in that I really enjoyed. Secondary characters were exceptional and I was just as invested in them as the hero and heroine without them taking over the story.

The steam here is about medium but I think I felt it to be so because this couple have sex in their dreams where they are able to connect. And as they’re having dream sex, I kept thinking that the heroine was emotionally cheating on her husband. Once they are awake, they are both aware of what took place in their sleep and it adds to the emotional cheating element. I just struggled with it.

Overall, I do have to say that this author’s first foray into fantasy romance was very well done as far as the writing goes. Again, it was my dislike for the married woman trope that bothered me. However, there will be more in this series and I do intend to read them.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#OneTrueLove #NetGalley

publisher synopsis: Custom demanded that Prince Urban get a love mark tattooed to the side of his left eye as an infant, just like the rest of his people, but to him, the stupid things have only brought on the scorn of his father, the misery of his siblings, and caused his entire kingdom to go broke from fighting so many wars over the irritating ink stains.

When Urban’s sister must travel to Donnelly, the kingdom within the sand, for her arranged marriage to align two realms, he goes with her. But he no sooner steps foot inside their castle than his mark starts itching like a son of a bitch, telling him his one true love is near.

It just figures, though, that the woman meant for him is completely forbidden. Now he must decide if he should ignore the persistent mark, telling him she's the one, in order to avoid a possible war between kingdoms, or if he should discover whether she's worth risking everything for so they can be together. Either way, his life gets sucked into chaos with threats of beheadings, dark magic lurking, castle traitors scheming, and sword fights eminent.

Who knew one little tattoo could cause so much trouble?


I was very excited to get and begin reading this book. The cover is beautiful and the synopsis... awesome! When I actually started reading the book I became discouraged, and I am probably the minority. But all the Insta love and expressiveness of the beginning of the book was a lot and where do you build up to from there? Also there was a lot of conflicting aspects of the book, some of it was modern and some not. It didn't make since how or why one thing would be the way it is. The book also used a lot of reality and it took away from the fantasy of the novel. So I really wanted to love the novel, and I really think most people will, I just didn't.

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

3.5 stars - Fun read and great effort for the author's first fantasy novel. Arranged marriages, deadly court intrigue, and a dash of magic make this NA fantasy debut a wild and fun ride.

One True Love is a star crossed lovers kind of book. You know, the kind where everyone ends up dead. But fear not, intrepid reader! Unlike Romeo and Juliet, the author still pulls off a happy ever after. You'll have to read the book yourself to see exactly how she pulls that bit off.

What I liked about this book: The main characters are surprisingly easy to like. They still have their moments where you roll your eyes; It IS a romance, for goodness sakes. For the most part though, they are characters of lawful good. They both grow in personally and humanity as any good character should.

What I loathed about this book: The language. We are talking castles and moats and swords and kings. Why, oh why, are the characters using modern day speech and slang? I get that this a fantasy as well with magical tattoos, etc. But, castles, y'all! It was distracting and annoying. So much, in fact, it was almost a dnf for me. I toughed it out, but I did a lot of mental wincing in order to finish.

Also, the "villain" reveal. No super shocker on who. I mean, c'mon, who didn't see that coming? Phhht. Seriously? I could forgive that but then we had to be subjected to a monologue. A villain monologue. Ugh. No, just no.

3.5 stars. Four stars for the story and characters with a half deducted for the incongruous language. In the end, it's a story everyone wants to believe in: One True Love.
P.S. There's a lot of f bombs. If that bothers you, read at your own risk.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review.

I did not finish because of the vulgar language and it seems like it's more explicit than I like. I would have preferred to not rate it since I didn't go far but I'm going to leave it as 3 stars to represent indifference.