Wayward Reviews

---

A romantasy about a poisoner and a warsword are forced to work side by side when an attack on a king pushes their world into chaos.

Book Synopsis

Wren Embervale, alchemist-turned-assassin, finds solace in only one thing: seeking vengeance for the death of her friends from wars past. But when an unknown form of alchemy is used to attack a king of the war-torn midrealms, Wren is charged with finding a cure for the strange new poison. Offered a place at the ancient alchemy academy of Drevenor, she must claim her spot by conquering the Gauntlet – a gruelling series of deadly trials that could cost her sanity, or her life.

Yet the biggest threat of all might come from the man assigned to protect her – Torj Elderbrock, the silver-haired war hero who has hated her since she assassinated his last charge. Their shared history ignites a simmering tension that threatens to consume them both. With peace between the kingdoms as fragile as ever, and enemies lurking around every corner, Wren will discover whether love can truly heal all wounds – or if it is in fact the most lethal poison of all . . .

*Please note I do use affiliate links occasionally

---

Review

* Non-Spoiler Review*

I got this book through my romantasy Fairyloot book subscription.

First one of May and it’s another Fairyloot haha. Though, I am happy as this is my rollover book for my May TBR! So whoop, whoop, we are on the right track my lovelies.

However, I am very conflicted about this book.

Let’s start with the pros. I did enjoy both of the main characters, there is something different about them compared to the last few romantasy books I have read. To me they are mature, without being stuffy and oddly relatable in their flaws – which is a big positive for me.

The world building was decent, even when the story is a sequel to a previous trilogy, I was able to under that politics and history quite easily. Supporting characters were a good addition to enhancing the whole plot, and I can imagine they will have more of an impact as the series goes on.

Now let’s talk about the cons.

The ending of the book (which I won’t tell you of course). There is a theme that I have come to realise, and that is leaving either you on a cliff hanger and/or flipping the script on a characters attitude. I cannot give you an exact reason why this completely irritates me…but it does!

And unfortunately Scheuerer does that.

So therefore overall, I was left a little miffed. It has literally made me lose interest in the sequence and/or the continuation of the story. Sorry to those who are shocked, maybe this might be the book for you – but i ain’t for me.

Spice Rating: 4/6 – See my rating system here

Book Rating: 3/5 (decent writing, but 2 point deduction for the storyline)