A great treachery. A kingdom torn asunder. A dethroned queen seeking justice.
For a millennium, the prosperous land of Ethos revelled in the protection of the Divine Spirit and the unshakeable bond of the Royal Family. But all that changed with a devastating betrayal within the monarchy.
Consumed by the desire to rule, the king's older sister, Elinor, kills the king and imprisons the queen. Firmly seated on her new throne, Elinor craves absolute power and fixates on reassembling the lost magical shards of Ethos. With them, she will become the supreme ruler.
In the wake of treachery, the young twins are forced to flee, finding refuge in the care of their mystical grandfather. The looming question is whether he can shield them from the clutches of the ruthless traitor queen, or if their mother, the imprisoned queen, can escape to reunite with her children.
Believing her family dead, all hope seems lost for Cecilia. But when the high priestess visits her with news of her twins, she is filled with new life and determination. Planning a daring escape, she knows she must getaway. It's the only way to protect her children and save Ethos from a vindictive and heartless tyrant, Elinor.
The one who reunites the crystal shards will reign supreme.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book because its villain—the young, gorgeous, narcissistic, and deceitful sister of the King—plays such a significant role throughout the narrative. Her POV added depth to the story, allowing me to experience a range of emotions—from affection to disdain, empathy to pity, and back to hatred again. The author's portrayal of her is truly exceptional, capturing her complexities in a brilliant manner!
The worldbuilding and magic system in this book are easy to follow, and despite the occasional descriptive passages, the plot moves swiftly, brimming with action right from the start. Each character is well developed; there wasn't a single one I disliked! While I had reservations about Bradley and Adrian at first, they ultimately won me over. I only wish we had more time with King James.
There are a couple of short, open door scenes, which I'd rate as πΆπΆπΆπΆ/5. Personally, I'm not a fan of such content, so I opted to skip over those parts. However, skipping them didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story.
Usually, it takes me about three days to finish a book of around 300 pages, but I devoured this one in less than two days! I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't want it to end. Now, the wait for book two begins. If you're a fantasy enthusiast, I highly recommend diving into this book!
I haven’t read many stories where you get to read the villain’s POV, it was quite refreshing to watch her slowly unravel and become the monster everyone thought she was.
We actually get a few characters POV’s which did throw me to start with as I’m only used to maybe two different POV’s in a story, this one we get roughly six, if I remember correctly. It was interesting to get more insight, detail and feelings, as each character brought their own uniqueness to the story.
The world building, character development, plot twists and spice were perfect. It’s a beautifully written story that by the end, I was left wanting more.
I look forward to reading the next book, I need to know what’s going to happen next. π«£π
This book was my first ARC review, and I'm so glad it was.
This book has a strong theme of family loyalty, corruption, betrayal, changing power dynamics, mystical powers, and revenge.
Written mainly from the villainous evil Queen Elinor's perspective, but also having chapters written from multiple other character's POV's, this story will have you on the edge of your seat and questioning who you side with.
You know Elinor is in the wrong and completely unhinged, yet she is written in a way that she still seems relatable, at times vulnerable, and sometimes you can understand her frustrations, despite her psychopathic tendencies.
There are some very loveable side characters in this book (I'm especially looking at you, Grandpa George), and beautiful place settings and a few nice spicy scenes!
This is a very well written story at a steady pace that builds into a crescendo of anarchy, chaos, and fear that leaves you wanting more! I will definitely be reading the second book when it is completed!
Highly recommend! 4/5
What a ride! I absolutely love this book. The fact that we see so much of the antagonists' side of the story is really exciting.
The story is intense, and the writing is so descriptive that I can visualize it as a movie.
This is such a strong first book of a series, I can't wait to see how it continues!
