This book left me with mixed feelings. My biggest complaint with Crown of Earth & Sky was the lack of emotional connection between Veyka and Aaran. There were moments in this book that helped endear me to them more and more. However, there was a repetitive amount of 'my mate.' Eventually, I resented that they were mated. Maybe I’m burnt out on the trope, but it seemed like the only foundation of their love for each other. Ultimately, it seemed like they had more personal than relational growth. The pacing of the book overall seemed off: 24(ish%) in Annwyn, 68% traveling, with only 8% of the book left for the ending??? I found it hard to get into the book during their travel because it all seemed superfluous, and I wanted more discovery along the way with less info dump at the end.

I look forward to the third book, but this series would have been better as a duology. This book could have easily been heavily edited and divided between the first and final books.

My final note on this book is that the editing of chapter 30, written from Veyka’s perspective, was all off and took me out of the story. For example:

‘It
was unfortunate, but we’d manage.’

‘Sylva sank back into the chair directly opposite of me. For the first time since we’d
arrived, I saw fear rim her eyes.’

‘You saw the others—that
kind of desperation takes time and torture.’

‘Your Queen
commands it.’

‘Cyara asked, shifting on the edge of the sofa where
she has as perched.’

Throne of Air and Darkness is book two in the Secrets of the Faerie Crown series by Emberly Ash and if you haven't read book one yet, you'll want to go do that before you go any further here...even though I won't give anything away.

In this book, the cast of characters have split up as Veyka and Arran are on a quest and as you can guess, a lot happens along the way and those left behind to manage the kingdom face their own challenges. I thought this installment was interesting but I also didn't love it as much as I enjoyed the first book. Don't get me wrong, it was a solid continuation of the series, I just wasn't as invested in this book as I was previously.

With that said, I will probably pick up the next book as this one did end on a bit of a cliff and I need to know what happens next for this crew. If you're looking for a new Adult Romantasy, consider picking this series up.

Although I still enjoyed this book, I found the first book captured my attention more than the second. One thing that I loved about this book was seeing Arran and Veyka’s relationship continue to grow, and how they were both able to get to a place of honesty and understanding (among other things). I have so many questions going into book 3, I very much don’t want to wait four months, I wish I could read it now! I would give this book 3.5 stars, but as half stars weren’t possible I gave it a 3. I found the pacing in places to be a bit slow, and I wish we could’ve gotten more insights on Parys’ relationships and feelings in the chapters from his POV. Overall I enjoyed the book and look forward to continuing reading about their journey!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book. Throne of Air and Darkness is the second book in the Secrets of the Faerie Crown series. This book pick up where book one in the series ended. This book is darker and spicer than the first book in the series. This book is more action packed. This book also is a deeper dive into the main characters relationship. It also ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. Once I started this book I could not sit it down. I highly recommend this series and cannot wait for the next book to come out.

Rate- 3.5/5

The story started out fantastic but the FMC was really ticking me off. She was frustrating with her control issues. You know the chemistry was good and you would think that she would be over the drama but she seemed to create her own. I thought we were past the slow burn. It is completely unnecessary and trivial now.

As for the MMC he was utterly patient and if it were me I would’ve sent her packing mate or not!

I honestly had a hard time finishing the book even with all the good story lines and plot. The writing was beautiful but the character development was so frustrating it was hard for me to see beyond. The end was entirely confusing and there was so much back and forth. I don’t know it was like so much happened in the last 10 chapters that I didnt know wether i was coming or going.

First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me an advanced readers copy of this book to review.

I LOVED it. There are some trigger warnings which should definitely be read and abided, however, if you want a spicy Arthurian tale, or you didn’t know you wanted one, this is it for you. Spice throughout the book… build up and tension, but everything comes to fruition. I love how there are nods throughout the book to legend, and it doesn’t stop at Excalibur. Please read this book!!

This is the second book in the Secrets of the Faerie Crown series, and it was even better than the first! I loved literally everything about this book - the King Arthur legend elements, the new character POVs, the relationship development between the FMC and MMC, the discovery of a new power that hasn’t been seen for 7000 years, the spice (oh, the spice!), the cliffhanger... I could go on and on. This book is perfectly paced, and the payoff with the romantic tension is well worth the wait! Emberly Ash expertly weaves an updated Arthurian story with fae and new magics, creating a world that feels both familiar and completely new and unique. Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I need more people to read this series so I can gush with them about it.

Throne of Air and Darkness by Emberly Ash is the second book in the Secrets of the Faerie Crown series and picks up where the first left off, with Veyka’s disappearance. This story is about fighting for love, even when it’s hard, it also explores themes of redemption, fate and healing from trauma. This is a dark story and includes adult content so please check content warnings.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily. After the wild ride of the relationships, the ending and being a book that made me FEEL, this was easily a five star read.

Throne of Air and Darkness continues the story of Veyka Pendragon and Arran Earthborn, pretty much picking up right where we left them in book 1. I did enjoy this book, but it felt a little slower or maybe just a little less satisfying to me than the first installment. I really liked the continued growth of the main characters, as well as the development of the side characters. The main characters relationship didn't grow in an unrealistic linear fairy tale, there were some setbacks and feeling to work though - which I thought brought a nice, more realistic feel to the relationship (Even if I was kind of irritated with some of Veyka's decisions and actions). The development and plot twist for a few of the main characters was great, liked getting a couple more POVs as well. I do wish some of the side character's revelations and demise got a little more attention and I wish that there was a little more of the overarching plot developed. Overall fun read, cliffhanger so I'll definitely pick up the third book once its out. I do think that there probably needs to be a little more editing (not sure if it was just the digital copy) there were several spelling/wrong words and strange paragraph breaks that I noticed.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Emberly Ash for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Aaahhhhh another cliff hanger ending!!!

I love this series, I like the pace, I love the characters especially veyka she is a total badass! I like the magical elements and how it doesn’t overpower the plot.
Such a great read I was hooked I cannot wait for the 3rd book!!
Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC 🫶🏼

4.5 Stars!!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy this book picks up right where Crown of Earth and Sky ends, with Veyka's magic suddenly appearing and her body promptly disappearing from her Joining ceremony to Arran. Alll the implications from the end of the last book make for a beautiful and exciting start to a wild adventure that takes our High Queen and King across realms, meeting with new magical creatures, uncovering mysteries (and answering a few questions), and of course meeting more of the classic people and places from arthurian legends!!

Throne of Air and Darkness took the already incredible baseline built from the previous book and elevated our story in so many wonderful ways. It was, of course, wonderful to get to see more of the connection between Veyka and Arran and what it means for them to be mates and how they handle that change in status. It was insightful to get new perspectives from Parys and Gwen to view the adventures and our hero/heroine from new eyes and ears. Cyara, Lyrena, and Osheen who were all present in book one came back big with some new developments (Cyara has a new identity! Lyrena is Lancelot!!!! Osheen isn't a stepdad, he's the dad that stepped up!).

But all of this cannot be discussed without talking about THAT ENDING because WOW I was shocked my jaw DROPPED I couldn't put it down I AM SAD that book 3 isn't out yet because WHEW that cliffhanger has me sweating!!

Thank you to Emberly Ash and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. This book came out on December 19, 2023 and the third book is set to come out in April 2024!

I DEVOURED this fantastically spicy, action packed second book!!! BRUHHHHHHH!!! I didn’t think I could get any more invested in this series but boy was I wrong! The amount of twists and feelings in this book had me quite literally gasping, laughing, and OMGing. Emberly masterfully expands on the already intriguing plot, with different realms, more magic, and balancing our feisty mates relationship and inner demons. Everything's coming together with all the new information coming in from both the human and fae world about the betrayals, prophecy, and personal histories. I LOVED all the character growth throughout this book. Arran has definitely moved up my book boyfriend list, he went from swoony to down right smoldering BEAST mode! **Fans self** The emotional, beautifully written Fairy Pool scene is the absolutely BEST one in the whole book! Ma’am you’ve got some explaining to do with my wind wielder and that cliffhanger!!! Like is it April yet? Cause I need to know what happens like RN!!!!!!

Cawpile score of 8.29/4.5 stars

I feel like this book was more put together than the first one and I really enjoyed the pacing. Most of the action is happening in the human realm, but we get POVs that let us know what's going on at the court as well.
Veyka gets to know more about her power and about prophecies and how they are entangled with the ancients. I find her quite relatable and her actions, as well as her reactions are understandable most of the time. She's still snapping kinda easy for my liking, but she's a 25 years old and part of a race that lives for hundreds of years, so basically she's super young, which makes her annoying little tantrums understandable as well, but I hope she'll be more mature in the next book.

I didn't see much growth among the other characters, but Cyara is by far my favourite.

This book is also filled with death and heartbreak as well as other past and present traumas, so if you get triggered, check the TW at the beginning of the book

Was not disappointed with this second book of the series. It continues to grip and pull you into a world that comes to life when reading, this second book left me with heartache and wanting vengeance on behalf of the characters I can't wait for the third installment.

Posted on Goodreads 27/12/2023

Book 2 picks up right where we left off in Book 1 and feels like a very cohesive second installment (so all the things I liked are still there and all the things I hated were also still around in abundance).

I struggled a lot more with the characters being unlikeable (both MC are beyond insufferable in this one) and the romance this time around felt so forced so I think ultimately that means I won’t be continuing with this series. I also felt like the plot just became really predictable and a bit stupid? (there were just too many plot holes to ignore and it really impacted on being able to enjoy the story).

I think because the romance felt so forced the smutty scenes were just boring (I skipped most of them) as there was just no genuine connection being built here.

I am sure lots of people are going to love this series, especially readers who loved ACOTAR etc and want more explicit scenes but if you’re interested in developed characters, believable character arcs, and complex plots then this isn’t the one for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

Really enjoyed this second installment. I did feel that Arran and Veyka’s horniness for each other felt a bit repetitive (especially the actions and descriptions)and took away from the plot. When they were able to keep their hands off each other, and further the plot, I was really enjoying the story. Will definitely continue with the next book.
There were a number of spelling and grammatical errors in the ARC copy, so hopefully those were corrected prior to publication.
ARC received via NetGalley.

Princess of secrets? Brutal Prince? Or high queen and king of Annwyn? This spicy book is the second in the series of ‘the secrets of the Faerie crown’ with the 3rd being released in April 2024. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it had me hooked at the get go and I cannot wait to continue the series next year to see what awaits for Veyka and her mate. Please read the trigger warnings before reading but I do highly recommend and would go so far as to say that although I read this via kindle I would love for it to have pride place on my physical bookshelf. Emberly has done absolutely amazing not only with her story line but also with the descriptions of the characters, their emotions and the worlds around them.

Throne of Air and Darkness is a great sequel to Crown of Earth and Sky, we continue to see Veyka continue to become less consumed by grief and grow past her prejudices against humans as she, Arran and their group travel to the human realm. I was thoroughly engaged throughout the novel and while I confess that I got a little frustrated with Veyka, her actions stayed true to her character and the reasoning behind them was clear.

While Arran is still a tad judgemental and overprotective and he doesn't always give Veyka the benefit of the doubt, I really liked how their relationship grew and how he learned how to be emotionally vulnerable with Veyka.

Parys and Gwen are left behind in Annwyn so we get to see what's happening there from their perspectives and while I generally don't like new POVs being added into series, this was well done and didn't take away from Veyka and Arran's POVs.

I won't pretend that some aspects of the ending weren't predictable but there were a few unexpected twists that I didn't see coming. Like Crown of Earth and Sky, the book ended on a massive cliffhanger and so I'm eagerly anticipating Court of Vines and Vipers.

"Throne of Air and Darkness" picks up where "Crown of Earth and Sky" left off. This entry in Ash's Secrets of the Faerie Crown series feels a little more dense than its predecessor as well as bit darker. The story, already complex, becomes even a bit more complicated, and the round table spends much of the book apart, meaning stories are told in both locales and from multiple POV. The book is still very readable, but takes more concentration to keep all of the elements straight. VERY spicy with another cliffhanger ending. I will definitely be reading the third book in the series.

3.5 stars rounded to 4. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

Exciting sequel that kept me on the edge of my seat. I cannot wait to see how the story progresses, especially with the cliff hanger we were left on. The third book cannot come soon enough.