BOOKS | Review: A Dawn with the Wolf Knight by Elise Kova

Name: A Dawn with the Wolf Knight (Married to Magic #5)

Author: Elise Kova

Publisher: Orion

Date published: August 2024

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, werewolves

Pages: 470

Rating: 4/5 

As one of the last surviving witches, Faelyn’s sole duty is to keep the protective barriers on the forests where the lykin roam - creatures who can shed flesh for fur - sparing nearby humans from their violent, beastly natures. When she has an unlikely encounter with the rare, primordial spirit of the moon, Faelyn finds herself not only the object of the Wolf King’s desire, but essential to his ability to keep his crown.
Taken to the magical land of Midscape, the Wolf King claims her as his bride to control the moon spirit’s magic that now resides within Faelyn. But Faelyn refuses to resign herself and the spirit Aurora to a life of servitude underneath the king’s cruel rule. Faelyn hatches a dangerous plan for them both to escape and help comes from an unlikely ally.
Evander is the king’s blisteringly handsome, loyal knight, right hand, and Faelyn’s sworn protector... on the outside. But appearances are not what they seem. He plots against the king’s brutality at every turn and helping Faelyn escape will serve these ends. But altruism for Faelyn and the trapped moon spirit isn’t his only motivation... Evander is hiding secrets, and they might change Faelyn’s life forever.
A desperate plot to escape. A brutal king. Ancient powers. And a sworn protector who can’t keep his hands off her... Will she be taken as the Wolf King’s bride? Or will she manage an escape that will free her heart and change her fate forever? 

- From Goodreads. 

This story once again felt different to the previous books in the series and I enjoyed following the plot as it felt quite unique.

The characters felt unique too and it was interesting getting to know our main character and her love interest and following how they came to fall in love while struggling with the circumstances keeping them apart and the secrets they had to keep from each other.

I thought the magical spirit side characters were wonderful, they had great personalities and had such heartfelt connections with Faelyn, I really enjoyed any scenes that involved them.

I thought the story had a great, action-packed ending, and a very lovely epilogue that wrapped things up well. It was a little sad to finish the book as for now this is the last in the series and I have enjoyed reading the whole series. I think the first book is still my favourite, but all of them have been fun, athough in the middle with Vampire Lord I did struggle a little with the story. If there are ever any more books in this world I would be excited to read them as the world building was fascinating throughout the series and I think there is plenty of room for more interesting stories set in the same world, and I would be curious to see what happens in the future of the world as the events of the books made a lot of changes and I think it would be intriguing to see the after effects.

BOOKS | Review: A Duet with the Siren Duke by Elise Kova

Name: A Duet with the Siren Duke (Married to Magic #4)

Author: Elise Kova 

Publisher: Silver Wings Press

Date published: August 2023

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, romance, sirens

Pages: 440

 Rating: 4/5

This review contains minor spoilers. 

She sold her soul to a siren and now he's come to collect.
Victoria risks everything to leave a dangerous marriage and gain a second chance at life. But when her escape goes awry, she finds herself caught in the strong embrace of a mysterious siren, forced to temporary salvation or immediate death.
And so, a cursed deal is struck.
Five years later, Victoria is alive - and the world's finest ship captain. But her debt to the siren looms while her conniving ex has demanded a king's ransom as the final price of her freedom. Victoria refuses to cause her family to suffer any more on her behalf, and is determined to make things right before her time is up. But that time is cut short.
The siren comes for her. Six months early.
Taken to the magical and deadly Eversea, home of the sirens, Victoria discovers she's the sacrifice upon which all sirens pin their hopes. If they want to appease an angry god and save a world on the brink of destruction, then they need her. Which gives her the perfect leverage.
Victoria strikes a new deal - the Siren Duke will help save her family, and she'll fulfill his demands. It's a good bargain until a flicker of passion ignites in the scarred remnants of Victoria's heart, threatening all she's worked for. As the sacrifice for the God of Death, she's meant to give up everything that draws her to the world of the living. But that's impossible when all she can think about is how this handsome siren's song, and his hands, make her feel very much alive.
In a realm of ancient magic, submerged secrets, and forgotten gods, can love find a place among shattered hearts as they race against time and the blossoming of forbidden desires? Or will the delicate songs of their hearts be silenced once and for all?

- From Goodreads. 

I enjoyed this more than the previous book in the series. While they both had intriguing world building, I think the development of the characters and the plot was done better in this one. There were still a couple of moments where the characters were a little frustrating, but mostly I was really interested in their journey and hoping they found their happy ending. 

This story actually felt quite different to the others in the series, especially towards the end, which was refreshing as I was worried some parts of the stories were getting repetitive in the last book. Although the ending did have a bittersweet touch to it, and overall this might be the saddest story in the series so far, it was definitely unexpected and interesting.

I'm definitely invested in the world and I'm quite curious about what will happen in the next book. It was clever how this book included little references to the other books in the series and weaved them together in the conclusion, but still kept the story functioning as a stand alone with a satisfying conclusion for the characters involved. Personally I think it's best to read the books in the order they were published, but I think you could read them in any order and not be too confused.

I would recommend this book, and series overall, if you like fantasy romance with complex and intriguing world building. I'm very curious to see how things wrap up in the next book and to see what I feel about the new characters and their relationship that will be introduced to us in that one. 

BOOKS | Review: A Duel with the Vampire Lord by Elise Kova

Name: A Duel with the Vampire Lord (Married to Magic series #3)

Author: Elise Kova

Publisher: Silver Wing Press

Date published: August 2022

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

Pages: 421

Rating: 3/5

This review contains mild spoilers.

 

On the night of the blood moon, the Vampire Lord must die.
Floriane's position as the forge maiden of Hunter's Hamlet is one of reverence, for it is her skill that arms and protects the vampire hunters. She knows her place and is a faithful servant to the Master Hunter and her community... until the night of the blood moon. Until her brother is dying at the hands of the Vampire Lord Ruvan.
Wanting to defend her home at all costs, Floriane fights the vampire lord, ready to give her life if it means taking his. But Ruvan doesn't want to take her life... he wants her.
Kidnapped and brought to the vampire castle, Floriane is now blood sworn to the vampire lord. She is bound in mind and body to her worst enemy. But Ruvan isn't the fiend she thought he was. She learns the truth of the vampires: They are not mindless monsters, but a proud people, twisted and tortured by an ancient curse.
Ruvan believes that Floriane might be the key to ending his people's suffering. All Floriane wants is to defend her home. Loyalties are tested and the lines between truth and lie, hate and passion, are blurred.
When her dagger is at his chest, will she be able to take the heart of the man who has claimed hers?

- From Goodreads.

The way that A Duel with the Vampire Lord expanded the world of the Married to Magic series was interesting. The concept for the vampires in this world was fascinating, how they used blood for magic, each had unique abilities and were also under a curse. It was a different twist on vampires, but I felt it was not always executed smoothly and the explanations could be a little confusing.

The rules for the magic were also occasionally inconsistent, it was only a few small times but it was obvious enough that I noticed straight away so it seemed like the book could have used another round of edits to catch those kind of world building details.

I noticed the main character, Floriane, had a few similar personality traits to the main characters from the other books in this world, and her relationship journey with the love interest, Ruvan, felt similar to the way that the relationships in those other books developed too. It was different enough that I could still enjoy it as its own story, and I knew from the summary that it would be an enemies to lovers story, so I was not disappointed by that trope appearing again, and I think if you have not read any of the other books in this world yet it will not feel too similar to anything else, but it does feel like a pattern is beginning to develop with these books and if they continue with the same type of relationship it could get repetitive. As I said, I could still like the characters and relationship in this one, but I hope in the next one we get something a little different with a change in the dynamic between the characters.

I understood why Floriane was keeping things from Ruvan during the first part of the book because she could not trust him enough to open up to him and she thought she could protect her home that way, but I did not understand why Ruvan was not telling her more sooner since he wanted to persuade her over to his point of view and make her understand the vampire's side of the story, and yet he was not explaining everything. I understand it is best to slowly give out pieces of information rather than tell it to us all at once, but from the vampire's point of view I could not see why he was not explaining as much as he could.

This may be a strange comment but it was distracting that for a while at the beginning of the book, several days seemed to pass without any mention of Floriane washing or changing her clothes or even taking off her amour. I know some people do not mind those kind of details but I always find I notice them and this made me think again that the book could have done with more editing and including even just one mention of her taking a moment to freshen up would have stopped me wondering if she was just wearing the same clothes for several days. It is true that they were in dangerous situations a lot but there were enough opportunites where she could have taken a moment to safely change. She was covered in blood from fighting at one point and it was never so much as implied that she ever washed the blood off at any time.

I did like the setting and atmosphere of the book, it was good to read at the beginning of October when the weather was getting colder and the nights were turning darker. Everything was described well and the vampires' castle felt very grand and imposing and sinister. That was all certainly a highlight of the book.

The dialogue did not always flow easily or feel natural, and I think that was one of the things that lead to me not feeling the emotions in the relationship as much as I would have liked to and it did not have as much impact as it could have had. I still liked the relationship overall but did not not really feel the chemistry between them that strongly. The strongest emotion I felt between them was when they were angry at each other and then I just got frustrated that they were not communicating well.

There were a few things set up at the start that felt like the beginning of a plot thread or like it was sending the plot in one direction or something that would be picked up later but never was, or was not seen through in a satisfying way. For example the plot point of Floriane being a forge maiden who was supposed to have an arranged marriage so she could have children to be future forge maidens and how this would secure the future and safety of the village, how she was not supposed to be with other men because of this, how she felt guilt and pressure around that, this was included from the beginning but not built up or developed throughout the story well enough to feel like a satisfying theme, it was only mentioned every so often. Some plot points in general were hard to follow, to remember where details came from or how characters had come to certain conclusions. Some of the conflict felt forced, as the plot points seemed to be added in because they needed to be, not because it was a natural progression of the story.

There was also not a lot of groundwork or foreshadowing or hints laid for the reveals towards the end of the book, they seemed to come out of nowhere. I also felt the plot was paced quite strangely, it felt like quite a long book, especially compared to the previous two, but the climax seemed to come on suddenly and sooner than expected. The conclusion after the climax could have been longer, it wrapped up everything pretty quickly and it would have been nice to just have a bit more time with the characters once everything was resolved. After seeing Ruvan and Floriane spending so much time in conflict and dealing with obstacles, we hardly got to see them together happily.

I was excited for this book, it had a lot of great ideas and I thought adding vampires to this world would be really exciting but unfortunately the ideas did not land very well in most cases. There was a lot of potential but it was not quite reached. I could still see myself rereading it at some point in the future as I may understand the plot better on a second read and perhaps I would like the book better then, and I will still be reading the next book in the world, as I am curious about what might happen in that one and how else this world might expand.

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.

BOOKS | Review: A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

 Name: A Deal with the Elf King

Author: Elise Kova 

Publisher: Silver Wing Press

Date published: November 2020

Genre: Fiction, young adult, fantasy, romance, retellings

Pages: 388

Rating: 5/5

 The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.
Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella's village to be their Human Queen.
To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she's dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town's only healer.
That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives... for her.
Everything Luella had thought she'd known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.
The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another... but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.

- From Goodreads.

The characters in A Deal with the Elf King were very loveable. I quickly became attached to Luella and Eldas, and the minor characters were well written too. Willow, Rinni and Harrow were really enjoyable to read and I would love to read more about all of them, especially Harrow who I thought had a very engaging character arc throughout the story.

The descriptions were beautiful, the world seemed very vivid and immersive, and the ideas behind the world building were so unique. It was a retelling, clearly inspired by stories like Beauty and the Beast and Hades and Persephone, but the author put so many inventive and new ideas and twists into it that it really felt like an individual story and world on its own. I am looking forward to reading more of this world and seeing what more ideas Elise Kova has for it.

The romance was written in a very addictive way. I had to keep reading to know what would happen between Luella and Eldas and I thought the tension and romantic moments were written very well. The ending was very satisfying and I was very happy with where the characters ended up after the journeys they had been on.

Overall this book was a really enjoyable one to escape into and I had so much fun reading it. There was not a moment that I did not like what I was reading and it just had everything I was looking for from a fairy tale romance.