[ 619 ]

[katara]

The Wraith King by Juliette Cross

Series:
The Rise of Northgall #1

Genre:
Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Fae, Dragons, Dark, Gothic, Adult, Kindle Unlimited, Dark Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Fated Mates, Demons, Magic, Possessive Male, Touch Her and Die, Spicy Romance

Publication Date:
September 24, 2024

Pages Numbers:
451

Read Date:
October 20th, 2024

Date Finished:
October 21st, 2024

Rating:
4.5/5

Blurb:

A brutal, bloody war against the ruthless Wraith King has cost the light fae more than innocent lives. Una Hartstone, Princess of Issos, learns the price the Wraith King demands to end the war once and for all. Her. In exchange for the safety of her people, she agrees to give her life—and her body—to her greatest enemy.

Gollaya Verbane is determined to fulfill his destiny and his god’s prophecy. When his seer points to the Princess of Issos as the key to the rise of the dark fae, he demands her submission. But when she finally yields, he realizes Una is much more to him than a priceless weapon.

A mystery that has haunted Una for years awakens when she is abducted and dragged back to Näkt Mir. The palace hides many dark secrets…and at least one traitor. A traitor determined to take King Goll’s throne—and all he possesses. What he doesn’t know is that Una’s magick is more powerful than he can imagine, and that Goll will burn the whole world to save her.

Review:

Raise your hands if you came here because of the cover!

-raises hand!-

The premise of the novel was the added bonus and I could not help but be allured into the world of the fae and dark fae. This world has been shaped differently from the other fae/dark fae novels that I have read. Our Wraith King is dark, possessive, and powerful and our female lead, Una, whom he believes will be the one to birth him an heir, is the prize he has won and she wants nothing to do with him. I love that their relationship is not the instant-romance I see in dark romances, but it is built up slowly before the spice comes in. Books like these make me happy to read the dark romantasy.

I loved this world; the magical system, the world-building, the characters, and everything in between. The book kept me enthralled in its grasp from the novel's cover to the end. Oh, and did I mention dragons? I loved the dragon - the best character ever!

The downside - a bit of the magical system. It seems a bit raw in the novel and I am sure it will be refined in later novels, which I will be picking up.

But if you are looking for something with dark gothic fantasy romance then this book I will recommend.

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Anathema (The Eating Woods Duology #1) by Keri Lake
Phantasma (Wicked Games #1) by Kaylie Smith