I really liked the premise of this one and at the beginning really thought I would absolutely love this one but some reason it just fell flat. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed these book but something just didn't work for me.

I really liked our main characters and the chemistry they had, despite the fact that they were forced together. I was really interested to see how their story would develop.

I'm not sure at what point it went downhill for me and I'm gutted. I just think I lost interest towards the end.

I'm also really upset that the author used the
word moist in a spicy scene.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was working collaboratively on the campaign for this with HQ, and I did enjoy reading this as part of my sponsorship! I flew through the entirety of the book in 3 days. It's incredibly readable, and you easily like the characters. She's very intelligent and is strong to take on what has been thrown her way, and you soon learn to love the rough love interest for how much he cares for her well being. I did like the world building -- just enough to support the romantasy but not too much. And the ending made my jaw drop because while I did see one plot twist coming there was a second one to pleasantly surprise me! Because of that, I will definitely be picking up the sequel and I'm curious to see where it goes.

I thought the storyline for this was so fun. I saw some pieces coming but I was still surprised by the ending and I definitely want to read book 2 to see how it continues! It was definitely fast-paced, but I didn't mind and it was exactly what I wanted after reading many other slow-paced and slow burn romances.

Enjoyable and engrossing characters. Written well. More please. Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for the ARC. 4/5

What a lovely entertaining romp this is. Then book is well written and the story is entertaining. It was very interesting to read about Tasmins life especially as it seems there were actually Whipping boys & girls in history.
Fell the leader of the defending warriors was such a good hero but he also had hidden qualities as his reputation was underserved.

Great read and can't wait for the next one.

I liked this authors style of writing but I felt the pacing was off. A lot of front loading which I know for a new world is needed I just prefer to learn as I go.

Read the synopsis and then start at 50% you won't miss much. And even then, I wouldn't bother with reading that much. This book screams romantasy and not in a good way.

Tamsyn was raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it's her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard...though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.
When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

This was definitely wild.
I didn’t have many expectations for this because I haven’t heard anyone talk about this book and I never read a book by this author before, but I was pretty disappointed.
First of all, it takes more than 40% of the book to catch up to the synopsis and being honest, nothing happens in those first 40-50% apart from a wedding and the journey north.
The writing was very difficult to get used to, the language was so old it just felt odd. There was no world-building and no explanation of a magic system (witches and dragons are just kind of talked about but no mention of their powers etc).
I found the “plot-twist” absolutely ridiculous and it made no sense to me and I was so disappointed to be seeing and hearing so little about the dragons when there is a literal dragon on the cover of the book.
When the dragons were finally mentioned, the whole chapter in Yrsa’s POV made me want to throw the book across the room. The dragons were described as having arms and hands and if it didn’t say that they were talking about dragons, I would have thought we were talking about humans.
The only positive here is the “touch-her-and-I’ll-kill-you”-trope.

I’m not going to lie, I’m so incredibly disappointed that I didn’t love this book because I was genuinely looking forward to it given the premise, but honestly?

It didn’t deliver on what it promised and I should have DNF’d it after the wedding scene BUT I really enjoyed the author’s Firelight trilogy when I was younger so I gave this book far more grace than I should have.

For almost 40% of the book, it seems like nothing all that much happens, it’s incredibly slow to get going and then incredibly rushed towards the end.

Despite this, there’s little depth to the world building and little build up for the romance which felt very rushed and abrupt. I mean they get married, he finds out she lied and hates her then two seconds later he’s willing to do the most to save her?

It was unrealistic tbh, especially considering how important it was to his kingdom to marry a princess but he got over it like it was nothing?

I’m ngl I was expecting a lot of tension and some truly delicious angst but it didn’t deliver and I honestly didn’t vibe with the romance at all. It lacked depth and with the rushed development I couldn’t get invested in it.

I also felt like obstacles were easily and quickly overcome which added to how unrealistic it was and took away any tension or sense of true jeopardy.

That same lack of depth and rushed development extended towards the characters too and I found it so hard to connect with and root for them, especially when the writing could be repeptive.

I had initially liked Tamsyn, but the repetitive writing and use of phrases like “sips of air” started to wear on me pretty fast and like I said, I just couldn’t get invested because of how rushed and lacking in depth everything was.

Sure, this is a quick read with a good amount of spice and a sprinkle of dragons but I found it hard to care about the characters and plot.

Ultimately, it just wasn’t for me I think and I should have stopped at the consummation scene which was 😖

I had such a fun time with this! Good pacing and world building. Instantly liked the fmc Tamsin and her different, interesting and dark starting role in life. Instantly liked the mmc Fell too, both strong minded and independent and i really enjoyed their chemistry. Loved the whole dragon/witch lore and history and how the world is still governed by them even though they're supposedly eradicated. The twists, reveals and that cliffhanger ending were great and fully in line with the tone of the story. I was just thoroughly entertained by this and lookhad such a fun time with this! Good pacing and forward to the next installment.
Thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the arc, all thoughts are my own and left voluntarily.

Enjoyable and well thought out.
Fairly similar to other fantasy novels I’ve read so some parts were quite predictable but overall entertaining.

I really enjoyed this book, took a little time to get into but as soon as I did I was hooked. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book

I really enjoyed this book and read it at the same time as When the Moon Hatched and preferred this. The story was so interesting and I liked both main characters and THAT twist !!
I cannot wait for the next book in the series, I am so excited.

I absolutely love, love, loveeeeeeeed A Fire in the Sky

"My gift. My curse"

From the minute I started reading I knew I would enjoy this book, is it a masterpiece no ,it's a nice easy fast paced read that ticks all romantasy boxes, what's not to love!!

The storyline is really intriguing and made for a nice change from most dragon featured storylines, the characters are fantastic, I'm really looking forward to seeing their development, especially Tamsyn, the growth shown already gets me excited for what's to come!

The ground work is now done, the scene is set and the world building is established and after that ending I'm so excited to see where the storyline goes, it has so much potential to be AMAZING!!!

I really enjoyed reading this book, I think it's got a great premise and could be the beginning of a great series. I thought the world building was well presented and convincing (loved the whipping girl angle), the writing was of high quality and the plot/storyline was engaging and immersive. the pace was good and I didn't have bits I felt I had to force myself to push through. The main characters, Tam and Fell, felt real and the relationship development was a strong point for me. The spice was just right! There is a chance a single or double POV would have elevated the book a bit more, but I suppose that's a personal preference, and Sophie Jordan had her reasons for using multiple POVs. One of the plot twists took me by surprise and I enjoyed that how the story would develop didn't feel super clear to me, it kept me invested till the end. But the ending didn't have me screaming, and that's why I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5.
this is one of the romantasy books I really enjoyed reading recently and I think that fans of the genre will not be disappointed. a huge thank you to Sophie Jordan, the publisher and NetGalley for this review copy, all opinions are my own.

I kind of enjoyed the first half of this novel, but I found it more difficult to reach the end. The pace is slow and it doesn't seem there is much going on. The romance feels off and there is zero chemistry between the two protagonists and even the presence of another possible love interest doesn’t make it more interesting (especially as he is boring and annoying). The story often feels repetitive, predictive, and awkward and I can’t say I liked any of the characters.

When the Beast of the Borderlands, who commands the Northern border post, marches into the glittering court of Penterra and demands to marry a princess, he is tricked into marrying Tamsin, the court whipping girl instead. He is furious when he discovers the deception but forced to accept her and they begin the long and treacherous journey back north together.

'Dragons are extinct' was the smoking gun on the mantlepiece at the very beginning of this book so I eagerly anticipated the moment when the dragons would appear and I wasn't disappointed - in fact I was pleasantly surprised by a plot twist that I didn't expect in the manner of their appearance. (It probably helps that I hadn't read any of this author's previous books or that might have been a clue.)

This is a lush romantasy, with two engaging leads, and incredibly fast-paced and gripping - easy to get into, and very difficult to put down. I can't wait for book 2. Absolutely loved it!

Unfortunately I wasn't a massive fan of this one. I found the chemistry lacklustre and the writing meandering. The plot doesn't really kick in until 50% in and by that point I just didn't care.

I loved this one, I had a genuinely great time reading it.

I loved the concept of the main character being a whipping girl who is sorting of part of the royal family, but when it really comes to it, they sacrifice her to save their own girls ...and it ends up being the best thing to happen to her.

I loved the romance in this one. Both characters are carrying a lot of baggage and it shouldn't work, but it does.

There are a fair few surprises in this one and that ending had my jaw on the floor.

I cannot wait for the next one

This book took me through all the highs and lows! Great start, by 60% I was getting a little impatient and the last few chapters were read on the edge of my seat. Very easy to read and I also found it very easy to follow the world building, Not going to lie, at this point I couldn't care less for Stig's point of view (sorry), I just found the other POVs much more interesting. Love the main characters! The circumstances that united them and the development of their relationship is amazing! Can't wait for the next book and will definitely get a physical copy of this book. 4.5/5