**PR REVIEW POST**

The First King
By Shameez Patel Papathanasiou

And so, we have reached the third and final book of the Selene Trilogy, and I am not okay!
I was not ready for this one to end, and so, i kept reading only a few pages at a time to try to make it last as long as possible!
Was I scared that bad stuff might happen to my favourite characters that I'd grown to love so much, too? Uhm.. YES!! Did I think Shameez would do that to me?? Hey.. you never know!! And if you think that I'm going to tell you whether said things happen or not?? You would be wrong.. because you have to go get your copies and find out for yourself!

This book continues where book 2 left of, with Cassia being captured by the Lithelier in another realm, and although we have a bit of a slow start in this book, we soon find ourselves on another epic journey!
We meet a lot more characters with their awesome abilities, and we also learn a lot more about the history of our loved friends!
And then, of course, we have our resident bad-boy, Lochlan! 🤤 ❤️ 😍
Okay, I did miss his bad-boy streak a lot in this one, but I still love him more than anyone else, lol!
The only thing I hoped for was a more action-filled end battle...it just maybe seemed a little too easy..
But all's well that ends well!! And I was happy with the ending we received!

Big shout out to @netgalley and Shameez for allowing me to read the ebook in exchange for an honest review, and I can not wait to get my hands on an actual physical copy to complete my collection!!

I am waiting eagerly to see what future books Shameez has in store for us as she will now forever be one of my fav local authors!

#books #Bookstagram #NetGallery #BookReview #SeleneTrilogy #booklover #bookworm #sabookstagrammers #southafricanbookstagrammer #booksta #readreadread #booksbooksbooks #BookmarkMyWorld

“Welcome to Selene. I think you’ll love what I’ve done with the place.”

The First King by Shameez Patel Papathanasio

🌹Book Thoughts🌹

Visiting Selene for the very last time was bitter sweet, watching these characters grow through each book has been something of a whirlwind. Ending off the trilogy we have The First King and like the other two books this one was nothing short of amazing, plot twist, engaging storyline that keeps you captivated and in true fashion this book will break your heart a little (or maybe I meant alot who knows).

Shameez, thank you so much for sharing your characters with us, thank you for taking us to Selene for the very last time, this trilogy will always be my favourite.

What to expect:
Multiple POV
World building
Dark magic
Realms
Enemies to lovers
Found family

Thank you so much to @flametreepress for the review copy.

Third and final book in the Selene trilogy and it picks up where book 2 ended.

Cassia is captured and kept by the Lilithier, Lochan cannot get to her and Lucas is trying to find his wolves and seek allies against the king. The Lilithier is feeding off of her power (and others) just enough so that they still remain alive, but he needs a "visionary" to connect with one of their shadows, without them they cannot get back to their realm. Cassia cannot initiate a "visit" and she WILL NOT summon Lochlan, she sees a vision and knows she has to get out, things don't exactly go to plan but someone of equal, if not more importance is traded to let Cassia go.

Together, Cass, Lochlan, Lucas and the team need to find and recruit an army, find the wolves, stay alive and keep certain visions from NOT coming true - most importantly get to the king before he gets to them.

It is a litttttle slow in the beginning but STICK.IT.OUT - it is worth it!

I enjoyed this trilogy so much, favorite book is DEFINATELY book 2. The series wrapped up nicely. I was wondering how it was going to come together, and it was well done. The stakes were SKY high here and you felt it whilst reading.

Cassia and Lochlan - sigh - I cannot, I am so obsessed with Lochlan!!

Definitely give this series a read - its great!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @flametreepress for an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion ❤️

“We’ll have a lifetime together, we have to,”

“And my love? Because I love you, Loch. I know you struggle with that, but I’ll tell you every day for the rest of our lives in the hopes that one day you’ll believe me.”

I have been craving this since I finished The Eternal Shadow last April and it did not disappoint. The character development, the emotional torture, the redemption of some characters who I disliked very much earlier, the relationships between the different characters and of course Lochlan and Cass. Their relationship is just so beautiful and pure, you just want to snatch them away and keep them safe.

It's hard to accept that we have to say goodbye to Selene but this was so well done and satisfying that it hurts just a little bit less. I love how Shameez had us falling in love with almost every character and every moment, has you crossing your fingers that they will make it through safely.

This releases tomorrow and you should pick it up immediately!!

👑 This is the last book in the “SELENE TRILOGY.”
The war has been declared. Will Rosheen’s vision of future become true? Will Lucas be the one to kill the king?

👑 Pick this up if you like/ don’t mind:
📌 fantasy series ( this series got me into reading fantasy )
📌 author’s debut fantasy novel ✍🏻
📌 found family troupe/ friends like family
📌 well written side characters
📌 multiple POVs
📌 fast paced/ action packed/ page turner/ turns and twists
📌 marriage of convenience troupe/ sexual tension/ slow burn romance/ funny banters between main characters
📌 strong female protagonist
📌 funny/ witty/ morally grey/ swoon worthy MC ( hands down my most FAVOURITE character )
📌 war between good and evil
📌 a PERFECT ending to the series

👑 Words cannot express how much I loved this book. Trust me this was even better than the first two. What’s not to like? I loved the exceptional friendship bond between Lucas and Cass, funny banters between the three characters, development of brother relationship between Lucas and Lochlan, Lochlan’s protectiveness towards Calla and the fact that Rosheen finally admitted that she was wrong. I loved that despite of a war going on Lochlan was still being himself witty and funny making us laugh and cry at the same time. I loved how the author has crafted memorable side characters with each character adding depth to the story.

👑 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest opinion.

👑 PS: Yup it took me more than a week to write this review because I wasn’t ready to say good bye to this series.
👑 PSS: This book will make a great TV adaptation.

I rarely find the ending of a fantasy trilogy to be completely satisfying, but this story absolutely was. There was action, hope, tragedy, twists, and love in all its forms at centre stage. The stakes that have been raised with each book in this series reach their peak, and the looming war is as thrilling as I'd hoped for. The ending was unpredictable and satisfying, while still being heartbreaking and hopeful. I'd read a spin off series for every character, I can't get enough of them.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC. The Selene trilogy is truly one of my all-time favourite series.
Before reading The First King, I did a re-read of book 1 +2 and posted fresh reviews to help build up the excitement of book 3.

Overall, I loved all the character development throughout the story.
Lochlan was by far my favourite character. I adored his tender side with Cassia and Calla. He truly saw who Cassia was and what she needed. He evolved and cared about the reborns despite his upbringing

It filled my heart even more when Cass was all protective over Lochlan.
This trilogy has some of the best-written relationships I have read to date:
The friendship between Cassia and Lucas
The love that you can feel grow between Cassia and Lochlan
The brother bond that develops between Lucas and Lochlan

A few moments I adored:
When Lucas took on Rosheen about her treatment of Lochlan
The moment when Rosheen opened up to Lochlan
When Lucas truly stepped up into his role

Although Rosheen was my least favourite 'good' guy I appreciated her sacrifice.

The found family with Nisa, Brie, Xo, and Jun was heart-warming and added much flavour to the story.
I loved the twist with Wrenvier, it was brilliant. And I have the biggest soft spot for Gustack.

The only extra that would have added to the brilliance of this book was if Lucas found love and a partner in the end as well.

I will be posting my video reviews on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook on Wednesday 12 June 2024.
I will post my review to Goodreads now.