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King's Bride by Beck Michaels

Series:
Chronicles of Urn #1

Genre:
Hades and Persephone, Beauty and Beasts, Fantasy, Romance, High Fantasy, New Adult, the Fae, Paranormal, Dark, Adult, Enemies to Lovers, Book Series, Fairytales, Fairytale Retellings, Fated Mates, Demons, Third Person Point of View, Steamy Romance, Spicy Romance, Touch her and Die, Romantasy, Arranged Marriage, Mythology

Publication Date:
May 23, 2023

Pages Numbers:
462

Read Date:
August 13th, 2023

Date Finished:
August 14th, 2023

Rating:
5/5

Blurb:

He’s the God of Death. She’s the bride sent to kill him. Their union may be the end of them both.

The Everfrost is ruled by the King in his castle of ice. Some call him the Ice Phoenix, others the God of Death. The clans survive by one law alone: pay the King the homage he is due and never take what belongs to him. But when Sunnëva Morkhàn’s brother falls gravely ill, she will have to do exactly that.

Against every warning, she sneaks into the castle to steal the one thing that would save him—a magical rose. When the Ice Phoenix discovers her theft, the consequences leave her mourning and enraged. To spare the clan from his wrath, Sunnëva’s father offers her as a bride, and for a reason she cannot fathom, the King accepts.

Revenge is a delicate game Sunnëva is determined to play, even if killing the God of Death is no easy feat. But as secrets unfold around the alluring King, and dark threats emerge from the shadows, Sunnëva struggles to hold on to her hatred—and her heart.

Inspired by Beauty and the Beast, King’s Bride is the first book in Beck Michaels’ companion prequel series, the Chronicles of Urn—dark fables founded in forbidden love and strong-willed women who bring kings to their knees.

Review:

How has no one considered the Hades and Persephone element in the story? Because it is there. The story may lean toward Beauty and the Beast but there is also Hades and Persephone. Although a bit lesser seeing widely in the novel.

Plus he has a scythe! Okay, so there could be the argument that the scythe in mythology could belong to either Chronos or Thanatos, depending on what story is being told. However, it could be considered still a weapon belonging to possibly the Underworld.

Also, allow me to continue the argument and point out that technically he could be considered Hades in both senses. He does consider himself the God of Death and he does claim souls. Now, I am well aware that Hades is simply the God of the Underworld, but his world also contains the souls of the dead. He may not be part of the judgment but he still has his hand in ushering them to their respective areas.

Sunnëva lives in a village where winter is an everyday occurrence. With food scarce and most of the hunting party gone, it is hard to find a meal anywhere on the frozen tundra. That is until the party returns carrying food and gold. Along with the party are Rune, Sunnëva's love, and her brother, Fenrir. But something happens to her brother and Sunnëva is forced to go find an incredibly rare flower from the home of the Ice Phoenix. But the moment she plucks the flower, she brings the Ice Phoenix knocking on her village doors.

Jökull, known as the Ice Phoenix and the God of Death, has come for the one who has stolen his flower. When he is offered the little thief as his bride, he takes her and spirits her away back to his home. Sunnëva believes her new husband has killed her brother and her father has threatened to harm her sister if she does not find his weakness. She sees his death as a chance to lift the curse of an eternal winter upon the tundra, but what happens when the two begin to chip away at each other's icy hearts?

Sunnëva's character, while compelling, seems to show that she is resilient, strong-willed, and brave. There are even moments of bravery when she faces her husband many times. Most of them are to kill him and even those are fruitless attempts. The downside to her character is that she does prove to be a bit of an annoying female. There are times when I would have loved to throttle her. Her character's development slows down during the moment of her arrival at her husband's castle. She continues to lament over the fact she believes he killed her brother. This seems to be a continued theme whenever we get into her head. Although I do understand, it seems to be part of a one-track mind.

The Ice Phoenix, Jökull, was a fascinating character. He was cold and distant, but you could see that there was more beneath the surface. As the story progressed, we got to see more of his past and how he became the God of Death. His love for Sunnëva grew and he became more human, but he still had his flaws and his dark side.

Now let's get down to her family. I hated both her brother, Bjorn, and her father, Thorstein. The latter was hateful toward his other children. He cared little whether any of them died and this shows when Fenrir is harmed during their expedition back home. He even discourages Sunnëva from seeking any remedy to save him. He believes in the survival of the fittest and Fenrir is nothing but a weak link in their family.

When Sunnëva brings back the rose, he offers her up to the Ice Phoenix as a way to save himself. He even sees this as an opportunity to force Sunnëva to look for a kink in her new husband's armor that would give them a way to kill him. And to make sure she follows his orders, he uses her sister to force her to obey him.

And Rune. I don't believe Sunnëva really loved him. Maybe it was just a fleeting youth when they are in the throes of falling in love. They may have planned to marry but I don't see really following through with it. They used each other, yes, but I don't see it progressing any further than that. I understand that there were points she may have started falling in love with him especially when the winter castle of the Ice Phoenix was alerted to the theft of the flower and he supposed led the Ice Phoenix's troops away, but other than that, I just don't see it happening.

I can also see the reason why he would be the bad guy. He seemed creepy even upon his return from the expedition. He was more friendly and his usage of "sweetling" seemed to offer more of a sinister side. His smile seemed to be a dead giveaway but Sunnëva didn't seem to be paying much attention to any details that screamed he was not the right choice for her.

The world-building was also excellent. The author did an incredible job of describing the frozen tundra and the mystical beings that lived there. The Ice Phoenix's home was beautifully described, and you could feel the coldness and magic that emanated from it.

Final Thought:

Overall, while there were some characters that I disliked, the story itself was well-written, engaging, and had me hooked until the end. I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy romance stories with a touch of darkness.