I liked this one. it was pretty good. The pace was good, theres spice, lies and deceit, magic, action. Everything you want in a fantasy. would recommend!

I tried to read this book a couple of times, but since the audiobook came out I opted to try again and I am SO happy I did. With the audiobook in the background while reading, I can say I was so pleasantly suprissed with the story. Sophie Jordan picked two amazing voice actors to narrate this story. I was not prepared for ANY of the plot twists and turns. I am so looking forward to the next book now that I am hooked.

Thank you NetGalley and Sophie Jordan for the an eARC of this book even if it took me much longer to read it than I had anticipated. I am still so thrilled that I got to be apart of this books journey.

This book had me hooked by the first page. You will not be able to put this book down until you have finished it. The characters draw you in and you can’t help but root for Fell and Tamsyn. Tamsyn has always know her duty and did what was expected. So when she was told her next task she did it like all other things but she knew it would end terribly. Fell is here to gain the ability to help save his land and his people. He didn’t expect to be tricked and made a fool of. Fell is determined to make the best of the situation and he maybe will be able to be happy with the way things are. Tamsyn is determined to get away and save everyone that she can. She didn’t expect to see things take such drastic turns. This book ends with you hanging and read to devour book two. I was given a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let's Start Off With:
•Dragons, Witches, Whipping Girls oh my!

I love how the author chose to make this story different than the typical Princess gets sold off or slave gets taken.
The FMC is part of the family, so they say, but isn't actually royalty. She's a whipping girl, which is actually a pretty new take for me.
Dragons are supposed to have been killed years prior but, SURPRISE!!! They weren't all dead.

Let's Move To:
•What Is A Triangle Without Actually BEING A Triangle?

The fact that you start out rooting for one person and then totally switching sides by the end is always a fun game.
Except that in this case, was it actually a triangle? It seems pretty one sided to me, but then at times... Idk it was a little all over the place for me. I couldn't tell if she returned the feelings or if she was just desperate for affection.

And Then:
•I Totally Saw That Coming.

So yes, some of the twists weren't really twists because you could see them coming from a mile away.
But let's be real, we still enjoyed them!


In The End:
• Can Someone Paint Me A Picture, Please?

I really did want more world building. This whole book is set up to amaze you with the details along their journey and I was a little let down. Not mad, there was for sure some, but I wanted more.

PS:
So, in all seriousness, I liked this book a lot. Easily a four star read for me. Was it predictable? Yes. Could there be some extra umph? Also yes. Would I read it again? Am I currently wanting the second book? Yes and yes.
If you are looking for a good read that has some spice without needing some water or a sturdy fan, then this is a good one to grab!

YASSSS! This book captivated me from page 1 and Tamsyn's story was absolutely enthralling. From the getgo she is unique yet also full of evolution. The author was able to blend princess and warrior into her story well while also showing how she was a little naive and pampered. I found the tension between the MCs to also put a whole ton of heat into the book and loved how Tamsyn refused to bend her will. This book also had a great magical system and I think the author really developed the magical universe well. The underlying conflicts between he realm, the royals and the magic also put me into a tailspin as we began to see how impactful past events where on the magic that was just...slumbering!

The overall plot of this book immediately pulled me in! A big strong beastly man who whisks away a mistreated princess where the world has killed off all dragons and witches (or have they....). I do wish that there would have been more world building and character/relationship development. It felt like the book was rushed into less than 300 pages. There were periods when times skipped very quickly, and I would've enjoyed the details of how we got from A to B. The relationship development between Fell and Tamsyn was underwhelming.... It was enough to make me love them and root for them but also at times made me question "how do you guys really know you even like one another...." At the beginning of the book, I was not impressed by the writing style but can say as the book went on the writing itself was much more intriguing and flowed very smoothly. Definitely will be added the series to my lists of reads! With more details and overall development, I would've given this a 4/5 stars, because I do love the overall plot!

I liked that the beginning of this book wasn't overrun by world building, which is usually so common in any new fantasy world. That being said, I had a really hard time not immediately comparing Tamsyn (due to name) to Tamlin from ACOTAR. That really disrupted my entire read because I kept assuming they would act like him.

This book had a strong premise but ultimately left me disappointed.

It had dragons and the fantastic trope of arranged marriage, but the plot kind of fell flat for me and left me slightly upset with it. Wasn’t a terrible read but I wished it was better.

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book. This is my honest review

Romantasy is always a yes. I loved Sophie Jordan's older Firelight series so I knew I had to read this one as soon as I could get my hands on it and I was not disappointed. The writing is great and the characters are engaging -- the romance pulled me in right from the start. The historical romance vibe was strong in the beginning with the royal family and our FMC being the whipping girl - raised as a 'sister' but not treated like one - who is given as a bride to an ally they all consider a beast so as to spare the true princesses. Tamsyn is a strong FMC but she did frustrate me a lot in the beginning because of how she saw her 'family' but considering she was raised to believe that what they were doing was commonplace and right, etc. I gave her a pass. But I LOVED Fell (the 'beast') from the beginning(: Despite being considered savage and beastly, he is literally the only one with a shred of decency when it comes to concern for his new wife, even when he just considered her a means to an end. Their chemistry is palpable from their very first meeting and I was so excited to see how their romance would play out. While Sig is presented as a possible love interest, it's clear that Tamsyn doesn't see him that way from the start so the love triangle aspect isn't that relevant, except in the sense that Sig is willing to go to great lengths for her and I'll leave it at that. There's more spice than I expected and I am not complaining! And the ending leaves off on a cliffhanger that has me wanting to read the next book ASAP.

This is a really fun book and definitely a great start to a new romantasy series. At times it does feel like a set up book but that seems pretty standard to me for the first of a series and I look forward to more worldbuilding and dragons in the next one!

🖤enemies to lovers
🖤dragons
🖤romantasy
🖤touch her and die
🖤he falls first
🖤hidden identity
🖤spice
🖤arranged marriage/marriage of convenience

I loved it & would definitely recommend it to all the romantasy readers out there!

Thank you Avon for the DRC via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This books was so good, I never expected the last part of the book, didn’t think they were both gonna be shifters. And love the touch they added to the physical copy, the flip book pictures

Thank you, NetGalley!

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I couldn't get into the plot and didn't care about the characters.

Pretty standard romantasy fare: strong if deluded heroine (a royal whipping girl who is steadfastly devoted to the royal family despite many indications most of them indeed view her as lesser). A “barbaric” hero (the leader of the borderlands army keeping the rich in the capital city safe). An arranged marriage with some identity subterfuge. Mistrust between the main characters after that subterfuge is discovered. A love triangle, though it’s pretty clear from the number of POV chapters he gets that Stig isn’t endgame.

But then: dragon shifters (and witches)! The (first) big reveal was not what I was expecting, and honestly I enjoyed the book so much more once my expectations were subverted. And then we get three more reveals at the very end, only 1/1.5 of which I had been expecting. Much more interested to read book 2 than I was to read book 1 now.

I was able to read this because NetGalley provided with an arc. I loved this romantasy. Great Read. I would read more by this author.

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”


Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

The FMC Tamsyn has been taken in as an orphan to live with the royal family and gets to live as a royal. However, there is a catch, she takes all punishment for her sisters, as royal children are untouchable in that way. When the Lord of the Borderlands, a brutish warrior, demands the King wed one of his daughters to him in exchange for his continued alliance, he is tricked into marrying Tamsyn. But will feelings develop besides the deceit?

Read this if you like…

🐉 Dual POV
🐉 Dragons 

🐉 Arranged marriage

🐉 Hidden identity
🐉 Political intrigue

Another book to add to my favorite dragon fantasy list! I loved this! A must read for all dragon lovers!

Definitely a rocky start (the wedding night scene was quite uncomfortable imo and the fmc had the personality of a plank of wood), but after Part II this ended up being an entertaining and quick romantasy read.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

The beginning of this book really pulled me and promised so much more than it delivered. Although I did enjoy the book, there were times when I lost interest because the characters fell flat.

I loved the idea of an arranged marriage and A kind of enemies to lover's thing going on, but it felt off to me. There was no buildup, and they had like an insta-love thing that switched gears so fast it made my head spin.

The relationship between Tamsyn and Fell was almost nonexistent. There was no real connection between them other than they slept together. No emotional connection that would make him act the way he did in the end. I gathered there was supposed to be a kind of fated mates thing going on, but it was never fully fleshed out to be that.

The dragon aspect was different and my favorite part of the book. There were also some really good moments of description when I felt like I was really there, and some moments where it was lacking, and I wanted more.

I am not fully invested in the characters and their journey, but it was interesting enough that I would read a book two.

Unfortunately this one was not for me. I should have DNF after the super cringe marriage consummation scene.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

LOVED. Loved, loved, loved. This was so good guys! From the start, I was hooked. Arranged marriage with a feared barbarian and DRAGONS.. need I say more? If this isn't on your TBRs, it a million percent needs to be.

I was reeling at some points, giddy at others, and I am SO READY for book 2!

I really tried to like this one. I was in the mood for a Romantasy but this was not the one for me. It was very tell not show. The world building was so simplistic and I did not enjoy it.