⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars
🌶️🌶️ spice

Favourite Lines:

What's the point of hiding the outer scars, when the inner ones are so much deeper?

He kisses my cheek, my chin, then sets those lovely eyes on me. There's a fire in them, a fire that's life, love, a fire that's the complete opposite of destruction

I wanted that other milk (😂😂 iykyk)

Wow, this was such a good read! I got sucked into this universe, finishing it in less than two days and could not put it down. Now I'm going to be in total despair until I can get my hands on the second installment, which doesn't have a release date yet. I just know I'm going to have a hangover from this book that's going to be so hard to cure.

There's so much to like - the magical universe the author has built, great pace and tension throughout the plot, complex characters who surprise you in unexpected ways, a delicious romantic slow burn full of angst, secrets on secrets, and DARK UNICORNS?! Ugh, it was so good and the cliffhanger is sending me...

There's nothing we love more than a tortured and misunderstood MMC, with dark unimaginable powers and a soft spot for the sassy badass FMC. Astra is totally going to hold her own, and I can't wait to see her burn down the whole world for Marlak when we find out just how powerful she really is.

2 chillis because there were a few main scenes with spice and some others with visions/dreams of initimacy, but mostly tension and build up. It wasn't overly explicit but when you do get to it, it's so worth it. I'm hoping it really ramps up throughout the series.

Tropes:
🦄 Soul Mates
🦄 Slow Burn
🦄 Enemies to Lovers
🦄 Arranged Marriage
🦄 Forced Proximity
🦄 Secret Identities
🦄 Assassins/bodyguards
🦄 Fae
🦄 Magic

My review is also posted on Goodreads!

Thank you for the ARC!! This book took me longer to get through than I thought it would. It was a slow burn but worth it imo. Once I hit about 40%, I knew I was slowly getting to the better, bigger portion of the book. I loved Astra from the get go. I’m still skeptical of Otavio. Buuut Marlak😍

The book ended on a pretty big cliffhanger, so I know I will definitely be continuing this series! The ending is what made me go from a 4 to a 5.

This book is great! It did take me a bit to get into the book in the beginning. But after you get 10% into the book and meet the mmc the book starts picking up. I couldn't put it down! I just wanted to keep seeing what was going to happen next. And can't wait for the next one that cliffhanger is going to drive me insane!
Thank you so much netgally and Day Leitao for letting me review this book loved it so much! 💗

This was a fun fae romance. I really enjoyed the second half of the book. The first half was a little weaker. I think most of that comes from how immature the FMC is. She sounds more like a teenager, both in language and ideation. I however loved Marlak. He is the perfect grumpy, disgraced, fae prince. And I am looking forward to see where things go in book two.

A amazing tale of Enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, spicy sexy dreams, fae, elemental magic. Revealed secrets and so much more! Strong FMC and a grumpy but sweet MMC have the most amazing banter that had me absolutely cracking up at times. A slow burn that is just to die for! This is a journey that I wish I could read again for the first time…my only problem with it is that I will have to wait for what feels like forever for the 2nd book.

This was a fantastic enemies to lovers slow-burn with a wonderfully misunderstood disgraced fae prince MMC and a strong FMC who, although trained in all things guard/assassin, has been largely sheltered from the world she lives in.

There was so much to love about this book, and aside from it having like all of my favorite tropes I think my favorite thing is that I still have so many questions. By the end of the book, we have just started to understand Astra's people, we still don't know the truth of anything in Marlak's past (or his brother's for that matter), and although we know about their soul connection we don't quite know what that means.


I need to know what happens. I don't know when the second book is coming, but I really hope it is soon.

firstly I would like to thank both NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free e-copy arc in exchange for my honest review.

this book, my god this book! at first I found myself intrigued by our fmc Astra, I found myself wanting to know more about her and her circumstances of how she came to be who she is and what she was training for. I loved how the style of writing felt like the was talking to us the reader, it just added just a bit more authenticity and personality to her! Then we enter our snarky mmc Marlak, who just apparently knows the way to my heart!

this story has so much character development, world building, story development - in the first book alone, I just loved it. The way their relationship grows and the tension of watching them slowly understand each other is enthralling and when you get to that bit where you just feel your heart being yanked out of your chest and thinking “surely not, surely this can’t be happening” to be left on such a cliff hanger, just makes you want to devour the next book without waiting for it!

im excited for this book to be released and I hope that people love it just as much as I do!l

DNF at 40%

Unfortunately this was not for me.
What I liked about this book was the plot. It was really interesting and gripping from the start. I got so far because I was constantly curious about what was gonna happen next. And the premise was right up my alley.
What threw me off was the writing style. It felt a bit young, however, this book was NOT young. There were some spicy scenes from early on.
There were a lot of repetitions that at some point started to bother me.
Another issue for me was that the ideas were not structured. The book was written in first person from Astra's(the FMC) point of view and I felt like she was jumping randomly from a thought to another. And while that can be relatable, it is not what I am looking for in a book.
My last issue was that the banter between Astra and Marlak felt like it was done by two 14 year old kids.

I very much enjoyed reading this story as it developed and shocked me with its twist and turns. I feel like the writing style is right up my alley. I will say I wasn’t expecting it to be as steamy as it was. Not that I minded, but just unexpected was all.

This book captivated me within the first chapter! I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. It was also refreshing to read about original themes and plots that I haven’t seen before. Caution, this book does end on a cliff hanger and I’m so sad I don’t have book 2 to read.

Sometimes this booked confused me, but I think that’s what the author wants. Sometimes I couldn’t differentiate between dream and reality, just like the FMC. I cannot wait for book 2 and have this book my first 5 star rating of the year.

I wanted to like this book. So so badly. The idea of fated romance through a dream connection, an enemies-to-lovers trope, and a secret identity of a strong FMC? All of that is my jam!! Unfortunately, the execution of this novel fell extremely flat for me, and I struggled to get through it.

I think the best part of the book is the cultivation of the enemies-to-lovers dynamic. Astra and her forced-husband, Marlak, truly and utterly loathe each other for at least half of the book, and it is nice to see through her inner monologue how that hate develops into something else. Towards the end of the book, as they both explain their motivations to each other and confess their ~feelings~, it feels like such a great payoff as a reader to finally get the romance itself.

That being said, I struggled through the rest of the novel. The writing style was not ideal for me, as it felt overly modern at times and purely repetitive at others. Astra’s near-constant internal stream of questions took away her credibility (and likeability) as a character, and I found myself rolling my eyes so often as I read through the novel. The plot also just couldn’t really keep me interested. I think there was a lot of potential with this, having a FMC who doesn’t know the extent of her powers and is also dealing with dream connections—that particular ability is rarely seen in fantasy novels and I was so excited to see what innovation the author took with it. But I found myself a bit bored, there were few to no plot twists, and the ones that did show up at the end felt predictable. The novel does end on a cliffhanger, but I just don’t believe I care enough to follow through with book two.

Overall, while I had high hopes for this one, the author wasn’t able to meet expectations, and this one only got 2⭐ from me.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

a cursed son arc 🌙💜✨

my first arc & let me just say it didn’t disappoint!

4.25 ★

"My heart's crazy." I don't know why I let that truth slip. He shakes his head. "Whose heart isn't?"

in this fun spicy romantasy, dreams connect a royal princess decoy with the man of her dreams but what happens when things go wrong & her carriage is attacked by the dangerous, disgraced fae prince. turns out he is the man of her dreams & things are about to get very very awkward!

astra is hiding a big secret about her heritage, playing the double agent & you’re unsure what she’s going to do at every turn! she’s been nurtured to play the little mouse all her life, to be curious, quiet & follow the rules but as the story goes on you can see she gains confidence & wants to find answers, freedom & love!

marlak carried this book!! discovering each layer that’s behind his grumpy exterior was so beautiful. he is dangerous but protective, sarcastic & hilarious & so endearing! the nickname ‘wife’ had me on my knees!!

the banter is GOLD! witty, fun & had me cackling! one of my favourite things hands down! the tension was unmatched when reality & fantasy blurred! literally had my jaw on the floor 😮‍💨

the political chess in this book & the way we only got a taste of it! you all know i’m a sucker for politics! i would’ve loved to see some scenes more fleshed out & higher stakes!

but i can say confidently that i’m very very excited to see where book 2 takes us cause what was that cliff hanger?? crossing my fingers for dual pov 🤞🏼

read if you like:
- 1st person pov
- slow burn enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- banter!!

"You said I was traded like a cow, Marlak."
He raises a finger in the air. "A cow, not a chicken. Have you checked the price of a cow?"

would like to say a big thank you to netgalley & of course Day Leitao for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

my review on goodreads posted on the 28/02/2024 (link of the review below)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6240533356

my review on instagram (@bookswithmish_): will be published on the 03/03/2024 (the link to my account below)

https://www.instagram.com/bookswithmish_?igsh=Zjd2b3kxdnkzdHdx&utm_source=qr

Firstly, thank you NetGalley & Day Leitao for allowing me to read the ARC for A Cursed Son!

I went into this story incredibly excited as the premise seemed to be right up my alley. However, once I started reading I found it hard to really get into. With that being said, I did complete the story probably over the course of a week.

The story follows Astra, a princess substitute, or elite guard for the Krastel Kingdom. She understands at the beginning of the story that there is something different about her. Astra also has very realistic dreams of a mysterious man who she deems her kindred soul (soulmate of sorts, it seems).

She works her way onto a mission where she then crosses paths with an alleged disgraced, murderous fae-human prince, Marlak - and the story unravels from there.

My main issue with the first half of the book was that I was incredibly distracted with repetitive transitions and sentence starting phrases. Some of these phrases are: And then, But then, Well, Perhaps, etc. I want to say this improved in the second half to last third of the novel.

A second problem that wasn't appealing to me was the FMC, Astra. I just couldn't quite connect to her with the level of immature thoughts that were laid out constantly. I constantly found myself thinking "Astra, really?? What???". Some of her thoughts and the conversations between her and the MMC, Marlak had me cringing. I found myself rolling my eyes whenever they would bicker because it just wasn't fun for me to read. It was almost like listening to two immature people going back and forth.

I wanted to love this book, I really did, but unfortunately this one just wasn't my cup of tea.

This book took me by surprise! It took me a little bit to get used to the writing style, but once I did, the story really sucked me in. I loved the dynamic between Astra and Marlark and felt the tension the whole time.

This was a great enemies to lovers story filled with complex feelings on both FMC and MMC's parts. I especially enjoyed the world that this was written in and cannot wait to learn more about it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and want to read more! My only issue was the writing style being a bit difficult to get used to. It is a bit more "stream of conscious" than I am used to, but I felt like this improved as the book went on!

This is a very intriguing fae story with mystery, love, and character building.

Astra has been training to be a decoy for the Krastel princess her whole life. She also holds her own secrets. She dreams each night of her soulmate. When Astra’s carriage is attacked by a disgraced prince, Marlak, she finds that he is the man in her dreams. He also feels a pull toward Astra. He makes a deal with the Krastel king to make her his wife. Can these two trust each other with their secrets and defeat Marlak’s brother?

The writing is so descriptive and beautiful. I loved the main character, Astra, her strength, fortitude, and ability to get under Marlak’s skin. Their story was beautifully written and left me wanting more. The cliffhanger at the end set up Book 2 in the series, A Traitor Sister.

I would recommend this book if you like romance, fae fantasy, and enemies to lovers. This book will be released on March 6th.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley, and the author for the e-arc.

i’m so pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed this book! at first i was a bit hesitant because of the writing style and it took me a couple chapters to get familiar with it but once i did it became easier to read. the plot seemed fast past right from the beginning and only slowed maybe two times. additionally, i loved the author’s descriptions of the setting - simple yet vivid and enchanting!

THE CHARACTERS!!! i cannot say enough good things about the two main characters! within the first hundred pages i was so invested in their story. it was so refreshing to experience the majority of the story with both of the characters together and exploring their relationship so deeply. i will be thinking about these characters for a long time!

thank you to net galley, victory editing, and day leitao for this arc!

Overall, I really liked the story line in this book. I think that there were some things in the writing that made it seem juvenile, like "haha" in the main characters inner dialogue. I also noticed some typos throughout the book. I would recommend a finished and polished version and I would love to read the second one when it becomes available.

Thank you to NetGalley and Day Leitao for the early access in exchange for my honest review!

This book was a rollercoaster start to finish. I was intrigued by Astra’s character, she’s reserved yet fierce when she needs to be. Her ability to trust is limited based off of the love she has had to live. Pair her up with Marlak, the outcast Prince, and we are given two people who would rather eat dirt than give the other any sort of valuable information. The two share an intriguing complication, they seem to be the stars of each others dreams. Marlak takes action into his own hands and brings the “enemy” closer by making Astra his wife. As husband and wife they adventure into the politics of the surrounding courts and try to find even the tinniest bit of trust in one another. Their attraction makes things more complicated and Astra can’t decide whether or not she wants to run or stay.

I was on the fence for this book at the beginning, I was waiting for the “ah-ha” moment and when it came the pages wouldn’t stop moving. I found Marlak’s and Astra’s banter to be charming and at times wanted to throttle both of them for their stubborn behavior. The mystery surrounding Astra kept me invested and her strong yet sensitive personality was written well. I loved that the author gave us so much about the other rulers/parts of the world. I hope we get more expansion on the different courts and their roles in the next book. The ending KILLED me and the author won’t be forgiven until I get my hands on the next book.
I am excited to see where this fantasy/enemies to lovers continues with the next book. There were so many possibilities with the ending.

Really enjoyed this spicy romantasy novel following Astra on her journey to discover her relationship with Marlak as well as her own identity, which I hope we see more of in the next book. The miscommunication between the pair built the suspense and I was so pleased we werent left waiting until book 2 to see what happens between them. This is a spicy magical romance and felt like it’s for fans of Assistant To The Villain and Jennifer L Armentrout.

3.5 stars!
First of all I liked this book! It ended with a cliffhanger which means that I will now have to read the second book because I need to know how it will progress forward. This book was hard to get into at first and some parts were confusing but the second half of the book I was hooked I didn’t want to put it down! I loved Marlak and Astra! If you love romantasy books I would recommend this!