4.5⭐

I really loved Until The Stars Fall the first Interconnected standalone in this series when I read it last year, so I was really looking forward to reading about Calla and Matthis and it didn't disappoint. It is very different in style to UTSF where that was more of a cosy fantasy read Once the Skies Fade is more darker in the aspect of the storyline and I loved that Calla was such a strong and fierce FMC and it made a nice change to see the dynamic between her and Matthias.

The writing is so easy to understand and follow, I was instantly hooked from the very first page and loved the world building so much there felt so much more richness to it, the stakes were a lot higher and I enjoyed the trials and competitions immensely they were so intriguing. The emotions hit you a lot harder in this book and certain moments do pull at the heartstrings even more so than UTSF did, Vanessa writes such beautiful relationships between the characters - romantically or otherwise - and it's one of my favourite things to read. The balance between action, romance and spice was perfectly done, I loved every moment and highly recommend adding this to your TBR.

Thank you so much to Vanessa and the team for the chance to read and review before publication. These are my honest thoughts.

Once the Skies Fade was such a fun but heartbreaking little read! I am giving this book 3.5 stars, but rounding up to 4! I very much enjoy the world that the events take place in, I just wish there was slightly more world building. I do LOVE that this book followed Matthias and Calla, I enjoyed their characters and the development so much! This book does explore grief and I thought it was explained well throughout the book. Grief is different for everyone and honestly the plot twist did get me! I did not see it coming, it was good! It was the perfect amount of spice (I love that the author put the spicy chapters in their own TOC so if not comfortable with it, you can skip those chapters)!

This book is the second in the series, but it could be a stand alone as well, but I very much enjoyed the second one more than the first, could be due to the characters or just the plot! Overall, I would recommend the book to my friends !

Thank you to Vanessa Rasanen, Crab Apple Books, and NetGalley for the e-arc and the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an overall enjoyable read!

In short Calla is a newly windowed queen in need of a king, as per their kingdoms laws, in order to keep her rule. She sets up a trial to find her next husband and king. This is where Matthias enters. He is the general to the neighboring kingdom, entering the trial to gain better access to what really may have happened to the late king.

I think what’s difficult about a fantasy romance standalone is that the ending is fairly predictable. I think Vanessa did an overall good job in adding some twists along the way but even the twist I do feel like you could see coming, particular the betrayal near the end. I ended up giving this book a 4/5 despite this though because my general feels when I was reading was that I just needing to keep going! I was hooked and completely invested in the characters and their ultimate happiness.

I am definitely a fan of Matthias. I love his sarcastic nature and the banter he brings to the budding relationship with Queen Calla. He’s definitely a kind soul and I loved watching this shine through in the trials.

Calla is a hard character to like. I feel she had some unredeemable situations in this book and Matthias was all too quick to glaze it over. I feel like Callas reaction to the situation was very out of proportion and the reasoning that was given wasn’t very compelling. Then there is Isla. I love that she is this strong female general and advisor to the queen but she also had such blind loyalty and wasn’t doing ginger friend any favors letting her “rage” like she did.

I did really enjoy the trials aspect in the book. I feel like it did really hold things together and kept the flow going.

I loved every second of this gorgeous book!! I read the first book, Until The Stars Fall in january as my first read of the year and really enjoyed it so i was super excited to hear that this book was coming out soon! These books can be read as standalones but they are interconnected! I think i loved this book more than the first one! I loved Mathias and his witty quips and snarky comebacks he had, they made me laugh so much.
ALSO Calla being a shadow mommy??? I loved every second of it! This book really depicted grief perfectly and really expressed the emotions you can go through when going through a loss. The trials and competitions were perfect and i found them SO intriguing and fun to read. I was absolutely HOOKED by the first chapter in this stunning book! So so so so good!

Thank you to Vanessa Rasanen, Crab Apple Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy and the opportunity to review this book.

I wasn’t planning to read this after UTSF disappointed me, but I needed to know why Brennan had to die… so here we are. And honestly? This was so much better than book one—I actually really enjoyed it. The trials were foolproof, and I thought I’d hate Matthias since he was basically in the games for spying on Calla, but I ended up feeling the complete opposite.

This was everything UTSF wasn’t. I was absolutely hooked, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. You know that feeling when you go into a book with zero expectations but end up wanting to give it a glowing review? That’s exactly what happened here. The satisfaction of rating a book 5 stars when you already expected it to be one is great, but rating it 5 stars when you expected it to be a zero? That’s an entirely different kind of win.

This was hilarious,
“You make it sound like they eloped.”

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Once the Skies Fade is everything I hoped for and more! The world feels even richer, the stakes are higher, and the emotions hit even harder. From the very first page, I was completely immersed in the story, unable to put it down.
The relationships—both romantic and otherwise—are beautifully written, making every moment feel meaningful. The world is vivid, the tension is high, and the emotional depth is everything
Vanessa Rasanen’s writing is breathtaking, with a perfect balance of action and romance.

This series has instantly become one of my favs! I was so excited to read about Matthias’s story. I find (interconnected) stand-alones to be so refreshing to long winded fantasy series but that doesn’t mean any less yearning from our mmc. We also have a fierce morally grey shadow fmc. What’s not to love?! Not to mention deadly trials! I personally was sick of trials until I read this book. I will also say that the author does a good job of tackling difficult subjects like the loss of a spouse and grieving. Can’t wait to continue this series and read about what else is in store for the next mcs!

I can definitely say that I will be reading the author’s other series now!

Thank you to Vanessa Rasanen and team for the eARC!