I have all of this author's books. The covers are all stunning and foreshadow the souls of the novels in perceptive, insightful, and emotional ways.

I honestly wasn't sure how to rate this book because some of it I really liked, but some of it I didn't. It's your standard ACOTAR "inspired" fae romantasy with bargains and bonds, and sadly (for me anyway) a love triangle... or is that a rectangle? Either way, not my idea of good romance. While I liked the whole 'Nightmare' aspect to Fortuna, I didn't like her overall personality; she was too wishy washy and very much acted before thinking, it got kind of annoying. There were a lot of plot holes and lack of world and character building that I can only hope (for the sake of other readers) will be filled in with the rest of the series but I won't be continuing it unfortunately,.

(PS. I actually read this in 2019 but wasn't able to upload my review then because of health issues)

A beautifully written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read

I must admit I was torn between giving this 2 and 3 stars.

The story itself was a good idea.

Unfortunately the characters lacked depth .

The challenges within the plot were supposed to have never been completed but seemed very simple with no real complexity leaving me wondering why they had never been completed previously.

I did enjoy the story in places and overall this was okay but there are better Fantasy stories out there.

I did not finish - I have tried reading this book on multiple occasions and just could not get into it.

DNF @ 17% and here's why:

At first, I thought I wasn't going to read this book. I've had it on Netgalley for a while now, but it didn't really appeal to me. Then I saw a bunch of booktubers recommend it, and I thought I would give it a try. I didn't get very far into it before it became impossible for me to read.

I will start off by saying that Sutton is not a bad writer. In fact, I really enjoyed her writing style, and if the story played out differently I really would have liked this book. The writing is easy to read and really pulls you into the story.

Unfortunately, there are just one too many "fantasy romance" tropes that I could not ignore.

First off, I loathe the whole "main character is a virgin, only swoons when the love interest touches her/sexual awakening thanks to a broody boy" thing. If that's your thing, cool. It just makes my skin crawl. Especially the sort of "idolisation" (it might be a too strong word, but I couldn't think of a better one) of the maiden/virgin woman. It's just a societal construct I do not buy into, and I do not think we should be giving it that much room in our stories.

Once again, if that's your thing, cool. This review is a reflection of my personal opinion. If you loved this book, that's awesome!

Secondly, the broody bad boy love interest. I love a good bad boy, but it's becoming hard to stomach love interests whose only personality traits are that they're slightly nefarious but with good intentions that they have to hide from the protag because "reasons". I'm tired.

Thirdly, there are some seriously blurred lines of consent here, regarding a dream boyfriend that may or may not be real. (He's most likely real and that makes my skin crawl).

I get that this is a fantasy romance, so the focus might not be on the fantasy part of the story. But I have a hard time jumping into stories with sex scenes in the first 50 pages, zero world-building and barely any character building. She kisses him once and she's ready to jump his bones? It might just be my asexual self having a hard time believing it.

It just goes to show that a lot of things influence the way we review books. This is my personal opinion, seen through the lens of my worldviews and sexuality. It's wonderful if you love this book, and I'm glad you've found something you enjoy. It's just not for me.

It wasn't perfect but I definitely thoroughly enjoyed this book. I actually listened to the audio book and it was so good. So if you are hesitant to sit and read this, I'd definitely recommend trying the audio book!

I felt the plot was super fast paced and had me always wanting to know what was gonna happen next. I also really enjoyed the world and loved how they kept adding little details and history in. There is a lot of mystery surrounding some characters and situations that I am looking forward to learning about.

The characters were interesting but I don't feel super attached to any of them. I have mixed feelings about Fortuna and Collith.

"Go to Hell."

"Haven't you heard Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."

"Satan came to my christening, little boy. Stay out of my way, or I'll make you piss in your fancy clothes."

I liked Fortuna's sassy nature but could also show her soft side but just didn't agree with all her actions per say.
Just based off the first book I am not really sure who Fortuna will end up with romance wise which is kind of fun but also frustrating. I am a sucker for slow burn and sexual tension but I still hope we will get to see some more romance scenes in the next book.

I am really looking forward to the next book!

As a fan of urban fiction, I really enjoyed this book and the world and characters the author has created. The storyline was well-written and moved smoothly. I look forward to reading book number 2

I am one of the very few people who didn’t enjoy Fortuna Sworn. This book was all over bookstagram and with that cover, I get it. It’s a stunning cover.

Fortuna got on my nerves…she makes me want to face palm my face so many times and that hero? Yawn

I enjoyed this so, so much and I can't wait for the next book!! I love the mix of supernatural and mythical creatures, and I'm always here for stories about the faeries. :D

So this book cover is an absolute bomb and the book hotness scale is 100 procent. The premise of a MC being a nightmare is fascinating but this book was not all that gripping for me.

A light quick read, just not enough to real me in.

This was a great action packed, fast paced, urban fantasy with a fabulous array of magical characters. It left me with so many questions.

I first came across Kelsey Sutton when I read her YA fantasy SMOKE AND KEY which I really enjoyed. I thought it was dark, whimsical. and original with the fascinating world she created called Under.

Unfortunately, I read about 50% into FORTUNA SWORN but I just lost interest. I was so excited to read it and looking forward to similar writing as Smoke and Key, but the world and story just did not feel unique and capture my attention liked I had hoped. I did enjoy the atmospheric writing and hope to try her other series in the future.

3.75 stars.

I really enjoyed reading through this especially the dark moments despite it having some troupey stuff.

Plot wise, it had its up and downs but I enjoyed the pacing and the writing style. It had its cliche and convenient moments but I'm loving where it's heading. It's obvious that it has reverse harem elements as well though I like those.

Character wise, I'm not sure how to feel about Fortuna half the time because she's so impulsive and hot headed without thinking of the consequences of her anger. As for Collith, I feel like he barely did much and was there for decoration. But I liked that he's hiding too many things and haven't revealed much despite it having consequences too.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot and want to read the next one! I like where that cliffhanger ended and the indications of what's to come. My most favorite part is that usually fairies can't lie in other books but here, they can, which makes things very interesting and makes you question whatever they say.

Trigger warning: sexual content and torture/gore.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

If you can't have enough faeries and enjoying adult fantasy, this book is for you.

Fortuna have been searching her missing brothers for two years with no clues and hints of his survival. So when a stranger—a beautiful and mysterious stranger—come to her to tell that he knows where her brother is, she'd do anything to bring him home.
But her decision bring danger to herself as she dig deeper into the darkest part of the faerie world.

I must admit, any books about faeries always intrigues me (for now). So when I stumbled upon Fortuna Sworn, I couldn't resist to request and read it. I didn't set a high expectation, afraid it'll dissapoint me. Thank heaven, I was blown-away by the story, the twists, the schemes! With the presence of several supernatural beings with their unique powers, this book is so much more than it looks like.

I loved how Sutton portrayed the faeries as a cunning yet gorgeous creatures. Exploring their secrest and darker side was so much fun. The world-building was detailed, it amazed me everytime. I finished this book faster than I thought I would thanks to that and because the writing flowed flawlessly. At first, I can still guess what would happen. Though it bothers me sometimes if the story is predictable, it doesn't apply to this book. Gladly, there were some unexpected twists that swept me off of my feet!

The characters have strong characterizations and it made this book feel more alive. I guess this is a crucial thing to add more spicy to the political intrigues. I loved Fortuna! She was the typical of brave, strong, badass female character. But she wasn't afraid of playing dirty and speak up if it meant to protect her loved ones. There were so many jaw-dropping moments when she let go of her power to make her enemies trembled.

I also addicted to the romance! Definitely can't get enough of it. Collith wasn't like what I expected. His secrets and charisma, a powerful combination to make him a dangerous male. But his relationship with Fotuna contained a thick sexual tension. I felt the air crackled whenever they interacted, especially if it turned into something more! Though, after everything that happened, I'm not sure anymore about them.

Overall, I really enjoyed Fortuna Sworn! A dark story filled with cunning faeries, mysteries, betrayals, awesome characters, unexpected twists, and addicting romance. If you're looking for a great next read, I really recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the world the author created and the characters. The story line was great. I can’t wait for book number 2 to be released!

I got about 50% into this when I decided to put it down. I was originally so excited to read this. The cover is gorgeous and the blurb made it seem like this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, this didn't work for me. This was very much a book I've read before over and over again, and because of this, it didn't have that magic and whimsy I expected from a novel like this. Overall, this was just okay for me, and if I had more time I would have possibly pushed on just for something familiar.

This is the book I have read from author K.J. Sutton and I must say I have mixed feelings. I enjoy reading fantasy, but this book seemed to be lacking something. The book itself has a lot of potential, so because of that I am not totally hating it.

The main character Fortuna being the last of her kind lives amongst the humans until she meets a powerful faerie. In this story-line Fortuna personifies nightmare, but I do not see the character(s) being totally developed. It seemed as if some parts of the book were not necessary the writing of the author. Maybe it was the way it was written? I would have liked to see Colith, Laurie and Oliver's character more developed.

That being said, I am looking forward to the next book. I am certain it will be much better.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

So I didn’t even look at the blurb, I picked this book purely because the cover is FABULOUS.

I have read A LOT of fantasy books centered around faeries, but Fortuna Sworn brought a breathe of fresh air to the genre (is genre the right word?) for me.

Fortuna is an intriguing character, as she is loyal to a fault, which is something that usually annoys me in a main character, but this time it workd.

The book spends a lot of time on world building that might be off putting to some, but as it’s the first book in a series, I’m fine with that. The writing pulls me in even though the story itself takes a backseat sometimes.

The world K.J. Sutton created is a dark, but fantastical one and I just love it. I can’t wait for book 2

*I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

«Haven’t you heard?” Jassin leaned close. […] “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.”


This book somehow pissed me off. I couldn’t tell you why, because it’s not a bad book. If you like the whole thing about faes and the unseelie court and that whole stuff, it’s very possible that you’ll like this book very much.

I loved the idea of Fortuna being an actual Nightmare. Not in the sense of she’s just fucking annoying, but as in literal nightmare species. Would’ve gone with the word Nachtmahr (sounds way more dangerous and is the German word for mare, which is a malicious entity that sits on your chest while you sleep and brings bad dreams (hence nightmares)), but that’s not the point here. She’s pretty bamf, all things considered, and has her goals set out and will not be stopped by anything.
That doesn’t happen often enough, imo, too often the heroine gets distracted by something glittery or a stupid love interest. Very well done, her powers were intriguing.

As you can see, it wasn’t bad. The book was actually pretty good. As I said, I don’t know why so many details (and it’s very miniscule details) bothered me so much, and you are allowed to call me petty, but I’m going to rant about every little thing that shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did.


Again. This book was not bad. It was quite enjoyable, even. I think I just went into this at the wrong time or maybe I am still mentally scarred from my short dabble with Sarah J. Maas books that I absolutely hated and didn’t recover from.
I really wanted to give this three stars, even if I personally didn’t enjoy it, but while writing my bullet pointed rant you can see below, I just got too annoyed, so two stars it is. Sorry ‘bout that.


Tl;dr: Fortuna Sworn was a pretty solid book with lots of things going on and a very interesting main character. I’m just being a bitch about small things that shouldn’t bother me.



Avert your eyes now if you don’t want to see me nag about every little thing now, thanks:
• Why does a Nightmare even feel fear? I feel like that’s an evolutionary flaw, since they’re basically fear itself. May not apply for descendants of angels, idk
• I literally read the sentence “[I] tightened my ponytail and went back inside” twice (p. 27 & 40)
• It is very clearly mentioned that the chambers door does not have a latch and will open even if only knocked on slightly (p. 59), and yet, Fortuna keeps slamming the door shut (p. 92, 176, 200, 246). If a door has no latch, it will not stay closed and slamming it will only make it awkward for all parties involved
• Fortuna keeps describing [spoiler]’s scent as subtle, and then in the next scene it’s the first thing she notices when he entered. Sorry, girl, but if you smell him before you see him, it ain’t subtle
• Another thing about smell: it makes no sense that he has this strong smell, but his skin tastes like nothing (p. 122)
• Another nice contradiction I found: “his skin was smooth and unexpectedly cold” (p. 34) and “I felt him there, a spot of cold” (p. 52), but described as “deliciously warm” (p. 122) later on
• Why does Fortuna mention she saw faes of Mexican, Indian and Chinese descent (p. 112), but literally all the important characters are your average white guy fae? You can correct me of this if I missed or forgot a description (Zara doesn’t count, she’s mentioned on three different occasions only)
• I don’t know who started it, but stop calling faes male and female instead of man and woman. A human automatically thinks of man and woman if they’re faced with humanoids that offer the same gendered aspects as humans do (say, boobs). Call them man and woman or have the balls to throw genders out of the window and refer to everyone as they. Thanks.
• Also, why does everything concerning faes have those weird and unfitting sex scenes? Is that from some source material I’ve managed to avoid?

I’m done now with my rant. All quotes (and sources) are taken from my own digital ARC, so those may not be in the same place as they are in your copy.



Thanks to the author and Netgalley for providing this ARC!