If you like
- Faeries
- Dark Romance

Then you will love this book! I have read a lot of books in a similar style and genre and this one has definitely left an impression for me.

An overall well written and enticing story with an entertaining plot and loveable characters x

Honestly, I put off reading this for so long because I was so worried about being disappointed by it. Then today, I realised I had 3.5 hours before the book expired from my netgalley shelf!

I said before how much I love Ruskin and Eleanor and I was so desperate for the next installment when I finished the first book and this really exceeded my expectations.

I don't want to say too much because there are a LOT of twists and turns in this book, and while some may have been predictable, the majority weren't and they were all so well written.

Again, I would absolutely recommend this author to any fantasy fans as the whole world is so immersive and the storyline is captivating. (My husband did ask if I was reading my p*rn again and I responded "no! This one has plot!!!")

I find myself desperately waiting for the third in the series as I've been left with so many questions!!!

This whole series, so far, is on my top reads of 2024! Incredible!

This I s the second book in The Gold Weaver series and is a good continuation of Eleanor and Ruskin's story. Eleanor may have helped Ruskin rid the fae court of a curse in the first book, but there is a new threat to the court that he needs her help with.

At the same time, Eleanor is searching for answers about herself and her family. She knows Ruskin has some of the answers, but he claims he can't give them to her. We get a bit of a miscommunication trope and Eleanor struggles to trust Ruskin throughout much of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline of this second book, but the miscommunication and distrust frustrated me. I wish we got more romance between these two in this book. There were also a decent amount of errors in the book that were hard to overlook. I would still recommend this series to romantasy lovers and look forward to the final book later this year!

Thank you to Relay Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

In the next installment of the Kingdom Cursed by Iron, Eleanor is trying to put her life back together and figure out where to begin after leaving Ruskin. The only thing she does know is that she doesn't want to see or talk to Ruskin. When her journey takes her back home, she realizes that everything she loves is not safe until the enemies are dealt with. Ruskin finds her again after stopping a group from hurting her. As Eleanor and Ruskin argue, Eleanor realizes that things won't change. He's still keeping secrets, but she has no choice but to follow him back to his kingdom. Lives are at stake.

Eleanor keeps Ruskin at a distance as they try to figure out how to save the kingdom. But Ruskin and Eleanor are both stubborn and refuse to accept what's right in front them .

This was a great follow up to the first book. The suspense and twists get better and better. The chemistry and build up between Ruskin and Eleanor is suspenseful and realistic. I like that this was a bit more real as to how someone would react to such issues. I read this quickly and did not disappoint. Of course, this is left on another cliffhanger.

If you like dark romantasy, strong FMC, stubborn MMC, grumpy sunshine, , twists & turns, and spice then you'll love this book.

Character Development:5/5
Plot:5/5
Spice:2/5

Thanks netgalley, and the publishers and Zara Storm for an opportunity to read this story and review it. To start off I’d not recommend reading this as a standalone as I had not read the first book. Some things to note before you go into it is fae and iron do NOT go together. I was unable to like the FMC and get into the book. I just wasn’t able to immerse myself into the book or fall in love with the main characters. Truthfully I DNFed at page 90 as I was just not vibing with the characters. I was hoping for a more immersive story and more likeable characters. I think a dual POV would have been a great idea to help this story.

This was just as good if not better than the first one in this series. I love how fast paced it is, it’s. Great romantasy with an engaging plot and enough romance to not overwhelm. I liked the main character even more in this book and I can’t wait to see how much more she grows in the next book. I cannot wait for the next one especially with that ending!

Thanks to NetGalley for granting me access in exchange for an honest review.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book 2 in the Gold Weaver series. This picks up right where the first left off after finding out that she had been lied to Eleanor leaves Faerie and comes home. Things are not as she expected. I really enjoyed the story and the addition to the series. I think I liked this one more than the first. I am looking forward to how it ends.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 stars
🌶️🌶️ spice

What to Expect:
🌹Rumplestiltskin retelling
🌹Fae x Human (who also has powers)
🌹Magic x Alchemy
🌹Enemies to lovers
🌹Fated mates

“It’s different, Ella, because even if I cannot have you, I cannot have a world without you in it.”

I’m still haunted by the ghost of how he made me feel—safe, loved.

So far this series has been really good! I love the take on Rumplestiltskin, which isn’t a very common retelling you see in the Romantasy genre.

The plot pace definitely picked up towards the end, there was a bit of repetitive setup with the iron “incidents” to begin with and tension filled moments that then felt like they didn’t progress anywhere - but I promise it comes good in the end!

Loved getting to go to the Unseelie court - that whole part of the book was great, and can’t wait to see them spend more time there because the Seelie court sucks honestly.

There was definitely a lot I liked, particularly the twist which I cannot believe I didn’t see coming. It was, however, missing the level of romantic tension I felt in the first book. At first, the angst was angsting and some moments were so heart wrenching, but then I became quite frustrated with Eleanor about 2/3 of the way through for being so sanctimonious and flip flopping around with her feelings in her internal monologue.

You’d get to a point where you thought she’d change her mind and jump all over Ruskin and then just go back to being annoying in the next sentence, which made her sort of unlikeable for a while.

That part was what I think contributed to it suffering a bit of mid-series slump, where it’s sort of a means to an end for setting up the big finale, and it was mostly because their relationship just felt “stuck” but only by her choice.

It was so close to 4 stars for me honestly. I really hope in the next book they get to have their full on, fully fledged romance and devour each other already. I’m here for it…the spice in these books is so hot 🥵

I want to start off by saying thank you to netgalley, the publishers and Zara Storm for an opportunity to read this story!

That being said I have to admit I DNF’d this book at about the 60% mark. I enjoyed book one, the tension, the build up, the drama and the characters all the way up till that final betrayal. And was eager to dive into The Kingdom Cursed by Iron, and while I loved the plot and was invested in not only what was going on with the newfound iron problem but also what was going on with the Queen. I just couldn’t get invested in our Main Characters this time around. For me personally I think it was because I felt like romance wise we were reliving the first book where the characters were still getting to know each other, and still at the beginning of their enemies-to-lovers stage rather than progressing forward in their relationship. There was also to much back and forth of the main FMC saying she still loved him but didn’t want to love him but still doing things to prove she loved him, it just came off a bit confusing and indecisive to me which continued to pull me out of the story. I also personally thought this story would benefit from Ruskins POV to give readers a glimpse into his mind as everything seemed a bit wishy washy with him. Overall I did enjoy the plot of this story and recommend it to anyone who was looking for a plot centric read over a character driven read.

Just wow! Action, adventure, betrayal, secrets - a rollercoaster of emotion and non-stop battles and magic. This second installment will keep you glued to your chair - and waiting for part three!!!!!!

Absolutely loved the first book, and this sequel exceeded my expectations! This book was a rollercoaster of romance, with constant ups and downs. The story progresses beautifully, keeping me hooked with its non-stop action and drama. Discovering Eleanor’s secret past and how it connects to Ruskin was captivating. The banter and romance were spot-on, enhancing the story without overwhelming it. That cliffhanger has me eagerly awaiting book 3!

Synopsis: Eleanor returns home expecting a quiet life, but Ruskin strikes a bargain: help him remove iron from his mother, Evanthe, in exchange for protecting her father. Chaos ensues as Eleanor must control her magic to save the Seelie kingdom.

Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Touch Her and 💀
- SLOW BURN ❤️‍🔥
- Rumpelstiltskin Inspired
- Fated Mates
- Morally Grey MMC
- Cursed Kingdom
- True Names, Hidden Identities
- Found Family
- Fae Bargains and Bonds

While I definitely enjoyed and liked the first book, I absolutely LOVED this second one, and I cannot wait for the 3rd to come out!

My heart is in my throat with the cliffhanger and the anticipation for book three might just kill me.

This book was perfectly paced and even though I wished there was a little more spice, there was still the perfect amount for this story.

I love watching the relationship between Eleanor and Ruskin develop and evolve throughout this story. Not going to lie though, the slow burn of this series was causing me to grow impatient.
Eleanor had me screaming at her several times to basically pull her head out of her ass 🤣
But ultimately, that's why I read these kids of books, the torture of the slow burn is something I live for.

While I thought the last 10% of the first book was clumsily rushed, this book was perfectly paced and nothing felt like it was overly rushed or thrown into the story on a whim.
So far, this is the best book in the series for me and I truly could not put it down!

Side note: Destan is seriously one of the best supporting/ side characters. I'm in love with him and his attitude and sassy banter.
I could get onboard to read a spin-off about him 🤣

All I know is Ruskin and Eleanor better get a HEA when this series is over, because I'm well invested in them and their relationship... Don't f*ck this up Eleanor!! 🤬

The Kingdom Cursed by Iron - Zara Storm
5✨
Wow, I loved this book, perhaps even more than I loved the first one. Ella finds out more about who she is, she learns more about her powers and is taught how to control them. I loved the way it was explained to her how to control them, the inner pool and calming the waves, it felt like even I could do it.
After the first book I wasn’t sure how the story could progress in terms of obstacles and plot twists since the problems in the first book were solved, but Zara nailed it! There is a whole new plot in this book, it ties in a bit with what happened in book 1, but it still feels new. I loved that. In this book you will get-
🌿 Rumpelstiltskin re-telling
🌿Fae
🌿Human with magic
🌿Curses
🌿Alchemy
🌿Secrets
🌿Court drama
I highly recommend this book if you like the above!
Thank you NetGalley, Zara and Relay Publishing for this e-book, I am leaving this review voluntarily💞

This is book 2 in a trilogy, and i had an absolute blast reading it!! It followed on instantly from where book 1 ended, where she left Ruskin after he revealed a lot about himself (a lot of bad, a little good). I was left thinking that they were gonna figure it all out and be together all the way, but as soon as she realised just how many secrets he was keeping from her she was out of there... Cant say i really blame her.

Speaking of this book though, everything moved so quickly! There was hardly any time between when she left Ruskin and the faerie realm to reunite with her father again, and then Ruskin tracking her down and asking for her help again. Seems like there is always a problem in his realm that only she can fix. I really did like just how short their time apart was, i'm a sucker for forced proximity and the fact that they had to work together again (even if they didn't want to) was everything to me!!

Ella's magic keeps growing, or rather she learns how to harness it with help from Ruskin and other that are a part of his court. It's been really interesting seeing her progression and thinking that she was just a talented blacksmith and metallurgist, to realising that she is more like the fae than she wants to be. I'm really glad too just how much of a strong and driven character she is, the fact that she decided to use this magic to her advantage instead of hating having it was fab!

I really liked just how much the story progressed in this book too! Usually not a lot happens in the second book in a series, or its all relationship angst between the two main characters, politics, or unnecessary plot/world building before everything happens in the final book.
Loads is happening in the wider world, not just where the main characters are. This made for a lot of confusing moments where i wasn't sure what was happening, or was going to happen, but things are explained almost perfectly right at the end of the book, or little clues are given away throughout too which was fun to read. I loved just how in the dark we were about certain things, just like the majority of characters.
I also really appreciated that this wasn't all about their relationship, or lack there of. They each got some really cool character growth, and growth that actually made sense to them individually.
Ella learns probably the most (to be expected, she is really going through it in this book). There are the revelations that she has magic, a true name, what actually happened to her mum, and who Ruskin really is to her) and it all seemed to really shape her for the better. I think she got a lot of much needed closure, and hopefully in the next book she will really step into her own and take more control of what she is being forced to go through (also hope that they both get a happy ending after all the shit they have been through together)
Ruskin on the other hand got nothing but the short straw in this book. All the struggles of loving a human who doesn't love or trust him back, his court falling apart right in front of him, and his mother being completely different to how he remembers her!

Speaking of his mother, that was a development i really didn't see coming at all, and i felt so freaking stupid when everything was revealed! I wasn't expecting her whole character to change out of no where, and seeing her de-evolve into this murderous, power hungry, revengeful ex-queen was something else!
The ending was so intense and an emotional roller coaster because of this. I would love to say that it didn't end on a massive cliffhanger, but i would then be lying through my teeth. It was so intense and full on, and i low key hated how it ended, but only because of the fact that i have to wait to read how everything is going to shake down in the final book. I cannot wait!!
Speaking of how devastating of an ending it was, i am really glad, if not heartbroken, that they resolved their issues and confessed their love for each other right before they were ripped apart again. The author is nothing if not ruthless in the best way possible. I already know that book 3 is going to be too much to handle, but i am so ready for it!!

A massive thank you to Netgalley and the author for giving me the chance (yet again) to read this book! I enjoyed it so freaking much!!

Ooh boy the next chapter of the BATB/Rumplestiltskin story picks up with magical human Eleanor back in the human realm, having left Ruskin behind in Faerie after discovering that even still, he’s keeping ~secrets~

Of course our boy (Prince, I guess) pops back up just in time to save Eleanor from attack and brings her back to Faerie- also just in time to use her metallurgy magic to push back sprouts of iron popping up across the realm and endangering the citizens of the Seelie Court. Despite her frustration with him, Eleanor agrees to stay and help more, giving her and Ruskin time to deal with their issues- as much as they can!

This was a fast-moving, interesting story that answered a ton of questions. It did, however, feel like a bit of an interlude in the middle of the trilogy, setting us up for the big excitement in the final installment coming this fall. Ruskin and Eleanor and their friends Destan and Halima trained, fought, laughed, and schemed their way through this story- and even brought in a crazy old Maurice (I mean Magister) to really round out the story!

This was fun- but I’m even more intrigued to find out what’s coming next!!!!


Thank you so much to Zara Storm and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I think this is a stronger book than the first in the series. We get some more answers to questions that arose in the first book.

However, Eleanor, to me, is less likeable in this book. I just get so frustrated with her and her decisions.

I was also not a fan of the cliffhanger ending. Now, I'm desperate to know what happens next! 😂

Really solid second book in the series. I’ve really enjoyed this series and the characters. I read it on a cross-country flight in one sitting! I’m fairly stingy with stars, but this is a solid three stars for me because I think there was a but lacking in Ruskin’s response to Eleanor leaving and returning. I think there could have been more emotion revealed there, more depth. Overall, really fun book that I enjoyed and I will definitely recommend to people who like this genre.

I devoured this book! I enjoyed it as much as I did the first book in the series which must be read first as this book picks up where the first book left off giving us more of Elenor and Ruskin. Their back-and-forth banter's is entertaining, and their chemistry is as undeniable as their fates are entwined. I don't want to give anything away because if you love paranormal reads this story should be read. I enjoy this author's writing style as I feel as if I'm on the journey with these characters in the world she created. I'm definitely invested in eventually reading about Elenor and Ruskin getting their HEA in the end. It seems as if I just can't get enough of their story, and I'm more than excited to read the next book in this series as this one ended with a cliffhanger.