Name: Of Beast And Burden
ISBN: 9781953539953

Kelsey Kicklighter

Of Beast And Burden

This was a quick and fun read. I wasn’t immediately captured by the book until about chapter 3, but once it captured my attention it was amazing.

Of Beast and Burden follows our female main character, Faye, who is half-fae and half-human. Faye has seen what the Folk has done to her mother, but she can’t help but seek them out. Once she’s been in the realm of faerie, she learns that she’s the heiress to the Unseelie throne. The Seelie Court steals her best friend, Ellie, who is more like a sister. She must face the trials and take the throne that is rightfully hers if she wants Ellie back.

This story features a love triangle. I am usually not a fan of them, but I love Gage, the Dark Court’s King, and Isla, the nymph knight. It didn’t feel forced, but maybe a bit rushed. The characters weren’t just thrown in for the sake of a romance, they actually played a part in the story. However, usually you are able to tell where this love story will be going, but I can’t. They are both good choices and clearly well written that there isn’t a clear choice as to who the better one is.

While I found it somewhat predictable, I was still able to enjoy it. The writing was enticing. I loved the banter between the characters. Faye was incredibly sarcastic and wasn’t meant to be perfect, which I really loved. This whole world was new to her, of course she is going to make mistakes. Gage wasn’t necessarily a grumpy MC, it seems more like he isn’t able to be this fun character due to the pressure of being the Dark Court’s King. He is meant to be seen as a monster to everyone, when really, he’s kind of funny and shares little smiles & smirks throughout the book. Kellan was a typical ‘I flirt with everything that moves’ type of character and I actually didn’t hate it?? While he made some questionable decisions, I could see where he was coming from. I feel like Isla could be developed a little more, but she’s still a great character, if a little boring at times.

The reason it is only 4 stars is because the world-building feels a little underdeveloped and with the predictability. The love triangle and some characters could’ve used a little more development, but overall it was still a fun and enjoyable read.

I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store! Thank you NetGalley and The Parliament House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Apologies for the late review due to unexpected circumstances. Anyways I'm back on track.

Nothing really interesting happened until the last 30% of the book. I really enjoyed the twist in the trials and the ending. Though Kellan grew on me and became my favorite character. I might even consider reading the sequel.

The setting and the style of speach was too modern for my taste, I never want to see the word scrunchie in a fantasy book ever again. For the most part the author stuck to using fae/folk but the inconsistencies bothered me. The terms fae, faerie, elves are thrown around as if they are supposed to be the same thing.

For half of the book I thought that Kellan, the seelie prince, was supposed to be a love interest but then I checked the synopsis and realized it's actually the unseelie king, Gage (and Isla) . Then 2 pages later the book was trying to gaslight me into thinking they previously had chemistry? When they just started being touchy out of the blue.

Excessive use of stupid endearments. They were repetitive and annoying.

Tip for authors:
Love triangle ✘
Polyamory ✔

Also if possible do not include incest. 

 Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah Wall

A super fun book with some flaws. 
Faye is fun and sarcastic, which I love, but she can be super clueless to the fae stuff sometimes which does get on my nerves slightly. I love Gage and his witty humor. Kellan is fantastic. 

The wit and humor and sarcasm is at peak level. I love how the seelie and unseelie are brought into this book relying on myth, but also elements of the author, which is a great blend. 

The main character is bi, so there are hints of that. There kind of a love triangle as in Faye can’t decide who to love- gage or her knight. I wasn’t a big fan of all that, but it doesn’t diminish the enjoyment of the book. 

While the overall pace was slow, the book is a series and the plot was enjoyable. The chapters are not too long and the chapter paces weren’t bad at all. 

My reason for four stars was that it was missing just something to make it amazing. Just a little bit of magic that made my want to live in the world. I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend to others as well as finish the series!

Faith Kitowski

thank you netgalley and the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review. 
2.5/5. i love sarah j. maas and holly black, but i feel like this book should not say it’s for their fans. i personally was not a big fan. maybe it had to do with the writing style or it was targeted for towards teens and not young adults, but it fell flat for me. i was getting annoyed with faye; she’s so back and forth with who she wants to be with and i thought it was a single love interest for the book but apparently i’m wrong. i probably will not read the next books in this series.

Of Beast And Burden

Reviews

Highlights