Conspirator's Kingdom is the second book in the Mages of Oblivion series by Elyse Thomson. I thoroughly enjoyed both books so far and am excited to see where the series goes in the future!

This was the second in a series. It's a fun light read of enemies to lovers and arranged marriages. It barely touches the angst that is there. There was a lot to play with but the author kept it quite light. Fun read.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Two Laurels Press and Elyse Thomson for this early release copy in exchange for my honest review.

I did not end up finishing this book. I realized it was a sequel and had trouble following along. I made it through the first six chapters and it was very interesting. I enjoyed the pacing and the style of writing that the author used. I just want to read it in the intended order and look forward to purchasing this book in the future

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Overall review closer to 3.75 stars. It was loosely related to the first one but you don't have to read it to understand this one imo. I enjoyed the relationships between the main characters. The only thing that really detracted for me was the pacing was off at times. Some parts were easy to breeze through while other parts felt longer.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The world building and characters were so beautifully written. I couldn't put it down

This was a solid 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars for me. I really enjoyed both the MCs as well as the supporting characters. I understood each of the motivations of the characters and how they ended up in the situations they ended up in. I also really liked a lot of the twists and surprising plot points in the story. They genuinely kept me engaged and on my toes up until the end.

Where the story fell short for me was on some of the world building. Firstly, I couldn’t pronounce a single character’s name and therefore will struggle to discuss this book with friends and other readers. While I really like the relationship between the two MCs, I wish I would’ve seen a little bit more of the build up between them. I think the marriage of convenience started off good and then there was just a middle portion in which I did not understand how we all of a sudden got to full blown “love”.

Additionally, I wasn’t able to picture any of these characters. I don’t fault the author for this though. It’s fascinating how different these beings look from one another, and it’s definitely unique and refreshing. I just couldn’t picture it because my imagination is lackluster. All the different skin tones, hair colors, and animals mixed with human features was overwhelming and I couldn’t recall the descriptions in my mind when reading.

Overall, I had a really fun time. The political intrigue was good. The romance was good. And I fully believed the relationships between the characters. There was enough in it to keep me on my toes and unable to guess what’s going to happen next.

Conspirators' Kingdom is book two in the Mages of Oblivion series by Elyse Thomson. I have not read book one, though Conspirators' Kingdom is categorized as a standalone in the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶/5

I do wonder if not having read book one in the series impacted my ability to fully connect with this story. I thought the world, political system, magic system, etc., were well crafted (for the most part, I do have questions, such as why the revelation about King Khety at the end was supposed to be a shocker, based on the description of his physical appearance throughout the entire book), but there was always something missing for me. I felt like it was taking me forever to get through the book, specifically because it wasn't pulling me back in every time I put it down.

At times, the storytelling seemed rushed (usually when we would have benefited from more time and development - like the threat to Mereruka at the end), and at other times it seemed to drag (too much about the politics, losing my attention).

I enjoyed the main characters, Mereruka and Taisiya. Their banter was entertaining. They're billed as villains, which begs the question - who are the heroes? I didn't see these two as the villainous, scheming baddies in a world/story of goodness and virtue. They weren't up against the good guys. Everyone seemed to be a scoundrel, and these two and their cohorts were the least bad of the lot.

I didn't truly understand how we went from the marriage-of-convenience to the eventual burn-down-the-world for you bond between Meri and Taisiya. If that journey was a smooth one, I missed the train. Don't get me wrong, I like where the relationship ended up, I'm here for it; but like my high school math homework, I ended up with the right answer, I'm just not sure how I got there and would be hard pressed to show my work.

Overall, Conspirators' Kingdom wasn't a bad story. I'm giving it 3/5 stars. I won't read it again, but I'm not opposed to reading future books by the author with the hopes of more consistent pacing, which I believe would fix most of the things that left me feeling meh throughout the read and (sadly) relieved when I finished it.

An e-ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.

This book, the description and world building, and the characters (even the supporting characters) really was beautiful and allowed me to really immerse myself into this story. Beautiful book!

This is the second book in the Mages of Oblivion series, and it’s set in the desert with a lot of Egyptian’s vibes. We have morally grey and power-driven main characters which set’s the book atmosphere just right in place. I felt like it could be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the first book in this universe.

The plot is quite interesting, but it was a bit tricky to understand the world and the characters. However, when you get the hang of it the story gets a lot better, and I felt like it had a great pace. The world building is very tricky as well but again, once you get the hang of it, it’ll be so much worthy.

It was a cute romance full of action and it’s full of political intrigue and it’s quite focused on the politics, we have a lot of scheming and plots to get a better position. There are a lot of mystical creatures which was great, and we also get a bit of spice into the story.

Overall, I really enjoy this book, but I’m always ready to read books that are set in Egypt since I’m a huge fan of their ancient history. It was a great read, and the world building and character development was so well done. The plot, the pace and the writing were amazing. I really recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

This book was phenomenal. I love how the two main characters aren't good like the main characters in a book normally would be. They're morally grey and power hungry. They 100% would get sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts. I loved this story so much. The plot was so interesting and had my attention the entire time. I love how we got to see another world within this universe. We got to see more magic that wasn't in the first one and how the two different types of magic interact. I just loved it so much!

*Marriage of convenience
*Villains
*Stand-alone in a series
*Complex fantasy world

This was definitely an entertaining read!

The book had so much going on with many complex situations and characters.

I will admit, it took me a little while to fully grasp the world and its people; I had to write down all the names to keep up. Once I got the hang of it, the book became so much more enjoyable and I flew through it! If you struggle with world building - I suggest writing things down!!

If you're into a lot of action and a cute romance story, then read this book!

I rated it 3.5, and rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you, Victory Editing, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Book Tropes:
Marriage of Convenience
Ancient fantasy setting
Only one bath
Touch her and die
Villain x Villainess

Although Conspirators Kingdom is the second book in the Mages of Oblivion series, it can also be considered a stand-alone book, but I definitely recommend starting with Poison Empire.

We follow the story of the mage Taisiya - the disgraced daughter of a traitor and half-sister of the new Empress, who is willing to do anything to turn her family's misfortune around. And the Fae Prince Mereruka, who has ambitions to ascend his brother's throne. The only thing standing in his way are his 6 older siblings.

The Plot
One day, Mereruka gets an order from his brother, the king. He is to sail to a cursed land and find a wife there. He is convinced that marrying a barbarian woman will, in his eyes, ruin his attempts to take the throne... or kill him. He is surprised when he meets his match -the ambitious Taisiya. They strike a deal - she will help him find a suitable wife in exchange for wealth and power. But as always, there's a "but" when you make a deal with Fae. If Taisiya fails to find a woman he likes, he gets a favour - anything he wants from Taisiya. Little does she know that it will be her hand.

My Opinion
I really enjoyed this book. The story was action packed and I never felt like nothing was happening. The only slightly negative thing I would say is that sometimes there was a bit too much going on, which made some parts feel a bit rushed and left some things unresolved. I was pleased to learn that the story is political, as it is set at court - all the characters are constantly scheming and plotting to get their way. Of course, it was not just fae and mages, there was no shortage of shapeshifters and dragons either. The characters were interesting, the relationships well developed - although sometimes I felt they were missing something, and I would have liked it if there had been more to get to know the side characters better. Overall, I really enjoyed the writing style, the plot and the characters.

4/5 stars

-strong FMC with lightning powers
- Morally grey, fae MMC
- mix of court intrigue in an ancient Egyptian world
- tricky titles and fantasy jargon
- good pace
- steamy

This is the second in the ‘Mages of Oblivion’ series, set in the desert and Egyptian style court of creatures ranging from fae, to shifters, to dragons. Prince Mereruka is sent to broker trade and create ties with a neighboring kingdom, thought to be backwards and feral by the standards of his homeland. He is instructed to bring back a wife by his scheming and murderous King and eldest brother, ensuring that the ties continue, in the hopes that he will fail. Taisiya is a disgraced half sister of the new Queen, and ambassador to Lethe, tricked into marriage with the prince, much to her dismay. Their courtship is wrought with death, danger, and perils she could never have imagined, their love growing among a bloodthirsty court as they attempt to seize the throne of Maat. Spice, swoon worthy love confessions and found family await.

I enjoyed this story immensely and appreciate the complexity of Maat, Lethe, and the entire universe of Oblivion. Taisiya is such a crafty villainess, her relationship with Mereruka feeling authentic and complicated. I loved their story together and the spice was fantastic. I am so impressed by the depth of this world and the characters, but struggled to recall all the lengthy names, attributes, and titles that the world uses. As I read it on Kindle, I hope that the published copy will have a map, and glossary I could more easily access.

Easily recommend this book to romantasy readers, everywhere.

When I started this did I know it was the second in a series, no, Did it impact my enjoyement at all, also no.

This book had me giggling & kicking my feet throughout. Grumpy meets grumpy, royal intrigue, “forced marriage”, magic, Fae, sarcastic intelligent women & a magical kitty (not a euphemism) this book has it all. This was such fun read, I raced through it & enjoyed every moment.

THAT PLOT TWIST HAS ME REELING. The romance was absolutely beautiful and the plot continued to be intriguing. I highly recommend this series.

This was a very good continuation of the series. The romance was so amazing and I loved the world and the plot twist was very well done