Made with love
© Victoria Gryson 2024
A desperate sister. A cold Fae prince. A dangerous trick, and a spark of passion that might set a fragile peace ablaze…
Sephia has always known that her younger sister was destined to wed the prince of the Sun Court.
Long ago, the human kingdom of Middlemage struck a bargain with the neighboring Fae that resulted in peace between them. As part of that bargain, one of the two ruling Fae courts lay claim to a human bride from each new generation. As long as anyone can remember, this is how it has been: The Fae come to take their bride on her eighteenth birthday, the humans allow one to be stolen away, and the peace continues.
Until now.
Until the Sun Prince comes for her sister, and Sephia does the unthinkable: She disguises herself with magic and goes to the altar in her sister’s place.
And she doesn’t intend for her marriage to end happily ever after.
But Sephia soon finds that all is not as it seems within the cruel and sparkling Court of the Sun. The king is sick. Strange shadows paint the halls of his palace, leaving death in their wake. The prince is desperate to find answers, whatever the cost. And Sephia is the wrong bride, but she may be the right woman to help the prince save his world—
That is, if they can somehow find a way to work together… while ignoring the forbidden passion igniting between them.
A princess with shadow magic, a prince of the opposite court and a nefarious plot they must uncover… I mean, seriously… who wouldn’t want to read a book like that??
Right from the start, we get a good lay of the land, we know what is happening and why it is happening (even though Sephia doesn’t agree with it). While it might be a lot of information to have at the start of the book it never felt too much. There wasn’t an information dump, but we learned of it in a slow and steady way. The scenes and environments were always clear and well detailed.
All the elements that make up the book fit together like a perfect puzzle, there was a synergy across the board and it all made sense (which, I know, is pretty hard to master).
Sephia would do anything for her ailing sister, so marrying the Fae prince was only logical. I must say that this was actually pretty refreshing 🙂 Maybe I’ve been reading the wrong books, but normally sisters don’t really get along or would go to such lengths to protect them. Sephia has her heart in the right place, even when she is living in the Sun Court, where everyone is looking and judging her and she has to maintain the ruse of being her sister. Which is not easy when Tarron, our broody Sun prince, gets under her skin 😉
Tarron hasn’t had an easy life and sees the marriage to Sephia as a necessary evil while battling an invisible enemy trying to keep his brother safe.
Ahhh Fate is such a wonderful thing (sometimes) 😀
They each started their journey with their own misconceptions about the other and how things should be. Slowly but steadily you see them grow, not only towards each other, but they find their inner strength.
All the characters felt real and believable. There were well fleshed out and you really feel you are walking alongside them during their story.
It was a very easy read, it was smooth from start to finish and held my attention like there was no work in the morning 😀
The conversations were never dull or too long, the action scenes were well thought out and interesting.
All in all, great job keeping me hooked!
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors.
It is 183 pages long, spread over 17 chapters and told mostly from Sephia’s point of view.
You know that you’ve read a good book when you close it and sigh, a happy but also sad smile on your face because you wish there was more to read.
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book and I thought it was great! I really enjoyed the vibe and the characters 😀
I haven’t read any of the other Stolen Brides of the Fae yet, but here is to hoping they are just as good. Recommended!
© Victoria Gryson 2024