Alder King Spring

This is a great paranormal romance.. I liked it.. It is full of drama, with magic and dangerous surprises..

3.5 stars. This is a telling of the Alder King poem with a beauty/beast trope. Eliza and Kaspar get off to a rocky start when they first meet. Eventually circumstances (i.e. busybody servants) bring the truth of Kaspar's existence and curse to light. Once everything is out in the open these two let their guard down and fall in love. An evil sorceress and a sentient forest are always in the background looming during the story. Sweet scenes and medium heat. HEA guaranteed.

This romance is top-notch. Both Eliza and Kaspar stole a piece of my heart with their wit and determination. Watching them slowly open up to each other was pure magic. Plus, the representation of demisexuality added an extra layer of depth to their connection, making it even more meaningful. If you love a slow-burn romance, this book is an absolute must-read. It left me feeling deeply connected to the characters and filled with excitement for their journey.

Oooh this book was fun and interesting! I loved the beauty and the best retelling. The setting was dreamy and the characters were super interesting. I really enjoyed this one! I need to check out more from this author!

Alder King Spring is book two of Wild Wanderings series by Talia Greer. In a lovely twist, Eliza Wilson visits Germany to research all things mythical and finds herself in the middle of enchantment. For Eliza, this opportunity to complete her dissertation is an escape of sorts, she is leaving behind her inattentive fiancé and all the many reasons she should marry him. For Kaspar, Eliza’s visit will certainly spell disaster; he is living the final days of a cursed life and fears that Eliza could be collateral damage! As the reluctant housemates interact and bond, true feelings began to bloom. Ms. Greer tells her beguiling love story with beautifully lyrical language, genuine humor, and great tenderness. The world she has imagined, along with the magical creatures inhabiting it, is one I would love to visit again.

Alder King Spring was such a fantastic fun read with grumpy/sunshine dynamics and a heartwarming HEA 🥰
Eliza Headed to Germany to escaper her life back home and study to write her dissertation on German Literature, specifically fairy-tales and folklore. Comes to find out the subject of her reading IS her grouchy landlord!
I loved this book so much!! I will be going back to read the first in the series after this and will definitely read more from Talia Greer.

*Thank you Talia and Netgalley for providing me a copy to review early

This was an enjoyable, dark fairytale fantasy. The setting was very moody and atmospheric, it was well written and easy to picture the characters in their environment.
The developing love between the two main characters was a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A magical German forest, a talking tree butler, and a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Eliza is pursuing her PhD in German Folklore which leads her to take temporary accommodation in a mansion in a small town. Too bad the owner wasn't expecting any students, oh and he's running out of time to break his curse. Kaspar, the Alder King, was cursed since he was born and has accepted that he will never break his curse. Eliza and Kaspar get started on the wrong foot with Kaspar trying to evict Eliza the moment she shows up on his doorstep. The two must overcome their own internal struggles and unify against the sorceress if they want to save Kaspar and the forest.

There are so many fun elements to this book. Eliza's PhD journey, revaluating her relationship back home, magical wood spirits, a talking tree butler, and an evil witch. I liked both the bisexual and demisexual representation as well. Unfortunately, I felt like we could have done with more pining and tension building between the two MCs. They really don't start creating a friendship until like 50% through and then its a speed run to finish. I think the pacing could have been a little more even in order for the payoff to hit harder.

This book was FANTASTIC. The fantasy? Amazing. The romance? Chef's kiss. The spice? Wow. I sincerely will be recommending this book every chance I get. I loved this take on a classic trope/tale and I loved even more the twists that took place.The character development of both Eliza and Kaspar was so good. I'm so glad I got the chance to read this book!

"I’ll just find my way back to him.”

This was heart melting, I loved the characters, Kasper and Eliza. He was such a grump in the beginning, but she melted into him and didn't give up on him. Kasper is cursed by a witch, needing to find someone to love him. I love that each chapter tells us how many days are left, days are passing the count down of what time remains to break the curse. 18 hours remaining, 16 hours remaining. I was biting my nail at the edge. This was well written and simply lovely, I wish I could read it again. BTW it does get a bit spicy here. And I can't wait to read more by this author.

"My own shard of happiness in this cruel, dark world."

This had everything that I was looking for from this series, it continued the story in the Wild Wanderings series and thought it worked with the genre. The characters were everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed the overall use of location and seasons. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Talia Greer.