Lucinda Dark

Lucy Smoke

Desperation makes warriors of captives.

The Gods split the skies and rained down tyranny upon the mortal realm long ago. Ever since then, the only thing worse than being human is being of Divine Blood.

For someone like me—an undocumented God child, indebted to the Underworld Assassination Guild—that means only one thing: A life in the shadows.

Or so it should have been … until Mortal Gods Academy. Until them.

The Darkhaven Brothers are truly the worst of all the Gods’ spawn. Arrogant. Wicked. Violent.

To them, I’m nothing more than a human plaything meant for torment. For me … they’re the path and the key to my freedom.

But if any of them find out who I am, what I am … even the shadows won’t be able to save me.

*Please note this is a DARK Fantasy Romance with themes of enslavement, death of loved ones, and other various themes that may be triggering. Please check trigger warnings and read responsibly* 

A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

So, I stayed up until 2:30 am reading this book in one day. Which is ironic considering that I didn't like it? (I know, I can't make sense of it either).

Let's start with the good: The FMC was actually very enjoyable. I thought she was strong, smart, and well-written. I also appreciated what the overall plot was (though we barely saw much of it) and it was compelling. I also liked the spice scene towards the end and thought it was well-written, too.

However, that is where the good stuff ends.

Correct me if I am wrong, but a "Why Choose" romance book is supposed to prioritize the relationships between the main characters, no? Then why did this book only have them interacting (and very superficially at that) for about 35% of the book? The majority of this book is interesting plot points that get picked up and then discarded, and the ones that aren't tossed away, I found to be kind of boring.

Going back to that spice scene, while I thought it was well-written, I also didn't think it was earned. Given that they barely interacted throughout the book, I felt like it came out of nowhere. I also had a hard time with the MMCs. While I am all for morally grey, these just seemed like straight-up a-holes and not in a fun way. At first, I really liked the interactions between them and the FMC when they were introduced, but, as I mentioned earlier, that gets discarded pretty fast and becomes very boring.

I also felt like the author was trying to make this a "deep, mature" fantasy book. Which really clashed when paired with the Why Choose plot line to the point that it was jarring. There is a way to balance "mature and deep" with "fluffy, turn your brain off fun," and this did not succeed.

Will I read the next book? Eh. It's kinda up in the air, I guess. At the moment, I'll say no, but I never know with my moods. Still, while I think that some people will enjoy this series, it was not for me.

Emily B

2.5 STARS:
So, I stayed up until 2:30 am reading this book in one day. Which is ironic considering that I didn't like it? (I know, I can't make sense of it either).

Let's start with the good: The FMC was actually very enjoyable. I thought she was strong, smart, and well-written. I also appreciated what the overall plot was (though we barely saw much of it) and it was compelling. I also liked the spice scene towards the end and thought it was well-written, too.

However, that is where the good stuff ends.

Correct me if I am wrong, but a "Why Choose" romance book is supposed to prioritize the relationships between the main characters, no? Then why did this book only have them interacting (and very superficially at that) for about 35% of the book? The majority of this book is interesting plot points that get picked up and then discarded, and the ones that aren't tossed away, I found to be kind of boring.

Going back to that spice scene, while I thought it was well-written, I also didn't think it was earned. Given that they barely interacted throughout the book, I felt like it came out of nowhere. I also had a hard time with the MMCs. While I am all for morally grey, these just seemed like straight-up a-holes and not in a fun way. At first, I really liked the interactions between them and the FMC when they were introduced, but, as I mentioned earlier, that gets discarded pretty fast and becomes very boring.

I also felt like the author was trying to make this a "deep, mature" fantasy book. Which really clashed when paired with the Why Choose plot line to the point that it was jarring. There is a way to balance "mature and deep" with "fluffy, turn your brain off fun," and this did not succeed.

Will I read the next book? Eh. It's kinda up in the air, I guess. At the moment, I'll say no, but I never know with my moods. Still, while I think that some people will enjoy this series, it was not for me.

A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

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