| Title | : | The Book of Azrael (Gods and Monsters, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 572 |
| Publication | : | First published April 26, 2022 |
A thousand years ago, Dianna gave up her life in the deserts of Eoria to save her dying sister. She called upon anyone who would listen, not expecting a monster far worse than any nightmare to answer. Now she does what Kaden asks, even if that means securing an ancient relic from the very creatures that hunt her.
A King thought long dead and long forgotten.
In the old world his name was Samkiel. In the new world it is Liam, but one title remains true throughout time. He is the World Ender, a myth to his enemies, a savior and King to those loyal to him. After the Gods War, he locked himself away, hiding from the world. He denied his crown and responsibilities, leaving the very ones who needed him most to deal with the fallout of the death of their homeworld. Now an attack on those he holds dear sends him back to the one realm he never wished to visit again and into the sights of an enemy he thought imprisoned eons ago.
Now enemies older than time must put aside their differences and work together in hopes of saving both their world and every realm in between.
The Book of Azrael (Gods and Monsters, #1) Reviews
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➸ 4.5 stars
”i didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, i decided i would rip the world apart for her.”
— this book just consumed me completely, i go to sleep and i dream about this book, and that ending?? it left me SHOCKED, i had to go and download the next immediately after reading this one!! that cliffhanger still has me crying.. amber nicole, you will be paying for my therapy as i did not expect to endure such pain! 😭
➷ the plot centers around the search for the Book of Azrael, an ancient artifact poised to shape the fate of the world — this said tome has the ability to open doors between realms that were closed millennia ago and contains the celestial secret on how to kill the “world-ender” - and kaden will go through any lengths to get this book in his possession. kaden’s OtherWorld Army embark on a mission to possess it and bring him the book - only kaden’s second in command, dianna betrays him and forms an alliance with liam to save the world and the realms — now these two must work together to prevent the impending doom and find the book before it lands in kaden’s possession.
➷ initially, it was a little slow when the author was building up the world and the writing did feel clunky at the start, so maybe it would’ve been better if there was an editor. it did take me a while to completely immerse myself in the world, but once the book started to progress and liam was introduced to us, i could not put this book DOWN. the world building became very complex and the author manages to fully immerse you into her world and leaves you wanting more. i was intrigued by the power system possessed by the gods and monsters. this book also had the perfect balance of modern and ancient societal aspects.”the burning embers in the depths of her hazel eyes lit up the room and my entire world.”
➳ dianna, a ruthless, fiery bad bitch with a snarky attitude - she is the epitome of a badass fmc. she is cruel, sassy, strong, completely selfless and the most perfect morally grey fmc i have ever encountered, but she hides behind a façade of sarcasm and snark. she is the most feared creature and a dangerous weapon — she is made for chaos and destruction, but she has a single soft spot for her sister gabby. she would go to any lengths to protect her sister and would do absolutely ANYTHING for her, including giving up her mortal life to an evil king (kaden) just to save her sisters life thousands of years ago. her character development was so raw and real, it truly brought her character to life. if you were a fan of katherine pierce in tvd then you will absolutely love dianna bc they both give off the same vibes.
➳ liam is a stoic traumatised hero - he is also known as samkiel and the world ender. dianna and liam could not be any more different personality-wise, but they both are broken in their own way. when we are first introduced to him, we see that he is in a very dark mental state. he’s suffering from PTSD and depression bc of the fall and destruction of his home world, rashearim. he has suffered for a long time and is constantly reliving the mistakes of his past and pushing away everyone who loves and cares for him — but who knew that it would only take the stubborn and exasperating dianna to be able to break down his walls and make him come out of shell and live life again.“you already consume my every waking thought. must you consume my dreams as well?”
➷ the relationship between dianna and liam was indeed very hostile at the beginning however, when they go on a journey and are forced to stay together, the two begin to slowly open up to one another, show a deep understanding for one another and they slowly start to become friends and build trust between them. i love how soft liam was for dianna, it literally melted my heart — but they both are more than willing to burn down the world for each other. i loved that dianna becomes liam's "saviour" especially during his nightmares and liam learns to rely on her during those hours.
the tension between was HOTTT and the banter was also so good, i was obsessed and it constantly kept me on my toes!! there was just an amazing dynamic between them. liam barely understands modern language since he isolated himself, so the exchanges between them both was fun to read!! i literally giggled when he said “fuck” for the first time bc that word isn’t in his vocabulary lmaoo. their relationship took time to develop and didn't feel rushed or forced which i admired — the two of them were full of sexual tension, longing, and deep, unrelenting feelings that neither of them wanted to acknowledge.
— this is a true enemies to lovers story, they truly loathed each other at the start bc by the nature of who they are, they are technically mortal enemies and she fr tries to kill him during their first encounter 🤭 these two can’t co-exist in the same place but they both needed to put aside their differences to save the universe. their kinds have been fighting each other for centuries, one is a god and one is a monster so it also has the perfect balance of forbidden love which made this book even more exciting. and the slow burn?? oh my goddd, was it burning!! this is EXACTLY what i expect when i see a book marketed as “slow burn” — THE SLOW BURN WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS IN THIS BOOK!! i tenaciously recommend this book >>> -
Plot- 4.5/5🌟
Spice- 1.5/5🌶️
"I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."
✔️Enemies to lovers
✔️Slow burn
✔️FMC as a villian
✔️Epic world building
✔️Only one bed
✔️Forced proximity
✔️Forbidden romance
✔️Action sequences that leave you wanting for more
✔️Cliffhanger
It's basically close to perfection😍😍The characters are so complex yet likable. Liam is the World Ender- and our love interest. He's the definition of a grump. But to get to know his highs and lows is such a moving experience. You'll immediately fall in love with him. He's a total romantic and is so open about his feelings. Dianna our FMC is a badass warrior. But what I did not like about her was her snarkyness. It was a bit too much and sometimes it was not even required. Though, as the story progresses she only gets better and better. Kaden is our villian- I know we're supposed to hate him but he has a certain appeal about himself that attracts the reader (or at least I was attracted)👀
The supporting characters are pretty good themselves but not much revealed about them for me to judge or review them.
The plot unravels at a consistent smooth pace which I LOVED. It never goes too fast or too slow. There's no info dumping done, the author was smart to execute it well. So kudos to her👏👏The transition to enemies to lovers is done so PERFECTLY, I just adored it. The two have such great chemistry together it's hard not to root for them😩
The cliffhanger has me crying. I NEED THE NEXT BOOK. I'm honestly so glad I decided to give this a read. It's a perfect fantasy romance (and absolutely swoon worthy). Don't hesitate to give it a read. I highly recommend.
"But it was not this world.
No, it was mine.
It was Dianna."
eARC provided by Booksirens for an honest review. -
4.5 ⭐ Holy f*cking sh*t READ THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Summary:
A thousand years ago, Dianna gave up her life to save her dying sister. Now, reborn with dangerous powers, she serves as the right hand to the king of monsters.
Samkiel, the World Ender, is a myth to many. After the Gods War, he locked himself away, denying his crown and responsibilities. But when old threats resurface, Samkiel realizes he can no longer hide.
Dianna and Samkiel are enemies older than time, but they must put aside their differences and work together in the hopes of saving both their world and every realm in between.
My Thoughts:
It's been almost a month since I've read this book, and I still think about it every day!
WHAT TO EXPECT:
🌎 Unique world (gods, monsters, humans)
😈 Morally grey, cheeky heroine
🤕 Damaged, cinnamon roll hero
❤️ TRUE enemies-to-lovers
🗣 Amazing banter
🔥 Slow burn romance
🌶 Eventual smut (1-2 scenes)
🤺 Incredible action/fighting sequences
😱 Shocking twists and turns
🩻 Trauma/PTSD healing journey
😭 Heartbreaking cliffhanger
✔️ Perfect pacing / constantly entertained
The characters are phenomenal. I absolutely adore Dianna and Samkiel aka Liam. But what took me by surprise is how attached I've become to the secondary characters, i.e. Gabby, Logan, Neverra, and Drake. And Kaden is such an amazing villain! I can't wait to learn more about him.
The world-building and story are so unique! I genuinely haven't read anything like this before. And the best part is that there are NO info dumps! 👏
And the story kept me on my toes the ENTIRE TIME! So many plot twists I did not see coming! And that cliffhanger. . . I sobbed. You've been warned.
However, there are some typos and errors throughout the story. Hopefully, this won't be an issue in the next book.
Overall, The Book of Azrael is a fantastic, captivating story! I can't believe it's a debut novel! This is the best fantasy book I've read this year. And depending on how the series goes, it may top ACOTAR for me. . . Like Rhys and Feyre, who??? Nah, Liam and Dianna!!
Thank you to Amber Nicole and Rose & Star Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own. -
We were destined to fight until the sky bled and worlds shook. But when he touched me, cradled my face as if I was the most fragile, beautiful being in the world, I melted. I didn't feel like a monster with him and I realized I never had.
biggest disappointment. everything was so badly developed. this is supposed to revolve around the book of azrael but all we got is horrible banter, horrible jokes, horrible conversations, horrible world, horrible main characters, horrible everything.
i don't understand this world at all and i gave up trying. i cared so little that i didn't even try to come up with my own. I just wanted to get this monstrosity over with.
the way they spoke made me illiterate. they talked so robotic, the contractions were placed so badly. every page is them ranting about each other and if it's not that, we get those long ass flashbacks or some stupid explaining about some stupid shit i couldn't care less about. so many unnecessary situations were dragged out
the fmc kept throwing temper tantrums over the most basic stupid minuscule thing. this started happening after she met the mmc. how wonderful, we love that 😀'growl, low and menacing, slipped past my lips as the beast inside me coiled.'
ok miss wild animal
her not being able to control her emotions with anything involving gabby is so played out.
her getting mad everytime he said she's his after she repeatedly said she's his...
her getting mad whenever he calls her a beast.. when that's what she is.... for example;"Did you just call me a beast?!" I roared, the flame tickling my palms again.
her talking to him like she's miss know it all when he's literally centuries older, calling him a spoiled brat for no reason every chance she got. i lost it when she called him a "spoiled asshole" when he took her to a trusted and secluded area so she can rest and heal. she's always annoyingly rude to him when he's being nice. poor liam fr, he deserves another fmc.
liam was the only redeeming factorkindaof this book.I just wanted to feel, and a single touch from her set my body alight. I wanted her hands on every single part of me, and I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything in my life. It was the most selfish desire in the world, but I wanted her more than a crown, more than a throne, more than air.
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
➺ 'She was my enemy, yet my enemy was the only one who seemed to understand me and the demons I fought.'
➺ 'I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.'
➺ 'When she had turned into me and wrapped her arms around my chest, the world had slipped away. It was a brief reprieve as I held her body curled against mine.'
➺ "You already consume my every waking thought, must you consume my dreams as well?"
➺ 'Because I have every part of you memorized and transcribed into my brain.'
➺ 'I knew nothing of love, but I knew I wanted her, needed her, and dreamed of her. -
edit: it looks like since I've read this, the book has been edited a bit more, so some of these errors are no longer present. I'm not going to go through and change my review for it, but I just want to acknowledge that the current version(on kindle unlimited, at least) has been edited a bit more. sadly, no one took out the line about shaving Dianna's vagina.
I've done it. I finally finished this book. It only took me like a month and a half but I finally battled my way through and boy do I have a lot to say. Strap in folks. This review will be filled with spoilers.
Well, we start strong with the name of one of Amber’s islands being misspelt in the book blurb. It’s Erioa, but in the book, it’s Eoria. So that right there should tell you all you need to know about the overall quality of this book. The editing is like that through all 841 pages. It took me, so long to finish this tome of a novel. I stopped it several times but my compulsion to finish things kept gripping me by the back of the neck and forcing me back.
The first 50% of this book could have been removed, and you probably would not have missed a thing. Every flashback could have been scrapped. The first 15 chapters could’ve been condensed and combined. The whole sleepover saga with Gabby could’ve been cut. Nobody truly cares about the weird face masks they’re wearing or the sappy romance movies they’re watching. No one CARES. I understand she’s trying to build a relationship with the sister to show us how much she means to Dianna, but she tells us about 85 times in the span of three chapters that she never gets to see Gabby, and this is such a rare occurrence. Like, okay, I GET IT. THANK YOU. Shut up about it, for the love of god. There’s a scene where they go to a nightclub to meet up with Gabby’s current fling, and this is after Dianna has been going on and on about how she never gets to see her sister and she’s so glad to see her and blah blah blah. Some guy comes up to hit on her, and she says, and I quote, “But I was here with Gabby, the sister I rarely got to see.” I swear to god, if you tell me one more time, I’m going to lose it. So she rejects the guy because she never gets to see her sister….and then immediately leaves the bar without her sister?????? WHAT?
Honestly, a majority of the book felt like filler material. Nothing actually happened that was important. Dianna and Liam banter a lot, but none of it is relevant. Most of the things we learn are in flashbacks or weird robotic conversations. I didn’t buy their relationship. Everything about it felt juvenile as well as the majority of this book.
There is so much telling in this story, and I’m so tired. The writing itself is not the best, but I see the potential. I won’t shit on Amber entirely and say that she can’t write at all because there are some good lines, but unfortunately, all the bad ones overshadow it. Not to mention the editing issues. Some paragraphs repeat within pages of each other, word for word like she just copied and pasted them. An editor is credited, but uh…what work did they even do? Because I can’t find it.
All the world-building reads like info dumpage. A review says here that all the world-building is given with ‘no info dumping at all!’ And I’m here to tell you that that’s a lie. Every bit of narration has the POV ranting and raving about their feelings, but they repeat it over and over again to the point where I could not care less. Whenever I think something is well done, it gets overdone. An editor could’ve helped with that if an editor had actually gone over this book. It reads like she was trying to fill space, but you didn’t need to write an 800-page book, Amber. You could’ve told the same story and probably a better story in 400 pages.
Let’s talk about the dialogue. Everyone speaks the same, like a robot. Every conversation reads like Siri responding to you. The contractions are super awkwardly placed and never at the right moment. It would make sense for Liam to talk stiffly and for the language to be strange since he’s been living away from humanity for however long and had to learn English when he returned. But literally, EVERYONE talks like this.
Here, enjoy these treats I’ve gathered.
* - with obvious male interest
* - his ablaze blade ( it sounds so silly, I can’t breathe)
* The hair on my legs and vagina had gotten a little out of control. — This should have been 10000% scrapped. What the hell was she thinking?
* - satisfaction and male hunger flaring in his eyes
* - as the aggressive male power in the room increased
* I glanced at him and nearly stumbled, the male beauty of him taking my breath away.
* In the logical thinking part of my consciousness, I knew it came from a place of caring, but there was so much he did not know. (AMBER JUST SAY LOGICALLY, WTF??)
Amber created her own pantheon and her own world, I guess. I’m not sure what she based her pantheon on, but I feel like Unir is basically Odin. With his prophetic visions and golden spear, aka Gungnir. The whole ending part of the book reminded me of the first Thor movie, where Thor goes off and kills off a bunch of frost giants, and his dad and all the gods are furious with him. Well, Liam does the same thing with the Ig’Morutthens, thinking he’s fixing a problem and doing what a king would do, but everyone is mad at him.
We’re told they speak these weird old languages, but Liam randomly calls his mother ‘madre’? Ma’am, that is Spanish…you had me believing they were saying these unheard-of languages, but no…it’s Spanish. Most of the gods’ and island names read like keyboard smash to me. Ig’Morruthen, are you joking? What is that? We’re constantly told that the fall of the celestials(or gods, can’t remember for sure) destroyed the fabric of the mortal’s world, right…but we are never actually shown how it was changed. We’re never shown any dystopian world where people live in rags because the celestials destroyed everything. No, we see people going to carnivals and The Modern Grill, watching TV, talking on cellphones, and going to the International Airport. So basically, it’s our world? Nothing is different about it, save for the inclusion of these creatures. That’s it. Like a plague happened, but we don’t get to see any of those results aside from Dianna and Gabby being monsters or whatever now.
So Dianna and her sister died or were dying in a desert at some point, and Kaden showed up to save the day. In return for saving Dianna's sister, he turned her into an Ig'Morruthen; now, she's immortal and a super-powered badass. She can wield fireballs, lick people's blood and see into their memories, change her form into whatever she wants, and have super strength! It seems like Dianna was given all her power but never earned any of it. And by that, I mean her rank at Kaden's side. Sure, he sends her to complete all these tasks for him, which she does marvelously, but as the reader knows, she was automatically given the second rank right after she was made. As a human, did Dianna ever do anything notable to prove she deserved such a position?
Also, we’re told that Dianna (assumes she) cannot die unless her heart is removed and destroyed, and Amber starts the book out, trying to make her seem invulnerable. But there are several instances when she is poisoned and is supposedly close to death, so Liam has to feed her his blood?? She can eat human food to sustain herself but has to eat humans to maintain her powers? How often does she have to eat humans? Will she die if she doesn’t eat humans? Or will she just be powerless? Could she revert to a human without eating people? Why doesn’t she just….stop eating people? So if she stops eating people, she stops regenerating or something? But also, like she rips her own heart out, Liam just…puts it back in her chest. Lmfao. So Dianna just can’t die.
I appreciate the apparent inner conflict regarding Dianna and Kaden's relationship. Like clearly, it's very toxic. Kaden made Dianna into an Iggy monster(I cannot be bothered to spell that out anymore, sorry) to save her sister’s life, and now she has to, like…bone him or something. I’m not sure if that was part of their deal or if that was like a thing that naturally occurred and was somehow mutual(but it would still be coerced if Dianna felt she needed to do it to keep her sister alive) or if Kaden raped Dianna. It just became a regular thing, or what? But it’s still clear that she has conflicting emotions for him. They’re decently explained so you can empathize with why she continues to humor and sleep with him, etc. But then it gets to a point where it’s overkill (sensing a theme here). It’s unnecessary to tell us what Dianna thinks and feels about every little thing.
The creatures of the Otherworld are, for the most part, well done. The dream eaters sound scary as fuck. But please, for the love of god, explain to me how they can speak.
Samkiel/Liam’s PTSD is well done, but it becomes overkill. Like I’ve said about a dozen times, this book is too long. We’re told information repeatedly in the same chapter; things are over-explained to the point where it becomes redundant, and it’s all for what? Filler space? You could have created a much better novel if this was 400 pages. Honestly, with the number of things that don’t happen, it would’ve been better as a 300-page book.
This book was advertised as two villains who fall in love or something like that; I can't remember exactly, but I know Dianna was announced as a villain, but she's not. She's not a villain. She's doing 'evil' things as a means to an end, and that means is to protect her sister. That doesn't make her a villain. Drake and Ethan even say that she’s not evil. Amber tricks us into thinking that Dianna stooped to killing one of her only friends on Kaden’s orders; the guy even turns to ash, and Kaden catches it all on camera, yet SOMEHOW this guy didn’t die. It was all a ruse. In some convenient ass magical loophole, Dianna only killed the ‘image’ of Drake. So right there, she just erased the only ‘evil’ thing Dianna has done in this book. Threatening people without meaning the threat isn’t evil either.
The romance is so poorly done. The first 400 pages involve Liam and Dianna glaring at each other every single paragraph(literally, the word glare/glared/glaring are mentioned like 72 times.) while talking like robots and Dianna making a joke that’s not funny at all and giggling. It’s so juvenile, especially for these people who are supposed to be hundreds of years old. Then one night, Liam has a nightmare, and Dianna decides to talk to him about it and comfort him, and things flip around immediately after. Suddenly, they’re flirty and have all these intense longings toward one another. And then Drake and Ethan make a gross comment about Liam sleeping with Dianna, and it just goes right back to being awkward and uncomfy. I felt like I was just reading awkward conversations between these two the whole book while having info dumps on every aspect of this world thrown at me.
Also, the minute Liam insinuated Dianna was dressed like a slut and magically changed her dress for her made me mad as hell. I HATE when men won’t ‘let’ their girlfriend wear something because he deems it too revealing. First of all, Liam isn’t even her boyfriend. Second, IT’S HER BODY. Third, instead of getting mad that Liam essentially called her a slut, Dianna starts swooning over the special dress he made just for her. Kill me.
I’m sick of reading about their annoying af miscommunication bullshit. Dianna is all butthurt because Liam stopped sleeping in her bed. After all, Drake and Ethan( you have no idea how hard it is not to write Drake and Josh) made a lewd joke insinuating they’re boning. Liam apologized a bunch, but Dianna continued to choose to be mad. He explained to her over and over again that she does not repulse him, and he’s mentioned he finds her attractive, yet she keeps whining about how repulsive he finds her. Like, shut up, Dianna. You are so pathetic at this point.
This book was advertised as spicy, right? Like, I’m positive it was advertised as spicy and yet I am nearly 600 pages into this book and Liam and Dianna still haven’t boned. All the sex scenes have been in dreams and have been vaguely worded with gross phrases like ‘my cock was buried deep inside her’ because that’s like….the only thing these ‘spicy’ authors can think to say. Liam’s jealousy over Drake is so juvenile, as is Dianna’s jealousy over Camilla. Why shouldn’t she realize Camilla is hitting on Liam to get back at Dianna?
The thing that had me ripping my hair out in frustration was that this book is about finding the Book of Azrael(aka, the cat from the Smurfs), right? Nine hundred pages of filler space, all to find a book that Liam continues to insist does not exist. Well, this witch Dianna used to bone claims to have the book; all she wants in exchange is a kiss. This is the laziest way to create tension between Dianna and Liam I have ever read in my life. First, Dianna immediately assumes Camilla meant she wanted Dianna to kiss Liam, which is the most self-centered thing ever. Like why would you just assume that? Nowhere did she say I want you, Dianna, to kiss Liam. It was obvious as hell that the kiss would have to be between Camilla and Liam since it was THEIR DEAL. And then Dianna is all possessive suddenly and like NO, YOU CANNOT KISS HIM. Like…you’ve spent all these months looking for this book, and you know Kaden plans to use it to destroy the world…and a kiss is where you draw the line? Because you’re jealous? What happened to being in an open relationship with Kaden? Wouldn’t she be used to things like that?
And then Liam kisses Camilla, and they have a full-on make-out session. Like I’ve said a million times before, I’ll say it again, JUVENILE. In this make-out session, Camilla gives Liam all the answers they need magically somehow, and there’s some betrayal stuff, Dianna gets shot in the head, and then they end up shouting in the forest at each other like a bunch of high schoolers because Dianna was jealous. Then we get cockblocked by some gargoyles, excuse me, Irvikuven. I’m nearly 80% of the way through now, and still, there is no spice—oh, just kidding, right at 80% is where the magic finally happens.
And the magic was only some foreplay that reminded me of the scene in ACOMAF when Rhysand and Feyre share a bed, he finger bangs her, and then they go to sleep. If you were reading this book hoping for spice, I’m here to tell you there are two chapters of ‘spice’: some finger banging and a really uncomfy blow job. And that’s it.
I was just begging for the book to end at this point. I was entirely unsurprised by every single person betraying Dianna. It became repetitive after the third betrayal, like how shocking, yet another person betrayed them! Wow, I am so surprised! Dianna crying and constantly whining about being a repulsive monster was so exhausting. I was so sick of listening to her and Liam whine over one another and everything else. I wish this book was cut in half, ripped to shreds, and put back together several more times before it was released. Because, as I’ve said before, I see potential in bits and pieces, but it’s just so poorly written that I cannot give it more than one star. There’s an actual part where she says this as a sentence ‘Logan having the same deposition toward him as I.’ First of all, that’s not even a complete sentence. Second of all, DEPOSITION? Do you mean DISPOSITION?
There are about a thousand more things I could say at this point, but I’m running out of space, and I want to touch on the plot twist ending that everyone was so surprised by. Please explain to me how. The whole Dianna/Gabby relationship was so heavy-handed. It was so thrown in your face how much Dianna loves her, and honestly, my thought process was, okay, this book has been advertised that Dianna is a villain. Still, she’s not, so I bet Gabby, her only reason for doing all this will get killed, which will be the catalyst for Dianna becoming an actual villain.
And lo and behold, I was right! Predictable.
Like good god, that was a month and a half of my life I will never get back. -
《 4.5 ✰ 》
Something is stirring between the Otherworld creatures.
Centuries have passed since the Gods War.
The fate of the world hangs in the balance again.
Two mortal enemies must work together—the enemy of my enemy and all.
Liam/Samkiel and Dianna are as opposite as opposites can be. One yields light, and the other yields shadows. How will they find a way to trust each other?❝
”The stories said you two were destined to spill each other’s blood until the stars died…”
The worldbuilding is exciting, with multiple realms and every order form you can imagine. From witches to vampires, to banshees and everything in between! This series has the potential to be massive in scale.
The characters are memorable, and one, in particular, has an attitude that reminds me of Aelin from Throne of Glass!❝
I didn’t know why I always put myself in situations that could result in my death. Call me crazy, wild, impulsive, or all of the above, but one thing I could say for myself was that no matter what, I was a fighter.
That would be the FMC, Dianna! She would do anything to protect her sister, the only person she loves. Liam is the tortured and arrogant MMC. He has many names, enemies, and a painful history that he can’t seem to outrun. The way they brought out a softness in each other was so sweet. Dianna nurtures Liam’s playful side while he makes her feel seen.
I think my favorite tropes are…
enemies to lovers,
opposites attract,
forbidden romance,
and one bed,
because they result in playful banter and heated exchanges that turn spicy. The harder we work to get to that four-letter L word, the more my heart bursts when we finally get there. It is satisfying!❝
“Your death would be a great inconvenience, given the mission we must complete.”
“There he is. I thought I’d lost the terrifying man-god for a second there.”
“Must you make quips every second you breathe?”
I smiled, knowing I’d finally gotten under his skin. “Why do they bother you?”
“You are absolutely tormenting. You realize that, correct?”
“I love it when you flirt with me.” I winked, causing a vein to pop forward on his forehead, which only made me laugh.
The side characters were fantastic as well. Drake, the vampire prince, captured my heart with his devilish good looks and endless flirtatious charm.❝
“Your arms are less defined than your legs. There is more power there, given your hip-to-leg ratio.”
She looked down as Drake said snidely, “I think that’s his way of saying you have a nice ass. Which I agree with.”
We both glared at him.
It was beautiful, but what held my attention was the massive castle. Yes, it was a castle, because why would any vampire family have a normal house?
I am intrigued by the members of The Hand and their close bond with Liam. I hope we explore the friendships with Logan and Vincent more in The Throne of Broken Gods.
The Book of Azrael is a well-executed, first-person, high-fantasy story with dual POVs. I think fans of Crowns of Nyaxia and Coven of Bones will enjoy this tasty treat.
✧
✧Swoony Quote Time
┍━━━━━━━ ❝ ━━━━━━━┑
“No.”
His favorite word.
She claimed everyone was staring at me, but I had noticed every eye that lingered upon her since we entered this obnoxious place. At last count, it was forty-five—no, wait, there was another, make it forty-six. I told myself I was only keeping track for safety reasons, nothing more.
I decided then and there that this woman should never beg.
I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.
“You already consume my every waking thought. Must you consume my dreams as well?”
“How did you know?”
Because I have every part of you memorized.
It was the most selfish desire in the world, but I wanted her more than a crown, more than a throne, more than air.
She had seduced me. More than that, she owned me—and she didn’t even know it.
“Liam, you cursed! Where does the ‘follow all the rules’ guy learn to talk like that?”
“Probably from the dark-haired, foul-mouthed woman whose vocabulary screams indecency.”
┕━━━━━━━ ❞ ━━━━━━━┙
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
World Ender meets Ender of Worlds...
Now enemies older than time must put aside their differences and work together in hopes of saving both their world and every realm in between.
Sounds epic!
⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆
I am ecstatic to have read this with the stunning
Rachael! I had the most amazing time with you and I cannot wait to continue the series! Thank you! 💞 -
"I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."
I loved this book so much! This was a fast-paced and brilliant fantasy about love, betrayal, hate, power, revenge and war. Many years ago, Dianna saved her dying sister by giving her life to a terrifying monster in the deserts of Erioa. Now Dianna does whatever the monster, Kaden asks including finding an ancient powerful book from creatures that hunt her. Liam, is a king and a God who is known as the World Ender. Liam, haunted by his past locked himself away, hiding away from the world. Liam comes back after one of his friend's is killed. Dianna and Liam must work together and set aside their hate for each other to save the world.
The characters in this book were so complex and very interesting. I fell in love with Liam, he is strong, caring, extremely handsome, and sweet. I loved Dianna, she is brave, resilient, caring, sassy, and fierce. I also loved Dianna's sister Gaby, she is funny, sweet, sassy, and loving. The enemies-to-lovers romance between Liam and Dianna was so well done. I also loved the banter between Liam and Dianna and their chemistry was off the charts. The world-building in this book was so amazing and I was enchanting by the world from the very beginning. The author is a very good storyteller and I enjoyed learning more about the world from both Liam and Dianna's point-of-view. The character development was so good, I loved seeing a softer side of Liam and Dianna. There was so many shocking plot twists that I didn't see coming. The ending was so shocking and amazing! I can't wait to read the next book! I recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, romance and excellent world-building and storytelling. -
This is how the world ends.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
This is it.
This is my review for this book.
Jokes aside, what the frick??
This books was an emotional rollercoaster I wasn't fully prepared for.
As always, I have to thank SK because her reading updates convinced me to add this book to my tbr, and (obviously) Iqra, because her review was the final push I needed to finally pick this up.
And, man, I'll need time to recover.
If I had to draw comparisons, I'd say The Book of Azrael is part
House of Earth and Blood, part
Angelfall, with a few elements that also reminded me of
Savage Lands.
Hence, it was a win right from the start.
The setup was original and one of the things I liked the most about this book is definitely the plot; I had a lot of fun uncovering mysteries, learning about lore and betrayals, meeting the colorful cast of fantastic creatures, and following Dianna and Liam on their extremely bloody journey.
And, of course, speaking of these two.
The slow burn was to die for.
I mean...I just couldn't decide if I liked Dianna or Liam more, but then I said fuck it, and cheered in bi, going for both.
Also, YAY?!?! both mcs are openly bi (or pan, not specified, but I know for sure both are not het). Thanks, Amber Nicole for making it a thing and for introducing it so naturally that their sexuality is part of their person, not their personality.
Dianna is an intense main character and one I totally see myself relating to. She's, despite all the shit she's been through and the trauma, a real badass and it's so refreshing, for once, to have a main character that is extra gray and unapologetically terrifying.
I adored her relationship with Gabby and her POV was extraordinary.
Liam's narration was equally as entertaining and his character is probably my favorite, because I felt like he was really unique. He wasn't just a broody alpha male with a troubled past and a temper, if you get what I mean. There's substance to his character, there's a reason behind his actions.
Now, I know you're probably wondering why I rated this only 3 and a half stars if I ended up liking this so much.
For one, the writing was okay, but it didn't impress me. I found the prose to be alright at most and I definitely noticed some dialogues and lines were repeated more than once; the narration was great, like I said, but it was also a bit too info-dumpy in terms of world-building in the first chapters.
You'd imagine that in a book so long, you'd have the chance to learn things little by little, but that wasn't the case.
Ironically, for a lore so verbose, I admit there were times I was introduced to new characters and terms in a rushed way, like I was already supposed to know who and what these people and creatures were, even though it was my first time reading about them.
In short, I was a little bored. And confused. Sooooo confused.
Also, (and may this be an admonition for all authors -but I'm looking at you in particular, SJM) please, for the love of our petty lord and reluctant savior cardan greenbriar, stop describing every single piece of clothing characters wear.
I'm not Tim Gunn. I don't care.
Least but not last, I literally can't enjoy a character properly when they're centuries old and act like they're in their 20s. Seriously, it's a bookish pet peeve of mine that I'm afraid I'll have to live with for the rest of my life.
Liam's characterizarion was okay, I guess, but Dianna felt sometimes too...young?
I expected her to be more stoic in her private life like she was during fights, to the point I couldn't taker her seriously when she acted so ooc.
That's details, though. She was perfect, overall.
Wish I could say the same about that ending.
Iqra, I don't care how cute you are, how much I love you or if this is payback for recommending Zodiac Academy to you.
You're paying for my therapy.
And nope, hugs don't count as payment.
(But I'll take some, anyway)
ACTUAL RATINGS 3,5/5
(Ratings may change in the future, but for now I can't bring myself to give this 4 full stars.)
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this book. -
*Laughs manically*
I’m so numb right now. My emotions have taken a beating so many times at this point I can’t feel the pain anymore 🤠
[𝐓𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞, 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐜 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 <𝟑 ]
The way this book breathed life into me at the start, had me all giddy, and began to slowly chip away at my sanity 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑳𝑳 𝑯𝑨𝑫 𝑴𝑬 𝑪𝑹𝑨𝑾𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑭𝑶𝑹 𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑬 will never make sense to me. I commend Amber Nicole for immersing me 𝘚𝘖 𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘓 into their world. I never felt like I wasn’t part of the adventure and reading this was an 𝙀𝙓𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙀. 😌
𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗔 first and foremost is an insanely well-written FMC.
𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇 𝐀𝐈𝐑. I loved the pure fierce determination in her every step. I screamed when I saw her powers and I honestly enjoyed her bantering nature. She had such heart and it made me really connect to her character. The way she loved showed in her actions. The fact that she goes through so much shit but still manages to have that fire in her spirit and come out of it alive stamps her as one of my favourite heroines from all of the fantasy books I’ve read.
𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗠. 𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗠. 𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗠. Gah, this MANNNN! 🤭
He was the gushiest, most upfront and adorable MMC. (ALSO I KNEW IT HA!)
𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝘆’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗵, 𝗴𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁. 𝙎𝙞𝙜𝙝.
His inner monologue made me AWWH and feel everything. His emotional journey was amazingly done and I couldn’t help but adore him for sticking through everything. And the way he doesn’t realise that whatever he says offends the other person is hilarious.
(𝙰𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚏𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚍𝚌 𝚒𝚍𝚌)
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐜 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑬.
They 𝑆𝐸𝑅𝐼𝑂𝑈𝑆𝐿𝑌 hated each other the way enemies to lovers is 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘��� to be. They were disgustingly against one another and the way they 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄 about each other was 🤌
The slow burnnnn almost killed me. The tension was almost tangible bc I suffered from the PAIN of waiting so long. I got scraps. Crumbs I tell you! But every morsel I did get was ✨ 𝗗 𝗘 𝗟 𝗜 𝗖 𝗜 𝗢 𝗨 𝗦 ✨
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚?? 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧?!
I deserve compensation for all this emotional abuse.
I loved every single page and it's a crime that it had to finish. I want to LIVE in this book 😩
I’m 𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑵 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝒀 for the next book.
[𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 ��𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤?? 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭?? 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬]
𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
Ngl I actually liked Alistair lol. He became one of my comfort characters and after what happened, it made me wanna sob.
Also, Dianna kinda scared me toward the end. Like I honestly feel afraid for the world and everything in it.
𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀: 🎧
MAJESTY - NIKITAA
BORN LIKE THIS - Rilès
Two face - Jake Daniels
La di die - Nessa Barret ft. Jxdn
HEARTLESS - Grey
The Show - Queen Herby
Dreaming - BRIDGE
Pattern of behaviour- Call Me Loop
California king - DB Ricapito
Smother me - kelaska
Hollow - James Smith
Cinema - SoMo
Look at me - Why Don’t We
Love heals - Parsa
Unlovable - Delacey
Why do you love me - Charlotte Lawrence
Right time - sobhhï
Liquid smooth(sped up) - mitski
Safety - Jimmy Levy
Die for me - LIMIT
King of Capulet - X Lovers
Play with fire - Nico Santos
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀:
“𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.”
~HAAHAHAH
“𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐈𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭. ”
~❤️🔥
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.”
~JJJSJHDJDJDKKD
“𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐞, 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝."
"𝐎𝐡, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮,𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞.”
~💘💘💘
“𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭? 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐈 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭.”
~🤭🤭🤭
“𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐥.”
~hahahaha
“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐥.”
~featuring one of my favourite scenes/tropes 🤭🦋
“𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫.”
~😭😭 nononononono 💔
𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀:
House Of Earth And Blood - SJM
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Lani Taylor
———————————————————————
SOMEONE STOP THIS MADNESS.
AND THE ENDING??! CRYINGGGG -
1.5, I gave it half a star for the good use of necromancy via a side character which I genuinely liked and I like the presence of jewelry being turned into weapons via magic. Other than that, this has the same issues I had with crescent city. Overwriting, and sending the reader on a wild goose chase that doesn’t result in feeling like I’ve experienced anything worthwhile.
Also the weird use of not-quite-Spanish and the anachronism of “Italian suit” when Italy doesn’t exist in this fantasy world.
VIDEO REVIEW:
https://youtu.be/04h1PFWrbMM -
4.5/ 5⭐
2/5 🌶️
That ending.. THAT ENDING. no. just. no...
"The Book of Azrael" by Amber V. Nicole, prepare for a journey of heart-stopping drama and slow-burning passion. Picture this: an epic world where Dianna, our fierce protagonist, reigns as a captivating villain. Her path collides with Liam, a rugged and brooding figure, sparking an electrifying enemies-to-lovers tale. Dianna's bloodthirsty allure and Liam's grumpy bear charm will have you utterly captivated. I LOVED THEM!
All the things I love, forced proximity with only one bed, enemies to lovers. slow burn, with a dash of forbidden love. The author's skillful pacing keeps you spellbound, weaving romance seamlessly amidst breathtaking world-building, sparing us from tedious info dumps. Dual perspectives between Dianna and Liam.
And that cliffhanger! Oh, the cliffhanger will leave you in tears, begging for more. I had to read that last two chapters twice!! TWICE!! I am still heart broken. It's wasn't real, right?!? It was a nightmare, right... ugh
This book will linger in your dreams and thoughts.
..............................................................................
Please be good. please be good!!
Please be good. please be good!!
Please be good. please be good!!
ummmmm Please be good. please be good!!
k k -
4.5! OH MY GOD THIS BOOK. I kept thinking I knew what was going to happen, but every time I had a solid theory or prediction for even the smallest plot point this book was like NOPE you stupid f*cking human you have no clue what you're in for. Basically I predicted nothing. The plot twists are magical and unimaginable. Like you'll get an overall vibe as to where things might be headed ("uh oh this person seems sketch"), and even if your vibe was right the actual events that will occur will just not be AT ALL what you expected. Does that make sense? Yes? No? Basically do not trust what this book tells you as you're reading it because it will give you a heart attack if you get too comfortable. You have been warned. 😅💀❤️🔥🪐🌎🗡️🌼🖤🫣
Samkiel: "My father told me once that he would rip the known universe apart for my mother. I have never felt that way about anyone."
Also Samkiel: "I didn't remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her." OK JUST RIP MY HEART OUT TOO.
So after finishing this at 2 AM last night and digesting it a bit, I can confirm that I am STILL SO STRESSED?! Thank god the second book is already out, otherwise that cliffhanger would have made me throw my kindle against the wall. Legit just stared at the ceiling for an hour after I finished. Its so good but such an emotional ride.
This is the definition of a romantasy. The entire plot is driven by two competing groups of magical beings looking for a book that may or may not exist, and two super powerful beings from each opposing group fall in love. Samkiel and Dianna are basically the fantasy version of a cop dating a criminal. He's the King of Gods, she's a mortal turned monster by the bad guys in this book. Samkiel/Liam is a mythical being Dianna's master wants dead. Dianna is a badass who pretends she doesn't need anything but secretly dreams of true love. He's the light, she's the dark. Poetic and so fun to read. Looking for fated lovers? Thats them. Looking for opposites attract? Thats them. Looking for enemies to lovers? Thats them. Looking for a mutual trauma healing found through the other person? Thats them. Looking for forbidden romance? Thats them. Oh and what about huge jacked alpha guy/god with a beard and silver tattoos and insane power who turns ferally possessive over the girl? CHECK. Think fated lovers to the extreme--they've basically been destined for each other without knowing it for centuries. Personally, I eat this kind of romance up. Like ACOTAR mates on crack. Speaking of crack, the plot is crack, the characters are crack, and the romance and drama are like crack. Entirely addicting.
Be warned: this is not a smutty book. It has spice, but not much. The spice it does have though is very good and very explicit. But the anticipation and build up is so good, and the plot basically makes up for it even if you're a strictly smutty book lover. I have a feeling the next book will be much spicier. That being said, I want this to be 5 stars but I can't bring myself to give it more than a 4.5. Part of that is simply that I wanted more Samkiel/Dianna spice because they're so good together and I just want these babies to be HAPPY FOR ONCE. Besides that though, the world building is amazing but can get confusing in my opinion. I had to literally take notes at some points to make sure I was keeping everything in line. It gets easier and you have to just push through it at the beginning, but just be warned. Totally worth it though. I don't think its as bad as the beginning of Crescent City, so if you can push through that book this is just as rewarding.
ON TO THE SECOND BOOK SO I CAN GET MY HEART BROKEN (please Amber Nicole do not break my heart I need them to be happy and I need their world to be happy). I am stressed in the best possible way. Send help and/or therapy. -
1st reread finished 6/15/2024
-
This is no I’ve-been-secretly-in-love-with-you-for-ages BS, folks. This is REAL enemies to lovers.
The only human thing about Dianna is that she loves her sister to the moon and back. To the point that if keeping her alive comes at a price of being a tyrant’s mistress and his killing machine, so be it. She still has a human heart though, albeit not much used, and sometimes between cleaning brain matter from her favorite shoes and tossing people into lava pits, Dianna allows herself to dream of love…
I loved Dianna. She was a bitch but I loved her. I wish I had the guts to talk to big guys like that.
After spending some pretty gruesome time with Dianna and her crew we meet Liam. Liam’s hobbies include brooding and hanging up on his friends. He gives a bit of an emo vibe, but he’s a good boy at heart and meeting him was refreshing and pleasant after the atrocities of the kingdom of Kaden.
As much as I was happy to meet Liam, Liam was not happy to meet me or anyone for that matter (see aforementioned emo vibe). He also did not want to end up in this weird place where large metal boxes on circular appendages clutter the landscape (I’m gonna totally use that description next time I call a workshop btw - can I schedule a service for my metal box with circular appendages for Tuesday?). But shit happens and if you’re a god you have to clean it up. And Liam happens to be a god.
Our lovebirds’ first encounters are not very romantic; he tortures her until she passes out, she comes up with cruel ways to end him - that sort of thing. Luckily they give up on that and - long story short - team up to save the world.
During their fascinating journey they get to know and trust each other and overcome centuries old prejudices.
While I’m generally more of a love at first sight kind of person, the slow burn here was done perfectly. These two really needed time to find each other. It was beautiful how both of them opened up, evolved and allowed themselves to feel.
I didn’t love everything about this story but I have to admit that even the parts I didn’t like made sense. (On top of that I really should not fuss about zombies since I am one myself after sacrificing three nights worth of sleep for this book.)
The last thing; I sort of knew there would be a cliffhanger but AAAARGHHH!!!!! -
✩ 3.75 stars ✩
‘He bit his lip and wrapped his hand around my wrist. "Squeeze harder. I almost feel something.”’
What to Expect:
➼ Enemies to Lovers
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ One Bed
➼ Forbidden Romance
➼ Morally Gray FMC
➼ Minimal Spice
➼ Cliffhanger
➼ Debut
➼ Dual POV
Now that I know how tame this book is, I find it highly amusing that I once thought this might be too spicy for my taste. 😅 In my defense, the cover does look very similar to Haunting Adeline, so cut me some slack.
In reality, the spice in this book was pretty minimal. Honestly, I would have liked for the characters to have pined a little longer and built the tension between them for at least a full book. They are supposed to be mortal enemies and I was surprised to see them jump that hurdle so quickly. At the very least, I would have expected a longer period of denial from the MMC.
This is a debut novel and I’m sorry to say that it read like one. The writing wasn’t terrible by any means, but it definitely felt awkward at times. It honestly reminded me a lot of the writing style of the early 2000s. In some ways that’s a good thing, because it meant we got a bigger helping of plot with our spice (which is not the norm these days), but it also felt pretty cheesy to me.
Dianna is initially introduced as a villain but she felt too tenderhearted for me to believe she really did all the terrible things the book implied. I’m supposed to believe she killed countless people for the love of her sister without going mad from guilt or ever wanting anything for herself? It’s not as if her sister is young. She has been alive for a 1000+ years. How much life do they really need to live?
Samkiel/Liam gave pretty strong Thor vibes i.e. super strong and clueless about how the modern world works. He’s known as the World Ender, a title he earned by, you guessed it… ending a world. He has the whole tortured hero thing going for him and has been hiding away in seclusion for an untold number of years. Honestly I imagined him as Kyle XY for the first half of the book until he started acting less dopey. Oops… I’m showing my age. 🙃 To be clear, his dopiness was mostly endearing. My main issue with him was that he was described as all powerful but then was pretty easily defeated by almost every enemy they faced. I get that he created the sword, but his power didn’t seem all that impressive without it. (Thor’s hammer anyone?)
Objectively, this probably only deserves 3 stars but it’s getting a boost based purely on enjoyment. I’m honestly a bit surprised by all the glowing reviews but I’m happy for everyone out there who thought this was 5 stars. 😘
I wonder if that ending will really stick. 🤔 Somehow I doubt it… only one way to find out! 🤗
I’ve heard the next book is even better! 🤞🏻
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Gonna see what all the hype is about! Neither the cover nor the description really appeal to be, but with ratings this high, how can I not? 💀🖤 -
"I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (it's really more than five)
Spice Meter: 🌶️,5
❗This is a spoiler-free review from NetGalley❗
📍Release Date: April 26, 2022📍
I would like to express just how thankful I am that NetGalley exists and that it actually works in my country so I can read books as amazing as this one. My mind is reeling. I feel too much too fast and I don't know how to process what just happened.
Words cannot express how pumped I am that I've found this masterpiece on NetGalley. I'm also really glad that I saw the many reviews of this book on Goodreads that prompted me to seek it out. I did not see one negative review of this book and I finally know why. It's absolutely incredible. Even the cover is amazing. Eerie and matching perfectly with the tone of the novel. There's even a map inside which I shamefully forgot all bout because of the magnificence of the story. It was enemies-to-lovers so I don't think I stood any chance at all.
It started with violence right off the bat which I absolutely loved. There was an elaborate fantasy world with gods, demon-like creatures, vampires, werewolves, witches, banshees, shadow-people, and more (there were humans too). I love it when books are like that. Also...WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THAT ENDING?!??!?! WHY ARE AUTHORS SO HELL-BENT ON CRUMBLING OUR SANITY IN THEIR MAGICAL, WORLD-BUILDING HANDS!?!?!? WE HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU, YOU MONSTERS!!!
Dianna was the absolute best!!! She is a one-thousand-year-old badass shapeshifting, magic-wielding creature that started out on the villains' side. She showed loyalty to her sister and her sister only, willing to do anything to keep Gabby safe, even if that meant she got hurt in the process. She is also cunning, funny, passionate and soo damn strong 😍😍😍😍 You can tell how much I love her, right? She wasn't original in any specific way, but I will never get tired of female main characters like her. They are always inspiring to me. Her character was incredibly complex in a realistic way. The situations she found herself in were near-impossible to escape, yet she dealt with them in the best ways she knew. It's a bummer I can't tell you more about her but I don't want to risk spoiling anything.
Liam, the other main character of the story and Dianna's awesome love interest, was an equally likeable and complex character. Despite being a god, Liam also known as Samkiel, suffered from crippling depression and PTSD after his world/realm collapsed thousands of years ago. Even though he showed a lot of arrogance when interacting with others, he was also kind, caring, and protective, even towards his enemies 😉😉He did the best he could for his people, even though it wasn't enough at times. He was fallible, making mistakes and letting his emotions get the best of him even if he knew better. Also, he was completely oblivious to imminent danger because he was too busy being turned on by Dianna's magnificence. I did not blame him in the slightest. I did find it hilarious though 😂😂
I loved the dynamic and chemistry between Dianna and Liam. Similarly to most enemies-to-lovers romances, these two were full of sexual tension, longing, and deep, unrelenting feelings that neither of them wanted to acknowledge. Of course, they checked all my boxes. Spending more than half the book forced to work together, being both turned on and annoyed at each other brought me so much joy. It's my favourite thing about this trope. Even more so if it is mingled with some well-written spice 😉😉 Another relationship that I loved was Dianna and Gabby's. Their sisterly bond reminded me of my favourite sibling ever, the Winchester Brothers (from Supernatural). The oldest sibling, Dianna, is more than willing to sacrifice everything she has for the sake of her younger sister's life and happiness and has been doing so for around one thousand years. Adorable and heart-warming 😍😍
One thing that bothered me a little bit, not enough to affect my rating in any way though, the book was just that good, was the continued mention of feelings that cannot be understood. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I get feeling things and not knowing why, I have experienced that. But, I will never understand how a person can feel something and not know what it is. Am I being crazy here?? Doesn't this make as much sense as not realising you were holding your breath??
Enjoy my crazy rambling and read this book as soon as possible. -
4.5⭐️ Okay right. So this was GOOD. it’s a fantasy novel set in the modern era however the plot builds on events that happened centuries ago. So these characters are centuries old and immortal.
We are introduced to Dianna, an immortal warrior/general of sorts who works alongside Tobias and Alistair (dicks) for the leader of the otherworld, Kaden (BIGGER DICK). From the beginning you see the dynamics and the hold Kaden has over Dianna. They use her as a weapon to commit all these horrible acts in order to keep her sister safe. Kaden is on a mission to hunt down the Book of Azrael which is supposed to bring the end of the world blah blah blah. He’s a power hungry manipulator and I HATE him, Alistair and Tobias. I also kind is hate Dianna but I’ll get to that later pls 😂
Something happens that triggers the return of Liam, aka Samkiel the World Ender 🥹😭❤️. He’s in a world of pain and depressed but is still this super powerful God that they all fear. He’s sweet and has been gone for a thousand years so people have to keep explaining what modern phrases mean. He gets confused and he’s just so sweet, so broken, a protector and.. and.. and I LOVE HIM OKAY?!
Anyways Dianna and Liam eventually have to join forces to try and stop Kaden and keep her sister safe. They spend months together on the hunt for the book and developing feellingggggsssssss. The banter was AMAZING. They were so funny together with Dianna introducing him to sweets and current phrases🥹😂. It wasn’t even true “enemies to lovers”….it was more “she annoying and exasperates him to the point he can’t help but love her” trope 😂. The way their relationship developed was honestly one of the best stories I’ve seen, and they shared some really intimate moments with how she helped him sleep and get through his grief even though she was meant to be the monster. Beautiful 🥹❤️
The story as a whole picks up just after a few chapters when we finally get introduced to Liam and he returns. so power through guys! It doesn’t take long for it to get interesting. What I LOVED the most????? This was an introduction to a new world but we were not burdened with ENDLESS world building!!! It was AMAZING. It’s like all these new characters and powers were effortlessly introduced. We didn’t have pages and pages of descriptions and history lessons. It was perfect - I don’t know how to describe it but it was like we just always knew this world. Like we knew of Ig’Morrothens, and the Celestials and the Shades from the very beginning. For the first book in a series, I’m pleasantly surprised I didn’t have to troll descriptions of the world just to build the story.
The one thing I truly disliked? Dianna was not a good person I’m sorry 😭 I have sisters and I understand wanting to save your sister and the emotion behind her choices. But she was just selfish loool. Like she caused so much chaos and was willing to bring death and destruction for a sister who was not even a child? She infantilised her sister and kept talking about giving her a better life and it being her job to protect her….GABBY WAS HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD? A GROWN WOMAN WITH A JOB WORKING AT A HOSPITAL? You would have thought Gabby was her 5 year old the way she carried on 😕. Dianna did so much in the name of saving a sister who originally didn’t even need saving, I don’t want to spoil the story and tell you what led to the deal with Kaden but she made that deal out of pure selfishness and because she just simply wanted to live. This is the first book where I genuinely don’t feel the FMC is a good person hahaha. And not like “oh she’s annoying” but more like “you had no right to cause the destruction you have caused just because you want to live forever with your sister”… don’t get me wrong, she has a lot of redeeming qualities and her internal battles and emotions are displayed well. She’s a complex character for sure and credit to the author that wrote her.
Now that cliffhanger? MY GOD. Kaden, you bitter bitch!!!!!!
4.5 ⭐️ -
"I didn´t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."
This is a two POV book, told by the POV´s of Dianna and Liam.
To everybody saying you need to read this book: Thank you! I get in line with you. Read this book if you love a good enemies-to-lovers fantasy!
I really loved Dianna, although she is quite arrogant and cocky, she wouldn´t change that for anybody and stays true to herself and I love that. I loved her constant swearing and playful flirting mixed with Liam´s non-swearing, trying to be a gentleman attitude; although he also can get a bit cocky and arrogant as well at times. Their chemistry is jush phew, it´s getting hot in here. The angst is there, the tension is immaculate and the slow burn is oh so delicious. There is not that much spice in this one (I wouldn´t mind more) but when it happens, it is hot. Liam is quite the dirty talker and I am hoping for much more spicy scenes in the next book.
The side characters were amazing. I especially loved Gabbie, she seems like such a strong woman and I love the unconditional love the sisters have for each other. I really liked Logan and Neverra, they are the cutest and I am just sad I didn´t get to be at the wedding. All of them had depths to them and felt really well developed, even the "small sidecharacters" who were just mentioned on a few pages.
The World building was absolutely amazing, I loved how everything came together more and more as you continued reading. But I have to say with how many creatures and realms there are, it took me a bit to get into it and I was a tad confused in the beginning. But as soon as you get into it, the complex world building is absolutely well written and pulls you in. I loved that there are some completely new creatures that I haven´t heard about before in other fantasy books, it really felt unique. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but that´s okay, I´ll let that slide for the exciting parts, the plot twists and the angst.
Also nobody of you told me I would be left with the worst cliffhanger....how am I supposed to wait for the next book!?
Overall it was an amazing read with high stakes, angst and a beautiful enemies to lovers romance. I absoutely can´t wait for the next book in the series!
trigger warnings: loss of loved ones, war, trauma, torture, kidnapping, involuntary romantic relationship (not caused by love interest) -
Dianna sacrificed her life a thousand years ago to save her dying sister. Everything she’s done since then has been to keep her sister alive and to keep her master, Kaden, happy. He’s searching for an ancient book, a relic from the time of gods that will allow him to gain control over all worlds. But as Dianna continues to commit atrocities in his name to find this book, she begins to hear rumors that a god still exists and may even have reawakened to stop Kaden. As they race against time to find this book, Dianna realizes she may have to reevaluate her loyalties if she truly wishes to save her sister.
This work started off strong. I loved the concept, and I enjoyed Dianna as a protagonist for the most part. The story told from her POV was good and made me want more, which led to me enjoying the first third of the book. But Liam’s POV was awful for me – he was bland and difficult to connect to or like, and I felt that he had no real depth. Unfortunately, this made the middle portion of the work much less engaging for me. I did think that the enemies to lovers was done well and felt realistic without being too rushed or forced.
However, Dianna wasn’t really a villain, and I would have liked to see her be a dark, eviler heroine rather than a misunderstood softy. She was also so selfless, with her life only revolving around someone else’s wellbeing the whole time, that it made her feel a little more one dimensional and sometimes like more of a caricature than an actual character. Similarly, there should have been way more to the dynamic between Kaden and Dianna – he is a completely evil being with extreme and unknown power, yet he wasn’t really involved in the story in a meaningful way. There was a lot of potential for their dynamic to add real depth and conflict to the work, but I felt that it was overlooked in a way that detracted from the read for me.
The worldbuilding was fine overall. I enjoyed the inclusion of gods, monsters, and mortals, though it did take a bit of time to get situated within the world as a reader. After getting into the book a bit, the factions and politics are given context that makes sense without going through too many info dumps (though there were a few of these). I did enjoy the exploration of the different races and their interactions with each other, though this played a minimal role in the book.
On a more technical note, I’m not sure that this work was edited at all. There were many errors throughout ranging from missing words, incorrect punctuation, and extra spaces. On top of that, the dialogue was extremely stilted and formal, even between two sisters who are each other’s best friends. There were also random changes in font size as well as some words and phrases that were randomly in bold, which was very distracting. The writing overall left a lot to be desired, which made it difficult to fully immerse in the story. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the writing wasn’t good other than that it just felt on the low end of mediocre.
This work was close to 800 pages, felt like it was 1200 pages, and should have probably only been 500 pages max. If it underwent some much-needed in-depth editing, I would be more than happy to reread it and alter my rating. Until then, I can see why others liked it, but it just wasn’t for me.
My thanks to NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing for a review copy of this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. -
“I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.”
This book did the trope 'Enemies to Lovers' justice because it is truly one of the best takes on the trope I have ever seen. Amber did it justice. The writing is pretty close to perfection! I loved how it was written and how it easily draws us in. The characters were so complex and badass. The fiery energy that they radiate was *chefs kiss* they were so complex and so well written, the depth to their characters was truly amazing because I loved Liam and I grew to like Dianna as well and I truly want to see what she does in book 2 considering how book 1 ends. The plotline was executed so well imo there was no sign of it being dragged out or it being a victim of info dumping and the world building was well done as well.
This was not necessarily a thing I hated but would have wanted more of which was not enough side characters content. They were there but I could not connect to them because I did not know them.
The only thing I had a problem with was it's length and it's mild pacing which kind of affected my mood but considering it is the first book and that it did pick up near the second half it did not interfere with my experience that much.
--->4.35!
“We were destined to fight until the sky bled and worlds shook. But when he touched me, cradled my face as if I was the most fragile, beautiful being in the world, I melted.”
__
I have heard the best things...from the one and only Clace and his word is the law (lol) -
Okay so this book is…bad.
Is the plot interesting? I mean…I guess.
But the lack of editor in this writing is so glaringly obvious. There are typos, missing punctuation marks, missing/incorrect words - the full gamut of a very rough first draft.
The world was confusing - the map features these wonderful exotic names, but then there’s “Germany” thrown in - I had no idea where we were or what was happening.
It’s very, very sloppy writing. Like “there’s better writing on Ao3” bad. It’s juvenile, at best.
Also - Dianna is not a “villain”. You can’t make her a villain just because she killed people. I wanted an actual dark, bad heroine. Not someone who made dark choices but it still holding onto her morality and sense of good. She’s not a villain, unless you consider Rhysand or any of the SJM characters villains because they’ve killed others.
The bad writing and lack of editing pulled me out while reading constantly. -
4.5 stars ✨
“I fear no kings and no gods.”
This has just about everything I could ever want in a fantasy romance. Slow burn, ENEMIES TO LOVERS, a reluctant “damaged” hero, only one bed, forced proximity, a quest for a magical lost relic, a violent morally grey FMC, a deadly cinnamon roll love interest, ridiculous banter & humor, impeccable world building, with a unique magic system, and fantastic characters!
“Don’t you know? Love is the purest form of destruction there is.”
The plot was full of twist and turns, and literally made me gasp, and cry a few too many times. 🥺
“She was my enemy, yet my enemy was the only one who seemed to understand me and the demons I fought.”
But honestly it’s these characters… The tension and slowly built friendship between Dianna and Liam was incredibly sweet. Liam the World Ender (aka Samkiel), was such a big, soft, grumpy, teddy bear hero, with so much trauma to work through. And the fiery, badass, better known as Dianna, really made this entire book! I adored the way she protects the ones she loves, her wonderful sense of humor, and the way she never holds back (even if it’s constantly getting her into trouble!) I can’t wait to get to know more of the side characters, like the members of The Hand, and hopefully some much needed revenge on a few others. 😈
“Bloodthirsty Dianna is always my favorite.”
Thank you SO much, for inviting me to do a buddy read with you Cecelia! I think this was the perfect choice for us, and I loved discussing our thoughts, theories, and just mutually falling in love with these characters. It was so hard to put this book down, and I’m so excited to read the next one with you! 🖤 -
5 ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
”Don’t you get? Don’t you see there is nothing you can do to me that has not already been done? You can’t break me, World Ender.”
THIS BOOK. I am speechless.
This book follows Dianna, a shape-shifting, fire-wielding BAD ASS. If you know me at all, you know that I am a simp for strong female characters. Dianna is that and then some.
I fear no kings and no gods.
She works for this total asshat named Kaden, who uses her love and bond with her sister to control her. Kaden your power-hungry and manipulative wants-to-rule-the-world types and created Dianna for his cause.
The world-building is so rich in this book. There are histories, war, languages, different realms and planets, severallllll different types of magical/paranormal creatures that still feel unique, and everything in between. To be fair the first few chapters or so I was still totally confused but once I kept reading it all came together. In the beginning of this book and throughout, I felt like this was a fantasy book with romance. The romance takes a central focus towards the middle of the book.
The main plot followed Dianna, my girl, and LIAM, the World Ender. Please, I cannot with this guy. He is a king among gods and has been reclusive and basically in hiding since is realm was destroyed. The side characters were all so amazing.
Watching Dianna and Liam go from literally mortal enemies to
I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.
I wanted to claim her as mine.
A part of my soul had been waiting for this woman, and one kiss from her had undone me.
I LOVE the two of them. Liam is such a cinnamon roll for Dianna.
Please go read this book if you’re a fan of enemies to friends to lovers, forbidden love, epic plots, and rich world building.
I had fomo bc of all the good reviews by Leonie, SK, and Gillian!!! They were all so right!
Side note:
This is a debut novel, and it’s literally amazing BUT if you’re a person who doesn’t like some typos/formatting issues in ebooks, maybe wait to see if this has an update soon. There were typos and errors in mine but I don’t deduct stars for stuff like that. Was it annoying? Ya. But it didn’t take away from the story for me. -
If you're like I was and have had this on your TBR for a long time but have been procrastinating it because you're intimidated by the page count, do yourself a favor and pick this up right now. This book was actually amazing. Yes, it's 812 pages on Kindle, but I FLEW through it. Wow I am reeling.
The first ~100/150 pages does have a fair amount of world-building and character introductions, so I was a little frustrated that it took so long for the main characters to actually meet each other. HOWEVER, even before Liam and Dianna met, there were true action scenes that were exciting to read. Once Liam and Dianna finally meet, they are together non-stop through the rest of the book (literally in every scene...they're always together and it never gets boring because their dynamic/slow-burn is that good).
This is a true enemies to lovers fantasy romance with some of the most unbelievable banter and slow-burn tension that I have ever read in a fantasy book. There is a male main character who is dealing with PTSD and depression, and a sassy but still likable female main character who is actually pretty caring. After the 2 main characters finally meet, this book is entirely forced proximity. I thought this book was also extremely palatable and digestible. Very easy to understand, in my opinion. I didn't really have to skim at all, which is rare for me with large fantasy books with complex worlds.
The ending was SO FREAKING SAD. Wow. I am so mad at myself for putting this book off for so long. I will definitely be reading the next book. I am sucked into the world and these characters. -
another case of i trusted tiktok’s opinion and ended up being fucking disappointed. did it really have to be so long and plain? did literally everyone have to be a backstabbing piece of shit? there’s no way i’m reading the second book, not after that ending.
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𝓕𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴! 𝓕𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰!
Gave up her life to save her sister's life, Dianna became a monster that would do anything her master told her, even secure an ancient relic, The Book of Azrael.
Samkiel, also known as The World Ender, is hiding from the world, away from various kinds of burdens and responsibilities, until a friend of his is reported to have died, which forces him to return.
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙮𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛. 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙬. 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮.
𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮.
Dianna; She’s just so special. She’s such a badass that everyone would definitely support her; she possesses an extremely strong strength, which makes her an intense character.
𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣.
Samkiel; He’s broken, sad, burdened by a lot of pressures and responsibilities, and adds to it a past that is so heartbreaking.
"𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧?"
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧"
Okay, this is quite difficult to rate. I have a bit of a problem with the writing, like how the writer suddenly brings up a new character without at least a little background explanation and immediately expects us to know who they are, and that's what makes me very confused. and I don't know if it was done intentionally by the author, but this is a fantasy genre book, but it's too modern and doesn't have the characteristics of a fantasy genre book, especially with having its own universe. and also regarding the characters, where they are described as characters that are thousands of years old but behave like teenagers(which I have no problem with) but that is inconsistent with the story.
And for Samkiel's character, to be honest, I wish he was more scary and intense as described, especially since he has the nickname The World Ender (and yes, I still don't understand him changing his name to Liam; it's so unserious).
The story is a really slow-burn and literally very very enemy to lovers, which I really enjoyed. I like the storyline, which is very interesting and complex, full of mysteries and interesting characters. Even with the drawbacks, I quite enjoyed my time reading this book, and I automatically started book 2 after finishing it.
𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙.
"𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚?"
"𝙔𝙚𝙨, 𝙄 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚."
3.55⭐(rounded up)
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pls be good... -
THE ROMANTASY ITCH HAS BEEN SCRATCHED.
Goddamn, this was GOOD. The slow-burn enemies to lovers was written to perfection. Somehow this book was 812 and there was never a dull moment. Their pacing was written so well that it truthfully didn't feel like that many pages. The fantasy aspect was also so unique and interesting and I want more. That being said, I think I need a break before I start book 2 because the ending HURT. I knew it was coming and it still HURT.
It's also not overly smutty - I think only 1 or 2 scenes, which was honestly a breath of fresh air. I craved a good fantasy first, romance second book, and WE GOT IT. The found family aspect was also so fun and I cannot wait to see it build in book 2.
And if you aren't already convinced to read it...
1. There is a nightmare trope
2. One-bed trope
3. TOP TIER banter (while they fight)
4. She is a morally grey fmc
5. The mmc says this: "I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.
Now go read it. -
DNF at 60%
I swear, trying to connect with those protagonists was like trying to have a conversation with a brick wall – absolutely lifeless! And don't even get me started on how this hot mess made it onto bookshelves. Did they forget to send it through editing boot camp or what? It's like the author just tossed all their ideas into a blender, hit the puree button, and called it a day. Such a shame, really.
But hey, silver lining - the book cover was pretty snazzy. So at least it's got that going for it. ;) -
DNF @72%
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This book made me feel things.
"Liam had given me a flower. One simple fucking flower, and my world tilted."
Pfff, yours and mine both, girl😩.
How is he the World Ender, yet still be the purest, most precious damn soul in this whole book?
"I didn't remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."
Sir. SIR. I am a married woman. You have no right to make me feel this way🫠🫠.
I LOVED him and Dianna together. The way their enemies-to-lovers grumpy x sunshine-with-murderous-tendencies was written was ✨chef's kiss✨.
It was a damn long book and I thought I'd get bored at parts, but that honestly wasn't the case for me. From start to end, I was captured. The constant threat of Kaden and his cronies had me anticipating battles for the full 812 pages (and I was not disappointed) and then Amber Nicole casually added them getting jealous??? The pinkie promises???? The secret smiles???? The TENSION??
I am unwell.
(But, seriously, I loved it.)
That ending had me IMMEDIATELY checking when the next book will come out and all I can say is: 2024 can't be here soon enough.
