The Veiled Kingdom by. Holly Renee | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom, #1)

Author: Holly Renee

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 364

Publication Date: 3/19/24

Categories: Romance, Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Fae, Enemies to Lovers

From USA Today Bestselling Author Holly Renee, author of the Stars and Shadows series, comes a scorching new fantasy romance that ignites the pages with relentless danger, forbidden passion, and the intoxicating allure of enemies to lovers.

Fleeing my father’s cruelty, the wicked king who robbed me of a future, I face death in the streets, caught between a rebellion and a tyrant’s reign.

Captured by those sworn to kill me, the rebels remain blind to my true identity—the missing daughter of the despised king. Faced with an impossible choice, I stand before them: join the rebels or face their blades.

Yet, Dacre, the son of the ruthless rebellion commander, becomes torn between suspicion and a desire that mirrors my own. He allows no one to touch me, tries to protect me, yet threatens me at every turn.

As secrets are weaved beyond our hidden realm, a fierce battle unfolds within me. As I get closer to the rebels, and their cause, my loyalty to my kingdom clashes with my undeniable devotion to Dacre and the burning connection between us.

In a world where love and hate are two edges of the same blade, I find myself caught in a delicate dance between forbidden desire and my looming destiny.

Content Warning: toxic parental relationship

I went into this one blind – I saw the book cover, love the colors, thought the synopsis sounded pretty good and hit “read for free” since it’s on Kindle Unlimited. I read it in one night!

I wanted “enemies to lovers” and I got it. Nyra is a runaway princess – her father’s regime is ruthless and she had to escape him. There is a rebellion movement planning to take him down but they are in search of this so-called princess people haven’t seen in awhile. The son of the rebellion is Dacre and he is Nyra’s enemy…for now.

The chemistry between Nyra and Dacre is so good. He’s her captor, she’s the captive. He doesn’t trust her and treats her like she’s a pebble in his shoe but she doesn’t cower. Even when he’s disrespecting her, and insulting her while he trains her, always egging her on – she never cowers in front of him but instead takes it and I guess it even turns her on. I will say that there are qualities to Dacre that are admirable, like obviously he cares for his sister Wren and he is loyal to his people and the rebellion. He has an awful dad and his mom’s death traumatized him so he is hard edges and just – hard. 😅

There’s a lot of spicy scenes between Nyra and Dacre but it comes later in the book, which I thought was perfect timing. It didn’t happen so quick, but it definitely kept me seated and reading, waiting to see if something more would happen – and I was not disappointed!

As far as world-building, I just wanted a little more but because I’m used to it in other fantasy books. I felt like this one is one of those addictive reads with not as much world-building but maybe in comes in book two? A lot time is spent with Dacre training Nyra and the story is mostly set in the rebel city, so I’m hoping book two takes us back to Nyra’s kingdom and we get to actually meet this horrible father of hers.

I devoured this book but unfortunately now I have to wait for book two which comes out in July!

My Final Thoughts:

This hit all my romantasy cravings ~ enemies to lovers, captor/captive, one bed, alphahole and his dirty talk (naughty, naughty!), and this is a world of faeries which I also love but I need a bit more world-building. I want to know more about these fae kingdoms, more backstory and maybe more depth with Nyra (I’m thinking we get it with that cliffhanger ending!) but other than that, I’ll be waiting for book two. I’m addicted!

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Book Links:

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A Court of Wings and Ruin by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Format: ebook (own)

Pages: 703

Publication Date: 5/2/17

Categories: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Faeries, Series

The epic third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything-and everyone-she holds dear.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers-both magical and political-and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the fate of Feyre’s world is at stake as armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy it.

Content Warning: violence, death, slut-shaming, war

My Goodreads review of this one was 4 stars at first read and I’m keeping it at that!

+ The best part of this book comes in the second half of it and this is quite a long book at 700 pages. So in my re-read it was kind of a slog to get through the first part. But once it hit the halfway mark and things start happening then it just goes off the charts. Just everything that happens in that major battle scene against Hybern is amazing. It’s emotional, it’s chaotic, everyone is on the verge of dying! So good.

+ Nesta. This is where my appreciation for Nesta grows even more and we know her story is going to be amazing because she is badass. That woman is feral! Her book is probably my favorite of the whole series. Elain – we get to see more of her personality and struggles but we REALLY need her book now.

+ That scene with the girls and their dad – ugh, it gutted me in the first read. I think I cried. This time I didn’t but that scene will always stick in my mind.

+ Everyone comes out of the woodwork in this one ti fight against Hybern. It gives me Lord of the Rings – the Battle of Helms Deep – vibes! Can you imagine if this was on screen?! Especially when they think they are going to lose and it pivots. Anyway, everyone puts aside their differences <looking at you Tamlin👀>

~ The first half is a lot of build-up, trying to gather allies, support and leading up to this big battle with Hybern. It wasn’t quite holding my attention, maybe because I knew what was coming but we get to see some things like Lucien and Elain try to be around one another. Some Nesta and Cassian interactions.

~ Tamlin. Man…what happened to you? Sometimes I feel bad for him though because he did love her. Like does he deserve his own happily ever after? I sometimes want it for him but also…he’s such an ass.

~ I got even more tired of Rhys and Feyre calling one another “my mate”. Can’t they just use their names? lol…

My Final Thoughts:

The battle with Hybern is so epic and my favorite part of this whole book. I’m glad that part lived up to expectations. I think there are a lot of things in the first half that could have been cut out just to make the story move faster but I know there was a need to build up the tension of an epic war coming.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

House of Flame and Shadow by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

House of Sky and Breath by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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A Court of Silver Flames | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Court of Mist and Fury by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Court of Thorns and Roses by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A Court of Mist and Fury by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Court of Mist and Fury

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Format: ebook (own)

Pages: 626

Publication Date: 5/3/16

Categories: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Faeries

The seductive and stunning #1 New York Times bestselling sequel to Sarah J. Maas’s spellbinding A Court of Thorns and Roses .

Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she’s now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future-and the future of a world in turmoil.

Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas’s masterful storytelling brings this second book in her dazzling, sexy, action-packed series to new heights.

Content Warning: violence

This is another book I’ve re-read countless times but it’s been awhile since I did my last re-read. My Goodreads review of this one was 4 stars at first read but I’m bumping it up to 5 after this re-read.

+ What I appreciate about this book after time has passed and I’m a tiny bit older is I love Feyre’s growth as a character. She gave her all, risked her life because of Tamlin. She was so in love with that man- but did she really know him? Or like she says in the book, did she just attach herself to the first person who showed her any kind of affection? Feyre wasn’t whole to begin with, she never had a family that showed love, except for Elain who is just a sweet sister, and then Tamlin came along. But in this second book she’s even more broken after what happens Under the Mountain and this is her story about rebuilding herself into something broken, but strong. Someone who can live with what she’s done, someone who can accept herself as who she is.

+ If ACOTAR is beauty and the beast then ACOMAF is Hades/Persephone which is another favorite of mine!

+ I love Rhysand’s family and friends. For the supposed villain that he is, he’s been hiding a whole city that he loves and protects and family and friends that he’s sacrificed everything for. And they welcome Feyre, who is broken, they don’t pity her, they don’t coddle her – Cassian trains her. Feyre is around people that accept her as is.

+ Yes, she goes from Tamlin to Rhysand, but hey she’s a woman with her own mind. Tamlin wasn’t the right fit for her but I do love how her relationship with Rhysand transpires, it builds slowly with time, patience and friendship. He knows she’s suffering and he’s there for her as a lifeline but not as someone she’s madly in love with – just a person on the other side of the hell she’s in telling her, she’s not alone. I love that about them. It really is a beautiful love story between them. Also this is where the series gets spicy!

~ Tamlin’s character is just shredded in this story. He is way overprotective, too possessive – because he is afraid of losing Feyre and he loses her anyway! I honestly didn’t love how Feyre loved this man SOOOOOOOOO much, she did all of those things Under the Mountain, for HIM…and he ends up being a jerk in this book. Like come on, there has to be a reason why she felt all those things with him. He can’t be that awful?! I know…they are both broken after what Amarantha did to all of them but I had hope for Tamlin in this book and nope…he is tarnished in my eyes.

~ This is a longer book than the last one, as is SJM’s style so once more there is a lot of talking and explaining. Rhysand alone in the end giving Feyre his explanation for keeping the secret of them being mates is a few pages long! 😅 I don’t mind but seriously…oh and this is the part of the series where we start hearing the word “mate” repetitively and I am very used to it by now but still, it was this series that made me start rolling my eyes at the word “mate”. I also still laughed out loud when she starts glowing during their spicy scene…like what in the Twilight?! lol…

My Final Thoughts:

I love this book because of Feyre’s growth and we learn so much about Rhysand and Velaris. I love all the secondary characters like Cassian, Azriel, Mor and Amren. Are there issues that I found, sure I mean…there a lot of things that get repetitive like the whole mate thing but I’m in love with Feyre and Rhysand’s love. By the way, this is where Nesta captures my attention, she’s a very unlikable character in book one but her strength and not giving a crap is compelling regardless how bitchy she comes off – which is why her story is one of my favorites. Story wise we learn more about the King of Hybern and that intense ending again was awesome. But the romance between Feyre and Rhysand is where it’s at.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

House of Flame and Shadow by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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Book Review | House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Court of Silver Flames | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Court of Thorns and Roses by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Format: ebook (own)

Pages: 419

Publication Date: 5/5/15

Categories: Young Adult, New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Faeries

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Content Warning: violence, death, torture

I can’t say how many times I’ve read this book. But it’s been so long that I’ve done a re-read, I thought why not right now? In my initial review for this book in 2015 on Goodreads was 4 stars. So I’m bumping it up 1/2 a star because I loved it the more I re-read it.

+ Feyre is a fantastic character. She’s a survivor, she does makes mistakes, she’s not even the strongest person physically but she survives on her instincts and is always learning. I love her bravery even when she’s deathly afraid. I love that she took care of her family and has complicated feelings about her family.

+ I love that this first book in the series had a beauty and the beast vibe where Feyre goes to Prythian to live in Tamlin’s home as punishment because she kills one of his men, without knowing he was a faerie. I like that this faerie world of Prythian is dangerous and Feyre comes in contact with many different monsters while living there.

+ The world building is so good. And I loved how bad a villain Amarantha is. The ending of the book is what made my jaw drop about this book. What Feyre does for Tamlin and her bravery throughout it all made me admire her so much.

+~ Ah, the romance. It’s so good when you don’t know what’s coming in book two! 😅 All my re-reads after reading it the first time made me look at Tamlin a different way of course. But here’s the thing, it was so good between Tamlin and Feyre. He was this gorgeous, scary beast and all he wanted to do was protect though we find out later there is an ulterior motive to having her in Prythian. She risked it all for him!

~ There is a lot of talking in this book, in this whole series actually because there is always explaining to do. There are stories that Feyre doesn’t know, faerie lore, there’s a lot she needs to catch up on and figure out so yes…sometimes it’s a lot of explaining happening.

My Final Thoughts:

I never get tired of re-reading this book, especially this first one because we see this human girl turn into a broken almost superhero at the end, all for the guy she loves. But also, this was the first book that introduces us to this amazing world of Prythian and I truly love all the adventures Feyre has capturing the Suriel, fighting the Naga and the worm, and helping to end Amarantha’s reign of terror. It’s a dark, sultry story without it being spicy. Of course I have my issues with it too but overall I love the story.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

House of Flame and Shadow by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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The High Mountain Court by. A. K. Mulford | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: The High Mountain Court (The Five Crowns of Okrith, #1)

Author: A.K. Mulford

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 312

Publication Date: 8/10/21

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Fated Mates, Fae, Witches

A red witch in hiding…

Gripping and action-packed, The High Mountain Court is an adrenaline-filled, high fantasy with fae courts, powerful witches, and a diverse cast of characters, perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Holly Black.

Thirteen years fleeing witch hunters and the looming threat of death. Nineteen-year-old Remy knows she is possibly the last red witch alive, and she is determined to stay that way. The Northern Court King has slaughtered her home court and placed a bounty on red witch heads.

When four fae warriors enter her tavern refuge, Remy tries to flee, but her magic isn’t strong enough to stop a fae prince on a mission. The handsome Prince Hale of the Eastern Kingdom wants to stop a war with the Northern Court before his kingdom befalls the same fate as Remy’s. He needs a red witch and Remy may be the only person alive who can help him. Can she really trust Prince Hale? Can her fallen court be resurrected from the evil clutches of the Northern Court King? For the chance to save herself, her people, and help defeat the Northern King, Remy must put her faith in Hale and his companions on a dangerous quest to find lost relics.

The High Mountain Court is the first book in the thrilling fantasy saga, The Five Crowns of Okrith. Expect danger, intrigue, and thrilling passion as Remy journeys to save the kingdom she holds most dear.

I picked this one up over the weekend just because I was craving a faerie storyline. I had no real expectations going in and I was surprisingly entertained!

I enjoyed the world building with faeries and witches. Remy is supposedly the last red witch alive so she is basically living on the run, with two loyal companions who are brown witches. She runs into Hale, who is a fae Prince from the Eastern Kingdom. He’s been looking for a red witch to help him find some magical artifacts. These magical artifacts would supposedly lead him to a missing heir of the High Mountain Court who can wield the treasures and fight the Northern King who is trying to overtake all the kingdoms.

Remy as a main character was just okay at first. She’s special, but we don’t fully know why until way later. I did love finding out the secrets she was hiding. There was something emotional about Remy too – she’s an orphan and has had some trauma in her past. She travels with two companions who are clearly devoted to her, and you see by the end just how far that devotion goes. Remy grows a lot in this story – she learns to fight, she learns to embrace her fears and she gains courage from her new fae friends.

The cast of characters are great and diverse. I especially liked Carys and Bri – fae who take her in and help her grow into a stronger young woman, they were fun. I liked that there was lots of action in the book, especially in the end and the twists were good too.

The romance between Remy and Hale is nice and it builds. I like that at first it grows from animosity to friendship and then eventually something they both can’t deny. It gets pretty steamy between them. I was definitely rooting for them and their happily ever after.

Triggers: violence

My biggest issue with this book was the moment they realized they were each other’s Fated Mates. From then on the phrase “fated mate” or “fated” or “mate” was everywhere and it ruined it for me! I love the fated mates trope – but do I need to be reminded they are fated on every other paragraph? Nope. I think I know they are fated – you had to tell me only one time. lol…it became so repetitive I was cringing.

Would have love to learn more about the witches!

Why you should read it:

you like fated mate romances
interesting world building of fae courts and witches
lots of action and some emotional parts too

Why you might not want to read it:

the word “fated mates”, and “mate” are repeated a lot in the last parts of this book

My Thoughts:

I honestly just picked this up because I needed something light and easy to read that had faeries and romance in it. To me this was a fun read with enough action and emotion to keep me invested in the characters. It actually ticked off all the boxes in what I was looking for in a book until the fated mate stuff. I love a good fated mates story, but I really don’t need to be reminded every five minutes they are fated. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I will still read book two because it’s going to be about another set of characters but I hope there is WAY less of the phrase “fated mate” or “mate”.

📚~Yolanda

Book Review: Oberon Academy

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Oberon Academy – Book One: The Orphan

Author: Wendi L. Wilson

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 252

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Faeries

Sometimes the ones who save us are the ones we need to fear the most.

In a world where dark faeries have stepped in to save the planet from humanity’s mistakes, seventeen-year-old December Thorne is nothing but a shadow. Shunned by her peers, bullied at school, and paid a little too much attention by her sleazy foster father, she lives in constant fear and perpetual solitude.

Until the day everything changes.

Offered a scholarship to the prestigious Oberon Academy, December finds herself living in a whole new world. Boundless food, clean clothes, a safe place to sleep, and the potential for true friendship make her new life seem almost too good to be true—but the school has a secret.

The truth is, Oberon Academy isn’t just a prep school for society’s elite. It’s a training ground for a secret race of magical beings no one knows exists. And they’re preparing for war.

Filled with fear and denial, December has a choice to make. She can either return to her pathetic life with her dangerous foster parents, try to survive on her own, or make Oberon Academy her home and discover the truth about who, and what she really is.

And that truth could save the world.

If you know me by now, through my blog that is, you know I’m a sucker for “Academy” books. There are a bit way too much of it showing up on my Kindle Unlimited “recommended for you” list and the covers all look alike. 😩So I was drawn to this one because the cover looked a tad bit different

I just read it this morning, past midnight for sure…more like, I woke up at 4:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep so I grabbed my Kindle and was done with this by 7am! Haha, then my kids woke up.

It’s a quick read and only 252 pages. What I liked about it? I like that it’s a take on Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare because when I was in middle grade, I was kind of obsessed with this story. King Oberon, Queen Titania and Puck, I love them all! Mind you I thought the word Oberon in the title was just coincidence but when other familiar names started popping up I was like…😯. The Sylphs at Oberon Academy are like the good fairies who like to have fun, and most of them are blond. At that part, I was like, really? 🤔 Whereas the Zephyrs who helped Earth when humans were on the verge of world destruction have black eyes, black hair and black wings. Which December Thorne an enigma.

December, has had a rough childhood, bouncing from one foster home to another. But she gets a chance to escape her current situation when she is accepted into Oberon Academy. She has black hair, blue eyes and she has black wings. From then on it’s the predictable tropes that happen in this genre – popular boy falls for different, new girl, and then she finds she has more powers than anyone else and there is a villain to defeat.

But I eat this stuff up like ice cream. I can’t stop (well I am lactose intolerant now, so I do know I can’t consume ice cream like before 😩) – and the stories in these academy series by indie authors on Kindle Unlimited are usually so short, it’s easy to consume so fast.

I liked December and watching her grow from invisible girl to the girl dating the Oberon heir, hottie faerie Easton. The attraction between them is definitely bordering on New Adult status. Haha…there isn’t any sex though if you are wondering. I also enjoyed seeing her find a best friend in Shaela, because friendship is important. I think all of the characters could use a bit more depth maybe – it seemed too easy that she meets Easton and that’s it. I don’t even think she met another teenage boy at this academy. Not even Easton had friends!

Since this was only book one, I wonder if December will be driven to the dark side of the Zephyrs at all in future books, because that would be interesting! Anyway, this book was light reading, predictable, yes, but I enjoyed it and hopefully it can only get better from here on.

Get it here: Amazon

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