3.5 / 5 stars

I enjoyed this one. It felt like The Selection, but in a more contemporary fantasy setting.

Like some other reviewers, my major criticism of this book is that there's a lot of telling, not a lot of showing. This is especially true of the relationship with Bridget and Cora. We're told how Bridget feels about Cora, but nothing in the book actually happens to explain those feelings. We're told that Cora trained Bridget, but we're given no details, and certainly aren't shown any sort of training happening.

But, getting past that rocky/confusing beginning, the book sucked me in. I thought that Bridget and Cade had good chemistry, and their backstory was really well done. I thought the author struck the right balance between tying up enough threads to feel like we've gotten a complete story while leaving the open threads in a good spot for the next novel in the series.

I think fans of no-spice romantasy will enjoy this book, and I will definitely be picking up the next one in the series.

Bridget Adams is stuck in the fae land of Elyria with no memories of her life before she got there. She's desperate to get back to the human world. And the only way through is through a portal. She's always watched by her coven's leader Cora, and they're constantly on the move. In the seven months she's been in Elyria, she's tried to escape and failed several times. But then Cora forces her to enter into the tournament where she will compete against other girls to try to marry the fae Prince, Cade. But when Cade lays eyes on her, his expression sends shock and confusion through her. Struggling to decide who to trust in this tournament, she tries to get answers for herself. How can she get through the portal to the human world? With recurring nightmares and visions that happen through the tournament, she gets momentary ideas of who she was as a human, before she came to Elyria. And Cade is trying to help her, but why? Who is he really?

I would say this book is probably geared towards young adult. Bridget is 21, and I'm not sure how old Cade is. There is no spice, with one steamy scene throughout the whole book. Is it closed door? I'm not so sure, it doesn't hint or lead to anything that would make it closed door in my opinion. So if you're looking for a fantasy with lots of spice and smut, this is not the book for you. But it didn't need all that in order to keep me reading and enjoying the story.
This book has a lot of world-building dumping at the beginning, but it's short lived. We don't get much of a backstory of how Bridget came to be with Cora, but I have a feeling in the sequel we'll find this out. And on that note, the ending is a huge cliffhanger. I won't give away spoilers. But there has to be another book, I hope.
This book is told in third person, but from Bridget's POV. I'm not a huge fan of third person, but it read like first person. I think it would have worked better if it was told in first person from Bridget's POV.
The character development over time is good. We don't get all the information up front and it's gradual, which keeps you reading. I will try to patiently wait for the next book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, it fit the romantasy genre perfectly which has become my favorite. It has everything you need to make an interesting and unique story - missing memories, witches, a competition, a fae prince, and of course - plot twists. Overall everything in this book was great, the characters, the world, the plot...all fantastic. This did end on a cliffhanger, so prepare to be waiting for book 2 to come out.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! As far as I can tell (I may be wrong) this is the authors first book, and if thats the case its amazing that her first book is this good and I cant wait to read her other works.
I loved that there was multiple types of magical beings and it wasn’t just focused on one, I found the world building good and the story was action packed. I also really liked the characters. I liked how the fmc didn’t let anyone treat her badly and stood up for herself but she was also real and you could see her flaws and weaknesses which made her relatable. I Will be posting this review to my instagram at @beasbookburrowxo and on my story graph account which is also beasbookburrowxo

Review posted on Goodreads on 27/07/24: This is a 5 star read.

eARC Review:

If you like ACOTAR, The Serpent and the Wings of Night & When the Moon Hatched, you will love this!

The story follows a human woman called Bridget, who has been in the Fae realm for some months. When crossing the gate, humans lose their memories and Bridget has no idea how she ended up there. She has been part of a witch coven for the past several months, until she is enlisted into a tournament. The tournament decides who will marry Prince Cade, but with no magic in her veins, it's a deadly dance of survival for Bridget. Not all is what it seems though.

I loved this book. I honestly think that this will blow up on social media once it's released. The writing is great, the plot is unique, the characters are so lovable and the world building is amazing.

Bridget - Even though she's human, she puts up a fight. She cares deeply about the ones she loves and would do absolutely anything to save and care for them. She's a great FMC and I'm really excited to watch her grow.

Cade - He is not your typical brooding prince... he is a softie, a cinnamon roll but has huge 'I will burn the world for her' vibes. You will need to open up a spot for him on your favourite book boyfriends list...

I genuinely cared about the side characters in this. It had me smiling and crying and is truthfully one of my favourite reads of 2024. I'm so excited for the next book!

Held prisoner by a witch, punished for attempting to flee, Bridget has no recollection of how she came to be in this predicament. She has no memories of her life before this at all but when she is told she must compete in a tournament for the hand in marriage to a prince all Bridget can see, is as an opportunity to escape.
This was a wonderful start to a new series. The flow was good as was the character development and the plot kept me engrossed throughout. There were enough twists and suspense to keep the reader engaged and I was swept along by this enjoyable captivating read. I look forward to the next in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.
This one wasn’t for me, even if the premise sounded right up my alley.
I think it should’ve been marketed to the very young side of YA (12-15yo).

An info dump is thrown your way in the first 10% of the book - and I had to reread twice what I had just read. I wanted to DNF but I can’t rate a book I haven’t read. We get an info dump - but crucial informations to further your understanding of the world are withheld.
The thing I struggled with the most is that we get a very slim glimpse of her life with Cora before Bridget is thrown in the tournament. It’s not enough to understand where she’s coming from and her backstory moving forward. She was with Cora for 7 months and their dynamic was off. It would’ve helped if this book started a few days prior to sending Bridget away.
Bridget is clueless in all of this and I had severe second hand embarrassment a few times. She doesn’t ask questions? This was so weird to me. It felt like she purposely wanted to be kept in the clueless section. It definitely didn’t pass the Bechdel Test. There was a lot of pitting women against women.
I couldn’t warm up to the FMC. She was extremely whiny. She kept wanting to run away but as soon as the prince rejected her - she wallowed in self pity when it wasn’t even the plan and she hadn’t even talked to him yet. A lot of inconsistencies.


Reading is subjective and you might like this one. I personally didn’t.