I have so many mixed feelings about this book.

What I liked:
* The morally gray FMC
* The heroine/villain push & pull dynamic, unsure of where she’d truly land
* The fae & witch magic systems & their separate worlds
* The possible found family
* The overall plot of the book
What I didn’t love:
* The MMC POV chapters felt inauthentic
* Telling vs showing in the writing
* Rushed/gapped storytelling in certain portions & lack of history on the fae & human worlds

The bones are there and I absolutely love having a morally gray FMC. The love interest is good as are the potential found family characters and villains, and I really truly love the plot of the book. But it all kind of fell flat for me. The MMC’s POV chapters felt a little inauthentic. And there was a lot of “telling” the reader what the character was feeling as opposed to showing. If it were written in third person, I think that would make more sense. But both POVs being told in first person I just expected more showing and not telling. The FMC’s POV chapters were definitely better in my opinion and I could really feel her rage and guilt and conflict in her actions. Once the book got going I really was enjoying it and got sucked in, but towards the end I was unsure again. The cliffhanger was great, but again the instances of telling us what was happening rather than showing us through actions of the characters was a little bothersome.

SPOILERS BELOW

I felt conflicted about Rhiannon’s character as well. Zorria and Xander make it seem like they hated her (hence why they tried to kill Ameris when they mistook her for Rhiannon), but then Zorria tells Ameris that she may look like Rhiannon but she’ll never be like her. And it sounds like Xander also was attracted to Rhiannon in some way because of how Zorria says he was always distracted by her. This conflict of emotions may be cleared up in future books, though, and it could just be Zorria’s jealousy shining through. I enjoyed the push and pull of Oberon and Xander with Ameris’ light and dark, and how she came into her own power. I do wish there were a little more training for Ameris because it felt as though she was an expert in her power in the end when she’s not used it much before. Not sure if this was because of the passed knowledge from Rhiannon or what, but it would have been cool to see that developed more! I would have enjoyed more history on the fae and human worlds to understand more of the driving force behind characters actions, but this also may be just to set up for future books. Also, it felt like a really big plot hole when Ameris visited Xander in the dungeon, where I assume shadows are everywhere, but Oberon didn’t show up there when he had in every other scene that she went off on her own in the castle. Overall, I did like it and it felt unique to other fantasy/romantasy books I have read, and I will likely read the next installment.

Link to my goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6659167853?book_show_action=false
I received an ARC from Net galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book, which follows Ameris and her love triangle between Xander and Oberon.
This book was rich with all the juicy elements of a great romantasy: heavy levels of sexual tension, flirty banter, and epic world building. A fae bargain gone awry, blood bounds, and seduction...
Spicy!! A fun and intriguing read that keeps you on your toes engaging banter.