In a world ruled by gods and threatened by the Fae, Prisca, a young woman with a forbidden power, strikes a risky deal with a cruel mercenary. To survive, she must harness her hidden abilities, but both their secrets could shatter the realm.

Enemies to lovers
Dual POV
Forced proximity
Hidden magic
One horse
Court politics

This book’s plot keeps you on your toes, although it can occasionally be a bit predictable. The fantasy elements are well-crafted, despite some inconsistencies that could easily be avoided. The world-building strikes a balance, offering rich details without dragging down the pace.

Switching gears to the romance aspect of this book is a different tale. I didn't feel the chemistry between the characters, and the spice feels a bit contrived.

Our heroine, with a YA vibe rather than NA, comes off as somewhat childish and overly stubborn, though not intolerable. Character depth, especially for Lorien, falls short. We barely know anything about him, and more insight into his motivations would have been appreciated.

On the audiobook front, the narrators did an excellent job, gripping your attention with a dual POV narrative.

Looking ahead, the series sets a promising stage, but character development remains a hopeful prospect. It does end in a cliffhanger, so be aware!

(This review will also be shared on Instragram @beco_books)

"A Court This Cruel & Lovely" by Stacia Stark is a gripping and tantalizing entry into the world of romantasy, offering a compelling blend of fantasy, romance, and intrigue. This book takes the classic "enemies to lovers" trope and infuses it with a dark, magical twist that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

The story's opening, with the protagonist dreaming of a mysterious man with green eyes and a cruel smile, sets the tone for a narrative filled with enigma and mystique. The world-building is exceptional, with a unique power dynamic between humans, gods, and the menacing fae. It's a harsh reality where power comes at a high cost, and the consequences for being "corrupt" are severe.

The characters, especially the ruthless mercenary and the protagonist, are complex and multifaceted. Their interactions are laced with tension and intrigue, creating a dynamic that shifts from adversaries to reluctant allies, and perhaps something more. The slow burn romance adds depth to the narrative and keeps the reader guessing about the characters' true motivations.

Stark's writing is immersive, and the plot is filled with twists and turns that keep the pages turning. The use of familiar tropes such as "found family," "hidden powers," and "forced proximity" adds a comforting layer of familiarity to a story that is otherwise filled with surprises.

One notable aspect is the promise of steamy romance, which adds a layer of sensuality to the story. While this book establishes the slow-burn foundation, it leaves readers eager to see how the chili-pepper rating will increase in the subsequent books.

In summary, "A Court This Cruel & Lovely" by Stacia Stark is a delightful entry into the realm of romantasy. It's a world where enemies can become lovers, secrets are everywhere, and power comes at a price. If you're a fan of romantic fantasies with a darker edge and plenty of twists, this book is well worth your time. Stark's storytelling prowess and intriguing characters make this the start of a series to watch.

A Court This Cruel & Lovely is the first book in the Kingdom of Lies series and has everything a reader wants in a fantasy. From magic, slow burn romance to the thrill of the unknown. I enjoyed the audiobook from the beginning until the end. The narration was done so well, that I could easily picture Prisca and Lorien.

When Prisca ran into Lorian, I was grinning from ear to ear. I just knew that it was the beginning of something good. Forget about the one-bed trope, the one-horse trope is so much better! :)
Lorien is that type of morally grey character that you just want more of! I couldn't get enough of the banter between him and Prisca.

Even though the story has a slower pace at certain parts, I feel it builds the tension and prepares the reader for the ending. Since this is the first book, the scene is set and the reader is introduced to a new magic system and a fictional world that you won't want to leave soon. I am eager to continue the series and read more of Stacia Stark's work.

Read if you like
- morally grey MC
- slow burn
- one bed & one horse
- forced proximity
- magic
- fantasy romance

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a long time to get into this but once I did, I was sucked in! I am enjoying the storyline and the set up of the whole thing although I do wish there was a little bit more of the world building to understand more of what was happening but it's nothing that is taking away from the experience. One of the big 'gasp' moments towards the end, I saw coming but again, it did not take away from the story, I thought it was great how it was revealed and the reactions. The spice was just perfect, it wasn't too much to take away from the storyline or be annoying and it's just the right amount of possessiveness on both characters. I cannot wait to dive into the second book!

A friend of mine said this would be the next big romantasy and I agree. Absolutely engaging, start to finish.

I am so happy that this book lived up to my expectations, and that the ending promises an intense and angsty sequel.

Prisca lives an ordinary life in a northern village, with her mother and older brother, trying her best to get by and earn enough money for her family to survive. Only, Prisca has a secret, even though every newborn goes through a ritual to be stripped of their magic, Prisca somehow kept hers, making her one of the corrupt. When someone from her village sees her using her magic, Prisca needs to flee before the king’s men find her and bring her to the palace to be burned alive.

On the road, Prisca meets Lorian and his group of mercenaries, and instead of helping her, Lorian decides to leave her alone in the forest, because he has his secret mission to complete. When they meet again, Prisca is forced to put her anger aside and work with Lorian if she hopes to survive long enough to flee the country and go in hiding.

This started as a survival/traveling in the woods fantasy, and I was afraid that most of the story would happen on the road, but the second half of the book happens in the palace, where Prisca hides and gathers information because she wants to free the other corrupts that have been imprisoned and are to be burned.

Prisca is a great main character, and the character growth she goes through is amazing. She is smart, selfless, driven, and resilient, and even though she started as a weary and somewhat hopeless girl, she grows into an independent and strong woman, willing to take risks and charismatic enough for others to follow her. I also really appreciate that while she has magic that she shouldn’t have and is “special” in a way because of that, she is not overly good at everything. She does know enough to try her best to survive and help others, but she is not a badass fighter and does not control her magic. Despite that, she is still brave and determined to learn and try her best.

Lorian is a grumpy, morally grey, and intense character, who often acts like a jerk, especially when he is with Prisca, but there is a reason for his behavior most of the time. He is not the type to coddle Prisca and offer her fake reassurance. He confronts her and lets her know that if she doesn’t give her 100%, she will fail and die. We all love dark and broody male leads in fantasy books, so of course I love Lorian, but while I love the mystery that surrounds him, I would have loved to have a little more background story. I understand why the author decided not to reveal anything about him until the end of the book, but I hope that we will learn more about him in the next book.

I love the dual POVs in this book, it made the snark and sexual tension between Lorian and Prisca even more enjoyable. We still don’t know why Prisca has been dreaming of Lorian repeatedly before she even met him, but hopefully, this weird connection will be explained in the next book, and it will not just be forgotten, because I am intrigued about that.

There is a hint of a “found family” vibe in the first half of the book, while Prisca travels with the mercenaries. They are tough but caring, and it was sweet to see them grow attached to Prisca. Their interactions were strained at first, but we saw a camaraderie slowly develop between them all, and I really hope we will see them again in the next book because I missed them in the second half of this one.

This story is a good mix of action and court scheming. There is fighting and magic, traveling and spying, twists and betrayals, with magic and faes on top of it. A lot is happening in this book, but it is all well-developed and well-balanced so it doesn’t feel rushed or half-done. Some of the revelations and plot twists were predictable, but overall, this book was still very engaging, and I will read the sequel soon.

3.75 Stars
Fae, romance, and magic?! Sign me up!

Prisca, a young and ambitious woman, embarks on a perilous mission to rescue her close friend who has been captured and taken to the heavily guarded city. As she makes her way towards the city, she runs into a group of tough-looking mercenaries. Despite her initial fear, she engages them in conversation and they soon strike a deal. The mercenaries offer to teach Prisca how to harness her magical abilities, a skill that will undoubtedly come in handy during her rescue mission. In exchange, they ask for her help in gaining entry into the city. Will Prisca be able to use her powers to save her friend?

I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of the novel. However, I felt that the middle section could have benefitted from a faster pace and more engaging plot points. Additionally, while the characters were interesting, I would have appreciated more depth to their development. Nonetheless, I found the novel to be enjoyable overall and I am excited to see how the series progresses.

*** Thank you to NetGalley, Stacia Stark, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Stacia Stark for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first audiobook ever. Every time I tried before, I couldn't get into the book, so I thought it was not my thing. Then I saw this book in netgalley and thought to myself: "One last try" and OMG, what a try. I have to admit it was dificult at the beginning with the different characters (not a usual audiobook listener so it may have been because of that), but the two narrators were really good, the actual book was really interesting with some twists here and there and a fast pacing, which I love in a fantasy book. If I could have a CON in this, it would be the sex scenes, I guess I can't get into them without cringing, but this may be personal.

The world has some good construction, although it is noticeable that there is a lot to be discovered in the following parts of the series.

Lorian, the grumpy and gorgeous male character was everything you could ask for in a dark and sexy man, and Prisca was, although a bit dense and infuriating at times, easy to follow, I do hope she gets an eveolution arc in the next books because I though she was quite naive and sooooo dramatic, but hey, she is young so it may be normal at that age.

I can only say: I hope I am able to read the next book of this author, I promise I will read her again either in audiobook or actual book 🫶🏼

4 Stars
This started off slow but once it picked up I really enjoyed it. The ending was shocking, so much happened and now I need to read the next book ASAP because I need to know more lol. The relationship between the MCs kinda felt like it came out of nowhere, but I don't hate it because it was so good. Prisca's character growth was also really great to see. This book already has me hooked on this series and I'll definitely continue it.

Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ARC!

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

If you’re a romantasy girly then you’re not going to want to miss this one! You’ve got everything you need in a fantasy romance- a FMC you can root for, an interesting magic system and a hit as heck MMC. I’m looking forward to where the plot goes in the next book!

This book was ok - I just couldn’t get behind the plot. You’re not gonna go from running for your life to trying to rescue everyone and their mama, it didn’t make sense. But my skepticism may be because the female narrator voiced the FMC as really pathetic and whingey so it didn’t make sense that she was trying to be a badass.

The MMC redeemed the book, and if the POVs were 50/50 I might’ve rated it higher. Also why did he always seem to know what she was thinking?

This book!!!
I can’t even put my thoughts into words with how much I loved this book. The story consumed my every walking thought. There were some amazing twists and turns. Some I saw coming and some I didn’t.
If you love enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity, found family, grumpy / sunshine then you definitely need to read this one!!
Prisca and Lorain had such good chemistry from the start. I loved the way they messed with each other, their banter and just the way they ended up coming together. The slow burn and tension they had between each other just had me on the edge of my seat. I was so hooked on their relationship aswell as the story. This story definitely had me on a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the story.
I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬.

“𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧.”
“𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞.”

“𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨.”

“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬—𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐨 𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐯𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝.”
𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝. “𝐖𝐡𝐲?”
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. “𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐯𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭, 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞.”

__________________

This book was a fast paced and thoroughly addictive story that checks ALL of the boxes for Romantasy lovers…and then some!!

Prisca is a fantastic lead. I love her determination and her tenacity and I could not get enough of finding out more about her family, her past, and her powers.

Lorien was the grumpy, seemingly callous and cruel MMC that appears to come a dime a dozen in this genre, except for the sprinkles of his POV that keep us guessing who he really is and what he is truly up to off page.

The tension between the two of them was off the charts and even though their random make out sessions didn’t make sense for a while there in the beginning I didn’t have a single complain against them. I will take any and everything these two have to give, and judging by that ending it will be a lot.

Don’t get hung up on just the tropes and romantic aspect, though, because this world and its magic build to a fever pitch and just when you think you have a picture of what it will look like new revelations come along and blow the roof off!! I cannot WAIT to dig into book two!!

I was provided a copy of this audiobook for review and while I adored the story, the characters, and the writing, the narration fell a bit flat for me. It was hard to distinguish between the characters’ internal thoughts and dialogue at times and some of the inflections were very odd and caused me to have to skip back a handful of times. Overall though this is a great book to listen to if you are looking for an engaging fantasy audiobook.

Overall I highly recommend on all fronts!!

3.5 stars
What happens in a world where magic is drained from the people as babies, stored to be used by the realm? What happens to hybrid magic users who’ve hidden the magic that remained inside them? Prisca is a hybrid who is on the run, struggling to survive in a hostile environment that’s out to get her at every turn. I received an audiobook copy of the book for review. The narrator was ok (a bit flat) and the pacing of the book was good. It was slow to build for me but now I’m invested and ready for the next installment!
*Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley.

A wonderful opener to a new romantasy series.
The beginning is quite complex to understand the world and the magical side. There's a scene in the beginning that has you hooked and you're drawn into the story straight away.

I'm eager to see how the story develops, especially the spice!

I ended up really enjoying myself with this one and look forward to reading the sequel.

Our FMC, Prisca, was well-written with organic motivations and a well established personality. She fights for herself, her family, and others like her with passion, even going as far as to put herself in dangerous situations to do so. Supporting characters pertaining to her story were more throughly fleshed-out and it seems we'll get to learn more about them in future installments.

Lorien, our MMC, was ultimately forgettable (I may or may not have forgotten his name a few times). We don't learn a lot about him, though there is a (admittedly predictable) reveal in the end that establishes him as more than bland love interest. Supporting characters pertaining to him are ultimately forgettable (don't ask me to remember their names), so much so that I don't really care if we get to know them in the next book or not.

The plot ans world-building were generally well-done, though there is something left to be desired on both fronts. We're thrown right in at a crucial part of the plot. It didn't feel like we got a lot of build-up and like we were thrown right in to the story without getting to know the characters at all. The middle was well-paced, but the climax and ending felt very rushed, all of it crammed into less than 100 pages... though the last few pages are intriguing enough to make you want to pick up the sequel.

We mostly get the world-building through Prisca's eyes, and she doesn't know much about her world which does make sense. To control the kingdom, peasants are poorly educated and are taught to gate those that haven't given up their magic to the gods... but that's pretty much all we know to start off. As the story progresses, we learn that there are at least two other kingdoms in this world, one of them the enemy fae kingdom (though it's not abundantly clear why they're the enemy). I did like the magic system and how it was developed, and do look forward to exploring it further.

As I said before, I look forward to reading the sequel. I'm excited to see this world and its magic system be developed further.

Tropes: fated mates, only one horse, only one bed, enemies to lovers

This was a nice surprise. This is a wonderful new fantasy romance with a cool magic system, nice world building and interesting storyline with a side of romance. Did I mention that we have Fae too?? I really enjoyed the FMC and how everything unfolded. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. I am so glad it comes out soon and I don’t have to wait long.

I loved this book! I loved the characters and their personalities were perfect! I should have seen that ending coming but I didn’t 👀 I like the way magic was explained and how there were fae, mortals, and hybrids. I was so sucked into this story that I read (listened) it in 2 days!

I also liked how it was dual POV but Lorians POV were short and you still couldn’t figure out is end goal even though there were clues!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrators were amazing and perfect for this story!

If I had to pick one negative thing to say it would be that I don’t think the title fits the story and it is hard to remember when I wanted to recommend the book I had to look back to see what the title was.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for approving me to listen to this audiobook!

This. Was. So. Good.
I will now be reading through Stacia Stark’s back catalogue. Her writing was fast paced, the dialogue was funny and the relationships between characters were complex, but genuine. Plus, I’m a sucker for a bada$$ FMC and that was definitely the case with Prisca!

The romantic relationship that develops between Prisca (sp) and Lorain was a slow burn (as promised), but I swear I felt my own toes curl every time he caller her Wildcat.

I loved Prisca’s relationships with her brother, friends and even the mercenaries. They had such a strong bonds and proved that found family is just as great as those by blood.

Both narrators were fantastic and did a great job of bringing the characters and dual POVs to life. There were no cringeable moments when voicing children or members of the opposite sex.

Warning though, this one ends on a cliffhanger. I have to stop reading the first of a series that doesn’t have at least two books in! 😆

Thank you to NetGalley, Stacia Stark and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio copy. These are my honest thoughts.

I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration. The story was good and kept me interested, but it didn't feel like a new or fresh idea. I liked listening to the banter between Lorian and Prisca. The love/hate relationship trope always gets me. I also enjoyed watching Prisca's character grow from a weak and frail tiny girl, to a badass. I would definitely be willing to follow this series.