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jasfa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, and War
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
eventualghost's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Three words: Spice. Spice. Spice.
It’s an okay book, but it does focus on the main love story above anything else. The writing could be better. The steam took away from an actual plot line. My guess is they will end up with a “fated mates” trope, but I found it hard to believe the main characters motivations for the relationship. It’s a bit repetitive in terms of the characters, and they don’t really have a lot of growth. I hope the third book provides a better arc. I do love the constant cursing at comically timed moments. Not a lot of authors can get away with that.
It’s an okay book, but it does focus on the main love story above anything else. The writing could be better. The steam took away from an actual plot line. My guess is they will end up with a “fated mates” trope, but I found it hard to believe the main characters motivations for the relationship. It’s a bit repetitive in terms of the characters, and they don’t really have a lot of growth. I hope the third book provides a better arc. I do love the constant cursing at comically timed moments. Not a lot of authors can get away with that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, and Torture
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- 3.75⭐️ 2.75🌶️
New Adult
High Romantasy
Romantic Fantasy
Multi POV
Bipoc
Flashbacks
Fae Courts
Magic
Politics
Feuding Kingdoms
Secrets
Slow Burn
🏳️🌈 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 wasn’t 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 MC’s. But the hot and cold pendulum between the MC’s 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 didn’t find myself liking the characters in the flashback…
The magic system was laid out a little more, but I’m still at a loss as to what ANY of the high face’s 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 isn’t starving or afraid she is going to die. That’s probably really important. Nasir felt a bit too much like a doormat, which I can’t imagine anyone likes… I’ll 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 didn’t love “Inmate” as a sexy nickname… especially since she told him many time to not call her that. They weren’t very good at keeping anything secret or under wraps… their fake dating was in fact terrible cover for their true purpose because there wasn’t a fake name or anything that they used. What kind of spy’s are they?!… 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
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Lor is taken to The Aurora and if forced to team up with The Aurora Prince to locate her crown.
After reading the first one, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue this series. I still feel like the author was trying to incorporate every possible trope in these books while mashing together the plot from a dozen popular books. Compared to the other fantasy books out there, this series felt kind of bland. The characters are flat and not well developed. The world building just isn't there. The dialogue is incredibly corny at points and the writing just feels like its lacking.
Lor and Nadir's relationship was giving me whiplash. She has trust issues and he is overly possessive. WE. GET. IT. It is thrown in our face every few pages. We know they are fated mates, that has been made pretty obvious. The fact that they have yet to figure that out is very frustrating. The inmate nickname is giving me the ick.
Lor became incredibly immature and made so many poor decisions. In the first book, she was obviously motivated by her desperation to save her siblings. In this one, her inner monologue was incredibly annoying.
I did like the new POV added. I feel like Serce was a pretty interesting and ruthless character. I would be more interested in her book.
Tropes: fated mates, enemies to lovers, one bed, forbidden, fantasy, age gap, touch her/you die, slow burn, found family, fake dating, hidden identity, kidnapper/captive, he falls first
After reading the first one, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue this series. I still feel like the author was trying to incorporate every possible trope in these books while mashing together the plot from a dozen popular books. Compared to the other fantasy books out there, this series felt kind of bland. The characters are flat and not well developed. The world building just isn't there. The dialogue is incredibly corny at points and the writing just feels like its lacking.
Lor and Nadir's relationship was giving me whiplash. She has trust issues and he is overly possessive. WE. GET. IT. It is thrown in our face every few pages. We know they are fated mates, that has been made pretty obvious. The fact that they have yet to figure that out is very frustrating. The inmate nickname is giving me the ick.
Lor became incredibly immature and made so many poor decisions. In the first book, she was obviously motivated by her desperation to save her siblings. In this one, her inner monologue was incredibly annoying.
I did like the new POV added. I feel like Serce was a pretty interesting and ruthless character. I would be more interested in her book.
Tropes: fated mates, enemies to lovers, one bed, forbidden, fantasy, age gap, touch her/you die, slow burn, found family, fake dating, hidden identity, kidnapper/captive, he falls first
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting