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mariasmusings's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to Hachette Books for providing me with a copy of Rule of the Aurora King(Artefacts of Ouranos, #2) by Nisha J Tuli for review. My opinions are completely by own.
Book blurb: "I am not his conquest. I am not his to claim. I am my own castle."
Freed from the golden clutches of the Sun King, Lor now finds herself in the hands of Nadir, the Aurora Prince.
Lor and Nadir team up to search for a lost item that holds the key to her past and her future.
As Atlas hunts her across Ouranos, Lor plots to bring down the Imperial Fae who took everything. But she soon realizes the future of the continent is about so much more than just her shattered legacy.
My Thoughts:
As soon as I finished, Trials of the Sun Queen, I opened Rule of the Aurora King and dived straight into this fast-paced and intriguing fantasy romance.
Once again, the story is told from two perspectives: Lor & Nadir, but we also have the addition of flashbacks to reveal the truth of events 286 years ago. I particularly enjoyed learning about the background to the destruction of the Kingdom of Heart.
There is plenty of action in this sequel, and indeed plenty of very spicy scenes - there's no 'fade to black' here and it does get pretty graphic. So be warned. š
Despite the pace and action scenes, there is more 'downtime' in this novel - time when we see Lor & Nadir together, and get a view into the world of the High Fae.
There's also a sense of social commentary when Lor tells Nadir the reality of her life in prison and the privileges of being a High Fae.
The world building is expanded here, as we learn the history of Ouranos and the politics at play.
I've ordered the third and fourth books in the series (there are 4 books in total) and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts.
Book blurb: "I am not his conquest. I am not his to claim. I am my own castle."
Freed from the golden clutches of the Sun King, Lor now finds herself in the hands of Nadir, the Aurora Prince.
Lor and Nadir team up to search for a lost item that holds the key to her past and her future.
As Atlas hunts her across Ouranos, Lor plots to bring down the Imperial Fae who took everything. But she soon realizes the future of the continent is about so much more than just her shattered legacy.
My Thoughts:
As soon as I finished, Trials of the Sun Queen, I opened Rule of the Aurora King and dived straight into this fast-paced and intriguing fantasy romance.
Once again, the story is told from two perspectives: Lor & Nadir, but we also have the addition of flashbacks to reveal the truth of events 286 years ago. I particularly enjoyed learning about the background to the destruction of the Kingdom of Heart.
There is plenty of action in this sequel, and indeed plenty of very spicy scenes - there's no 'fade to black' here and it does get pretty graphic. So be warned. š
Despite the pace and action scenes, there is more 'downtime' in this novel - time when we see Lor & Nadir together, and get a view into the world of the High Fae.
There's also a sense of social commentary when Lor tells Nadir the reality of her life in prison and the privileges of being a High Fae.
The world building is expanded here, as we learn the history of Ouranos and the politics at play.
I've ordered the third and fourth books in the series (there are 4 books in total) and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, and Confinement
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 donāt 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 āitās just sex, right?ā and play around with the idea of actually hooking up, but denying that thereās anything beyond this sexual tension. I actually really enjoy that setup because at least theyāre acknowledging their attraction, and now are just avoiding their romantic feelings hahaha. Itās 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 Lorās magic awakens! ahhhhhh then I remembered āyup, this is *fantasy*, not just romance, buckle UP!ā 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 (Nadirās younger sister) & Willow (Lorās sister, canāt remember if sheās younger or older lol forgive me!)
steam rating: 3 or 4/5 ā itās a lot steamier than the first book because Nadir and Lorās tension is so much better than her and the Sun Kingās!!!!! You also get a BJ scene from Nadirās POV if you sign up for NJTās newsletterš uhhhhh done and done ā š¤
see content warnings below ā a lot of Nadirās momās backstory really got to me, so fucking sad & she deserves better š
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 āitās just sex, right?ā and play around with the idea of actually hooking up, but denying that thereās anything beyond this sexual tension. I actually really enjoy that setup because at least theyāre acknowledging their attraction, and now are just avoiding their romantic feelings hahaha. Itās 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 (Nadirās younger sister) & Willow (Lorās sister, canāt remember if sheās younger or older lol forgive me!)
steam rating: 3 or 4/5 ā itās a lot steamier than the first book because Nadir and Lorās tension is so much better than her and the Sun Kingās!!!!! You also get a BJ scene from Nadirās POV if you sign up for NJTās newsletterš uhhhhh done and done ā š¤
see content warnings below ā a lot of Nadirās momās backstory really got to me, so fucking sad & she deserves better š
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Torture, and War
booksalacarte's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Rule Of the Aurora King- 3.75āļø 2.75š¶ļø
New Adult
High Romantasy
Romantic Fantasy
Multi POV
Bipoc
Flashbacks
Fae Courts
Magic
Politics
Feuding Kingdoms
Secrets
Slow Burn
š³ļøāš Side Character Rep
Reluctant Allies to Lovers
Open Door Spicy Scenes
This was a great second book. I am so glad that the plot was so definitively different from the first book. There wasnāt any confusing first romance and second. Thankfully the FMC was fighting herself enough to know that she was growing from the person she was in the first book.
However, the pace did slow down quite a bit, and the stakes came down a peg or two. While not bad, it allowed the plot to get some breathing room that I feel was really necessary for the character arcs of the MCās. But the hot and cold pendulum between the MCās also got old really fast.
The world building was nice with the addition to the flashbacks, bringing a new POV into the fold. However, I didnāt find myself liking the characters in the flashbackā¦
The magic system was laid out a little more, but Iām still at a loss as to what ANY of the high faceās powers actually are or how they manifest.
As far as individual character development goes, the blatant rage from the FMC died down, giving us a better look at Lor when she isnāt starving or afraid she is going to die. Thatās probably really important. Nasir felt a bit too much like a doormat, which I canāt imagine anyone likesā¦ Iāll be interested to see his continuing character arc in the next book now that he is a bit freer, in the same way Lor did in this book.
I didnāt love āInmateā as a sexy nicknameā¦ especially since she told him many time to not call her that. They werenāt very good at keeping anything secret or under wrapsā¦ their fake dating was in fact terrible cover for their true purpose because there wasnāt a fake name or anything that they used. What kind of spyās are they?!ā¦ bad ones.
But I still enjoyed myself and was drawn in, so I will be reading the next book in the series.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting