| Title | : | Courting Darkness (Fae Revealed, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 434 |
| Publication | : | First published September 18, 2021 |
Fighting my family.
And fighting for my life.
Trust me—the first one is completely voluntary, and a lot of fun. The second? Not so much.
To say my family dynamic is weird is the understatement of the century. I held my first sword when I was only five years old, and I learned how to dispose of a body before I turned ten.
I may have a penchant for pink and sparkles…but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to kick major ass as well.
As if my life isn't complicated enough, my body is being ravaged by a chronic, mystery illness.
Seizures? Check. Passing out? Check. Agonizing pain? Check. A host of other unexplainable ailments? Double check.
After a change in my parents’ job takes us across the country, I find myself doing something I’ve never done before—attend an actual high school, despite my sickness.
But this school? Well…it’s a little weird...
I'm always turned around, and there's something happening I just can't put my finger on.
And don’t even get me started on my sexy as sin teacher and his equally as gorgeous twin brother. Or Tristan, who kind of reminds me of an energetic puppy. Or Kian, who has a harem of girls at his beck and call, despite seemingly unhappy with his entire life. Or Foster and Gage, who are revered and feared in equal measure.
With a serial killer stalking the streets of this odd, little town, my new friends and family are on high alert.
One thing becomes clear…
Humans aren’t the only beings who walk this earth.
And if I don’t uncover the secrets of my new school, I may be the killer’s next victim.
Courting Darkness is a reverse harem paranormal romance, meaning the main character will end up with more than one love interest by the end of the series. This is book ONE in the series. It will end with a cliffhanger.
Courting Darkness (Fae Revealed, #1) Reviews
-
Courting Darkness is enjoyable. It's entertaining, fun to read, with jealous and possessive boys and an adorable heroine who can somewhat stand her ground.
But it also has less plot development than a Ghost bird book.
cue sigh
This is yet another case when a story suffers from the blurb. I am not very familiar with Quinn Arthurs, but when I go into a Katie May book, I pretty much know what to expect: a charming heroine, growly and protective men, and some kind of story.
Which is fine with me. Sometimes, you just want those big teddy bears in leather jackets that have about zero personality apart from protecting the heroine.
But here's the thing.
While this time some of the guys do stand out, the book seriously lacks in world-building and plot.LexieSerafina, our main character, just go to school, go to her classes, bond with her new friends and sometimes get seizures. The serial killer gets a mention and a half, Sera knows zero things about the supernatural world by the end of the first book, and being turned around in the weird school is barely an issue.
Nothing happens.
Then why are you lying to me?
Hey, I might have dropped both but I love The Ghost Bird and I love The Veil Diaries. I enjoy those stories that are all about relationships and the slow-ish burn. But if I wanted no development at all, I would have stuck to those.
The blurb told me to expect some mystery, some action, some bodies to make disappear, and definitely a serial killer on the loose. Instead, I got zero sexual tension, a game of Clue, and a predator of a teacher.
Thank god for the two overprotective brothers and the alpha-male who stands outside her window or this book would have gone from entertaining to a complete waste of time. Hopefully, with the huge-ass cliffhanger, the next installment will actually give me the plot it deserves.
> No MM
> No FF
> Cliffhanger, not one but two big ones because why the hell not.
> Multiple POVs
> Characters in high school and a few years older
> 6 guys, I think.
> Who falls first?
Trigger warning:
No real one but the heroine is sick and has seizures that are described as "fits" which sounds kind of weird. -
Look, is it an amazing book? No.
Are there a few minor aspects of this book that bugged me? Yes.
Did I still really enjoy this paranormal academy reverse harem? HELL YEAH
Off I go on to book 2 -
BadA**ss
Amazing amazing amazing!!
I could not put this down my children wanted attention no nope def not 😂
I seriously love the FMC she is so so Sta****bby-!!
The harem is on point and I’m seriously needing more in this series!! -
I have feelings. I have to 5 star this book, because I always do that when I get stuck in the event horizon of a great slow burn RH PNR. This book grabbed me and would not let me go. Love Katie's writing, she's an insta buy.
But.
I am starting to get suuuuuuuper annoyed at cliffhangers. I mean, I get it. I really do. And in my own books, I'm planning to have threads that don't tie up too neatly, so sequels are interesting... but the waits between book 1 and 2 (or heaven forbid 2 and 3) have started impacting my reading life. As in, when the next book finally comes out, I've sort of forgotten the book 1 ending.
I really hope the next book comes out SOON. Because, while this book felt very familiar, it was like my favorite cozy comforter familiar, not boring. I want more. *sigh*
Will I become one of those readers who refuses to start a series if it has MONGO cliffhangers? I'm close, y'all. Really dang close. -
My Thoughts on Courting Darkness
4.5 rounded up
This author duo, while individually talented, stepped it up even higher as a team, producing a book with all the charm, wit and intrigue you look for in a new series. The only drawback? There’s only one book out so far!! (Edit - Book 2 is out now, and equally fantastic!)
Sera is a wonderful FMC- pocket-sized yet fierce, even though she suffers from a debilitating and mysterious ailment. Or maybe she is so fierce BECAUSE she has to deal with a disease that strikes out of nowhere. Not to mention an incredibly strong family that has made a business of weapons, training and generally being bad@ss. Obviously, there is a lot more to it - but there are reasons that Sera knows how to fight and defend herself as well as she does.
The guys that start centering around her are as different as different can be, yet they all share a familiar background and know each other well. Of them all, I think Kian is my favorite, mainly because no one likes him. It’s complicated.
If the rest of the series follows the flow of this one, then I've found a solid series I can't wait to read again and again.
Perspective:
First Person, Multiple POV
Ending Type:
Cliffhanger. Serious one.
Rating:
R
Romantic Dynamic:
Reverse Harem... not sure of the final make up yet.
Taboos:
Teacher - he's only 25 though.
Character Age Range:
17+
More New Adult than Young Adult, though it's set in High School, all characters are 18 or close enough to it that the slow-burn plot will get there before age consent becomes a problem.
My Final Verdict on Courting Darkness
A fantastic start to a promising new series. The characters are richly depicted, showcasing all the strengths and foibles you'd expect in a group of magical beings... ones who are still growing up themselves. Mistakes have been made here, and that just brings the story to life. -
3.5
-
Holy cliffhanger. What. On. Earth.
Serafina is such a fun character. She is overly girly and somehow also overly violent which is an oddly satisfying combo.
I love Gage, Devyn, and Xander. The strong, silent, dominating types are just *chef's kiss* to me.
My heart ACHES for Kian. I adore him. He is precious and should be protected at all costs.
Tristan is hilarious. I've never thought of a wolf shifter as a pup in behavior but he's an extremely comical mindset to be in.
Foster kind of fell behind for me. When he's there, front and center, I like him well enough but the second he's off page I forgot about him🙈
As if there aren't enough harem members to keep track of, I kiiiinnnndddd of get the vibe that another member will join soon or be the main interest in a potential spin off. But that's probably just crazy talk.
At the end of the day, I am giving a 4 out of 5. Mainly because it was a little disjointed for me. Not everything flowed the way I would've liked. More personal preference than anything to do with the story. -
First of all this book has like zero plot. And the romance is mediocre at best. I’m not reading the next book.
TW: rape, abuse, addiction
Spoilers ahead…
I hate all the guys other than Kian. I don’t know why the author would think we would have any kind of sympathy for them after what they did to Kian. The man was basically being raped for years and no one helped him even when he begged for it. Instead they called him names and isolated him. His own parents forced him into “sessions” where he had to have sex with an old woman when he was a kid. Like WTF!!!! The other guys, especially Tristan suck. Just horrible for not seeing the pain this guy was holding in. And Devyn is an empath how could he not know Kian’s pain?!?! I’m just so so angry I wish this book was just about Kian and Sera and none of the other guys cause fuck them for being such assholes. Their best friend is being constantly raped and they chose not to help him and instead stereotyped him because he’s an incubus. -
Fantastic
Took a chapter or so to really get into, but I ended up gripped enough to read it in one sitting. Great FMC that I can really identify with, despite her age, having also been the very short teen with chronic health issues. And I absolutely love her fire and her determination. The family dynamics are pretty funny. Also love the guys, they're really well written and very distinct from one another. Can't wait to see where this is going, and hoping that the double cliffie will be resolved in the first page of the next book!!! -
OMG!!!!!
I read this book in less than 24 hours, laughed and cried with the characters and the book is so, so great. Y’all put me through so many emotions with all the characters, especially Kian, man I was hit so hard by his part at the end! And then that cliffhanger, OMG I wanted to scream! I loved it and I can’t wait for the next book!!! -
You could tell she was a fae and wasn’t given her revelation. I wonder why she wasn’t and what her parents are hiding from her. Why did she change into her mom at the end? This was so good and Candy is terrible.
-
Wow, this was so good!!! I loved Sera and the boys, can’t wait for book two, especially after that mean cliffhanger
-
If you've been following my reviews, then you know I'm a sucker for anything by Katie May, but when she teams up with another author like Quinn Arthurs? *Chef's Kiss*
Short and sweet synopsis: Serafina is our FMC and she has grown up in a rather unusual family. She's been learning to fight since she began learning to walk because of her family's ecentricities (they run a security business) and is basically a completee bad*** at the point the book begins. However, she also suffers from a mysterious illness that gives her siezures and all kinds of other horrible symptoms.
Anyway, the book begins with her family moving from Anaheim California to Bedisa Michigan for a job. Serafina, who has been homeschooled since her illness developed around the time she was 12 years old, will be transferring to the local high school to do her senior year. Of course, she immediately meets her harem. Also, the school is not quite what it seems, but the parts from the guys' POV explain things.
Light spoiler
Heavy spoiler
Anyway, this book was really funny and heartwarming and I loved how the authors took the time to build the characters and individual relationships of the, well, characters. This is a case of insta-love (or at least lust and like), so warning if that's not your cup of tea. But it is definitely mine, so I loved it. Highly recommend! -
As shown by the 2 stars, it was ok - nothing spectacular that really wow'ed me or anything that I can particularly pinpoint.
The blurb sounded something right up my alley, it has all the ingredients of the makings of my favourite type of book. Fierce female character that people underestimates? check. Oblivious to the supernatural world but senses something eerie? check. Mystery? check. A whole lotta hot men? CHECK.
However, it did not live up to my expectations and essentially being forgettable. The characters were fine and benefited from the multi-povs so it had a tad more depth and was able to learn more about the guys. On one hand, it's a slow burn romance but then you flip to the next page and I get whiplash with how rash things progressed.
Will I be reading the next book? hmmm..let's say I wouldn't be rushing to kindle to download it as soon as it drops but may have a peak when I have time. -
Loved it
I feel so invested in this story and the characters!! And the cliffhanger!?? Holy crap!! I LOVE Sera as a main character!! So cute and kind and kicka$$. I loved her!! -
This was such a great read. I was hooked from the beginning. There are a ton of characters that we are getting to know in this first book as well as trying to figure out what’s wrong with Sera. I loved the relationship building with all the new friends Sera meets and I’m anxious to find out what part she will play in this new fae world.
-
It was okay. A lot of people to remember. I needed a diagram to remember who was who.
-
2.5 stars!
-
***BLOODY HATE CLIFFY***
How mature are u guys! grrrrr haha anyway omg i love Sera she is the cutest and the boys wow i do hope Devyn is ok 🥺 now to book 2 -
I'm really torn on how to rate this. Parts of it deserve 4 stars, but parts of it seem more like 2 stars, so I guess I'll go middle of the road as a 3 on this.
The book starts off slow, I thought about quitting pretty quickly, but decided to give it a little longer, and by about 15%, it picked up enough to hold my attention & not think about quitting again. The world building is a learn as you go, since the FMC, Seraphine/Sera, does not know about the paranormal world existing, she's totally oblivious to it, even though all around her, the other main characters as well as a bunch of the secondary characters (including her human family), all know about the paranormal. I hope the authors keep Sera kick @ss thru the whole series and not let her turn in to a Mary Jane, or a wimpy, let the men take care of her- sort of gal. I did feel like the book felt slightly predictable (there are a few surprises in the plot) at times. I won't be surprised to find out Sera is a Fae that didn't get her "revelation" at 13 to discover what she is that is causing all her medical conditions. I also suspect she will be some sort of royalty or upper class in the Fae political realm from some of the things mentioned by other characters. I do enjoy her interactions with her brothers, Caleb & Maddox, they are almost comic relief to the story. I feel like a lot of main characters are introduced pretty fast, and there wasn't enough book pages to really get a feel for each of the guys that will probably be in the RH. The main focus in this book seems to be on 4 of the possible 6 that will be in her RH (Tristan, Gage, Foster, & Kian). The other 2, Xander -her teacher & his twin Devyn are slightly older (not out of the age bracket for her, just out of High School) so seem to not be in her immediate thoughts, though she's met them & is attracted to them. I really had a problem with Tristan, he was not a character I even liked right from the start. He's all over the map with his behavior & attitude, and acts like he has ADHD or something. I did like Foster & Gage, until I read the confrontation Kian had with Tristan, Foster & Gage. I even liked Devyn, but seem to like in books those quiet menacing strong big guys for some reason. But Xander, I'm not sure I like him. His thoughts border on BDSM over Sera, and I'm not cool with that sort of stuff even in books, let alone the "teacher issue" I have.
I don't think I've read a book with 2-3 cliff hanger situation endings before. We are left hanging on Devyn in the hospital; and Kian having a confrontation with Tristan, Foster & Gage; and then with Sera having a serious melt-down situation (maybe a power flare for her fae side?) happening at home (& it's nothing to do with what happened to Devyn since she didn't know about that).
This book seems like it should be rated as a N/A book, though the only actual sexual act is when Tristan fingers Sera while kissing her. My biggest gripe, I don't like seeing a not quite 18 year old (said she would turn 18 in a month) being thrown into a RH situation. I don't feel like the maturity level is right for a RH for anyone in High School or at 18. I also struggled with her teacher, Xander, being obviously one of her RH guys, as that just crosses some lines that I have a problem with- high school teachers with their students -even if it's a not quite 18 year old girl & a 25ish year old guy, since it's not the age gap (at only 7 years older), but the student/teacher thing. If this had been college instead of High School, it would have been a different thing for me. High School seems to cross my lines as not acceptable.
I will read book 2 when it comes out, hopefully it improves over this book to make me all in for the series. -
.
I don’t believe this was put together very well.
The whole book is written with such dramatics it’s not even funny, it would be impossible for a character to go down a flight of stairs without wailing about a near fall.
Along with dramatics, each chapter was filled with too many things trying to be “relatable” it just became a no factor. I’m all for quirky characters but when it comes to basically listing things that are “big” at the moment in the real world in a book, it starts to bug me a bit.
The characters seemed extremely childish yet was constantly talking about sex and other things, it didn’t mix well for me. Especially once you find out a character has to sleep with his 100+ year old teacher at the age of 13, no. (Sorry if this spoils anything for someone who hasn’t read yet).
I personally just felt that this book jumped around everything and nothing really happened.
Some people will like this book, I’m simply just not one of them. -
Didn't Love The Ending
I was looking for a paranormal book in a school setting that wasn't a bully book. This one met all of those criteria and for the first 75% of the book I was thinking this might be a 5* read. Unfortunately, the end left me somewhat melancholy and unsatisfied. I don't expect all of the mysteries to be answered and all of the plot issues to be resolved (when a book is part of a series) but this one left almost everything hanging. Add to that the heartbreaking Kian storyline that made me dislike the other guys and there is very little motivation to want to read book 2. I did love Sera and the dichotomy of her character. A tiny girly girl who was able to kick @ss was fun to read about. I also loved the dynamic between her and her brothers. Due to that and my enjoyment of over half the book a 4* rating feels appropriate. -
Cliffhanger, Fam. I usually wait until two books are out, but I didn’t listen. Sorry, not sorry though! Katie May is a fav of mine and this co-write didn’t disappoint! Love the kick-butt, yet vulnerable heroine and her guys!!!! The guuuuuys!!! My favs of the harem are, of course, Devyn and Gage. I’m a sucker for the big, growly teddy bear types. Definitely looking forward to book two! One heroine with six protective guys, slow-burn.
-
Love the trope of badass FMC, yet also vurnable due to her illness. Protective guys, but sharing has not yet crossed their mind. So look forward to see how they'll deal with that.
-
I really enjoyed this book, which was a surprise because I had read Katie May's Together We Fall and Blindly Indicted, and in both cases I found her writing a bit disjointed, with plot holes and weird things left unexplained. But I took a chance on this one because she was co-writing it with someone else. I haven't read any of Quinn Arthur's other works, but I did read the sample of this book first, and it was intriguing enough for me to keep reading.
So we have a stabby FMC, Serafina. Like literally stabby; she carries a lot of concealed blades on her person and whips them out whenever she feels threatened. She's not an angry person, though, and doesn't just fight for the sake of fighting. I liked that the authors gave her a believable backstory: her parents had trained her to attack and defend herself from young because they worked in security and they knew what kind of monsters are out there, preying on people. In the story, she trains frequently and also has bruises and other injuries from her training, so it's realistic.
I liked Serafina. She treaded the fine line between being over the top and still relatable. But it's understandable that she felt she had to prove herself her whole life due to her petite stature and also her mysterious chronic illness. She wouldn't let these things define her, and I really respected and admired that. She has maintained an optimism and enthusiasm about life despite the challenges and pain she has faced, which was pretty amazing.
I think it's obvious who the harem is going to be in this book, although the harem relationships haven't formed yet by the end of the book. (What I mean is, the guys are hanging out with Sera and they're close and care for each other, but it hasn't gone there.) Looks like it's going to be a huge harem. I liked the guys; there was an effort to distinguish between them, and they were unique without falling into the usual clichés like the nerdy guy, the flirty guy, the quiet guy, and so on.
The relationships are what really made this book. The guys are sweet about Sera and I liked that they all rallied around Serafina from the start even though she was human, and they normally didn't mix a lot with humans (since they couldn't reveal their world to humans). They were all drawn to her, and didn't fight it. They were protective, which is my favourite type of harem. I did think that Tristan's inability to share or his desire to keep Serafina to himself would end up becoming a problem, but in this book other bigger things occurred, so this wasn't something Sera and Tristan needed to deal with yet.
I also loved Sera's relationship with her family. I loved that for once, we didn't have an FMC who came from an abusive or neglectful family. Her banter with her brothers was so fun to read--the way she'd sass them and give them hell and how they'd torment her back, yet the moment they think there's a threat, they go on the alert, ready to kill to protect her.
There wasn't much world-building in this story, which was a bit of a letdown. We got an explanation of the Seelie and Unseelie fae, which was important because the authors made shifters just one type of fae, instead of being a different race altogether, which is more common. I did think that there could have been a wee bit more information about the world of the fae; we were only given sufficient info to understand the way things worked at a basic, surface level. -
NO! NO! NO! I know, I'm usually not the kind of person to start my reviews like this. I mean, mostly I'm trying to seem professional here, but in this case it's just impossible to leave my emotions out of this review. On the contrary: The review is gonna be emotions and emotions only. It's a little bit like the book in that regard. And well, the authors chose to end with the words "it's time for us to talk". YOU CAN'T END A BOOK LIKE THAT!
If you've been reading my reviews for a while already you might know that I have a chronic illness. I have a pain disease. Doctors have no idea what causes it and trying to lessen the pain is an endless cycle of trial and error. And even the medicines that work only have a limited effect. I haven't had a pain free day since 3 days before my 18th birthday. I therefore LOVED reading about a main character dealing with the same kind of stuff. Although, I guess hers might have an explanation after all.
Not that we already figure that out in this book. We're reading about this awesome world, with seelies and unseelies, consisting of werewolves and vampires and incubi and succubi and many more creatures. And we are given the impression that our totally human (not, of course) heroine is the soulmate of quite a few of those seelies and unseelies. But the moment it's time to get some answers to our questions. THE BOOK ENDS!
I was growing attached to these characters! I was starting to care about them! I hated it when bad things started happening to them, because they were all such amazing people. And the last Kian chapter shattered my heart into a MILLION LITTLE PIECES! How can the authors let me wait to find out if they'll be alright? And what they are actually dealing with? How can the authors end the book LIKE THIS? WHEN DOES THE NEXT ONE COME OUT? -
Kindle Unlimited
This was entertaining and a guilty pleasure read. It's a RH where all of the characters are young (17-25); there is no sex, just some tension. Readers are required to suspend their disbelief a lot.
The female main character, Serafina, comes from a family of security experts. As such, they've trained all three of their children in weapons and hand-to-hand combat. The rest of the family knows about the supernatural world, where they are often called in to assist, but Sera is unaware.
Sera suffers from a debilitating chronic illness that has not been diagnosed. She's trying to live life despite the pain and uncertainty of her next episode. So, from the buildup of the story, there's quite a bit that had my eyebrows raised.
Sera's group of guys are interesting. I liked the chapters from their point of view.
I thought it was interesting that the first brief physical interaction was with the Tristan, the enthusiastic puppy of the bunch. That didn't seem right, especially after Sera declared that she had no interest in him like that .
Sera is 5' tall, dresses like an elementary school child and loves pink. Her insistence that she be treated like an adult seems ludicrous when she's holding on to her childhood with two hands. Maybe layoff the sparkle shoes and rainbow tights. It felt gross thinking of her in a sexual situation when she was dressed like that.
The book ends on TERRIBLE CLIFFHANGER that you have no reference or preparation for. It's either a major plot twist, or a hallucination. I'm not sure which I prefer at this point. -
Strong start to the series
This story was pretty unique. Sera is a 17 year old who's family is very different, in that their way of showing love is fighting each other and learning weapons. While a great fighter, Sera is chronically unwell and nobody knows why.
When they move to a new town, Sera gets to start a new skill and immediately befriends a bunch of guys who are different, even if she isn't aware of that. The fact is though they are all fae and drawn to her despite her being "human".
So I say unique, and that's probably due to her family dynamic, but there are lots of commonalities with other books as well, and while there is a cliffhanger and the next book is sure to have big reveals, its obvious very early on what they will be.
The unexplained illness, the guys being drawn to her, its pretty clear from the beginning that she is more than human. This isn't a spoiler because the reveal hasn't happened, it's just my theory based on books of a similar genre and something I picked up from the book description before even starting the book.
There is still a lot not revealed. While we learn a lot about Sera, there are still quite a few questions about the guys. We've learnt what most of their monsters are, and there were some reveals about their backgrounds but still a lot to learn.
This book comes with a 2 pronged cliffhanger, somebody's life is in the balance while somebody's life is about to change. Hope we don't wake too long for the next book.
