Curse of Shadows and Thorns

The Broken Kingdoms #1

by L.J. Andrews

A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.

As niece of the king, Elise Lysander cares about two things: sneaking into gambling dens, and avoiding an advantageous marriage at all costs.

When her uncle holds the life of her deathly-ill father over her head, reluctantly, Elise puts her fate into the hands of Legion Grey, the handsome and mysterious dowry negotiator. He may be arrogant and infuriating, but soon Legion incites a blistering, forbidden passion she can’t ignore.

As their attraction grows, so do the dangers: attacks from black-eyed people, a cursed enemy who is more beast than man, and rumors of fae returning for the crown they believe was stolen from them long ago.

After a bloody coup upends the kingdom, Elise flees with Legion, but nothing is as it seems. The man she allowed into her heart reveals his own secret plans with the return of magic—and he has every intention of using Elise to see them through.

With war between magic and mortal on the horizon, Elise must pick a side to protect her kingdom. Does she stand with her people who stole the throne? Or with a man who lied his way into her heart and whose secret past could bring her destruction?

Filled with luscious world building, banter-filled romance, and epic battles, this first book in the dark, fantasy romance series, The Broken Kingdoms, part Viking, part fairy tale. One-click to start reading today.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Fae, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Young Adult

348 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2021

About the author

Writing is a beautiful thing.

I consider myself blessed I'm able to do this for a living. I live for fantasy books as a reader and author. I adore books like An Ember in the Ashes, The Night Angel Trilogy, Harry Potter, The Great Library series...I could go on.

Before I write I have four young humans I keep alive and love them to the stars and back again. I live in Utah with my sexy husband, the kiddos, two paranoid dogs, and a sinister cat. Between finishing a second degree, running a business, and eating too much chocolate, I love writing early in the morning when no one is awake. If you can't tell, I basically function on caffeine.

Reviews

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

ughhh. im so torn with this one.

honestly, i love the concept. the way the story progresses kept me very engaged as a reader, which is what i want from this common type of fantasy book. the characters are also pretty good. a little shallow, but interesting enough.

however, while i loved the story, the writing drove me bonkers. the prose itself isnt terrible, but the structure is just… odd. like missing sentences, random jumps between chapters/events, characters showing up in a scene when its never mentioned that they are present, information presented in a way that assumes the reader is already aware of it, and just inconsistent pacing.

so, because of that, this review can be summed up as “loved the idea, but not the execution.” buuuut, my interest in the plot outweighs my annoyance with the writing. so i will most likely continue the series at some point.

↠ 3.5 stars

[Milena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey Mile,

Have you noticed how every book title nowadays has some kind of Shadow or some kind of Thorn? All that's missing is the Bone. "Curse of Shadows, Thorns, and Bones!!" Tell me someone else has heard that before!? It's getting hard to keep up.

This book was.....pretty okay. Had a lot of potential, what with the funny rebellious princess who doesnt care for titles (also missing some fingers?), or the tall sexy negotiator who holds her love life in his hands. You got me. You kept me up until 2:00am. But...

Then you lost me.

Everything happened so fast. In true Game of Thrones fashion, the potential for character building and plot and world building was there. But BAM. Rush through it all and make it a letdown.

I mean...I'll keep reading the series but why? Why didn't you let it simmer.

Sincerely,
Undercooked and feeling a little raw,
Mile

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really like a 2.75 star book rather than 3 but I'll just leave it at that... I'm so meh about this first book and now I remember why I didn't move forward with the series. 😩

It's not a bad book... it's just kinda mid. Not decided if I want to continue yet. I'll post a review shortly. ❣️


Re-Read bc I don't remember shit, and... I really want to read this series before The Ever King series... heard nothing but good things! 😍💗

[Iqra]

Did I just find another nine book series to binge 🌚

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good but it could have been great. I liked the premise but everything seemed to happen so fast that there wasn't any time to really savor the relationship between the hero and the heroine. I still intend to check out the rest of the series and see what happens.

[Lucie V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is free on Amazon (Canada) today (06/20/2025). 🙂

✅ Forced proximity
✅ Interesting ideas for world-building
✅ Some action
✅🆗 Some politics
✅🆗 Lack of backstories and details about the politics and land
🆗 Romance felt a little bit like insta-love
🆗 Twists and revelations (not bad, but I saw them coming)
❗️❗️Trigger warning: a few murders and mild torture (not detailed)

Elise is the King’s second niece and has lived a life of comfort with enough freedom to be happy so far. When the King announces that the bid for Elise’s hand is starting and that the negotiations will be held by none other than the dashing and mysterious Legion Grey, Elise is desperate to find a way out of this impossible situation. The more time she spends with Legion, the more she realizes that he is not like every other nobleman she knows, and he also comes to see that Elise is not the usual noblewoman looking for riches and pretty clothes. After a betrayal that leaves Elise reeling, she is faced with a tough decision: she wants to help Legion, who she came to care for, but that would come at a great sacrifice on her part.

The world-building is what you would expect from a good old romantasy, but there is potential for expansion in the future books. We know that Timorans and Ettans are enemies since Timorans raided and took over Etta. Etta then became the New Timora, and Timorans have been ruling over Ettans ever since, using them as serfs and treating them like shit.

I was promised Viking lore, and it didn’t really deliver, sadly. There is mention of Gods and mythology, but it is not detailed, and I am hoping to learn a little more about that in the future, the characters also mention other neighboring kingdoms, and once again, I am hoping to learn more about those kingdoms and their parts in the Realm’s politics.

There is also magic in this fantasy world, it is called “fury” and seems to have all but disappeared. Once again, the basics are presented, but there was no deeper or more detailed explanation given as to how it works or what it can do exactly. It appears that faes and some Ettans used to have fury, and they could do things ranging from controlling nature to influencing people (I think? Honestly, I cannot even remember the few details that were given about it), and Timorans are now afraid of fury and what it can do.

I was surrounded by countless people, yet always, in some way, alone.

Elise is the King’s niece, and her only value is in the alliance she can create through her wedding. She is forced to take a backseat as the men in power around her get to decide what she is worth and who she should marry. Elise is the typical “I’m not like the other noble girls” girl, but it was not pushed to the point where it annoyed me, thankfully. That being said, while she is kind, brave, and driven, I also feel that her personality was a little shallow and revolved all around her hatred for royal conventions and her need to let Legion know that she was not like the other royals.

“Many a mother would happily toss their daughters at your feet.”
“Wouldn’t work, I’m afraid. I prefer my women off their knees, upright, and standing on their own.”
“At your back?”
“At my side.”

Legion is the man responsible for finding Elise a suitable match and negotiating the price of her hand in marriage. Elise had heard of him before, and she had seen him enough times to know that he was dashing (and to be a little obsessed with him, it seems), but she still did not like him at first because of the power he holds over her life. Legion quickly shows her that he is far from what she expected, though, and while I enjoyed his softer and more human side, I still have so many questions about his background. I know his past is kept hidden for a reason, but I am still wondering how exactly he came to be the prestigious deal-maker that he is, prestigious enough that the King asked him to personally take care of Elise’s match. Very few details are given about his ”rise to power”, if it can be called that.

“I ask how I am to give you to some fool because I do not know how. How am I to accomplish anything I set out to do here when my heart burns to have you for myself?”

The relationship between Elise and Legion, while cute and intense at times, progressed too quickly for me to truly enjoy it, and since most of the plot revolves around them and their romance, it made it harder to get involved in the story. I like the fact that even though she is part of the royal family, Elise does not need to be chaperoned everywhere she goes because she will never inherit the crown. However, the fact that Legion and she acted on their attraction towards each other after only a few weeks, which felt more like a few days, seemed too quick to be believable. The fact that it happened after a few weeks makes sense, but it only felt like a few days. And that is where it bothers me a little. It is a minor detail, maybe, but I know I would have enjoyed their romance more if the game of push and pull had truly felt like it lasted a few weeks instead of only one or two weeks.

There are some twists and revelations in the last part of the book, but I can’t say that I was truly shocked or surprised by any of them. I saw the big revelation coming from miles away, but it was still a good twist.

While I didn’t enjoy the romance that much, I am intrigued enough to continue with this series, and the books are not too long, so I will give the second book a try soon and see if it gets better and if it is worth investing myself in a nine books-series. I also really want to read the spin-off series that seems to have pirate vibes, but my mild OCD side will not let me read the spin-off without reading the original series first. 😅



Follow me on Instagram 🙂

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

it’s giving FBAA…?

[Eilidh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t usually do reviews on account of being far too lazy to bother, but oh boy. This is a big one.

I would like to start off by saying that I didn’t dislike hate the book itself. While it had issues, it could have been a relatively pleasant read for the most part - it had an interesting premise and for the majority of the book there was good chemistry between the two main characters before issues with pacing arose. However, I have a major issue with it, and looking through the reviews it simply does not seem to have been addressed. Perhaps I am simply reading into things, but there’s enough of it that I’m more than comfortable in drawing these conclusions. While I do have minor issues with lack of clarity on certain plot points and poor world building and development of ideas, there is one glaring issue that I would much rather talk about - the way this book deals with race.

The book opens with our main character, Elise, sneaking into a gambling den dressed as a man to play a game of cards. This only really seems to have happened to introduce Legion/Valen and to set her up as rebellious, which for the rest of the book means… she doesn’t think black people should be slaves. She does, however, sneak out once more to practice fighting with her friends, in order to be a warrior as her people used to be. This seems somewhat at odds with the surface level messages on race and slavery presented by the book (i.e. that maybe they are not great).

“What began as a jest with branches a few turns ago, had grown into a kind of weekly meet to fight, to be as our people—Timoran and Ettan alike—once were. Warriors.”

Right off the bat, obsessions with a warrior past are not exactly a great marker - especially when coupled with the clear viking inspiration for the Timoran (Elise’s) culture. There are clear and significant ties between Viking culture and organised racist movements, with Viking imagery and symbolism used widely to help push varying white supremacist narratives.

The ways in which the alt right do this are not bound by historical accuracy by any means, but designed to push an agenda. This also seems to be the case in this novel. Vikings would definitely have slaves, but historically these slaves would more than likely have been from the British Isles or from Finland, or other neighbouring countries. Ettans, on the other hand, are described explicitly as dark skinned.

“His hair was paler like Timorans, my people. But his skin and eyes glimmered with the unique dark shade of Ettans, the people mine enslaved during the raids.”

I am aware that fantasy worlds are obviously much different to reality - however the author has chosen clearly to include certain accurate elements of Viking culture. Why did the author, who appears to be a white woman, make the choice to have an enslaved nation of Black people in her book, when issues such as slavery and equality could have been discussed just as effectively without doing so? Where is the author coming from to believe that it is her place to speak on these issues; and furthermore to do it in such a way that suggests an extreme lack of knowledge and tact, if not an outright peddling of alt right ideology.

In addition to the strange fascination with war, Elise is portrayed as being somehow better than her fellow Timorans for believing that Ettans should be equal.

“Not all Timorans ruin the earth. And not all Ettans tend it. We choose who we become, Elise.”

This phrase is very much in alignment with the ‘good white person’ narrative. This is the tendency of white people to either consciously or subconsciously separate themselves into ‘good’ white people, who are not racist; and ‘bad’ white people, who are. This is inherently problematic - it removes the ‘good’ white people from the issue, absolving them of the blame and placing it onto others; while refusing to acknowledge the systems behind and complicity with the issues at hand.

Elise is also presented as a typical white saviour, in quite a literal fashion. For example, she is supposedly the key to curing Legion/Valen of his curse, and when he manages to cure himself in spite of this she is still lorded as the saviour. The white saviour trope, for reference, is where a white character steps in to rescue non-white characters from their problems. It is a clear theme throughout the novel, and follows the idea that people of colour are not capable of doing things for themselves. In real life this translates to money being given to white organisations (such as tourism for volunteering and missionary trips) instead of directly to the marginalised communities in question, where it would arguably be more effective.

This might be a fantasy novel, and alt right imagery in itself does not mean that the author must be alt right, but the themes and issues discussed all have real world connotations and impacts. Normalisation of these tropes in media leads to them being overlooked in real life, which contributes directly to the systemic oppression of people of colour and marginalised communities, regardless of the author’s intent.

1/5 Stars because while it really doesn’t feel like it was the authors intent, this really could have been easily avoided by a) thoroughly researching appropriate ways to address the issue, or b) not writing a novel on an issue that does not appear to pertain to you.

[Marquise]

I used to not mind Fae settings for Beauty & Beast retellings, but one too many generic & cardboard cutout Fae stories (and SJM) contributed to it becoming one of my least favourite settings & scenarios. Bonus point against? It's Viking-inspired, and my interest in that culture is nonexistent.

[✨⚡ Kelcey (felinebooktrovert) ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This was a pretty standard beginning to a fantasy series that I think suffered a bit from first book syndrome.

The storyline was intriguing and the characters were all interesting and likeable, but it was slower than I thought it would be considering the cover is two huge axes. And it was pretty short, so I don't think there was nearly enough time to really dive into the mythology, the characters, and their individual relationships.

But I am pretty excited to continue the series and also get into the other main pairings we'll get to see later on.

Would recommend for any romantasy fans ❤️‍🔥

[Vee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly feel like I’m rereading ‘Blood and Ash’, but the characters are posher and I constantly need a dictionary. I’ve abandoned ship at 50%🛸

I’m not trying to discredit this author, because the writing was not bad at all, but the plot is eerily similar to B&A. Other reviewers have mentioned this, but let me count the ways for my own sanity.

⚠️FYI - This review is one BIG spoiler, so if you do want to read this book, maybe stop reading now (Quick ! Close your eyes) ⚠️

Similarities with ‘Blood and Ash’ 😂:

✅ Her first interaction with the MMC (who she knows of beforehand) is at a seedy tavern in a bad part of town 🤨
✅ He is assigned to work for her, in a very close proximity. However in this book, he is a dowry negotiator.
✅ Someone taught the FMC to fight, although no one must know as she is a lady.
✅ She was attacked in childhood, which left her with scars (her fingers tips were cut off)
✅ They all talk of an Evil, rebel group that gets blamed for everything.
✅ The town is attacked and she must defend her home, despite the fact no one can know about her fighting skills.
✅ Her Maids are her only friends
✅ She doesn’t fit in with her family, because she isn’t an elitist
✅ The MMC is constantly going on about how different she is. Not at all how he thought she would be.
✅There is a lot of mentions of the ‘lost prince’. Obviously that is referring to the MMC.
✅ It is obvious to her that the MMC is hiding something, as he has such liberal views and doesn’t conform to fit in with other.
✅ Features a Cruel king that is constantly threatening her.

These are all the ones I can currently think of, but it’s pretty damn close.

It’s not all bad. I can also name a difference that I like …

Unlike the other book mentioned, this FMC isn’t meek or shy. She tells dirty jokes, flirts and often goes to ‘men-only’ poker games. She is not a heir/ person of importance, but a ‘spare’, so she can basically do what or ‘who’ she wants.

It’s often mentioned that because she is not the heir, she can have affairs or have children while unmarried. No one would really care. She doesn’t do any of this, but she could if she wanted.

Honestly if this had a different plot, I would have loved the FMC. But it all too déjà vu.

——————-

I’m not going to say this book made me feel stupid, but I definitely didn’t feel smart reading it 😂

As the characters are in the Royal family, they all talk in a Victorian style. It’s very much the Queen’s English.

Example : ‘By the gods, the man knew how to set my pulse aflame’.

Everything was very proper and sentences were phrased a little weirdly. Oh and the words. I had no idea what some of these words mean and still have no idea what they mean. ‘Stalwart’, ‘Gambeson’, ‘Sconces’ … nope. I spent so much time looking up words.

I thought because it was a fantasy, I would understand the lingo. That was not the case. Very quickly, the speech would go from normal to ‘Bridgerton’.

On top of all this, there were so many other new words I had to remember. New Places, New names for each Class, New Characters/ their family tree and New words in their dialect, like ‘Herr’ and ‘Hen’.

I know that the author is trying to build this world for the reader, but it all came at once. Not going to lie, it was a bit of an information dump at the start. If your memory isn’t the greatest, I wish you luck (my memory is not the greatest).

All in all, this book was not for me (I’m just clarifying in case this super long review did not highlight this point 😂).

[❤️Court - Villains Do It Better❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

I really enjoyed this! It wasn't perfect and the heroine was a little too naive for me at times, but I tried to be a little less picky and just go with the flow, and I'm glad I did. The ONLY thing I REALLY disliked about this book, was the blurb. It is VERY spoilery. While there are already indications, the heroine nor the reader knows the extent of the hero's hidden agenda until over halfway into the book, so I hate how much the blurb gives it away. Otherwise, I liked it and hopefully the next book is even better 🤞



Safety:

There isn't too much info said so the details are just based on assumptions from info given.

Virgin h/ non virgin H

H was possibly a "rake" before the heroine given his reputation

No ow/om drama

No cheating or other partners during the course of the book

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curse of Shadows and Thorns definitely gave me vibes of other books that I love. Which is probably why I devoured it so easily. It also doesn't hurt that it was a retelling of beauty and the beast either.

In this, you will meet Elise and Legion. She is a princess who feels like she's not up for the part. He's the mysterious stranger in charge of her dowry. I'll admit that these two were pretty predictable throughout the book. Instantly I knew something about Legion, but not everything. As for Elise, I liked how she didn't look down at people and treated them like an equal. Not like her horrible sister.

With each twist, turn, and betrayal that came my way - I was hooked. The pages just flew by, and I wanted to see how it was going to end. At the moment, I'm not happy. She chose him and he chose war/revenge for the past. Like why - Ugh!

In the end, I definitely need to get my hands on the sequel. I have questions and demand answers.

[Anniebananie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Buch war mit Sicherheit nicht perfekt, dennoch möchte ich eine Lanze für diese Geschichte brechen, die doch recht viele negative Rezensionen bekommt.

Zu Beginn brauchte ich zwei, drei Kapitel bis ich wirklich in die Geschichte reinkam. Aber ab dem Zeitpunkt fand ich das Buch wirklich sehr catchy und spannend, ich hätte es am liebsten in einer Session inhaliert.

Das Worldbuilding kam mir stellenweise zwar etwas zu kurz, aber mit dem Verlauf der Storyline klärt sich einiges auf und lässt dennoch genug Raum für die Folgebände offen. Ich denke man darf hier nicht vergessen, was für eine lange Reihe das ist.

Unsere Charaktere mochte ich allesamt. Vor allem die Vielschichtigkeit von Elise und Legion haben mir sehr zugesagt. Außerdem waren die Nebencharaktere größtenteils wirklich gut ausgearbeitet und viele lassen sich nicht ganz einer Seite ("gut" oder "böse") zuordnen. Und wenn ich eins bei Fantasy-Romanen liebe dann "morally grey characters"!

Ich fand das Erzähltempo recht rasant. Der Plot hielt auch einige Twists bereit, von denen ich manche zwar wirklich sehr vorhersehbar fand, andere mich aber dennoch überraschen konnten. Wir haben hier in diesem Auftakt der Geschichte schon einiges erfahren und dennoch habe ich dutzende Fragen, die mir hoffentlich die nachfolgenden Teile beantworten können. Aber ich bin definitiv "hooked" und super gespannt, wo sich die Geschichte hinentwicklen wird!

[Ari]

DNF @68%

It's not that I'm disliking the book, but I'm basically re-reading Armentrout's From Blood and Ash, and it's distracting enough to hinder my ability to properly enjoy this. So, we're going to part ways and I wish Andrews the best of luck in all of her future writing endeavors.

[Mika · Rating 1 out of 5]

White savior complex meets tired unoriginal plot and mediocre writing. I’m tired.

[Mikky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one SO much! It's very reminiscent of the Blood And Ash Series By Jennifer L. Armentrout. Though I don't know if that's because the same person narrates it and I've just connected the two or because the stories are similar. I mean, it's a very basic romantasy so things are bound to overlap. I'm just thrilled to have found this series because I very much still have a hole-shaped like the Blood And Ash Series in my heart because I'm waiting for more books to be released.

I have to mention that I seriously felt like I had missed an introduction book for this series because SO MUCH of the worldbuilding just isn't explained. It's simply mentioned and you're supposed to take that as fact. Due to that, I'm still very lost on all the terminology and the out-there names didn't help my last two functioning neurons. I tried my best but I'm still lost. It probably will get better as I listen to the next books *fingers crossed*. I also had to nitpick that there's a lot more telling than showing. Which isn't bad but the story would benefit from the inverse of that in quite a few situations.

Legion was fantastic! I kinda guessed his twist but the reveal was still very anxiety-inducing though. He's a tortured morally grey hero and I can't wait for him to make me question why I'm still on his side. He's hot okay? That's all you need to know 😅

The heroine was great! I liked how she's the black sheep of the family and is the only one that has a heart. She doesn't take joy from the killings and tortures like her entire family does. She wants peace but she'll have to get bloody in order to have a chance at it.

The ending was wild! I didn't see that twist coming! I hate how they left things though. I can't wait to dive into the next book!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, there's a very specific subsection of the romantasy genre which is comprised of books titled with a selection of the 8 same words, and all these books are basically the same story with a few little tweaks here and there. And I'll be honest, I'm a SUCKER every single time for these books and I am not sorry.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I loved the world build, the characters, the relationships. I think this book set things up really well for the rest of the series. Was the ending incredibly obvious from the start? Yeeesss. Do I care? Nooo.

It wasn't until I finished this book that I discovered this is book 1 of 9....9!! I mean surely the series will drop off around book 4-5 but I'm strapped in and ready to go.

As a side note, this was my book 100 of my 2024 reading challenge and honestly it was perfect. I started this year reading A Court Of Thorns And Roses, which was my first ever romantasy series. It made me fall completely in love with this genre of books and that love has only intensified throughout the year. So it made perfect sense to me to read a romantasy book to close out my challenge.

[Ella Lorain (hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I ask how I am to give you to some fool because I do not know how. How am I to accomplish anything I set out to do here when my heart burns to have you for myself?”

I care for you, want you, more than I care to breathe. But this will end in your blood. And I will not do that. Not to you.”

You guys, this book, this book is everything!!
Why it isn't more hyped and who do I need to yell at about it???

I devoured this. I ate every single thing up. This is the book that makes you forget you're reading

First, I'm so upset with this synopsis because in my opinion it's kind of spoilery and what it says only happens after like the 70% mark.

I'll write my own synopsis, thank you very much.

The book is about Elise. She's the king's younger niece. The second daughter of the second family, and therefore she doesn't being paid much attention to.

Elise is the kindest royal in all the kingdom. She's smart, she's cunning. She doesn't afraid to have her own opinions, to not follow the rules she must. She's a free spirit. She doesn't let people step on her, on any other person for that matter. She favors humanity above all.
Elise is my favorite kind of protagonist and could absolutely become one of my favorites.

Sadly for her, the time has come where she needs to be wed. This is her worst nightmare. She knows once she'll take her vows, she'll be shackled. And our girl wants to marry for love.
When the king announce he'll open the negotiation for anyone who wants her hand, he also announced who will be the negotiator. Usually it's the father, but since Elise's father is ill, he can't do it.
And who turns out to be Elise's negotiator? None other the Legion Grey. The mystery man she has been seeing from afar for the last few months, and has somehow gained status and power.

And so, Legion and Elise start to spend time together in order for him to get to know his charge.
Legion isn't like any noble, he’s not pompous and rude. He slowly get to know Elise better and is surprised by what he finds. How she's fierce and strong, how her best friends are the servants everyone looks down on. How she doesn't back down from his teasing and taunts.

"I assure you, Kvinna, you are in capable hands.”
“The only hands I consider capable are my own.”
Legion lifted one brow, a playful gleam in his eyes. “Ah, but you have never experienced what mine can do.”

And they get close, against better judgment. There's bantering, there's flirting, there's fleeting touches, gazes meeting across the room. There's tension. So. Much. Tension.
I forgot how fun it was to have that much tension between characters. How suddenly even the smallest thing like him standing at her back or touching her knee becomes so hot. I felt it all through the pages.
Because these two can't be together. Not only is Legion is the one who meets with Elise's suitors to find her match, but a romance between a negotiator and his charge is forbidden and will cause a huge scandal.

For the whole of the first meal, Legion Grey claimed me with the firm grip beneath the royal table. And I had let him. Without a second thought.

Forbidden to touch another during the bidding, not to mention how a negotiator touching his charge would set the town aflame in scandal should anyone discover the truth.

“I would not dream of denying you anything, Kvinna. I’ve no doubt you’d be terrifying should I try.”

“I am forever changed knowing you.”

“I may know my name, but I have yet to question for whom my heart beats.”

But a forbidden love story is not the only thing that's happening in this book. Not at all.
There are politics, there are rebels that are called agitators that believe the true fae king is still alive, and they attack in his name. There's a mystery figure/myth called The Blood Wraith that is rumored to be a ruthless murderer. Most of the things were easy to figure out, but some still surprised me. The concept of the story was so interesting.

And how can we forget, the side characters

We have Mavie and Siverie. They're Elise servants, but they're more like her best friends. She doesn't treat them like she's better than them. She treats them like sisters, and the same for them.
In front of other people, they don't utter a word, but when the doors are closed? They tease and laugh with Elise and feel free for whatever.
With their little group there's Mattis. He's a carpenter and at the same level as the servants, but these three have become like a family.
I love how close they're. The way their friendship works, while not being the norm, they managed to form something that worked for them.

“But . . .” Mavie went on, gasping, “you are my friend. Believe that I am who I say. Titles do not matter. We are friends.”

"do you remember the first thing you said to me?”
I didn’t, so I pinched my mouth and turned away.
“You asked me if I liked iced milk cakes.” Siv chuckled, a sad grin on her face. “First thing. You offered me a delicacy off your plate— a royal’s plate— because you didn’t like goat milk.”

"she blurted out that you were . . .” Siv hiccupped a sob. “That you were her truest friend and had been since you were girls. A serf and a royal.”

There's also Baven. Mattis's uncle. This old men is adorable. He worries about Elise like his own.
Then we have Tor and Halvar.
Tor is a mystery. He's somewhat a servant in front of people, but he's actually Legion's most trusted person.
Halvar is known to be the stable boy, but apparently he also knows Legion for years. Elise already knew him before and got along with him. And lately she's been seeing more and more of these two along with Legion.

“You’re not so bad, you know. For a royal.”
I scoffed with a grin. “You’re not so bad for a Shade.”

And if you reached this far in the review, you should know all I've written happens for the 75% of the book, and then a lot changed.

What did I mean when I said the ending annoyed me? I'll explain. But be warned, this is a spoiler for the ending. It's not major spoilers for the book because a lot is happening, but it is me ranting about something that happened at the end. I tried writing it as vague as I could, so you decide if you want to continue reading or not.



Spoilers:

I got so pissed off at Legion at the end!! He got what he wanted from Elise, she helped him, and then he told her they need to part ways?? EXCUSE ME?! This is not how a man who's into someone acts! At least not a man in a book! If I wanted someone who's afraid of his feelings and commitments and push away his loved ones, I would've seeked someone real! Legion highly disappointed me in the end. He can just let her go so easily? Just like that? Well then mister you need to check your priorities. And I really hope she won't take him back easily, man needs to grovel after that!
That's it. That's the rant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not me loving it while reading and thinking I'll give it 5⭐️
But then that ending and..... GRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RTC

[Casey Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and vivid, this YA Fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast was everything I was hoping for and didn't know I needed. Elise and Legion are couples goals. The push and pull between them gave me Reylo vibes and I loved the Viking-inspired detail sprinkled throughout the book. If you love a page-turner that will leave you begging for book two, this is your jam.

[MagicinMargins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted more “ oompf”. It was OKAY

[Kati *☆･ﾟ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*** stars


A rebellious princess. A cursed rogue. A forbidden love that will bring a kingdom to its knees.

Since I read The Ever King the other day I was intrigued by the story of Livia’s parents. So I began their trilogy.


And while this story is interesting (and the audio good enough), I’m not yet sold on this series nor the author’s talent of storytelling. It was a bit slow going tbh. Of course, with me having read the spin-off first, the big plot twist came as no surprise to me but I tried to not let it influence my judgement.

I hope their story picks up speed and thrill in the next one.



************
The Broken Kingdoms Series

Book 1 - Curse of Shadows and Thorns - 3.5 stars
Book 2 - Court of Ice and Ash - audio tbr
Book 3 - Crown of Blood and Ruin

Book 4 - Night of Masks and Knives
Book 5 - Game of Hate and Lies
Book 6 - Dance of Kings and Thieves

Book 7 - Den of Blades and Briars
Book 8 - Reign of Stars and Fire
Book 9 - Song of Sorrows and Fate


spin-off series of the next generation ⇢ The Ever Seas

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

I didn't get very far once she said she wished she could live like the poor caste and then a few pages later said she was one "at heart" I got an icky feeling and just stopped

[Lauren Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arranged marriage trope. Forbidden love. The world building was beautiful. However it’s like injury/new discovery & unknowing discovery, like the same senecio over again then again. Such a lovable & honorable FMC! Extremely slow burn but only to heartbreak. The plot twist was fun too! Overall a solid read!

[Nina Quill]

DNF page 130 : pas mal pour commencer la Romantasy mais je n’arrive pas à rester concentrée sur ma lecture

[Jessica ❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that this book has been just sitting on my TBR cart and collecting dust since November 2022 is embarrassing asf for me now. This book was so good and I could have already been obsessing over it this whole time. 😭😅

: ̗̀➛𝐌𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ♾️⭐/5

「“𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝.”」

This book has:
🌕Single pov
🌕First person pov
🌕Beauty & the beast inspired
🌕Vikings
🌕Fae
🌕A unique magic system
🌕Arranged marriage
🌕Slow burn
🌕Forbidden romance

╰┈➤What is it about? Well, Beauty and the Beast, meets Vikings, with a twist. So Kvinna Elise is the second niece of the King. She has reached the proper marriage age and so the King has hired Legion, a negotiator, to lead the negotiations for the search for her future husband. Elise wants nothing to do with it, she wants to be free just as she wishes all of the people in the land could be free. When a coup upends the entire kingdom and she must flee with Legion, she learns his biggest secret and she has no idea who she can trust anymore and if she should listen to her brain and run or listen to her heart and save the only man she has ever cared for.

「“𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”」

╰┈➤I was hooked on this book from page 1, it was THAT good. The world building was easy to catch on to, the lore was also easy to understand and follow. The story was well paced and the timeline made sense. The magic system sounds intriguing, we didn't get to see much in action as this is book 1, but I am hopeful that we get to witness more of the fury in the rest of the series. The characters left nothing to be desired. I loved Legion, Tor, and Halvar so much, they all compliment each other in their little merry band of friends. Elise is a strong willed woman who can definitely take care of herself but does not mind if a man has to come in and save the day. And I love that for her. Legion and Elise together? I cannot wait for more of these scenes because I love them so much as they compliment each other in the absolute best ways even with her trust issues and his umm, issues, yeah. 😂. Normally I skip around books, but I need to start the next book immediately so I ordered it last night after I finished this book lol. This book is everything and I cannot wait to see where the rest of the series goes.

Happy reading babes 🫶

[Michelle Sanseverino · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFed at 17%. The FMC is an insufferable Mary Sue. You get beaten over the head with how much she is not like other girls. I know it probably wasn’t intentional, but this book reeks of the ‘white savior’ narrative. The FMC is besties with her serfs, prefers being in the slums to her fancy royal life, and thinks everyone is equal because she treats them equally. I honestly can’t believe more people haven’t brought this up. I’ve seen one review that brought it up. I couldn’t even get to the actual plot before I had to put it down. The premise sounds so cool, but it could have really used a sensitivity editor or something.

[Leah City of Words and Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich habe mich dieses Jahr sehr auf die Übersetzung von „Curse of Shadows and Thorns“ gefreut! Auf englisch stand es bereits auf meiner Want to Read Liste, da die Reihe ziemlich beliebt ist, weswegen die deutsche Veröffentlichung wie gerufen kam. ☺️

Der Klappentext hat mir eigentlich alles gegeben, was ich an Romantasy liebe: eine High Fantasy Geschichte mit Fae, eine rebellische Protagonistin, ein geheimnisvoller und mysteriöser Protagonist sowie den ein oder anderen Plottwist.
All das habe ich auch bekommen.
Elise hat ihren ganz eigenen Kopf und handelt nicht unbedingt so, wie ihre Familie es von ihr erwartet. Legion Grey weckte bereits in der Vergangenheit ihr Interesse und löst Gefühle in ihr aus, die sich nicht fühlen sollte. Er soll nämlich einen passenden Ehemann für sie finden und sich in ihn zu verlieben, ist dabei nicht die beste Idee …

Der Einstieg war recht interessant und konnte direkt meinen Geschmack treffen. Insgesamt gab es für mich zu viele Beschreibungen in der Geschichte, die besser durch noch mehr Szenen zwischen Elise und Grey ersetzt werden sollten. Diese Momente haben mir nämlich sehr gut gefallen! Schöne Dialoge sowie intensive Blicke standen hier ganz weit oben. Ich mochte diese ganz leichten Forbidden Love vibes sowie das Geheimnis, das Greys Person betrifft. Die Liebesgeschichte hätte insgesamt noch etwas mehr ausgebaut sein können.
Das letzte Drittel war für mich tatsächlich am stärksten. Es gab zwei Plottwists und zum Schluss auch noch ein offenes Ende, das neugierig auf den nächsten Band macht. Ich freue mich schon drauf! ❤️

[Ana Or'Lar · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐ Un romantasy más de esos con portadas chulas y títulos intercambiables. Ligero, 99% predecible, a ratos entretenido, a ratos soso.
Lo que más me ha gustado es el tema político. Desde los orígenes de la situación actual, los acontecimientos que se van desarrollando y todo el juego que puede dar aún. No será lo más original pero tiene su gracia y promete, si decido continuar con esta primera trilogía será por ésto.

Lo que menos me gustó: Elise. Porque se trata de la típica protagonista única y diferente, esa que no es como las demás y no pierden oportunidad de dejarlo claro, la valiente guerrera que solo sabe ponerse en peligro innecesario y la sientan al primer sopapo, las que son tan diferentes que hasta parecen hechas en serie. 🙄 No las soporto, punto. Por ende, al ser nuestros ojos y mente de la historia, difícilmente la iba a disfrutar, no me importa lo que le pase e incluso el romance me pareció desabrido.

El final es abierto aunque no me ha dejado con demasiada curiosidad ni ganas, la verdad. Veremos.

[Leyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I am easily entertained but I loved this book and I honestly can’t wait to read the rest of this series. I’m really hoping that these books just keeps getting better and better because I’ve been really in need of a romantasy series with a more in depth, over arching plot. Along with characters who are complex and not one dimensional. Also Legion Grey is an absolute babe and he has taken another spot as a book boyfriend. I am not ashamed.😇😏