It was both, exhilirating and engaging with this unique world full of magic.
It has great characters, good world building, interesting premise and plot.
I have to admit that at times I found it a bit slow but you never lose interest.
.
All the feels:
☆ action packed
☆ Magic and curses
☆ one bed
☆ riddles
☆ tortured soul
☆ secret and alliances
☆ fantasy and mystery
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Special thanks to Netgalley, Publisher and Author for this ARC

This book was interesting. I don’t really think it was for me, but it was a fantasy with history and magic woven in.
I think if you like Deanna Raybourne , you’ll really like this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lana J. Prince for providing the ARC.

Oh man, I have not been this drawn into a fantasy world in a very long time.

In this stunning debut of a book, the reader is transported to a world with a never ending and violent fued between those with magic and those without. The story unfolds as Apollo, the son of a Duke, and Jinx, a thief with illusory magic, team up to solve a mystery regarding a stolen artifact of great import.

Prince's story combines magic, intrigue, romance, and an otherworldly conflict and gives us a tale that's dark and rich. The characters are both fun and flawed, the plot, while somewhat predictable, is not so overt that you figure everything out within the first few chapters. Prince's writing flows with what is happening on the page - descriptions are full of lush language whereas action is short and choppy, giving a sense of urgency.

Overall, this book was pretty amazing. I cannot wait until the next one comes out.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc!

I did enjoy this book, but must admit it was quite slow at times. It felt like there was a lot to dredge through at points, but then others, it was like my eyes couldn’t lift off the page for even a moment. Jinx is a really interesting character, but Apollo was the reason I kept reading. We have curses, dual pov, a slow slow slow burn, and intrigue in this book.

I’d definitely pick up another of this author’s work!

I liked it but I have to say that it was slow in some parts.
We have multiple POVs and the characters are well felsh out.
There´s action, mistery and some romance (I would have loved a little bit more of an enemies to lovers).
Overall an enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed reading “The Ghost and the Fallen.” It tells us the story of Jinx, a young woman with the ability to cast supernatural illusions to change other’s perception of the world around her. Jinx is a criminal, exiled from her home by a deal she struck with an unnamed demon, who forced to protect herself and her “cursed” supernatural peers. Despite being placated by her life on the run, Jinx longs to return home just once more to see her family, but she must solve a riddle given to her by the demon in order to do so. She has all but given up hope when she meets Apollo, a wealthy lord who just might have the answer she’s looking for.

This story includes:
- magical curses
- dual POV
- unwilling allies to maybe more
- supernatural abilities
- concealed identities
- one bed trope
- meddling gods

This book is engaging from start to finish. I found Jinx’s character exciting from page one. Her character is clever and cool and likable…Like cmon, as an assassin of sorts she would wear people’s faces as she killed them, that’s so metal. I also really enjoyed Apollo and his painful brooding. I wish we would have gotten his entire story from the woods, so I will definitely be tuning back in for book 2 to figure out what happened there.

There were a chunk of pages ~130 to ~160 with some editing errors, but beyond that I don’t have any complaints about the book. The magic system is a bit ungrounded, but I feel like the twists at the end kind of explained that and I have a feeling book 2 will really dive deep into how the supernatural abilities work. There were also a few moments where I questioned if I were reading the first book: like when Vandar and Rylee were mentioned. But I don’t think there’s a prequel or anything. (EDIT: I looked it up and there are two prequel novellas that I will be reading asap.)

Either way, it was a great book with unique characters and a fantastic plot. I’m definitely a fan.

I received this ebook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book about 20% in. I found the storyline clunky and lacking flow, and the characters difficult to connect to with a cartoon feel to their thoughts, speech, and actions. Repeatedly I thought to myself, "This is not how real people think." Fantasy books are meant to make readers feel like this fantastical world is real and the storyline and writing style failed to convey that to me.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It is Lana J Prince's first book, born from short stories she wrote.

The Ghost and the Fallen is the story of Jinx, an illusionist who has spent the majority of her life away from her family as a result of a bargain she struck. She moves through the world masquerading as other people, using both their faces and their lives. Jinx is A Cursed, a magic user in a world where the Cursed are feared and despised. She has until the age of 21 solve a riddle and be reunited with her family. If she cannot solve the riddle, she can never return and they will forget of her existence. Apollo Voclaine lives an aristocratic life. He is a Son of the Seven and his family's heir. Apollo has a secret: he has magic in his bones and a demon in his soul. When Apollo and Jinx meet, they strike a bargain to help them both.

Both of the MCs had their lives forever changed at an early age. Who they are when they meet makes for clever interactions between two intelligent and hyperaware people. I found the magic system in this world interesting and believable. Every so often, I wanted the pacing of story and revelations to be a bit different, but overall this was alright. There was some repetition of information I could have done without.

I read this story in big chunks because I kept needing to know what happened next. I had some predictions of where I thought the tale would go; some were correct and others were not as I was surprised by the author. I liked the Voclaine siblings and think Prince did a good job of developing distinct characters. There were multiple story pieces introduced in this book related to the siblings that I look forward to continuing on with in the next book. I really appreciated that the FMC was the expert and experienced one and the MMC was the one who was new to using magic and needed training.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

TW: murder, violence

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. It is always fun to be on the hunt to solve a mystery. I thought Jinx was a fun and nuanced character and Apollo was the perfect counterpart. I figured out the big secret about Apollo as soon as it was revealed that he too took a walk in the woods. It frustrated me that Jinx did not put 2 and 2 together because it was so obvious. I also felt like I don’t understand how the Cursed magic works. Everything was told to us and not shown. There are some pacing issues throughout, but overall it was still an enjoyable read!

Set in a regency era, this story follows Jinx and Apollo. Jinx, an illusionist trickster, has spent many years away from her family. She struck a deal with a mystery being in the woods that caused her to not be able to be near her family. She is now a Cursed, a magic wielder, and lives by the faces of others. On her 20th birthday, she is visited by the creature in her dreams. It reminds her of their terms. She has one year left to break the deal, solve the riddle and she can return to her family. Apollo Voclaine, as the heir to his family, has an important role in society. However, he is cool, detached, and living with a secret. When he has a run in with Jinx, they realize they are looking for similar answers. To get her help, Apollo offers Jinx a deal she can’t refuse.

This book had amazing world building and an interesting plot. From the beginning, it drew in my attention and left me needing more. Jinx was a strong FMC and I enjoyed reading about her. She was clever, determined, and could easily hold her own. Also, the fact that her magic ability was to wear others faces was awesome. And brooding Apollo. The fact that he is so trapped on expressing his feelings and alienated himself from his family to protect them, broke my heart. I enjoyed reading about him accepting who he is, much to Jinx's help.

I loved the relationship between Jinx and Apollo. It felt natural and progressed nicely throughout the book. They started off as two people striving for answers to the same questions but over time, became friends. The tension between them was perfect and you could feel the attraction through the pages!

Overall, I was very impressed with this book and will be looking forward to the next one, especially after that cliffhanger! Thank you NetGalley and Lana J. Prince for the ARC opportunity!

This was a great book! It was a little slow at the beginning, but as the characters' development went on, it got really interesting. The magic world in the book was really good, and all the mystery behind Jinx's and Apollo's powers kept me wanting to read more and more.
It made me second guess myself until the very end, and I love that kind of book!

A thrilling first book in a series that is action-packed filled with twists and turns around each corner and an intricate magic system that will leave you waiting on the next one.

No spoilers -- Jinx is searching for the answer to a riddle that will finally bring her back home. Apollo is also searching for answers to questions that he hasn't even allowed himself to consider. Both find themselves working with each other, jumping headfirst into an intrigue that is more dangerous than either of them bargained for.

I enjoyed our main characters and their budding friendship immensely, as well as others that Jinx was able to establish throughout the book. Jinx was a delightful creature, capable of many things, and not just because of her magic. Both she and Apollo are idealists searching to make their world a better place despite some of their perceived selfish behavior. I enjoyed the world building that seemed to mimic late 19th and early 20th centuries in addition to the god-like divinities and powers of the Cursed that lent to the magic structure of the book.

This was fast-paced and well plotted, mimicking social issues between classes that was almost akin to the X-Men universe -- humans versus the Cursed. I couldn't wait to keep going back for more. This ended on a cliffhanger, I can't wait to see the next chapter of Jinx and Apollo's story unfold.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Lana J Prince for an advanced e-copy of this book.

Note: I understand that this is an uncorrected copy, but there were a lot of editing errors. I was able to look past them as I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

I seem to be against the current here, but The Ghost and The Fallen was not for me. I have been fighting with this book since I first opened it and it has felt like such a long, drawn out disappointment,

I didn't enjoy the worldbuilding, I felt I could never work out what was happening and where. A lot of it was done using dialogue instead of descriptive text and it felt really rushed and unclean. In saying that, I feel it also could have been much shorter. Towards the end I found I was skimming pages and not missing a part of the story. Chances are, if you can jump towards another chapter and still be right where you left off, it's too full of random filler.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read, I'll withhold my comments from other social platforms.

Jinx is an illusionist trickster unable to be near her family because of a deal she's made, and to break it, she has to solve the riddle.
Apollo Voclaine lives with magic hidden and secrets inside him.
When the two meet, Apollo offers her a deal that can help her.

Jinx is such a badass character; I really like her. Her power is deadly and so damn cool. I'm really invested in her character in the next book.

Apollo is my sweet tortured soul, and I just want to wrap him in a warm blanket. He cared for his family, which is heartwarming to see, yet he sacrificed himself doing so.

Honestly, I came in with zero expectations but I didn't expect to love this.
Story-wise, it's not original at all. As I read this, I found myself saying, Oh, this reminds me of this book and that book, but it has its own characteristics, and I like it. I can see the twist from the start and some information dumping at first here and there, but it doesn't take the fun away from me to enjoy the book.
It consists of magic, action packed, secret alliances, a little bit of enemies to lovers, and one bed.

4⭐️

The Ghost and the Fallen is a gripping read, full of magic, curses, love and betrayal. It was such a fun fantasy read!

I enjoyed the dual pov between Jinx and Apollo - it really added to the character development and understanding where each character was coming from. I did struggle a bit at the start, just getting into the story, but it honestly wasn’t long until I was hooked.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this fantasy book filled with magic, mystery, trickery spice..it was so much better than I thought it would be, and I thought it was going to be good anyway, although im screaming at the cliffhanger.

Set in Victorian times and follows 2 MC - Jinx and Apollo Voclaine for romantic but spicy adventure!

I cant wait for book 2!

THE GHOST AND THE FALLEN by Lana J Prince

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️.5

This book is fabulous! What a fantasticly written Romantasy book full of riddles and secrets!

The magic system is touched on and I am excited to see if that is delved into more in the next book. The history of the magic, Gods and the city itself are fascinating.

The FMC gives Celaena Sardothien vibes! She’s bad ass, fiesty, independent, cunning and secretive. Her character development is so enjoyable to read. The cliffhanger though… im currently ticked off at her and she better have a change of heart and do some rescuing 😂

The MMC! De-lic-ious! He’s broody. He’s cold. He’s sarcastic. He’s sexy as hell!

The suspense and sexual tension is so deliciously thick between them! The Volcaine siblings are such lovely interesting side characters and I hope they are involved in book 2.

This book is mostly 🫑 but then we are given a one room trope and some spices smut!

Thanks, Netgalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
The main characters both have some well-known traits, but are both quite well developed throughout the story, which offers it's own share of uniqueness when it comes the magic system. I admit the family dynamics between the Voclaine siblings and Apollo's struggle with his curse were my favorite moments of the book! The final pages were the most intriguing moment and the best moment to end this first part of the story! Can't wait to see what shall follow!

First I want to thank Lana & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review.
Wow! Just wow. I loved reading this debut novel of Lana J Prince. It kept me wanting to read more and more. It had me on the edge of my seat needing to find out the mystery behind Jinx’s and Apollos powers. The background story for each of the main characters and the story itself was so well written! I loved how all of the details that you find out in the beginning come together perfectly around 75-80% of the book. And the ending !! *chefs kiss*
If you love a magical mystery with a lot of tension mixed in between, this is for you.
She set the ending up so well for the second book and I honestly can’t wait for it to come out!

Also, If you like these tropes, this book is for you!
- Enemies to lovers
- Slow burn
- One bed
- Dark secret

I requested a copy of the e-arc because I found the blurb rather fascinating. Did it live up to it? Hmm, kind of middling.

I actually liked the first half of the book. There was an interesting start to the plotline: Jinx the FMC is cursed with an affliction that is expiring on her next birthday when its effects would render itself permanently on her being. She is trying to reverse the curse based on a riddle by the demon who cursed her. She seeks the help of Apollo Voclaine, a young nobleman who is also secretly cursed and is trying to find his own ways to be rid of it. They form an alliance to seek out a particular Vessel that would supposedly help them in ending Apollo's woes, and in turn, allow Jinx to access a particular location to help her in solving her puzzle.

Initially, I felt the main characters, despite being rather clichéd, were tolerable. Jinx is a female assassin and face-changer who is described as being beautiful, tough and deadly. Apollo meanwhile, is devastatingly handsome, a part of society's upper echelons and is what I would consider putting up a 'bad boy' act. While I am all for reading about tough female characters, there was a sense that Jinx was a little too perfect: she's undeniably deadly, tries to be helpful to her own people while silently (and sometimes not) holding rage against society who has ostracized Cursed folk, gets away easily with assassination, killing, escapes, etc and from all this, does not give me much reason to be in tune with her or to empathize her case. Likewise with Apollo, he holds a large secret within him and pushes all forms of emotion away, even with supposedly close family and friends. While there is a reason behind it, it really puts a stopper on trying to understand him as a character. That being said, their personalities do show in this sense and continues throughout them slowly getting to know each other and beyond.

As I progressed with the book, I couldn't help but think that the story was dragging longer than necessary. The main plot and lore of the story, while having been established early on, was quickly forgotten as Jinx and Apollo go about with a whole bunch of other side quests that I feel may not have been at all essential to the overarching plot. Yes, some of the quests did lend to the story progression, but could it have been compressed to be less complex and roundabout? I think so. There were also what I felt were meaningless story fillers that did not at all contribute to the story, which in turn made it longer than it should have been.

The worldbuilding wasn’t that great or expansive. The setting of the story is still somewhat foggy for me. The magic system was also a little underwhelming. As it is such a crucial part to Jinx and Apollo's character, especially for Jinx, it did not feel well fleshed out even though you do get the gist of what it does. There is also the fact that while Cursed beings/magic users are being pushed into the underground, you get little sense of why that is so except that society hates the Cursed. Aside from Jinx and Apollo, you do not see any other form of magic being used in the whole of the story, which creates a blank as to trying to understand why it is that the rest of society does not find the Cursed tolerable.

I noted a number of grammatical errors, overuse of certain words, unstructured sentences/paragraphs and some other oddities. This is personal preference, but I am peeved by the usage of slightly more modern tongue when the setting is clearly not a modern universe.

I think the book could use with some more refinement before being published. I typically enjoy a bit of a complex story, but the plot felt a little lost in this one with how much is packed into it, making it feel more complicated than it should be.