Update: Book 2 will be released on June 20, 2023 (next week)! I just finished ARC reading book 2, and it was amazing. I'd highly recommend reading this series if you like:
• fantasy romance
• reverse harem/why choose
• fated mates
• rejected mate
• forced proximity
• light bullying (I usually don't like bullying, but this is very manageable)
• FMC is surrounded by really protective brothers/fathers/mother and awesome friends
• academy romance
• 10/10 jealousy and groveling scenes
• FMC who holds her head high and moves on with her life/other relationships after she is rejected by her 1st fated mate
I LOVE this series.
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This book is amazing, and I NEED the rest of this series ASAP. This is a short fantasy reverse harem.
I picked up this book based off of one video I saw on TikTok, and I am shocked by how much I loved it. I went into this story with low expectations--I just wanted a quick fantasy RH palate cleanser, and I ended up reading this in one sitting. I absolutely couldn't put it down, and when I finished it, I flipped back through my favorite parts again.
Plot Overview:
Lyra is the Night Princess who has been closely guarded her whole life. The Fae people know about Lyra's existence, but as the next Queen, her personal details have been closely guarded, and the people do not know what she looks like, how old she is, what her name is, etc. As is tradition for the future Night Queen, Lyra has to be glamoured to look differently while she goes to mating revelries, and her true identity and appearance won't be restored/revealed until she meets all 4 of her mates. This is done to ensure that her mates' acceptance of her is genuine, rather than mates accepting her because of her power.
After Lyra's glamour is in place, she goes to her first mating revelry and meets Axel, her first mate, who is from the spring court (the Queen always has at least 1 mate from each of the 4 courts). Axel rejects Lyra as a mate because he is holding out for a more powerful Fae (he doesn't sense strong magic from her because of the glamour). Ironically, Axel is specifically hoping to mate with the Night Princess. Obviously, he does not know Lyra IS the Night Princess, so he rejects Lyra for ...Lyra. When he rejects her, Lyra rejects Axel too, and she deems him not worthy of her. Unfortunately for Lyra and Axel, they then start at the same Academy right after this rejection (they're in their 20s, but need to go to a magic academy). While Lyra is ready to move on and forget Axel, he does not seem so ready to forget her. He starts to bully her along with his girlfriend, but he is also absolutely obsessed with Lyra (he's always staring at her, is super jealous when she hooks up with other guys, acts possessive of her, etc.). Tbh, it seems to me that Axel did not want to reject Lyra, but he was forced to by his parents because there were times where he seemed really regretful, and he makes comments about how it's not safe for her at the school/she needs to leave. Also, no one at school knows that Axel rejected Lyra because in this society, it's super frowned upon to reject a fated mate, so both of their families had to cover up the rejection.
My Thoughts
This book is a slow-burn reverse harem, and this 1st book in the series had minimal spice. However, I liked how casual they are about sex in this world, and Lyra is not some naive virgin who is constantly pining after a mate that rejected her. She's sweet, but while she has her vulnerable moments, I respected how ready she was to move on with other fae and just kept asking Axel to leave her alone. It made sense because the fae in this world are very sexual creatures before they find their mates. After the rejection, Lyra moved on to another relationship with another fae male at her school, Sidric, who she knows is not her mate, but he was a good friend. This obviously drove Axel crazy (even though he had a girlfriend too), and I loved the jealousy. Lyra also knows that as soon as she finds her next mate, she will stop seeing Sidric. I found Lyra to be quite refreshing as a FMC.
Anyways, I really liked the rejected mates/fated mates aspect, and the world-building is super easy to follow. Lyra's older brothers are also so cute and protective of her, and her fathers are hilarious (Pai had me lolling). This book has some 10/10 jealousy scenes and some decent groveling for book 1. I'm looking forward to seeing more groveling, from Axel especially. We have only met 2 of Lyra's mates so far (officially). I hope Axel is super jealous of her 2nd mate who accepted her as a mate right away in the cliffhanger at the end. Based on the cliffhanger, I'm REALLY excited to get to know her second mate more (she only meets him in the last chapter). I'm also looking forward to seeing Lyra's powers developed because we don't get to learn a lot about them since she is glamoured and has to hide her powers.
This was one of the better RH books that I've read in awhile. While there are some noticeable typos (specifically sentences lacking commas or commas being used incorrectly) throughout the book, I did not think that it detracted from the story. Putting the typos aside, the writing was generally pretty good. I am fully invested in the story, and I liked all of the characters, which is a rare feat for me, as I tend to be a harsh character critic. It was a very quick read with good pacing, solid characters, and a super interesting premise.
I want more RH readers to read this book because I thought it was great. I can't wait for the next book to come out! "June 2023 release date" feels so far away.