Do you want to dive into a world where ancient conflicts collide with forbidden love, and discover the magic that binds them together ? Look no further, and pick up Elly Blake’s newest book, The Forest King’s Daughter!

Though the story unfolds at a leisurely pace, it allows for a deeper exploration of the characters and the magical world, making each moment more impactful.
I wish there were a book map of it at the front of the book which would be lovely since the characters move to several different places throughout the story.

Told from Cassia’s POV, we follow her journey in trying to save her people and figuring out the ring’s power with a certain broody winged male —Zeru—that always rile her up but also supported her in his own way.
One thing I found myself wanting as the story progressed was seeing the events unfold from Zeru’s POV.

Furthermore, seeing Cassia’s character develop throughout the story was delightful as she finally learns her self-worth and following her own path rather than following her father.

The romance has a balanced amount of banter and sweet moments.
The complexity of their relationship, due to their family situations being enemies for years, adds depth.
Yet, their strong bond from childhood could not remain buried deep pushing them toward each other and finally embracing their true feelings.

Overall, The Forest King’s Daughter is a tale of love, self-discovery and the burden as well as responsibility of having great power.
While most things are wrapped up nicely, the ending also offers a glimpse of what’s coming next, and I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series to explore more of the world-building!

I really love folk tales so while the blurb for this book immediately drew my attention, the writing style, atmosphere, and world building kept me reading once I got started. Def check this out if folk lore and fairy tale stories are your vibe!

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Beautiful! The world is expansive with its own well built history, folk lore, and cultures. I can’t wait for more books in this world.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: The characters were all incredibly lovable. Cassia, while a bit naive, is endearing and watching her grow into her power and her own truths was empowering. Her interactions with Zeru had me laughing from their bickering and banter. The side characters are also amazing and fully of variety that brings this vibrant world to life.

𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧: Fast paced and very well thought out. Excellent plot twists that were beautifully built up to.

𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗦: Beautiful folklore vibes. This book reads so much like a fairytale, I absolutely loved it.

𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒, 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒:
☆ Enemies to Lovers
☆ Stubborn x Stubborn
☆ Magical Creatures
☆ Animal Sidekick
☆ Self-Discovery
☆ Fast-paced
☆ Prophecy
☆ Chosen One

I knew I could rely on Elly Blake for a proper enemies-to-lovers.

Too many authors have lost the meaning of the trope with rivals or "he was vaguely mean to me once," but Cassia and Zeru are at true opposite ends of the spectrum, and it was such fun to watch them bicker and snarl at each other while also slowly getting closer. The *how* of the "got closer" was a bit odd to me, but whatever. They were cute and I loved them together.

Also, for reasons I don't know how to explain, this gave me Tears of the Kingdom vibes? Like, lost castle in the clouds, demony boy and foresty girl, naming standards that would not be out of place amongst things like Koroks. It was impossible for me not to imagine Hyrule while in this world and its political framework and battles, and I genuinely loved that for me.

This was very nearly a standalone, so I am very curious to see where this story goes in book 2!

Thank you to Hachette Canada for the copy!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Forest King's Daughter (Thirstwood, book 1) by Elly Blake
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: YA Fantasy
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: February 11, 2025
📖 382 pages

🌲 Enemies to Lovers
✨️ Forbidden Romance
🍃 Forced Proximity
🌲 Ancient Magic
✨️ Mythological Creatures
🍃 Lush World Building
🌲 No Spice Fantasy

💭 They hate each other (for real) for a lot of the story, so it's good if you're looking for YA with true enemies to lovers! There are a couple of twists, lots of tension and banter, unexpected allies, and the sweetest HEA! I loved it so much!

This one was so cute! It started kinda slow (picked up about 40% in,) but once it picked up, I couldn't put it down! I liked the childhood best *secret* friends to enemies vibes, and once they're reunited the tension and banter between the two of them is palpable (for a while.) I love our grumpy little hearth spirit and Cassia's fox companion.

Thank you so much, TBR & Beyond Book Tours and NetGalley, for the digital review copy!

This was a solid YA fantasy filled with a bloodthirsty forest, rival species at war, mythology, magic, betrayal. It was whimsical, a little dark, and intriguing. I did have some issues with the world building and storyline, which caused confusion and a feeling of disjointedness, but it wasn’t enough to alter my enjoyment of the book. Cassia and Zeru were fun characters, and I especially liked how sarcastic he was. Their relationship from childhood friends to bitter enemies to reluctant allies was great. Their romance did feel a little rushed, and I would have liked more buildup. Overall, I liked the book, and I’m interested in where the story will take us, so I will read the next one. Elenor Bennett narrated the book and she did a great job with it. She brought the characters to life and was able to differentiate each character’s voice and give them unique personalities.
🌳
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Spice level: 🌶️
🌳
Read if you like:
▫️YA fantasy
▫️forest mythology
▫️childhood friends to enemies
▫️their species are at war
🌳
Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the Novl, Hachette Audio, Elly Blake, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. I received advanced copies for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Tropes:
✨friends-turned-enemies-turned-lovers
✨faerie princess + demon boy
✨forbidden love
✨numerous fae creatures
✨slow burn romance
✨whimsical settings
✨quest
✨forced proximity
✨banter

This is an enchanting YA fantasy with plenty of whimsy and fairytale charm. It has forbidden childhood friendship, slow-burn romance, and a coming-of-age journey in a world of demons and fae. The story follows Cassia—a gentle souled, conflicted fae princess burdened by her father's ruthless expectations—who once received an unassuming amber ring from her childhood friend, Zeru, a lonely demon boy. That gift, later revealed to be a vital artifact and weapon, sets off a cascade of events: war is declared, and Cassia finds herself an unwilling bearer. Not adults, Zeru manages to capture her during battle in an effort to correct his previous mistake.

These two feel a bit like Jude and Cardan, only with less bullying despite being on different sides. As Cassia and Zeru are forced to work together, their long-dormant bond begins to reemerge, slowly evolving from mere friendship into something deeper and far more complicated given the strife between their people. I loved how Cassia’s soft, vulnerable nature clashes with the ruthless image her father expects her to project. Every soft, vulnerable moment between her and Zeru made me smile, while every betrayal and setback made my heart ache.

That said, the pace can be a bit slow at times, and I found myself wishing for a little more depth and darkness in the story. Despite these minor quibbles, the book excels in its world-building and its exploration of themes of self-acceptance and the burden of family expectations. The whimsical, mysterious setting—mingling demons, magical forests, and fantastical creatures—was atmospheric. The audiobook was able to immerse me even further into this world. The narration was exceptional.

While it might benefit from a touch more intensity, it’s an absolute delight for anyone who loves a heartfelt coming-of-age story with a dash of forbidden romance. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Thanks so much to TBR and Beyond Tours, the author, and libro.fm for the complimentary copies. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

The Forest King’s Daughter is a YA fantasy that’s full of adventure and romance.

This novel by @elly_blake is the start of a new fantasy series. It follows Cassia and Zeru, who meet by chance when they are children and become unlikely friends, despite their species hating each other. When Zeru gives Cassia a gift of a magical ring, they unknowingly start a war between their peoples. Fast forward years, and they are young adults, holding grudges and fighting on opposite sides of the war. However, they soon have to team up to try to find answers about the magical ring he gifted her years ago. As they spend more time together, they learn the truth about each and the magic in the ring. Will they be able to team up to protect their people from danger and possibly also stop the war?

This book had a good magic system and painted a beautiful picture of an immersive fantasy world. I think I might have enjoyed it more if I haven’t read a million YA fantasies, as some of what happened felt predictable. The romance had delicious forbidden romance vibes, however, and was my favorite part of the book.

📖 Book Review 📖 Go ahead and judge this one by its beautiful cover and prepare for a magically enchanted journey through the pages! On this Valentine’s Day, I want to share my Top Five Reasons to dive into The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake.
1. A magical romantasy that will speak to readers of all ages.
2. A reminder that you are never too young to learn an appreciation for the enemies to lovers trope.
3. Beautiful quotes from poets and philosophers from this magical land to start the chapters.
4. Strong female young women who are brave, courageous, and just all-around female leads who kick butt.
5. An amber ring as a catalyst for the story (I’ve always thought that amber held some sort of magic)!

The Forest King's Daughter is a slow burn YA Romantsy. Cassia and Zeru were once childhood friends who turned enemies. They became enemies when Zeru gifted Cassia a very powerful ring. A ring that now makes Cassia dangerous to Zeru's people. A ring that years later they are reunited only for Zeru to get the ring back at any means. There is banter and tension between Cassia and Zeru, but I wanted more interaction between them. I loved the world building. From Cassia and Zeru being trapped in the clouds to Zeru's underworld or Cassia's forest, it was all just magical. The magical system was unique, and I loved the supporting characters.

1.5 stars

To start off with, a big disclaimer: YA is not my favorite genre and it is not written with me (an adult) in mind. That said, I’ve enjoyed several fantasy YA novels in the past year and was hoping that this would be another win. Unfortunately, it really missed the mark.

To begin with, the writing is juvenile, far beyond the simple prose often found in the age category. Every emotion is told rather than shown. While this is an enemies-to-lovers romance between Cassia and Zeru, the story is told almost entirely from Cassia’s point of view, which wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that Zeru’s personality undergoes a complete 180-degree shift. I didn’t find myself believing in the changing feelings between the two characters.

The side characters were even more unbelievable than the main couple. Firstly, the entire plot of the book requires absolutely no one to understand several glaringly obvious prophecies. Secondly, all of the side characters perform whatever actions are necessary to drive the plot, often without satisfactory in-character justifications for those actions. As a result, they don’t feel like real people, but rather props in Zeru and Cassia’s story.

I do believe there’s an audience for this book. Cassia and Zeru’s special identities weren’t my jam, but they may appeal to other readers’ romantasy aesthetics and power fantasies. The (to me) overly obvious writing style and plot points might be a relief for readers with highly busy lives who are more interested in high-fantasy enemies-to-lovers vibes than story construction and character consistency. The father/daughter dynamics between Cassia and her father Silvanus are somewhat interesting (and I wish the story had delved more into this aspect). You may enjoy this book if you love: teenage fae, headstrong heroines, anti-war and anti-violence themes, Romeo and Juliet love stories with happy endings, clearly defined color schemes, 2000s-era fanfic, winged fursonas, or magical jewelry. But as a story, this novel failed to catch or maintain my interest. At least it went by fast.

There’s something about enemies-to-lovers books that just keep me coming back to the trope. What I like even more is when the characters have history – where they’re friends before and then something happens to turn them into enemies. But as they’re (begrudgingly) spending time with each other years later… that hatred slowly turns into something else. Listen, it’s just good every time. And that was certainly true here. Cassia and Zeru had that in spades. Their species, not to mention their families were at odds and total enemies. Of course, you know what happened – we all know what happens in an enemies-to-lovers book. What changes is the journey – how they went from wanting to kill each other to kiss.

The characters were well-written and developed well alongside the plot – I thought Blake did that well. Both, however, were quite slow-paced. I don’t have an issue with slow-paced books in the slightest but it felt like the book wanted to be paced faster and the developments were slowing it down. Now and then the book seemed to be at a faster pace and then it would just slow down like the author remembered she wanted it to be slow. Though with slow-paced books there’s more time to slowly develop everything – which happened here. We slowly got to know the characters, their motivations, their personalities, and their stories all develop.

We also got a slow romance, which was nice, even though I wanted it to speed up at times. Cassia and Zeru complement each other and it’ll be interesting to see where they go from here – what they do and how they face the dangers together. Of course, and how they grow more in love with each other – because they are quite cute together. I liked how their relationship tied in so well with the plot – I like when that happens and when the author does it well. Still I would’ve liked the pacing of the romance to have been faster, but like I said earlier – it didn’t deter me from liking it.

The plot was largely about secrets and the histories of the two species – which wasn’t handled like it could’ve been. I think what added to it was the constant feeling of the book being a debut novel. Then I found out the author has a whole other series aka very much not a debut book. But the feeling that it was still stayed. Of course I’m not saying that debut novels are bad in any way – just that this book seemed like it was Blake’s debut. I have no idea what the other two books will be about (as it’s a trilogy) as I thought the book did well as a standalone) but we’ll see when those books come out. Maybe about the other sisters?

The Forest King’s Daughter is a YA romantasy with a slow burn romance. I really enjoyed the author's writing in the Frostblood trilogy, so I had high hopes for this one. The writing was very atmospheric. There’s three main locations - a dark living forest, the underworld and a mansion in the clouds. However, the world-building could have been a bit more fleshed out.

The characters were fine and I enjoyed the female main character, the titular forest king’s daughter, journey of self-discovery and the true power of her abilities in contrast to how she had always been forced to use it. Also there’s a fox spirit, which automatically gets bonus points. The romance was sweet and exactly the kind of enemies to lovers story I personally enjoy. Here the main characters' dislike for each other are based on external factors pushed onto them instead of different ideologies as their relationship started as a forbidden friendship as kids. With that said, even though the romance was slow-burn it didn’t really feel properly developed and instead a bit rushed.

The book started out really exciting and had me hooked. The world was immersive enough for me to connect to the female main character and her journey. But from around the middle of the book, that excitement started to fizzle out. There was no steady pacing and the plot started to feel a bit muddled. The plot started taking on a whole new direction that made it feel less than cohesive. There seemed like there was so much the book wanted to do, but it ended up just feeling overwhelming as it felt like the plots of multiple books were crammed into one. If this had been a standalone I would have been a bit more understanding of it, but this is the first book in a trilogy… In conclusion, the book was good but not great.

I read this book as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to the publisher for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**TL;DR:** *This was an interesting new YA fantasy and I admit that I was hooked from the prologue. I immediately wanted to know more and see what happened in the years that passed following the giving of the ring and the declaration of war. There were a lot of interesting elements to the story that compelled me to keep reading and I’m glad that this came on my radar; however, on the whole, I admit that I wanted more from this story. This had a lot of potential to be an amazing read had it not been for some missed opportunities when it came to the pov, the world-building and character development. Having said that, I liked The Forest King’s Daughter enough to want to continue the series and see how the hinted-at prophecy unfolds.*

I wasn’t quite sure how to put my thoughts into words as I was reflecting on my final thoughts. about the book, so to make it easy on myself, I’m breaking this review down into the things I enjoyed and the things I wish had been done differently. **Starting with the thing I enjoyed:**

- **The mix of Roman, Greek and Germanic mythology and a wide array of magical mythical creatures.** I love a mythology-based fantasy and this one had an interesting mix of lore. The only part that I was mildly familiar with was lore about the King of the Forest, but I liked the introduction to Noctua, Nerthus, and Solis. The only thing that I wish is that there had been *more* of it. There was also a great mix of creatures included in the story that I hadn’t read about before. The scuccas were unique but creepy AF but the creature I loved most was one of the foxlike welkin spirit creatures, the Vozarra.
- **Welkincaster ft. Gutel the Kobold.** Who doesn’t love the idea of a floating island in the clouds? Welkincaster was eerie and magical and this element was an interesting way to learn more about the world-building. I was admittedly unsure what I thought about Gutel but this grumpy protector of the hearth and manor grew on me by the end! He’s a fun combination of wisdom and knowledge mixed with disgruntled and a bit of a drunk. 🤭 His grumpiness grated on me at first but I came to appreciate his moaning about impropriety by the end, lol.
- **The romance (but with several caveats).** I was surprised to find myself enjoying the romance despite it feeling a bit on the side of instalove. That said, I was already curious about Cass and Zeru’s connection and something about it developing into romance worked for me. As to be expected, there was ***a lot of tension*** after years of war and many deaths between them. The author gave them a fun push/pull dynamic with trust and respect which almost made up for the fact that most of their reconnection was told rather than shown. Despite their enmity, both of them suffered as a result of their innocent childhood friendship and I liked how they were trying to prove their worth in their ways. It’s clear both of them love their people greatly. I can see a lot of young fantasy readers being taken in by the dark broody lonely demon boy that is Zeru and the relentless and fierce forest daughter that is Cassia.
- **Cassia** was an interesting character and I liked her POV. We get to see a bit of how her life has changed as a result of receiving the ring and we see the impact that bearing the weight of such immense power has on her; especially without any guidance on how to wield or control said power. Her desire to prove her worth to her father was relatable and overall, I found it easy to empathise with her character.
- **The bond between sisters.** I love a story that shines the light on the mess and wonder of sibling relationships and I enjoyed the one between Cassia, Enora, Thea and little Rozie. They each have their own strength which is recognised by the other and while there might be some envy on Cassia’s part towards her two elder sistersr Enora and Thea, it’s never of the ugly jealous variety. I loved that their trust in each other is never called into question even when Cass goes against the ‘status quo’ they’ve been raised to believe.

I would say there were several factors that, had they been done differently, would’ve made this a more enjoyable read for me.

- I felt that **the story could have done with stronger world-building and character development** to support the overall plot and to create a stronger connection for readers. The world-building was patchy and introduced well into the story which, considering how central the mythology was to the plot, felt a bit late and what we get is not very detailed. I found the character development a bit shallow and wanted to learn ***more***, especially about our MCs. There was also something about the writing and pacing that, imho, didn’t lend itself well to forming a deeper emotional connection with the characters. Events unfold so quickly by the end that there’s little time to process what it all means before the story then ends.
- I think what would’ve helped greatly with both the world-building and character development is the **inclusion of Zeru’s POV**, which we unfortunately don’t get. Despite being a main character in his own right, Zeru doesn’t get a POV. He is integral to this story and his fate is so intertwined with Cassia’s and yet, we don’t get his POV?! I found this frustrating because his POV would’ve added the "more" that the story needed. There was so much he learned off-page which we only find out about much later after the fact due to him not communicating with Cass at the time for various reasons (because they were still enemies, it didn’t come up, etc.). It would’ve also helped to better understand his character and what happened to him and his family after he made such a life-changing (even society-changing) mistake as a child.

The story ends in such a way that can make this stand on its own but I'm curious to see where the series will go next, especially with that little tidbit of prophecy that's introduced at the end. I wonder if it'll be from a different sister's POV and even though I liked Cass and Zeru, I'd be curious to see what life is like through the eyes of a different forest king's daughter.

“If I’ve loved foolishly,” she said, “at least I was able to love.”


This was a great enemies to lovers fantasy romance featuring what are basically fairies versus demons. It was nice to not have a human as one of the love interests, I liked how magical both of them were.

The locations in this book were amazing, so varied but all equally magical in both dark and light ways.

The characters were great and I loved how they developed throughout the story, and how their love came to be.

This was mostly an information gathering mission with some moments of exciting action, including a very fun ending.

My main complaint was that the transition from enemies to lovers eventually was instantaneous. There was a plot reason for this, but I still felt a bit robbed of that middle bit that is usually my favorite.

But overall, this was a fun, magical adventure.

Thanks to the author for the copy.

This book I struggled with. I did not fee that connected to the characters and felt like the book dragged bit.

Wow, just wow! I absolutely loved this.
I’m quite impressed with the authors writing and story telling. I loved how the characters started together as friends and were ripped apart but eventually found each other again.

|| 𝙰 𝚂𝚢𝚕𝚟𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚒𝚛.
𝙰 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚞 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜.
𝙽𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜.
—𝙴𝚡𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚜, 𝚂𝚢𝚕𝚟𝚊𝚗 𝚙𝚘𝚎𝚝 ||

A sweeping fantasy between a fae princess and a demon boy who unintentionally started a war between his people and hers because of a simple amber ring. So yea, we get the whole:

childhood friends x enemies x lovers

Just a boy and a girl who are drawn to each other despite their utter differences. A love that found them both in their innocence and saved them both as adults. I DO wish we could’ve gotten just a bit more relationship development on page, but it was still there.

The storyline was refreshing and vivid. I loved how detailed the lore was and how the author seemed to pull from the more unique fae lore rather than the cut and paste variety. I actually REALLY enjoyed that.

|| “𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚍𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚊 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢.” ||

I do wish we had gotten more in the end. While I did love the epilogue I do want more from these characters and the world. Maybe?

𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
🧝‍♀️ romantasy
😈 forbidden romance
🧝‍♀️ friends to enemies to lovers
😈 unique lore

{I received a complimentary copy of this book. All reviews are my own.}

The world-building and political intrigue in this book far exceeded my expectations. It was refreshing to immerse myself in such vividly descriptive settings, each playing a crucial role in the main character’s journey. The novel also presents a unique take on the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers-but-still-enemies-by-politics-if-not-by-their-souls trope, making for a gripping and emotionally complex read.

One of my favorite parts was the time spent on the island in the sky—I have such a soft spot for floating worlds among the clouds. I only wish there had been more scenes set there, as the sense of safety Cassia feels in that space was deeply emotional to read. Those moments provided a beautiful contrast to the tension and uncertainty surrounding her journey, making them all the more impactful.

The tension surrounding Cassia’s power through the ring added a compelling exploration of destruction versus creation, weaving beautifully into the overarching themes. The constant battle of trust—who to rely on and who to fear—kept me on edge in the best way, just stressful enough to keep me completely engaged.

The unfolding war between the Sylvans and Dracu was full of unexpected depth, but what truly captivated me was the character arcs of Cassia and Zero. Unlike many romantasy books that rely on instant attraction, their bond felt genuine and earned. Their trust ebbed and flowed, breaking and rebuilding, ultimately growing stronger each time. It was a beautifully written emotional rollercoaster that made their connection all the more powerful.

I really enjoyed this book! I would definitely call it an upper YA fantasy - while the spice was minimal to nonexistent, it definitely read in a more mature tone than I was expecting (and enjoyed). I was expecting it to be more along the same vibes as The Cruel Prince, which may have been a misassumption on my end given that it states "for fans of Holly Black", but it was quite different though I could maybe see how some of the worldbuilding and enemies-to-lovers angle could be considered comparable.

That being said, I liked the worldbuilding a lot and the friends to enemies to forbidden lovers was really fun, though I do feel like their feelings progressed a bit too fast for my liking. However, the romance was wholesome and enjoyable. I loved the side characters Gutel and Voz. I wish we got a little bit more about the sisters but I am suspecting that will come in book 2 (which I am really looking forward to). I am really hoping for some character development for the father, though based on the ending, I am worried he is doomed to be the villain.

Definitely a fun read, and I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown, & TBR & Beyond Tours for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

She's the daughter of the Sylvan King, he's the demon boy from the Dracu kingdom... they are on opposing sides of the war but an unlikely childhood friendship blooms... that is destroyed when a magical ring is given and war breaks out and now years later they are forced to face one another and find a way to stop the war, deal with the ring, and face their feelings for one another. In the Thirstwood Forest resides a young forest princess and a lonely boy from underground, a friendship blooms despite both of them being from opposing sides. When the young boy Zeru, gifts Cassia, the Sylvan princess a ring in friendship he does not realize that it is an all powerful ring that could destroy his people... and that Cassia's father means to use her and the ring to kill all of Dracu. Ripped apart and war announced, Zeru and Cassia never see each other again until years later. Cassia has not harnessed the power of the ring and faces her father's disappointment and she'll do anything to gain his favor... even become the so called Deathbringer... despite her never wanting to kill anyone. When a war hardened Zeru abducts her and plans to steal the ring back Cassia finds herself questioning everything her father's ever told her. Cassia and Zeru strike up a bargain and must find a way to work together as a hidden threat in the forest threatens to destroy them both. Cassia also finds herself falling for the boy who turned her world upside down... who she knows she can't be with but can't resist... but with both of their sides at war and with differing opinions, can a romance really work out in all of this chaos? This is the first book in a trilogy however it ends in a way that feels like you could be happy to let it end there. Honestly this one was kind of a hard one for me to decide whether I liked it or not. At points I just didn't care for the romance between Zeru and Cassia and their relationship doesn't feel all that well fleshed out or earned. I just didn't find myself falling in love with the story or being wanting to read beyond this first book. I haven't read the author's previous books but in all honestly this one just didn't really wow me. I can see how this would be a good read to someone else, maybe to a younger YA fantasy enemies to lovers fan.

Release Date: February 11, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*