Oh my goodness me, I don't think I have devoured a book like I did this.

From start to finish, I was transfixed by this book. From the world to the plot, to these intriguing characters. I honestly had so much joy reading this. I loved the changing povs between our two main characters Faraine and Vor. I especially love how from Faraine's POV we get to see how the world is for her as a human in both the human and the trolde. The same goes for Vor, I loved seeing the difference between him going to the human realm for the first time versus how he is in his own.

The slow burn was positively slow and burning, I can not tell you how many times I just wanted Faraine and Vor to be together. Honestly, it was painful in a good way, to read. The moment you feel like something good would happen between these two, something bad or terrible happens and the frustration kicks in.

The way the plot unfolded and unraveled into how the book ended left me brokenhearted and just wanting everything to go back to being good. But still, I kind of liked where the book was headed and I know for sure I need to read book 2 just to see if anything at all gets better for Faraine and Vor. My heart says yes, but my brain says it probably won't.

I never knew what to expect going into this book, but honestly so glad I picked it up as it did not disappoint!! I recommend this for those who was a book with easy to read writing, well developed characters and a unqiue world and magic system.

4.5 stars
⁣
This book was so addictive and I quickly fell in love with the story and the characters! Honestly I could gush about this book for hours and I'm already desperate to read the next one as I need to know what happens. ⁣
⁣
I really liked the world building and think Sylvia has done an amazing job describing the scenic worlds that we get to see. I loved the character development for both of our main characters and I feel like have dual povs really helped increase this as we got to see how both sides were dealing with the situations they found themselves in. ⁣
⁣
If you're a fan of fantasy romance then I really recommend picking this one up! I'm eager to see what happens with Faraine and Vor in the next book! ⁣
⁣
Thank you so much to Daphne Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fairaine is the forgotten daughter of a king in trouble. She fades into the background and, as far as the king is concerned, is of little use to him or the kingdom. However, Fairaine is blessed/cursed with a ‘God’s gift’ of being able to feel other peoples emotions. This often overwhelms her and so living in the background, being banished to a convent is not really that bad. When she is called home and rescued by Vor after an attack by the Fae, Fairaine must come to terms that her path may be different to what she expected.

Vor is the shadow king, the king of the Troldefolk and he needs a treaty with Fairaine’s kingdom. He has problems that only human magic can solve. To achieve this, he will marry one of Fairaine’s sisters. However, Vor has an instant connection with Fairaine.

Can Vor pursue Fairaine instead of one of her sisters? Will both Vor and Fairaine be able to sacrifice what is needed for their kingdoms?

This was a lovely book with mild angst. While the whole premise of the book is angsty, the angst is as deep and as painful as it could have been. I appreciated this as I was not in the mood for lots of angst. I also really liked how the characters were built and how they developed over the life of the story. There was only minor spice, however, this was not closed door or fade to black. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Daphne Press and Sylvia Mercedes for this early release copy.

A fun read about Vor and Faraine who face many obstacles in this fantasy world.

I liked the writing, but the plot lacked structure and I didn't like Vor's actions towards Faraine. He was strange and I liked the slow burn but it felt too instant love-like at the beginning, and wasn't a slow build up as promised, although it did take them a while to get together.

A fun read, but world lacked structure. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the e-arc!

Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes is the first book in the Shadow King trilogy.

I’m not sure where I sit with this book. I loved the chemistry between Vor and Fairaine, but there were some themes in the story I wasn’t keen on and I wished they were mentioned under some triggers. * pretending to be someone else while doing the “act”.

I do want to read the next books in the series but I don’t think I’ll be racing out and reading them.

Thanks Netgalley and Daphne Press for the digital copy of Bride of the Shadow King for reviewing purposes.

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Daphne Press. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Bride of the Shadow King.]

Rating: 2.5/5

Up until the 50% mark, I was sure this story would have been a 3.5/4 star read. The pacing worked well and I was really interested to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, after this point the plot takes a dark turn that I wasn’t expecting. The final copy may differ but I’d have appreciated some trigger warnings on what to expect because I’d have known immediately that this wouldn’t have been the book for me. I also struggled with some formatting issues that made this tricky to get through at times. That being said, for the most part the story was fairly enjoyable and I managed to get through it pretty quickly.

Bride of the Shadow King follows Princess Faraine, the eldest daughter to the king of a region experiencing a great deal of turmoil. Faraine is shunned from court as she is considered a liability to the crown but is called back to convince her younger sister to marry King Vor, hoping to secure an alliance that will help protect the human kingdom. When Faraine and Vor meet there’s an undeniable spark between them both, but they both must bury these feelings for the good of their kingdoms.

There were definitely some elements of this story that I enjoyed such as the dual POVs and the marriage of convenience trope. Unfortunately, the story developed in such a way I just couldn’t get behind. I also felt that Faraine and Vor sounded quite similar in their POVs and I’d have liked for them to have stronger individual voices. The worldbuilding and supporting characters also fell a little flat for me but I did like that we weren’t overloaded with information as the story progressed.

This wasn’t the book for me but I’m certain there’s a lot of people that will enjoy Bride of the Shadow King if they know what they’re going into.

This book is so incredibly good. It's a wonderfully fast-paced Romance Fantasy novel and this story kept me SO engaged.

In the first chapter there was a battle, and after that there was just tension that did not go away for the entire book! That's one of the main reasons I read this so fast. I just had to know what happened next.

The two main characters can't be together, but their instant connection made that an absolutely heart wrenching storyline that I ate upppp. So much so that I was hoping some people would die just for the main characters to be together.

The worldbuilding was also very nice. There were no info dumps, but the world was still very original (or at least the trolden part). You get little tidbits that make stuff come alive while keeping you guessing for more.

The only negative for me was that there was hardly any spice or forbidden moments. I'm not lowering my rating over it or anything, but I was kind of expecting it and was sorta disappointed. Although there are two more books, so I'm still holding out hope for a nice spicy scene between these 2 in the sequels.

I would recommend this book to any romantasy readers, but if you are a fellow bridge kingdom fan, you will for sure love this book as well.

I adore the chemistry development between the main characters, a political arranged marriage, a chance of romance with a twist of betrayal, this is a slow burn and I feel you should read the whole series back to back due to the slow pacing. can't wait to read the rest as this ends on a cliffhanger!

Fantasy romance to sweep you away 🥰

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶0.5 -1 ( some heavy kissing and touching,it was hot tho 🥵)

🥀Marriage for alliance
🥀strong female characters
🥀Slow burn
🥀Magical powers
🥀forced proximity
🥀Great plot
🥀Angst
🥀mutual pining
🥀betrayal

I adored this story, Historical fantasy romance is my weakness and to find one done well is rare.

I appreciate the type of language used( no modern slang) and absolutely swooned when he called her my lady 🤤 And I don't always love it but this time I appreciated the dual pov, it gave both characters more depth.

🥰🥰"Have no fear, my lady."🥰🥰

The mutual pining in the first half of this book was EVERYTHING ,and I'm not one for pining in my romances, but this was beautiful.

The slow burn and chemistry between these two was cooking me from the inside out and I don't even care that we didn't really get any spice this book.

🥀🥀🥀
"I meet and hold her gaze. There’s courage in her eye, unexpected and defiant. She may not be a warrior; that doesn’t mean she’s weak."
🥀🥀🥀


The only thing that gave me a slight ick was
.
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ Spoiler ahead ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️



When he had been trying so hard to convince himself he was now happy with his choice and getting aroused by what he thought was the sister , instead it was our fmc who was deceiving him, it just gave me some non consensual ick feelings about the whole thing.

And I yes I know he secretly loves and wishes it was the fmc , but yeah that was just a bit squeemy to me.

🥀🥀🥀
“Ah! That explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“How your human men may pretend they are stronger than their women. If they acknowledged what women endure simply to bring life into the world, they would necessarily have to adjust their thinking.”

I stare at him. I cannot help it. Never in my life have I heard a man speak as he does.
🥀🥀🥀

But what I did love about the second half of this book was the action, mystery of what is happening in the trolde land.

The relationship Faraine had with her sisters aswell is also very beautifully written, I'm so used to the sisters of the fmc being really bitchy or jealous that it was lovely to see such a great bond there instead.

🥀🥀🥀
"I loved you. I believe I love you still. Even now. Even now."
🥀🥀🥀


I loved this book and I already know its going to kill me to wait to get my hands on book 😫

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher. This is my honest review.

I liked this book, but it wasn’t what I was “sold”.

The blurb boasts a tale of love and betrayal with sweet and spice. The book I read had little to none of any of this, except the betrayal. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I enjoyed the book. The story was politically motivated, it had a unique magic system, and the world building was beyond fascinating. The plot was interesting and it kept me reading, and a touch of shock during my read only added to it.

I really felt for Faraine’s plight, with her crippling God-Given power and awful parents. The sacrifices she was forced to make were terrible, but she did them regardless of her own happiness. I thought Lyria was an interesting character, with her calculating wit. She seemingly shifted from cold to “touch her and die” pretty quickly but naturally, given the circumstances. It makes me feel like she has a bigger part to play in this story.

The reason this is 3 stars for me and not 4, is the lack of romance. This is marketed as a romance book for fans of A Deal with the Elf king and The Bridge Kingdom. I’d argue it’s more for fans of The Cruel Prince, with all the politics, betrayals, and deceptions. Where romance isn’t at its core, but a subplot, touched upon. This book was very “insta love, they touched once, didn’t talk to each other ”. Hence 3 stars, would’ve been higher if this was marketed correctly as it got my hopes up; I was ready for the Fae romance.

I will be reading book two because, as previously stated, the story is good! And maybe the romance part will play a bigger role in book two? Regardless, I’m interested to see how Faraine and Vor deal with the fall out!

Thank you to Daphne Press, Netgalley, and Sylvia for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

For those of you looking for your next adult fantasy romance series, with a bit of a slow burn for the first book, then this might just be what you are looking for. I rather enjoyed this - a couple who are initially very attracted to each other, but have several legitimate obstacles in their way. There's also some mystery and secrets and deception both at the personal level and in the overall worldbuilding/plot which makes me want to read the next book when it comes out.

I do have a couple of problems though, mainly with how the book transitions between the two main characters' point of view. I am fine with multiple narrators generally speaking, but it annoys me when one chapter ends and the beginning of the next chapter forces you to rewind in time and read part of the same scene from the previous chapter, only now it's from another character's point of view. I think the timeline should always move forward, I don't like it when the timeline moves back and forth just so you can see the same scene from two points of view. Their thoughts are not interesting enough to have to read part of the same scene twice.

I hadn't read anything by Sylvia before and this was a pleasant introduction to her writing.

I really liked the idea of there being a world with different races but it being via unexpected portals to other dimensions which has obviously been done a lot before in the fantasy genre but I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

The interactions between Vor and Faraine are very well written with their being different races and having separate customs and yet inexplicably drawn together.

Everything happens very quickly, between the coming to court, all the negotiations happening and then the rest of the dramas happening with the journey to the marriage ceremony in the Under Realm.

I had absolutely no idea where on earth the story was going to go with a whole lot of things happening all at the same time which was a little confusing but it worked out ok in the end. A whole pile of things brought up that I need to know what is going to happen next!

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for an early e-copy of this to read.

"Bride of the Shadow King" is the first volume of the fantasy romance series of the same name, written by Sylvia Mercedes and currently in progress.

The story follows Princess Faraine, oldest daughter of the King of Gavaria, shunned by the court and kept out of sight. A life in the background, housed in a distant and isolated monastery because of some sort of chronic illness that makes her a liability to the crown. Faraine has accepted her situation, resigned herself to it, learning to give place to her beautiful, young and favored sister Ilsevel. When the beautiful and enigmatic Shadow King, by arrangements, travels to Gavaria to seek a bride of royal blood, Faraine is not surprised that the choice falls on her sister. Unfortunately, Ilsevel opposes the union, and Faraine is called back to court to persuade her to cooperate. On the way her company is attacked by brutal and terrible fae and only the intervention of the Shadow King and his group, themselves headed for Gavaria, prevents her death. Although he is not eager to take a human bride, King Vor is determined to do what is necessary for the sake of his people. When he meets the lively Princess Ilsevel, he quickly agrees to a marriage arrangement. However, despite the few fleeting meetings, Vor cannot get Faraine out of his mind. When disaster strikes and the marriage alliance is compromised, Faraine suddenly finds herself forced to take her sister's place, regardless of her new husband's wishes. Stuck in a role she did not ask for, forced to untangle herself in a potentially dangerous situation, Faraine finds it difficult to ignore her growing feelings for Vor and cannot help but wonder if she will be able to find a place as his queen or if his heart will close forever to the woman who so cruelly deceived him.

Wow, I loved this book! I started out hesitant and I confess that, at first, I was convinced that I would not like it. However, along the way, I have become more and more passionate about the story, to the point where I found myself unable to tear myself away from the pages. I found it to be a compelling, intriguing and exciting read capable of absorbing me completely. Okay, I think it has its flaws, but still it pleasantly surprised and won me over!

I liked the writing a lot! I found it quite captivating, tantalizing and engaging, able to keep my attention for the entire duration of the book. The effective descriptions, the presence of incisive situations and brilliant dialogue entertained me completely. The extremely smooth pace, accompanied by the presence of short chapters and a general simplicity of the text, in my opinion made it an easy read to follow and devour. I found myself gripped by the story, eager to continue, with no moments of boredom or feelings of dragging. Seriously, I almost didn't realize I had finished it, precisely because I didn't feel any sense of heaviness!

I found the world building to be fascinating, full of potential, but not much exploited. The book prefers to focus on the characters and their characterization, at the expense of the setting. Which fits perfectly and in fact did not bother me. I did not start this read looking for detailed world building, but rather for good characters and a great romance, about which I cannot complain at all. This, however, does not mean that the story is in disarray, without any definite structure, just that the information provided is basic. For example, it is told that the world of humans is threatened by the constant attacks of cruel and brutal fae, who want to eliminate them and take control of their lands. Among the mortal kingdoms, that of Gavaria is the most fierce in its efforts to repel the fae, which is why its king is willing to make a deal with the trolde, giving his favorite daughter Ilsevel in marriage to the troldefolk ruler and promising the help of his skilled mages in exchange for soldiers for the war against the fae. The trolde, in turn, are a race characterized mostly by considerable height, more or less blue skin and white hair, who live in the Under Realm. An entirely underground realm, a completely different world than the human one. In the literal sense, since the only way to get from one to the other is through magical portals. The trolde are struggling with problems that are threatening their territory and their people, which is the reason why Vor, the Shadow King, is so concerned that he forms an alliance with the human king of Gavaria, agreeing to marry his favorite daughter and send soldiers to wage war against the fae, in exchange for the help of his human mages. I found the setting of the Under Realm very interesting and I was fascinated by the mythology of the troldelfolk. As well as I was intrigued by the peculiar magic represented. I look forward to discovering more!

The plot proceeds fast and fluently, full of intrigues, subterfuges and machinations. Basically, this first book revolves around the deal between the King of Gavaria and the Shadow King, sealed through an arranged marriage, with all that goes with it. It is not an action-packed story, except for a few scattered events here and there, but one that focuses on power plays, court politics, and obviously romance. In my opinion this is a very good narration, taking its time to analyze the various elements, without haste. In the end it definitely left me satisfied and intrigued, so much so that I can't wait to read the sequel!

Faraine and Vor, protagonists with their respective first-person povs, won me over! Faraine is a princess, firstborn of the king of Gavaria, shunned from court and sent to a remote monastery, out of sight. All because of some sort of chronic illness, which according to many, including her father, makes her a burden to the realm. Faraine is now used to living in the background, on the margins, resigned to her particular condition. A condition that makes it very difficult for her to be around people and interact with them. Faraine is a character who has been through a lot, to whom I am particularly attached. She is a sweet, determined and loyal person, who would do anything for those she cares about. She is introverted, refractory to crowds, and because of her particularity she lives best in solitude and quiet. Yet, at times, she feels terribly lonely. Grappling with parents who despise her and consider her a useless burden, especially her father, she has a deep affection for her younger sisters. Faraine has an extremely sensitive soul, marked by sufferings, which she tries to hide so as not to upset the people who love her. I don't know, I loved it so much in its complexity and humanity and she moved me a lot. I look forward to following its further development!

Vor, on the other hand, is the Shadow King, Lord Protector of the Under Realm and ruler of the troldefolk. An extremely complex character, with his own inner contrasts, whom I loved so much! I can't say much gosh, so as not to give spoilers, but I found him beautifully characterized! Help, he totally hooked me!

The romance between Faraine and Vor captivated me! And I was totally not expecting it! In practice it is an insta-love of the really insta ones and well...I hate insta-love! It's one of those tropes I just can't stand, at the top of my list of least favorite tropes. Yet, in this book, the romance convinced me! Okay, I admit that initially I was desperate and was sticking my hands in my hair, ready to tear it out, sure I couldn't do it. However, continuing in the narration, I changed my mind. Yes, I rolled my eyes repeatedly at certain overly sweet and cheesy reflections after only a day or two of knowing each other, but excluding that I loved it! True, it starts as an insta-love, but soon becomes a very sloooow slow burn due to various events and vicissitudes. The spark ignites immediately, but there is no follow through because of the arranged marriage and the deal between the two kingdoms: Vor must marry Ilsevel if he wants to help his folk, and Faraine must step aside for the welfare of her people. It is a thwarted relationship, crushed by duties and responsibilities, that sent me into juices! Faraine and Vor have so much chemistry, their interactions enraptured me and gee, I have suffered and need to have more! There is a touch of spicy which I rather appreciated and which clearly melted me.

I liked the secondary characters, some for the better and some for the worse. In particular, I liked Lyria and her conflicted relationship with Faraine and then Sul, brother of Vor and Hael, captain of his guards and friend of both. I found them interesting, well analyzed, and then oh well, I made all these mental movies that I hope will come true!

All in all, I found it a highly captivating start of a series that I recommend to lovers of fantasy romance!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

The blurb of Bride of the Shadow King sounded like this would be exactly my kind of romantasy novel, but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me. The writing style was easily readable, and I enjoyed the worlds Mercedes created, which were filled with magic and fantastical creatures – I mean licorne riders on unicorns with flaming horns…
However, I struggled to connect with the main characters and felt that they weren’t that well developed. Faraine as a character was very much limited by her gift (which was never fully explained), as well as being the obedient daughter who went along with everything her father demanded of her. I wasn’t a huge fan of Vor’s for his quick dismissal of Faraine after he learnt of her deception.
Overall, it felt very much link this book set up the story for the rest of the series, and I’m invested enough after the cliffhanger ending to see where it goes next, even if it wasn’t a new favourite series starter.
Thank you to Daphne Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review an eARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ecopy.

I absolutely loved this fantasy romance. It was well written and the characters were well developed. The world building was creative and vividly described. The journey this novel took me on was great and I look forward to reading more from this series.

I absolutely adore this book- has everything that I love in a Fantasy Romance!!

The world was well developed and I adored the characters!! I was gripped straight from the start- I couldn’t put the book down!

I can’t wait to read more from this author🩷

(First of all, thank you Edelweiss, and Simon & Schuster for sending me this DRC in exchange for an honest review)

Synopsis: Princess Faraine lives in the background, shunned from court and kept out of sight. Her chronic illness makes her a liability to the crown, and she has learned to give place to her beautiful, favored younger sister in all things. When the handsome and enigmatic Shadow King comes seeking a bride, Faraine is not surprised that her sister is his choice.
Though not eager to take a human bride, King Vor is willing to do what is necessary for the sake of his people. When he meets the lively Princess Ilsevel, he quickly agrees to a marriage arrangement. So why can’t he get the haunting eyes of her older sister out of his head?
When disaster strikes and the marriage alliance is compromised, Faraine suddenly finds herself forced to take her sister’s place . . . regardless of her new husband’s desires. Can she find a place at Vor’s side as his queen? Or is his heart forever closed to the cruel woman who deceived him?

Review: This dual POV fantasy romance has a good premise. I was here for the man who has to marry one sister but fall for the other. The first and final part kept me reading non-stop, however, I struggled with the middle part. There were things I would have done differently and others that I didn't like because I felt them out of nowhere.
So my final rating is 2.5 stars.

Bride of the Shadow King is the newest book by Sylvia Mercedes and also a start in a new series. The cover of this book is just stunning and I found the synopsis really appealing. I really was looking forward to reading this book and had some expectations, but will they come true?

A shunned princess. A reluctant king. A marriage that could save both their kingdoms... but destroy their hearts.

Princess Faraines is kept to the background and out of sight from the court. Her gods-gift makes her a liability to the crown and has accepted her place. Her younger sisters are more favored and seem to be the perfect fit for an arranged marriage. When the Shadow King comes seeking a bride, Faraine therefore is not surprised her father chooses Ilsevel to be the perfect candidate. However King Vor isn't eager to take a human bride, but he has to do this for the sake of his people. He soon agrees to marry Ilsevel, but why can't he get her older sister Faraine out of his head? Will he find a way to be happy with a human wife? Can he protect his people?

Due to the synopsis I was expecting a book about family issues and having to deal with a chronical illness. However this isn't what you get at all. Yes, the family does have family issues and has put Faraine away like she is a kind of Rapunzel. It really isn't clear at all that she has a chronical illness since it is only said her gods-gift is more of a curse than a gift. However nothing about some illness is mentioned at all, which really is a disappointment for me. I do like the fact that this book also has some Rapunzel vibes as well.

Faraine has met the Shadow King before she was supposed to and they both keep thinking about each other. However her sister must marry him while she doesn't want to. In addition Vor also doesn't want Ilsevel, he wants Faraine yet still agrees. When there are some plot twists coming, these just speak against the events that happened before. I found that the storyline had some inconsistencies and plot holes which I just found a shame. The storyline itself however is good, I just missed some parts in it.

Sylvia Mercedes does have a nice writing style with a good pace. The charachters are worked out just a bit, which I hope will be more in the books to come. The worldbuilding however is good.

In my opinion this book has a good potential but still lacks to much. I really hope this will improve in the next books and am curious about these parts as well. Even though this author has written many books before I do think there is room for some improvement, especially when it comes to the storyline itself. Therefore I give Bride of the Shadow King a 3 star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I've learned that I can't do blue people. It doesn't work for me, and even worse, all the trolldes (not trolls that's a slur apparently) have the worst names. Mercedes may as well have named them like Yuck and Blech because they're all called variations of Yok, Umog Zu, and Gol. I get that they're trolls but if I'm supposed to root for them please give them actual names not the sounds of coughing.

Faraine is a pretty boring heroine who somehow falls in love with Vor in two five minute meetings and yet lies to him for essentially no reason. There's no threat or impetus for her to keep her identity secret. She likes him, he likes her, she thinks he's a good guy, and she doesn't want to lie to him. So why keep it from him? Because he might be mad. Guess that excuses almost tricking him into sleeping with her when he doesn't know who she really is. Like he fully believes she's a different person. Really on the border of a crime there.

There's not really a lot of plot. Or character development. It's sort of just "this thing then this thing", and even at 2/3rds of the way through, I had little to no information about the worlds or the characters. I didn't know Faraine's godsgift or why Vor needs to get married to use human mages. And those are the characters' main motivations.

At one point, Faraine is almost murdered and I was sort of rooting for it, just so something interesting would happen. . Vor and Faraine are so insta-love and such non-characters that I just didn't care. I really didn't get what was going on and I probably won't bother reading the next one to be honest. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for Goodreads.

Worldbuilding:
In a war-ravaged land where humans battle the fae and the human king is desperately searching for an alliance through marriage to his second daughter and a new army to aid him against his enemy, he may have found a worthy party, the Shadow King. Unfortunately, well, not unfortunately, otherwise we wouldn't have a story, King Vor meets the other daughter, and well... on with the show!
Scenes and environments were well described and clear. There is no information dump as we start this journey. Faraine left her father's court a few years ago, so we learn alongside her the ins and outs of who is who and what is happening in the world.

Character development:
Faraine is unlike her sisters; she doesn't have a gods-gift that wows and bedazzles everyone. Instead, hers gives her endless pain from feeling all the emotions of people around her. After a disastrous courtship, her father deems her useless and ships her to a convent. Out of sight, out of mind. Only when her younger sister rebels against a forced marriage is she led back to calm her sister. Not much more than a servant to her father and the kingdom, she bows and does what is expected.
I love Faraine. She is a wonderful woman who has been hurt and treated unfairly for so long. Nobody understands her or what she feels or is going through. I mean, it's not like it's her fault the gods have granted her her particular gift! I'm rooting for her to find peace and the love she deserves!

Vor, the Shadow King, half-human king of the trolde, is on his way to claim his bride and forge an alliance his people desperately need. Strange things are happening in the Shadow Realm, and only magic that the king's Misphates possess can aid them. He loves his people fiercely and would do anything to protect them, even if that is not marrying the princess he wants.
Vor has my heart beating overtime! I mean... gentle and caring but still with the skills and presence of a king. Sign me up!
The whole situation in this book is... well, I won't spoil anything, but it could have gone so differently! AAARRGGHHH! I feel for both Faraine and Vor, actually, for everyone except a certain king and a certain stepmother...
I hope fate will be kinder to our couple in the next installments.

Of course, many other side characters are essential to the story, and I'm delighted to say that every single one of them felt real and alive, with his (or her) hopes and dreams and reasoning of what they did or did not do throughout the book. Will Yok finally get to go on a mission and return unscathed? Will Hael get her wish and get it on with Sul? (I'm rooting for you, Hael!).
I look forward to reading more about them in the next book.

Pacing and flow:
The story starts fast, mellows out quite a bit with a few nail-biting chapters here and there.. and then, that end... It's not a cliffhanger per se, but very nearly.
The book kept my attention throughout, and I didn't want it to end. There is a great balance between the conversations and all the action.

The book:
The book was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is no sex described, though there are several heated scenes (if that is important to you).
The book has 498 pages with points of view from both Faraine and Vor.

Final thoughts:
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the author, and I have to say I can't wait to read the next installment; my heart hurts... but the next book is out, so I'll be diving into that one and have my fingers crossed.