What do you think?
Rate this book
Gate of Myth and Power #2
The King's Shadow
I just spent the last month pretending to be the pet cat of an elf king. Today, I discovered we’re enemies.
In a supernatural society filled with vampires, werewolves, and wizards, I’ve always been an outcast with my ability to turn into a housecat. No one knew what I was.
Turns out, I’m a shadow—a race of supernaturals that were wiped out by the elves centuries ago.
Who explains this to me? Noctus, the elf king I’ve been staying with while pretending to be his pet “cat,” not knowing I’m the archenemy of his people. Talk about the most awkward ancestry results ever.
Now I’m stuck staying with Noctus because he can’t let me go thanks to all of his secrets I unwillingly learned as a cat. At least he hasn’t killed me. Yet.
If that isn’t bad enough, I’m being tracked by a creep obsessed with killing me because I’m a shadow, and he doesn’t mind doling out collateral damage during the hunt.
So I’ve got a mysterious elf king holding me captive in his hidden home, a slew of new powers to learn with my revealed ancestry, and a psychopath on my tail. Wow, things are looking up.
It’s time to find out if cats really do always land on their paws.
King’s Captive is the first book in the Gate of Myth and Power urban fantasy trilogy, and is part of the Magiford Supernatural City world. It is an adventure-filled and hilarious take on the Hades and Persephone myth, with a twist of mystery. It’s packed with humor, battles, and a sweet, slow burn romance between an outcast magic user and the deadly king of the elves.
In a supernatural society filled with vampires, werewolves, and wizards, I’ve always been an outcast with my ability to turn into a housecat. No one knew what I was.
Turns out, I’m a shadow—a race of supernaturals that were wiped out by the elves centuries ago.
Who explains this to me? Noctus, the elf king I’ve been staying with while pretending to be his pet “cat,” not knowing I’m the archenemy of his people. Talk about the most awkward ancestry results ever.
Now I’m stuck staying with Noctus because he can’t let me go thanks to all of his secrets I unwillingly learned as a cat. At least he hasn’t killed me. Yet.
If that isn’t bad enough, I’m being tracked by a creep obsessed with killing me because I’m a shadow, and he doesn’t mind doling out collateral damage during the hunt.
So I’ve got a mysterious elf king holding me captive in his hidden home, a slew of new powers to learn with my revealed ancestry, and a psychopath on my tail. Wow, things are looking up.
It’s time to find out if cats really do always land on their paws.
King’s Captive is the first book in the Gate of Myth and Power urban fantasy trilogy, and is part of the Magiford Supernatural City world. It is an adventure-filled and hilarious take on the Hades and Persephone myth, with a twist of mystery. It’s packed with humor, battles, and a sweet, slow burn romance between an outcast magic user and the deadly king of the elves.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 13, 2023
About the author
K.M. Shea
117 books4,480 followersMy pen name is K. M. Shea, but my readers—I prefer to call them Champions—call me Kitty.
I love to write funny, clean stories with strong characters. Books like that are among my favorite to read so naturally I love writing stories like that as well. My philosophy is that life is tough, so books should be something that makes you relax and laugh!
VISIT MY FACEBOOK GROUP
https://www.facebook.com/groups/27090...
VISIT MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
https://www.amazon.com/K-M-Shea/e/B00...
VISIT MY WEBSITE
https://kmshea.com/
I love to write funny, clean stories with strong characters. Books like that are among my favorite to read so naturally I love writing stories like that as well. My philosophy is that life is tough, so books should be something that makes you relax and laugh!
VISIT MY FACEBOOK GROUP
https://www.facebook.com/groups/27090...
VISIT MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
https://www.amazon.com/K-M-Shea/e/B00...
VISIT MY WEBSITE
https://kmshea.com/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews
January 23, 2023
“But you bonded with her.”
“Because I thought she was a cat.” I made my voice as flat and emotionless as possible.
noctus had more chemistry with amalourne than chloe … that's … quite the achievement 🥸
January 13, 2023
4.75 stars. I could not stop reading 🥹
Not much action happens in this book until the 80% mark, let me get that off my chest first lol (it’s my biggest grievance)
Chloe & Noctus are getting reacquainted and most of the story is focused on them growing close again. Thankfully, Chloe isn’t trapped in cat form for most of it this time around, so it actually feels like proper progress in their relationship. It’s beautiful to see Chloe grow her confidence and in character throughout the book, although I’m still not 100% sure why she’d been advised to train in the first place. I just wish there had been a little bit more excitable things to happen, but I’m sure it’ll amp up again in the finale for this trilogy.
I’m happy to report there is no major cliffhanger at the end (unlike all of my other recent reads so I’m very happy to mention this!) but I still cannot wait to read the conclusion to this trilogy. I’ve grown very fond of Chloe & Noctus and the rest of the gang and it’s cute how much they seem to adore Chloe in return. She deserves to feel like she belongs somewhere and I just love how much thought she puts into her actions. It gets really tired, real fast when heroines dive head first into things with no common sense or strategy, unaware of everything.
There are still some questions or things I’d love to be addressed in the next book:
What does Amalourne mean? I’m sure all of us are wondering by now
What’s the deal with the tracker and does he tie in with the “larger” organisation that’s been responsible in all of the other Magiford books? The broken artefacts, too, for that matter.
Am I right to feel squeamish about Shiloh or am I just paranoid lol
Will Chloe let herself breakthrough the Paragon’s glamour and will we finally find out more about him? Admittedly, he’s one of my favourite characters in the Magiford AU so this might be purely for selfish reasons oop—
Will we find out who the person is the Paragon is looking for and why? Will we get to meet them?? What if it was Shiloh all along 🤡
This whole heirloom business… I feel like it will be important in regards to Chloe but why would Noctus entangle her in it at all?? Doesn’t feel like a simple show of trust and good faith to me
What kind of supernatural is Ms Booker?
Will we finally find out all of the implications of a binding between two people? Not only magic wise but also socially?
All in all: I loved this installment although it had its slow moments and I literally cannot wait for the next book!! The slow burn is killing me 😭
Not much action happens in this book until the 80% mark, let me get that off my chest first lol (it’s my biggest grievance)
Chloe & Noctus are getting reacquainted and most of the story is focused on them growing close again. Thankfully, Chloe isn’t trapped in cat form for most of it this time around, so it actually feels like proper progress in their relationship. It’s beautiful to see Chloe grow her confidence and in character throughout the book, although I’m still not 100% sure why she’d been advised to train in the first place. I just wish there had been a little bit more excitable things to happen, but I’m sure it’ll amp up again in the finale for this trilogy.
I’m happy to report there is no major cliffhanger at the end (unlike all of my other recent reads so I’m very happy to mention this!) but I still cannot wait to read the conclusion to this trilogy. I’ve grown very fond of Chloe & Noctus and the rest of the gang and it’s cute how much they seem to adore Chloe in return. She deserves to feel like she belongs somewhere and I just love how much thought she puts into her actions. It gets really tired, real fast when heroines dive head first into things with no common sense or strategy, unaware of everything.
There are still some questions or things I’d love to be addressed in the next book:
What does Amalourne mean? I’m sure all of us are wondering by now
What’s the deal with the tracker and does he tie in with the “larger” organisation that’s been responsible in all of the other Magiford books? The broken artefacts, too, for that matter.
Am I right to feel squeamish about Shiloh or am I just paranoid lol
Will Chloe let herself breakthrough the Paragon’s glamour and will we finally find out more about him? Admittedly, he’s one of my favourite characters in the Magiford AU so this might be purely for selfish reasons oop—
Will we find out who the person is the Paragon is looking for and why? Will we get to meet them?? What if it was Shiloh all along 🤡
This whole heirloom business… I feel like it will be important in regards to Chloe but why would Noctus entangle her in it at all?? Doesn’t feel like a simple show of trust and good faith to me
What kind of supernatural is Ms Booker?
Will we finally find out all of the implications of a binding between two people? Not only magic wise but also socially?
All in all: I loved this installment although it had its slow moments and I literally cannot wait for the next book!! The slow burn is killing me 😭
June 30, 2023
Did I finish this book at 2:30am? Of course, because I was so excited for this one to come out and now I NEED the next one! My heart broke at the end, but I’m very intrigued with how the next book (and I think final book) will answer all of the rest of our questions.
January 15, 2023
I’m enjoying this story, but there are some things about it that don’t quite add up.
The main character Chloe sometimes makes decisions that make her seem stupid like refusing to look through the Paragon’s glamour. And her justifications for her actions often don’t make sense, so they read as poorly constructed contrivances to serve plot. There are topic jumps in dialogue that had me scratching my head, which turned out to be exposition or foreshadowing.
Having said that, K. M. Shea is pumping these books out at a crazy fast rate, so you don’t have to wait long for the next instalment. So I guess she’s prioritising speed over quality, which seems to be a necessary thing for indie authors to survive.
The main character Chloe sometimes makes decisions that make her seem stupid like refusing to look through the Paragon’s glamour. And her justifications for her actions often don’t make sense, so they read as poorly constructed contrivances to serve plot. There are topic jumps in dialogue that had me scratching my head, which turned out to be exposition or foreshadowing.
Having said that, K. M. Shea is pumping these books out at a crazy fast rate, so you don’t have to wait long for the next instalment. So I guess she’s prioritising speed over quality, which seems to be a necessary thing for indie authors to survive.
April 15, 2023
I enjoyed it, even though Chloe had the same inconsistencies that I mentioned in my review of book 1. And even though I wanted to slap them both until they agreed to speak to each other like grown ups. They're both martyr type characters, which generally annoys the crap out of me.
But I like all the characters, and this world, and I enjoyed seeing Chloe get a level-up in this book. Jumping right in to book 3...
But I like all the characters, and this world, and I enjoyed seeing Chloe get a level-up in this book. Jumping right in to book 3...
January 14, 2023
*3.5 stars
K.M. Shea's books are so very easy to read and I can't put them down!
I liked how we got to learn more about the elves (and more about what Paragon is searching for!) but it still feels like we are only surface-level of what this series could be. I really loved the series about Hazel x Killian and the one about Leila, but this one can't really compare to those - at least not yet. 🤷♀️
Now it's a two month wait until the final book...
K.M. Shea's books are so very easy to read and I can't put them down!
I liked how we got to learn more about the elves (and more about what Paragon is searching for!) but it still feels like we are only surface-level of what this series could be. I really loved the series about Hazel x Killian and the one about Leila, but this one can't really compare to those - at least not yet. 🤷♀️
Now it's a two month wait until the final book...
March 14, 2023
It really breaks my heart to say this, especially because I was so excited to read this new trilogy, but I really didn’t enjoyed it, it was so boring at times it felt like a chore to finish it, I’m so disappointed, I truly had high hopes this second book would make things better, seeing that Noctus finally discovered that Chloe was Ama but instead it seemed like the book got even more boring.
January 15, 2023
IDK HOW SHE DOES IT, BUT EACH BOOK IN EAXH SERIES GETS BETTER! 😭😱😍 Also Noctus is one of my favorite male leads to date. And I relate to Chloe a lot more than any of the other female leads. As strange as the plot of this series is, it’s been the best one yet!
February 17, 2024
3.5/5.0
Enjoyed this much more than the first book. There isn’t a lot of action but the characters and their growing friendships are lovely to read. Each one - especially Chloe and Noctus, are thoroughly enjoyable to learn about and root for as the layers and relationships deepen.
I do have a hard time with the VERY overused trope of “we can’t be together” then not even trying, though. At this point in my reading journey it just irks me to no end. There are SO many creative and better ways to forward a story, that an author could at least TRY to do something less cliche. And the culmination of the annoyance is the ending in this installment. Not a fan.
Still, I’ll keep reading because I do adore the characters and want to see their happy endings.
Enjoyed this much more than the first book. There isn’t a lot of action but the characters and their growing friendships are lovely to read. Each one - especially Chloe and Noctus, are thoroughly enjoyable to learn about and root for as the layers and relationships deepen.
I do have a hard time with the VERY overused trope of “we can’t be together” then not even trying, though. At this point in my reading journey it just irks me to no end. There are SO many creative and better ways to forward a story, that an author could at least TRY to do something less cliche. And the culmination of the annoyance is the ending in this installment. Not a fan.
Still, I’ll keep reading because I do adore the characters and want to see their happy endings.
April 11, 2023
Re-read 6th - 8th April 2023
I really enjoyed this in fact I struggled to put it down. I’m gutted I have to wait over 2 months for the third and final but that’s my fault for not checking first.
I liked all the characters and can’t wait for more.
If I had one complaint it would be that it was a little slow. In my opinion it could easily shed 50 pages and be a sharper read.
That said I’m eagerly awaiting the King’s Queen.
I really enjoyed this in fact I struggled to put it down. I’m gutted I have to wait over 2 months for the third and final but that’s my fault for not checking first.
I liked all the characters and can’t wait for more.
If I had one complaint it would be that it was a little slow. In my opinion it could easily shed 50 pages and be a sharper read.
That said I’m eagerly awaiting the King’s Queen.
August 4, 2023
If you squint, there might be a plot, but you have to sort through all the filler 🔎☁️
I knew this would be the "welcome to the team" book full of training montages, but it could have easily been more than that. There's no big mystery to solve, no tension, barely any romantic buildup... This is such a fall from the first book, I need substance! I need meat! No more filler!!!!
I knew this would be the "welcome to the team" book full of training montages, but it could have easily been more than that. There's no big mystery to solve, no tension, barely any romantic buildup... This is such a fall from the first book, I need substance! I need meat! No more filler!!!!
January 2, 2024
A whole bunch of nothing happened regarding any type of plot.
Her character progresses a bit, the book ends with her claiming autonomy and kicking ass. Some of it was almost believable.
Oddly, I still really enjoyed it and am jumping right into the third book. It’s really just one long book broken up into 3 short books for a trilogy.
Her character progresses a bit, the book ends with her claiming autonomy and kicking ass. Some of it was almost believable.
Oddly, I still really enjoyed it and am jumping right into the third book. It’s really just one long book broken up into 3 short books for a trilogy.
October 13, 2023
This book is SO GOOD!!!! There are seriously no words for how amazing this book is!!! I LOVE all of KM Shea's books, and she has outdone herself with this latest trilogy! I don't dare say too much about this book to avoid spoilers, but all you really need to know is to go read it right now!
August 26, 2024
I know others didn't think as much of this book. But I found it just as much fun as the first book.
More time for Noctus and Chloe to get to know each other. You get some time in Noctus' head to see what he thinks of Chloe.
Both of them are holding back for various reasons. But as the reader, you can tell they were fated... but of course not fated for this book (the inbetween book).
There's some more revealing of the history of the main characters except for the Paragon and I would love to learn more about Ms. Booker.
There's not so much a cliffhanger at the end, but a split between Chloe and Noctus for noble reasons.
Some adversaries are vanquished and some aren't.
And of course, Chloe finds her strength.
More time for Noctus and Chloe to get to know each other. You get some time in Noctus' head to see what he thinks of Chloe.
Both of them are holding back for various reasons. But as the reader, you can tell they were fated... but of course not fated for this book (the inbetween book).
There's some more revealing of the history of the main characters except for the Paragon and I would love to learn more about Ms. Booker.
There's not so much a cliffhanger at the end, but a split between Chloe and Noctus for noble reasons.
Some adversaries are vanquished and some aren't.
And of course, Chloe finds her strength.
January 6, 2024
Oh my goodness I love these characters so much!!!! Chloe I actually had a hard time relating to in book one (even though I loved her) due to her being a cat most of the time, but in this one I really SAW her and grew to love her with everything in me as we are so much alike and I just relate to her so much in how shy and unnoticeable she is and so much more I can’t even describe but love so so much even though she does have a terrible habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, lol.
And Noctus is a huge sweetheart, oh my goodness I love him! He’s fierce and tough but also gentle and kind and I love him and want the best for him. And he and Chloe are just too cute and perfect for each other! 🥰😍🥰😍 And Charon, Ker, and Aristide are such good friends and amazing characters and I love them all—all around the cast is AMAZING and fantastic and I adore them all!
I’m VERY intrigued by the plot going on here and how it’s tying into the overall “hidden bad guys” who have been plaguing the previous Magiford books, and I honestly don’t know where the author is taking all this but I’m very excited to find out.
And the ending WAS SO SAD!!!! 😭😭😭 I was literally so sad and depressed the whole day after I read this (I sadly couldn’t just jump into the next book to make myself feel better since I’m buddy reading this series with my family) and we all agreed this was the saddest second book ending of Magiford yet.
I’m so hyped to read the last book and see how everything is going to work out! (It better all work out, especially for Chloe and Noctus… 👀)
‼️Content‼️
Language: gosh; dang it; oh my gosh; crap
Violence: fighting with magic, weapons, and hand to hand (not detailed); fae fight with each other in the middle of a neighborhood and nearly go after a man’s cat; magical explosions; shrapnel from a magical bomb embed in a character’s back (not detailed); injuries and blood (not detailed); it’s mentioned that in the past a character killed their whole family; characters jump off a clocktower to practice falling (not in a suicidal way); a couple characters are slapped around
Sexual: an almost kiss (not detailed)
Other: magic; vampires, werewolves, fae, wizards and other magical creatures/beings; a character is being stalked; people are kidnapped and tied up
And Noctus is a huge sweetheart, oh my goodness I love him! He’s fierce and tough but also gentle and kind and I love him and want the best for him. And he and Chloe are just too cute and perfect for each other! 🥰😍🥰😍 And Charon, Ker, and Aristide are such good friends and amazing characters and I love them all—all around the cast is AMAZING and fantastic and I adore them all!
I’m VERY intrigued by the plot going on here and how it’s tying into the overall “hidden bad guys” who have been plaguing the previous Magiford books, and I honestly don’t know where the author is taking all this but I’m very excited to find out.
And the ending WAS SO SAD!!!! 😭😭😭 I was literally so sad and depressed the whole day after I read this (I sadly couldn’t just jump into the next book to make myself feel better since I’m buddy reading this series with my family) and we all agreed this was the saddest second book ending of Magiford yet.
I’m so hyped to read the last book and see how everything is going to work out! (It better all work out, especially for Chloe and Noctus… 👀)
‼️Content‼️
Language: gosh; dang it; oh my gosh; crap
Violence: fighting with magic, weapons, and hand to hand (not detailed); fae fight with each other in the middle of a neighborhood and nearly go after a man’s cat; magical explosions; shrapnel from a magical bomb embed in a character’s back (not detailed); injuries and blood (not detailed); it’s mentioned that in the past a character killed their whole family; characters jump off a clocktower to practice falling (not in a suicidal way); a couple characters are slapped around
Sexual: an almost kiss (not detailed)
Other: magic; vampires, werewolves, fae, wizards and other magical creatures/beings; a character is being stalked; people are kidnapped and tied up
October 10, 2024
So good! 😍
January 17, 2023
My favorite superhero is a paranormal parkour cat!
Well, as any Magiford reader should anticipate at this point, book 2 is an emotional roller-coaster ride.
I appreciated that the response to Chloe's secret was pretty close to what you would expect. That Chloe begins to learn about her gifts. And the relationship development was... yummy (this trilogy is more romance focused than the others - when Noctus calls her 'Amalourne', oh my heart! 💕). But now my heart is broken 😭
We learn many answers in book 2, but there are still many to learn. At the end of book 1, Noctus nearly blew his cover trying to punish the fae who first tried to steal Ama - presumably he was swamped by his emotions then instead of thinking about his people - what will happen to his magic & his people if he loses control because of her?
There are several parallels between Hazel's story & Chloe's, and IIRC, Kitty once said she saw Hazel as a Persephone character. The ending is promising for book 3 - I would like to see it do something different from Hazel's, but I love both stories so much that I know I'll love it regardless. If only I can survive till it comes out! Hurry, March 24th!!!
*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic
Well, as any Magiford reader should anticipate at this point, book 2 is an emotional roller-coaster ride.
I appreciated that the response to Chloe's secret was pretty close to what you would expect. That Chloe begins to learn about her gifts. And the relationship development was... yummy (this trilogy is more romance focused than the others - when Noctus calls her 'Amalourne', oh my heart! 💕). But now my heart is broken 😭
We learn many answers in book 2, but there are still many to learn. At the end of book 1, Noctus nearly blew his cover trying to punish the fae who first tried to steal Ama - presumably he was swamped by his emotions then instead of thinking about his people - what will happen to his magic & his people if he loses control because of her?
There are several parallels between Hazel's story & Chloe's, and IIRC, Kitty once said she saw Hazel as a Persephone character. The ending is promising for book 3 - I would like to see it do something different from Hazel's, but I love both stories so much that I know I'll love it regardless. If only I can survive till it comes out! Hurry, March 24th!!!
*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic
June 6, 2023
Not terrible, but it's boring and there's a lot of weird decisions made for the sake of the plot. I really like the concept but the execution leaves much to be desired. There's also not a lot of chemistry between Noctus and Chloe. It's a clean romance but that doesn't mean there can't be any sexiness!! Give me that tension!
I don't understand the ending at all, either. It doesn't make sense that they literally refuse to help her at all. Like they could have helped her plan for what she needed to do to get her family back safely or spare someone to assist her and I really don't understand why they can't see each other anymore. She can't be magicked to reveal their secret so why can't she continue to date Noctus and see the group? It doesn't make any sense to me. It's obviously for the plot but it's done poorly.
This is more like 2.5 stars for the potential the story has but it falls flat and drags on. I'm not going to continue with the series.
I don't understand the ending at all, either. It doesn't make sense that they literally refuse to help her at all. Like they could have helped her plan for what she needed to do to get her family back safely or spare someone to assist her and I really don't understand why they can't see each other anymore. She can't be magicked to reveal their secret so why can't she continue to date Noctus and see the group? It doesn't make any sense to me. It's obviously for the plot but it's done poorly.
This is more like 2.5 stars for the potential the story has but it falls flat and drags on. I'm not going to continue with the series.
January 14, 2023
Real, not realistic.
Real dialogue
Real friendships
Real emotions
Real feelings
Real humour
Simple, elegant, fun.
Action, comedy, some drama, mystery.
I need more!
Real dialogue
Real friendships
Real emotions
Real feelings
Real humour
Simple, elegant, fun.
Action, comedy, some drama, mystery.
I need more!
January 17, 2023
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"The King's Shadow," is a fun second installment in the "Gates of Myth and Power," series. It picks right where "The King's Captive," left off, with that crazy plot twist.
I won't say much about it, because spoilers, but I liked how that revelation played out!
One of the things I liked most about this book was the character growth the main character Chloe goes through. Chole learns to push through her anxiety and to be more confident in who she has and the talents she possesses. I also liked that she opened up herself to friendship, after being a loner most of her life.
Another thing I liked about this book was the budding romance between Chloe and Noctus. At first, I wasn't sure if they had chemistry, but by the end of "The King's Shadow," I realized that they do. Chloe and Noctus can truly be themselves around each other, which is not something they can do around most people.
The ending of this book makes me really anticipate the conclusion of this series! I know K.M. Shea will surprise us, like she always does:)
"The King's Shadow," is a fun second installment in the "Gates of Myth and Power," series. It picks right where "The King's Captive," left off, with that crazy plot twist.
I won't say much about it, because spoilers, but I liked how that revelation played out!
One of the things I liked most about this book was the character growth the main character Chloe goes through. Chole learns to push through her anxiety and to be more confident in who she has and the talents she possesses. I also liked that she opened up herself to friendship, after being a loner most of her life.
Another thing I liked about this book was the budding romance between Chloe and Noctus. At first, I wasn't sure if they had chemistry, but by the end of "The King's Shadow," I realized that they do. Chloe and Noctus can truly be themselves around each other, which is not something they can do around most people.
The ending of this book makes me really anticipate the conclusion of this series! I know K.M. Shea will surprise us, like she always does:)
January 16, 2023
3.5 ☆ RTC
January 15, 2023
“But for now, for this moment, I could let my heart break”
Same fr. Knowing the next book isn’t out till MARCH
I’m on the verge of tears. Someone grab me a tissue because I’m going to SOB
Same fr. Knowing the next book isn’t out till MARCH
I’m on the verge of tears. Someone grab me a tissue because I’m going to SOB
April 8, 2023
I skimmed a bit. Their romantic moments were good. Felt natural. But the defeatist attitude toward the end about their relationship is making me lose interest a bit. Not sure if I’ll read the next one. K.M Shea really isn’t one of my fave writers. I was glad I liked the first book much more then expected but this one went back to her status quo with me. Maybe it’s because the reveal was so underwhelming that it took a long time to get back on track and when it was finally getting good … the duty to my people thing snuffed it out.
March 18, 2023
I am giving this series 2 stars, but it's not really the book's fault that I accidentally read a YA "clean romance". I am not the target demographic for this kind of book and so take my critique with that in mind.
I don't know how these books got on my TBR. I don't know why I read the second one after the first book made me give some serious side eye.
This entire book until the very end is one long practice session for Chloe to learn to use her powers. It's just so so so much exposition and explanation and it is entirely too much. At 70% I really wanted to DNF this, but I'd already put so much time in I just plowed through.
Chloe herself reads like a teen. Makes dumb decisions, is always frightened (a literal scaredy cat), continually misreading people, and just generally gives me high school junior vibes.
I didn't love the ending, I don't love the 3rd act breakup in this series, I'm not going to read book 3.
What is even the point of a clean romance?
I don't know how these books got on my TBR. I don't know why I read the second one after the first book made me give some serious side eye.
This entire book until the very end is one long practice session for Chloe to learn to use her powers. It's just so so so much exposition and explanation and it is entirely too much. At 70% I really wanted to DNF this, but I'd already put so much time in I just plowed through.
Chloe herself reads like a teen. Makes dumb decisions, is always frightened (a literal scaredy cat), continually misreading people, and just generally gives me high school junior vibes.
I didn't love the ending, I don't love the 3rd act breakup in this series, I'm not going to read book 3.
What is even the point of a clean romance?
March 24, 2023
I am giving this the four, even though everyone is White cis-het. Because it was DELIGHTFUL.
(Seriously though. Fantasy writers. People of colour exist. Fat people exist. LGBTQIA2S people exist.)
The mystery in this! The sweet burgeoning romance. The humour. Oh and the Paragon!!! Exquisite. What's going on there?
Plus Chloe is a BADASS!!!
Currently listening to this entire series on audio and am on Hazel's second book. It's even better that way than reading!! The voices. The nuance. Wonderful. And reading early and later books in the same week let's me see connections I maybe wouldn't have gotten. Highly recommend.
(Seriously though. Fantasy writers. People of colour exist. Fat people exist. LGBTQIA2S people exist.)
The mystery in this! The sweet burgeoning romance. The humour. Oh and the Paragon!!! Exquisite. What's going on there?
Plus Chloe is a BADASS!!!
Currently listening to this entire series on audio and am on Hazel's second book. It's even better that way than reading!! The voices. The nuance. Wonderful. And reading early and later books in the same week let's me see connections I maybe wouldn't have gotten. Highly recommend.
October 15, 2024
˚₊‧꒰ა 4 stars ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Ooooh! I loved Noctus and Chloe's growing bond in this :) Their relationship is growing beautifully and is indeed delivering on the slow-burn. The way Noctus starts to realise he loves Ama and Chloe the same is just *chef's kiss*. I love when he can;t help but coddle her when she's a cat 😭 The found family trope is also giving in this book (Kitty is so good at this trope istg).
I dropped a star because the immediate plot feels like it's going a little stagnant despite everything else growing.
In classic Kitty style, the ending of the second book has defo left me wanting more!
“Just because she's not a cat doesn't mean she stopped being mine.”
Ooooh! I loved Noctus and Chloe's growing bond in this :) Their relationship is growing beautifully and is indeed delivering on the slow-burn. The way Noctus starts to realise he loves Ama and Chloe the same is just *chef's kiss*. I love when he can;t help but coddle her when she's a cat 😭 The found family trope is also giving in this book (Kitty is so good at this trope istg).
I dropped a star because the immediate plot feels like it's going a little stagnant despite everything else growing.
In classic Kitty style, the ending of the second book has defo left me wanting more!
February 11, 2023
meow
Their relationship grows despite misunderstandings. One mystery solved and several still hanging. Looking forward to book 3 and final resolution.
Their relationship grows despite misunderstandings. One mystery solved and several still hanging. Looking forward to book 3 and final resolution.
December 19, 2023
The character development and shenanigans between everyone continues to be a serious delight
Content warning: same as last but the violence might feel a bit more intense
Content warning: same as last but the violence might feel a bit more intense
Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews