Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloom Books
Published on: November 30, 2021
Genres: new adult fantasy, paranormal
Amazon // Indie Bound // Barnes & Noble // Better World Books
Content Warnings: does contain some sexual/spicy scenes, death, gore, blood depictions, war themes, murder
Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads synopsis:
Their Union Is His Revenge.
Isolde de Lara considers her wedding day her death day. To end a years-long war, she is to marry vampire king, Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev, and kill him. ⠀
But her assassination attempt is thwarted and Adrian threatens that if Isolde tries kill him again, he will raise her as the undead. Faced with the possibility of becoming the thing she hates most, Isolde seeks other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court. ⠀
Except it isn’t the court she fears most—it’s Adrian. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she wonders why the king——fierce, savage, merciless—chose her as consort. ⠀
The answer will shatter her world.
~~~~
“All of the stars in the sky are not as bright as my love for you.”
This book really did it for me. I was absolutely obsessed with the writing style, the characters, their chemistry, the world, the conflict -- everything. It ticked all of the boxes for me and I just so thoroughly enjoyed this book. I couldn't put it down. I didn't want to put it down. It took over all of my thoughts until I could finish it. Now it's over and I'm in agony and I want the next book. This is why I end up waiting two months to read my most anticipated releases. I'm always blown away and then I don't have the sequel. It's a curse!
Looking back, there were bits that weren't done as much to my liking, but I really didn't mind it at all. It didn't take me out of the story and I didn't really notice it while I was reading. Those moments just kinda popped into my mind as an afterthought as a way of saying "Hm, maybe if it was executed like this, the moment or writing would have blown me away even more!" In the end, I didn't enjoy the big twist because I felt like the concept and hints were introduced too far toward the end. However, I think the trope that was introduced is just something that I'm not all that impressed by. It's mainly me because anyone else that I talked to agreed that it was hinted toward too far into the story, but they love how it turned out nonetheless. Even though I didn't fully 100% love the twist, it didn't stop me from enjoying the story. It's just my preference for tropes.
Let's discuss Adrian and Isolde because I just adored them from their first interaction. They gave me the vibes from some of my favorite fictional couples and I am so into it. Adrian and Isolde were so passionate and their chemistry was so well done.
I also really loved the vampire mythology that St. Clair took the bits and pieces from to make this world. They're not overly sentimental and sparkly. They're capable of so much cruelty and violence that reminds me of the Dracula stories and various blood-sucker lore found in European history. I loved it.
This summer, I read St. Clair's first book in her Hades x Persephone series, Touch of Darkness and I was honestly underwhelmed. King of Battle and Blood completely redeemed her writing for me. I'm definitely going to be giving the rest of the Hades x Persephone series a chance. I need it all.
I cannot recommend this book enough. You definitely need to give it a try. It was so addicting and exactly what I needed.
Happy reading!
Olivia
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