A Fate of Wrath and Flame

Fate & Flame #1

by K.A. Tucker

She would know the world of vengeful gods and monsters, and the lengths one would go for love. And nothing would ever be the same for her again.

Gifted thief Romeria steals jewels under a notorious New York City crime boss. But when an enigmatic woman secures her services at swordpoint, Romeria is wrenched from this world and transported into a realm of opposing thrones, warring elven societies, and elemental magic.

Waking up in the body of a treacherous elven princess, Romeria quickly realizes she's entangled in a deadly plot and must hide her identity at all costs - not least from the princess's betrothed, King Zander, who detests her. Romeria is forced to play the smitten princess as the unwilling pair work together to uncover the danger that surrounds them.

But with their enemies closing in - and as she fights her growing feelings for the king - it's time for Romeria to find out who she truly is.

The first book in the captivating Fate & Flame series

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Fantasy Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Vampires, Fae

496 pages, Paperback

First published May 20, 2021

About the author

K.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! >>
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Reviews

[jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is ‘a curse so dark and lonely’ meets ‘from blood and ash.’

and it is everything. fantasy is such a good look for KAT.

this does have more of a YA vibe and isnt as steamy as what im used to with her books, but its still such a pleasurable read. its on the slower side and has a lot of info-dumps (the MC is thrust into a new world and the reader learns about it the same way she does - through dense history lessons), which i know are things that annoy some fantasy readers. but if you can overlook those things, this story wont let you down.

this is a book full of unique magic, a really interesting world, complex characters with palpable connections, vivid writing, and excellent storytelling. and based on this first installment, i think this genre will really serve KAT well. cant wait for the rest of the series!

↠ 4.5 stars

[K.A. Tucker]

To celebrate the nomination of A Queen of Thieves & Chaos (Book 3) in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2023, the first book in the series is on sale for a limited time only! (US/Canada, ebook)

https://geni.us/fateofwrathandflame

[Arini · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

It was a bit of a slog to get through and the politics, intrigue, and mystery have fried my brain cells leaving only two of them left, but—

DEAR AUTHOR, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THIS SIDE OF YOU THAT WRITES . . .

INTRICATE PLOTS OF . . .

✓ gods & monsters
✓ kingdoms & otherworldly portals
✓ curses & prophecies
✓ bloodsucking creatures & elemental magic
✓ skilled thieves & broody kings

AS WELL AS A SLOW-BURN ROMANCE WITH TROPES, SUCH AS . . .

✓ mistaken identities
✓ chosen one/girl on a secret mission
✓ enemies to lovers
✓ marriage of convenience
✓ pretend lovers

??????????????????????????????????????????

Wherever it is, I’m beyond pleased that you’re finally letting it loose. You’ve found my weakness, and I’m gonna be here . . .



This book began in a contemporary setting, and I was slightly disappointed and worried for a second because I (didn’t read the synopsis) had expected I would be reading a full fledged fantasy story. However, things started to get more interesting after Romy wound up in the alternate universe. I was ~hOoKeD~ . . . even though my focus faltered here and there—starting a whole new fantasy (romance) series is always overwhelming.

Long story short, Romy (h, 21) is a skilled thief from New York City who has been *magically* transported into a fantastical realm where she is tasked with stealing a ✦ stone ✦ from a certain sacred garden. The person who ‘asks’ (this is an understatement) her to complete said mission and dumps her into said realm also inexplicably PUTS her inside the body of her evil doppelgänger—Princess Romeria of Ybaris. Yikes!

She’s done a great crime against the Kingdom of Islor aka THE enemy, namely poisoning the king and queen. The newly crowned king (Zander, H) who was originally her betrothed hates her, but he needs her help if he’s to uncover the growing plot against his ruling. Meanwhile, Romy has to survive this new world until she’s through with her business. So, their ruse begins. And what quickly comes after . . . you’ll have to read for yourself!

Romy was fierce, courageous, and independent. Even though she was quaking inside, she faced whatever was in front of her with a fighter’s spirit. She stood up for herself and what she believed in. Meanwhile, Zander was distrustful, broody, and a reluctant king. I liked both of them and all the side characters. However, I personally think Romy and Zander needed a little pop of color in their personality. Not so they were more bright and full of life.

“Even though I know there is something you continue to hide, I am fighting against this constant aching pull I feel toward you … fighting and losing.”

I mean, a quality that was uniquely Romy and uniquely Zander to associate them with. For example . . . oh, Romy was exceptionally stealthy and a fine seductress; or, Zander was the benevolent king with a villainous streak. Idk! Something that was a dominant in their characterisation. I feel like the supporting characters had more of a defining characteristic, namely Corrin the ill-tempered lady maid and Dagnar the vivacious, loose tongued tailor.

I think that the plot had them (the leads) too focused on talking about politics, conspiracy theories, and figuring out who their enemies were that not much of their wit, charm, sense of humor, and true personality shone through. Not that there weren’t moments of sweet fluffs, light banter, sexual tension, and hot make-out sessions—all of which I devoured. I’m just saying the book was plot centered, and romance was in the passanger backseat.

How did Princess Romeria meet that smile time and time again while plotting his murder and not waver in her plans?

The story was told mostly from Romy’s POV. It was confusing at the beginning because we were learning everything as she was, but they all started to come into place in the second half. I think my biggest issue was with Romy’s secret identity and operation. Her taking on Evil Romeria’s identity, pretending to have amnesia, and never told Zander about her being from another world created this sense of foreboding in me that wasn’t so nice to carry throughout the book until it was all revealed.

SHOULD YOU or SHOULD YOU NOT . . .

This book is hard to pin down. I can’t tell if it has more witchy, vampiric, elves-ish, or cult-ish aesthetic. I suppose there are mixes of those elements. In any case, I recommend it if:

↠ You love the ✦ Grishaverse ✦ for its Grisha factions, East/West Ravkan and The Fold setup. Certain people in this book possess elemental powers. The Kingdom of Islor and Ybaris is divided by a tear that’s called The Great Rift. There are beasts equivalent to the Volcra that are dubbed as daaknar.

↠ You love ✦ Blood and Ash ✦ series for its vampiric-ness, complicated history, and the romance. Romy & Zander is nothing like Poppy & Casteel, and the romance here is definitely not as steamy. But I’m just saying, it’s got the BAA vibes.

↠ You love ✦ Vampire Diaries ✦ for the doppelgänger storyline and Damon/Stefan dynamics. It’s merely Romy inhabiting (evil) Princess Romeria’s body, but there’s still the duality to Romy’s identity. Zander has a brother whom he often argues with. Also, both of them may or may not have *sordid* history with Princess Romeria.

↠ You love ✦ Throne of Glass ✦ for its ‘chosen one’ and the vengeful gods/prophecy plotline. Romy is walking through some shocking discoveries that eventually leads to her purpose of being. The gods of this world scheme and never hesitate to use their creations (Romy & Zander) as their pawn.

I NEED INTELS ON THE 2nd BOOK ASAP PLEASE!!! I’m starting to get attached to these characters and I want more Romy & Zander. I desperately need to know what happens next. Also, more info about the audiobook—if there’s going to be any.

“I no longer feel the desire to look backward. I only want to look forward with you.”

[chan ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

certain plot devices just aren’t my cuppa tea

having the heroine enter someone else’s body in a new world so we gotta learn shit with her…. not my thing

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

OMG. This felt like the book that would never end. Review coming after I take a nap. lol. 😩 🖤

2.75 Stars

Totally forgot that I had to review this lol. I think I've got a few I need to write. Lemme just add, I do want to check out book 2 of this series just to see if it's worth it, but this one was so drawn out and long winded. And longer than it needed to be tbh.

[Paige ♠ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this because it sounded amazing but I found it kind of underwhelming. There were parts I really liked and others that just didn't impress me very much

✅ THE WORLD WAS AMAZING and it definitely gave me From Blood & Ash vibes, but was still unique and interesting! The world seems so expansive and we've only learned about a littler sliver of it so far so I'm excited to see where the next book takes us

❌ I THOUGHT MOST OF THE BOOK was really slow. I'll be honest, I skimmed a lot and I don't feel like I missed much. It's a long book, so I think I would have liked it better had it been shorter and faster moving

✅ THE CONCEPT WAS REALLY interesting and not something I've read before! I love how we were thrown into this completely ridiculous situation but it was definitely entertaining to see Romeria have to figure everything out

🆗 THE ROMANCE was just okay for me... I was expecting to love it but idk, there was just something missing and I can't really explain it. Zander was smitten with Romero’s and seemed like a good love interest, but I just was not obsessed with him like I usually am with fantasy love interests 😅

❌ I REALLY DID NOT LIKE ROMERIA and I think that was my biggest issue with the book. She felt so bland to me. Like why was she even characterized as a thief when she never used her thievery skills?! She just kind of remained trapped in her room, attended meetings when she was requested to, talked to her new friends, etc. I was waiting for her to do something badass or surprising but it never really happened, which greatly disappointed me

I know it probably sounds like I didn't really like this book but I definitely enjoyed it - I just went in with very high expectations so was a little disappointed. The world and overall story were interesting, I'm just not invested in Romeria and felt the story was too slow, but other than that, I definitely recommend this if you're looking for what is likely going to be a very popular and epic fantasy-romance series!

[• Lindsey Dahling • · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that I read it before the rest of the series is published and now I have to wait.

Seriously. I enjoyed this book so much that I forced myself to slow down during the last 100 pages because I didn’t want it to end.

THE SLOW BURN IS TO DIE FOR.

It’s even better because it’s both a slow burn romance and a slow burn plot, but not in a tedious way. I was on the edge of my seat, smiling like an idiot, stressing out over what was going to happen next.

The book reminded me a lot of From Blood and Ash (which I adore) and The Bridge Kingdom (which I also adore). It’s a giant fantasy world with a lot of key players and you’re never quite sure of who you can trust. Unless you’re me, which means you trust no one ever, so the book is even more stressful (in the best way).

I’m already jealous of everyone who gets to read this for the first time. I WISH I WAS YOU.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book has two interesting concepts:

1) What would you do if you were suddenly put in a new world where you don’t know anyone but everyone ‘knows’ you because your doppelgänger seemingly murdered some important people right before you showed up. That part was honestly resolved way too quickly unfortunately, so fair warning.

2) What you would you do if in that same new world there is a certain class of people who are in slavery? How do you change that when the obvious moral objections aren’t enough because those in power benefit too much from the current system? This is the first book in what will be a series so that point hasn’t been resolved yet and I’m interested in seeing where that part of the story leads.

There’s also some romance - which I enjoy in my fantasy books.

[Lucie V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is free on Amazon (Canada) today (09/20/2025). 🙂

✅ Vampires (kind of)
✅ Travelling to another world/dimension
✅ Hate/love relationship (it’s complicated…)
✅ Fake dating and slow burn romance
✅ Captor/captive dynamic (no mistreatment)
✅ Politics
✅🆗 Betrayals
✅🆗 Some info-dumps
❗️❗️Trigger warnings: mentions of burning to death, poisoning, torture, and execution (nothing graphic)
❗️❗️Cliffhanger


Romy is a thief working for New York’s mafia, and while this isn’t her dream job, and she dreams of being able to escape far away from the mafia’s boss, it allows her to pay the bills and live somewhat comfortably. When she meets Sophie, Romy ends up forced to help her with a mysterious quest to save her husband, and that is how she is thrust into this fantastic world full of magic and nations at war. The first experience she has with it all is that people are accusing her of having killed the King and Queen, and she is imprisoned by the prince/soon to be King who also happens to be her ex-fiancé. Romy comes to realize that she has been forced into the shoes of another Romeria, and this other version of her is far from being kind and benevolent, She is scheming and cold, and Romy now needs to prove to King Zander and his court that she had nothing to do with the death of the King and Queen, because she is a totally different person.

I was a little surprised by the beginning of this book. I admit that I read the blurb when I added this one to my TBR, but didn’t reread it before starting the book so when the modern New York thief got thrown into another dimension with no technology and magic, I was not sure what to expect for the rest of the book. It also created a nice mix of a fantastical world with more modern language at times, without being jarring.

The pace is slow at times, but the book was still a quick read. The fact that Romy is thrown into a new world and has no idea whatsoever about the politics, geography or history of the lands forced the author to have a few info-dumps in the form of history lessons or long conversations, but besides one scene where it got long after a while, the info-dumps were not too heavy and they were well spaced throughout the book.

The politics of Islor’s court play a big part in the plot, and there are some treasons near the end. Sadly though, while some were truly surprising, the “big one” was not that shocking because there was a lot of foreshadowing in the chapters leading to this betrayal. Zander is a dreamer, and he trusts his inner circle too much for his own good. He cannot see the threats that are closest to him, even though he knows that not everyone likes his stance when it comes to how mortals are treated, or his decision to forgive Romy and use her as bait to uncover whoever helped evil Romeria poison the King and Queen.

The world-building is complex enough to keep me intrigued and engaged. While we got some info-dumps on the land’s history, the politics and geography were revealed through conversations and in a smoother manner overall. Allowing us to discover this world piece by piece, without overwhelming us.

“You’re afraid I’m going to run.”
“I’m not afraid, but I would not put it past you. Besides, is this so insufferable?” Humor dances in his eyes. He knows it’s not.
“Are you testing me?”
“I’m always testing you, Romeria.” Quietly, he adds, “And you are always testing me.”

Romy is a great main character. She is strong, driven, and resilient without being too badass or instantly being good at everything she tries. She discovers that she is very powerful, but she still has no control over her magic, and she does not gain instant control after a few tries, as is sadly too often the case in fantasy books lately. She also has an impulsive side that comes out when the people she cares about, or people around her in general, are being mistreated, and I loved seeing her put the nobles into their place and give Zander a few political headaches too while doing it. I wonder if her famous skills as a thief will become useful in the next books and if we will get to see her in action because she mentioned a few times how good of a thief she was, but we never really saw it in this book.

“You’ve done everything wrong. You are hotheaded, you speak out of turn and do the opposite of what we agreed to, you antagonize me as if you have no fear of consequence. You continue to lie and deceive me. Your heart bleeds too much for the plight of mortals, and you seem willing to challenge anyone who doesn’t bleed the same.” He sighs, his hazel eyes settling on me, a brilliant kaleidoscope of gold in the setting sun. “You do everything wrong, and yet everything right.”

Zander is a great King and love interest. He is devoted to his people, nobles and poor alike, and he takes his responsibility to his kingdom very seriously. He blames himself for trusting Romeria the first time she deceived him and is now trying to salvage what he can of his court and his country while also having to keep the wolves in his court at bay. Zander is intense, but he is also always testing Romy, and he is playing the long game. Everything he does and says has a goal, and while I found it a little hard to believe that he would fall for Romy again, even after her duplicity, I also liked that he didn’t fall for her right away. Even when he started to believe her story about being a different person, he kept her at arm’s length for as long as he could, and he remained wary of her for a long time.

Zander didn’t impress me that much as a love interest, though. He is a good character, and I like him a lot, but as a romantic prospect, I find him to be okay but not out of this world. Sure, he is dashing and charming at times, but overall, while I am rooting for him and Romy, I am not in love with him, yet… He is lovable, but not a new addition to my list of book boyfriends.

The secondary characters were fleshed out and interesting. I really hope to see more of Corrin and Elisaf in the rest of the series. They are complex and have depth, and they are a part of the plot; they are not just there to support the weight of the main characters and be forgotten after.

Overall, this was a very nice surprise. I was not expecting to enjoy this book so much, especially when it felt a little like a time travel story at first (and I am not the biggest fan of those), but I was hooked. The romance is good and not insta-love, the plot is complex enough to keep us intrigued and guessing at what will happen and who will betray the King, and it ends with a cliffhanger that makes me happy the second book is already out so I do not have to wait to read it.


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[Aoife - Bookish_Babbling · Rating 4 out of 5]

**July 2022**

Re-read complete & even better than I remembered so many breadcrumbs and hints scattered throughout that I missed when devouring this first time through....I cannot wait for book2 now 😈

****************

Despite utterly failing at the Buddy Read (super soz ladies) by starting late and then blowing through it because I could not put the book down sums up "right book // right time" 😇

Intro was a little sluggish for me, which I think I might be in the minority for. Then I was lowkey excited when I thought it might be a more urban vs medieval fantasy setting but once Romy (and we) get dropped through the portal; the ball gets rolling - intrigue kicks in, getting to grips with what happened and how to manoeuvre in this utterly foreign world kept me turning pages craving more - my desire for an urban fantasy setting vanished as I settled into Tucker's creation 🙃

As always I loved many of the side characters, some more than others but to actually name names might give too much away - more than happy to fangirl in spoiler tag comments tho 🤗
Also pleasantly for me in this book I did not hate nor roll my eyes at the MCs and their decision-making. Sure they sometimes do things I wish they wouldn't, but so much of what they do do (lolz, I'm an absolute child!) makes so much sense for the scenarios they find themselves in that it just keeps me all the more invested!
Romy is a great PoV as like us she is an outsider and am pretty sure our reactions to what she stumbles into would be similar although the chameleonic skill set she brings is a stroke of genius by Tucker - such fascinating choice for an MC 😈
Zander thankfully seems to think with his upstairs brain although am sure many, including Romy would rather he didn't at times 😉 - I am so curious to see where his character in particular goes after this ending 🤐
I thought Tucker did a great job fleshing out these characters with believable reactions & motivations for the choices they make in this series opener & I cannot wait for the next book! 🤩
Wish we had a release date *cough*HINT*cough* ... in the mean time I shall just reread and try to pick up on all that I missed when ploughing through first time around 😅

I really enjoyed her take on the Fates, not only from their descriptions but especially the names...read this and come back and tell me why I love them so 😎 even if pronunciation differs in my honest & 100% biased opinion 🤗 ... see profile bio for what I mean
Cannot wait to see what the rest of this series holds, the scope for where it can go is super fun, potentially meddling/scheming fates, portal hopping and all the other reveals I don't want to spoil make me highly anticipate the next release 🥰

4.25*

This may have been my first KA Tucker book, but I am curious to read more!

PS - prologue in 3rd person but most of book in 1st - these things don't bother me but know some don't like it....so heads up I guess 🤓

PPS - there's a map and 😍😍😍😍 that cover 🤤


********* "Pre-review" ********

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞 for my first K A Tucker read

3/4 of the Goodreads Gal Pals & I are undertaking another impromptu group read 🤗
Kimster, Jess & Franlopedia - apologies for starting 2days behind everyone else 😅🙈

[✨ Helena ✨]

- set in a world of gods and monsters
- a thief working for the NYC mafia
- a portal fantasy realm
- warring elven and elemental magic
- enemies to lovers
- a marriage of convenience
- pretend lovers

ok everything about this SCREAMS ME!!!

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

Why else does one kingdom fall but for another to rise?

I've been a devoted PNR reader for years, but fantasy has been a rare one for me. I don't even know why, considering I've fallen in love with the genre. And what better way to read more of it than starting with a brand new KA Tucker series? And dang. I was no prepared for this story at all.

Admittedly it took me a hot minute to get into. I even put it down for a day because I knew this was a story that I have to be in the right mood to get into. There's so much world building that takes place, and it took me almost 60% to fully wrap my head around all of it. Be prepared to be confused most of the story too. But that's quite intentional as we spent the majority of the book in the heroine's head, and she has no idea what's going on and you get to experience that with her.

As for the story. It was absolutely magical. Pun intended. This is not a standalone and it's looking to be one epic saga series. Rivaling kingdoms, elementals, gods, curses, and different worlds. The world building in this story was on another level. Romy is a skilled thief living in NY and just trying to survive. Her life is anything but ordinary but then it becomes otherworldly when a stranger with a secret agenda thrusts her into a realm that's a different world entirely.

Romeria of this world is engaged to a king, who she is also responsible for the murder of his parents and seems to be persona non grata. But when you wear the face of the enemy, it's tough to convince anyone you're not her. Especially when you're sworn to secrecy for fear of your life.

The chemistry between Romy and Zander is instant but the romance is very much a slow burn. As a matter of fact it felt almost secondary to the rest of the story, which I didn't mind at all, because there's just so much other things being revealed that the romance didn't feel lacking. DOn't get me wrong, it's still there, just more of a zing in the background. Zander and the Romy of this realm are enemies, and even though Romy isn't responsible for the monstrosities of the other Romy, she has to bear the brunt of the blame. She also has to struggle to understand because she has no memory of the other Romy or her agenda to fully grasp her current reality.

While the book took me about 40% to really get into, I couldn't stop reading for the final 60%. I was slowly but surely sucked into this world and then hooked, line and sinker. I'm absolutely desperate for the next installment to see what happens next.

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

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[Koisty · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars ⭐️

This book to me was absolutely stunning, brilliant, fantastic, and magical all rolled into one!

I was a little confused going into the book based on the info from the blurb as I wasn’t sure how Romeria (Romy), a girl who is a thief for a New York Crime boss and a magical world with warring kingdoms and elves were going to come together…but I think ultimately this confusion is pretty quickly wrapped up in a nice bow… basically Romy meets a mysterious woman called Sophie, and after a couple of circumstances, she makes a deal with her that takes her to a different universe. There Romy wakes up in the body of “dead” princess Romeria of Ybaris. The girl that has just killed the newly appointed King Zander’s parents. Zander also happens to be her fiancée.

The writing in this is excellent. It is easy to read but incredibly vivid. I can see why some people would get bored though, because the story does move very slowly in terms of plot, and because Romy is dumped into this world, and doesn’t understand the history, a lot of it is explained as “history lessons” instead of naturally being found out. However, I personally didn’t mind this as the political intrigue, the complex characters, excellent storytelling and amazing world and world building kept me captivated. I also in general love books that take place in parallel worlds as it gives the excuse for contemporary writing and language to infiltrate fantasy in an easy and natural way that makes it not feel out of place.

As said before the world building is captivating and in general is something to be commended. It has all the elements of what makes a good fantasy, great. It has lore, a unique magic system, supernatural races, Gods or Fates and is complex but easy to grasp a handle on.

Romeria is everything I love in a MC. She is compassionate, caring, strong willed, determined, independent and has a very powerful willingness to survive in any situation. My only irritation is we never really get to see her skills as a thief, it’s only ever mentions that she is good at stealing, but we are never shown this…and in two cases is caught trying to pilfer something….

Zander is broody, serious and extremely loyal to his kingdom and his responsibility to it’s inhabitants. He is also suspicious but strong willed and, given the circumstances, slow to trust but he has an innate need to do the right thing for his people.

The slow burn enemies to lovers romance between the two is angsty, full of tension and banter, and entirely full of chemistry.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves slow burn, forced proximity with a fake relationship. It just ticks all the boxes that need to be ticked including the only one horse and omg that bathtub…..

I am so glad the second book is already released because I would be dying right now if it wasn’t….

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You’re faster than I gave you credit for,” Zander murmurs, peering around the corner of an unassuming door.
“You mean, when I can see where I’m going? Or when I’m not in one of those ridiculous dresses?” I counter, blowing out the lantern and setting it on the ground inside before emerging behind him. The tunic and breeches I found in my closet are fitted but comfortable, the navy cloak perfect to hide beneath. “And let’s see how fast you are in twenty pounds of chiffon and tulle, and wobbly heels.”
“As long as I can keep my sword.”

I'm pretty sure if you look anywhere for the definition of book catnip, you'll find this title.
There are so many reasons why I started this and couldn't stop, but one of them is that this simply and plainly is an agglomerate of everything I adore in my romantasy books.
It was obviously recommended to me by Koisty, who has become my official rec dealer, who always seems to know what I need to read and in which particular moment.

It took me a little to clear my way into this book's world building.
The lore is intricate and rich with political intrigue, which you obviously need to appreciate to properly enjoy this book because trust me when I say there's a lot of politics and backstabbing, and the terms and names flow is infinite.
Once you finally get a handle on who's who and why they do what they do, though, you'll want to know more and more.
And, yes, you'll be very frustrated when, at the end, instead of answers you'll end up having more questions than when you started.
But it's okay, because the book in its entirety was 🤌🤌🤌🤌

I didn't particularly cared for the romance, but that's probably because Zander was not particularly unforgettable to me.
He's hot and sometimes charming, but that's it. He doesn't have anything in particular that screams book boyfriend and doesn't really shine in a field where competition has set impossibly high standards.
Romeria, on the other hand, I really appreciated as a main character.
She was thrown into a big mess without her consent and did whatever she could to survive.
We'll always love a badass queen, in this house.

K.A. Tucker's writing is alright, but it's her mind I'd like to turn upside down.
The world she's created is unique and so is her take on fae, vampires and deities.

Like I've mentioned before, I came for the romance and stayed for the plot.
I had so many theories about what was going to happen and I loved it because it kept my head focused and constantly stimulated with the challenge.
In case you're wondering, only one of my theories was correct.
The rest, I still need to get confirmed.
Whyyyyyyyyy, dear author! Why would you keep knowledge from me T___T

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, let me pitch you this book:

- The story is going to start out in present day New York City and move over to a magical, mystical, old-timey land ruled by a royal family of very shiny and symmetrical non-humans and creepy gods!

- There's plenty of political intrigue and a bloody backstory!

- There's a hot king and a mistaken identity and gorgeous ball gowns and a quest!

- There are secret passages and unseen enemies and about 10 different mysteries!

It’s been well documented how much I’m obsessed with K.A. Tucker’s books, so I couldn’t not love this one. Most of it was amazing.

I guess my one tiny hang-up would be that a lot of it was overcomplicated and there were maybe a touch too many history lessons. Also, there is a plot twist at the end that I thought was a little... much. You don't have to fit eeeeverything into a single fantasy book just for the sake of *fantasy*, right? But listen, I really liked it! I'm looking forward to see where Romy and Zander go from that crazy ending. ✨

[✰ Liz ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

★4.5★

"I no longer feel the desire to look backward."

A Fate of Wrath & Flame is a new fantasy with a complex plot, magic, monsters, and mythology. Romeria is a young woman who has fought hard to survive on the streets of New York. A thief with street smarts, she has learned to overcome and is a true survivor. When she meets a mysterious woman, her entire world is turned upside down. Thrust into another world full of magic, monsters, and a King that wants to kill her, Romeria doesn't know how or why she has been transported to this world. She only knows that she is despised by all and her life is in danger. As the secrets continue to unfold, Romi discovers that her fate depends on her ability to win over the heart of King Zander. Zander doesn't know why he is drawn to Romi. As they come together and the truth is revealed, it will take all that they have to survive.

"I'm used to being abandoned by those closest to me."

A Fate of Wrath & Flame is a complex story with politics, magic, and multiple worlds. Romi is a strong heroine who manages to survive despite everything fighting against her. The world that Ms. Tucker has crafted is intricately crafted and every detail is imperative to the plot. I jumped into this read completely blind and I was not expecting to be swept in so completely!

"Centuries ago, they burned women by the thousands for witchcraft..."

Overall, A Fate of Wrath & Flame is a stunning start to what promises to be an epic series. It will definitely appeal to paranormal fans who enjoy a strong heroine with an alpha male hero. With multiple twists and turns, this is one story you will not be able to put down. I cannot wait for more of Romi and Zander!




For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:

[Judithrosebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado 🥹😍😍

La verdad es que iba con 0 expectativas con este libro, porque últimamente la fantasía se me hace algo “repetitiva”. Con este libro no me he sentido así, la autora tiene una forma de escribir que invita a seguir leyendo, los acontecimientos me han parecido muy interesantes, el reino, el mundo, el sistema… todo está genial.

Romería, la protagonista me ha ido gustando cada vez más y hay muchos personajes de los que mi opinión ha ido variando a lo largo de la historia.

No puedes parar de leer, engancha mucho y hay un ENEMIES TO LOVERS 🤭. Hay escenas 🌶️ pero no en exceso y para nada quitan protagonismo a la historia (cosa que he agradecido 😝).

Solo decir que estoy deseando leer el próximo!!!

[⊹ Gabriela | Asternyx ⊹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⤏ Actual rating: 4.5🌟

⤏ What to expect:
∘ New Adult Fantasy Romance
∘ Royalty — Political Intrigue
∘ Gods — Prophecy — Curses
∘ Monsters
∘ Elemental Magic
⤏Tropes:
∘ Enemies to Lovers
∘ Slowburn
∘ Forced Proximity
∘ Fake relationship
∘ Marriage of Convenience

⤏ Summary
Romy is a top thief in New York City, trying to buy her freedom from the mafia boss she's indebted to.
When she is magically transported from New York City to a fantastic world and tasked with stealing a stone, she finds herself in the body of her doppelgänger, an evil princess in this world who has committed a great crime against the Kingdom of Islor, the one she's currently in.
Zander, the princess's betrothed, hates her, but he needs her help, and that makes it even more interesting. And so the adventure begins.

⤏ Plot & Worldbuilding
The book begins in a modern setting and not long after we are transported in another dimension.
Great worldbuilding, very well explained and it was easy to picture everything described. It's not the first book like this I read and I loved the transition between these two worlds, it was so well written.
Being thrown in a completely different world where Romy's lack of finesse and unusual colloquialisms was frowned upon, you can imagine it also was quite funny at times.
The secrets, the political dealings, the conspiracy theories all added to the intrigue of the plot.

⤏ Characters
∘ Romy
She's a fighter through and through. Brave enough to go face to face with a creature she never knew existed. Kind enough to save people who don't care about her wellbeing. Smart, fierce and funny, all in all a good character. The only thing I didn't like about Romy is her refusal to accept that the world she's been thrown into really exists.
∘ Zander
He's the broody, loyal and compassionate king, who doesn't trust easily.
He finds it hard to believe Romy is not Romeria, the princess who betrayed him. He hates her for what she did and it won't be easy to get over that hatred.
I really liked his character!

⤏ Romance
Enemies to Lovers is my favorite trope, but combined with SLOWBURN? ✨ PERFECTION! ✨
I loved the chemistry between these two and even though there weren't many spicy scenes, it was full of sexual tension 🔥

⤏ Conclusion
This was such an unpredictable story! I loved everything and I can't wait to continue this series.

«⋯ Fate & Flame series ⋯»
#1 A Fate of Wrath & Flame — 4.5🌟
#2 A Curse of Blood & Stone — *tbr

[Birjis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an utter perfection: top to bottom to corner to corner. I think the authors imagination is vast and she penned it imaginatively since I felt I was deep into this story. This is a fantasy romance. I'm shelfing this as time-travel for my future rememberance but it's not time-travel; the story is set from New York to a magic universe. In this alternate universe exists the vampires, demons, elves, humans and many new creatures. It's also a slow burn romance, two people from two different worlds and kingdoms are puppets to a prophecy. This book is a get-yourself-comfortable-because-you-are-going-to-be-sucked-in-it danger.

Romeria is born to a difficult childhood. She is a thief and it suits her. She works for an underworld dangerous mafia boss although reluctantly, her expertness saves her from getting killed. Coming back after an unsuccessful mission her life is upended when a mysterious woman, Sofie, with her mysterious talk offers her a job. Romeria knows she traded one dangerous boss for another but this time her world is literally changed for sure. Her mission was to steal a stone. She didn't expect to wake up in a strange land in strange clothes. She is now Princess Romeria, a murderess, who killed her fiance's parents on the day of their wedding. Trying to grasp her situation it is made more worse when she is declared a traitor and assassin and is thrown into prison no matter her pleas of innocence. Newly crowned a king, Zander, wants Romeria dead. Strange events differ Romeria as she used to be, Zander believes it's a ploy she plays to save her life. Zander uses Romeria to scheme a play and dish out the traitors and assassins in the castle. As Romeria tries to navigate in this strange world she finds answers to her situation.

Two rivaling kingdoms - Ybaris and Islor try to merge their enemity by marriage. Princess Romeria's father, the king of Ybaris arranges the marriage of his daughter with the prince of Islor, now King Zander of Islor for peace. But greed and evilness was schemed and things didn't go as planned. There is conspiracy and an army is raising to take the Islorian throne. Romeria of New York tries prove her innocence and for a fact that she has remembers nothing about being Princess Romerio.
There is also the war of Gods, the vandetta between the gods which falls on Zander and Romerio, how they might get their epic ending. Why would the God of fire, Malachi, want for a thief of New York? The side characters are superbly well done. There are two types of loyal people - one loyal to the throne, the other loyal to the king of that throne. I'm giddy with excitement. This book was exceptional for me. I hope the next book picks up with the same equal enthusiasm. This book ends in a kind of cliffhanger, there is more of the story!

[Antonella · Rating 2 out of 5]

the slow pace and info dump created a perfectly boring book...
too much of everything.. as of now I don't wish to read more books in this world..

[Maria Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿TE SUENA DE ALGO: "No sé si eres para mí, pero voy a catarte😏"?

Vamos, lo que viene siendo un: "Voy a leer el primer párrafo y, si no me engancha, lo dejo para más adelante".

Como puedes imaginarte, a mí me suena bastante…🤭

Tanto que, cuando quise darme cuenta, andaba por la página 157 y con unas ansias locas de seguir leyendo!

Ahora, ¿qué pasó después?🤔

Solo puedo decirte que corrí cual cabra loca al viento a por el siguiente libro, peroooo antes, déjame decirte qué te encontrarás en este primer libro:

Viajes en el tiempo, enemies to lovers, traiciones, secretos, enfrentamientos, intrigas palaciegas, dioses despiadados, brujas quemadas en la hoguera y un sinfín de seres con los que gritas de emoción cuando los descubres😍!

[Corina]

What can I say - LOVE the cover, I'm not sure about the title, but will drop everything to read the book.

It's been 10 days and I still haven't read it....... Honestly, I'm nervous to be disappointed and bored out of my mind.

[✩ Yaz ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

While I may not be guilty, Princess Romeria is, and that’s the only person they see when they look at me. I’m a conniving murderess within their midst, who they’re now forced to guard and feed and serve for the sake of Islor.


A Fate of Wrath & Flame is the first book in Fate & Flame adult fantasy romance series by K.A. Tucker. Tucker introduces an intriguing world of elemental magic, gods, warring Elven kingdoms and political intrigue.

This book takes place in the modern world before you reach a point where it shifts to a fantastical setting. And I love that. I always love seeing authors play with parallels universes and we get into that journey of how a character from the modern world would adjust to a world of dangerous magic and supernatural beings.

Oh... did I mention that she was plunged into a world that considers her a murderess and is sentenced to death by none other than her betrothed?

While I do try not to compare books but I'd say this has a dash of From Blood and Ash and Throne of Glass into it yet it still feels authentic.

What I loved most about this book is the world-building and the magic system. It's intricate and original, elemental magic has always been my favorite type of magic but there is also more to it. Every type of magic or affinity is connected to a God or as they're called: a Fate.
• Malachi: the Fate of Fire.
• Aoife: Fate of Water.
• Vin’nyla: Fate of Air.
• Aminadav: Fate of Earth.

I only wish the magic was displayed more rather than explained, but also consider this book more of a build-up for the series.

I think the writing was excellent but my main issue was the info-dump. I was hooked in the first half but it's the second half of the book that lost me. The prolonged dialogue and the smalla amount of action did not help. I kept pushing myself to finish it. But was it a boring reading experience? I wouldn't say that. I think this book would've been better if it was shorter.

So let's meet our main character:
Romeira or simply Romy is a gifted thief from New York City. A mysterious woman called Sofie requests Romy's services which led from one thing to another and *poof* Romy ends up in a fantastical Kingdom ruled by its newly appointed King, Zander. Romy inhabits the body of the presumed to be dead and traitorous Princess Romeira of Ybaris and King Zander's betrothed.

To fulfill her quest, Romy must steal a sacred stone while maintaining the truth of her identity. And so, Romy takes on the role of Princess Romeira and play Islor's smitten Queen-to-be which brings her closer to the King who despises her with every fiber of his being.


“You’ve done everything wrong. You are hotheaded, you speak out of turn and do the opposite of what we agreed to, you antagonize me as if you have no fear of consequence. You continue to lie and deceive me. Your heart bleeds too much for the plight of mortals, and you seem willing to challenge anyone who doesn’t bleed the same.” He sighs, his hazel eyes settling on me, a brilliant kaleidoscope of gold in the setting sun. “You do everything wrong, and yet everything right.”


So, what should you expect of this romance?
• Sexual tension
• Slow-burn
• Enemies to lovers

While I'm not yet invested in this couple, but I like them and I'm curious to see where their relationship will go on the future.

I do think givinf this book a 3.5 rating is fair. I expected to give it higher but the info-dumps and the pacing is the reason I lowered it. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

vampires, magic, and k.a. tucker....enough said.

[Aviva’s Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This took me almost four days to get through. It was literally putting me to sleep… all the politics, history and world building bored me so much I actually took two naps while trying to get through this book (which is never a good sign) - but even though it took me a while to wrap my head around what was going on… once I did, I got pretty invested in the story and was intrigued enough to make it through all of the info dumping.

I’m really enjoying Romeria… but at the moment Zander doesn’t feel like anything special to me. I feel like his only character traits are that he’s a scorned lover, that he doesn’t trust anyone, and is aware that people are lying and deceiving him… yet he does nothing about it and even lets them into his inner circle —- Book two is really going to have to give him some sort of backbone for me to change my mind on him… because at the moment I’m not very impressed.

I also didn’t love how slow of a burn this first book was… I don’t have anything against making us wait for something to happen in that department, but it didn’t feel like it was smoothly built up for me. In the first 80% of the book we didn’t get a ton of interactions between the two of them and instead we got all of the other stuff (which was important to understand what’s going on, but put me to sleep nonetheless)… but then in the last 20% everything started to pick up and we actually started getting somewhere with the romance and with the story in general… so that last little bit did end up saving the story for me and I’m excited to see if book two ends up getting more interesting now that we have a lot of the initial plot and world building out of the way.

[AJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!

Wow, what a read! An exciting and unpredictable fantasy story with a chemistry-filled enemies-to-lovers romance, I couldn't get enough of this one, and I loved it!

KA Tucker has returned to fantasy, borrowing from her first series, Causal Enchantment, and twisting and expanding on it to create a complex, well-developed world of fae, fates, magic users and supernatural beings, in an exciting and intriguing story that had me hooked from start to finish. It’s the beginning of a brand new series, and I loved this world – and the characters that inhabit it - and I loved the ride that this book took me on!

Romeria is a young woman living in New York City, and is an expert thief. After a difficult childhood, she’s found a life that she’s well suited for, and though she’s under the thumb of a notorious underground crime boss, she has created a comfortable, though lonely, life for herself. But her life is upended when she accepts a job offer from a mysterious woman by the name of Sophie, and soon finds herself in a whole new world.

After one very strange encounter, Romeria wakes in the land of Islor, and her mission is to take a stone from the palace’s sacred garden, without anybody realising who she truly is. But her situation is made all the more difficult because she has landed in Islor in the blood-soaked body of the Princess Romeria – an assassin from a neighbouring kingdom who is betrothed to Islor’s Prince, and she has just murdered the king and queen.

Declared a killer and a traitor, she is thrown into prison, but her claims of innocence are helped by the fact that she remembers absolutely nothing of her life before waking up from what was most definitely a fatal wound, and she is clearly very different from the woman she once was. The newly crowned King Zander also needs her to weed out those conspiring against him, so he tentatively brings her back into court life with a story of her innocence, and pretending that their betrothal is still in effect while they wait for the evil Princess’ allies to make their move.

It’s a complex storyline, but a great set up, and I easily found myself lost in this whole new world. It’s a long book, and the story is slow moving, so we get to learn about the fantastical kingdom, its magic, its history and its traditions, in pieces alongside Romy. I’m not going to lie, it’s a bit overwhelming at times. There is so much story in this book, and there’s a lot to take in, and to remember, but Tucker writes the story well, and Romy’s wit, snark and sarcasm is relatable and hugely entertaining as she figures out her new world.

And in the middle of it all is King Zander. Gruff, serious, and understandably full of hatred for Romy. But despite all of that, the chemistry between them sizzles, and as they continue their fake relationship for the court, there are moments of intensity and anticipation that hint of what is to come. The romance is there, but not, and while there is certainly enough to keep romance readers satisfied, we know that it is just a hint of what is to come for these two, and I’m so excited to see how their story unfolds.

“Even though I know there is something you continue to hide, I am fighting against this constant aching pull I feel toward you … fighting and losing.”

There are so many twists and turns in this story. It’s unpredictable, with big reveals and surprises all the way through, and I never knew where the story was going to go. I love that, and even though it got a bit confusing at times, I was eagerly flipping pages waiting to see what was going to come next.

There’s a fabulous cast of side characters that Romy meets along the way - both friends and enemies, and sometimes a little of both - and I loved the different dynamics that all of those relationships bring.  There are scenes that made me smile and laugh, others that made my heart ache, and moments that shocked or had me on the edge of my seat. I feel like I’ve been on a huge adventure, and after that shocking ending, I cannot wait to see where Tucker takes us in the next book.

So well written, with wonderful characters and an incredible new fantasy world to explore, I loved this one!

5 stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[MELISSA *Mel Reader* · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!
(ARC provided by Valentine PR)



Romeria is a thief in New York who tries to remain unnoticed while she steals from her marks. She's a chameleon who is skilled at her job. She's learned over the years the only person she can truly count on is herself. She always feels controlled and indebted to someone, and longs for freedom. Then she's approached by a beautiful, mysterious woman who comes for her, and soon she's trading one dangerous life for another as she's thrust into a new, ruthless world where she's the enemy. She's been sent on a mission, and she's suddenly in unfamiliar territory surrounded by immense power. There's a king, a castle, and all the things she thought were only make believe. She is in the middle of a rivalry between two kingdoms where loyalty and trust are everything. As she attempts to complete her task her relationships with those around her grow more complicated. When truths are at long last revealed will she survive or will everything around her crumble to ruins?



A Fate of Wrath & Flame (Fate & Flame #1) by K.A. Tucker is the first in her new captivating, unique series. This enemies to lovers, slow burn, royal fantasy romance is full of chemistry, danger, intrigue, mystery, suspense, secrets, lies, magic and betrayal. I loved all the twists and turns and can't wait for the next book in the series! I need more Romy & Zander! <333



***NOW AVAILABLE***
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[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this is a book that exists. I have a lot of thoughts, few of them good.

We'll start with what I liked. Basically the only parts of the novel I enjoyed was the discussion of class differences given that Romy comes from a life of poverty and can sympathize with the poor people she encounters. I also liked the moments where her modern world sense of humour and language confuses the people around her in Islor.

Annnnnd that's pretty much it.

This book is a mess and it's clear to me that people picked it up cause it was another enemies to lovers, fake dating, romantasy and because it has the slightest tinge of spiciness, it must be a five star read. I just do not see what about this book is so amazing 🥴

I have several issues with this book. One of which being that this novel is trying to be a billion things at once, and because of that, the things we love about enemies to lovers and fake dating get lost along the way. Let me elaborate.

This book tries to cover several fantasy genres at once. You have elves (apparently - I still am not sure what elven entails), elementals, vampires, fates, casters, etc. Is it trying to be a vampire novel? Is it trying to go more lord of the rings high elves? Or is going the ATLA route with elemental abilities? It tries to do all these at once and it just does not work . The tone felt so confused and as a result, I felt like I couldn't fully get into the story. I think it's okay to have overlapping magical powers/creatures, that's fine, but when you have things like vampires (which entails a v specific tone and vibe in a book), you have to pick and choose which is going to take precedent, or at least which to focus on, especially because we have a main character who is learning about all of this. It feels like too much info all at once, all of which does not thematically or tonally make sense. Tolkien is able to pull it off because magical creatures aren't necessarily the main focus of the books. He tells us elves and dwarves exist, but learning about them isn't the focus of LOTR. The journey is.

Which brings me to my next point. This book was literally 500+ pages of exposition, and this is the main gripe I have with these "new adult romantasy" novels. They are meant to be a series of two to three books typically, and so because of this, they take their time with the exposition because they can stuff the rest of the action and plot in the upcoming novels. Blood and ash had the same exact issue, which is part of the reason I stopped reading the series. The entire book is dealing with this character that has been kept in the dark and is slowly uncovering secrets about the world she is a part of, which is objectively not a bad thing if you throw some plot in there. But the problem with this book, as well as the blood and ash novels, is it's 500 pages of nothing, and then one big cliffhanger at the very end to encourage the reader to get the next book.

I am so sick of this format because having all the action or the main climax of your novel occur at the very end, with no resolution, is a cheap way to encourage people to buy the next book. This entire novel was Romy learning things, and then one big climactic moment at the end, literally in the last five or so pages, and I was so bored. There was no exciting event to keep me interested except for a small small handful of spicy moments, and even that I had issues with.

Romy and Zander (I hate his name lol I'm sorry) had zero chemistry. Like none. Their love or attraction to each other just did not feel believable to me, and there's a few reasons for that. The first of which I saw in another review by Arini - Miss Casually Reading here on Goodreads. She mentions that neither Romy nor Zander has a quality about them that is unique to them, that endears the reader to them, and I'd have to agree. They felt like just another cookie cutter protag and dark haired love interest without any qualities that make us fall in love with them. They were so plain, and because of this, I wondered what it was about them that made them feel attracted to each other. What quality, besides her kindness to the poor, made Zander fall for her? And what was it about Zander that made her fall for him? Especially when she finds out that his kingdom, THAT HE IS THE RULER OF, enslaves people? And he's not willing to take more immediate action to end it? More about the slavery nonsense later.

The other issue being that this novel was so focused on the politics and deception that the romance took a huge backseat. Sure there was some light banter and daring touches between them, but it didn't feel earned in any way. It felt like the author wanted an enemies to lovers to hook in the bookstagram romantasy girlies and so she just tossed it in as an afterthought.

I have no doubt that if you took the romance out of the novel, nothing would change plot-wise. That is how little of an impact the romance has in this book.

Now, my last major gripe is the whole enslaved humans plotline. The whole thing felt very off to me for a few reasons. The first is that whenever Romy brings up how fucked up the whole system is, ZANDER AND THE OTHERS FROM ISLOR DOUBLE DOWN. ON LITERAL SLAVERY. And then the book has the gall to try and convince us that Zander actually wants to be rid of the system when he is an active participant and perpetuator of said slave system. It made absolutely no sense to me. And Zander defends himself by saying that trying to change the system would be too difficult because of the politics involved, and instead of fighting him on it like I expected her to do, Romy just concedes and stops arguing.

I wanted Romy to have more fight, especially given the life she comes from, but it's like as soon as she enters this world, she succumbs completely to it and loses the fire and passion I wanted to see from her. She has a few moments, like when she frees the baker and her children (only to have them as servants in the castle still?). But overall, Romy doesn't show a whole lot of fire and passion for something as horrible as enslavement, at least not enough that her anger is believable to me.

And then the weirdness continues because then the book tries to say "well some of the humans like it" and "it's safer this way", which is some oddly similar rhetoric to what we've seen regarding the trans-atlantic slave trade. Even weirder (weird isn't even the right word, this shit is just straight up problematic) is that the Ybarians (i dont remember if this is the right term and frankly i don't care lol), who provide the humans with a form of immunity to protect them from their enslavers, are painted as an enemy. The whole thing is just super problematic, and with justifications that come directly from the mouths of white people in the slave trade, I have a hard time viewing the Islorians as good guys. The book does try to remind us that a good chunk of people from Islor are shitty people, but having the main love interest take part in this, doing little to stop it? Idk fam...

I think the whole slave plotline is also part of the reason I didn't fall in love with Zander because he participates in the system and is unwilling to take any form of radical action against it because of politics. It felt like an excuse to continue the current way of life for Islor and the humans living within. I have a really hard time believing that Romy would just let that slide and fall in love with him anyways.

Overall, this book is a problematic FBAA copy (FBAA is also problematic in its own right) with a confused theme and no plot. It is far too much exposition and info dumping, and not enough action. The characters are nothing special and the romance wasn't interesting enough. And to top it off, there's a weird slave plotline that I haven't seen anyone discussing. Are people okay with this? Am I the only one that sees a problem with this rhetoric? Anyways I do not recommend reading this lol.

[SHOMPA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kudos to the author, despite most parts of it being absolutely slow and ridiculously confusing. Yet I am finding myself eager to know what happens; she kind of got me there.

[Tetyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 (Або як мені навчитися писати короткі відгуки😂)
Я давно хотіла прочитати фентезі з таким задумом і нарешті я його знайшла.

Коротко про сюжет. Ромерія - талановита злодійка з Нью-Йорка, знайомиться з таємничою жінкою Софі, яка заради власної вигоди обманом відправляє її в інший світ. В світ магії, де люди живуть разом з ельфами ( які, не тільки ельфи😏) і підкоряються їм, а замість Богів у них 4 долі: вогню, води, землі і повітря. Ромерія потрапляє в тіло принцеси, нареченої короля, яка має ідентичне ім'я і однакову зовнішність з нашою героїнею. При чому, король ненавидить її, бажає смерті і хоче спалити, маючи досить вагомі причини.
Сюжет дуже насичений, в книзі переплітаються інтриги, політика, довіра, зрада, любов, ненависть і дружба. Гарно показано труднощі правління, з постійними загрозами і небезпеками з різних сторін, зазіханнями на трон, відсутністю повної довіри до будь-кого, адже навіть найближчі можуть встромити ніж у спину. Коротше читати дуже цікаво.

Світобудова. Це напевно перша прочитана мною книга з настільки деталізованим світом. Я разів 10, якщо не більше зверталася до мапи, але з такими поясненнями її можна було й вручну намалювати😂. Тут навіть розказується, як географічно були створені країни. Важливу роль також грає те, що героїня знайомиться зі світом так само як і читач.

Герої. Ромерія. Настільки крута, що не вистачить слів щоб її описати. Розумна, розсудлива, урівноважена, добра, щира, впевнена і смілива. А як вона пристосовувалася до нового світу, не істерила, а звикала до нової реальності , крок за кроком збирала і засвоювала нову інформацію, завойовувала прихильність людей навколо і короля, зокрема. Той рідкісний випадок, коли головна героїня мені сподобалася набагато більше за героя.

Король Зандер. Половину книжки він мене настільки дратував, що хотілося, щоб Ромерію звели з кимось іншим. Спочатку він був для мене мудаком, потім ще й тупим ідіотом з сумнівним смаком до жінок. Ну реально, закохатися в принцесу, яка тільки й робить, що посміхається і очима кліпає, покірна як цуцик, при тому, що батьки попереджали про її зміїну натуру. До того, ж він не подобався мені ні як людина, ні як правитель. Проте, незабаром все стало на свої місця і я не зогляділася як почала симпатизувати Зандеру і вболівати за його стосунки з Ромерією. А згодом і співчувати та поважати його. Але питання до нього все одно залишилися.

Любовна лінія. Зандер і Ромерія почали як вороги, з кипучою ненавистю з боку Зандера, згодом стали союзниками, а потім і закоханими. Було цікаво спостерігати за змінами їхніх відносин, як Зандер з кожним днем все більше відкривався Ромерії і довіряв їй, як вони будували плани, як обоє прагнули змін щодо системи в королівстві, як їх обох тягнуло один до одного. Але, любовній лінії, тут приділяється не така велика увага, як в інших романтичних фентезі, в героїв всього було кілька поцілунків і одна сцена 🔞, яку навіть важко такою назвати😅

З мінусів:
- я доволі швидко зрозуміла ким є Ромерія і це не стало несподіванкою для мене;
- хотілося більше взаємодій між головними героями;
- трохи затягнута перша половина історії.

Але крім цього все прекрасно, тому мені навіть не хочеться знімати бали за це.