I received an e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*

Following closely Emma's writing has been a delight in the past months. Having discovered her books accidentally, after scouting Goodreads for a good "Beauty and the Beast" retelling, I fell in love with her pose and writing style, not to mention the seamless way, she weaves Celtic mythology with classic fairy tales!

Her upcoming book, part of the Otherworld series, features the Swan Princess as it blends with the Celtic mythology. While the books can be read as stand-alones, I truly recommend you to read them from the beginning. The stories interconnect with each other and very smartly the author laces clues for the next books in the series within the existing novels.

Aisling is a witch who has a curse on her; no Fae can see her face and she has magic within her that could make her coveted in the Otherworld or hunted in the human one. Bran is the Unseelie Prince who searches for a cure. Yet, when accidentally Aisling curses him, binding them together, they will form a tentative alliance, in order to search for the solution to the binding curse.

Their trip will be an adventure, a mystery, laced with dreams, creatures both beautiful and scary, sleeping old gods and tragedy. And a slow-burning romance, which I really want to have more of it. You can see the outline of the Swan Princess here, yet Emma Hamm succeeds in creating a unique blend of magic and monstrous beauty which encaptures the reader, begging for more.

At least, I want more! Because the ending could be this! And while some parts left me questioning the whys I am positive that Emma will give this pair a wonderful ending. Don't miss this one; the cover is stunning, there are clues everywhere and this hidden gem deserves more attention!

A unique take on swan lake, I had a good time reading this book

Enjoyable read, I really like Aisling and Bran. They have great chemistry and I liked how dark this book was. It was nice to have main characters that have questionable morals 😂 looking forward to reading the next one.

Again with the cover! Every book in this series has a cover to die for. I cannot get over how beautiful they are. I need paperbacks. I need them on my desk all the time so that I can just look at them all day! “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” is an excellent saying, but in this case, go ahead. This cover is fantastic, and it’s not even one tenth as amazing as the story.

Now, the technical: The characters are amazing. Filly developed and intriguing, both Bran and Aisling kept me on my toes. I have, of course, loved Bran for several books now, and could not wait to see where his story would lead. Aisling is everything I could have ever wanted for him and more. She is strong, fierce and just a touch vulnerable. She is perfect! (Am I gushing? I can’t help it! I’m riding this post book high! So good!)

The world building is, as always from Emma, phenomenal. We’ve been in this world (These worlds) for four books now, you’d expect that the Otherworld would be out of surprises, but NOPE! I am obsessed with the Unseelie court. The characters and creatures, the scenery, the architecture, all of it fantastic.

The plot was shocking. I don’t use that word lightly. Very few plot twists shock me. I was shocked. Definitely a page turner, I could not put this book down. I read the whole thing in just a few hours. I need more. I cannot wait to find out what happens next!

There is so much more I could say, but I am afraid of accidentally spoiling something. So I’ll shut up. It is only through great restraint that I’m stopping. 😉

If you have not read this series, start at the beginning, (Heart of the Fae) pour yourself a big mug of tea and settle in. You’re in for a treat! If you have read the rest of the series, you need zero encouragement from me. Grab this book like the decadent morsel it is and sink your teeth in.

Find my other reviews (And those of my book bestie) at our blog: Ssshwearereading.wordpress.com

witches, fae, a talking cat (witch), and forced togetherness on a journey? or all of my favorite fantasy romance tropes?

My impression is that a lot of the reviews here are from people who already enjoy Hamm's other stories. I came at this book fresh without knowledge of Hamm's other work.

When Aisling and Bran, the two protangonists, meet, I didn't enjoy the immediate forced enemies-to-lovers cliche banter between them and didn't feel like it really fit the situation. From there I started skimming the rest of the novel.

Maybe closer to 3.5, but overall I did really enjoy this story. The magic and the lore are wonderful, the plot didn’t really have any slow parts. One small complaint is the narration- the narrator is quite lovely and does great with all the voices with the exception of the FMC who sounds like an old Irish granny. It doesn’t take much away from the story but I do wish it was a little softer. Also the sequel is apparently not available on Audible so that’s a major bummer for me. I wouldn’t call it a cliffhanger ending but I did want to hear more.