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Beguiled: The Dark Secrets Duet

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In a world where shadows whisper secrets and ancient magic stirs, Talya thought she knew her place. When a violent encounter in the woods leaves her disoriented, Talya's life begins to unravel in ways she can't explain. Haunted by flashes of another world and pursued by strangers—one with piercing green eyes. Talya is drawn into a conflict far older and darker than she realizes. When she is taken to a realm that she doesn’t recognize, she must learn to adapt.

As the Unseelie Court plots in the shadows Talya must uncover the truth about her past, her power, and the court that calls her queen. But some secrets are buried for a reason, and the cost of reclaiming her throne might be her heart—or her life.

A tale of magic, betrayal, and love against the odds—where the fire within may be the only light in the dark.

278 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2025

16 people are currently reading
65 people want to read

About the author

Ivy Wilde

4 books4 followers

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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
Profile Image for Furan.
143 reviews1 follower
April 15, 2025
ARC READER

~|Overview|~
Beguiled is written in third person and follows Talya (our MFC), along with Rune and Casimir (the MMCs). It starts off with Talya in the human realm for her safety, but she’s brought back to her kingdom pretty early on since she’s heir to the throne.

~|Review|~
I’m not sure if this is part of a series,(i see now that it is a duet, book 2 will be so good for thi story) but it felt more like a setup than a full story, we didn’t get a ton of plot development or world-building, which left me wanting more. I also got the sense that romance was supposed to be a subplot, but even then, the background characters had more going on romantically than Talya and Rune did. The characters we saw most, Casimir, Taren, and Renier were fleshed out enough, but they all felt a bit similar at times. I really wish we’d gotten more of Talya and Renier’s sibling relationship because the few glimpses we got were super sweet. One thing I did really enjoy was how the memory flashbacks were done, they felt smooth and meaningful.

~|What I Loved|~
Something i really loved In general is that Rune never shielded her from the info she needed and never made decisions for her, but he protected her from physical harm. In ch.9, when we first find out about the siblings between Renier and Talya. In ch.21 when Rune was defending Talya from Casimir. Ch.23 when she got the memory back about Rune tugging her hair. Ch.28, when Renier was giving his kindeness to Drina. Ch. 34, when he’s so tense and serious about saving Talya. And lastly, my favorite moments in ch.37 when Rune defeated the king and crowned himself king then said that he will only bow to Talya.


~|Note|~
Now that i know this book is in a duet i understand how this book advanced, and am excited to read on for the more tense moments & romance line between Rune & Talya.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jessica.
16 reviews
March 19, 2025
Loved this book! It was such a quick read because I had to know what happened next and I could not put it down. Great world building, characters that get you invested, and plot twists I didn’t see coming. I’m very interested to find out where this is going in the next book.
Profile Image for ReadTheHotline.
62 reviews
April 16, 2025
Beguiled: The Dark Secrets Duet | Ivy Wilde

🖤🖤🖤.5/5 (rounded up!)

"Beguiled" follows Talya, whose ordinary human life shatters after a mysterious encounter leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew. As strange visions plague her and unknown pursuers close in, Talya finds herself thrust into an unfamiliar realm where ancient magic thrives and dangerous politics simmer.

Suddenly transported to a world she doesn't recognize, Talya discovers a shocking truth - she's a part of the Seelie Court in ways she never imagined possible. With enemies lurking in shadows and allies whose motives remain unclear, Talya must navigate court politics, uncover her mysterious past, and embrace powers she never knew she possessed. And she’s got to do it all while trying to understand her feelings for brothers Rune and Casimir (one she feels an unknown pull towards and one she’s been drawn to from the start).

Tropes for ya

🖤 Friends to Lovers
💚 Love Triangle (done RIGHT!)
🧚 Fated Mates
🖤 He Falls First
💚 Court intrigue
🧚 Dark Romantasy

This was such a delightful escape from reality! Wilde introduces us to a captivating world of Fae, Pixies, Brownies, and Ethereal Beings that feels both familiar and fresh. Once it gets going, this story moves at a brisk pace, making it perfect for those who prefer action over excessive worldbuilding. It’s impossible to not be fascinated by the elemental magic at play in this world, and now I'm really truly jealous I can’t translocate or glamour. 🪄

While the brothers of the Seelie Court are delish, I (surprisingly) found myself falling extremely hard for Talya’s brother Renier and the side plot involving him and the assassin Drina. While their moments were smaller, they were so nuanced, giving us some spice within moments of true connection and growth that really endeared me to them. Here’s my pitch to make Book 2 about them, OR give them their own little adventure story. 💗

The pacing, while addictive, occasionally felt like someone hit fast-forward—some scenes jumping abruptly as if pages vanished between key moments. Despite those small critiques, "Beguiled" remains a wonderfully engaging read that whisked me away from reality for a few magical hours.

If you're looking for a fantasy that delivers emotional impact and magical intrigue, you’ll enjoy this book. Thank you to Ivy Wilde for the opportunity to read this lovely story. Beguiled is out now, so check it out and let me know what you think. 😍
Profile Image for Lindsey Adams.
871 reviews16 followers
April 23, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐️/ ️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Beguiled is quick paced, action packed, and smoldering with amazing romance. A wonderful fantasy with dark vibes, political intrigue, and danger lurking around every corner. Ivy Wilde gives her readers a novel that brings magical creatures to life, secrets and betrayals that will pull at your heart, and characters that are dripping with chemistry. Book one of a duet, this book grabbed me from the beginning and took me on a wonderful journey.

Talya is human, living a normal life until it comes crashing down around her. She begins to experience visions that seem so real to her, but the things she is seeing can’t be real. Or can they? She finds herself thrown into a realm where the visions are real, magic exists, and make believe characters live. A member of the Seelie Court, a detail she has no memory of, she is immediately immersed in a power struggle, but what side does she fall on?

She also feels a pull towards two fae brothers, Rune and Casimir, that she doesn’t fully understand. They govern over the kingdom until the new queen is ready to take her place. They both keep her safe, help teach her, and fall in love with her. With one being her betrothed, Talya has to face confusing feelings towards both and it is unclear who she will choose.

Ivy writes amazing characters, both main and side, throughout this book and I hope to see more of a few side characters in book two. Renier and Drina specifically, iykyk! As the book progresses and the characters develop, I loved the storyline in which Ivy takes us on this wonderful journey to Tayla finding and fighting for her destiny. Although some parts may have felt rushed, overall I enjoyed this fantasy read and look forward to book two.

As always, review any author notes before reading.

What to Expect:
👑Enemies to Lovers
💖Love Triangle
👑Fated Mates
💖He Falls First
👑Dark Romantasy
💖Betrayal
Profile Image for Allison.
75 reviews3 followers
April 16, 2025
1 /5 stars

I wanted to like this, and I think the bones are there, but there were too many issues to overlook.

Grammatical issues and typos: I'm not quite sure how so many were missed in the editing process?

Clunky plot progression: A lot of the dialogue felt clunky or didn't make sense within the bounds of the scene. Talya's development and training of her newly-arrived magic was confusing. Her magic came in, she trained on-page for a few days, then nothing is mentioned or shown of her training her magic until she wields it with expert ability in the last chapters of the book.

Believability and chemistry of relationships: I didn't believe the relationship between Renier and Drina. It didn't feel deserved for how deep it was portrayed versus the on-page development or allusion to its development. Rune's personality and character was so inconsistent that it was hard to determine what was truthful and what was out of pocket. Casimir also felt very manic and inconsistent with no explanation as to why.

With editing, I think this has potential, but I can't recommend it in its current state.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Katherine Dale.
21 reviews
April 25, 2025
3.5 ⭐️

I first saw Beguiled posted in a bookish page with beautiful cover art catching my attention and Ivy herself asking for ARC readers for her book with tropes of Enemies to Lovers, Love Triangle, Fated Mates, He Falls First, Dark Romantasy, and Betrayal. I immediately signed up as the book sounded right up my ally, and I want to start off my review by saying thank you to Ivy Wilde for my first time receiving an ARC. I was so excited and made sure I took my time to read as diligently as possible to provide feedback for typos/hiccups. ***As of 17APRIL2025, two days after release day, Ivy posted on IG that there will be a re-release before book two, Enchanted, releases as there are some issues in the book that she would like to correct going forward.***


Ivy has mentioned if you enjoyed Cruel Prince and ACOTAR you should read Beguiled and I agree as I loved the world and the concept of the story. What was hard for me was the chunkiness of the story development as well as the romance chemistries developments, both the love triangle of Talya/Casimir/Rune and Renier/Drina.

While the story was not quite four stars for me, there were several parts I enjoyed and I will definitely give the re-release a purchase to see the changes and find out what happens next in Enchanted.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kell X.
267 reviews6 followers
April 21, 2025
Talya lives a normal life, stuggling to save enough money to get out of her aunt's appartment. So.. imagine her surprise when she is taken into a world of fairies, intrigue, political schemes and being told she is the queen. Crazy, right?
But it turn out what she is being told is true and she must learn all about them to rule and to protect herself. Two brothers are governing her kingdom until she is ready, and they do all there is in their power to keep her safe. They are both in love with her, but only one is her bethothed. She starts getting to know both of them and is easily confused about her feelings for either /both of them. How will she choose?
We have a whole new world, and the author manages to describe and build it without major complexities so we are instantly there. We have some plot twists, and some not so expected, but kind of necessary for this story to continue.
Besides the main characters, the side ones were really important and also as loveable and relatable and made me love this story even more.
Profile Image for ~Shawna the crazy coffee reader~.
498 reviews35 followers
April 1, 2025
Tayla has been in the mortal realm for years with no memory of her past. When she discovers there is more beyond the life she has lived she is shocked and struggles to come to terms with it. Now she must rediscover her past and learn how to defend her future all in one go. All while feeling an unknown pull to one brother and wanting to turn to the other. It’s a battle to the throne and to fulfill a prophecy before the enemy destroys them all.

The storyline was a good one, even if there was nothing groundbreaking about it. I appreciated Tayla being strong, coming into her own, and refusing to give in to what was expected of her. The love story part of it was a bit too slow for me but satisfying in the end.

Overall this was a great quick read that has fated mates, found family, a love triangle, and battles to the 💀with a bit if touch her and die (which I love).
Profile Image for Bookbakeneko .
132 reviews3 followers
April 1, 2025
🅐🅡🅒 🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦
🅑🅔🅖🅤🅘🅛🅔🅓
15 🅐🅟🅡🅘🅛
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Why you will love this book…

💚 Romantasy
👑 Fated Mates
💚 He Falls First
👑 Love triangle
💚 Court intrigue
👑 Betrayal

'A tale of magic, betrayal, and love against the odds—where the fire within may be the only light in the dark.'

After being lied to about who and what she is Talya finds herself thrust into the seelie/unseelie world - rich in mythical characters from fae to pixies where she must uncover the truth about her past, reclaim her power & fight for her kingdom - while navigating a love triangle between two brothers: one she is betrothed to & one she is fated to. 

A story with vibrant and likable characters, compelling world building, and a strong FMC who comes into her own and faces challenges and enemies head-on.

I'm eager to see where IW takes us next with this duet.
Profile Image for EllasEnchantedReads.
101 reviews2 followers
March 28, 2025
Beguiled is a new and exciting high stakes romantasy debut book by Ivy Wilde. It’s a really fun and quick read, perfect for fans of Holly Black and Sarah J Maas! The story has many interesting fae & human characters, unexpected plot twists, political intrigue and great world building. I really enjoyed the FMC’s character arc and watching her grow into herself. The MMC is pretty swoony, too! The slow burn romance, witty banter and magnetic tension between them is wonderfully done.

If you are a fan of tropes such as enemies to lovers, the chosen one, fated mates and love triangles, definitely give this book a read! Thank you so much to Ivy Wilde for the opportunity to be on your ARC reader team! I can’t wait to read more about Talya’s adventures in the Seelie and Unseelie Courts.
Profile Image for Sarah.
149 reviews1 follower
March 29, 2025
This was an ARC Read through Hayling Book Storm.

This story is about a life changing experience which happens to Talya, in that her mortal life will never be the same again, after she discovers the people around her including herself are not who she thought they were. This then takes her on an epic journey involving Fae, Pixies, Brownies and Ethereal Beings.

This was quite an easy read, and unlike other fantasy stories it is not too plot heavy, with the action being fairly fast-paced and easy going.

There is heartbreak, death, betrayal, love triangles, suspense and some light hearted moments throughout, with the odd smattering of spice.

Overall a lovely little read to take you away from real life for a few hours.

🖤 Friends to Lovers
💚 Love Triangle
🧚 Fated Mates
🖤 He Falls First
💚 Dark Romantasy
🧚 Betrayal
Profile Image for Chelsea Pfannenstiel.
7 reviews
April 9, 2025
This book started a little slow for me but I really liked how it ended. The premise of the story is interesting and I loved the characters, but I wanted more. It felt a little choppy jumping from scene to scene when I wanted to get comfy in each scene and really develop them. Once I got to about 45% I was totally hooked and couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!
115 reviews
April 17, 2025
What started as a party in the woods turned into something much stranger for Talya. She begins hearing voices talking to her and seeing things that shouldn't be there. Shortly following the party, Tayla finds herself being taken to another world where everyone calls her their queen.

Tayla works to piece together parts of her past that have been forgotten while learning to rule a kingdom. All with the help of Rune and Casimir (hello love triangle!)
Profile Image for Kamala Bocanegra.
59 reviews1 follower
April 17, 2025
3.5 stars! it was a good book! the writing wasnt very fluid, I got confused easily because some things didn't make sense writing wise. the plot was good and I was getting worried with the whole love interest part. But all in all it was good, there was action. I was hoping it would go more into detail about the fights but it didn't. the scenes were a little too quick for my liking. I do recommend this book though, especially if you are just getting into the genre.
Profile Image for Tabitha Shelly.
60 reviews
March 25, 2025
This was such a good read, I couldn’t put it down! The unique magic system and story had me captivated. My heart hurt, stressed, cried, and celebrated with Talya.

Tropes:
🗡️enemies to lovers
🗡️court intrigued
🗡️lost memories
🗡️love triangle
🗡️fated mates
840 reviews22 followers
March 23, 2025
I really enjoyed this read! It was a good story line. I'm interested to see where we get taken in the next book. It was a little bit of a too slow burn for me but I enjoyed everything else!
Profile Image for Maddie Hernandez.
61 reviews4 followers
March 24, 2025
This book was so fast paced I read it in one sitting. I went in completely blind and throughly enjoyed every aspect of this book.
Profile Image for Cee  Young.
43 reviews2 followers
March 25, 2025
This story was such a fun, fast paced, fantasy that's easy to get into, stay into, and enjoy the ride! I finished this book in two days(breaks for life of course) and was so invested!

Profile Image for Melody Roby Olson.
59 reviews6 followers
March 26, 2025
This was a good. I enjoyed the storyline. I was worried there were going to be loose ends left but it totally wrapped up the story and characters very well. Nice fantasy read with some spice.
Profile Image for Eden Collyer.
15 reviews
August 1, 2025
I loved this book from start to finish! I enjoyed the characters, the world building, and how hard the female main character worked to get stronger. I won’t say more as I’d like to avoid spoilers, but I absolutely loved living in this story as I read it and I loved the ending! I can’t wait for the next one!
Profile Image for Chante Heaven.
642 reviews15 followers
April 14, 2025
Tayla couldn't remember most of her life, believing she was just a barmaid, living with her aunt and working hard to save to escape her. All of that went out the window when she started seeing strange lights in the night.

This is brilliant, well-written, detailed, filled with mystery, political intrigue, murder, and mayhem, with slow-burn spice and loss. This book has it all.

If you like books with Fae, magic, battles, and intrigue, this is the book for you.
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