The Unseelie Prince (Maze of Shadows Book 1)

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Also like, I'm dying at how the author draws the line at rape. Valroy isn't above threatening Abigail with rape but refuses to actually do it because I guess he has some weird moral compass where literal TORTURING and murdering of children is okay but, guys, nope, we have to draw the line at rape. Honestly it weakens his character because literally everything else about his character points to him having no problem raping someone. So when he stubbornly only has a conscience at those moments I'm sitting here like ??? Is this supposed to make me think deep down he has a heart?

Anfar is a grump, who tries to be helpful but really isn’t. I personally love his grumpy disposition and that’s why he ends up as a favorite.

Publication Order of Deal of Shadows Books

I have a love/hate relationship with powerful-strong female leads because they tend to be made wrong most of the time! Valroy is the bloody prince and heir to the Unseelie throne: A stipulation that first he must marry before he can ascend sees him exploiting a loophole and deciding to kidnap the mortal Abigail and make her his bride though he doesn’t really expect her to last long past the actual wedding. Placing Abigail inside his maze in his realm is the beginning of a game that delights Valroy he finds his new human pet fascinating and playing with her so much fun. Abigail had absolutely no agency in this book. I can deal with a section of a book with someone who's captive, or at the mercy of someone or whatever, but making the whole book about how Abigail literally is powerless in her situation was just not fun. Enemies to lovers is fun because even if physically one of the characters isn't as strong as their counterpart, they can usually come out on top in other ways but unfortunately at no point is Abigail any more than a woman who is totally and utterly at the mercy of Valroy. Her witchy powers didn't help her. Her intelligence didn't help her. Hell her feminine wiles didn't even help her! She was like Valroy's pet in the literal sense and it was just no bueno to read about. From author Kathryn Ann Kingsley comes this tantalizing slow-burn dark fantasy that proves sometimes the line between love and hate is razor-thin.

I love the character interactions. All of the unseelie fae are monsters and live up the name. I love watching Abigail adapt to this world that she is ill-suited for by making allies and stumbling through traps while struggling with her desires for a certain villain. no-nonsense spunky h, who’s good and compassionate but takes none of the H’s shit, attracted to him despite her best efforts, even as she’s disgusted and terrified by some of his actionsI continued reading this book after exhaustion and dry eyes so that's pretty telling I ate this shit up and will continue to gobble the next in the series. Trust! He's the Villain of this story but I ... like him. I feel bad for what he's endured and still enduring, but that doesn't mean what he did and the decisions he continues to take are ok.