THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!! One of my favorite fantasy books and audiobooks! I loved this book so much! The world-building and magic were so intriguing! It was so easy to understand and get into! I love how we got right into the story and the plot. I was absolutely in shock with some of the plot twists that were revealed!! I cannot believe this is Devney's first fantasy novel. I will be patiently waiting for the other books in the series! The narrators did such an amazing job with these characters! The tension they enhanced was incredible!! They encaptured the characters so well!!

infinity/5 stars

no notes.

Devney has shown that she truly is an amazing story teller no matter the genre. She has created an epic world full of mysteries, monsters, a swoony hero and a princess we can all see a bit of ourselves in. The plot had me guessing and on the edge of my seat the entire time. The way Devney wove the details of the world and story together were truly masterful. The relationship between our two main characters was nothing short of epic. I'm rooting so hard for them. The banter, the tension, the slow burn, it was all SO GOOD!!! (Not so) patiently waiting for book 2.

I was gifted an ALC of this story and once again Samantha Brentmoor proves she is one of the best narrators of our time. Her ability to portray a variety of characters all with such depth of emotion is unmatched.

Thank you Devney and Red Tower Books for an ARC and ALC of this epic tale. It was my honor.

Probably one of the best romantasy books I’ve read. This 100% will be a top Romantasy of the year. The audio was incredible! I absolutely loved the female narrator and the emotions she portrayed! I cannot wait for book 2!!

4.5 Stars, but I'm rounding up to 5 because it made me cry and I already miss the characters. 🥹

I loved this. Truly. It was Devney's first romantasy and I was blown away! From the start I was hooked. I loved the FMC Odessa immediately and I found myself invested in her and her story right away. I was intrigued right away as Odessa entered into an arrange marriage, but also found herself attracted to (and annoyed by) the infamous Guardian. As the book went on I absolutely loved the characters she met a long the way, the relationships she built, the world building (not too hard to understand), the monsters, the focus on reading & knowledge, the training, and the grade A, top notch banter.

🎧 The audiobook? It will be one of my top audiobooks of 2025 FOR SURE. I lovedddd Samantha's narration and the way she so perfectly embodied Odessa. She had me feeling her fear, her apprehension, her desire, her love, and so much more. I was straight up SOBBING at the end of the book and so much of that had to do with Samantha's ability to put me in the story.

Read if you like:
-Enemies to lovers
-Arranged marriage
-EXCELLENT banter
-Hidden Identities
-Training montages 😂
-Found family
-Dark magic & monsters
-Opinionated, independent fmc
-🌶️🌶️

The only reason I'm rating it a 4.5? I found the middle of the book a bit slow, but I also understand the importance of world building and introducing the many characters and monsters that are essential to this story.

I truly miss every character already and will be counting down the days until book 2. Highly recommend adding this one to your TBR!

Thank you so so much to Red Tower Books for the physical ARC and to Tantor Audio for the ALC.

I have been anticipating reading this book for so long and I am left speechless now that it is over. It was simply amazing!

The world building was wonderful and (for romantasy rookies like me) easy to follow. The angst of where this adventure was leading these characters held me on the edge of my seat. The secrets and plot twists were many and I never saw them coming. Devney Perry delivered with this story and I cannot express how much I loved it. Can't wait for more!

I both read and listened the audio since I couldn't put it down. Samantha Brentmoor is a huge favorite of mine and she did amazing narrating 98% of this book. Jason Clarke jumped in at the end and of course I'll take any listening time with him.

Also where do I sign up for a pet tarkin?!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!!

this book was incredible!! i don’t even have words to encapsulate all that this story was. it was such a riveting, unique fantasy novel, brimming with wonderful characters, rich world-building and lore, and a plot full of unexpected turns. just when i thought i had everything figured out, devney pulled the rug out from under my feet and took the story in a completely different direction.

i loved odessa — she was charming, quick-witted, and so very fierce. her strength was so awe-inspiring. the way she stayed true to herself and fought for herself was something special to witness. and don’t even get me started on the hero!!! i’m obsessed with him. their love story was so wild and unexpected, but i can’t wait to see where the next book takes it.

over all, i think this book is yet another testament to devney’s talent. she pivoted and wrote a flawless story in a brand new genre, one that i feel is notoriously hard to tackle, and she did is immensely well. i have always loved devney’s writing, but i appreciated it 10x more in this novel because she made the romantasy genre so accessible. that she wrote a fantasy novel that wasn’t intimidating to read or hard to enjoy is amazing!

also, the narration of this audiobook was incredible. samantha brentmoor did such a terrific job of portraying odessa’s voice authentically and vividly. it’s hard to capture the voice of a younger, somewhat naive heroine, but samantha did her justice while also injecting in her strength and a spine of steel.

6/5 ⭐️

Wow. Just…. Wow. The way that this works sucked me in!!! I am absolutely hooked. Of course there are so many unanswered questions and a cliffhanger. I’m going to be on the edge of my seat waiting for book 2. This is by far the best fantasy romance I have read in 2025. ALSO the audio was incredible and the narrators were PERFECT. I love that this was a duet narration because I felt like it brought the book, and the characters, to life.

Okay I’m going to list all the amazing things I loved about this book because my thought are running rampant right now and lists seem better organized

1. The incredible world building with the most amazing detailed writing. I was IN this world.

2. The CHARACTERS! All of the them. The found family and the connections that were built throughout this book were just… perfect.

3. The TENSION and amazing enemies to lovers. I couldn’t stop reading.

4. Character development. I loved watching Odessa find her freedom (pause while I cry) and learning her strengths

5. Ummm those creatures?! I talked about the detailed writing but WOW I was able to picture those creature vividly in my mind and I loved every second.

6. The PLOT! I went in blind and I honestly think that’s the best way. There was a slowburn romance, and a lot of questions that weren’t answered right away but I loved the pacing of this book. It is a bigger book but honestly, I wanted more.

7. ALL OF IT (:

I HIGHLY recommend this fantasy romance with amazing world building and beautiful writing