Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1157(@200wpm)___ 926(@250wpm)___ 771(@300wpm)
With her only outlets being honing her fighting skills and sneaking out to help her trainer and friend, Vikter—also a viktor—assist in the passing of the cursed by using her gifts and thinking happy memories to ease their suffering, she longs for something more.
Not long before her Ascension, Poppy sneaks out to the Red Pearl—a house of ill-repute—to experience life for a few hours. And, with the help of yours truly in the disguise of a working lady at the pub—I never said I didn’t interfere!—finds herself in the rooms of Elemental Atlantian Prince Casteel Hawkethrone Da’Neer, who is posing as “Hawke” at the time. They kiss, and things for the couple are set in motion…both those of the Fates and the plans Prince Casteel has.
Still posing as Hawke, Cas insinuates himself as a guard at the castle and eventually works his way into the inner circle to be one of Poppy’s personal guards.
That was something I found incredibly clever. Though when I foresaw it happening, I still wondered about his motives.
Poppy begins to question the natural order of things as time passes and wonders if she can change them, especially as her gifts continue to grow and evolve. Originally, it was only sensing the pain of others, but that quickly morphed into being able to sense all emotions by tasting their unique signatures on her tongue, and an ability to ease others as she does with the cursed. Given that empathy is one of her greatest traits, she hopes to one day use her gifts to help people.
From the moment she entered my radar, I admired that.
When she leaves Masadonia for Carsodonia, accompanied by Hawke, Kieran—whom she discovers is a wolven—and their other allies, an entire world opens to her. She sees and experiences things she’s never had a chance to before and decides she won’t return to a life with no freedom. She vows not to Ascend, realizing her two choices are to run or to talk to the Queen. But danger surrounds her, and so many things are not as they seem.
She soon learns the true history of Solis and the reality regarding the vampry and the Atlantians, and it shakes her, but she’s made of stronger stuff. Still, those who see her as the enemy do not relent, and she’s eventually wounded to near the point of death. She may have died if not for Hawke’s Atlantian blood and its healing properties. But amidst the excitement of the attack and the subsequent fallout, a big secret is revealed: Hawke is really the Prince of Atlantia, whom she has been brought up to believe is the Dark One.
Cue gasps. I mean, I knew this, but can you imagine what it was like for her to discover that little tidbit?
Conflicted and torn between her feelings of betrayal and what she feels for Hawke, whom she now knows is a Prince, Poppy decides to make a run for it. However, she doesn’t get far, and her lust ultimately wins out in the end—I mean, doesn’t it usually? But even with that and realizing she loves him, she knows she cannot trust him—or at least she shouldn’t. And his dark side, while exciting and something that calls to her need for vengeance and meshes with her propensity to kill without hesitation at times, is a bit disturbing.
As I’ve said before, someone’s shadow self is not the be-all, end-all of whether a person is good or not. It’s who they are in their hearts and souls that determines whether they can be trusted.
When it’s revealed that she’s not entirely mortal and Casteel tells her that they are headed to Atlantia to be married, she refuses. She firmly believes that she’s not safe with him and his people and has no doubt she’ll eventually be ransomed. So, she makes a plan to escape and find her brother. If what she’s been told about the Ascended is true, then Ian may be a monster, which means she’ll have to kill him. But she won’t know until she finds him.
Once again, she doesn’t get far. Casteel and Kieran stop her, and Cas gives her an ultimatum: Fight me and win, and I’ll set you free. Unfortunately, before she can do more than make Casteel bleed, the Craven attack.
With the dastardly creatures taken care of, they settle in for the night, and Casteel reveals more information. The Ascended had no intention of following through with Poppy’s Ascension. It would taint her coveted blood, which they need for their nefarious plans. And Ian most likely is not her biological brother. He also tells her what the Ascended did to him, a story that horrifies her, and explains his motivations for wanting to marry her: to prevent war, save his brother, Malik, and solve scarcity issues regarding food and land for his people, while allowing her to be free. Win-win. She realizes that his plan has merit and is likely the safest course of action. Plus, there’s that little matter of her attraction to him. We must not forget that.