by Brianna Sugalski
Star Rating: 4
Blurb:
At the peak of the Breton Renaissance, Lilac Trécesson is held prisoner in her own castle after a most wicked secret is revealed on the eve of her fifteenth birthday. Years later, her Accession looms upon her father’s decision to abdicate, and between town riots and the noble family bent on snatching her throne, she prepares for the worst… Until a letter arrives from The Witch of Lupine Grotto, detailing a curious offer to banish her curse forever.
Her heirloom dagger at the ready, Lilac embarks into Brocéliande and finds herself in the grasp of a bloodthirsty barkeep who demands her help in exchange for protection against the even deadlier forces of the woods.
She is thrust on a quest to uphold her family’s legacy—and her sovereign right to destroy it and start anew—by any means necessary. Pity the fool to underestimate the girl with subpar blade skills but the pure spite to make up for it.
This is the tale of a cursed princess,
A crestfallen killer,
The town that wants them to burn,
And the witch who can save them both.
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Trigger warnings: Mentions of rape, and non-consensual acts, cages, biting, please double check the trigger warnings for yourself.
Possible spoilers below this line
Writing Style
I loved the writing style of this book because it was reminiscent of older fantasy books I haven’t read in years. Another interesting tid bit is that this book started off young adult and is now new adult. Hello spice. Our author does a wonderful job of building the tension, and making you question everything. With every twist and turn of Lilac’s adventure revealed something new about who she and her vampiric companion are to each other and themselves. The world our author has built has familiar names but a lot to be explored. I’ll be interested to read the next one.
Characters
Lilac a.k.a Eleanor is a princess born with a curse. The ability to speak the language of the Daemon. A curse that she wants broken before she becomes the queen of her land. She fears without removing it she will never be accepted by her people. A fear pushed to the brink by the people around her. Until one night she receives an invitation to visit a witch who could help. Lilac jumps at the chance, escaping the exile forced onto her by her parents and into the forest that hides so many monsters.
Garin, working in a tavern with a girl walks in and he is immediately taken by her. An adventure he never expected.
My Opinions
Tropes include runaway princess, enemies to lovers, one bed.
This book was a little slow to start but once I got to chapter 3-4 I felt like it really took off and I was sucked right in. I fell in love with not just the main characters but the unique side characters that dappled through the adventure. There were so many twists and turns, some that I didn’t even see coming. I’ll be interested to see what happens in the next book. I loved the take on vampires, though it wasn’t any different than vampires that I have seen in the vampire diaries. But we all have our inspirations. I’m interested to know more about the magic system that seems to flow through Broceliande and what the Arcane Lingua means for Lilac’s reign. I did love the witches, and how they came to be about and that we slowly learned how Lilac’s perception had been manipulated by those around her within the castle.