This book started off so good. I was enjoying it with the strong female shifter and a fae who was goodhearted. The sexual tension between the two characters were very palpable. It left this tension in the reading. I didn't read the first book in the series which follows the king and queen? But I felt like I didn't need to?

Honestly, I didn't get to finish the entire book. There was a scene in the book that was very downplayed and it's actually a big TW.
For me, it was hard getting past it. Although, IF that scene wasn't in the book, I probably would have enjoyed the storyline and the magical world.
I can't really properly rate this book. I thought it had great potential.

I still would buy this book to read the ending. but that TW though, I'll just have to wait until I can get that scene out of my mind, thennn I'll read on.

I will definitely say that this book is not for everyone. The brutally descriptive rape scenes, bloody scenes full of gore and chaos. The book is full of triggers.

I really honestly had a hard time finishing it. I thought it had potential but there were just too many little things that bugged me to give it more than a 2.5 stars. There's 1500 year old Zestine who seems less wise and more of a brat. Then there's This, who is suppose to be one of the "good guys" (maybe?!?) but sits there and watched Zestine get raped and gets off on it. What is that?

So while it's mostly an erotic (and there is nothing wrong with that), it just needed a little more

** Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC **

This author has a wonderful imagination that's definitely darkly morbid or brutally blunt. I can see a work in progress, her writing style made me think of a statement my husband's english professor once made "the less words one uses to explain something the more enjoyable a sentence is to read". The sex scenes are a little overwhelming but rape is brutal and she mastered the way it feels. With a little polish and practice this author has a bright future. This book is worth reading, the story good and the world building is great.

ARC from NetGalley

1.5 stars

Well. At 27%, we find “The Ravager’s skin was shit-brown and severely wrinkled with scattered crevices and lumps." Really? shit-brown skin? smdh

Then comes the rape, which is written badly. I want to clarify that I don't like reading ANY rape, but it’s just really unrealistic and portrayed very sensually. When I read that there would be rape in this book, I figured like background rape not like pages of rape as the focal point. Tris either sits back and fumes because he isn’t the one fucking Zestine or he sneaks a quick peek, because how hot is watching live rape?

A significant portion of this book is just erotica. There's also a lot of gore. There was a portion where Tris bit out a chunk of his cheek, and it was really detailed and disgusting and unnecessary. I considered flipping back to it to quote it, but it was gross enough that I didn't want to.

It's a "romance," but it's a really flawed romance. The plot was meh. The characters were irritating. For a 1500-year-old woman, Zestine sure doesn't act like she possesses a lot of wisdom. Tris acts like a petulant child most of the time.

I didn't enjoy this book, and I can't recommend it.