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A review by the_quiet_fool
Prince of Darkness by Amber Thoma
3.0
"If you want me. . .you must first win my mind, and the rest will follow."
THE GOOD:
The worldbuilding was on point. It's what kept me reading and wanting to know what was next. I saw another review point out the use of old English and personally, I liked it. I thought it helped me adjust to the setting and really get into the "high court" royal vibes. Many of the books I've read this year have been combining modern English with traditional culture and it's quite the juxtaposition when not done correctly. So, all in all, I thought it brought more refinery to the dialogue.
THE BAD:
Ciaran/Etain and Kes/Anin's love stories were so similar that they were practically identical--from how they met, the thoughts of the MMCs, and how the FMCs responded. Additionally, (this one might be more of a pet peeve) the thoughts of a character would be immediately followed by those same thoughts verbally expressed, almost word-for-word. There was a lot of deja vu and in reality, the book could've been halved which explains why the it took until half of the book to really pick up.
The relations between both couples advanced very quickly--a little too quickly for my tastes. I am not a fan of relying on a mate bond to drive the joining of a couple. I find it more enjoyable when it strengthens their relationship rather than being the driving force.
OVERALL:
Despite these shortcomings, I did enjoy reading this story. The storyline and concepts were interesting and there were several bits of the book where the writing was so sensual and captivating. If Thoma manages to write like that 100% of the time, I'll have an entire bookcase of her work. I'm looking forward to watching this author grow because she has so much potential.
THE GOOD:
The worldbuilding was on point. It's what kept me reading and wanting to know what was next. I saw another review point out the use of old English and personally, I liked it. I thought it helped me adjust to the setting and really get into the "high court" royal vibes. Many of the books I've read this year have been combining modern English with traditional culture and it's quite the juxtaposition when not done correctly. So, all in all, I thought it brought more refinery to the dialogue.
THE BAD:
Ciaran/Etain and Kes/Anin's love stories were so similar that they were practically identical--from how they met, the thoughts of the MMCs, and how the FMCs responded. Additionally, (this one might be more of a pet peeve) the thoughts of a character would be immediately followed by those same thoughts verbally expressed, almost word-for-word. There was a lot of deja vu and in reality, the book could've been halved which explains why the it took until half of the book to really pick up.
The relations between both couples advanced very quickly--a little too quickly for my tastes. I am not a fan of relying on a mate bond to drive the joining of a couple. I find it more enjoyable when it strengthens their relationship rather than being the driving force.
OVERALL:
Despite these shortcomings, I did enjoy reading this story. The storyline and concepts were interesting and there were several bits of the book where the writing was so sensual and captivating. If Thoma manages to write like that 100% of the time, I'll have an entire bookcase of her work. I'm looking forward to watching this author grow because she has so much potential.