Tame the Dark by. Ella Fields | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Tame the Dark

Author: Ella Fields

Pages: 491

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Categories: Fantasy, Dark Romance, Romantasy

When enemy heirs shelter together from the war, forbidden love sparks between bookshelves and behind dormitory doors…

When war erupts, heirs from across the continent shelter on sacred ground at the Archives of Avyshla. But our sense of safety is shaken when the enemy king sends his heir to join us.

Voran is not merely a prince but his uncle’s hunter and assassin. And what his uncle seeks belongs to my family—control of the wyverns—the Scale Crown. Although no one can spill blood on sacred ground, I fear the prince’s intentions are as sinister as he seems. He proves as much when danger breaches the isle, and he saves me to have me in his debt.

To survive, I make a secret deal with him.

Except survival soon becomes longing. A hunger for calloused hands, stifled breath, and accented murmurs that doesn’t end with the war. Instead, it blooms into something even more forbidden.

Something that could be my salvation—and the downfall of my kingdom.

A standalone romantasy with evil sunshine, enemies to lovers, and dark romance.

Content Warning: death, violence

+~ I’ve read one Ella Fields book and I thought it was pretty good and wanted to try her newest book. Ayla and other royal heirs/children are taking refuge on an island which houses The Archives of Avyshla, but then the enemy shows up, the Wolf Prince, Voran. He’s morally gray and a beast (literally he is a shapeshifter). The first part of this story takes place on this island where these royals have jobs the priestesses give them to stay busy. I thought it was strange at first that all of them are hanging out on the island staying safe. But while reading I didn’t see the point of knowing when they were going to do their chores or who’s turn it was to take a bath. It only gets interesting when Voran and Ayla interact because she’s an innocent and he’s got a scary, ruthless reputation. We learn a little about the conflict happening between the kingdoms, Voran’s uncle is laying siege to Ayla’s kingdom, but they can’t do much from the island and news comes sporadically which I thought was a little frustrating. I would have liked to know what was going on outside of the island.

+ I liked a few of the secondary characters, especially Celestine, who is Ayla’s best friend. I loved the baby wyvern, and later on I thought Ruvus was an interesting character. I think the person with the most growth is Ayla, she is someone who follows directions and doesn’t fight but I think near the end, she’s a tiny bit more assertive.

+ The romance is an enemies to lovers, forbidden romance. Voran is obsessed with Ayla but Ayla is so innocent she doesn’t know much about guys, just that he helped her so she is in his debt. He allows her to help him how to read but that means they spend a lot of time together. And all that forced proximity leads to kisses and then more. So in a way I felt like they were horny, college kids trying to find places to be alone and fool around! They get to know one another, and things get spicy! She likes him being in control. But things change when Ayla’s dad surrenders and Ayla is set to marry Voran’s uncle. I loved all the love confessions at the end though, swoon! I did love the two of them together and how opposite they were but so attracted to one another.

~ Throughout the book I kept thinking, this can’t be a standalone, because I felt like things weren’t progressing in the first part like I would have liked. I just kept wondering what was going on and why were they stuck at the Archives? I think I wanted more of the political intrigue and that does come in the second half of the book. But it didn’t feel balanced, and the pacing felt off because of the two parts. And even near the ending I was wondering if this was truly a standalone because Celestine’s story feels like could be a whole new book. Also, I want to know how Dusk will turn out. On a side note, there were some phrases that were repeated a bit too much throughout the book like “wriggled my lips”. 😅

Final Thoughts:

This is the kind of book that is good to vibe to plus it’s a standalone, which is nice. Though I do want a book about Celestine! It’s got a dark romance that isn’t super dark, and spice that’s is frequent but not too crazy. I think the two parts of the story made things unevenly paced so I did have some issues with that but Ayla and Voran’s romance kept me invested. They really are cute together because she’s soft and innocent and he’s hard and ruthless, but he’s obsessed with her. The love confessions were so sweet. I would have enjoyed it more if there was more political intrigue in the beginning as much as the end. But overall, this was a good escape.

Read if you like:

fantasy
fae and shapeshifters
dark romance, spicy
forced proximity

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Amid Clouds and Bones by. Ella Fields | Book Review – 3.5 stars

Prince of the Sun by. Emma Noyes | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Prince of the Sun

Author: Emma Noyes

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 8/4/26

Publisher: Emma Noyes

Categories: Urban Fantasy, New Adult, Romance, Academia

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Emma Noyes for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Legally Blonde meets A Deal with the Elf King in the debut spicy standalone adult romantasy from the acclaimed author of How to Hide in Plain Sight, the Sunken City series, and the Soul of Shadow trilogy.

One hundred years ago, the elves appeared on Earth.

Beautiful, brilliant, and filled with unearthly grace, they swarmed the libraries and universities: Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Beijing. They made for the humans’ fountains of knowledge with eerie precision, as if they’d spent millennia studying Earth before their arrival.

Once there, the Elf King made an announcement: we’re looking for something, and once we find it, we will leave you in peace.

Quinn Kallister doesn’t believe him. Seven years ago, she watched her father be murdered and her brother kidnapped by a pair of elves. Since then, she fought to gain admission to Harvard for one reason: to find the answers no one will give her. To do that, she must spy on Daerios Ariar, the most powerful and terrifying of the Sun Princes. Quinn is set on gaining the prince’s trust and learning the elves’ secrets—until an unwanted attraction begins to form between them that neither can deny.

Content Warning: eating disorder, death, kidnapping

World Building: This is a standalone so for a world that has to be explained in 300+ pages, I thought this was detailed enough. One hundred years ago elves descended on Earth and they went to prestigious libraries in search of something. Quinn witnessed her father be killed by an elf and her brother was kidnapped so she turned in into a mission to find out why this happened – she also hated elves because of it. While at Harvard, she’s studying linguistics and decides it’s where she can spy on the elves and gather intel. What she didn’t expect was befriending and falling for a Sun Elf prince, Daerios. The story is set mostly at Harvard and but it does take us briefly into the elf world, Elaërion. I loved that Quinn was a brilliant linguist and could speak all dialects of elvish.

Characters: Quinn is a smart 19 year old, focused on trying to find out why elves came to Earth and how it ties into her father’s death. She’s brave, funny, and smart but she is also a recovering anorexic and throughout the story when things got difficult, it was a challenge for her to not resort to her old coping mechanisms. Daerios is one of the princes of the Sun Elves and though he comes off as the party boy who embarrasses his family, he turns out to be a softy and someone dealing with his own grief and trauma too. I also loved the side characters, Cara – Quinn’s roommate and Daerios’ best friend Berendir, they were so funny!

Romance: I love the romance even though Quinn is 19 and Daerios is over 100 years old, he’s stuck in a 19 year old body, but the two of them were so cute together. The banter was funny and they had sparks that Quinn was trying to deny at first, but the two of them were inevitable.

Story: I couldn’t put this one down and loved how though there were some dark topics like death, trauma, and anorexia – this still felt like a fun read because of the humor, especially when Cara and Berendir were in the picture and the romance. I loved seeing Quinn and Daerios fall for one another despite the odds against them. I also really enjoyed Quinn’s investigation into the what the elves were looking for. It’s a standalone so the climactic scene at the end did feel a bit rushed but I didn’t mind it much and I thought it was kind of fitting for this type of story.

Final Thoughts:

I had fun reading this one! I loved the romance between Quinn and Daerios with the banter, spice, and falling in love. I loved their best-friends who brought the humor. I also enjoyed all the world-building, the academia, and learning about the elves. I know this is a standalone but I would love more stories set in this world!

Read if you like:

standalone
elves
urban fantasy
romance

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Heart of Mischief by. Emma Noyes | ALC and ARC Review | Audiobook and Ebook – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Soul of Shadow by. Emma Noyes | ARC Review – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Vow of Eternal Night by. Lily Crozier | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️.5

Title: Vow of Eternal Night

Author: Lily Crozier

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 8/4/26

Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Vampires, Gothic

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Entangled: Amara for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Clara Wagner has always known that monsters are real, and the worst of them is Prince Raleigh of Rostenburg. But when he decides it’s time to marry, Clara inadvertently finds herself at the center of his attention.

Forced to accept Raleigh’s proposal, Clara would do anything to escape her fate. So when the prince provides an ultimatum―lift his vampiric curse before the end of the year, or become his bride for eternity―Clara knows what she must do.

Heal the prince. Stay alive. Try not to fall in love.

Content Warning: death, grief, violence

Set in world (I think in Austria) where vampires and other monsters are real, Clara is forced to be engaged to Prince Raleigh of Rostenburg. But they have a bargain, if Clara can figure out how to cure Raleigh from his vampirism, he will let her go.

This is a slow burn, low spice vampire romance with lots of gothic vibes. I actually loved Clara and Raleigh’s interactions – they are both grumpy characters which made things entertaining. She is not afraid of him and adjusts to her situation of captivity pretty well I think. Raleigh is not a very aggressive and alpha male type of vampire but yet at times can still be scary because he is what he is. He left her alone a lot, which was one of my issues. I would have loved to see them getting to know each other better and have more of a build up to the romance. It has one spice scene and though I loved their bickering at times, I wanted more. The story gave Beauty and Beast vibes, which I enjoyed and is told like a fairytale.

There is found family, secrets, betrayals and I was really interested to see how this would all play out and if Clara could break Raleigh’s curse. There is also action and some vampire fights which I thought were fun. I’m a sucker for relics like silver crosses being a weapon against vampires!

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a fun retelling of Beauty & the Beast, but with a vampire twist. It has a great gothic and fairytale atmosphere and the main characters were entertaining in the interactions. I just wanted a little more from the romance and maybe it was a bit predictable but I still had fun reading it, especially because of the action scenes. This is a pretty solid debut!

Read if you like:

standalone
vampires
Beauty and the Beast retelling

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Last Legacy by. Adrienne Young | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Last Legacy

Author: Adrienne Young

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 322

Publication Date: 9/6/21

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Categories: Fantasy, Spin Off/Standalone, Romance, Family

When a letter from her uncle Henrik arrives on Bryn Roth’s eighteenth birthday, summoning her back to Bastian, Bryn is eager to prove herself and finally take her place in her long-lost family.

Henrik has plans for Bryn, but she must win everyone’s trust if she wants to hold any power in the delicate architecture of the family. It doesn’t take long for her to see that the Roths are entangled in shadows. Despite their growing influence in upscale Bastian, their hands are still in the kind of dirty business that got Bryn’s parents killed years ago. With a forbidden romance to contend with and dangerous work ahead, the cost of being accepted into the Roths may be more than Bryn can pay.

New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with The Last Legacy, a captivating standalone about family and blood ties, reinventing yourself, and controlling your own destiny.

Content Warning: violence, abuse

This book is set in the world of the Fable series – which I loved and honestly I feel like this could have been a new duology or trilogy but it is a standalone. Not gonna lie – I love this world of merchants, pirates, traders – it’s so intense and gritty. Let’s take a look at what I thought of the book:

+ I love that this is set in the same world as the last series, Fable. It has the same intensity – the feeling that everyone is playing a dangerous game and it’s not clear who to trust. Since this is a standalone spin-off I felt like it was more high stakes because the story was going to have an ending.

+ Bryn Roth – she’s on the outside looking in and she wants to belong. She’s been waiting all her life to be worthy of the Roth name, but when she finally gets her chance it isn’t as easy as it seems. And she has to make a hard choice at the end…

+ Ezra and Bryn are electric. It’s an attraction that becomes a forbidden love scenario. I wish we had more time for their relationship to grow but it’s a standalone. I just wanted more of them together on the page.

~ I really liked how Bryn is so determined to belong and become a Roth but she isn’t going to take the way how the kids are treated and trained in this family. Her uncle is their leader, and he rules the family with an iron first – and yet the family bond is strong but all around its toxic. Bryn knows she can’t change it though she tries but I’m glad she stands up for herself and others.

Tropes: forbidden love

Spice Level: 🌶

Why you should read it:

You liked the Fable series – this is set in the same world but instead of pirates we learn more about the merchants, trades and guilds.
it’s intense, a quick read with a strong female lead

Why you might not want to read it:

it’s a standalone and I wish there was maybe one more book so that we get more of Bryn and Ezra.

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but I loved the Fable duology so much that it felt great being back in this world with a new family and new characters to root for. Definitely read it if you are a fan of this author’s works. I look forward to reading more from her!