DNF. I really tried to get into this book but it was just too hard, much of the dialog didn't r flow as good as it should have, and I couldn't connect to any of the characters.

This book definitely scratched an itch that hadn't been itched in a while. I have gone through so many fantasy romance books in the past few years that they all started to feel very redundant and boring. This book however, completely exceeded my expectations. The characters, the plot, and the world-building were all very incredibly carried through. I was reading and enjoying myself so strongly that I did not even realize I reached the end of the book. The ending literally made me audibly gasp. I am so excited to read the next book and I hope it comes out soon. Overall, 4.9/5.

I love finding a new fantasy series to obsess over!!

I love a morally gray character and our female lead Diana fit the bill. Liam, our male lead is so complicated and
has the weight of the world on his shoulders( literally).

I loved that this was a plot with a romance. Even though we were obviously here for the slow burn romance, the plot itself was the main story and kept me intrigued.

AND THE CLIFFHANGER! Has me so eager for the next.

I really liked this book. There were parts of it that seemed to drag just a little ( Liam's flashbacks were meant to give us more of the story but kind of dragged at times) but overall, I really liked this book. It had great world-building and I loved the characters. I can't wait for the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been reading a lot of young fantasy for some time now, so I was looking for a good fantasy book that had more adult themes, and this book really hit the spot. I loved the strong female lead character, Dianna sees herself as a monster, surviving only to keep her sister safe. Dianna is turned by the male antagonist into a pure killer and is blackmailed into working for him in exchange for her sister’s life.
Liam the main protagonist is a king of kings, traumatized by an ancient war that ended his father’s and the rest of the god’s lives. Labelled world ender, Liam is brought back into the world to fight an ancient enemy lying beneath Dianna’s skin. Dianna and Liam soon team up in a rush to claim a book written by a former god, that has the secret to opening the pathway between worlds. Spending so much time together Liam and Dianna realize that they have more in common than they first thought.
This does contain a slow-burn romance, but it has so much else going on that the romance is just an added extra. There are a few things that degraded it slightly, I do think that the book needs to be edited again as it has a few repeated paragraphs and it does contain a bit of added fluff that doesn’t necessarily need to be there, because of this I have only given it four stars. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it had great world-building and I loved the mythical gods and beasts aspect. I’m going to buy this in hardback and looking forward to the next in the series.

Solid story and I did enjoy it but I’m only giving 3 stars because there is a lot of fluff to be cut out. The relationship was nice and believeable but it was a very slow burn. I think if edited correctly this could be a great book.

To be entirely honest I did struggle while reading this book. I felt that the characters and plot were thought through well. But not executed as good as they should have been. I would give this a 2 star considering it was hard to read for me and felt more like a chore to finish.

I want the sequel now! This was amazing, the chemistry the love story! I loved every part of it. Also I loved that Diana and Liam’s had a slow burn.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. So first off, this is a 4 star read for me. The plot is interesting and I’m immediately hooked with the romance. I really can’t put this book down. I feel like it could have been a 5 star read if it was edited better. Our FMC, Dianna is a female villain or more accurately imo an anti-hero meanwhile the MMC, Liam is such a sweet cinnamon. The romance is pretty slow-burn which makes sense since our leads are tortured souls learning to heal together. I mean they basically started out as strangers and enemies. All in all, I really like this book and I can’t wait for the next one especially with that cliffhanger at the end.

✰✰✰/✰✰✰✰✰

This was a pretty solid debut.

I really liked the world, it was an interesting blend of technology and fantasy. The plot took some time to set itself up, but it was compelling enough to keep me hooked. I enjoyed some of the quips and the interactions between Dianna and Gabby were really sweet. However, there were a few things that kept me from being fully immersed.

The writing
It was a bit clunky, and it really felt like it needed a few more rounds of editing. There were a lot of repeated phrases and questionable word choices that made some of the dialogue and narration jarring and awkward.

500 pages??
This felt way longer than it actually was. Some of the fluff could have been cut to make the story feel more cohesive, and less like the characters were jumping from plot point to plot point. It felt more like a sequence of fun action scenes, oh-yes-now-plot-things, and fluff senes than a whole story.

Characters
There was something that just kept me from completely connecting with the characters. Dianna made a strong impression when she was first introduced, but nothing was ever actually done with her character. She's just a strong woman who gets into bad deals with powerful men AND NOW- oh wait that's not important anymore the male lead is here. Liam's chapters were hard to read because the constant flashbacks just felt like info-dumping and distracted from the main timeline.

Not a bad book overall, it was really just all the minor details that added up and kept it from reaching its full potential.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with the eARC for this book!

This seriously needed editing and more streamlining. I tried to keep going but I wasn’t impressed with the writing at all. Very disappointing and waaaay too long!!

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS* If there is any indicator of how much I loved this book, I have an ebook, paperback, and ordered a signed hardcover of this. Access to an ARC of this book was also provided. I really loved this book. I have been following Amber has an author for some time and her constant descriptions of the characters had me that much more excited to finally meeting them. The world building is integrated so naturally where it doesn't feel overwhelming.

The FMC, Dianna, will protect her sister at whatever cost. Although this is marketed as the female villain, I don't know what it says about me, but I don't see the FMC as the villain at all. She has been given extreme extenuating circumstances that I believe many in her position might make the same choices Dianna has done and does do in this book that everything seems completely justified, not villainous at all.

The MMC, Liam, he has a rage, is a protector, and has the weight and responsibility of the world(s) on his shoulders. He might come off as grumpy, but he has so much to carry. That poor broken man. We're only seeing the beginning of him as his world once again he sees falls apart in front of him.

Was I expecting to cry? No. But did I? You bet. The spice is beautiful. I was flushed. It was crafted in such a way that felt appropriate and natural for the book and the way the characters' relationship was going.

So many beloved tropes are here. One Bed. Enemies to lovers. Slow burn romance.

But don't be fooled. This is definitely a plot with romance book, not romance with plot. Even though you are rooting and wanting to the romance, you're still curious about the plot and everything that is being uncovered. Car trips, journeys and adventures you don't want to miss.

Definitely try to pace yourself. I basically finished it in 2-3 days, but I wish I savored it more. When I do my reread, I will definitely be doing that.

Please note this book was also discussed on a future podcast episode with my co-host and will be updating the review here with the appropriate link when that becomes available.