I devoted my life to a king who was not my own.

On the road to ultimate honor and glory, I lost everything.

Now, in a world ravaged by the whims of those who rule, I must turn my back on a lifetime of friendships and loyalties to face my own fate.

The Savage Prince.

Heir to the high-fae throne of the Southern Lands, he is known for his brutality and cold heart. But with the kingdom on the brink of ruin, I have no choice but to seek him out.

The war between the fae and the witches rages, and there’s no end in sight. My destiny is clear—help the prince defeat his enemies before it’s too late.

One small problem.

I am Rookesbane Eveningstar.

The Favored Child returned, a Witch of the Woods.

The greatest enemy of my Fates-blessed mate.

Kindle | 663 pg | 45 Chp | 4.5 hr read

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If you’ve been following me for over a year you’ll know that at the start of 2023 I read J. Bree’s ‘The Bonds That Tie’ series which became a top read of the year and firmly cemented J. Bree as a favourite top author.

The only thing I can lament is how hard it is to get her paperbacks in the UK!!

This book is fantasy – witches, seelie, unseelie, goblins, dark sorcery, ruling kingdoms…basically the whole kitchen sink is here. We get different POVs through this as well – Rooke and Soren.

Rooke is a witch who fled the South Lands in grief and in an attempt to avoid her fate. She joined the army in the Northern Lands, joined a war, and became a healer. All before returning to the South Lands to fulfil her fate.

Soren is the heir to the Celestial Throne. Or, he will be recognised as heir and King after he finds his fates-blessed mate, marries her in old unseelie tradition and hopefully before the regent finds an excuse to kill him.

This is the true beginnings of an ‘enemies to lovers’ plot line. Both main characters have incredibly strong personalities, a lot of stubbornness, and pride. I can certainly see what a match they will make once they can actually tolerate each other.

Witches are the scum of the South Lands led by the greatest evil – Kharl Balzog. I’ll admit tat in the beginning of this book I thought that Kharl and the Regent were the same person, which was confusing for a moment.

But, witches are the enemy. Crazed hordes to be slaughtered. Mindless grunts like foot soldier orcs from LotR.

There is more to it than that. There is a deep whispering wind yearning for all that has been lost. The plot setting up to reveal what has been forgotten. The lines have not been drawn in the sand yet so the plot still feels fluid and moving.

Soren is complicated. His deep hatred of witches narrows his focus and clouds his mind. Even in the sight of that which counteracts the hatred he harbours so deeply, he seems incapable of changing his mind. He had the focus of Voldemort after hearing the prophesy!

Rooke, as a well planned characters has patience I could only dream of. Her focus is on delivering the fate given to her and her care for what happens to her on that path is numb.

Supporting the two MC’s you have – Tyton, Roan, Tauron, Reed, & Airlie. Let me break this down. Tyton, Roan, & Tauron are all Princes. Airlie is a Princess. Reed is a commanding soldier.

Tyton is a high-fae with magic that he has little control over and no idea how to use. My opinions on him wavered between trustworthy and suspicious.

Tauron is Tyton’s brother and he’s a little shit through the whole book. More narrow-minded than Soren, quick to anger, prefers violence as a first course of action.

Roan is honestly the only Prince with even a slither of independent thought. It gives him an edge and offers a different perspective to all the single minded folk. He is the heir to the kingdom in the North.

Airlie is fate-blessed to Roan and Soren’s cousin. She starts off as a bitch but I changed my mind on her once I realised she had the capacity to think for herself, do independent research, and graciously change her opinions.

Lastly, Reed, a loyal soldier of Roan’s. Outside of Rooke, he was the first character I warmed to. His ability to question and adapt was much needed.

This quote sums up the book for me:

“That doesn’t look like begging to me. I’d rather walk until my feet bleed.”