'A Court This Cruel and Lovely' by Stacia Stark is a captivating fantasy novel that follows the story of Prisca, a fierce and loyal character who evolves throughout the book, becoming more feral and endearing. Set in a world with perfect world-building and a unique magic system, the book introduces readers to a cast of nuanced and varied characters, including the grumpy and mysterious Lorian. With elements of enemies to lovers, found family, and hidden identity, the book delivers a slow-burn romance full of tension and epic characters. The story is led by Prisca as she navigates her heritage, abilities, and the challenges of a world that does not appreciate her power.
The writing style of Stacia Stark in 'A Court This Cruel and Lovely' is engaging and immersive, with readers finding it hard to put the book down. The banter between the main characters, Prisca and Lorian, is entertaining and the side characters add depth to the story, creating a found family dynamic that readers will love. The book balances action, drama, and romance perfectly, keeping readers hooked from start to finish with a well-paced plot and epic character development.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The novel contains themes of betrayal, violence related to the magic system, and the tension between characters, which may require content warnings.
Has Romance?
The book contains romance which develops over the course of the narrative.
From The Publisher:
For fantasy romance readers who love Raven Kennedy, Amanda Bouchet, and Carissa Broadbent. This slow burn, enemies-to-lovers series will enchant you…
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.
Please note: A Court This Cruel and Lovely is an NA/adult romantasy book with steam. While this series is slow burn, the chili pepper rating will increase for each book.
Ratings (49)
Incredible (11) | |
Loved It (19) | |
Liked It (9) | |
It Was OK (6) | |
Did Not Like (3) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (177):
Read It (53) | |
Currently Reading (2) | |
Want To Read (106) | |
Not Interested (16) |
2 comment(s)
I really enjoyed the first 40% of this novel, the plot and the friendships Prisca formed with the mercenaries was really interesting and compelling. but once she left for the court element of the story it just dragged on. And even when that got a bit more enjoyable, the “love story” between her and Lorian felt so unearned and unsatisfying. I didn’t feel as if he truly cared for her or had any affection for her, I felt as if it was falling in lust if anything else. And it distracted from the plot and made the story a lot less fun to get through.
I'm a little torn.
I liked the story, but I didn't like the characters too much. I found Prisca (FMC) to be largely toothless - she kept swearing vengeance in this book, to the point where it became hilarious - and TSTL. I mean, she's like this headstrong dumbass who keeps careening into bad situations and not thinking. And it gets other people killed. That combined with her martyr bullshit ... I just didn't like her much.
And the MMC Lorian is just a total douchebag. He's 2-dimensional, a lot of the time - just a snarling asshole, to an unjustifiable degree. We get hints of something softer in there, but it is mostly eclipsed by his utter douchebaggery. And I think the author wanted it to be secret, who he is ... but it was pretty transparent. I guessed it the first moment we heard about that dude. So the big identity reveal at the end was pretty meh.
But like I said, I liked the story. The human king who created a religion to steal magic from everyone, and the rebellion who is trying to stop this super powerful asswipe. The hints of the broader story - the hybrid kingdom, the fae - are interesting and compelling.
I'm reading onwards because I really, really liked this author's
Deals with Demons series. But I'm concerned that she's skewing this one too YA in the characterizations, and it won't be to my taste. We'll see.
What can you read after
A Court This Cruel and Lovely?
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