This was such a fun read! The writing style is solid, the content is also pretty solid. This book has been a great intro to the author and I foresee myself reading some of her other books.

This book is medieval fantasy with romance and a darkness that may be a bit unexpected for some but I found to be well done. We also have an unreliable narrator, but it's done so believably and its easy to fall into. The ending did feel a little meh, perhaps because it felt rushed, but I imagine that may have something to do with it being a novella?

Overall I would recommend this title, and even more so if you've already read books in the series this novella pertains to.

4/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. This was an intriguing book, I read so much romance that I forgot I also enjoy disturbing concepts. The dedication at the beginning of the book is to the author’s sister who asked for the book to be dark, and the author replies “is this dark enough for you?” This originally made me nervous but it was good, definitely dark and disturbing though. Our main character Queen Belle has finally laid to rest her abusive father and has plans to live out her life with her loving husband by her side, as they create a just world for their kingdom. However, someone is stealing magical items and these tools are strong enough to take down humans, witches, and vampires. We watch Belle as she slowly loses her mind as she fears the death of those around her and specifically her husband. While this is more a dark fantasy novella, the bit of erotica that we get, and the fact that Belle is motivated by her love and obsession with her husband does put this in the romance category as well.

I will note that this is gory and disturbing, and I love that, my favorite books in high school were Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. I have not heard of this author before and I think this novella was a good way to introduce myself to her work, I look forward to reading more by her. My one complaint is a spoiler so look away if you want, but this has a villains win ending. I do enjoy sad endings from time to time, I think some books warrant it, but I wasn’t happy with it. That is just a personal opinion, the book as a whole was good and the ending was still written well and was super badass, I was just hoping for a happy ending 😢.

Wow. This page turner had me glued to my kindle. I simply couldn't put it down, I had to know what else was going to happen.
I just reviewed Deathbringer and Desire by A.N. Payton. #DeathbringerandDesire #NetGalley
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