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bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I loved this follow up to Trial of the Sun Queen, where we spend time in the Aurora Kingdom with the Aurora Prince, Nadir, and Lor is finally reunited with her siblings from Nostraza! Nadir spends the entire book pretending that Lor is just another random hookup that he is keeping in his area of the court, hiding her true identity from his father because of his elusiveness surrounding his motivations to find Lor in the first book.
Most of the book is spent in character and romance exploration between Lor and Nadir, as Lor wrestles with what Atlas tried to do to her with the bond in the last book. They decide “it’s just sex, right?” and play around with the idea of actually hooking up, but denying that there’s anything beyond this sexual tension. I actually really enjoy that setup because at least they’re acknowledging their attraction, and now are just avoiding their romantic feelings hahaha. It’s very entertaining!
I forgot that these people are fae and that they can fly, so when Nadir flew with Lor in his arms, I giggled because I forgot this is fantasy because there has been such a huge focus on the romance, which I am a sucker for. But then!!!! Big big big spoiler omg Lor’s magic awakens! ahhhhhh then I remembered ‘yup, this is *fantasy*, not just romance, buckle UP!’ I appreciated how she discovered it & am interested to see how she will learn to control it in the next book!
A lot of the plot movement happens in the last 15% of the book, with another ending that entices readers to get oh so excited for the next book!
Honorable mention to some sapphic romance developing between the side characters Amya (Nadir’s younger sister) & Willow (Lor’s sister, can’t remember if she’s younger or older lol forgive me!)
steam rating: 3 or 4/5 — it’s a lot steamier than the first book because Nadir and Lor’s tension is so much better than her and the Sun King’s!!!!! You also get a BJ scene from Nadir’s POV if you sign up for NJT’s newsletter👀 uhhhhh done and done ✅ 🤭
see content warnings below — a lot of Nadir’s mom’s backstory really got to me, so fucking sad & she deserves better 😭
I loved this follow up to Trial of the Sun Queen, where we spend time in the Aurora Kingdom with the Aurora Prince, Nadir, and Lor is finally reunited with her siblings from Nostraza! Nadir spends the entire book pretending that Lor is just another random hookup that he is keeping in his area of the court, hiding her true identity from his father because of his elusiveness surrounding his motivations to find Lor in the first book.
Most of the book is spent in character and romance exploration between Lor and Nadir, as Lor wrestles with what Atlas tried to do to her with the bond in the last book. They decide “it’s just sex, right?” and play around with the idea of actually hooking up, but denying that there’s anything beyond this sexual tension. I actually really enjoy that setup because at least they’re acknowledging their attraction, and now are just avoiding their romantic feelings hahaha. It’s very entertaining!
I forgot that these people are fae and that they can fly, so when Nadir flew with Lor in his arms, I giggled because I forgot this is fantasy because there has been such a huge focus on the romance, which I am a sucker for. But then!!!! Big big big spoiler
A lot of the plot movement happens in the last 15% of the book, with another ending that entices readers to get oh so excited for the next book!
Honorable mention to some sapphic romance developing between the side characters Amya (Nadir’s younger sister) & Willow (Lor’s sister, can’t remember if she’s younger or older lol forgive me!)
steam rating: 3 or 4/5 — it’s a lot steamier than the first book because Nadir and Lor’s tension is so much better than her and the Sun King’s!!!!! You also get a BJ scene from Nadir’s POV if you sign up for NJT’s newsletter👀 uhhhhh done and done ✅ 🤭
see content warnings below — a lot of Nadir’s mom’s backstory really got to me, so fucking sad & she deserves better 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Torture, and War