Hello everyone!
Man, time sure does fly, doesn't it?
I've been noticing that more and more lately.
I also have to be completely honest.
I'm disappointed with this one, and starting to regret reading so many romances all at once, because I keep forgetting that the reason I tend to avoid them is because the heroines really, truly, slay all my desire to do so.
This book was unfortunately no different.
However, I'm going to let you decide on it, as we go along, so without further ado, let's have a look at our choice for the night.
The title: The Nightmara Affair.
I think I can safely say I'll probably stop reading after the next book in the series, because I've got more than enough Calatini for the time being. At some point I might return to it but, that may be when some time's passed.
Because while The Spellbinding Courtship was a quick and easy read, and the heroine didn't press my buttons, The Enchanted Bird was already a book I rated higher because I overall liked the primary setting, just the romance (the biggest chunk of the book) was not something I could connect well to or admire.
Then came The Nightmara Affair though; and I had hopes for this one. I was looking forward to it because it's Devon's book, and I've loved Devon since he first popped up.
But here we go.
At the masquerade where Hawke and Wren do their little thing, Kiera, Wren's friend and matron of the orphanage Wren helps out at, also makes an appearance, using an enchanted mask to transform herself into a mermaid (costume, I mean). She proceeds to charm the king himself, who's enchanted by someone who apparently doesn't know who he is, so they dance the rest of the night, have a little walkabout in the gardens, share a kiss, and he gifts her a rose.
Then she runs off at midnight, leaving behind only a scrap of fabric, which doesn't help him find her since the trace magic left behind is useless. But he's now determined to find her because she's the only one he'll marry, and his logic is (I can't believe I'm about to write this) that as soon as she recognizes he loves her, she'll fall into his arms, they'll marry, and live happily ever after.
Listen, I know what you're thinking, but just ... bear with me.
Meanwhile, Kiera's gone back to her life at the orphanage, and not counting vivid passionate dreams about Devon, it's more or less the same ... until Wren tells her the king's searching everywhere for the mermaid. THAT's something Kiera hadn't counted on, and obviously the king can't marry someone like her so, best she forget all about him.
That is, until Wren and Hawke's bloodbinding ceremony, when she stands as Wren's witness, and Devon is invited - and because her spell didn't last as long as Wren's, he immediately recognizes her and wants to talk to her.
It's kind of difficult when she runs off immediately, however, so Devon turns to Wren for some guidance, because he's serious about marrying Kiera: he loves her. I argue he's in lust, considering three quarters of the time when he's around her he's thinking how he can barely control himself from ravishing her on the spot, but as you do.
Eventually, he goes for one of the oldest tricks in the book: he offers Kiera a pretend engagement so she can help him with the Nightmara delegation (they're magical horses who control dreams), who will only negotiate an ancient treaty with the Queen (currently non-existent), and he'll set her free afterwards. Not that he has any plans of it, but Kiera's like, okay, sure, this kind of arrangement I can deal with.
Then she bemoans the fact it'll all be over with the treaty signed, because she wants to stay with him.
Anyway, Devon spreads a romantic rumour about her being a long lost princess to gain the court's favour before presenting her at another masquerade, and they start slowly working on the stuff that needs sorting through together: Kiera spends time with the Nightmara to learn more about them, learn how to ride, and eventually sign that treaty, while Devon tries not to think about ravishing her too much or too often.
It becomes more difficult when she clearly also wants him back, but seems to think he'll still never marry her, so he goes on to try and prove she has his undying support in everything she does, including an education initiative which she spearheads to bring better schooling across Calatini to all children, rich or poor, with the help of the priests and some of the other councilors who take a liking to her.
She also becomes friends with Annalise, the woman Devon had been escorting previously, and who seems to be incredibly lonely because of a family feud with another family in her duchy (Romeo and Juliet style) and her parents being absolute trolls.
It's a good thing the women become friends though, because during one of their forest rides, Kiera and the Nightmara heir get stung by deadly bees who kill with their attacks, and Annalise reveals herself to be a soul healer, so she can heal them both. This also spurs Kiera to seduce Devon since she nearly dies, and her logic is that because she invited him to her bed he'll DEFINITELY know she loves him.
His logic is that because he's been so supportive and how tenderly he makes love to her, she'll DEFINITELY know he loves her.
Yep. We're in that situation, folks.
Thankfully there's an explosion of some magical ore to distract us, and our duo go to visit that infamous witch who's been providing all these magical trinkets to women throughout the books, who tells them what they'll need to bring the ore under control, so they can start working towards that, particularly as one of the more idiotic characters (only there to serve as a lecherous bumpkin) tries to kidnap Kiera, apparently convinced she'll welcome it.
The king thanks the man's sister and offers her the job with the ore (they need an alchemist) before confronting the lech, and exiling him from the kingdom on pain of death.
Then Kiera's almost poisoned, so OBVIOUSLY someone else wants her done away with, and Kiera does the stupidest thing ever, looking into a Mirror that can literally kill you, but doesn't really do more than just exhaust her so she sleeps for two nights afterwards. Or maybe it's the stress of poison as well as finding her real mother who comes to try and extort her now she's going to be Queen.
She eventually solves her mother problem by sending her into exile to the island of magical spiders, and they deduce the poisoner is a councilor who was against her education initiative all along.
Then the Nightmara treaty is finally negotiated, and Kiera disappears into the night because any sensible woman will run instead of talking things through with the man she knows she loves, of course. What are we thinking?
Devon gets a slap from Wren for his efforts to get her back, but he does in fact finally get round to proposing to her for real during this universe's version of New Year's, and Kiera accepts. He also says he's arranged for them to bloodbind because the man isn't taking any chances - she's not running away from him this time again!
But that said, we leave them with their newfound happiness and WHEW, thankfully so!
I received an advance review copy for free, by the way.
While I was reasonably lenient with The Enchanted Bird, I can't make the same concession with The Nightmara Affair. Which is a shame because I was excited to read about Devon! He was a wonderful character and I wanted to see how he'd end up with his happily ever after. On top of that, Kiera struck me as sensible and intelligent when she was a supporting character before.
The overall plot is simple - Cinderella, revisited. And that bit works. As does the court intrigue later and all the other adventures, from the treaty, becoming friends with Annalise, kidnapping and poison. Even extortion works!
Alas, the problem then becomes the way the romance is presented.
Okay so, Kiera doesn't believe that Devon could want to marry her because of her poor background - fair. The problem arises when she keeps believing that despite the fact Devon bends over backwards to prove otherwise. He really shouldn't have bothered. She STILL spouts the same drivel 5 pages before the end. And I'm sorry but what happened to actions speak louder than words? PLUS SHE is the one to stop an actual conversation between them that would have cleared everything.
She's also written inconsistently. At one point she bemoans how she doesn't have time for the orphans anymore and how horrible that they turn to someone else now not her (let's not think that if she used her brains she could take care of ALL THE ORPHANS IN THE KINGDOM), then one page later she says she'd easily sell her soul and the orphans both to stay with Devon.
Also what is this raking Devon over hot coals? The man was doing everything, and contrary to everyone saying PFT SHE WOULDN'T RUN IF YOU SAID THE WORDS ... Uh yes, she would. Because she doesn't believe them, no matter that they're true. Which makes no sense since she OBVIOUSLY seems to think he loves her by his actions - but words? Oh no. Not KIERA. Words frighten her but if she doesn't hear them she runs anyway.
She gets off WAY too easily like she didn't make this more complicated than it needed to be and making Devon's decisions for him. So the fact he gets slapped for doing everything except dragging the moon down, and she gets a 'oh you ran because he SHOWED you but didn't TELL you poor dear, have some tea' is bonkers.
This story had potential to be AWESOME, but the execution of the romance is just, subpar and makes me angry because Devon and Kiera deserve better. Ffs she didn't believe he loved her and was proposing for real when he was on one knee at the end!!
So no. I may have enjoyed a lot of this book, but the outrageous ridiculousness of this plot and the slap on the wrist Kiera got in comparison to making Devon out to be stupid and slow and the worst for not reading her mind, outweighs everything.
I'll be reading Annalise's story but with LOW expectations.
While I was reasonably lenient with The Enchanted Bird, I can't make the same concession with The Nightmara Affair. Which is a shame because I was excited to read about Devon! He was a wonderful character and I wanted to see how he'd end up with his happily ever after. On top of that, Kiera struck me as sensible and intelligent when she was a supporting character before.
The overall plot is simple - Cinderella, revisited. And that bit works. As does the court intrigue later and all the other adventures, from the treaty, becoming friends with Annalise, kidnapping and poison. Even extortion works!
Alas, the problem then becomes the way the romance is presented.
Okay so, Kiera doesn't believe that Devon could want to marry her because of her poor background - fair. The problem arises when she keeps believing that despite the fact Devon bends over backwards to prove otherwise. He really shouldn't have bothered. She STILL spouts the same drivel 5 pages before the end. And I'm sorry but what happened to actions speak louder than words? PLUS SHE is the one to stop an actual conversation between them that would have cleared everything.
She's also written inconsistently. At one point she bemoans how she doesn't have time for the orphans anymore and how horrible that they turn to someone else now not her (let's not think that if she used her brains she could take care of ALL THE ORPHANS IN THE KINGDOM), then one page later she says she'd easily sell her soul and the orphans both to stay with Devon.
Also what is this raking Devon over hot coals? The man was doing everything, and contrary to everyone saying PFT SHE WOULDN'T RUN IF YOU SAID THE WORDS ... Uh yes, she would. Because she doesn't believe them, no matter that they're true. Which makes no sense since she OBVIOUSLY seems to think he loves her by his actions - but words? Oh no. Not KIERA. Words frighten her but if she doesn't hear them she runs anyway.
She gets off WAY too easily like she didn't make this more complicated than it needed to be and making Devon's decisions for him. So the fact he gets slapped for doing everything except dragging the moon down, and she gets a 'oh you ran because he SHOWED you but didn't TELL you poor dear, have some tea' is bonkers.
This story had potential to be AWESOME, but the execution of the romance is just, subpar and makes me angry because Devon and Kiera deserve better. Ffs she didn't believe he loved her and was proposing for real when he was on one knee at the end!!
So no. I may have enjoyed a lot of this book, but the outrageous ridiculousness of this plot and the slap on the wrist Kiera got in comparison to making Devon out to be stupid and slow and the worst for not reading her mind, outweighs everything.
I'll be reading Annalise's story but with LOW expectations.
xx
*image not mine
The Spellbinding Courtship - The Enchanted Bird
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