Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.
Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.
But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.
To make it out of enemy territory, she'll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and deadly beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.
Genre: fantasy
Publication date: October 2023
Mature content: yes
Review: I really wanted to love this book, but in the end I found it a bit confusing. It's almost as if the author decided to mix together a variety of popular genres in one single plot. There are lots of twists and turns, true, but there's so much stuff crammed together that it all ends up being a bit unrealistic (if you can ever consider a fantasy book as realistic...).
The story starts with magic and some mentions to witches, but then expands to incorporate dragons and fae. Then suddenly the dragon is actually a fae shifter, and there are also wyvern, griffins, etc.
I did enjoy the romance between Arwen and Kane, even if I cringed at most of her other choices. And of course, now that I read book one in this Sacred Stones series and it ends at a cliffhanger, I need to read the other two books. But even then, I still don't think A Dawn of Onyx is an amazing book per se. I find it difficult to actively recommend it, and sincerely I'm hoping books two and three are better than book one.
Happy readings otherwise!
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