Although a short read, I had to drag myself through a number of areas. I almost considered abandoning it and the whole series, to be honest.

Cassia is just the typical RH heroine: her jealousy and lust and sudden deep, intimate connection with men she barely knows are beat for beat with a lot of the other RH's I've tried that didn't work out well.

She's already confessed her love for Ethan, the most bland of the four as the typical "nice and sweet" one without any other personality imbued, and had sex with him a few times, she's already had aggressive sex with Dane, who mostly exists as a means for Cassia to have flares of jealousy when Dane flirts with another woman or one of his past encounters is revealed. Cormac and Tristan, as expected, are being given more complexity as Cassia hasn't been physical with either, but, it's only a matter of time. I daresay she thinks of the two of them with far more lustful, yearing thoughts than Ethan and Dane. She keeps having visions of herself fucking Tristan and basically anytime she's around Cormac she makes some comment about wanting him.

A positive is that I appreciate how the author treats sex workers; they aren't belittled or discriminated against or made to be lesser. She even seems at ease with same-sex relations, though, I suppose it would have been more fun if the RH had had a mix of genders and wasn't the typical heterosexual set up. Missed opportunity, really.

So far I find Tiana a boring, obvious villain and I don't care much for Angela. I'm really only interested in seeing how things develop with Cassia and Tristan, as he's just about the only one with any degree of complexity to his character and the relationship he has with Cassia. The other three are really quite dull.

This installment was also a bit more forward with the sex scenes, not just an immediate fade-to-black, but they're kept rather short still and aren't imbued with much emotion or heat. Still, this installment definitely makes this a NA read for the explicit nature of the scenes.

Once more, just a middling 2.5.

Enjoyable!

I took a star off for editing purposes.

Gah! There was so much reveled in this book, yet still so many questions!

I’m off to continue the series ;)

I read this book as a beta reader and had given myself a goal of reading it in a week- it took me one night. I could not put it down!
Court of Memories picks up right where Court of Secrets left off- with Cassia and the four princes ready to travel to see the Queen, who they all hope can help Cassia control her magic. Through the journey, Cassia gets closer to each of the sexy princes, even the Winter Prince, and feels tormented at the thought of not being able to have them all, even as she struggles with guilt over these feelings. She is anxious to get to the queen to control her magic so she can settle down and have a normal, happy life (hopefully with her princes). While on the way, however, danger comes from a new source. Rumors have spread about her powers and her favor with the princes, so now she is a target for those hoping to eliminate her from competing in the Queen's Trial. While ruling is the last thing Cassia wants, her choices are growing slimmer, and soon her only option may be to complete in the trial.
As always, Dyan Chick's books are always well paced without slow points. I loved getting to know the princes better and getting to see behind the icy façade of the Winter Prince.

Tropes/Key Points:

i wanted to like this bc i enjoyed the first book but it was just bad. the concept of the plot is good but the execution of it was not... and the brownies?? idk feels like there’s a racist undertone with that one. and there was a lot of typos in this one which just make it hard to read.

This series just keeps getting better !!! I mean the guys I swear they make me drool just thinking about them !! But seriously this book was amazing I’m loving cassia she is an amazing mc and the princes are just perfect !!! Book number 3 here I come !!!

My bookstagram: emm_enchanted

Omg! This book is incredible!

Cassia and her Princes are on their way to meet the Queen. Surviving monsters, assassins and scheming nobles is hard enough, now she also has to master her raw power before it consumes her. With new revelations and confusing feelings, the peaceful existence she longs for seems like a faraway dream.

My mind was a chaotic mess after I finished this book. So many feelings, I couldn't decipher. It took me a while to compose myself and gather words to describe how I feel.
This was such an action packed book, with something happening every few minutes. The plot gets even better as the book progresses.
I love the character development, especially when it comes to Cassia.
There's so much sexual tension and complicated emotions, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted more of it.
I got some answers that I was looking for in the first book and even though I had already predicted a certain fact early on, it was still shocking the way it was revealed.
When it comes to smut, again I feel that it could have been so much better, but I'm willing to ignore that.
The last 30 pages were simply awesome and the book ended with a cliffhanger. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.
I can't wait to read the next book and see how it goes. I'm so happy with the way things turned out.
Recommending this to all reverse harem fantasy lovers.

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Court of Memories is the second book in the forbidden queen series by author Dyan Chick. The forbidden queen series is a fae based fantasy romance series, and it does pick up right where the first book ends off. So you do need to read this series in order. I read the first book just a few months ago, and it did take me a minute to gain my bearings back into this world again. (because 2018 has been the year of fae romances for me. I just can't get enough of them!) I will also say, that the forbidden queen series is a reverse harem romance, so there are multiple love interests in this book. If that is something that bugs you or is not up your alley, then this might not be  the series for you. But I also have to say, I have really been enjoying reverse harem books this year. The power of five series is one of my favorite series of all time, and they are not all about sex. (at least not the series I have been reading. There are some like that, I'm sure.) Court of Memories was way better than the first book in the series, Court of Secrets. I feel like we not only got to know the characters better, but we also had a lot of plot progression in this book. Things are getting really, really interesting in this series. 

In Court of Memories, we are still on a journey with Cassia and four fae princes- each from one of the different courts, Dane from Summer, Tristan from Winter, Cormac from Autumn and Ethan from Spring court. Cassia was a changeling that was left in the human realm, and now that she is back in the fae realm she is like a magnet to all kinds of beasties because of her untapped, untrained magic. I love getting to know each of the princes the best, and learning more and more about their secrets. There are also lots of cool fae court politics and secrets galore as they all progress on their journey to speak to the Queen. 

Court of Memories set us up for a fantastic book 3. I will say, that I did see some of the surprises coming, but the book was still so much fun. And there were a few things with the winter prince that surprised me, and some powers that I can't wait to learn more about. I'm not sure how many books there will be in this series, but I am guessing 3 or 4. Court of Memories left me totally ready for the next book. I think we are going to get more answers and there will certainly be a lot more action and intrigue in the books to come. I have a special spot in my heart for all of the princes, but Cormac and Tristan are currently my favorites. But who knows, as I get to know each of the princes more, my favorite may very well change. If you are a fan of fae romances, the Forbidden Queen series is a fun one. Each of the books are quick read that you can easily finish in one day. The first book was only ok in my opinion, but the second book was much better! Bring on book 3! I have a feeling I am going to like that one best of all!

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs