#DGRFave & Review: The Savage And The Swan by Ella Fields

THE SAVAGE AND THE SWAN
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Author: Ella Fields
Release Date: July 14, 2021

The king of wolves was more beast than man, more tyrant than king, and so much more than he seemed.
Raised to avenge his murdered parents, he’d been trained and conditioned until nothing but violence and hatred lined the walls of his dead heart.

For nearly four years, I’d done all I could to help my kingdom as we faced the wolf king’s unconquerable evil—hardly anything at all.
As the only heir to the Gracewood line, I’d been relegated to menial tasks that would keep me and my secrets safe.

A chance to do more than fret behind our castle walls arrived when I breached them after overhearing my parents’ plans for my future. Fleeing, I unknowingly raced into a fate we’d all desperately hoped to avoid.

By the time I saw him coming, it was far too late. For my family. For my kingdom.
For my heart.
Before I could staunch the bleeding, the king had me under his giant paw, and one wrong move after another caused those razor-sharp claws to sink deeper and deeper beneath my bruised skin.

I might have been trapped, naïve, and furious, but I still had a kingdom to save—and a plan.
 Yet when we collided, the bloodshed, the fear, his atrocities… all of it dissolved like stardust upon the night sea.

The stars had mapped out our destiny, but it didn’t matter what they or my heart wanted.
 I refused to see the enigmatic male, the heartless lost boy with a soul beneath the flesh of a monster.
The savage king who’d destroyed everything I loved would fall—even if my heart fell with him.

Inspired by Hades and Persephone, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Swan Princess, The Savage and the Swan is not connected to any other Ella Fields novel. It’s a full-length standalone romantic fantasy containing mature content.

AMAZON

I loathed her and all she stood for. I loathed her nearly as much as I wanted her. I’d been cursed. I was sure of it. The bird was both my remedy and my affliction.

*deep breaths*

Ok, ok, give me a second to gather my wits here.
*hyperventilates*

So I… no that’s not it.
This book was… no that’s not right.

*takes calming breath*

ILOVEDTHISFREAKINGBOOKSOMUCHICANTEVENDEALRIGHTNOW

Ah. I feel better now. So where were we?

It’s been a hot minute since I read a fantasy romance, and I’m not even sure why. I love PNR so of course I’d love fantasy, but I just haven’t come across anything that piqued my interest lately in the genre. Until I read the blurb for this book….

And then I may have begged, pleaded, and offered an ovary in exchange for an ARC. What? Don’t you judge me. Have you read that blurb? I mean C’MON!

Don’t you have innocent people to slaughter?” My cheeks burned, and I refused to meet his eyes, choosing instead to stare at his throat. The fine hairs that dusted it, crawling up and over that fiercely hewn chin.
“I’ve already crossed that off my to-do list,” he stated with such irritating indifference that I wished I had hit him with the poor books.

There is only one word to describe the experience that was this book. EPIC. The story developed behind my eyes like a movie reel and the majestic and rich world building sucked me right into an obsession.

The second I read that it was inspired by Hades and Persephone, Rumpelstiltskin, and The Swan Princess, I had to read it. Because I love all things Hades and Persephone, The Swan Princess is one of my favorite cartoons, and rumpelstistskin? Well I was simply rabid with curiosity on how that even fit in here.

Now imagine a world where two kingdoms are engaged in a bloody battle for years. A fae land where the beautiful princess has to marry a human prince in order to gain protection from the savage king of wolves, only to fall right into his clutches. Sound delicious? Well, that’s because it is.

If there’s one thing that I love, it’s a fierce heroine. And Opal? She was all of the things. She was fierce, brave, and one of my favorite heroines I’ve read in a while. And our wolfish king? OH MY OVARIES. The man was to die for. Pun intended. He’s a man who’s been honed into a finely tuned weapon for revenge. He’s vicious, cold hearted, and feared by all. The enemies to lovers vibe in this story was ON POINT. I couldn’t get enough of the tension between the two of them. And if there’s one thing that Ella does is deliver on that delicious angst with the feels thrown in and I was so here for it.

This is seriously going right up there in my top reads of 2021. I simply loved everything about this story. I devoured it. I was obsessed. I was riveted. Captivated. Hypnotized. I never wanted it to end. Ella seriously hit it right out of the ballpark with this book and I simply cannot recommend it enough. It was magical. It was deliciously, finger licking good. IT WAS EPIC.

Review: A Fate of Wrath & Flame

A FATE OF WRATH & FLAME
Series: Flate & Flame #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Author: K.A. Tucker
Release Date: May 25, 2021

Gifted thief Romeria has flourished from her days as a street kid pilfering wallets to survive. Now she thrives, stealing jewels from the rich under the involuntary employ of New York City’s most notorious crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is plunged into a startling realm of opposing thrones, warring elven, and elemental magic she cannot begin to fathom.

Her quest is straightforward: Steal a stone from Islor’s sacred garden without anyone discovering her true identity, which would earn her certain death. But the identity she has inexplicably assumed is that of the captured Ybarisan princess–an enemy to Islor after she poisoned their beloved king and queen on the day she was to marry the prince.

Her betrothed, the newly crowned King Zander, detests her with every grain of his handsome being. Fortunately for Romeria, she is more valuable to him alive than dead. Zander gives her a choice: life in a cell, or an acquittal of all charges in exchange for her help in exposing the growing plot against him.

Romeria sees no other option and embraces the tricky role of smitten queen-to-be until she can escape, a ruse that brings her far closer to the king than she anticipated and threatens more than her safety. As she digs deeper into this sacred garden and the ancient feud between Ybaris and Islor, she discovers monstrous truths that could spell ruin for all.

  AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO

Why else does one kingdom fall but for another to rise?

I’ve been a devoted PNR reader for years, but fantasy has been a rare one for me. I don’t even know why, considering I’ve fallen in love with the genre. And what better way to read more of it than starting with a brand new KA Tucker series? And dang. I was no prepared for this story at all.

Admittedly it took me a hot minute to get into. I even put it down for a day because I knew this was a story that I have to be in the right mood to get into. There’s so much world building that takes place, and it took me almost 60% to fully wrap my head around all of it. Be prepared to be confused most of the story too. But that’s quite intentional as we spent the majority of the book in the heroine’s head, and she has no idea what’s going on and you get to experience that with her.

As for the story. It was absolutely magical. Pun intended. This is not a standalone and it’s looking to be one epic saga series. Rivaling kingdoms, elementals, gods, curses, and different worlds. The world building in this story was on another level. Romy is a skilled thief living in NY and just trying to survive. Her life is anything but ordinary but then it becomes otherworldly when a stranger with a secret agenda thrusts her into a realm that’s a different world entirely.

Romeria of this world is engaged to a king, who she is also responsible for the murder of his parents and seems to be persona non grata. But when you wear the face of the enemy, it’s tough to convince anyone you’re not her. Especially when you’re sworn to secrecy for fear of your life.

The chemistry between Romy and Zander is instant but the romance is very much a slow burn. As a matter of fact it felt almost secondary to the rest of the story, which I didn’t mind at all, because there’s just so much other things being revealed that the romance didn’t feel lacking. DOn’t get me wrong, it’s still there, just more of a zing in the background. Zander and the Romy of this realm are enemies, and even though Romy isn’t responsible for the monstrosities of the other Romy, she has to bear the brunt of the blame. She also has to struggle to understand because she has no memory of the other Romy or her agenda to fully grasp her current reality.

While the book took me about 40% to really get into, I couldn’t stop reading for the final 60%. I was slowly but surely sucked into this world and then hooked, line and sinker. I’m absolutely desperate for the next installment to see what happens next.

K.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.

She is the internationally bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series, He Will Be My Ruin, Until It Fades, Keep Her Safe, The Simple Wild, Be the Girl, and Say You Still Love Me. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher’s Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.

K.A. Tucker currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto.
 

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Review: Fortuna Sworn by KJ Sutton

FORTUNA SWORN
Series: Fortuna Sworn #1
Genre: Fantasy
Author: KJ Sutton
Release Date: July 1, 2019

We were meant to be seductive. We were designed to lure humans in.

Fortuna Sworn is the last of her kind.

Her brother disappeared two years ago, leaving her with no family or species to speak of. She hides among humans, spending her days working at a bar and her nights searching for him.

The bleak pattern goes on and on… until she catches the eye of a powerful faerie.

He makes no attempt to hide that he desires Fortuna. And in exchange for her, he offers something irresistible.

So Fortuna reluctantly leaves her safe existence behind to step back into a world of creatures and power.

It soon becomes clear that she may not have bargained with her heart, but her very life.

 

AMAZON


Nightmares may be lies, but we don’t have to be liars.”

Fortuna Sworn is book one of a new fantasy romance series by KJ Sutton. Right off the bat, I was intrigued by the blurb of this book.  Fortuna has been looking for her missing brother for two years so when she’s approached by a powerful faerie offering information about her brother in exchange for marriage, Fortuna went with him.

This book started off with a bang. Fortuna is a heroine with a really unique and scary power, and we are instantly treated to what she can do in the first chapter. I was intrigued and was instantly hooked especially when we meet Collith, the faerie king who seems to genuinely want to help her. It especially got interesting when Fortuna got to the Unseelie Court but this is also where pacing issues started to plague the book.

But aside from the pacing, I wasn’t too crazy about the drama and the fact that this could go into love triangle/love square territory. There isn’t one yet but the fact that there are 3 men vying for Fortuna’s attention, I could see it going that way. And while I don’t exactly hate it, I’m just over that trope. I’m tired of it because I would rather see other male characters be her friends and allies instead of her love interest?

It didn’t help that I disliked all three male lead characters at this point. I don’t know if this feeling will change in the next books but right now, I am somewhere between bored and actively hating all three of them. But this is just me being a hero-hater. I’ve seen other readers who’ve read this book loving and favoring one or two heroes vying for Fortuna’s attention.

That said, I enjoyed Fortuna’s trials immensely. It was, in my opinion, the best parts of the book because it showed readers her power and her potential to be a power player.

I won’t go into anymore details about the story but if you like faeries and faerie courts or love triangles, then I would recommend this book.

<i>Thanks to KJ Sutton for providing a copy of the book available for this review.</i>

 

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