Now let's get into the world-building details. Some important pieces of information would have had more weight at the beginning of the book rather than at the end. For example, Fiadh’s actions would have meant more if we learned more about them sooner. I had too many questions at the end that made me feel like the author didn’t know what was going to happen at the end until they wrote it. Not a bad thing, but noticeable to me. Perfect for fans of Beauty & the Beast, Romeo & Juliet, A Curse So Dark & Lonely, A Court of Mist and Fury, and The Cruel Prince.

The female main character also overthinks everything to the point where half the writing in a chapter is her worrying written down. But please, I'm begging whoever is in charge of this stuff: give this book the pretty cover it deserves.

See a Problem?

General Rion is ruthless and commanding. He relishes in his reputation as The Demon-a vile creature incapable of love or compassion. With a secret no one can know, Arianna strives to placate him while plotting her escape, but sometimes fate has other plans and rumors can’t always be trusted. This was dark, twisted, addicting, magical, and romantic, all in one book that you’ll want to read cover to cover in as few sittings as possible. This takes the enemies to lovers/forbidden love trope to a whole new level. I love seeing new twists on popular tropes, and Reed kept me guessing at every turn. I was dying trying to figure out what was happening next, and whether Arianna would find her HEA. No spoilers, you’ll have to find out where she lands on your own! (And it may not be where you expect). Arianna is an amazing heroine, and you can’t help but fall in love with her, she’s strong, smart, and determined. I didn’t want to like Rion, but I’ll let you form your own opinion on him. Final note…we are getting a sequel…right?!

However, I have zero complaints about how the enemies-to-lovers part was handled and I find super refreshing how Rion and Arianna were virgins. It was very cute, especially considering that Rion's this big and strong and deadly soldier who you'd think has sex every other minute.My favorite character was def Marshall and I might read book 2 for his sake and I'll admit, Roma had me swooning a time or two. There were some grammar errors. Although minor, they were frequent enough that this could be a turn off for other readers.