Thank you so much Harper Collins for accepting my reqiest and read and review this book!

I was super excited to read this one, I’ve heard great reviews from some friends of mine with similar romantasy taste!

However, unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I genuinely felt like there wasn’t one original aspect of this book and it made the plot unbelievably predictable. I think if you have read ACOTAR, Throne of Glass and From Blood and Ash you have already read this book.

Some of the SJM similarities (without going into spoilers) include:
1. An “artist district” the fae city
2. A “best assassin ever” trained by an assassin lord for years
3. Shifters and witches and fae
4. Character names e.g Cassius and Azrael and Dracon
5. Ash wood arrows to kill far
6. Assassin taking hidden identity, tortured past, starting in fancy estate
7. The nickname “princeling”

I also found some aspects of the book to just not work for me
1. Very cringey dialogue that, when read out loud, feel like wattpad fan fiction.
2. The fact that every man ever falls in love with the protagonist
3. And despite being powerful and best assassin she is ultimately never capable of defending herself
4. Slapping people when she doesn’t agree with them

The pick me trauma child with a strange artistic ability and a bizarre hair colour whose also somehow the best assassin the world has ever seen with secret mega power she “has no idea about” and a lineage that’s supposed to be a plot twist. I’ve read it all before.

Now, in saying that, I think if you have never read Romantasy, or you’re new to it, this book will absolutely work for you. It’s definitely fun and addictive, and if you aren’t familiar with the tropes I think it will work for you.

2 stars for the book, 4 stars for the narrators.

This was one of these books that had been on my list forever but never made it to the top. The re-release of the audiobook was the perfect occasion for me to finally dive into it. Although I absolutely loved the narrators, some parts of the story left me feeling disappointed.
I feel very conflicted because the Scarlet from the beginning of the book hooked me in really fast and made me root for this badass assassin heroine. I was torn between the chemistry with the new love interest and her history with the old one, but what made me want to stop listening to this story wasn’t the romance.
I absolutely hated the fact that Scarlet was abused and used for the whole damn time. She’s supposed to be fierce and deadly but get bested by a mere human for reasons that were not convincing at all. This was the weakest part of the plot for me. All the terrible things that happened to her would not have happened if she had been true to her description. She also refused to face the truth about herself and blames people for hiding it from her at the end. Her choices felt like forced literary devices that made no sense whatsoever and I hated it.
I know it’s probably going to be the kind of series where she grows more powerful than anyone else because we’ve already seen traces of it, but the first book is yet another story where the male main character has to save the so-called badass heroine from danger and sexual violence. This is not something I want to read anymore.

I've heard a lot about this book, and when I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, I jumped at the chance.
It did not disappoint. I was instantly drawn into the story; the narrator's voice went well with the storytelling.
I was intrigued by the plot and characters. While some of it was predictable, it didn't take away from the story. I can't wait to read more!

The narrator for Lady of Darkness is really good! All the voices were easily distinguishable and there was so much tension!

Initially I found the start of the book very predictable and it did make me put it down for a while and give quite a few eye rolls. However once it got further into the story there were so many twists and more to the story than it first seemed. The FMC Scarlett can be pretty frustrating and information is constantly hidden from her which was annoying. As more unravels about her past it makes more sense - I would check trigger warnings!

I ended up really enjoying where the darkness of the story went and how it concluded and will be continuing the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a wild ride. It's full of intrigue, danger, and romance and kept me hooked throughout but I will say that in places this story gets very dark and so I wasn't necessarily prepared for that and it did make for tough reading at times. I loved the relationship between Scarlett and the mysterious commander, the push and pull between them and the growing tension. There was some subtle foreshadowing going on here which promises a lot more drama to come, but for now I'm very much enjoying this chemistry between them. I didn't so much enjoy the inclusion of multiple romantic interests as I prefer to focus on one but I do understand it in terms of the plot. There's some characters here that filled me with absolute rage, and some that were a little harder to peg, but I did like to see Scarlett's friendships and her makeshift family even if she doesn't necessarily have a safe harbour in the chaos that is her life. She's a total powerhouse, and an interesting character. Secrets were beginning to unravel throughout this book and there's a promise of more to come so I look forward to continuing with the series and seeing where it takes us. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration, I thought it fit well for the characters and the story!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

I don't think this one for me. I found myself getting frustrated with the main character & the pacing. It just didn't hold my attention.

Laura's narration was really well done though & I will always look at books narrated by her as I think she does a fantastic job.

I've heard a lot about this series so when the chance to listen to the audiobook came up, I grabbed it.

Let me start by saying that Laura's narration is fantastic. I find her voice so easy to listen to and I like that she does different accents and voices for the different characters.

The story itself was easy to listen to but I felt like it was too long. There's quite a lot of information and world building that I sometimes found confusing.

Scarlet is a feisty FMC but I got frustrated with everyone coddling her. There were aspects of this book that I enjoyed but I did find it slow at times.

Loved getting this audiobook, it was perfect to read along on my kindle!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was just missing something for me but the potential is certainly there for the series to pick up. I can't wait to see what happens next with the world and characters.

Lady of darkness

4.5⭐️
1 🌶️
3rd Person multiple POV

Enjoyed the world building
I enjoyed the characters main and side characters.

Felt like I couldn’t stop listening to it (audiobook). Excited to see where the series goes. I’ve know it’s a 5 book series and I can’t wait to finish this series when the other audiobooks are released.


Audiobook - I really enjoyed it, Laura Horowitz is one of my favourite narrators, love her voice and her range another reason why I couldn’t put it down.

The narrator did a great job in my opinion. All the characters had distinct voices so I could easily tell which one was talking.

I really enjoyed the story. A stabby stab fmc is always a delight to read about and the banter was bantering.

The indie book with Throne of Glass comparisons overtaking booktok!

Apparently, this gave everyone else major Throne of Glass vibes. Apart from a few similarities, I didn’t really see it.

Scarlett is a part of a trio of infamous assassins raised by the cold Assassin Lord dealing with some trauma in the house of a lord she is friends with.
Then children begin to go missing and Scarlett is determined to track down those responsible which might mean allying with Sorin - a secretive Commander who is training her and seems to be hiding a lot.

“You think he broke you, and maybe he did. But look at what rose from those ashes. Look at the strength, at the power, at the beauty of those shadows and that darkness on your soul.”

Even though this is supposed to be a romantasy, the character work is developed a lot more than the romance, with it only becoming more prominent after 60%.

There was good banter between them, sharing secrets, sharing one horse, training montages…. Basically, it’s a troupe hotlist.

Admittedly, it’s fairly predictable. Perhaps this is why I never felt hooked or why none of the characters felt ones I could latch on to.

I couldn’t help but role my eyes at the dramatic and over-the-top angst and theatrics. It was just too much for me. Too cliched.
Not to mention, Sorin barely calls her Scarlett - it is love or darling or princess.

I am gutted this didn’t work for me as I know so many people are binging through this series.

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing an arc in exchange for a review.

I have some conflicting feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it but at the same time didn't. I think that the plot and narration of this book were perfect but that at some times Scarlett was two different people, she goes to seemingly being in love or at least having strong feelings for Callan to having just used him for his position and wanting nothing to do with him. I also feel like the twists were predictable but still made a good story.

The audiobook was perfectly narrated by Laura Horowitz who did a fabulous job at bringing the characters to life.

Summary: Scarlett Monrhoe, an assassin imprisoned by a ruthless lord, faces a choice between revenge and saving kidnapped children, which leads to the unraveling of dark secrets.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio-ARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

Such a blatant rip off of TOG & ACOTAR, it doesn’t bring anything new to the genre and the “twists” were extremely predictable.

I’m not sure how this FMC is a “badass” sometimes and then completely spineless the rest of the time.

I liked the narrator.

Outstanding
Incredible
Amazing

This book was all of those things and so much more, the plot, characters and world?? How the author managed to do that. No idea.

The narrator Laura! WOW. Insanely good. Love this book. Cannot wait for more.

This book has everything you could need in a romantasy, I especially love having vampires as an additional element. The story flows well, the pace is steady and you just become absorbed into the world (which is epic). Scarlett is a fierce FMC, she’s suffered and has demons but she doesn’t let this hold her back. One slight negative is some of the plot is predictable but I actually still loved it and there are a few twists and turns. At times the story develops in new ways and this is always great in a fantasy. I am fully invested in this world and will be continuing the series.
I would highly recommend the audiobook, it is so absorbing and the narrator does a great job defining the characters. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I really wanted to like this because the premise sounded amazing and I loved Laura Horowitz' narration of Phantasma, but I just couldn't stand the cringey dialogue and Scarlett's childish behaviour.

As expected, the narration was flawless and the beginning was pretty good, but after the first few chapters it started feeling like fanfiction. Fanfiction can be some good literature, don't get me wrong, but this reminded me of toxic fanfiction.

While I understand Scarlett has PTSD and something bad happened to her, her attitude leaves nothing to be desired and it's crazy how no one stands up to her properly. All that ends up happening is she's either coddled or there's some really cringey, OTT dialogue. Also, I can't picture a Maiden of Death sticking her tongue out at people, let alone a grown woman.

This could've been a new favourite, but sadly the writing wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ALC

My sort of fantasy novel. This audiobook is excellently narrated. The story started so slowly, I wondered if I was going to be able to finish it. But then more characters started being introduced, the humour had me smirking, and the tension and action built up. At the end of this book, which I knew was leading to a cliff hanger, I am ready to listen to the next instalment - immediately! Thank you to Haroer Collins UK Audio and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.