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Fate & Flame #3
A Queen of Thieves & Chaos
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Romantasy (2023)From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker comes the third novel in her Fate and Flame series, an adult fantasy novel that should be read in series order.
"You betrayed your brother to steal a broken crown."
The kingdom stands on the brink of chaos. Atticus' grip on the realm is faltering, and as threats arise ever closer to home he is driven to increasingly desperate acts to hold onto power.
With Islor's fate now in the balance, Zander stands to defend the Rift from the oncoming Ybarisan army. With the king's forces scattered, he must risk unlikely new alliances.
And behind the walls of Ulysede, secrets wait for its new queen. Romeria knows that the paths of the hidden city will lead her to answers. But will they be enough to save the realm – or is their fate already sealed?
"You betrayed your brother to steal a broken crown."
The kingdom stands on the brink of chaos. Atticus' grip on the realm is faltering, and as threats arise ever closer to home he is driven to increasingly desperate acts to hold onto power.
With Islor's fate now in the balance, Zander stands to defend the Rift from the oncoming Ybarisan army. With the king's forces scattered, he must risk unlikely new alliances.
And behind the walls of Ulysede, secrets wait for its new queen. Romeria knows that the paths of the hidden city will lead her to answers. But will they be enough to save the realm – or is their fate already sealed?
606 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2023
1123 people are currently reading
44864 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Tucker
66 books25k followersK.A. Tucker writes captivating stories with an edge.
She is the internationally bestselling author of over thirty books, including Ten Tiny Breaths, The Simple Wild, and the Fate & Flame series, Until It Fades, Say You Still Love Me, and Keep Her Safe. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.
Ten Tiny Breaths, The Simple Wild, and A Queen of Thieves & Chaos were Goodreads Choice award nominees.
K.A. Tucker lives outside of Toronto. When she's not writing books, you can find her reading recipes she'll never make or chasing rabbits away from her hostas.
Join Tucker's Troop on Facebook! >>
https://www.facebook.com/groups/14685...
Signup for her newsletter >> https://www.katuckerbooks.com/newslet...
She is the internationally bestselling author of over thirty books, including Ten Tiny Breaths, The Simple Wild, and the Fate & Flame series, Until It Fades, Say You Still Love Me, and Keep Her Safe. Her books have been featured in national publications including USA Today, Globe & Mail, Suspense Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, Oprah Mag, and First for Women.
Ten Tiny Breaths, The Simple Wild, and A Queen of Thieves & Chaos were Goodreads Choice award nominees.
K.A. Tucker lives outside of Toronto. When she's not writing books, you can find her reading recipes she'll never make or chasing rabbits away from her hostas.
Join Tucker's Troop on Facebook! >>
https://www.facebook.com/groups/14685...
Signup for her newsletter >> https://www.katuckerbooks.com/newslet...
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November 15, 2023NOW AVAILABLE!
order: https://geni.us/queenthieveschaos
*** To celebrate the nomination of A Queen of Thieves & Chaos (Book 3) in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2023, A Fate of Wrath & Flame (book 1) is on sale for a limited time only! (US/Canada, ebook)
read now: https://geni.us/fateofwrathandflame***
order: https://geni.us/queenthieveschaos
*** To celebrate the nomination of A Queen of Thieves & Chaos (Book 3) in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2023, A Fate of Wrath & Flame (book 1) is on sale for a limited time only! (US/Canada, ebook)
read now: https://geni.us/fateofwrathandflame***
Want to read
December 1, 2024I think I have an inherent ability to find books that are part of an unfinished series yet somehow manage to get upset because of my inability to check release dates beforehand.
I'm not a patient person so all of these unfinished series that I keep reading acc hurts 💀💀💀💀
I'm not a patient person so all of these unfinished series that I keep reading acc hurts 💀💀💀💀
September 5, 2023
Happy release day to this amazing book! If you like fantasy books, and you haven't read this series yet, you should give this series a try ASAP!
_________
OMG OMG OMG. Holy shit. This was SO freaking good!!! 7 MILLION STARS!!
My jaw dropped to the floor at that plot twist around 98%. I pride myself on being pretty good at predicting books, but I did not see that coming at all.
I was so excited for this book. K.A. Tucker is one of my favorite authors - I think she is such a talented writer and really knows how to put together really captivating stories. This is one of my all time favorite fantasy series, and I think this book has been the best in the series so far. I thought book 2 was good but a little bit more of a filler, and I'm really glad on how this one delivered. I never knew what was going to happen.
Admittedly, I thought the beginning of this book was a little slow. I struggled with the first ~30% or so, but I think a lot of that is because I needed a refresher on the world-building, and all of our characters start this book in precarious situations. However, once this book hit about 35%, I literally could not put it down.
At first, I was a little apprehensive to the fact that there are suddenly new character POV chapters. I sometimes get frustrated when authors do this mid-series, especially when some of the character POVs are newer characters or are (seemingly) villains. However, in the case of this book, I am SO glad that the author introduced these new POVs. With Zander and Romeria in Ulysede, we needed to know what was going on back in Islor, and we also needed a new romance to follow since Zander and Romeria are pretty all tied up with a bow. This book mostly has POVs from Zander, Romeria, Gracen, Atticus, and Master Scribe Agatha, as well as a couple chapters from Annika and Sofie.
Throughout the first half of the story, Gracen and Atticus were the stars of the show. After first being annoyed by their chapters, I quickly realized that their story was the most captivating to me. There were a couple of times that I worried the 2 characters would do something stupid and play right into the minor-villains' hands, but then they DIDN'T do the stupid thing, and I was so happy. I was a little annoyed at how long they ignored how problematic Boaz was, but I'll forgive that because of his current state at the end of the book.
In the last half of the story, I equally liked pretty much everyone's chapter. I feel like I learned to love Romeria again in this book after I lost a little bit of my love for her in the last book. She was so fucking badass in this book. I love how her and Zander just KNOW each other and love each other but also don't bring the other down. Honestly, I really like most of the side characters too (to list a few of my favorites in particular: Keinen, Radomir, Bexley, Mika, Seamus, Elisaf, JAREK!!, Kazimir, etc.). Ultimately, I'm thrilled about most things that happened at the end of this book, and that the antagonist seems to be shifting to a new villain.
Also, THERE IS AN AWESOME DRAGON IN THIS, SO EVERYONE SHOULD READ ABOUT HER BC SHE'S AWESOME! Did I say the dragon parts are awesome?
Thank you so so much to Valentine PR and K.A. Tucker for this ARC. This book was literally amazing. One of my favorites of the year. I am already going back to read my favorite parts.
__________________________________
I just unexpectedly got an ARC for this book, and I'M SO HAPPYYY. LFG!!! I love this fantasy romance series so much.
_________
OMG OMG OMG. Holy shit. This was SO freaking good!!! 7 MILLION STARS!!
My jaw dropped to the floor at that plot twist around 98%. I pride myself on being pretty good at predicting books, but I did not see that coming at all.
I was so excited for this book. K.A. Tucker is one of my favorite authors - I think she is such a talented writer and really knows how to put together really captivating stories. This is one of my all time favorite fantasy series, and I think this book has been the best in the series so far. I thought book 2 was good but a little bit more of a filler, and I'm really glad on how this one delivered. I never knew what was going to happen.
Admittedly, I thought the beginning of this book was a little slow. I struggled with the first ~30% or so, but I think a lot of that is because I needed a refresher on the world-building, and all of our characters start this book in precarious situations. However, once this book hit about 35%, I literally could not put it down.
At first, I was a little apprehensive to the fact that there are suddenly new character POV chapters. I sometimes get frustrated when authors do this mid-series, especially when some of the character POVs are newer characters or are (seemingly) villains. However, in the case of this book, I am SO glad that the author introduced these new POVs. With Zander and Romeria in Ulysede, we needed to know what was going on back in Islor, and we also needed a new romance to follow since Zander and Romeria are pretty all tied up with a bow. This book mostly has POVs from Zander, Romeria, Gracen, Atticus, and Master Scribe Agatha, as well as a couple chapters from Annika and Sofie.
Throughout the first half of the story, Gracen and Atticus were the stars of the show. After first being annoyed by their chapters, I quickly realized that their story was the most captivating to me. There were a couple of times that I worried the 2 characters would do something stupid and play right into the minor-villains' hands, but then they DIDN'T do the stupid thing, and I was so happy. I was a little annoyed at how long they ignored how problematic Boaz was, but I'll forgive that because of his current state at the end of the book.
In the last half of the story, I equally liked pretty much everyone's chapter. I feel like I learned to love Romeria again in this book after I lost a little bit of my love for her in the last book. She was so fucking badass in this book. I love how her and Zander just KNOW each other and love each other but also don't bring the other down. Honestly, I really like most of the side characters too (to list a few of my favorites in particular: Keinen, Radomir, Bexley, Mika, Seamus, Elisaf, JAREK!!, Kazimir, etc.). Ultimately, I'm thrilled about most things that happened at the end of this book, and that the antagonist seems to be shifting to a new villain.
Also, THERE IS AN AWESOME DRAGON IN THIS, SO EVERYONE SHOULD READ ABOUT HER BC SHE'S AWESOME! Did I say the dragon parts are awesome?
Thank you so so much to Valentine PR and K.A. Tucker for this ARC. This book was literally amazing. One of my favorites of the year. I am already going back to read my favorite parts.
__________________________________
I just unexpectedly got an ARC for this book, and I'M SO HAPPYYY. LFG!!! I love this fantasy romance series so much.
February 6, 2025
4 Crescent Moon Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
Please note, I cannot comment on aspects of this book without saying with 100% certainty there won't be spoilers for Book 1 and Book 2. If this bothers you... I would advise you to stop reading and enjoy those books before continuing onward. (My reviews for those can be found at the bottom of this should you need any more convincing to read them ♥️)
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS! It was great to be back in this world. I felt like I was coming home to characters I missed and loved. This series continues to solidify that K.A. Tucker writing fantasy is not a FLUKE because she is DAMN GOOD AT IT!!!
This starts almost exactly where Book 2 ends, thus my recommendation is since the world-building is PRETTY intricate, detailed and a little complicated (especially if you HAVE read about 80 books in between Book 2 and 3) - Read the last 50 pages of A Curse of Blood & Stone as it will provide the perfect refresher of where our characters are and who the main key players are in the story! (If not, you can only really blame yourself for being confused AF)
Even with the "refresher", the first 20% of the book was a little bit Where am I? What century is this? What's going on????? But once I was vibing and back into the story I was hooked! I am so impressed by the labyrinthian detail woven together, with aspects and breadcrumbs mentioned in book 1 being important in this book! It was like the tension was hyped up 50 notches, building up to...SOMETHING WE WILL FIND OUT IN BOOK 4!!!!!! (Yes, there is a cliffhanger and it's AWFUL AND MEAN AND I NEED BOOK 4 LIKE NAOW!!!!)
It should be noted that...THERE ARE a lot of POVs in this book, but as a result, it feels more wholesome. The plot also seems to vary in pace as unlike Book 2, which was largely spent on the journey to Ulysede, this instalment feels more like a movie. Seeing something from multiple points of view, and watching the story unfold while our characters are halfway across the world! The only downside to this is that if you end up invested in one person's point of view, you have to wait a while before you get their point of view again...
Another thing that I LOVED (which I have only seen 2 writers pull off, AND PULL OFF WELL) is KA TUCKER made me feel COMPASSION FOR A "Villian"... I LOVE Atticus! (Maybe more than Zander). At the end of Book 2, he is very much the bastard brother who has exiled his King and stolen his throne. In this book, his romance with Gracen was most probably the best thing about this book. When not in their POVs - I wanted to get back to them. Their relationship was absolutely adorable. I felt like I needed to root for him and that I wanted him to succeed. He is misguided in his reasons, but like Zander, he is just trying to do the best for his country.
Gracen is such a fantastic and beautiful character! She has been through so much, yet remains gentle and passionate about her family and her simple morals. She is grateful for what she has, even if it is not much and thankful to be alive. It was so beautiful to see someone who is now the King listen, and actually listen, to a simple baker and heed her counsel.
In terms of Romeria's relationships. Her romantic relationship with Zander is a little pushed to the sidelines and doesn't progress much. However, her friendship with Jarek was interesting to watch unfold... I am not sure how I feel about this.... -_- They do bicker like brother and sister but I feel like there are hints of more developing.
If you do not like politics and political intrigue...THIS IS NOT THE BOOK FOR YOU! There is court drama, kingdom drama, espionage, backstabbing, arranged marriages, wars, internal factions and treason. It's heavily political. But as a result, I think that this book could appeal to anybody who likes fantasy. It's not just a fantasy romance, even though there are romantic elements; romance is not at the forefront of the story. The forefront of the story is a high fantasy plot dealing with prophecy and kingdoms preparing for war.
Overall, WELL DONE on this instalment! I was reminded how much I love this series and how everyone should read it!!!
Thank you to Valentine PR and K.A.Tucker for the ARC!
All thoughts and feelings are my own.
-----------------------
A Wrath of Fate and Flame - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Curse of Blood & Stone - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
Please note, I cannot comment on aspects of this book without saying with 100% certainty there won't be spoilers for Book 1 and Book 2. If this bothers you... I would advise you to stop reading and enjoy those books before continuing onward. (My reviews for those can be found at the bottom of this should you need any more convincing to read them ♥️)
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS! It was great to be back in this world. I felt like I was coming home to characters I missed and loved. This series continues to solidify that K.A. Tucker writing fantasy is not a FLUKE because she is DAMN GOOD AT IT!!!
This starts almost exactly where Book 2 ends, thus my recommendation is since the world-building is PRETTY intricate, detailed and a little complicated (especially if you HAVE read about 80 books in between Book 2 and 3) - Read the last 50 pages of A Curse of Blood & Stone as it will provide the perfect refresher of where our characters are and who the main key players are in the story! (If not, you can only really blame yourself for being confused AF)
Even with the "refresher", the first 20% of the book was a little bit Where am I? What century is this? What's going on????? But once I was vibing and back into the story I was hooked! I am so impressed by the labyrinthian detail woven together, with aspects and breadcrumbs mentioned in book 1 being important in this book! It was like the tension was hyped up 50 notches, building up to...SOMETHING WE WILL FIND OUT IN BOOK 4!!!!!! (Yes, there is a cliffhanger and it's AWFUL AND MEAN AND I NEED BOOK 4 LIKE NAOW!!!!)
It should be noted that...THERE ARE a lot of POVs in this book, but as a result, it feels more wholesome. The plot also seems to vary in pace as unlike Book 2, which was largely spent on the journey to Ulysede, this instalment feels more like a movie. Seeing something from multiple points of view, and watching the story unfold while our characters are halfway across the world! The only downside to this is that if you end up invested in one person's point of view, you have to wait a while before you get their point of view again...
Another thing that I LOVED (which I have only seen 2 writers pull off, AND PULL OFF WELL) is KA TUCKER made me feel COMPASSION FOR A "Villian"... I LOVE Atticus! (Maybe more than Zander). At the end of Book 2, he is very much the bastard brother who has exiled his King and stolen his throne. In this book, his romance with Gracen was most probably the best thing about this book. When not in their POVs - I wanted to get back to them. Their relationship was absolutely adorable. I felt like I needed to root for him and that I wanted him to succeed. He is misguided in his reasons, but like Zander, he is just trying to do the best for his country.
Gracen is such a fantastic and beautiful character! She has been through so much, yet remains gentle and passionate about her family and her simple morals. She is grateful for what she has, even if it is not much and thankful to be alive. It was so beautiful to see someone who is now the King listen, and actually listen, to a simple baker and heed her counsel.
In terms of Romeria's relationships. Her romantic relationship with Zander is a little pushed to the sidelines and doesn't progress much. However, her friendship with Jarek was interesting to watch unfold... I am not sure how I feel about this.... -_- They do bicker like brother and sister but I feel like there are hints of more developing.
If you do not like politics and political intrigue...THIS IS NOT THE BOOK FOR YOU! There is court drama, kingdom drama, espionage, backstabbing, arranged marriages, wars, internal factions and treason. It's heavily political. But as a result, I think that this book could appeal to anybody who likes fantasy. It's not just a fantasy romance, even though there are romantic elements; romance is not at the forefront of the story. The forefront of the story is a high fantasy plot dealing with prophecy and kingdoms preparing for war.
Overall, WELL DONE on this instalment! I was reminded how much I love this series and how everyone should read it!!!
Thank you to Valentine PR and K.A.Tucker for the ARC!
All thoughts and feelings are my own.
-----------------------
A Wrath of Fate and Flame - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Curse of Blood & Stone - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
September 7, 2023
This series does not get the love it deserves. I could not put this book down. Loved it. Furious book 4 isn’t out till next summer!!
September 20, 2023
i will know no peace until this book is in my hands
November 29, 2023
Surprisingly, the plotline in the third book has improved so much, with lots of twists and turns. I loved where the author is taking this whole story.
September 10, 2023
y'all know how much i enjoyed the previous books but one thing i will not do is lie in a review, even if it's a book i fairly enjoyed because objectively this is a disappointing sequel.
i did not care for the new romance at all. they absolutely had no reason whatsoever to like notice each other, much less be attracted to one another. it felt forced by the author just so we'd have a new romance to root for. not to mention, the power dynamics between a mortal and an immortal in this political climate? just no... and i was also not a fan of the multi POVs. it dragged the entire book and so i felt that the plot was barely moving for 70% of the novel. you see, what i like about Romeria as the main character is that she will definitely stir the pot and DO SOMETHING. she will move the plot and is innately incapable of staying still. it was only until the last 30% that something started happening and it was all because Romeria moved! i'm sorry to say that the rest of the characters are useless. their purpose was only to relay the important information to the reader and Romeria, but honestly we could've done without it considering the discoveries in Ulysede.
about Ulysede, i feel that Tucker is a bit lazy. it's basically a utopia to solve the world's problems, which is great and all in theory but i feel that it doesn't make use of the characters and their potential to show who they really are when they are faced with these societal and political issues. it also fails to show the author's skills in handling ideas like these because Ulysede, a utopia, serves as the author's backdoor to what issues she created in the first place. so just what are we doing here! and if you're saying "oh what did you expect from a romantasy" i know. I KNOW but it doesn't excuse lazy writing, let's be serious. lastly, i need Tucker and her team to think of better titles because what do thieves and chaos have to do with what happened in the book.
despite all this though, you will still see me read the next book! i might be disappointed in the author's decisions with the new romance, the direction of the political and societal issues, and the overall narration of the plot, but i am very much looking forward to where it all ends. also, i see a potential new couple that i am very much interested in since book 1 (or book 2? idk) so i will be tuning in!!!!
i did not care for the new romance at all. they absolutely had no reason whatsoever to like notice each other, much less be attracted to one another. it felt forced by the author just so we'd have a new romance to root for. not to mention, the power dynamics between a mortal and an immortal in this political climate? just no... and i was also not a fan of the multi POVs. it dragged the entire book and so i felt that the plot was barely moving for 70% of the novel. you see, what i like about Romeria as the main character is that she will definitely stir the pot and DO SOMETHING. she will move the plot and is innately incapable of staying still. it was only until the last 30% that something started happening and it was all because Romeria moved! i'm sorry to say that the rest of the characters are useless. their purpose was only to relay the important information to the reader and Romeria, but honestly we could've done without it considering the discoveries in Ulysede.
about Ulysede, i feel that Tucker is a bit lazy. it's basically a utopia to solve the world's problems, which is great and all in theory but i feel that it doesn't make use of the characters and their potential to show who they really are when they are faced with these societal and political issues. it also fails to show the author's skills in handling ideas like these because Ulysede, a utopia, serves as the author's backdoor to what issues she created in the first place. so just what are we doing here! and if you're saying "oh what did you expect from a romantasy" i know. I KNOW but it doesn't excuse lazy writing, let's be serious. lastly, i need Tucker and her team to think of better titles because what do thieves and chaos have to do with what happened in the book.
despite all this though, you will still see me read the next book! i might be disappointed in the author's decisions with the new romance, the direction of the political and societal issues, and the overall narration of the plot, but i am very much looking forward to where it all ends. also, i see a potential new couple that i am very much interested in since book 1 (or book 2? idk) so i will be tuning in!!!!
September 28, 2024
This book was 606 pages and 77 chapters full of action, knowledge, politics, love, friendships, surprises, action, more action, and even more action.
It's a perfect 3rd book to the series.
Kind of The Witcher Season 3 vibes.
It's vintage, whimsical, and mature.
The world building continues to amaze me. At this point, it was with delicious and flirty surprises.
I don't have much else to say other than that K.A. Tucker has outdone herself again. I can't wait for her to write and for me to read more of her Fantasy.
Totally recommend this series to you!
It's a perfect 3rd book to the series.
Kind of The Witcher Season 3 vibes.
It's vintage, whimsical, and mature.
The world building continues to amaze me. At this point, it was with delicious and flirty surprises.
I don't have much else to say other than that K.A. Tucker has outdone herself again. I can't wait for her to write and for me to read more of her Fantasy.
Totally recommend this series to you!
September 7, 2023
I love this series but it’s started to feel like it’s dragging on. The multiple POVs made me disinterested and I was so bored with Zander and Romeria
September 26, 2023
I read most books in 1-2 days, maybe 3 days max if I’m busy. This took me a whole week because I struggled to get into it so much.
What I didn’t like:
1) What happened to Zander and Romeria? I understand having to sideline the romance a bit to allow characters to continue to develop, but this just pushed them back too much. And I’m not even going to SPEAK on the whole Jarek thing because I genuinely hate what KA is hinting at.
2) I’ve never been less invested in a romance than Atticus and Gracen. She’s boring, he’s still a piece of shit. This is a literal slave/master romance, even if he’s saying that he’s “giving her a choice” (which is a ridiculous notion in itself given their power dynamic). I found myself wanting to skip those chapters completely bc I thought they were so dull
3) Whatever happened to Elisaf and his friendship with Romeria? That’s just done?
4) I felt like the multiple POVs were too much and didn’t always add enough to the story to be needed.
5) Felt like almost nothing happened in this book
6) Idk how I feel about Sofie, she doesn’t seem so bright
What I did like:
1) the big dragon reveal
2) the overall world building
3) multiple threats, high stakes
4) crumbs of Zander and Romeria
I’ll read the next one but I won’t do a re-read like i did this in preparation for this book because I refuse to re-read this. It wasn’t bad, but I really didn’t love it, and it was just way too long considering that a lot of it felt like filler.
What I didn’t like:
1) What happened to Zander and Romeria? I understand having to sideline the romance a bit to allow characters to continue to develop, but this just pushed them back too much. And I’m not even going to SPEAK on the whole Jarek thing because I genuinely hate what KA is hinting at.
2) I’ve never been less invested in a romance than Atticus and Gracen. She’s boring, he’s still a piece of shit. This is a literal slave/master romance, even if he’s saying that he’s “giving her a choice” (which is a ridiculous notion in itself given their power dynamic). I found myself wanting to skip those chapters completely bc I thought they were so dull
3) Whatever happened to Elisaf and his friendship with Romeria? That’s just done?
4) I felt like the multiple POVs were too much and didn’t always add enough to the story to be needed.
5) Felt like almost nothing happened in this book
6) Idk how I feel about Sofie, she doesn’t seem so bright
What I did like:
1) the big dragon reveal
2) the overall world building
3) multiple threats, high stakes
4) crumbs of Zander and Romeria
I’ll read the next one but I won’t do a re-read like i did this in preparation for this book because I refuse to re-read this. It wasn’t bad, but I really didn’t love it, and it was just way too long considering that a lot of it felt like filler.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2023
‘thieves and chaos’ is absolutely right on the money, because this one stole my heart and sent me spiraling into theory-chaos after finishing it.
I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES.
this is book three in a series — check out reviews for book one and book two if you’re curious!
y’all have heard me rec this time and time again as one of the most underrated romantasy series i’ve ever read. and truly, it is — this is excellent fantasy. the worldbuilding is complex, with political subplots and scheming kingdoms, meddling and malevolent gods — the story is exciting and built for theory spirals with friends — and the romance? the romance is gorgeous. and in this installment? MULTIFACETED. there are so many romantic subplots — and hints of romantic subplots — happening, there’s literally something for everybody. KA is an actual wizard, because the minute she gives a character even a PARAGRAPH of page space, i’m all in. team THAT GUY. ride or die.
the story being told across these books focuses on romeria — a con artist from NYC, sent to another world, on a mission from malachi, the fate of fire, where she wakes up in the body of islor’s #1 most wanted — an evil princess who actively conspired to bring down the kingdom.
i can’t even get into more without spoiling the journey for you — which is exhilarating in every way — but know that this installment had me on the edge of my seat, bringing together plot threads that have been delicately woven since the first book.
it continues romy and zander’s adventures as they try to save their kingdom through unraveling mysteries thousands of years in the making, while also introducing a few new POVs that will have you entirely wrapped around the fingers of those characters as well.
WHEN I TELL YOU I LOVE EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS SERIES (other than boaz, f*ck boaz), I MEAN IT. the characters are so nuanced, every POV is an utter delight, and getting to witness KA’s masterful way of weaving together disparate stories into one overarching plot is a joy. this is the kind of book that reminds me why i love the fantasy genre so much.
it’s fun, it’s tense and deeply stressful, and it’s complex enough that you might want to find some good notes and recaps of the first two books, and while the plot of this one unravels more slowly than in the previous two books, it doesn’t make it any less of an exciting journey.
for all of the questions we start this book with, thieves and chaos still very much feels like a book that sets up the plot for the next one. while we get some answers, you’ll end this one with the feeling that there’s still so much left to discover.
AND I CAN’T WAIT.
is it summer 2024 yet??!? i’ll happily trade my pumpkin spice latte for the next book in this series.
thank you SO MUCH to valentine PR for the ARC of this one — and pick it up when it releases in a few days on 9/5!
I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES.
this is book three in a series — check out reviews for book one and book two if you’re curious!
y’all have heard me rec this time and time again as one of the most underrated romantasy series i’ve ever read. and truly, it is — this is excellent fantasy. the worldbuilding is complex, with political subplots and scheming kingdoms, meddling and malevolent gods — the story is exciting and built for theory spirals with friends — and the romance? the romance is gorgeous. and in this installment? MULTIFACETED. there are so many romantic subplots — and hints of romantic subplots — happening, there’s literally something for everybody. KA is an actual wizard, because the minute she gives a character even a PARAGRAPH of page space, i’m all in. team THAT GUY. ride or die.
the story being told across these books focuses on romeria — a con artist from NYC, sent to another world, on a mission from malachi, the fate of fire, where she wakes up in the body of islor’s #1 most wanted — an evil princess who actively conspired to bring down the kingdom.
i can’t even get into more without spoiling the journey for you — which is exhilarating in every way — but know that this installment had me on the edge of my seat, bringing together plot threads that have been delicately woven since the first book.
it continues romy and zander’s adventures as they try to save their kingdom through unraveling mysteries thousands of years in the making, while also introducing a few new POVs that will have you entirely wrapped around the fingers of those characters as well.
WHEN I TELL YOU I LOVE EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS SERIES (other than boaz, f*ck boaz), I MEAN IT. the characters are so nuanced, every POV is an utter delight, and getting to witness KA’s masterful way of weaving together disparate stories into one overarching plot is a joy. this is the kind of book that reminds me why i love the fantasy genre so much.
it’s fun, it’s tense and deeply stressful, and it’s complex enough that you might want to find some good notes and recaps of the first two books, and while the plot of this one unravels more slowly than in the previous two books, it doesn’t make it any less of an exciting journey.
for all of the questions we start this book with, thieves and chaos still very much feels like a book that sets up the plot for the next one. while we get some answers, you’ll end this one with the feeling that there’s still so much left to discover.
AND I CAN’T WAIT.
is it summer 2024 yet??!? i’ll happily trade my pumpkin spice latte for the next book in this series.
thank you SO MUCH to valentine PR for the ARC of this one — and pick it up when it releases in a few days on 9/5!
September 11, 2023
10 out of 5 stars ⭐
Thank you to Valentine PR and K.A. Tucker for the ARC!
I absolutely devoured this book! Everything about this series is immaculate. I adore the characters, the humor, and the expansive world-building and magic system. Jarek and Romeria's banter had me grinning like an idiot in public. The plot is INTENSE in this newest installment. The stakes are higher than they have ever been. I had to scrape my jaw off the floor a couple of times throughout the story because of how intricate the plot became.
We are introduced to new characters, tentative allies, and new POVs, all of which help add even more depth to this series. There is also a new romance to look forward to! 👀 This book made me feel a whirlwind of emotions. And that ending!! That cliffhanger ending was ILLEGAL!! I need the next book.
If you haven't started reading this series yet, what are you doing? 🤨 If you like elemental magic, mysterious prophecies, warring kingdoms, vampires, and breathtaking romance, then you will love this series!!
Thank you to Valentine PR and K.A. Tucker for the ARC!
I absolutely devoured this book! Everything about this series is immaculate. I adore the characters, the humor, and the expansive world-building and magic system. Jarek and Romeria's banter had me grinning like an idiot in public. The plot is INTENSE in this newest installment. The stakes are higher than they have ever been. I had to scrape my jaw off the floor a couple of times throughout the story because of how intricate the plot became.
We are introduced to new characters, tentative allies, and new POVs, all of which help add even more depth to this series. There is also a new romance to look forward to! 👀 This book made me feel a whirlwind of emotions. And that ending!! That cliffhanger ending was ILLEGAL!! I need the next book.
If you haven't started reading this series yet, what are you doing? 🤨 If you like elemental magic, mysterious prophecies, warring kingdoms, vampires, and breathtaking romance, then you will love this series!!
December 9, 2024
“Expected publication: January 2023”….Talk about unrealistic dream! GR, you filthy liar.
~~~~
We have a title! And it’s absolutely gorgeous and fits Romy’s personality so well…
But the release date made me weep: September 2023! I fully blame GR for the bad luck of it all…hazarding a guess with the release date before the official announcement was a recipe for disaster 😩
~~~~
We have a title! And it’s absolutely gorgeous and fits Romy’s personality so well…
But the release date made me weep: September 2023! I fully blame GR for the bad luck of it all…hazarding a guess with the release date before the official announcement was a recipe for disaster 😩
September 4, 2023
5 stars!
OMG, what a wild ride! The third book in the Fate & Flame series had me on the edge of my seat and feeling all the feels, and I loved it so much!
It should be obvious, but this book is not a standalone. In fact, if you are fuzzy on any details, I’d recommend a reread of previous books because this one is a direct continuation, and you may otherwise find yourself a bit lost.
Picking up the action right at the end of the last book, we find Romeria, Zander and their allies in the newly discovered city of Ulysede, hidden within the mountains. Romeria is slowly learning about the secrets of the city, and her ever-growing abilities, while Zander is gathering unexpected forces for the war that is coming. Meanwhile, Zander’s brother, Atticus is ruling a kingdom on the edge of rebellion, with deadly threats coming from multiple directions. And an ancient prophecy looms over all of them, which will change the kingdom forever.
It's all happening, and for the first time, this book is written in multiple POVs so we get to see so much of it! Not only Romeria and Zander, but Atticus, and some surprise new additions, and I honestly couldn’t get enough. It’s one of those books where you’re so wrapped up in a particular storyline that you’re desperate to keep reading, only for the perspective to change and you’re instantly wrapped up in another storyline. The POV chops and changes, but it all blends together, and the different threads of the story weave together brilliantly to provide a complex and in-depth look at all that is happening within the realm. Even the same events from different perspectives make it so much more intense. I can’t even imagine how KA Tucker planned all of this out. It’s such a complicated story with so many moving parts, and I was on the edge of my seat for so much of this book, and I loved all of it!
The romance is there, and I love Romeria and Zander together so much. After all they’ve been through, they are now quite the powerhouse couple, and so amazing to see together! And we get treated to a surprising secondary love story that absolutely captured my heart. There’s a lot of smaller stories going on with the side characters (Jarek now has my heart), shifting the dynamics and bringing depth and heart to the story, connecting you to characters that make us laugh, cry, hate and love with a fiery passion!
There’s so much going on in this book, and the story twists and turns, bringing triumph, heartache, and surprise after surprise. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, not knowing what was going to happen, and I loved the ride!
With so many different storylines, we’re left with multiple cliffhangers, and the ending bought some massive changes for the story going forward. I’m so excited to see where it all goes from here.
5 stars!
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
OMG, what a wild ride! The third book in the Fate & Flame series had me on the edge of my seat and feeling all the feels, and I loved it so much!
It should be obvious, but this book is not a standalone. In fact, if you are fuzzy on any details, I’d recommend a reread of previous books because this one is a direct continuation, and you may otherwise find yourself a bit lost.
Picking up the action right at the end of the last book, we find Romeria, Zander and their allies in the newly discovered city of Ulysede, hidden within the mountains. Romeria is slowly learning about the secrets of the city, and her ever-growing abilities, while Zander is gathering unexpected forces for the war that is coming. Meanwhile, Zander’s brother, Atticus is ruling a kingdom on the edge of rebellion, with deadly threats coming from multiple directions. And an ancient prophecy looms over all of them, which will change the kingdom forever.
It's all happening, and for the first time, this book is written in multiple POVs so we get to see so much of it! Not only Romeria and Zander, but Atticus, and some surprise new additions, and I honestly couldn’t get enough. It’s one of those books where you’re so wrapped up in a particular storyline that you’re desperate to keep reading, only for the perspective to change and you’re instantly wrapped up in another storyline. The POV chops and changes, but it all blends together, and the different threads of the story weave together brilliantly to provide a complex and in-depth look at all that is happening within the realm. Even the same events from different perspectives make it so much more intense. I can’t even imagine how KA Tucker planned all of this out. It’s such a complicated story with so many moving parts, and I was on the edge of my seat for so much of this book, and I loved all of it!
The romance is there, and I love Romeria and Zander together so much. After all they’ve been through, they are now quite the powerhouse couple, and so amazing to see together! And we get treated to a surprising secondary love story that absolutely captured my heart. There’s a lot of smaller stories going on with the side characters (Jarek now has my heart), shifting the dynamics and bringing depth and heart to the story, connecting you to characters that make us laugh, cry, hate and love with a fiery passion!
“You are the worthiest of causes I have ever met, that I ever will meet, and I will follow you into the rift if you ask it of me. But do not ever ask me to leave your side.”
There’s so much going on in this book, and the story twists and turns, bringing triumph, heartache, and surprise after surprise. I was constantly on the edge of my seat, not knowing what was going to happen, and I loved the ride!
With so many different storylines, we’re left with multiple cliffhangers, and the ending bought some massive changes for the story going forward. I’m so excited to see where it all goes from here.
5 stars!
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
June 21, 2025
3.5⭐️
moved the plot really well, and i really liked the multi pov's
moved the plot really well, and i really liked the multi pov's
July 25, 2024
In an effort to actually understand the fourth (and final? please?) book in this series, I have gone back and re-read listened to A Queen of Thieves and Chaos and taken extensive notes. Folks seemed appreciative of my recap for A Curse of Blood and Stone so I’m posting this recap of the third book in the hopes that others can benefit from my own neuroses.
(I've also included a list of the major characters in the comments because I wrote so damn much that it wouldn't fit in my review [cries in wasted time])
Strap in, y’all. This one’s a wild ride.
Also, like, spoilers. Spoilers everywhere. As far as the eye can see.
THE PLOT
The book opens with Romeria, Zander, Jarek, Elisaf, and Abarrane in Ulysede, the Nymph City that Romeria opened at the end of book 2. Good news: Elven within the city no longer need to drink mortal blood to survive! Bad news: no one outside of the city knows about it, and there are contingents from both Islor and Ybaris actively searching for Zander and Romeria, either to bring them back to their respective rulers or to kill them. Oh, and Queen Neilina has her own army marching toward the Rift between Islor and Ybaris, and plans to cross the Rift on Hudem and seize control of Islor with force. So, things are objectively not great.
Fortunately, Zander knows the Islorian commander of the Western army, Telor. Zander reckons that if he can speak to Telor, he can convince him that Ulysede is the answer to their problems and that the real threat is the Ybarisan troops who plan to invade Islor. Romeria, likewise, reckons that if she can speak to the captain of the approaching Ybarisan guard (Kienen), she can convince him to follow and fight for her instead of her mother.
In a quick aside, we learn that Gesine has been in Ulysede’s library searching for something. When questioned about what she’s searching for, she says that there should be some sort of text or oracle that will help Romeria understand her powers as the Queen for All. She also reveals that she has sent a note to Mordain informing the casters there about Romeria’s true identity and telling them that Romeria is a key caster (which is tantamount to a death sentence in Mordain). Romeria and Zander are not pleased with this revelation.
In Mordain, Master Scribe Agatha receives Gesine’s note about Romeria. She reluctantly informs Allegra, one of the three rulers of Mordain, and the two decide to keep this information from Lorel, Mordain’s Prime (the head of the three rulers). However, the two understand that Gesine believes Romeria to be the key to a prophecy that will apparently end the elven blood curse, but also allow the nymphs and Fates to walk the world again.
Back in Ulysede, Kienen and his Ybarisan soldiers arrive. Romeria orders him to go and find the leader of the saplings and return him with the two Legion guards that the saplings kidnapped at the end of book 2 as a demonstration of his loyalty to Romeria. Kienen is loyal to Romeria, so he does as he’s told and returns with the sapling leader, Radomir, and one of the kidnapped Legion. Romeria invites both Kienen and Radomir into Ulysede, and they both instantly recognize the miracle of Ulysede. Radomir, especially, is overcome, because inside the city walls he transforms from a hideous, disfigured sapling into a hot elven immortal, and, like the other elven, is no longer affected by the blood curse. Kienen and Radomir both swear loyalty Romeria and pledge their troops to her and Zander.
So then it’s Zander’s turn to prove his worth when his old friend Telor shows up with soldiers who have been tasked by Atticus to capture Zander and Romeria. Zander has an elven-to-elven chat with Telor in an attempt to win him to Romeria’s side. But Telor’s son is having absolutely none of it, and tries to kill Telor and blame it on Zander. Romeria is able to heal Telor’s mortal wound with her key caster abilities, and Telor is brought inside Ulysede to recover; of course, this means that he also is immediately cured of the blood curse within Ulysede’s walls. He’s not totally on Zander and Romeria’s side yet, but he does execute his son and his conspirators for attempting to kill him and blame it on Zander, so he’s getting there.
While Telor is recovering and committing filicide, Romeria, Jarek, and Gesine find an underground crypt and decide to go exploring. A serpentine woman named Lucretia appears out of nowhere, and Gesine recognizes her as a Sylx, which is basically a thousands-years-old intermediary between the Fates and Nymphs. Gesine also realizes that the book/oracle she thought she was looking for was actually Lucretia and encourages Romeria to learn everything she can from Lucretia since she has been sent to guide the Queen for All.
And Lucretia does immediately divulge the interesting tidbit that, by opening the door to Ulysede, Romeria has already unsealed the door between worlds and the nymphs and Fates will be allowed back into their world on Hudem after having been banished for centuries. Also, there are a whole bunch of Nulling beasts hidden in the Rift who will also emerge on Hudem, which is in, like, three days.
Understandably, Romeria and her contingent are not thrilled with this news (Lucretia, on the other hand, is gleefully unbothered). In a moment of cathartic Plot Clarity, Romeria decides to tell Zander, Kienen, Telor, and Radomir the truth about literally everything instead of trying to keep it all a secret: that she is a key caster, that she is not the real Princess Romeria, and that she has already opened the nympheum door. Perhaps because someone is being honest and forthright for once, they all agree to follow her orders and march on the Rift to stop Ysbaris’ approaching army and also fight all of the Nulling beasts that are going to erupt from the Rift on Hudem. Everyone except for Romeria, who is going to stay behind in Ulysede and try to learn more about her prophetic powers.
But before they march, Zander must tend to his bleeding heart, so he writes a letter to Atticus in Cirilea informing him of All of the Bad News, namely: 1) The nymphaeum door is already open, 2) Queen Neilina is about to invade Islor, and 3) that may not even matter because a bunch of nymphs and Fates and Nulling beasts are about to come pouring out of the Rift. (The message does also convey that the blood curse will end on Hudem, but that’s a relatively minor win in the grand scheme of things.)
Zander’s message could not come at a worse time for Atticus who is dealing with his own share of problems now that he’s sitting on his brother’s throne. First, mortals throughout Islor are willingly and unwillingly infecting themselves with Romeria’s tainted blood, which means that elven all over the country risk death every time they drink from a mortal. Second, his betrothed and her father are plotting to stage a coup along with the other Eastern lords of Islor. And third, his most favoriteconcubine tributary has unwittingly ingested the blood poison, so he can’t even have a good drink to ease his troubled mind. Who knew being a monarch could be so depressing?
Things start looking up, however, when Atticus notices Gracen, the mortal baker whom Romeria saved from an unsavory elven lord in book 1. Atticus is immediately attracted to Gracen because she’s quirky, constantly covered in flour, and like two weeks postpartum. WHO COULD RESIST THIS SIREN’S CALL? Not Atticus, that’s for sure. He declares himself to her by publicly executing the lord who mistreated her, and then asking her to become his newconcubine tributary. Because Gracen has absolutely no sense of self-preservation (and I guess because Atticus is hot), she agrees. Consensual romance and bloodletting ensue.
But Atticus is not actually stupid, so he decides to lock up all of the eastern lords who were plotting to overthrow him (including his betrothed and her father). He also decides to heed Zander’s warning and send half of his army to the Rift to deal with the threat there, while sending the other half of his army to the east to deal with whatever uprising is brewing there.
(He also decides to further hedge his bets by writing to Queen Neilina and telling her that he is going to arrange for his sister, Annika, to marry Neilina’s son, Tyree, who, until this point, has been wasting away in a Cirilean dungeon. There’s really no actual point to this message except to remind us that Annika and Tyree still exist. Noted.)
Finally, Atticus decides it’s probably time to actually do something about the whole tainted blood problem in Cirilea. He frees caster Wendoline from the dungeon where she has been rotting away since helping Romeria and Zander escape in book 1. He’s still not forgiven her for this, but he asks her if she can place a mark on all of the kingdom’s mortals that will glow if they are infected by the tainted blood so that the elven can know who it’s safe to drink from and who’s not. Wendoline agrees to this and begins marking mortals left and right. Mortals with tainted blood are rounded up and kept in the palace under lock and key; Atticus is banking on Zander’s information about the blood curse disappearing on Hudem so that he won’t actually have to kill the mortals for having tainted blood. He also rounds up all of the mortal children within the kingdom and places them under Gracen’s care so that the elven won’t begin feeding on them, again banking on the blood curse disappearing so that he doesn’t have to keep taking children away from their parents as tributaries. Gracen is touched by Atticus’ ~thoughtfulness~ and decides that even though he’s killed a whole bunch of mortals for unwittingly ingesting poison, he’s still overall a decent guy. Aw.
Back in Ulysede, Radomir, Telor, Kienen, and Zander (along with their respective troops) follow underground tunnels across Islor so that they can reach the Rift before Hudem. Notably, on the way through these tunnels, Radomir shows Zander a nymphaeum stone that looks remarkably like the one in Cirilea. Zander kind of writes this off as a Weird Thing, but he has more important things to worry about, like getting to the Rift before either Neilina or the Nulling beasts cross into Islor.
Lucretia, however, has zero other things to worry about, so she chooses Zander’s absence to reveal an entire cavern of nymphaeum stones in Ulysede to Romeria, and explains that they are all doors that connect Ulysede to other areas of the world that. And, bonus, as a key caster, Romeria can open these doors with her affinities—including one that leads to Cirilea. Lucretia also has another trick up her sleeve: a silver mask that allows the wearer to assume any face they want.
Romeria, the titular Queen of Thieves and Chaos, cannot resist the opportunity for both thieving and chaos that the door and the mask present. Romeria dons the mask and assumes her old face—that of Romy Watts—and enlists Jarek’s help to travel to Cirilea and see if Atticus is planning to actually listen to them and send troops to the Rift. While on this mission, Jarek makes a weird comment about the fact that he’s been having ~dreams~ about Romy’s face since they entered Ulysede, which… awkward.
Once in Cirilea, Romeria visits Bexley, who is looking rather run-down [note: THIS IS FORESHADOWING], at the Goat’s Knoll and the two trade information. Romeria drops hints to Bexley about Ulysede and what it is, and in return Bexley tells Romeria that the lords and mortals of Cirilea are planning an uprising against the palace on Hudem. Romeria decides that she has to help all of the innocent mortals within the palace flee before that happens. As she’s leaving the tavern, she interrupts an assassination attempt against Atticus, who’s also decided to visit Bexley for information. Atticus is mortally wounded, but Romeria saves his life because she knows it is what Zander would have wanted. Because she’s wearing her mask, Atticus has no idea that Romeria is the one who saved him.
After surviving the assassination attempt against him, Atticus returns to the palace, spends the night with Gracen, and then rides out with his army to try and put down the rebellion in the east. Who does he leave in charge of guarding his throne, you might ask? Literally no one. He leaves behind a few guards (including Boaz, who has been nothing but a giant ass since book 1), Gracen (who has 400 children to mind), and a whole bunch of pissed off mortals and hungry elven and just… expects everyone to get along. Spoiler alert: they do not.
(Oh yeah… Annika and Tyree are left behind as well. This is important because ~reasons!)
Unfortunately for Atticus, his own luck runs out when he and his small contingent of soldiers crest a hill and realize that his army has been decimated by the eastern armies after all. Moreover, Atticus and his soldiers are now surrounded by enemy troops that they have no hope of being able to defeat. Atticus spends what appears to be his final moments thinking of Gracen and how grateful he is that he’ll never have to watch her die. Bleeding heart, just like his brother.
Meanwhile, after returning to Ulysede through the nymphaeum door, Romeria works with her crew to hatch a plan to help the mortals escape Cirilea. She, Jarek, Pan, Gesine, and Zorya all return to Cirilea just as the siege against the largely vacant palace commences. With Gracen’s help, Romeria moves the mortal children to Ulysede through the nymphaeum door and helps other mortals (presumably not those involved in the uprising) escape onto ships, which she has bribed to carry them to Ulysede across the sea.
(In a really bizarre series of Annika-narrated chapters, Tyree escapes the dungeons just as the palace is being seized, kidnaps Annika, and forces her to aid in his escape to Skatrana. With the sirens. Whatever that means.)
Unfortunately, as Romeria and her group try to return to Ulysede through the nymphaeum door, Boaz shows up and murders Gesine. Bruh. Romeria is pissed, and summons all her caster strength to absolutely annihilate him (along with half of the palace garden). That done, she and her crew return to Ulysede in mourning for their friend.
The mourning is short-lived, however, because Lucretia is done messing around. She tells Romeria that her masters are coming, and that it’s time for Romeria become the Queen for All from prophecy. She dresses Romeria in this weird angel-looking outfit, gives her a pep-talk about the need to murder Queen Neilina and assume her throne, and then introduces her to Caindra, a giant dragon that has been kind of/sort of following Romeria around ever since she opened the door to Ulysede. Caindra, Lucretia says, will take Romeria to the battle at the Rift where she can finally fulfill the prophecy.
Which is exactly what happens. Caindra flies both Jarek and Romeria directly to the Rift and unceremoniously plops them down on the battlefield just as negotiations between Neilina and Zander are deteriorating. Neilina attempts to order the Ybarisan troops to kill Zander and his men, but Romeria tells the Ybarisan army to stand down, and then reveals that Neilina orchestrated the death of her own husband (King Barris), who was beloved by all Ybarisans. Neilina is pissed that her secret is out, and tries to kill Romeria by using her caster ability to cut off Romeria’s air supply. But Romeria is a key-freaking-caster and is so done with Neilina’s shit. She users her own caster abilities to break Neilina’s hold on her, and then just straight-up stabs Neilina in the jugular with a dagger.
Boom.
Queen for All.
Also Agatha (remember her?) has made her way to the Rift as well and basically confirms everything that we already know—that Romeria is the queen from prophecy, that the Nulling is about to open, and that the nymphs and Fates are about to re-enter the world. Not sure why anyone needed to hear this again but Agatha is wise and ~knows things~, so her blessing must be important.
Fortunately for our heroes, Romeria, her dragon , and Kienen now command the Ybarisan troops, and Zander and Radomir command the Islorian and sapling troops, and everyone is united against whatever the hell is about to come out of the Rift. As Hudem approaches, the blood curse is, indeed, lifted and everyone is thrilled. But then Nulling beasts begin pouring out of the Rift and people are… less than thrilled.The book closes with all of the united troops preparing for battle.
Postscript: Sofie and Malachi (and Elijah??)
It’s worth mentioning that this part of the plot has always been sketchy, at best, and it’s no better in this book. But yes, all these characters still exist… somewhere. As the battle at the Rift is commencing, Malachi does something(?) to Sofie and she wakes up in the Nulling and sees Elijah. But Elijah is acting incredibly strange and he leads Sofie to a nymphaeum door like the others seen in Ulysede and Cirilea. Elijah encourages Sofie to use her caster abilities to open the door, which she does, somewhat reluctantly (perhaps finally realizing that something is terribly off about this entire situation). Once the door is opened the two of them are transported somewhere… likely to Cirilea.
AND THAT’S IT, FRIENDS. That’s the book. 10,000 points if you made it all the way through this thing, and godspeed on your reading of A Dawn of Gods and Fury. For all our sakes, I hope this is the last recap I ever have to write.
(I've also included a list of the major characters in the comments because I wrote so damn much that it wouldn't fit in my review [cries in wasted time])
Strap in, y’all. This one’s a wild ride.
Also, like, spoilers. Spoilers everywhere. As far as the eye can see.
THE PLOT
The book opens with Romeria, Zander, Jarek, Elisaf, and Abarrane in Ulysede, the Nymph City that Romeria opened at the end of book 2. Good news: Elven within the city no longer need to drink mortal blood to survive! Bad news: no one outside of the city knows about it, and there are contingents from both Islor and Ybaris actively searching for Zander and Romeria, either to bring them back to their respective rulers or to kill them. Oh, and Queen Neilina has her own army marching toward the Rift between Islor and Ybaris, and plans to cross the Rift on Hudem and seize control of Islor with force. So, things are objectively not great.
Fortunately, Zander knows the Islorian commander of the Western army, Telor. Zander reckons that if he can speak to Telor, he can convince him that Ulysede is the answer to their problems and that the real threat is the Ybarisan troops who plan to invade Islor. Romeria, likewise, reckons that if she can speak to the captain of the approaching Ybarisan guard (Kienen), she can convince him to follow and fight for her instead of her mother.
In a quick aside, we learn that Gesine has been in Ulysede’s library searching for something. When questioned about what she’s searching for, she says that there should be some sort of text or oracle that will help Romeria understand her powers as the Queen for All. She also reveals that she has sent a note to Mordain informing the casters there about Romeria’s true identity and telling them that Romeria is a key caster (which is tantamount to a death sentence in Mordain). Romeria and Zander are not pleased with this revelation.
In Mordain, Master Scribe Agatha receives Gesine’s note about Romeria. She reluctantly informs Allegra, one of the three rulers of Mordain, and the two decide to keep this information from Lorel, Mordain’s Prime (the head of the three rulers). However, the two understand that Gesine believes Romeria to be the key to a prophecy that will apparently end the elven blood curse, but also allow the nymphs and Fates to walk the world again.
Back in Ulysede, Kienen and his Ybarisan soldiers arrive. Romeria orders him to go and find the leader of the saplings and return him with the two Legion guards that the saplings kidnapped at the end of book 2 as a demonstration of his loyalty to Romeria. Kienen is loyal to Romeria, so he does as he’s told and returns with the sapling leader, Radomir, and one of the kidnapped Legion. Romeria invites both Kienen and Radomir into Ulysede, and they both instantly recognize the miracle of Ulysede. Radomir, especially, is overcome, because inside the city walls he transforms from a hideous, disfigured sapling into a hot elven immortal, and, like the other elven, is no longer affected by the blood curse. Kienen and Radomir both swear loyalty Romeria and pledge their troops to her and Zander.
So then it’s Zander’s turn to prove his worth when his old friend Telor shows up with soldiers who have been tasked by Atticus to capture Zander and Romeria. Zander has an elven-to-elven chat with Telor in an attempt to win him to Romeria’s side. But Telor’s son is having absolutely none of it, and tries to kill Telor and blame it on Zander. Romeria is able to heal Telor’s mortal wound with her key caster abilities, and Telor is brought inside Ulysede to recover; of course, this means that he also is immediately cured of the blood curse within Ulysede’s walls. He’s not totally on Zander and Romeria’s side yet, but he does execute his son and his conspirators for attempting to kill him and blame it on Zander, so he’s getting there.
While Telor is recovering and committing filicide, Romeria, Jarek, and Gesine find an underground crypt and decide to go exploring. A serpentine woman named Lucretia appears out of nowhere, and Gesine recognizes her as a Sylx, which is basically a thousands-years-old intermediary between the Fates and Nymphs. Gesine also realizes that the book/oracle she thought she was looking for was actually Lucretia and encourages Romeria to learn everything she can from Lucretia since she has been sent to guide the Queen for All.
And Lucretia does immediately divulge the interesting tidbit that, by opening the door to Ulysede, Romeria has already unsealed the door between worlds and the nymphs and Fates will be allowed back into their world on Hudem after having been banished for centuries. Also, there are a whole bunch of Nulling beasts hidden in the Rift who will also emerge on Hudem, which is in, like, three days.
Understandably, Romeria and her contingent are not thrilled with this news (Lucretia, on the other hand, is gleefully unbothered). In a moment of cathartic Plot Clarity, Romeria decides to tell Zander, Kienen, Telor, and Radomir the truth about literally everything instead of trying to keep it all a secret: that she is a key caster, that she is not the real Princess Romeria, and that she has already opened the nympheum door. Perhaps because someone is being honest and forthright for once, they all agree to follow her orders and march on the Rift to stop Ysbaris’ approaching army and also fight all of the Nulling beasts that are going to erupt from the Rift on Hudem. Everyone except for Romeria, who is going to stay behind in Ulysede and try to learn more about her prophetic powers.
But before they march, Zander must tend to his bleeding heart, so he writes a letter to Atticus in Cirilea informing him of All of the Bad News, namely: 1) The nymphaeum door is already open, 2) Queen Neilina is about to invade Islor, and 3) that may not even matter because a bunch of nymphs and Fates and Nulling beasts are about to come pouring out of the Rift. (The message does also convey that the blood curse will end on Hudem, but that’s a relatively minor win in the grand scheme of things.)
Zander’s message could not come at a worse time for Atticus who is dealing with his own share of problems now that he’s sitting on his brother’s throne. First, mortals throughout Islor are willingly and unwillingly infecting themselves with Romeria’s tainted blood, which means that elven all over the country risk death every time they drink from a mortal. Second, his betrothed and her father are plotting to stage a coup along with the other Eastern lords of Islor. And third, his most favorite
Things start looking up, however, when Atticus notices Gracen, the mortal baker whom Romeria saved from an unsavory elven lord in book 1. Atticus is immediately attracted to Gracen because she’s quirky, constantly covered in flour, and like two weeks postpartum. WHO COULD RESIST THIS SIREN’S CALL? Not Atticus, that’s for sure. He declares himself to her by publicly executing the lord who mistreated her, and then asking her to become his new
But Atticus is not actually stupid, so he decides to lock up all of the eastern lords who were plotting to overthrow him (including his betrothed and her father). He also decides to heed Zander’s warning and send half of his army to the Rift to deal with the threat there, while sending the other half of his army to the east to deal with whatever uprising is brewing there.
(He also decides to further hedge his bets by writing to Queen Neilina and telling her that he is going to arrange for his sister, Annika, to marry Neilina’s son, Tyree, who, until this point, has been wasting away in a Cirilean dungeon. There’s really no actual point to this message except to remind us that Annika and Tyree still exist. Noted.)
Finally, Atticus decides it’s probably time to actually do something about the whole tainted blood problem in Cirilea. He frees caster Wendoline from the dungeon where she has been rotting away since helping Romeria and Zander escape in book 1. He’s still not forgiven her for this, but he asks her if she can place a mark on all of the kingdom’s mortals that will glow if they are infected by the tainted blood so that the elven can know who it’s safe to drink from and who’s not. Wendoline agrees to this and begins marking mortals left and right. Mortals with tainted blood are rounded up and kept in the palace under lock and key; Atticus is banking on Zander’s information about the blood curse disappearing on Hudem so that he won’t actually have to kill the mortals for having tainted blood. He also rounds up all of the mortal children within the kingdom and places them under Gracen’s care so that the elven won’t begin feeding on them, again banking on the blood curse disappearing so that he doesn’t have to keep taking children away from their parents as tributaries. Gracen is touched by Atticus’ ~thoughtfulness~ and decides that even though he’s killed a whole bunch of mortals for unwittingly ingesting poison, he’s still overall a decent guy. Aw.
Back in Ulysede, Radomir, Telor, Kienen, and Zander (along with their respective troops) follow underground tunnels across Islor so that they can reach the Rift before Hudem. Notably, on the way through these tunnels, Radomir shows Zander a nymphaeum stone that looks remarkably like the one in Cirilea. Zander kind of writes this off as a Weird Thing, but he has more important things to worry about, like getting to the Rift before either Neilina or the Nulling beasts cross into Islor.
Lucretia, however, has zero other things to worry about, so she chooses Zander’s absence to reveal an entire cavern of nymphaeum stones in Ulysede to Romeria, and explains that they are all doors that connect Ulysede to other areas of the world that. And, bonus, as a key caster, Romeria can open these doors with her affinities—including one that leads to Cirilea. Lucretia also has another trick up her sleeve: a silver mask that allows the wearer to assume any face they want.
Romeria, the titular Queen of Thieves and Chaos, cannot resist the opportunity for both thieving and chaos that the door and the mask present. Romeria dons the mask and assumes her old face—that of Romy Watts—and enlists Jarek’s help to travel to Cirilea and see if Atticus is planning to actually listen to them and send troops to the Rift. While on this mission, Jarek makes a weird comment about the fact that he’s been having ~dreams~ about Romy’s face since they entered Ulysede, which… awkward.
Once in Cirilea, Romeria visits Bexley, who is looking rather run-down [note: THIS IS FORESHADOWING], at the Goat’s Knoll and the two trade information. Romeria drops hints to Bexley about Ulysede and what it is, and in return Bexley tells Romeria that the lords and mortals of Cirilea are planning an uprising against the palace on Hudem. Romeria decides that she has to help all of the innocent mortals within the palace flee before that happens. As she’s leaving the tavern, she interrupts an assassination attempt against Atticus, who’s also decided to visit Bexley for information. Atticus is mortally wounded, but Romeria saves his life because she knows it is what Zander would have wanted. Because she’s wearing her mask, Atticus has no idea that Romeria is the one who saved him.
After surviving the assassination attempt against him, Atticus returns to the palace, spends the night with Gracen, and then rides out with his army to try and put down the rebellion in the east. Who does he leave in charge of guarding his throne, you might ask? Literally no one. He leaves behind a few guards (including Boaz, who has been nothing but a giant ass since book 1), Gracen (who has 400 children to mind), and a whole bunch of pissed off mortals and hungry elven and just… expects everyone to get along. Spoiler alert: they do not.
(Oh yeah… Annika and Tyree are left behind as well. This is important because ~reasons!)
Unfortunately for Atticus, his own luck runs out when he and his small contingent of soldiers crest a hill and realize that his army has been decimated by the eastern armies after all. Moreover, Atticus and his soldiers are now surrounded by enemy troops that they have no hope of being able to defeat. Atticus spends what appears to be his final moments thinking of Gracen and how grateful he is that he’ll never have to watch her die. Bleeding heart, just like his brother.
Meanwhile, after returning to Ulysede through the nymphaeum door, Romeria works with her crew to hatch a plan to help the mortals escape Cirilea. She, Jarek, Pan, Gesine, and Zorya all return to Cirilea just as the siege against the largely vacant palace commences. With Gracen’s help, Romeria moves the mortal children to Ulysede through the nymphaeum door and helps other mortals (presumably not those involved in the uprising) escape onto ships, which she has bribed to carry them to Ulysede across the sea.
(In a really bizarre series of Annika-narrated chapters, Tyree escapes the dungeons just as the palace is being seized, kidnaps Annika, and forces her to aid in his escape to Skatrana. With the sirens. Whatever that means.)
Unfortunately, as Romeria and her group try to return to Ulysede through the nymphaeum door, Boaz shows up and murders Gesine. Bruh. Romeria is pissed, and summons all her caster strength to absolutely annihilate him (along with half of the palace garden). That done, she and her crew return to Ulysede in mourning for their friend.
The mourning is short-lived, however, because Lucretia is done messing around. She tells Romeria that her masters are coming, and that it’s time for Romeria become the Queen for All from prophecy. She dresses Romeria in this weird angel-looking outfit, gives her a pep-talk about the need to murder Queen Neilina and assume her throne, and then introduces her to Caindra, a giant dragon that has been kind of/sort of following Romeria around ever since she opened the door to Ulysede. Caindra, Lucretia says, will take Romeria to the battle at the Rift where she can finally fulfill the prophecy.
Which is exactly what happens. Caindra flies both Jarek and Romeria directly to the Rift and unceremoniously plops them down on the battlefield just as negotiations between Neilina and Zander are deteriorating. Neilina attempts to order the Ybarisan troops to kill Zander and his men, but Romeria tells the Ybarisan army to stand down, and then reveals that Neilina orchestrated the death of her own husband (King Barris), who was beloved by all Ybarisans. Neilina is pissed that her secret is out, and tries to kill Romeria by using her caster ability to cut off Romeria’s air supply. But Romeria is a key-freaking-caster and is so done with Neilina’s shit. She users her own caster abilities to break Neilina’s hold on her, and then just straight-up stabs Neilina in the jugular with a dagger.
Boom.
Queen for All.
Also Agatha (remember her?) has made her way to the Rift as well and basically confirms everything that we already know—that Romeria is the queen from prophecy, that the Nulling is about to open, and that the nymphs and Fates are about to re-enter the world. Not sure why anyone needed to hear this again but Agatha is wise and ~knows things~, so her blessing must be important.
Fortunately for our heroes, Romeria, her dragon , and Kienen now command the Ybarisan troops, and Zander and Radomir command the Islorian and sapling troops, and everyone is united against whatever the hell is about to come out of the Rift. As Hudem approaches, the blood curse is, indeed, lifted and everyone is thrilled. But then Nulling beasts begin pouring out of the Rift and people are… less than thrilled.The book closes with all of the united troops preparing for battle.
Postscript: Sofie and Malachi (and Elijah??)
It’s worth mentioning that this part of the plot has always been sketchy, at best, and it’s no better in this book. But yes, all these characters still exist… somewhere. As the battle at the Rift is commencing, Malachi does something(?) to Sofie and she wakes up in the Nulling and sees Elijah. But Elijah is acting incredibly strange and he leads Sofie to a nymphaeum door like the others seen in Ulysede and Cirilea. Elijah encourages Sofie to use her caster abilities to open the door, which she does, somewhat reluctantly (perhaps finally realizing that something is terribly off about this entire situation). Once the door is opened the two of them are transported somewhere… likely to Cirilea.
AND THAT’S IT, FRIENDS. That’s the book. 10,000 points if you made it all the way through this thing, and godspeed on your reading of A Dawn of Gods and Fury. For all our sakes, I hope this is the last recap I ever have to write.
August 23, 2024
Reread before picking up the final (😭) book.
So glad I reread this! Forgot so many details - especially at the end! Now onto the conclusion!!
------ ORIGINAL REVIEW ------
Thank you SO much to Valentine PR and the author for sending me an advanced copy!! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the entire year. I've been anxiously awaiting this new book since finishing book 2. And wow did this not disappoint.
This is my currently favorite fantasy romance series and I feel like it is criminally under loved and hyped.
While I don't want to talk about the plot of this particular book (because spoilers), this series has blown me away with this development across the books.
This features a portal fantasy, with meddling gods, body swapping, vampires(?), elemental magic, and a prophecy that won't be broken.
The heroine is feisty and complex and struggling to make it by in a world she doesn't understand. I love how her natural ability and strength is obvious, but her control of the power is clearly minimal. Sometimes I find that a characters ability to wield new magic feels underdeveloped, but that's not the case here.
A the hero's undying devotion to the heroine is 👌
But I think for me, the unexpected shining star of this book, was the side characters. This series starts out from primarily Romy's POV. But in the subsequent books, you get more and more POVs added. And I've loved that choice.
Because the side characters are just as fantastic as the 2 MCs. Particularly Jarek who is one of my new favorite characters of all time. Followed closely by Bexley.
If you heard screaming, it's because I did NOT see that reveal coming.
I loved every second of this sequel. I can't wait for the next book. I don't know how many books are in this series, but I will read it forever.
So glad I reread this! Forgot so many details - especially at the end! Now onto the conclusion!!
------ ORIGINAL REVIEW ------
Thank you SO much to Valentine PR and the author for sending me an advanced copy!! All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of the entire year. I've been anxiously awaiting this new book since finishing book 2. And wow did this not disappoint.
This is my currently favorite fantasy romance series and I feel like it is criminally under loved and hyped.
While I don't want to talk about the plot of this particular book (because spoilers), this series has blown me away with this development across the books.
This features a portal fantasy, with meddling gods, body swapping, vampires(?), elemental magic, and a prophecy that won't be broken.
The heroine is feisty and complex and struggling to make it by in a world she doesn't understand. I love how her natural ability and strength is obvious, but her control of the power is clearly minimal. Sometimes I find that a characters ability to wield new magic feels underdeveloped, but that's not the case here.
A the hero's undying devotion to the heroine is 👌
But I think for me, the unexpected shining star of this book, was the side characters. This series starts out from primarily Romy's POV. But in the subsequent books, you get more and more POVs added. And I've loved that choice.
Because the side characters are just as fantastic as the 2 MCs. Particularly Jarek who is one of my new favorite characters of all time. Followed closely by Bexley.
If you heard screaming, it's because I did NOT see that reveal coming.
I loved every second of this sequel. I can't wait for the next book. I don't know how many books are in this series, but I will read it forever.
September 17, 2023
600ish pages can be summarized in 6 bullet points. but for the sake of it being a book, it can be written within 6 pages MAX.
To say i'm disappointed would be an understatement. literally NOTHING happened. i feel like i wasted my time just reading this book. that last 10% of the book, i literally skimmed.
The characters were so........ bland. i didnt like zander, romeria was ok, gracen personality was being a soft girl who pines over the king. i feel like the only good characterization was Atticus, but only when he's not thinking/dealing with gracen, which was 10% of the time.
this review feels like trash but whatever. the book was horrible, doesnt deserve one anyways
To say i'm disappointed would be an understatement. literally NOTHING happened. i feel like i wasted my time just reading this book. that last 10% of the book, i literally skimmed.
The characters were so........ bland. i didnt like zander, romeria was ok, gracen personality was being a soft girl who pines over the king. i feel like the only good characterization was Atticus, but only when he's not thinking/dealing with gracen, which was 10% of the time.
this review feels like trash but whatever. the book was horrible, doesnt deserve one anyways
December 21, 2024
Audiobook Review ~
**series spoiler-free**
Reread. ✨️
🔥 Sequel
⚔️ Multiple POV
🔥 Dragons and Mythical Creatures
⚔️ Side Characters in the Spotlight
🔥 Battle Scenes and Political Intrigue
~
Have I ever mentioned how much I love this series? 😂 Probably only... 30 times. It's just exactly the perfect blend of fantasy and romance for me. There is so much scheming, political intrigue, and some heavier fantasy elements.... but it also has pining, romance, and just a touch of spice that pulls it all together.
This book introduces more POVs, but since we know the characters so well, it doesn't feel confusing or over the top, and it makes the story so much more interesting to get to see from multiple perspectives. More love stories are introduced, side characters are developed, and this book just expands on so many plot points in a way that is easy to digest.
What I love about Romeria (FMC) and Zander (MMC) is their adaptability. They are both compassionate individuals, and we don't lose the plot in their romantic explorations. Their relationship feels real, raw, and mature, compared to other main couples in similar romantasy stories.
It's easily my favourite book of this series so far... as I'm rereading in preparation for my first read of the 4th and final book.
**series spoiler-free**
Reread. ✨️
🔥 Sequel
⚔️ Multiple POV
🔥 Dragons and Mythical Creatures
⚔️ Side Characters in the Spotlight
🔥 Battle Scenes and Political Intrigue
~
Have I ever mentioned how much I love this series? 😂 Probably only... 30 times. It's just exactly the perfect blend of fantasy and romance for me. There is so much scheming, political intrigue, and some heavier fantasy elements.... but it also has pining, romance, and just a touch of spice that pulls it all together.
This book introduces more POVs, but since we know the characters so well, it doesn't feel confusing or over the top, and it makes the story so much more interesting to get to see from multiple perspectives. More love stories are introduced, side characters are developed, and this book just expands on so many plot points in a way that is easy to digest.
What I love about Romeria (FMC) and Zander (MMC) is their adaptability. They are both compassionate individuals, and we don't lose the plot in their romantic explorations. Their relationship feels real, raw, and mature, compared to other main couples in similar romantasy stories.
It's easily my favourite book of this series so far... as I'm rereading in preparation for my first read of the 4th and final book.
July 5, 2024
I was sent an ARC for my honest review!
Wow…just, wow. It never ceases to amaze me how much KA Tucker can put into one novel. I was instantly captivated from page one and stayed up way too late to finish this - I just couldn’t put it down!! So much happens throughout this book, but it never felt overwhelming or confusing. I love love love all the characters in this series so much.
I’ve read a lot of fantasy books, but never one quite like this series. The storyline, the humor, the romance, the characters, the world building…it was all fantastic 🥹
What the heck am I supposed to do now that I’ve finished this book?? 😭
Wow…just, wow. It never ceases to amaze me how much KA Tucker can put into one novel. I was instantly captivated from page one and stayed up way too late to finish this - I just couldn’t put it down!! So much happens throughout this book, but it never felt overwhelming or confusing. I love love love all the characters in this series so much.
I’ve read a lot of fantasy books, but never one quite like this series. The storyline, the humor, the romance, the characters, the world building…it was all fantastic 🥹
What the heck am I supposed to do now that I’ve finished this book?? 😭
September 13, 2023
I’ll almost sad to see Atticus go but have to remind myself he was a POS who slept with his bro’s fiancée and stole his throne. Oh, and killed a bunch of innocent caster and mortals. Poor Gracen tho. Hope she finds someone else.
I’m also kinda disappointed with the lack of… heat, romance between Romy and Zander ☹️.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2023
Finally, a fantasy book with a plot twist that I never saw coming!!! The way that I audibly gasped out loud as I read it. Miss Tucker, you did your best!!!
I have loved this series from the first book. I said it gave me Kate and Leopold vibes in the sense about traveling through time and other worlds. This story separates itself from other fantasy books like it for me. I was in such a major reading slump until I started reading this book. I am so excited for the next book, even if I'm going to hate the wait.
This third book did not disappoint! Thank you Valentine PR for the opportunity to read this ARC!
I have loved this series from the first book. I said it gave me Kate and Leopold vibes in the sense about traveling through time and other worlds. This story separates itself from other fantasy books like it for me. I was in such a major reading slump until I started reading this book. I am so excited for the next book, even if I'm going to hate the wait.
This third book did not disappoint! Thank you Valentine PR for the opportunity to read this ARC!
September 3, 2024
✨100% PERFECTION ✨
K.A. Tucker you did it again! Book 3 surpassed all my expectations and I’m dying for the finale! I only wish we could’ve had Jarek’s POV but alas I’m content with his continued character growth.
K.A. Tucker you did it again! Book 3 surpassed all my expectations and I’m dying for the finale! I only wish we could’ve had Jarek’s POV but alas I’m content with his continued character growth.
September 24, 2023
Gracen needs higher standards
November 21, 2024
SIGO GRITANDO
¡Que buen libro! Como ya viene siendo costumbre en esta saga, me lo devoré. Me hubiera encantado que sea más largo, y esta vez no solo me enamoré de los protagonistas, sino también del worldbuilding espectacular que crea la autora.
Voy con mi lista de pros & cons:
Lo que más me gustó:
🏹 Excelente equilibrio entre el romance y las intrigas políticas y militares.
🏹 La protagonista me cae cada vez mejor, a medida que transcurre la historia va generando más confianza en sí misma y se transforma en un personaje super fuerte.
🏹 Los distintos POVs, que en su momento estaba reticente pensando que no me iban a gustar, hicieron que la historia fuera super rica e interesante se leer.
🏹 Se lee rapidísimo, la trama atrapa de principio a fin.
Lo que no me gustó tanto:
🗡️ Elisaf aparece muy poco 😕 lo extrañé.
En fin, no puedo esperar a que se traduzca la última entrega en español, ya que me da mucha fiaca leer fantasía en inglés, pero si se demora demasiado no me quedará otra porque realmente este libro dejó un enorme nivel de intriga.
¡Que buen libro! Como ya viene siendo costumbre en esta saga, me lo devoré. Me hubiera encantado que sea más largo, y esta vez no solo me enamoré de los protagonistas, sino también del worldbuilding espectacular que crea la autora.
Voy con mi lista de pros & cons:
Lo que más me gustó:
🏹 Excelente equilibrio entre el romance y las intrigas políticas y militares.
🏹 La protagonista me cae cada vez mejor, a medida que transcurre la historia va generando más confianza en sí misma y se transforma en un personaje super fuerte.
🏹 Los distintos POVs, que en su momento estaba reticente pensando que no me iban a gustar, hicieron que la historia fuera super rica e interesante se leer.
🏹 Se lee rapidísimo, la trama atrapa de principio a fin.
Lo que no me gustó tanto:
🗡️ Elisaf aparece muy poco 😕 lo extrañé.
En fin, no puedo esperar a que se traduzca la última entrega en español, ya que me da mucha fiaca leer fantasía en inglés, pero si se demora demasiado no me quedará otra porque realmente este libro dejó un enorme nivel de intriga.
September 11, 2023
Tropes: fantasy, multiple POV
I won't lie, I was on the fence going into this book. Book 1 was a 6-star read and one of my top reads of 2021, but book 2 wasn't my favorite. Still a good book but a bit of a let down compared to the first book. This book???? Might have passed up Book 1. THAT'S how good it was. I’ve been excited to see how Romy and Zander’s story continues, but what I wasn’t expecting, was to fall in love with the other characters stories. In this book, we get multiple different POVs. I'm not going to say who cause spoilers but I absolutely loved the different plot lines happening simultaneously. I was so emotionally invested in each of the different storylines that I was going back and forth on whose chapters I wanted more. It kept me wanting more. I don’t want to say too much, because no one likes a spoiler, but I was just so shocked with how I felt about certain characters. I felt like they had to earn my trust in addition to the actual character’s which really added to the reading experience for me.
Seeing as this is the 3rd book in the series, by now, we've got a pretty good understanding of the world but there were new elements introduced this book that kept things interesting. There were some plot points I did NOT see coming and had my jaw on the floor. We got the perfect amount of romance sprinkled throughout the overarching plot, so for a fantasy romance I think it was really well balanced.
Similar to the two previous books in the series I found myself really getting lost in this world. There’s just something about it that has me really getting sucked in and I loved it so much. Knowing that there are more books in the series, it obviously doesn't wrap up perfectly, BUT it's not a horrible cliffhanger. That's not to say I won't be counting down the days until book 4 is out because this book has me so freaking excited for whats to come. CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SUMMER 2024!!!
I won't lie, I was on the fence going into this book. Book 1 was a 6-star read and one of my top reads of 2021, but book 2 wasn't my favorite. Still a good book but a bit of a let down compared to the first book. This book???? Might have passed up Book 1. THAT'S how good it was. I’ve been excited to see how Romy and Zander’s story continues, but what I wasn’t expecting, was to fall in love with the other characters stories. In this book, we get multiple different POVs. I'm not going to say who cause spoilers but I absolutely loved the different plot lines happening simultaneously. I was so emotionally invested in each of the different storylines that I was going back and forth on whose chapters I wanted more. It kept me wanting more. I don’t want to say too much, because no one likes a spoiler, but I was just so shocked with how I felt about certain characters. I felt like they had to earn my trust in addition to the actual character’s which really added to the reading experience for me.
Seeing as this is the 3rd book in the series, by now, we've got a pretty good understanding of the world but there were new elements introduced this book that kept things interesting. There were some plot points I did NOT see coming and had my jaw on the floor. We got the perfect amount of romance sprinkled throughout the overarching plot, so for a fantasy romance I think it was really well balanced.
Similar to the two previous books in the series I found myself really getting lost in this world. There’s just something about it that has me really getting sucked in and I loved it so much. Knowing that there are more books in the series, it obviously doesn't wrap up perfectly, BUT it's not a horrible cliffhanger. That's not to say I won't be counting down the days until book 4 is out because this book has me so freaking excited for whats to come. CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SUMMER 2024!!!
September 29, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 0.5🌶️/5
I have mixed feelings about this instalment.
The amount of POVs in this book was overwhelming… and in my eyes, totally unnecessary.
I missed having Romy and Zander as the sole POVs as I did enjoy them as a couple in book one and two. However, in this book, they held little scenes together and had almost no connection… to the extent that Jarek and Romy had far better chemistry.
Also, I’m sorry, but I was just not the slightest bit interested in reading about Atticus, or Gracen or the elementals of Mordain. One of my pet hates in books, is when authors start to couple pre-existing side characters together and it takes away the appeal of the original heroine and hero’s story.
The plot itself was slow, and considering this is such a big book, I was hoping for more drama and less filler. It didn’t feel like an awful lot was happening until the last couple of chapters and I think that explains why it’s taken me over a week to read this book.
There is no denying that K.A Tucker is a talented author, considering book one and two of this series is really well done romantasy. But this book just fell short for me. It was far more political, less romantic (with zero spice) and just a slog at times to get through.
However, I will definitely still be reading book 4. I’m just hoping K.A reverts back to a similar format to book one.
I have mixed feelings about this instalment.
The amount of POVs in this book was overwhelming… and in my eyes, totally unnecessary.
I missed having Romy and Zander as the sole POVs as I did enjoy them as a couple in book one and two. However, in this book, they held little scenes together and had almost no connection… to the extent that Jarek and Romy had far better chemistry.
Also, I’m sorry, but I was just not the slightest bit interested in reading about Atticus, or Gracen or the elementals of Mordain. One of my pet hates in books, is when authors start to couple pre-existing side characters together and it takes away the appeal of the original heroine and hero’s story.
The plot itself was slow, and considering this is such a big book, I was hoping for more drama and less filler. It didn’t feel like an awful lot was happening until the last couple of chapters and I think that explains why it’s taken me over a week to read this book.
There is no denying that K.A Tucker is a talented author, considering book one and two of this series is really well done romantasy. But this book just fell short for me. It was far more political, less romantic (with zero spice) and just a slog at times to get through.
However, I will definitely still be reading book 4. I’m just hoping K.A reverts back to a similar format to book one.
August 18, 2024
(ARC Review) 4.5 stars
Well, KA Tucker has done it again. She’s masterfully woven a complex and magical tale that is both epic and intimate at the same time, full of love and war and twists and turns and enough intrigue to keep you guessing.
This book picks up right where book two left off, but with the addition of the POV of more characters. The stakes are as high as ever, the opposing kingdoms are on the brink of war yet again, and everyone can feel the electricity of change in the air.
This book made me laugh, cry, and had me on the edge of my seat. Though their reality is a bit dark and scary, I appreciated that love could still find a way (and not just Romeria and Zander this time). There was humor in the face of danger, and Jarek has cemented himself as my favorite character of the series.
Though this did start off a little slowly for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it once I remembered what was going on and the plot hit its stride. I hate to be the person that begs for the next book before the current book has had its chance to shine but I’m dying for book four now! I can’t wait to see where this stunning series goes.
Well, KA Tucker has done it again. She’s masterfully woven a complex and magical tale that is both epic and intimate at the same time, full of love and war and twists and turns and enough intrigue to keep you guessing.
This book picks up right where book two left off, but with the addition of the POV of more characters. The stakes are as high as ever, the opposing kingdoms are on the brink of war yet again, and everyone can feel the electricity of change in the air.
This book made me laugh, cry, and had me on the edge of my seat. Though their reality is a bit dark and scary, I appreciated that love could still find a way (and not just Romeria and Zander this time). There was humor in the face of danger, and Jarek has cemented himself as my favorite character of the series.
Though this did start off a little slowly for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it once I remembered what was going on and the plot hit its stride. I hate to be the person that begs for the next book before the current book has had its chance to shine but I’m dying for book four now! I can’t wait to see where this stunning series goes.
August 31, 2023
Thank you to Valentine PR and K.A. Tucker for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The third installment in this series did not disappoint! Although it took a minute to get off the ground, and at times the abundance of POVs was a bit distracting, this was still a stellar addition to Romeria and Zander’s story. I feel like so many questions were answered, while just as many new ones were posed. I did feel like the action was a bit slower in this book overall (although the final 100 pages really picked up in this regard). I really enjoyed the addition of Atticus and Gracen’s POV. While I am still totally Team Romeria/Zander, I did grow a little more fondness for Atticus by being able to see more from his POV. I freaking love Jarek. His character development has been unmatched in this series. GESINE. That’s all I can say, iykyk. The cliffhanger has destroyed me and I cannot WAIT for the next book!
The third installment in this series did not disappoint! Although it took a minute to get off the ground, and at times the abundance of POVs was a bit distracting, this was still a stellar addition to Romeria and Zander’s story. I feel like so many questions were answered, while just as many new ones were posed. I did feel like the action was a bit slower in this book overall (although the final 100 pages really picked up in this regard). I really enjoyed the addition of Atticus and Gracen’s POV. While I am still totally Team Romeria/Zander, I did grow a little more fondness for Atticus by being able to see more from his POV. I freaking love Jarek. His character development has been unmatched in this series. GESINE. That’s all I can say, iykyk. The cliffhanger has destroyed me and I cannot WAIT for the next book!
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