I loved this book so much! I thought I was well written, with some of the best characters I've read this year. The plot was compelling, and I found myself interested in how everything panned out, but the execution was a little ehh to me.

But overall, such a great story with amazing characters!

This is a multi-POV story, which I always love, I did find a lot of the narration was character's inner dialogue which is not bad but I wanted more dialogue between the characters. Aralin and Ezerick's relationship was central to the story, but it felt underdeveloped. There were constant mentions of how deep their connection is, but there weren't a lot of flashbacks showing their interactions, I definitely needed more to make their bond seem believable. So unfortunately, their love story came across as superficial to me. That being said, it's only book 1 so there's still lots of opportunity for it to develop!

The emperor is determined to wipe out every magical/mystical being in his realm. All witches, werewolves & vampires will be killed unless they are able to fight the emperor and win.

So what happens when the FMC turns out to be a witch? Rather than killing her the emperor wants her to marry the MMC crown prince - but she’s already in love with someone else. What’s a girl to do?!

The storyline has plenty of twists, turns & several POVs as new characters are introduced. Personally I would love to see more world building - I felt the pacing slowed down mid-way through but picked up again toward the end.

“Empires rise and empires fall.”

Starting with a strong opening, as a reader we are foretold about the ancient prophecy, there will be a time where the oppression of the supernatural will come to an end. The supernatural being a constant threat to the emperor on his journey of greed and ultimate power. The prophecy highlights a glimmer of hope that after six generations of these tyrants reign, there then shall be hope of change and liberation.

The description of this book was very compelling, the themes of magic, the supernatural as well as politics of war and forbidden love. I was gripped from the start, understanding the depth of a brutal tyrant ruling with an iron fist. It was instantly chilling, with a slither of hope that a revolution is foreshadowed. Our FMC was strong and had good character development. The world building had beautiful descriptions across the Empire, a thoughtful juxtaposition between Wintriness and Imperia, light and dark. I deemed this cleverly considered with the irony being very poignant.

Characters:
The king and queen of Wintriness are tragically beautiful. Their story is almost poetic, deemed a forbidden love yet it was their love that cursed them to their fate. Their story felt like an Easter egg for Aralin’s story to come. Will history repeat itself?

‘The Parents’ (all), it’s the way the princesses lineage is mirrored to her own path, the irony of both relationships hold such power and is heartbreaking when read between the lines, I thought this was beautifully written.

Let’s talk about Zaiden, I wished to have seen more of him as I feel his story is a lot more complicated than let on. The plot seems to almost have rushed over the significance of his bond to the princess and I believe there’s a lot more to be learnt.

The storyline:
I feel conflicted on my opinions about this book as I thoroughly enjoyed the concepts of the storylines and felt they had so much potential but ultimately fell a little flat. For example, Aralin’s true identity, the possibility of betrothal to the emperor, the bond, the dream walking and so forth. There were so many brilliant concepts that would make the plot more engaging but I felt they weren’t executed to their full extent, rather they were glossed over and it became apparent in the writing. For instance, it became almost confusing in which way the story was going or what as a reader we are meant to be fully focusing on as it subtracted to the main plot with all the subplots. The subplots instead deviated away to an extent where it felt as if they were replacing the main plot. I felt this was a shame as I thoroughly enjoyed the subplots and if developed more it would have made the storytelling much more powerful!

For example, the significance of the bond seemed almost rushed upon within both MMC’s storylines, they felt one dimensional. The love interest’s were instant, and that may just be because it’s setting the plot up for book two however it made it harder to connect to the characters on a deeper emotional level. I had hoped to see these love interests with their plot twists explored more fully but that’s a personal preference as a reader.

I enjoyed the story immensely, especially the dream walking. I loved all the different parts to the story and it kept my interest piqued. I would be interested to see how the story continues and whether the points I mentioned above will have more development.

Thank you very kindly to Stella Dale, War of Hearts Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

3,5/5 stars

I think the main idea of the book is quite good, however the writing could be better. There were parts were it was super repetitive and it focused more on telling how the characters felt, than on showing, which made it a bit flat.

There are multiple POVs, but it's stated clearly every chapter, so there was no confusion. I can't say that any POV was boring or that I wanted to skip it, I think the author did a good job there. The story is not moving very fast, but I would have liked a bit more details about some parts, especially the rebellion.

I didn't enjoy the love triangle and I really feel like I could be avoided and transform one relationship into a very strong friendship. And the relationships themselves are a bit too focused on the intimacy aspect for my liking; they feel shallow and not based on a strong understanding or trust, thus making me think about them as unreliable for me.

I also think that showing the learning progress would have added a lot, but there is room for a prequel where we can get to see more of the witchcraft and the relationship between the fmc and her mentor.

All in all, this book has great potential, but the delivery could be way better.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC!
1.5 stars rounded down

So, I know 1 star is a really low rating, and I will start by saying this book didn't do anything egregious. No excessive typos, no huge red flags, nothing terrible. I have nothing to rant about on this book or anything.

I just couldn't start the writing style, personally. It fell flat for me. So much of it was telly and clunky. For example, there's a character telling a tale to the MC, and not only is the dialogue stilted, but in between the paragraphs, it would be broken up by the narrator telling us in a very blunt way how this makes her feel and how powerful the emotions in the air are.

The plot could be good, and if other people can vibe with the writing style, they may enjoy this more than I did. But for me, the writing style just... no.

i enjoyed the idea & plot of the book. one thing that made me rate it lower was much of the book was spent repeating the characters thoughts over & over. most of the book was how the character was feeling,
not so much any action.

This story was quite enjoyable. It had an interesting and unique premise with a few plot twists and interesting characters. I felt some of it could have been done better, like the love triangle felt a little lacking, some scenes fell flat, and overall the pacing of the story was off. It felt like forever for things to start happening then as soon as they do...the book ends. Which is one way for the author to get people to read book two :) but still. It will be interesting to see where this series goes and what happens with our characters in the next one!

This was a great book! The story was very well written and unique. And I could not put it down. I would highly recommend reading this book!

A romantic fantasy with a witch and a witch hunter as well as an unexpected love triangle.

Realm of Dreams and Destiny is a beautifully descriptive story that builds a foundation for the rest of a series. The story follows Aralin, a princess who embarks on a journey of finding her true self while doing what is best for her family. While the premise of a witch and a witch hunter was interesting, the execution left me with mixed feelings.

The book is multi-POV and I enjoyed seeing all of the different perspectives of the characters in this book . Seeing multiple perspectives of characters in the book, gave more insight into the story and set a good foundation for the rest of the series to build on.

A lot of the narrative of this story happens through the character’s inner dialogue and while that would seem to help in getting to know the characters very well and see the world through their eyes, it just got to be a bit frustrating. I would have preferred to have more dialogue between the characters.

The relationship between Aralin and Ezerick is central to the story, yet it felt a bit underdeveloped. Despite frequent mentions of their deep connection, the flashbacks showing their interactions are few and lack the emotional depth needed to make their bond believable. As a result, their love story comes across as superficial. This could be changed as the two characters relationship develops in the second book.

I do believe that this book has promise and could develop into an interesting series!

I would like to thank NetGalley, War of Hearts Publishing and the author for providing me with an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you SOOOOO, SO much to War of Hearts Publishing, Stella Dale and NetGalley for this Arc! ❤

Rating:3/5
Spice: 1/5
(2 open door scenes)

Recommended for the Folks who like:
- Witches x Witch Hunter - Vampires & Werewolves - Family Secrets - Love Triangles - Multi POV - Forbidden Love - Insta Love -

Summary w/ No Spoilers
Emperor Highborn, rules Imperia with an iron fist. In his quest to conquer all, he's outlawed any and all mystical beings and he's making money moves by strategically announcing his son's engagement to the princess of Wintriness Aralin... who just so happens to be a witch who lives in a kingdom that sits on some resources the Emperor wants.

Summary w/ Spoilers:
Welcome to Imperia, where the sun is always shining (almost), the animals are exotic and the Emperor it's home to is freaking mad. Emperor Highborn, yes that is literally their family name, has let power go to his head and he has set out on the never ending quest of gaining more and conquering all, and he's done so by eradicating all mystical beings- witches, vampires, werewolves are to be killed onsite.... well unless you want to fight for him. 😈
Any who, Aralin, our FMC and princess of Wintriness is a witch *pause for the gasps* and naturally, the Emperor has announced she is to marry his son Crown Prince Ezerick (MMC), to her dismay, because she is totally in love with someone already, oh and of course because she's a witch and can't go live with the emperor. Following the announcement Aralin begins plotting against the proposal and it's on this journey she meets this vampire, Zaiden (MMC #2), who lays plan 'b' on the table... instead of focusing on breaking the proposal, join my army, we're killing the emperor. So Aralin spends the entirety of the book juggling her options: Marry the Crown Prince, risking being found out as a witch, or join this mystical creature uprising!

My Critique:
The plot was compelling, I found myself interested in how everything panned out, but the execution just didn't get me there. There was a lot of internal dialogue that felt choppy and redundant, but when tides started shifting, my attention was caught.

Characters felt one dimensional and the chemistry between love interests just wasn't there for me personally, as I'm not a fan of "insta-love".

I'm normally a fan of the multi-pov, but I feel like we added too many that weren't always relevant. I feel like there are far more compelling ways to express what was portrayed in the Emperor and Empress' POVs. Like, Marrying Aralin to the Emperor would have had my jaw on the floor and leaving the Empress' backstory elusive until the tide turns on Highborn would have been chefs kiss.

Realms of Dreams and Destiny
By Stella Dale
I would give this 3.5 stars if it was an option.
First, I would like to thank War of Hearts Publishing and Stella Dale for allowing me to read the ARC of Realms of Dreams and Destiny.
I truly enjoyed reading Aralin’s story, and a good love triangle is always a plus. I do feel that where the books ends, could have been the middle of the first book of the trilogy. It seemed to finally begin to take off, and then it was over. I am very interested in the second book, and can’t wait to see what unfolds for Aralin, Ezerick and Zaiden.

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

While this was easy to read, I don't feel there was any real world or character building. The book took place in the span of a monthish and the relationships felt a little instalovey to me. I think as a result, the spice scenes were kind of weird to me and didn't really add to the story.

I give this a 3.5 I loved the direction this story is moving but the love triangle is confusing to. I found parts of it lagging but then I also found parts of it happening to fast and acceptance of situations coming to easily. I am still left holding out hope for Arabian and Ezerick. I feel like their love story with transcend this story to higher levels but at the same time it feels as if the that may not happen as week. I wish they would have had a better meet and the Emperor would have revealed his plan instead of it ending the way it did. That left me fairly disappointed in the ending. I look forward to reading book tho though and seeing if my hope for the characters ends up happening.

This book was so well written. Stella Dale made such a good job when she created this story. The characters are so beautiful and well created. The plot was immaculate. Loved!

This story to me just wasn’t what I wanted. The magic was interesting and I could see the potential of it. I had a hard time getting into the story though. Aralin was my favorite character, I enjoyed her, nothing against the MMC’s, I just felt like I couldn’t believe their interests. I liked the prophecy in the beginning because it was such a cool way to set up knowing that there will be chaos to come, but not enough happened for me to care. I might come back because again I want to give this a chance, but it was hard for me.

Thank you so much for the arc! 🫶🏼

I'm torn about this story.

The ideas are sound, and the writing is enjoyable. I think the FMC is a good character and she definitely holds it all together for me. I also enjoy MMC#2 of the love triangle and feel he's a better match than MMC#1. Obviously, the prophecy and the moving pieces are leading toward war and overthrowing the current emperor. This leads to a lot of potential with action and development.

Unfortunately, it fell flat. I struggled with the pacing of the story. Half of the book went by, and I felt like nothing had happened at all. The story ends and I feel like that's when things are starting to happen, but then nothing really happened. There is a lot of telling (instead of showing) and inner character dialogue. I didn't feel like the inner dialogue really did anything since plot-wise nothing was given the chance to develop. I wanted the FMC to get to her arranged marriage and get into those conflicts with the emperor, but it waited until the end of the book, and even then, it ends before they actually get to meet.

Also, the story basically takes place over a month or so while the FMC is waiting to be taken to her arranged marriage. I think because of that time span, the love interests and the development of those suffer and aren't quite believable as deep connections. I struggled to really connect to characters in a plot that is predictable. This book feels like it's setting everything up for all the good stuff in book 2, however, with nothing of substance in book 1, it's hard to see a better plotline and development for book 2.

Oh, also, those few chapters of love scenes - SPOILERS - in dreams and playing pretend with people...IYKYK, that just didn't do it for me. Putting those scenes in a book to say they're there, doesn't do a lot. I read them and felt awkward for the FMC as well as for the MMC who are doing things that they probably wouldn't do in the first place. The tension prior to these scenes is really well done in developing a love triangle, and then those scenes really set it backwards.

I want to really like this book. Truly. But I'm not sure I'll read book 2.

this love triangle is the first in awhile that has me confused on who to root for! the writing is really unique and magical albeit unbelievable when aralin is 15 (few chapters). readers follow royalty, betrayal, love, and the supernatural. three perspectives are included (aralin, zaiden and ezerick) that flow really nicely and compliment each other. sure, there are nice twists but that cliffhanger? oh you know i will be reading book 2 immediately! 4 stars super fun fantasy romance read

(that one scene with zaiden and the dreamleaf was SPICY.. readers beware haha)

thank you stella dale & netgalley for the ARC!