Warning: Some reviews contain spoilers. Check out my Reading Ranting page for more.
I got serious Pirates of the Caribbean vibes in most of this book, but a completely different story. It’s low fantasy in that it’s a completely imaginary world, but there’s no magic.
I loved how Lara started off in this book. She has a plan to take down a kingdom in order to save her own. She goes from the dry desert to a stormy group of islands to marry a King she’s never met.
I also live how we get Aren’s POV too and see how he needs the alliance with Lara to bring trade to his people. Mostly, I love how we instantly see that he’s not what she was expecting and we just have to watch while she works that out.
The details of how Lara adjusts to the weather really brings the world to life. And her slow realization is nicely done. She’s been lied to all her life, and her only purpose is ruining Aren’s kingdom.
It’s also fun that he learns that she’s a spy and Falls for her anyway, makes the betrayal that much sweeter.
Things I liked…
- Lara and Aren were fun to read as they slowly fall for each other.
- The love scenes were nicely written. A perfect balance of emotion and explicitly.
- The world was fantastic with the bridge and islands and swashbuckling theme.
- Lara was likable despite being pretty cold from the start. She has her reasons.
What I didn’t like…
- I’m being super picky with this, but some small technical things in the writing bugged me. But not really enough to bring down my rating.
- Despite really enjoying the book, it didn’t 100% captivate me, but that’s a personal thing that I can’t really explain, hence the 4.5 stars and not a full 5.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes low fantasy and romance with kingdom politics and trained assassins.
Love Fantasy Novels 