Half-fey Robin Vale has grown up amongst humans, but that doesn’t save him from being captured for coin by fey hunters. When he’s rescued by a fey princess, he’s taken to Wychwood, the fey realm – where everyone is focused on preparing for war against the humans who hate, hunt, and kill them for coin.
Robin doesn’t understand how he fits into the fey’s plans… until he’s revealed to be the lost heir to the Icethorn Court. Aided by the unclaimed, destructive power of the Winter Court, which had been thought destroyed with Robin’s mother’s death, the fey ready their numbers for complete domination of the human realm.
But by claiming the throne with the help of his devastatingly handsome personal guard, Erix, Robin’s very presence opposes the long-planned invasion. Along with his allies – including Althea, a stern princess hellbent on stopping the human hunters from killing her kin – Robin is thrust into a world of betrayal, murder, and lies. He must survive long enough to have the choice: listen to fate and claim his family’s power, or let it wreak havoc on a realm that turned its back on him for becoming who he was truly meant to be.
For Fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses
This is my third book by this author and certainly the one I have been looking forward to most. I got to discover Ben Alderson on Netgalley due to the first audio book for his Court of Broken Bonds series, which I swallowed whole as a fan of the BBC show Merlin. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to listen to the second book on Netgalley as well, so I postponed this experience. The next of his books I stumbled upon was a Little Mermaid retelling out of his Darkmourn Universe. This one was even spicier and more fantastic than the last. Therefore, I was sure to also take on the other books of the series. But I will eventually always read first what I already have access to, so once more plans were postponed. By now, my list of Ben’s books that want to be read is extensive. I consequently was extremely pleased when I found out about this new edition of an already-published series. This way, I can now finally pick up one of Ben’s earlier stories without missing out on the new-new releases. As this one was advertised for fans of ACOTAR, I was immediately taken by it as well!
Just as spicy as I’m used to by the author
Ben immediately throws us into the plot of this new series when Robin is about to be kidnapped. What a great start! To my surprise (based on my other two reads by him), Robin is not as easy of a target. Moreover, his humor entertains us notwithstanding the seriousness of the situation. It took me some chapters to get into the world and setting of the story, but Robin’s fears and intentions helped me get a grip on them. The conflict between fey and humans seems thankfully just as surprising and uncomprehensible to Robin as to us. His life is further complicated when he finds himself in the middle of it, supported especially by his new bodyguard. The tension between them is obvious from the beginning. For fans of ACOTAR, there seems to be even more than physical attraction from the very beginning. This potential sparked my immediate interest in the development of their relationship. As per usual for Ben, it will take different extensions in this first book already.
Magical, romantic, adventurous
When Robin finds himself in a new world, with an unbeknownst responsibility and hidden enemies, we have to figure out whom to trust together. Do the four powerful houses work together or against each other? And how do they stand toward the returned heir? Although we get to know some magical fey better and Ben teases an interesting magical system, we can never be certain who might want our protagonist dead. Ben’s humor stimulates our reading experience of these newly found friendships, romances, and potentially fatal acquaintances. His fantasy further endangers Robin’s life and allows us to peak onto the magical dimensions of this world. I am nonetheless certain that there is way more to explore in the upcoming installments of the series.
In conclusion,
This first book of the series already makes us aware of the dangers and promises lurking in this story. Thanks to Ben’s pacing and humor, we are drawn in more and more and fall in love with the characters—just like Robin does. The final resolutions and twists made me run through the last 50 pages but also seemed a but rushed, so I am immensely looking forward to re-exploring the world and those latest events in the next book.
The author:
Ben Alderson is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and former BookTuber. In 2023, he was nominated for TikTok Author of the Year. An active promoter, Ben is active on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter. He has self-published a number of M/M romantic fantasy novels, and his series Court of Broken Bounds is published with Second Sky (Hachette UK). Ben lives in Oxfordshire and, when not writing, can be found reading, taking Winston – his Labrador – out for long walks, or obsessing over Marvel’s The Scarlet Witch. Source