He was the deception waiting in the night; the truth I never saw coming. After a lifetime of manipulation, I finally learned the truth. I was his puppet—even if I never saw my strings. Holy shit! I don't even know how to begin this review. To say I enjoyed this book is an extreme understatement. Holly Renee impressed the hell out of me with this creative, engaging, perfectly paced, captivating fantasy romance. but thats not a bad thing because my enjoyment came from the res

Betrothed to the crowned prince of Citlali, Gavril Achlys, the Starblessed, Adara, is taken to Achlys Palace to fulfill her destiny. Every Starblessed is born with the ability to awaken the dormant and lethal magic that hides within a fae. From what we’ve been told for years, you are the key to guaranteeing our safety.” Gavril is presented to us as if he is kind and wants to really help Adara adjust to the life she will live with him but in reality, you can see the red flags from the get-go. He is horrible deep down and only craves power, he could care less about Adara and it is evident in the way he forces her to be held by his guards as he feeds from her after he promised it would only happen AFTER they got married. It was assault and the fact his mother (the Queen) was present in the room and has absolutely no remorse for doing any of this speaks volume. I was so invested in the characters and their chemistry that it was impossible not to be drawn into their stories and the way the fantasy history organically revealed itself made this such a bingeable book.I’m sorry my love for this book took me by COMPLETE surprise! Like I loved this fantasy romance… good characters, interesting plot that was super easy to get hooked into, HELLA spice and tension, and Evren🥵 Absolutely loved this. This was fast paced and so much fun to read, I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed every second of this. The synopsis of this book doesn't really encompass the book that well. It makes it seem like Evren is the villain and that this will be an enemies to lovers romance, but that really isn't true. Yes, he dabbles in the darkness and is set apart from his family, he has a huge heart. The way he protects Adara and cares for the kingdom perfectly represents this. He and Adara had a connection from the first moment they met so it's definitely not enemies to lovers. It's more: I like you, I feel a connection but I don't want to betray my kingdom or my future husband. That latter part doesn't last long when her betrothed shows his true colours. What was happening? WHY was it happening? WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE IT WAS HAPPENING? WHAT IS THIS BOOK EVEN ABOUT???

I mean, it's eerily close to From Blood and Ash (book 1) if you substitute the word "Maiden" with "Starblessed." The plots are basically the same, down to the exact same cliffhanger ending. Born and raised in East Tennessee, she is a married mom of two wild children. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, pretending to be a dragon for the hundredth time that day, being disgustingly in love with her husband, or chilling in the middle of the lake with her sunglasses and a float. This needed heavy editing and could've probably been cut in half because the pining and yearning and "we can't be together because XYZ even though we've had literally every opportunity to run away up until now" was just repeated again and again. I get tired of that, y'all. I'd hope within the 4 hours it took to read SOMEONE would get smart and start making the right decisions. Also, why does there have to be an Evren and a Ren? Why do fantasy books always have characters with very similar names? It drives me nuts.The queen can only see what I allow her, princess. I may be the bastard prince, but I still have power.” The plot is slow to develop, and focuses a lot more on relationships rather than plot movement. But there is action and suspense so I never got bored.