Like it did for Fawn.“I won’t,” I promise, but it feels hollow, as if my voice already knows it’s a lie. I’m working all the time and stealing as much as I can get away with, but I can’t keep up. this… thing should be illegal. because this is, dear friends, plagiarism. you know, when they said it’s similar to acotar, they probably forgot to mention that it is actually a carbon copy of acotar. there is no single original thing. not. a. single. one. anyway, his image is the same as rowan’s, but his behaviour resembles more of cardan greenbriar in not-cardan day. except for the fact that cardan is better (and i’m saying this as a person who hated him for 2 books). the other love interest was just boring to me, there wasn’t really a fun trope i enjoy and i just need interesting tropes for both love interests to enjoy the book. I will start this by saying this was an ARC provided by NetGalley so I do think this may be the issue with the following. There were a couple scenes that were set up incredibly confusing. I wasn’t sure if we were in a dream, but we’d actually changed settings. As mentioned this is likely an ARC issue as there were some typos and the formatting was a bit skewed.

We open the story with Brie, who is a thief trying to keep her small family afloat. When her debts become too large, her little sis is sold to the fae. Pushing aside her hatred of the fae, Brie gets herself in the faerie court where she discovers: a secret about a long-time friend (and herself), that she suddenly has magic, and that the fae are manupulative creatures, as well as a little bit hot and charming. No matter how hopeless I feel, there's always a little more hope inside me. No matter how faithless I think I am, there is always something to believe in. Even if I were okay with selling my body—and I’m not—I don’t want anything to do with the fae. I don’t care how much money they offer. There are more important things in life than money. Even more important things than freedom—like taking care of your two little girls and not abandoning them so you can run off with your faerie lover.

I can see how this is compared to The Cruel Prince but really the only similarity is that just like how Jude was involved in some spying within the court, Abriella is too, but that's about it. Cardan Greenbriar cannot be compared to either of the love interests. He's leagues away from these fools who call themselves Fae. Now, I’m not usually a “love triangle” kind of gal, but listen, I didn’t mind it. Even if I KNOW who she should end up with, I still love the dynamics of each relationship as we go. I love that Brie kept her powers and unleashed them in the end. I just hope she doesn't get entangled by Sebastian again. Can I sell a pinkie for an ARC of the second book? Not even an ARC at this point, I can read a quote. Like, come on... you want me to beg? The main character did it once- I'll shut up now. (seriously, though, *clears throat* FDERFTYUIKJHGFDSW3E4567UIKJHBGVCXSER5T6Y7U)4 The memory of my mother’s voice has me dragging air into my lungs. What is wrong with me tonight? I’m normally not so squeamish about blood or pain. But I’m exhausted and hungry after working all day with no break. I’m dehydrated.

Además, algo que me gustó muchísimo de esta historia fue que siempre tuve una sensación que me decía como “algo extraño va a pasar”, “no confíes en lo que digan”, “no te encariñes con ningún personaje”… y a pesar de eso CONFIÉ EN LOS PERSONAJES, CONFIÉ EN LO QUE ME DIJERON y, obvio, al final quedé con la boca abierta por todo lo que estaba sucediendo. Brie se entera de ciertas cosas que le habían ocultado, descubre unas nuevas y logra ver las caras reales de muchas personas que la rodearon en su pasado y su presente. Yo amé todas estas revelaciones y eso, junto con la tensión, el romance y las vibes de Fae peligroso y Fae protector que me daban los personajes… pues excelente servicio. She sinks to her haunches in front of me and paints a salve on my cut. “You got this getting that money.” It’s not a question, so I don’t bother with a lie. “Are you okay?” Now, as I'm sure y'all have heard somewhere (or right now, pfft) I love books that give me a... je ne sais pas. Especially when that je ne sais pas comes as acid rain, when the least I have at the moment is a darn umbrella. Did that make sense? Let's pretend it does. And that je ne sais pas (getting my points with Duolingo and Memrise, y'all. One of these days they'll kill me, I'm telling you) came in the form of me almost never reading a fantasy novel and I don't know... having huge mega incredible expectations for them?? Regardless of the fact that I don't read them as much??? Again, me being me??? Okay, so, yeah. This was a very very very, pleasant surprise. (I cannot believe I typed surpside instead of surprise twice)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

You owe me nothing.” I pull out of her arms, eager to get home and clean up. Desperate to sleep. “You would’ve done the same for me and Jas if you could have.” Patience,” I whisper, guiding him to the floor. The leech crawls across the threshold, cleaning away my blood with its tiny tongue. we have here a standard main heroine brie, who is speshul maximally by being duller and stupider than all the other girls altogether. she makes one illogical decision after another, she is annoying, hypocritical, but for some incomprehensible reason everyone loves her. Another thing I didn’t like was the way the faeries were portrayed. They weren’t clever nor cunning, nor they could only speak the truth. They were basically like humans but with pointy ears. Apart from that, the setting was not developed well, it felt very dull and boring. The writing style fell flat; it was childish and repetitive, full of rhetorical questions, with barely any memorable quotes.

Then we have the characters. Y'all know I always got to rant about something but this time I'll start with the good stuff (not, not him yet, I need to properly breathe a little before touching on that subject) Sebastian isn't really all that great either but he's a thousand times better than Finn. It's always the cinnamon rolls that are never chosen in a love triangle but maybe the author will prove me wrong😔 doubtful This dude here at least is sweet, kind, considerate, soft, and must deal with the MC's stupid decisions and dramatics smh. idk how Sebastian does it. but he's also a deceiving piece of trash so maybe he does deserve to deal with all of this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ // basically i hate all these characters. Had I been born into a different life, I would have very much liked to become a powerful mage for contracts like this alone. I would unravel the magic that binds these lives to evil men like Gorst. I’d gather my resources and free as many girls as I could before I was caught and executed. Even knowing that I don’t have the skill to undo the magic in those documents, it’s all I can do to leave them where they sit. Everything in me screams that I should at least try.Complementing the mesmerizing plot is an otherworldly setting, replete with magic, mythical creatures, and feuding royals. Ryan provides just enough detail to paint a picture of the realm without ever becoming mired down in minutiae. You will not find any info dumping in this book – only concise accounts. The not so good Yes, I am trash. Love triangles usually frustrate me but god golly I enjoyed this one. I can tell that Brie drifts more to one than the other, but I rather liked that her feelings seemed genuine for both. It happens! Attraction can be based on a variety of factors and you can be attracted to more than one person at a time. There’s magic, intrigue, adventure and desperation. What more could I want?! THAT ENDING TOO. HOLY SMOKES. I NEED MORE. THE ANGST. THE DRAMA. IT BETTER NOT BE THE END. GIVE ME MOOOOORE!

TLDR: With its captivating plot, fantastical setting, and well-crafted love triangle, this is the perfect read for when you feel like escaping from reality for a spell. As for the love triangle, personally I’m not a huge fan of this trope, but I found interesting that the love interests (Finn and Ronan) weren’t perfect and had gray moralities, which is a bit out of the stereotype that other books paint. Neither changed their plans (even if their intentions were different) because of their romantic interest in her. I was very excited to read this book, and although it was very addicting and I couldn't put it down, there were still quite a few things I didn't love about it.

No matter how hopeless I feel, there's always a little more hope inside me. No matter how faithless I think I am, there is always something to believe in."