BOOKS | Review: A Dance with the Fae Prince by Elise Kova

Name: A Dance with the Fae Prince

Author: Elise Kova

Publisher: Silver Wing Press

Date published: August 2021

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, retellings, fairy tales

Pages: 374

Rating: 4/5

Katria swore she'd never fall in love. She's seen what "love" means through the cruelty of her family. So when she's married off to the mysterious Lord Fenwood for a handsome price, all Katria wants is a better life than the one she's leaving. Feelings are off the table.

But her new husband makes not falling in love difficult.

As their attraction begins to grow, so too do the oddities within her new life: strange rules, screams in the night, and attacks by fae that Katria never thought were real. When she witnesses a ritual not meant for human eyes, Katria finds herself spirited away to the land of Midscape.

Surviving the fae wilds as a human is hard enough. Katria must survive as a human who accidently pilfered the magic of ancient kings - magic a bloodthirsty king is ready to kill her for in order to keep his stolen throne - and her new husband is the rightful heir in hiding.

The power to save the fae is in her hands. But who will save her from a love she vowed never to feel?

- From Goodreads.

This was a wonderful addition to this world, and although I preferred the first book in this series, A Deal with the Elf King, I still found this story to be really enjoyable. It expanded the world, introduced us to new intriguing characters, and gave us a captivating romance to follow.

I really liked the side characters. Elise Kova created a group of supporting figures that really added to the story and had a lot of personality. The main character of Katria also had a lot of heart and it was easy to see why she was interested in her love interest, Lord Fenwood.

However, as mentioned, there was something that made me prefer A Deal with the Elf King to this book. While the plot was exciting and I liked all the characters, I think it was something lacking in the romance that made me love it just slightly less. I still liked the relationship between Katria and Lord Fenwood, but there were a few moments where I did not feel the impact of the emotions between them as strongly as I would have liked, and in general I think I expected the relationship to develop differently.

I liked the fairytale retelling elements of the story, the Cinderella influences were done well. I do not often read many Cinderella retellings as I prefer other fairytales, but this was still done in an exciting way and mixed with the other parts of the story well. I also liked the Eros and Psyche twist to the story, although I would have liked to see more of that part and see it more explored for a bit longer.

Overall, it was a lovely, romantic story that added to the world created in A Deal with the Elf King and made me eager to continue with reading this series.