Tag Archives: romantasy

Book Review: A Delicate Betrayal, by Jessaca Willis

Some time ago, I won a paperback copy of Jessaca Willis‘ A Delicate Betrayal.

Beloved. Betrothed. Betrayed.

When Aenwyn’s magic unleashes a reign of dragons upon the land, she agrees to marry King Everard to atone for the devastation she’s caused.

Queendom proves to be as dissatisfying as their loveless marriage. But soon fate answers her pleas for adventure with a vision of dragon’s fire and a distractingly handsome knight intent on blocking her path.

Sir Darius Graeme can’t let her flee the castle. But nothing will stop Aenwyn from claiming the dragon’s heart—and perhaps even the knight’s as well.

I will start this review with a little bit of a spoiler. But this, I think, is an important one. This book does not, I repeat, DOES NOT have a happy ending. I went in fully expecting a fantasy romance, and while two people did fall in love, there IS NOT a happy ending for them. So, is it romance at all?

I have mixed feelings about the rest of the book. On the one hand, I liked the characters and appreciated that Aenwyn was capable and take-charge about her fate/duty (maybe even a little femme-dommy). Darius remained fairly flat, honestly, until the end. But I appreciate that he’s loyal and not any sort of alpha a-hole. On the other hand, I found the patriarchal worldbuilding and social (mis)treatment of women boring and unimaginative. Plus, the story took a long time to really get going, and I was confused about the role the dragons were meant to have played.

All in all, an OK read. It’s not topping my favorites list, but I’m not sad to have read it.

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{Review} A Delicate Betrayal by Jessaca Willis

Book Review: The WitchSlayer, by Opal Reyne

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I received a copy of Opal Reyne‘s The WitchSlayer as part of a Renegade Romance book box.

When Amalia’s cat brought home a strange flying lizard during a terrible storm, she had no idea that it was a Dragon. Or that he would save her from burning at the stake, only to imprison her in his lair when she saw his human face. Now she is stuck in this cave with a moody, hot-tempered, and arrogant warrior – one who has killed her kind by the dozens.

She expected to feel trapped, but he somehow makes her feel unbelievably… safe.

Rurik’s only goal is to kill the Dark Witch, Strolguil the Vast. He never expected to find himself in a White Witch’s home in need of healing, or that she would be completely oblivious about his kind, or her own. He intends to abandon her, a lowly Witch, to her fiery fate, but he can’t ignore his blood-debt after she saves him.

Nor can he ignore the fierce desire that she grows in him when she roams free inside his lair.

However, there are Dark Witches afoot, and Rurik isn’t sure if he can shed years of hatred to trust the enchanting woman he has in his keeping.

Meh. Honestly, I didn’t love this. I didn’t hate it either. I was just kind of bored by it. I liked the FMC, but the MMC didn’t have quite enough growth for me to ever truly like him. I merely found him tolerable. The plot was okay, but the book is far longer than it needs to be, and some of the dialogue clunks. (Too many characters asking things like “bla, bla, bla, is it not?”) I’ve read other Reyne books that I enjoyed more. But this one was a letdown.