📚Once the Skies Fade by Vanessa Rasanen📚

Overall Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:🌶️🌶️

✨Tropes✨

⚔️Fated Mates

⚔️Banter

⚔️Trials

⚔️Shadow Mama 

⚔️Feminine Rage

⚔️Touch him & 💀

⚔️Morally gray FMC

⚔️Political Intrigue 

⚔️Golden Retriever MMC

⚔️Bargains

✨Initial Thoughts✨

Oh. My. Goodness! This book! This book is phenomenal! There is no other way to describe it. I loved the first book in this interconnected series, but this book is a masterpiece. Truly. The character development that is done in this book is incredible. I went on a wild journey of liking Calla, our female main character, to hating her decisions and being frustrated with her, to loving her. As far as our male main character, Matthias, I loved him in book one, but I have fallen completely in love with him in this book. I never thought I would love a golden retriever type of MMC, but Matthias has proven me wrong (or is at least the greatest exception to this rule). Matthias has laugh out loud lines, fantastic banter, and is just so lovable overall. When I had heard this book would focus on Matthias, I was excited. Little did I know that he would be my new obsession.

✨Below contains spoilers, beware✨

I went into reading this book a bit blind. I knew it would be about Matthias and Calla but that was all I knew. I’m genuinely so happy I didn’t know anything else beyond that, because chapter one was a total shock. From book one, I knew that Connor’s brother, Brennan, was to marry Calla and they were content to do their political duty. I wanted Brennan to find his mate, so in my mind I thought that he would do just that which would make way for Calla and Matthias. That theory was short lived. Brennan dies in chapter one (I may have shed a tear, because I did want the best for him), which sets off a cascade of events for Calla and Matthias to see each other more than just in passing. 

Calla has lost both of her parents (making her queen) and her husband, who she did truly care for, within a matter of months. Grief does different things to people (as Matthias points out later in the book) and for Calla, it makes her rage. She enters into a bargain with a witch who is able to tell her who was behind Brennan’s death and curse them. The cost of this magic is that Calla cannot tell anyone about the killer (the magic physically prevents her from speaking). Calla finds out that humans are behind Brennan’s murder. In her grief, she banishes all humans from her kingdom and does some very questionable things to those who dare to disobey her orders. Calla reveals that she is a Shadow Keeper (aka, hot shadow mama), who is particularly powerful. Unfortunately, she must answer, if only a small amount, to her council, The Assembly. They inform Calla that she must choose another husband. Calla is still reeling from losing her entire family, and therefore decides to hold a tournament for the next king. She wants to be as detached as possible from caring about anyone else.

Rumors begin to swirl throughout the kingdom and make it back to Connor and Lieke that Calla killed Brennan. They decide to send their general, Matthias, to compete in the tournament so that he may find out the truth. Matthias goes and performs in the deadly trials. He spends time with Calla and soon realizes that even though she has done so many terrible things, it is because she is hurting and is lashing out. While he does not condone the things Calla has done, and continues to do, he at least has empathy for her. He sees beyond her grief and sees that she is a product of the awful circumstances she has endured. 

Calla and Matthias are constantly tested in their fortitude and they do come out so much strong on the other side. Plus, they achieve it together.

✨Pros✨

✨Cons✨

Thank you to Vanessa Rasanen for the gifted copy and the opportunity to review this book.