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The Pale Court Duet #1
King of Flesh and Bone
Alternate cover edition of ASIN B096G8R6PS
A Dark Fantasy Romance
Worse than a ruthless king... is a king obsessed.
Isolation, darkness, and rotting flesh,
Surrounds me, suffocates me,
But I am the vile ruler who controls it all.
I long for warmth,
Yet, all that I touch,
Is cold.
Then, she stumbles in to my domain,
Lost and frightened,
Alone and confused.
And I terrify her even more.
She calls me the devil,
So I show her pleasure,
Like only the devil can.
I am the heat that stirs her flesh,
The longing that trembles her bone.
She begs her body to refuse,
To escape my embrace,
But I am her master,
The puppeteer of passion.
I am the King of Flesh and Bone.
Welcome to my court, little one.
King of Flesh and Bone is a full-length dark fantasy novel, and book one in The Pale Court duet. The two-part story features a ruthless man, the woman who can't escape his love, and a HEA. This world contains dark themes, violence, loss, and elements of horror some may find disturbing. What this book doesn't contain is a hero - because villains do it better.
A Dark Fantasy Romance
Worse than a ruthless king... is a king obsessed.
Isolation, darkness, and rotting flesh,
Surrounds me, suffocates me,
But I am the vile ruler who controls it all.
I long for warmth,
Yet, all that I touch,
Is cold.
Then, she stumbles in to my domain,
Lost and frightened,
Alone and confused.
And I terrify her even more.
She calls me the devil,
So I show her pleasure,
Like only the devil can.
I am the heat that stirs her flesh,
The longing that trembles her bone.
She begs her body to refuse,
To escape my embrace,
But I am her master,
The puppeteer of passion.
I am the King of Flesh and Bone.
Welcome to my court, little one.
King of Flesh and Bone is a full-length dark fantasy novel, and book one in The Pale Court duet. The two-part story features a ruthless man, the woman who can't escape his love, and a HEA. This world contains dark themes, violence, loss, and elements of horror some may find disturbing. What this book doesn't contain is a hero - because villains do it better.
250 pages, ebook
First published April 21, 2022
6778 people are currently reading
27057 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,840 reviews
April 6, 2022
Be warned. The King of Flesh and Bone is tar on the scale of morally grey heroes. If you are after heroes with hearts of gold, turn back. This isn’t for you. If you’re interested in morally ambiguous anti-heroes who are ultimately worth saving? This is also probably not for you, haha! But if you've got a taste for wickedly possessive, cross-my-heart, he-did-WHAT?!-villains (and yet, somehow mystifyingly sweet and swoonworthy??) who follow through on threats…? Then please stop—you’ve found it!
Deviously dark and scandalously sexy, The King of Flesh and Bone is a villain who will make your jaw drop, your heart ache and your thighs clench…all for the right reasons.
5/5 devastatingly dark stars; 4/5 scandalous spice.
Deviously dark and scandalously sexy, The King of Flesh and Bone is a villain who will make your jaw drop, your heart ache and your thighs clench…all for the right reasons.
5/5 devastatingly dark stars; 4/5 scandalous spice.
May 21, 2023
4.5 twisted not broken stars
Oh what a treat! I loved it more the second time I read it. And that Cliffy has me wanting to get to book 2 ASAP (check your triggers).
Ada’s a midwife. Every month she has to weigh down her deceased husband’s grave, which she’s been doing for 24 months now. Loved ones won’t find rest because of the King of Flesh and Bone who won’t allow them to rot/rest. He has to be captured. Her dead mule (that she’s tied to) takes her to the land of the dead. She wakes up with corpses everywhere. Her mule’s still dragging her and she’s dying…
Until the King comes to her aid and binds her soul to her body (not right away 😅 eventually he does this).
Enosh (the king) has been alone for centuries (and celibate). He despises people and has vowed not to let bodies rot, which is why he’s hated. People have not been kind to him. He’s been tortured, beaten, but because he’s immortal, he’s survived and endured it all.
Now that she’s in his world, he’s not going to let her escape…
What I liked/loved: possible spoilers
—Enosh. He’s a tortured soul. He’s been done wrong. Ugh. I actually felt bad for him 😏. He’s done his fair share of suffering too
—Ada. Oh man. I felt her pain. She’s been called names and felt like less of a woman because she wasn’t able to give her husband a baby. She has a duty to fulfill and she tries to honor it the best she can. I admire that
—how obsessed he is with her. At first he disregards her, but then he wants her and will do anything to keep her, even if she doesn’t want him back 😅. Fine by me 💅 lol
—he doesn’t know the word no 😅👀🔥. Listen. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but jeeezus… Enosh doesn’t play when it comes to getting what he wants 😉🥵. He always finds a way of convincing her (or at least giving her p l e a s u r e 💦)
—how d!rt¥ he gets. Oh LAWD 🥵. He has a mouth on him 😉
—the way he manipulates her body 😅 and the situation. He can do a lot 😉🔥 and he uses it to his advantage. He barters with her and he gets what he wants 🤷🏻♀️. I kind of found this sweet. She uses it to appease her conscience as well. It’s a win win for me 😅
—he only TWISTS… he doesn’t break her legs😅. I actually giggled when he kept saying this 🤣. I know 🫣 I’m Horrible lol. She gets an A+ for effort though 🤷🏻♀️. I was frustrated for her cause I looove a good chasing scene (Enosh doesn’t even give her the chance 😐 lol), but I have to give him credit for being THAT obsessed that he takes that opportunity away from her
—the world building. Although I don’t like all the characters (like his hooooar of a brother Yarin 😑), I’m interested in seeing what happens in book 2 with the different elements of this world. I DO feel bad that Enosh has been judged so much though
What I didn’t like:
—I wish she had gotten a chance to run 🤣 I love it in my books, because it can lead to a nice claiming scene 😉
—more internal thoughts in the middle of scenes. It’s just a personal preference
—the way this book ended 😩
Overall, I loved it
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-n0ncon/dubcon
-death/corpses/bloodshed/torture in detail
-forced suicide is witnessed
-stillborn/undead in some cases is remembered (the h is a midwife)
-the H breaks (twists) the h’s legs so she doesn’t leave
-p slapping/praise kink/tying up/an@l/an@l play/face f
-breeding
-widowed h (2 years)/H has been celibate for almost 200 years
-infertility recounted
-loss of a child is remembered
-stabbing of pregnant woman
-cliffy
Oh what a treat! I loved it more the second time I read it. And that Cliffy has me wanting to get to book 2 ASAP (check your triggers).
Ada’s a midwife. Every month she has to weigh down her deceased husband’s grave, which she’s been doing for 24 months now. Loved ones won’t find rest because of the King of Flesh and Bone who won’t allow them to rot/rest. He has to be captured. Her dead mule (that she’s tied to) takes her to the land of the dead. She wakes up with corpses everywhere. Her mule’s still dragging her and she’s dying…
Until the King comes to her aid and binds her soul to her body (not right away 😅 eventually he does this).
Enosh (the king) has been alone for centuries (and celibate). He despises people and has vowed not to let bodies rot, which is why he’s hated. People have not been kind to him. He’s been tortured, beaten, but because he’s immortal, he’s survived and endured it all.
Now that she’s in his world, he’s not going to let her escape…
What I liked/loved: possible spoilers
—Enosh. He’s a tortured soul. He’s been done wrong. Ugh. I actually felt bad for him 😏. He’s done his fair share of suffering too
—Ada. Oh man. I felt her pain. She’s been called names and felt like less of a woman because she wasn’t able to give her husband a baby. She has a duty to fulfill and she tries to honor it the best she can. I admire that
—how obsessed he is with her. At first he disregards her, but then he wants her and will do anything to keep her, even if she doesn’t want him back 😅. Fine by me 💅 lol
—he doesn’t know the word no 😅👀🔥. Listen. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but jeeezus… Enosh doesn’t play when it comes to getting what he wants 😉🥵. He always finds a way of convincing her (or at least giving her p l e a s u r e 💦)
—how d!rt¥ he gets. Oh LAWD 🥵. He has a mouth on him 😉
—the way he manipulates her body 😅 and the situation. He can do a lot 😉🔥 and he uses it to his advantage. He barters with her and he gets what he wants 🤷🏻♀️. I kind of found this sweet. She uses it to appease her conscience as well. It’s a win win for me 😅
—he only TWISTS… he doesn’t break her legs😅. I actually giggled when he kept saying this 🤣. I know 🫣 I’m Horrible lol. She gets an A+ for effort though 🤷🏻♀️. I was frustrated for her cause I looove a good chasing scene (Enosh doesn’t even give her the chance 😐 lol), but I have to give him credit for being THAT obsessed that he takes that opportunity away from her
—the world building. Although I don’t like all the characters (like his hooooar of a brother Yarin 😑), I’m interested in seeing what happens in book 2 with the different elements of this world. I DO feel bad that Enosh has been judged so much though
What I didn’t like:
—I wish she had gotten a chance to run 🤣 I love it in my books, because it can lead to a nice claiming scene 😉
—more internal thoughts in the middle of scenes. It’s just a personal preference
—the way this book ended 😩
Overall, I loved it
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/owd/omd
-n0ncon/dubcon
-death/corpses/bloodshed/torture in detail
-forced suicide is witnessed
-stillborn/undead in some cases is remembered (the h is a midwife)
-the H breaks (twists) the h’s legs so she doesn’t leave
-p slapping/praise kink/tying up/an@l/an@l play/face f
-breeding
-widowed h (2 years)/H has been celibate for almost 200 years
-infertility recounted
-loss of a child is remembered
-stabbing of pregnant woman
-cliffy
September 23, 2022
Ada lives a difficult life in a land where the dead don’t truly stay dead. The land fears the King of the Pale Court, who has been unseen for years. But when Ada finds herself in a dangerous situation, it results in her awaking at the Pale Court as the only human there. She then becomes the sexual plaything of the King while she tries to find a way to escape.
Well. This work was labeled a romance, but it most certainly was not. Erotica, yes. Romance, no. And the book jumped into the sex almost right away, and it wasn’t sexy at all.
There was no real plot – nothing ever really happened after the initial incident that led to Ada’s capture and there was no driving storyline or plot. The rest of the work was just a lot of in-depth, non-consensual erotica. The characters weren’t developed, well written, engaging, or relatable. There was nothing redeemable about Enosh, and Ada was given no agency. The “romance” picked up near the end (e.g., she decided she was fine being abused and might love him now – obviously, this had to happen because he had one tragic thing happen in his backstory), but Ada’s reasoning behind things wasn’t logical and made me dislike her as a character even more. There was also zero chemistry between the two main characters.
There were a few other things I disliked (e.g., world of typical fantasy but used phrases like “gunmetal eyes”, male narrator was off-putting, overuse of certain phrases), but I’ve already spent enough time thinking about this work so I’m not going to write anything more.
I don’t recommend this work unless you like abusive erotica. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Well. This work was labeled a romance, but it most certainly was not. Erotica, yes. Romance, no. And the book jumped into the sex almost right away, and it wasn’t sexy at all.
There was no real plot – nothing ever really happened after the initial incident that led to Ada’s capture and there was no driving storyline or plot. The rest of the work was just a lot of in-depth, non-consensual erotica. The characters weren’t developed, well written, engaging, or relatable. There was nothing redeemable about Enosh, and Ada was given no agency. The “romance” picked up near the end (e.g., she decided she was fine being abused and might love him now – obviously, this had to happen because he had one tragic thing happen in his backstory), but Ada’s reasoning behind things wasn’t logical and made me dislike her as a character even more. There was also zero chemistry between the two main characters.
There were a few other things I disliked (e.g., world of typical fantasy but used phrases like “gunmetal eyes”, male narrator was off-putting, overuse of certain phrases), but I’ve already spent enough time thinking about this work so I’m not going to write anything more.
I don’t recommend this work unless you like abusive erotica. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
June 11, 2022
As much as I hated reading this I couldn’t stop???
Things to know:
-It’s dark, which is fine. I don’t have any issue there 🤣
-Graphic and gory and very macabre, also fine but might be a bit gross for some because it is A LOT
-The noncon is a bit gratuitous, and by that I mean there’s hella 🍇. Helllaaaa. Ada’s autonomy is taken away by Enosh’s power and not in a fun way, but it’s ok she hates it (and him) but her body doesn’t so it’s fine.
-There’s literally nothing about Enosh that’s redeemable or likable, which ok... I’m all for liking the villain, but at least give him something for me to like 🤣
-Insufficient trigger warnings. Putting a link and saying ‘dark themes, violence, loss, and elements of horror’ isn’t enough. Because yeah, there’s that, but there’s also miscarriage, infertility, still birth, infant loss, grape, etc etc.
It’s not badly written by any means and I loved the dark/horror aspects of it, but Christ on a cracker shit was wild and not in a good way 🤣
Things to know:
-It’s dark, which is fine. I don’t have any issue there 🤣
-Graphic and gory and very macabre, also fine but might be a bit gross for some because it is A LOT
-The noncon is a bit gratuitous, and by that I mean there’s hella 🍇. Helllaaaa. Ada’s autonomy is taken away by Enosh’s power and not in a fun way, but it’s ok she hates it (and him) but her body doesn’t so it’s fine.
-There’s literally nothing about Enosh that’s redeemable or likable, which ok... I’m all for liking the villain, but at least give him something for me to like 🤣
-Insufficient trigger warnings. Putting a link and saying ‘dark themes, violence, loss, and elements of horror’ isn’t enough. Because yeah, there’s that, but there’s also miscarriage, infertility, still birth, infant loss, grape, etc etc.
It’s not badly written by any means and I loved the dark/horror aspects of it, but Christ on a cracker shit was wild and not in a good way 🤣
June 11, 2022
Well lets start by saying if your looking for a fantasy romance where the tortured villain suddenly finds his mate and becomes new man this book isn't for you! Enosh the king of flesh and bone who was once a god he is a arrogant bastard who uses force to get what he wants and he has no problem crossing the line and does it repletely. He's a taker who basically forced sex on Ada but he thinks its ok because he also goes out of his way to give her pleasure. And yes he breaks her legs so she can't leave him but if you ask him he'll tell you their just twisted! What a dick! I did detest Enosh from the beginning he's everything that pisses me off in a book boyfriend but as the story goes on his treatment of Ada gets better and at least he doesn't treat her like the people of her village who because she couldn't give her dead husband a child that she was a unwoman and would taint other woman! Are you fucking serious!!!! I wanted Enosh to gut everyone of their fucking ass's! Enosh is what they made him! He made the mistake once of falling in love with a mortal and she and his unborn baby were taken from him. Even though he is a alphahole big time! I saw some redeeming qualities in him and when push came to shove he let himself be captured so Ada could get away even knowing that once again he would suffer and be burned at the stake and other horrible tortures! Liv Zander has one hell of a imagination and her writing is awesome! I can't wait for book two coming out this month!! I got a feeling that Enosh is about to go nuclear and heads will definitely roll. And I can't wait to find out what Orlaigh is keeping secret! I don't trust this talking corpse she's up to something. Until next time Luv's💕💋
June 19, 2022
RTC!
*Full Review*
"If only you would love me."
A task that seemed so easy as he let his words fill the void at my core, driving out this sad loneliness we shared.
"If only you would treat me right."
Your enjoyment of King of Flesh and Bone will depend on your personal preferences, your mood, and what you’ve read in the past. A lot of books that GR friends have panned in the past I’ve ended up loving because 1) I’ve never read anything like it before, and 2) it satisfied my craving for specific tropes, situations that tickled my fancy.
The main thing that intrigued me about King of Flesh and Bone was the hero. From the reviews, I wasn’t sure if the hero would be a full-on villain or not. I’m here to add my vote to the gray scale of things. He is a “bad” hero but I guess I was expecting the hero to make me clutch my damn pearls.
For me, a truly bad hero isn’t one who is dub con/non con. He has to have ambiguous feelings for the heroine, where there is resistance to her that must be resolved. A lot of dub con/non con heroes, because they abduct or limit heroine's agency or power, sometimes authors will make sure that the hero is nice in every other regard, showing that in how the heroine sees him, and also how the hero shares his POV to the reader.
It takes an author with skill to write this subtlety, because it's not about depending upon physical brutality or mean words to shock the reader awake. This is why King of Flesh and Bone fell short.
Enosh is the god of flesh and bone and he falls into insta-lust then insta-love with Ada, a human woman. Yes, he breaks her legs (she doesn't feel pain but it prevents her from escaping him), keeps her chained to his throne, and punishes her with anal, using her as a sex slave. But Enosh has a libertine rake vibe where he comes off more like a sinful lover, a misguided bad boy than the psychopathic captor that he is.
Ada wasn't also the most interesting heroine to work off Enosh. Enosh was horny and wanted her complete devotion, while Ada wasn't listening to any of it and wanted to escape. Their conversations never provoked intriguing actions or thoughtful introspection that made me understand them more.
I did appreciate the gothic atmosphere, its light medieval setting, and how Liv Zander explored Enosh and his brothers' powers. Enosh has power of flesh and bone, he can animate and command human corpses or allow them to rot/rest in their final place. He can fashion bones into cups to drink from. And because he can also control living bodies in the Pale Court, he can get Ada to move her body without her consent. This reminded me a lot of how Cari Silverwood uses mesmers for CNC in her Dark Hearts series.
As a small aside, I squeal for a dirty talking hero and while most of what Enosh said worked for me, some of it fell flat. Sometimes Ada would talk back, and he would casually say, and I'm paraphrasing, "It sounds like you want it up the butt." Adolescent and not sensually menacing, as I felt like it was supposed to be.
This ends on a cliffhanger where Enosh believes Ada has betrayed him. I thought it would end where Ada would be in a position to save Enosh, which interested me. However, based on what you learn about Enosh's dating past, this cliffhanger promises some potentially interesting retribution on Enosh's part once he gets hold of Ada.
I’m not sure if I’ll read the next one but I may have to read other books similar to this concept to see if I may take more to it!
*Full Review*
"If only you would love me."
A task that seemed so easy as he let his words fill the void at my core, driving out this sad loneliness we shared.
"If only you would treat me right."
Your enjoyment of King of Flesh and Bone will depend on your personal preferences, your mood, and what you’ve read in the past. A lot of books that GR friends have panned in the past I’ve ended up loving because 1) I’ve never read anything like it before, and 2) it satisfied my craving for specific tropes, situations that tickled my fancy.
The main thing that intrigued me about King of Flesh and Bone was the hero. From the reviews, I wasn’t sure if the hero would be a full-on villain or not. I’m here to add my vote to the gray scale of things. He is a “bad” hero but I guess I was expecting the hero to make me clutch my damn pearls.
For me, a truly bad hero isn’t one who is dub con/non con. He has to have ambiguous feelings for the heroine, where there is resistance to her that must be resolved. A lot of dub con/non con heroes, because they abduct or limit heroine's agency or power, sometimes authors will make sure that the hero is nice in every other regard, showing that in how the heroine sees him, and also how the hero shares his POV to the reader.
It takes an author with skill to write this subtlety, because it's not about depending upon physical brutality or mean words to shock the reader awake. This is why King of Flesh and Bone fell short.
Enosh is the god of flesh and bone and he falls into insta-lust then insta-love with Ada, a human woman. Yes, he breaks her legs (she doesn't feel pain but it prevents her from escaping him), keeps her chained to his throne, and punishes her with anal, using her as a sex slave. But Enosh has a libertine rake vibe where he comes off more like a sinful lover, a misguided bad boy than the psychopathic captor that he is.
Ada wasn't also the most interesting heroine to work off Enosh. Enosh was horny and wanted her complete devotion, while Ada wasn't listening to any of it and wanted to escape. Their conversations never provoked intriguing actions or thoughtful introspection that made me understand them more.
I did appreciate the gothic atmosphere, its light medieval setting, and how Liv Zander explored Enosh and his brothers' powers. Enosh has power of flesh and bone, he can animate and command human corpses or allow them to rot/rest in their final place. He can fashion bones into cups to drink from. And because he can also control living bodies in the Pale Court, he can get Ada to move her body without her consent. This reminded me a lot of how Cari Silverwood uses mesmers for CNC in her Dark Hearts series.
As a small aside, I squeal for a dirty talking hero and while most of what Enosh said worked for me, some of it fell flat. Sometimes Ada would talk back, and he would casually say, and I'm paraphrasing, "It sounds like you want it up the butt." Adolescent and not sensually menacing, as I felt like it was supposed to be.
This ends on a cliffhanger where Enosh believes Ada has betrayed him. I thought it would end where Ada would be in a position to save Enosh, which interested me. However, based on what you learn about Enosh's dating past, this cliffhanger promises some potentially interesting retribution on Enosh's part once he gets hold of Ada.
I’m not sure if I’ll read the next one but I may have to read other books similar to this concept to see if I may take more to it!
July 12, 2022
3.5 Stars
I liked it! More than I thought I would actually considering I wanted to Dnf a couple times there😅 I really like the writing and the hero. It gave me Kathryn Ann Kingsley vibes. I do recommend to push through as it does get more interesting. Also, this is a darker book so don't bother reading if you're not okay with dub con/non con, hero hurting heroine, miscarriage, murder, etc...
I didn't like how fast paced everything was though. I wish the hero was a little more villainy or cold at first. He was pretty affectionate and wanted her love right off the bat. I also wish they didn't have sex so soon. It took away some of the tension and chemistry between them and there wasn't anything to really look forward to. It also made it seem like the only reason she's special is because she's "warm" which makes her not so special compared to other humans. And lastly, I did almost Dnf a few times as I got a little bored towards the middle when nothing was happening. The plot just felt non existent. It did start getting interesting though more towards the last quarter of the book.
I'm excited to read the next one though as I really hope they get their baby🤞 and I want some revengeee.
Safety:
Om drama- none. Although heroine has an ex husband (she didn't love him) that is mentioned a few times.hes dead.
Ow drama- none. Although hero has an "ex" who I think he loved (she didn't love him back) and I think she was preggo with his baby. She's dead, and he says he doesn't love her now.
No cheating/sharing
Only with each other after meeting
No manho/virgins
I liked it! More than I thought I would actually considering I wanted to Dnf a couple times there😅 I really like the writing and the hero. It gave me Kathryn Ann Kingsley vibes. I do recommend to push through as it does get more interesting. Also, this is a darker book so don't bother reading if you're not okay with dub con/non con, hero hurting heroine, miscarriage, murder, etc...
I didn't like how fast paced everything was though. I wish the hero was a little more villainy or cold at first. He was pretty affectionate and wanted her love right off the bat. I also wish they didn't have sex so soon. It took away some of the tension and chemistry between them and there wasn't anything to really look forward to. It also made it seem like the only reason she's special is because she's "warm" which makes her not so special compared to other humans. And lastly, I did almost Dnf a few times as I got a little bored towards the middle when nothing was happening. The plot just felt non existent. It did start getting interesting though more towards the last quarter of the book.
I'm excited to read the next one though as I really hope they get their baby🤞 and I want some revengeee.
Safety:
Om drama- none. Although heroine has an ex husband (she didn't love him) that is mentioned a few times.hes dead.
Ow drama- none. Although hero has an "ex" who I think he loved (she didn't love him back) and I think she was preggo with his baby. She's dead, and he says he doesn't love her now.
No cheating/sharing
Only with each other after meeting
No manho/virgins
May 5, 2022
King of Flesh and Bone has intrigued me from the moment i read the blurb.
Finding it up for pre-order on Apple Books,i immediately one-clicked.
To my unpleasant surprise,it failed to download once it was live,and i asked Liv Zander what went wrong.
She told me Apple Books should’ve informed me it was withdrawn…..
To my véry pleasant surprise,she then offered me a free copy to make up for my loss!
And i’m só glad she did,because it was a great story….even if it does come with the cliffhanger from hell….
All Ada ever wanted,was a child of her own.
But her late husband never fulfilled her dream,and even worse,he called her barren,an unwoman.
Being a midwife meant she at least could help others with childbirth.
Until one faithful night….when everything went horribly wrong and she ended up with the King of Flesh and Bone.
The same one that refused to allow the dead to rot.
The one that became fascinated with her.
And the one that refused to ever let her go.
Which would mean a very long time,because Enosh made it so she’d live forever.
Enosh had had enough of mortals,they were deceitful and backstabbing.
He’d paid the price when the love of his life left him,when she’d died,200 years ago.
But the mortal that dared to cross the Gate into the Pale Court awakened something in him.
She intrigued him with her resistance and her morals.
Asking him to allow her late husband to rot,to let him rest in peace.
Because she’d made a vow,and she wanted to fulfill it.
Not only that,she didn’t seem frightened of his court of bones….
The longer they were together,the more they started to change,little by little.
She kept saying she hated him,and hated the fact that he manipulated her,but the fire behind those statements was gone.
He kept saying he’d made a vow to never allow mortal corpses into his court again,but once he saw how much it hurt her to see children suffer,he promised to let them rot.
But in the meantime,the enemy was plotting…..
This was a story that drew me in from the start,that held me hostage until the last page.
I’m left with a desperate need for the next book,the second half of this duet,Queen of Rot and Pain.
I can only hope it won’t take tóó long before it’s here……
Finding it up for pre-order on Apple Books,i immediately one-clicked.
To my unpleasant surprise,it failed to download once it was live,and i asked Liv Zander what went wrong.
She told me Apple Books should’ve informed me it was withdrawn…..
To my véry pleasant surprise,she then offered me a free copy to make up for my loss!
And i’m só glad she did,because it was a great story….even if it does come with the cliffhanger from hell….
All Ada ever wanted,was a child of her own.
But her late husband never fulfilled her dream,and even worse,he called her barren,an unwoman.
Being a midwife meant she at least could help others with childbirth.
Until one faithful night….when everything went horribly wrong and she ended up with the King of Flesh and Bone.
The same one that refused to allow the dead to rot.
The one that became fascinated with her.
And the one that refused to ever let her go.
Which would mean a very long time,because Enosh made it so she’d live forever.
Enosh had had enough of mortals,they were deceitful and backstabbing.
He’d paid the price when the love of his life left him,when she’d died,200 years ago.
But the mortal that dared to cross the Gate into the Pale Court awakened something in him.
She intrigued him with her resistance and her morals.
Asking him to allow her late husband to rot,to let him rest in peace.
Because she’d made a vow,and she wanted to fulfill it.
Not only that,she didn’t seem frightened of his court of bones….
The longer they were together,the more they started to change,little by little.
She kept saying she hated him,and hated the fact that he manipulated her,but the fire behind those statements was gone.
He kept saying he’d made a vow to never allow mortal corpses into his court again,but once he saw how much it hurt her to see children suffer,he promised to let them rot.
But in the meantime,the enemy was plotting…..
This was a story that drew me in from the start,that held me hostage until the last page.
I’m left with a desperate need for the next book,the second half of this duet,Queen of Rot and Pain.
I can only hope it won’t take tóó long before it’s here……
April 18, 2023
If breaking her legs to keep her from running starts to sound like a minor inconvenience to me, I might be reading to much dark romance.
Anyway this is a dark fantasy about ‘the king of flesh and bone’, who’s actually a god that’s not fulfilling his duties.
When Ava accidentally ends up in ‘the Pale Court’, he decides to keep her.
It’s a pretty fun read, but I felt like somethings missing. I can’t explain why, but I had a hard time connecting with Ava and Enoch. Some of the smut also felt a little awkward.
I am going to read the second book of this duet though. 🖤
❥ 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔
“𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”
“𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.”
“𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺.”
“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴.”
Anyway this is a dark fantasy about ‘the king of flesh and bone’, who’s actually a god that’s not fulfilling his duties.
When Ava accidentally ends up in ‘the Pale Court’, he decides to keep her.
It’s a pretty fun read, but I felt like somethings missing. I can’t explain why, but I had a hard time connecting with Ava and Enoch. Some of the smut also felt a little awkward.
I am going to read the second book of this duet though. 🖤
❥ 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔
“𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.”
“𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.”
“𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦’𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘺.”
“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴.”
July 1, 2022
Can you imagine being so used to the walking dead that it becomes commonplace?
Imagine bodies clawing themselves out of their graves and wandering around aimlessly?
And this is normal???
That's just a glimpse of the surreal world created for this story.
➼ corpses don't rot, so they end up walking around
➼ babies born on the full moon are likely to be born dead
➼ everyone knows that the King of Flesh and Bone is the one responsible for this life
➼ old-fashioned misogyny and religion keep a good woman down
➼ a gothic and eerie feel to everything
➼ new-to-me author blew me away!!
Did I find it icky? Ummm... yeah. Enosh was the god of all flesh and bone. His palace was built with bones, he created clothes out of skin, he didn't do his duty of rotting the dead, and it was all a bit gross. But also oddly intriguing. I couldn't get enough of it. And for all her denials, neither could Ada.
Giving him a broken heart didn't hurt because I love a damaged hero (or anti-hero) and made for some interesting tension between him and Ada. She did everything to resist the irresistible and I lived for their every interaction.
And when the danger came, as it inevitably would, I was loving that too. Those torture scenes were fantastic!
I have no idea what the next book will bring, but I do have some blind requests, such as Ada being granted immortality, that she falls in real love with Enosh, and that somehow, amidst the death and rot and yuck, these two get a happy ending.
Luckily I've already got book two loaded up so I'm off.
Find more on the blog
Imagine bodies clawing themselves out of their graves and wandering around aimlessly?
And this is normal???
That's just a glimpse of the surreal world created for this story.
➼ corpses don't rot, so they end up walking around
➼ babies born on the full moon are likely to be born dead
➼ everyone knows that the King of Flesh and Bone is the one responsible for this life
➼ old-fashioned misogyny and religion keep a good woman down
➼ a gothic and eerie feel to everything
➼ new-to-me author blew me away!!
Did I find it icky? Ummm... yeah. Enosh was the god of all flesh and bone. His palace was built with bones, he created clothes out of skin, he didn't do his duty of rotting the dead, and it was all a bit gross. But also oddly intriguing. I couldn't get enough of it. And for all her denials, neither could Ada.
Giving him a broken heart didn't hurt because I love a damaged hero (or anti-hero) and made for some interesting tension between him and Ada. She did everything to resist the irresistible and I lived for their every interaction.
And when the danger came, as it inevitably would, I was loving that too. Those torture scenes were fantastic!
I have no idea what the next book will bring, but I do have some blind requests, such as Ada being granted immortality, that she falls in real love with Enosh, and that somehow, amidst the death and rot and yuck, these two get a happy ending.
Luckily I've already got book two loaded up so I'm off.
Find more on the blog
May 4, 2023
Started out great. Liked the writing, immediately intriguing, dark fabulous vibes, psychopathic hot death god, and in general promising. I had so much hope but now I'm feeling played and betrayed.
Ada is a widowed midwife and all she ever wanted was a child. I'm not sure she actually wanted it tho, or if it was just a product of an extremely misogynistic society, where a woman's worst failure and ultimate betrayal to her husband is the inability to get pregnant (I'm not exaggerating, it's a husband's right to sell her wife to a whorehouse if she hasn't "produced" a child within 3 years). Anyways, she arrives at the Pale court almost immediately in the story, where she meets Enosh, who decides he wants to keep her, why? She has warm skin and he's horny because he hasn't gotten laid in centuries or decades or whatever.
I just wanna point out that I was still really into it at this point. Is all good.
Enosh doesn't waste a second, he's eager to use his dick so forget any tension or chemistry between them first. Oh and it's not mentioned in the synopsis, but "dark themes" refers to rape and torture by mmc toward fmc by the way (however, he is manipulating her into kinda enjoying it)
I'm fine with this. But I'm not fine with it if it's gonna end up with the heroine falling in love without ANY fucking reason at all. And it was pretty promising at first, she stood her ground well, she even dropped this hardass thought:
Which naturally made me think about this scene, which in turn made me think about that amazing episode of Supernatural when Dean gave into roleplaying and yeah, I was distracted
I'm laughing tho because this girl was rationalizing WITH HER LIFE 🤣 bc not long after that she became infatuated, fell in love, and ultimately didn't care about the abuse (like the fact that he broke her legs all the time so she couldn't run away from him 🤡). Why? ONLY because of his sob story, I guess. They didn't get to know each other. Apart from "I hate you, let me go" and "I'll never let you go little one", they barely even conversed. So what she fell in love with I have no fucking clue. Tbh, if it was marketed as a non-con fantasy erotica I probably would've liked it. But if you're telling me it's a dark fantasy romance novel, I'm gonna expect some world-building, plot, and character development.
Honestly, this had A LOT of potential, and the writing was actually pretty good. The last part and the cliffhanger were also interesting enough that I'll have to at least read the beginning of the next book, so I'm gonna be generous and settle for 2 stars.
Ada is a widowed midwife and all she ever wanted was a child. I'm not sure she actually wanted it tho, or if it was just a product of an extremely misogynistic society, where a woman's worst failure and ultimate betrayal to her husband is the inability to get pregnant (I'm not exaggerating, it's a husband's right to sell her wife to a whorehouse if she hasn't "produced" a child within 3 years). Anyways, she arrives at the Pale court almost immediately in the story, where she meets Enosh, who decides he wants to keep her, why? She has warm skin and he's horny because he hasn't gotten laid in centuries or decades or whatever.
I just wanna point out that I was still really into it at this point. Is all good.
Enosh doesn't waste a second, he's eager to use his dick so forget any tension or chemistry between them first. Oh and it's not mentioned in the synopsis, but "dark themes" refers to rape and torture by mmc toward fmc by the way (however, he is manipulating her into kinda enjoying it)
I'm fine with this. But I'm not fine with it if it's gonna end up with the heroine falling in love without ANY fucking reason at all. And it was pretty promising at first, she stood her ground well, she even dropped this hardass thought:
"He could have my body, but never my soul."
Which naturally made me think about this scene, which in turn made me think about that amazing episode of Supernatural when Dean gave into roleplaying and yeah, I was distracted
I'm laughing tho because this girl was rationalizing WITH HER LIFE 🤣 bc not long after that she became infatuated, fell in love, and ultimately didn't care about the abuse (like the fact that he broke her legs all the time so she couldn't run away from him 🤡). Why? ONLY because of his sob story, I guess. They didn't get to know each other. Apart from "I hate you, let me go" and "I'll never let you go little one", they barely even conversed. So what she fell in love with I have no fucking clue. Tbh, if it was marketed as a non-con fantasy erotica I probably would've liked it. But if you're telling me it's a dark fantasy romance novel, I'm gonna expect some world-building, plot, and character development.
Honestly, this had A LOT of potential, and the writing was actually pretty good. The last part and the cliffhanger were also interesting enough that I'll have to at least read the beginning of the next book, so I'm gonna be generous and settle for 2 stars.
September 5, 2022
Loved this it’s from an author I’ve read before but by a different pen-name and this is so much darker than their usual stories and i absolutely devoured it. The world-building and attention to detail I found superb and the prose so vibrant. It was so imaginative and I consumed this in one sitting. I’m partial to a tortured villain and Enosh is exactly that and more.
This is set in a fantasy world where the dead don’t rot but stay animated. It’s all the fault of the king of skin and bone and he resides in his court the pale court where no living mortal is welcomed warmly. Ada a barren widow and midwife finds herself dragged into his domain by her mule close to death Enosh reanimates her to wellness caging her within his court as he craves the warmth of her embrace for his own.
Master of bone and decay he uses the bone to create. Enosh has long since abandoned mankind to their petty destructions. Tragedy and pain have shaped and moulded him and he no longer leaves his home which is also a shadow of its former self. He is a God who refuses to do his duty he also claims to no longer love but from the instant he connects with Ada he wants her for his own. She’s his sweet precious obsession and for her, he will bend all his rules. Ada is a strong individual and though initially, she fights Enosh tooth and nail she soon realises that she can accomplish a greater good by his side as his queen. She also glimpses slivers of goodness buried deep in the powerful being that is her jailor that give her a tentative hope.
These two had a definite chemistry together but do be aware at least initially this is some very dubious consent. I myself wasn’t bothered Enosh is a villain after all but thought I should mention this. He’s also very nurturing and indulgent despite the things he also did to Ada that paint the exact opposite. He’s a god so things don’t have quite the same impact on him as they would on a mortal man. When this finished we were at an impasse with Enosh believing things that just were not true his past very much paying a part in his now distrust and also placing Ava in a terrible predicament it’s looking bleak that’s for sure. I can’t wait to get started on book two to see where we go from here.
I definitely recommend this but do be aware it doesn’t pull its punches in the gore department it has some definite horror elements and is definitely morally grey. Though I did actually find the romance between Ada and Enosh to be quite endearing and sweet despite the dark overtone to it.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/63435390
July 25, 2022
This book was one of the darker books I’ve read so make sure to check trigger warnings before picking it up. R or SA doesn’t bother me when it is in a book but it’s just not for me when it is one of the MCs doing it to another.
So beside that, the story was fairly unique and I enjoyed it for the most bit. It didn’t really hook me which is why I kept putting the book down and only picking it back up a day later, but I found the complicated relationship between Enosh and Ada fascinating. Although I didn’t really feel their connection as it felt a little too quick for me, the cliffhanger was intriguing enough so I’m jumping right to the next book!
So beside that, the story was fairly unique and I enjoyed it for the most bit. It didn’t really hook me which is why I kept putting the book down and only picking it back up a day later, but I found the complicated relationship between Enosh and Ada fascinating. Although I didn’t really feel their connection as it felt a little too quick for me, the cliffhanger was intriguing enough so I’m jumping right to the next book!
July 15, 2022
dnf at 27% 🙃
just...no.
just...no.
May 10, 2022
The Pale Court is the first book in this duet and I'm waffling between wanting to throw my Kindle into a wood chipper or offer Liv all the praise for writing such a dark and emotionally draining story.
Ada was handed the short stick in life both with her husband and the fact that she never had a child with him. Her late husband was not a good man and was physically and mentally abusive. Drilled into her head, she thinks herself an unwoman and practices midwifery to ease the sting of not having one of her own.
One night as she is helping a woman give birth, everything goes to hell in a handbag and she finds herself with the King of Flesh and Bone. She knows who this King is and knows he refuses to let the dead truly die, including her husband. But the King of Flesh and Bone is drawn to Ada and now her life is weaved into the fabric of his.
Enosh, the King of Flesh and Bone has tied Ada to him and he never plans to let her go. Ever. Enosh has a chip on his shoulder (rightfully so) and hates mortals but Ada isn't like the other mortals and her warmth is something he wants to steal for himself despite her extreme reluctance to her new situation.
However, the more time they are together, their relationship evolves. Just when things were starting to look up, the enemy comes and obliterates everything. Where can Enosh and Ada go from here?
This ends on quite the tangled and brutal cliffhanger and I can't say I was too happy about it. But I think this was a beautifully constructed enemies-to-lovers (well hopefully) story that dragged me into a deep and dark hole of angsty goodness. The steam in here was off the charts hot but most of it is very dubcon so if that is a trigger for you, I suggest you find a different book to read. This story is violent and brutal at times so definitely mind the triggers.
There aren't many moments of rainbows and butterflies but when they're there you appreciate them as the reader. The character development is quite good and I look forward to seeing how Enosh and Ada traverse their new realities based off the decisions they made. I have a feeling the road to their HEA will be bloody and bumpy.
Ada had a lot of grit and strength but also had a lot of self doubt and I found myself both frustrated with her but also loving her realness. Enosh was infuriatingly delicious...both a lover and a total grump. He seems to...deep down...be a sensitive alpha male but his long life has made him bitter and cruel. Ada and Enosh bring out the best and worst in each other.
Liv did a great job at writing these multi-layered characters that have deeply rooted trauma they're trying to make sense of but I would have liked the world building to be a little more detailed. I was confused a bit about the 'brothers' and their roles. Overall, this was a very enjoyable dark romance that still has me thinking about how a HEA is going to happen but I am HERE FOR IT. For all you dark fantasy romance lovers out there, you need to give this a go.
“You’re mine, Ada.” His dark whisper against my ear pebbled my skin. “My servant, my plaything, my woman. I’ll never let you go.”
Ada was handed the short stick in life both with her husband and the fact that she never had a child with him. Her late husband was not a good man and was physically and mentally abusive. Drilled into her head, she thinks herself an unwoman and practices midwifery to ease the sting of not having one of her own.
One night as she is helping a woman give birth, everything goes to hell in a handbag and she finds herself with the King of Flesh and Bone. She knows who this King is and knows he refuses to let the dead truly die, including her husband. But the King of Flesh and Bone is drawn to Ada and now her life is weaved into the fabric of his.
“Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone. Never my whore, forever my woman.”
Enosh, the King of Flesh and Bone has tied Ada to him and he never plans to let her go. Ever. Enosh has a chip on his shoulder (rightfully so) and hates mortals but Ada isn't like the other mortals and her warmth is something he wants to steal for himself despite her extreme reluctance to her new situation.
However, the more time they are together, their relationship evolves. Just when things were starting to look up, the enemy comes and obliterates everything. Where can Enosh and Ada go from here?
This ends on quite the tangled and brutal cliffhanger and I can't say I was too happy about it. But I think this was a beautifully constructed enemies-to-lovers (well hopefully) story that dragged me into a deep and dark hole of angsty goodness. The steam in here was off the charts hot but most of it is very dubcon so if that is a trigger for you, I suggest you find a different book to read. This story is violent and brutal at times so definitely mind the triggers.
There aren't many moments of rainbows and butterflies but when they're there you appreciate them as the reader. The character development is quite good and I look forward to seeing how Enosh and Ada traverse their new realities based off the decisions they made. I have a feeling the road to their HEA will be bloody and bumpy.
Ada had a lot of grit and strength but also had a lot of self doubt and I found myself both frustrated with her but also loving her realness. Enosh was infuriatingly delicious...both a lover and a total grump. He seems to...deep down...be a sensitive alpha male but his long life has made him bitter and cruel. Ada and Enosh bring out the best and worst in each other.
Liv did a great job at writing these multi-layered characters that have deeply rooted trauma they're trying to make sense of but I would have liked the world building to be a little more detailed. I was confused a bit about the 'brothers' and their roles. Overall, this was a very enjoyable dark romance that still has me thinking about how a HEA is going to happen but I am HERE FOR IT. For all you dark fantasy romance lovers out there, you need to give this a go.
July 29, 2022
This book was overall quite boring to me: I never really felt the spark between MCs until I'd say towards half/end of the story.
It ended with a huge cliffy and I read many reviews praising the second part of the story so I'm gonna go ahead and start it rn!
Hero apparently turns into a full-on meanie so ofc I'm excited about that 😈
It ended with a huge cliffy and I read many reviews praising the second part of the story so I'm gonna go ahead and start it rn!
Hero apparently turns into a full-on meanie so ofc I'm excited about that 😈
June 25, 2022
Do you like erotic horror? Add this author to your list. Do you find it hard to find a good Gothic dark story? This book is thick on the Gothic feels, so dip right in if you like Gothic Horror. I would not call this a romance, so if you are in the mood for a Knight in Shining Armor type, avoid. Also avoid if you are easily triggered. If you kind of liked The Silver Devil but can deal with even more graphic horror, give it a try. I do not think this is a perfect book, but considering the creativity, world building, and storytelling here, I owe this 5 stars. The author has one hell of a mind. I have never heard of her. So of course I have been stalking her pages but this is her first literary offering I can find. I saw a few reviews giving her one star and with comments saying the book is well-written. Just because this book wasn't for you yet you say it's well written, in my opinion is NO reason to give it a one star. If you read the blurb you should get an idea of what you are in for. Ada, a barren widow with a walking dead husband, accidently stumbes upon the Pale Court. The King of Flesh and Bone is really a dark God of the Dead. Enosh is abusive, controlling, kind of like the Demonico from The Silver Devil but with supernatural powers. He has the power to clothe his parmour in bone, furnish his dias with bodies of his enemies, and use the dead as his army. The creative mind of this author reminded me of Tim Burton at times. There is plenty of non-consent in here and abuse of our heroine. I really like Ada. She has paid her dues and she's very likeable. I am glad the author took time to develop her and didn't make her a weak under developed female. Barren Ada who is called an unwoman by townfolk, accidently arives at Enosh's Pale Court and is held captive to Enosh's depraved whims. Ada does fight him and there is no instalov. He, being the vile king/God that he is, thinks to throw her to the corpses at first. It's been 200 years since he's been with a woman but he develops a desire for the pale haired human. I like that Ada's heart isn't all flutter upon seeing Enosh. She tries to flee. Enosh does terrible things to thwart Ada's escape so be prepared for all kinds of abuse, not just sexual. I do not think the author glorifies Enosh. He gets tortured by his enemies in most unusual ways. I found that very creative justice as well. I am just so over pc culture and even viking books get bad reviews for reality. If someone is a villian, don't expect them to ask permission in the medieval era. I love the author's ability to go where few authors will. There's a cliffhanger here, so be prepared. The sequel comes out next week so the wait isn't that bad. I couldn't put this one down. Five stars for creativity and uniqueness. It's so hard to find that. PS: Just found out this is VK Ludwig writing under Liv Zander.
June 1, 2023
TW: Non-con/Rape, mind control, zombies, explicit descriptions of gore, mentions of infant death, and mutilation of bodies.
The writing is pretty good and the world building is intriguing. I even liked a few of the characters, but the rape/sexual abuse via mind control pulled me out of the story.
I don’t have an issue reading about abuse and rape, and I was prepared for it in this book. My issue is I prefer for the rape to be presented either as horrific or the unspoken desire of the participants (internal character consent). However, I have a visceral hate for humiliation play. I especially dislike a woman’s sexuality or sexual desire being used to humiliate her without her consent (I’ve read a couple of books with consensual humiliation play that I enjoyed, but it’s rarely done well).
At the beginning of this couples relationship mind control is used to not only coerce a woman into sex, but it’s implied that it’s also being used to make her body react with sexual arousal. This isn’t a new plot device in erotica, and I am very familiar with it. But for me, in this book it skirted really close to a kind of sexual abuse that leads a lot of survivors to believe they’re responsible for or even wanted the abuse because of their bodies reactions to the abuse.
My reaction was quite visceral and it’s lingered, souring any interest I initially had in the book. Which is sad, I did like it up until then, especially the necromancy like magic. But the handling of the sex and power dynamics ruined any enjoyment I might have had in it.
PS I would like to add to people who say shit “well he’s a villain what did you expect,” that’s a lazy cop out. Not all “villians” are rapists, just as not all stories have to have sexual violence. There’s a lot of ways to write a woman grappling with her desire for a powerful amoral man without him sexually abusing her.
The writing is pretty good and the world building is intriguing. I even liked a few of the characters, but the rape/sexual abuse via mind control pulled me out of the story.
I don’t have an issue reading about abuse and rape, and I was prepared for it in this book. My issue is I prefer for the rape to be presented either as horrific or the unspoken desire of the participants (internal character consent). However, I have a visceral hate for humiliation play. I especially dislike a woman’s sexuality or sexual desire being used to humiliate her without her consent (I’ve read a couple of books with consensual humiliation play that I enjoyed, but it’s rarely done well).
At the beginning of this couples relationship mind control is used to not only coerce a woman into sex, but it’s implied that it’s also being used to make her body react with sexual arousal. This isn’t a new plot device in erotica, and I am very familiar with it. But for me, in this book it skirted really close to a kind of sexual abuse that leads a lot of survivors to believe they’re responsible for or even wanted the abuse because of their bodies reactions to the abuse.
My reaction was quite visceral and it’s lingered, souring any interest I initially had in the book. Which is sad, I did like it up until then, especially the necromancy like magic. But the handling of the sex and power dynamics ruined any enjoyment I might have had in it.
PS I would like to add to people who say shit “well he’s a villain what did you expect,” that’s a lazy cop out. Not all “villians” are rapists, just as not all stories have to have sexual violence. There’s a lot of ways to write a woman grappling with her desire for a powerful amoral man without him sexually abusing her.
September 1, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
September 11, 2022
By the time I got around to writing a review for the first book, the second appeared. It so happened that I have the second book`s review already, so check it out: Queen of Rot and Pain by Liv Zander.
I have to say that I did not have much confidence in this book when I saw it. I thought that it would be some Laura Thalassa knock-off. I should not have been so dismissive in my appraisal. This book had its brilliant moments.Especially because it was coming from a debut author.
Though, it is true that it feels like there are some inspirations (in a good way) from Laura Thalassa. It also reminded me of the Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith.
Also, and I almost forgot, there is a lot of sex happening. It is relatively graphic, but manageable. Book 2 has more love making scenes.
I`ll post my reaction to one sex sequence and what note I made of it while reading:
The Quote:“I offered her a stare that invited no further remark, thumb stroking over Ada’s side to rouse her quicker, no matter how I envied her for this mortal need.”(this is his PoV, the death god
My Remark:--This book is about this entity that is dog-like joyous that he finally has a WARM plaything to toss around. It`s like he has received a puppy and now he fiddles with her at any chance he gets.
July 26, 2022
This was darker than I had expected. Granted the fault lies in myself, but I am going to give an honest opinion. Enosh was far too unkind and cruel to Ada for my comfort. There is great difficulty for me to except she could fall in love with a man so foul. In my opinion, there is rape found here between Enosh and Ada....an act I just can't except from an MC.
I am going to read book 2 out of sheer curiosity. If Enosh can find any kindness or if Ada can find any self worth and move on.
Also, the setting of the series is disturbing. I expected some gruesome due to the title and synopsis but much more than anticipated.
Happy reading,
DD 🥂
I am going to read book 2 out of sheer curiosity. If Enosh can find any kindness or if Ada can find any self worth and move on.
Also, the setting of the series is disturbing. I expected some gruesome due to the title and synopsis but much more than anticipated.
Happy reading,
DD 🥂
May 13, 2022
DNF
I found this story to be absolutely revolting. The "king" is a truly vile character who can control people, both dead and alive, like puppets and he forces the female main character to perform oral sex on him and then he anal rapes her. This is their first sex encounter together. Afterwards, he watches her while she sleeps and he thinks to himself about how he torn her but it was ok because she was so tight and it felt good. This is not romance! This is straight up rape and it's disgusting! I will not read anything else by this author.
I found this story to be absolutely revolting. The "king" is a truly vile character who can control people, both dead and alive, like puppets and he forces the female main character to perform oral sex on him and then he anal rapes her. This is their first sex encounter together. Afterwards, he watches her while she sleeps and he thinks to himself about how he torn her but it was ok because she was so tight and it felt good. This is not romance! This is straight up rape and it's disgusting! I will not read anything else by this author.
July 23, 2022
I didn’t find that the smut scenes were good which is the only reason I read it.
July 6, 2022
This is Not Okay-DNF
I don’t care how well written a book is, this “hero” is a sexual and physical abuser. Dark Romance is one thing, and this is not it. This book flies past dubcon into straight up assault. I’ve read some dark and violent books, but it’s been a long time since one made me viscerally uncomfortable.
Is the writing and world building good? Yes. Doesn’t matter. I made it about 60% of the way through and I still do not find Enosh to be a redeemable character. By no means does a character have to be good, or perfect, or just. But he straight up breaks her legs to prevent her escape. No.
This author is skilled, but the blatant assault on multiple fronts is just something I couldn’t get past.
I don’t care how well written a book is, this “hero” is a sexual and physical abuser. Dark Romance is one thing, and this is not it. This book flies past dubcon into straight up assault. I’ve read some dark and violent books, but it’s been a long time since one made me viscerally uncomfortable.
Is the writing and world building good? Yes. Doesn’t matter. I made it about 60% of the way through and I still do not find Enosh to be a redeemable character. By no means does a character have to be good, or perfect, or just. But he straight up breaks her legs to prevent her escape. No.
This author is skilled, but the blatant assault on multiple fronts is just something I couldn’t get past.
dnf
June 19, 2022dnf with prejudice @ 23%
Purely subjective dnf, zombies have never been my thing. I've never been able to get into The Walking Dead. This reminded me of when I was in school and everyone was talking about how they'd survive the Zombie Apocalypse and I was bored out of my mind and wondering why everyone thought zombies were cool. If you like zombies, the idea of a hero who rules the dead, aren't squeamish about lots of talk about dead bodies, and are okay with noncon this is the book for you :)
Purely subjective dnf, zombies have never been my thing. I've never been able to get into The Walking Dead. This reminded me of when I was in school and everyone was talking about how they'd survive the Zombie Apocalypse and I was bored out of my mind and wondering why everyone thought zombies were cool. If you like zombies, the idea of a hero who rules the dead, aren't squeamish about lots of talk about dead bodies, and are okay with noncon this is the book for you :)
November 20, 2024
Ouch. This was bad. And I don’t want to be mean but what is HAPPENING in this book! First and foremost, this is described as a “dark fantasy”. There’s NO world building (which is NEEDED in a fantasy even if it’s not complex). There’s really not much of an explanation as to what this “god” or king is except for his black veins, and I have no idea when or where it takes place. The use of “arse” makes me think Europe and everything else screams medieval times, but I know that’s not right… I’m confused. There’re really no fantasy elements aside from the undead and even that’s not explained well.
Secondly, the entire (and I really mean ENTIRE) book is filled with grape. I can read dark romance with this in it. However, there’s zero buildup to what’s happening, and it doesn’t ever feel like this evil man is taking advantage and harming her. Where’s the tussle? Where’s the screaming, crying, punching? The bad words? The word NO. It’s not there. I feel like the author WANTED it to feel like she was being forced but it totally missed the mark. Nothing felt authentic to what she was trying to convey.
Third, there’s no plot. NONE. Why was this book even written? Sure, there’s a very minor plot twist in the end but having to get there was so slow and boring and I have 0 interest in even seeing where the story will go. The plot goes like this: girl enters kingdom where she doesn’t belong. She gets assaulted every day and likes it. On and on and on until the last few chapters then there’s a twist. At that point I just didn’t care. It’s like she put it in just because she had to.
Finally, these characters had 0 personality. She apparently enjoyed being assaulted even though she said she didn’t want to, and he just does it because he wanted something “warm”. There’s really no backstory, no nothing. Just a dumb character thrown in so she could write about grape hoping to be edgy.
Obviously, I don’t recommend. There’re some amazing dark fantasy books out there that actually do justice to the genre. This wasn’t it.
Secondly, the entire (and I really mean ENTIRE) book is filled with grape. I can read dark romance with this in it. However, there’s zero buildup to what’s happening, and it doesn’t ever feel like this evil man is taking advantage and harming her. Where’s the tussle? Where’s the screaming, crying, punching? The bad words? The word NO. It’s not there. I feel like the author WANTED it to feel like she was being forced but it totally missed the mark. Nothing felt authentic to what she was trying to convey.
Third, there’s no plot. NONE. Why was this book even written? Sure, there’s a very minor plot twist in the end but having to get there was so slow and boring and I have 0 interest in even seeing where the story will go. The plot goes like this: girl enters kingdom where she doesn’t belong. She gets assaulted every day and likes it. On and on and on until the last few chapters then there’s a twist. At that point I just didn’t care. It’s like she put it in just because she had to.
Finally, these characters had 0 personality. She apparently enjoyed being assaulted even though she said she didn’t want to, and he just does it because he wanted something “warm”. There’s really no backstory, no nothing. Just a dumb character thrown in so she could write about grape hoping to be edgy.
Obviously, I don’t recommend. There’re some amazing dark fantasy books out there that actually do justice to the genre. This wasn’t it.
August 15, 2022
the girl doesn’t like you??
just break her legs
rape her (oh sorry force her to do what she also really wants)
imprison her
then proceed to marry her
and there you go, voila she’s in love…..
men☕️
just break her legs
rape her (oh sorry force her to do what she also really wants)
imprison her
then proceed to marry her
and there you go, voila she’s in love…..
men☕️
June 27, 2022
Check TWs. Twice. Or more. SERIOUSLY. This is especially not for anyone triggered by non consent or child death/infertility. Triggers are explained in greater detail at the very end of the review if you need more context.
What I loved most about this story is that it is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and in a saturated fantasy romance genre of the same tropes and settings, it was refreshing. The characters, whether you like them or not, are layered and complex.
Our main characters:
Ada: widowed, midwife with a sharp tongue and incessant need to fulfill her promises. She has an unwavering moral compass despite abuses against her.
Enosh: God responsible for spreading “rot” and welcoming the dead to his palace so the dead can pass. But he hasn’t done this for 200 years so every full moon, the dead try to break out. He is a hate-filled immortal god intent on punishing everyone, and I mean everyone, for his misery. He is a malevolent god - not a man - and a being who seems to only know how to bend others to his will rather than navigate relationships as exchanges, as humans do.
The plot:
I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the zombie babies? Yes. Let us start there because that’s where the book starts and I’ve never been more fascinated by the macabre thought. Why hasn’t anyone else asked what happens if a baby is made undead at birth? Is it alive? Would you know?
Next, let’s introduce some whiplash and go from the undead to non-consent smut … (clarification on this below if you want to know). The smut was so dynamic and frequent to begin with, I was wondering if it should have been classified as erotica, but the plot picks up.
Now, let’s fall in love with the villain who, dammit, just wants to be loved. Underneath all that evil, entitlement, and indulgence is a broken immortal who was tortured and manipulated by humans. But hey, he can create clothes and home furnishings from dead bodies!
The story ends with a cliffy that could make you propel objects with telepathic fury. Thankfully the second book is out now and it does exceptionally well with Ada’s transformation, more on Enosh’s brothers, and keeps you on your toes with the twisted, macabre, and taboo.
More on triggers below …
Non-consent occurs through compulsion, not physical force.
Infertility is a consistent theme.
Dead children are mentioned & featured consistently, as is parental grief.
On-page child death.
Occasional gore.
Smut pushes beyond the usual fantasy romance steam.
What I loved most about this story is that it is unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and in a saturated fantasy romance genre of the same tropes and settings, it was refreshing. The characters, whether you like them or not, are layered and complex.
Our main characters:
Ada: widowed, midwife with a sharp tongue and incessant need to fulfill her promises. She has an unwavering moral compass despite abuses against her.
Enosh: God responsible for spreading “rot” and welcoming the dead to his palace so the dead can pass. But he hasn’t done this for 200 years so every full moon, the dead try to break out. He is a hate-filled immortal god intent on punishing everyone, and I mean everyone, for his misery. He is a malevolent god - not a man - and a being who seems to only know how to bend others to his will rather than navigate relationships as exchanges, as humans do.
The plot:
I don’t even know where to start. Maybe the zombie babies? Yes. Let us start there because that’s where the book starts and I’ve never been more fascinated by the macabre thought. Why hasn’t anyone else asked what happens if a baby is made undead at birth? Is it alive? Would you know?
Next, let’s introduce some whiplash and go from the undead to non-consent smut … (clarification on this below if you want to know). The smut was so dynamic and frequent to begin with, I was wondering if it should have been classified as erotica, but the plot picks up.
Now, let’s fall in love with the villain who, dammit, just wants to be loved. Underneath all that evil, entitlement, and indulgence is a broken immortal who was tortured and manipulated by humans. But hey, he can create clothes and home furnishings from dead bodies!
The story ends with a cliffy that could make you propel objects with telepathic fury. Thankfully the second book is out now and it does exceptionally well with Ada’s transformation, more on Enosh’s brothers, and keeps you on your toes with the twisted, macabre, and taboo.
More on triggers below …
Non-consent occurs through compulsion, not physical force.
Infertility is a consistent theme.
Dead children are mentioned & featured consistently, as is parental grief.
On-page child death.
Occasional gore.
Smut pushes beyond the usual fantasy romance steam.
September 22, 2022
First and foremost: PLEASE CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS! This book is not for everyone. It's not my usual genre, so the rating is subjective for this genre.
Worldbuilding is strong, if limited. However, for this type of story, it was sufficient that I didn't constantly feel like I was running into holes.
This is a very character-driven book, and the 'hero' is probably the darkest of grays, if not black, in the first part of this book. However, there's a strong character arc that continues into the next book (yes, I immediately read the second one).
This is marketed as a dark fantasy romance, and it definitely fits the bill.
I listened to the audio version of this book, and I enjoyed the narrators: Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advance audio ARC.
Worldbuilding is strong, if limited. However, for this type of story, it was sufficient that I didn't constantly feel like I was running into holes.
This is a very character-driven book, and the 'hero' is probably the darkest of grays, if not black, in the first part of this book. However, there's a strong character arc that continues into the next book (yes, I immediately read the second one).
This is marketed as a dark fantasy romance, and it definitely fits the bill.
I listened to the audio version of this book, and I enjoyed the narrators: Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advance audio ARC.
October 19, 2022
SO hot and well written! WARNING this is a DARK one. There are macabre elements (which makes it perfect for Halloween), and there is some dub con and behavior that would definitely be abuse if a human did it. I can give him some rope because he IS a god of death. He's not a human with human morals.
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