Review: A Court This Cruel & Lovely by Stacia Stark
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Introduction:
For years, when I fell asleep, I dreamed of a man with blazing green eyes and a cruel smile.
The day I meet him, the ruthless mercenary leaves me for dead.
Just hours after humans are born, the gods take what little power we have. In return, they protect our borders from the vicious, merciless fae.
The humans who manage to keep their power are known as the corrupt.
And they are burned.
When my forbidden power is discovered, I’m forced to flee my tiny village and the life I adore.
To survive, I make a desperate bargain with the mercenary who abandoned me at my weakest.
Our deal is simple: I’ll help him and his mysterious friends sneak into the city. And he’ll help me learn to wield the strange, dark power I’ve always kept hidden. The power that may just be the key to my survival.
But the ruthless mercenary is hiding secrets of his own. Secrets that threaten the safety of everyone I love. Secrets that could tear this kingdom—and perhaps even this world—apart.
Review:
Reviewed by Dakota Watson
“Dear L,
According to my sources, you recently became quite unhinged when the woman you claim is the bane of your existence almost died. It was said that you threatened a healer with a “long, excruciatingly painful death” and declared that you would kill everyone in the castle until you found whoever had poisoned her. This kind of behavior is not what we agreed to.
C
Dear C,
Go fuck yourself.
L”
A Court This Cruel and Lovely was a brilliant read. From start to finish it was full of suspense, action and intrigue. With a slow burning romance filled with steamy chemistry, the author kept you guessing where the story was taking you. The banter and the constant bickering of the main characters had me laughing out loud through out the book. It also had a great cast of side characters that seamlessly blended into the story.
The world building and character development in the book was executed with finesse. The storyline flowed smoothly from start to finish without any stagnation. The best thing was, the story taking us to a lot of different places as the story progressed so the reader doesn’t get bored with the same surroundings. Although the big reveal at the end was predictable, Stacy intricately maneuvered the plot with multiple twists and turns.
Prisca was a great female protagonist. She was a fighter and her character development as the story went on was beautifully crafted. Her unwavering courage to keep on fighting even when all the odds were against her, made it really easy to root for her.
Lorian was brilliant as well. He never barged in to save the damsel. Though he was domineering and possessive, he always let Prisca carve her own path. He was the epitome of ‘I don’t care but oh my god I do care’ guy.
Their love language was constant bickering. It was so endearing and their romance was deliciously slow burning. I loved how Stacy balanced their need to achieve their goals while trying to come to terms with their feelings for each other.
I am so excited for the next installment of the series. In fact, I have already started reading it and I am thrilled with the new developments of the story.
Book Cover:
