A review by jmcclelland17
Court of Blood and Bindings by Lisette Marshall

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

📚A Court of Blood and Bindings📚

Overall Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Spice Rating:🌶️🌶️

✨Tropes✨
⚔️Unique Color Magic System
⚔️Morally Gray MMC
⚔️Fae x Humans
⚔️Identities Revealed
⚔️One Bed
⚔️Forbidden Romance
⚔️Silent MMC
⚔️Touch Her & 💀
⚔️Fae Bargains

✨Initial Thoughts✨
I really enjoyed this book so much! If you’re a fan of Romantasy novels, you’ll most certainly enjoy this book.
I did find the FMC, Emelin, to be annoying at times, but she had redeeming moments. I really loved the MMC, Creon. 
Emelin is abducted by a fae male most famously known as The Silent Death. She learns that she is half fae and half human. She also learns that the people she thought were her parents, actually found her as an infant. 
Emelin, though furious and slightly frightened by The Silent Death, Creon, makes a deal with him. His protection in the fae world for her willingness to help him kill the evil Queen. 
Together they strengthen Emelin’s magic while growing closer together.

✨Pros✨
  • I loved the unique color magic system. It was very cool and something I haven’t really seen before (and I read A LOT of fantasy/romantasy).
  • Great love story!
  • Our MMC had his voice stolen from him by the Queen, therefore he is silent (hence the nickname “The Silent Death”). There was something so interesting about learning Creon’s secrets and personality through his limited communication methods. I love how the author conveyed the depth and details of Creon’s character through writing notes and learning sign language to communicate with Emelin.
  • Great spice.
  • Emelin, though she frustrated me on several occasions, did have multiple redeeming qualities and moments which kept me from disliking her. She’s flawed, a little messy, and caught on to things just a little too late, but that’s what pushed the story forward and I can appreciate that.
  • No annoying nicknames! This is huge for me. Creon doesn’t make up some stupid nickname for Emelin. He does shorten her name to Em, which is perfectly acceptable and sweet in my opinion. 

✨Cons✨
  • Emelin, despite having redeeming moments, still did infuriate me at times. With that being said, I do have hope for her character development and I wouldn’t say that I disliked her. She was extremely slow on the uptake multiple times, but ultimately she figured things out and that’s all I can ask for in a young FMC.


Thank you to the Nerd Fam and the author for the gifted copy and the opportunity to review this book.