4⭐️ 3-4🌶️
MOOD: dark, challenging, emotional, tense
TROPES: Kidnapping/Abduction, Forced Proximity, sprinkle of "Who hurt you?"
GENRES: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Contemporary
FAV QUOTE: 

MAIN CHARACTERS: James "Jamie" Broadwith (human) and Rhydian Y Mabinogi (Fey Prince)

THE GOOD: This is a really engaging, thus quick read- I read it in an afternoon. It's one POV so you learn how to navigate the intricacies of this new world as Jamie does. There are no good guys - especially not the Seelie Fey - but are humans much better? There are several relationships  beyond the romantic one that grow over the time of the story and this is a really good start to a series. Honestly, it was much better reading experience than the last S. Rodman book I read which was Evil Omega.

THE NEUTRAL: I did see a review that said "the sex scenes were way too much" and to each their own - since many of the CW have to deal with intimate scenes I'm not sure what those reviewed expected. I thought there were a good amount of those scenes and they were appropriately descriptive. Important to note that I read a lot and that includes anything from closed door to erotica so my range is open and I actually wouldn't have minded more scenes.

THE MEH: Two things that prevented this from being a 5star read. The first is that everything that happens takes place in a vacuum. Beyond the start of the book, there is no real mention of the city outside the court which makes a lot of interactions and court dealings have less weight. And the second is that one of the CW, non consent, really should have been sexual assault and/or sexual violence. I'm not a fan of that CW to start with cause it's really vague, dubious consent and CNC make sense, but in this instance it doesn't fit at all.

CW: provided by author but listed as "This book contains" - dubious consent, non consent, exhibitionism, somnophilia, forced orgasms, abduction, captivity, physical punishment, suicide, murder, enforced body modification, pet death