Of Blades and Wings (Flame Cursed Fae, # 1)
By: Eliza Raine
Publication: March 14, 2024 by Logic in Creativity Ltd
298 pages
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fae, Romantasy
Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)
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Goodreads description--Fae fantasy meets Vikings in this enemies-to-lovers romance about a broken ice-fae princess who must earn her Valkyrie wings, a villainous fire-fae who will stop at nothing to get his revenge, and an ancient war that could see their whole world burn.Princess Madivia is broken. Her fae magic doesn’t work, her illness will kill her, and nobody knows she exists.So when the gods select her to leave her tower in the Ice Court and train to be a Valkyrie at Featherblade, she is sure they’ve made a terrible mistake.So is every other fae at Featherblade. All except the disgraced fire-fae Valkyrie, Kain. His burning gaze never leaves her. Nobody knows what he did to have his wings taken away, but he is as dangerous as the deadly world Maddy has been drawn into.And she has the key to his revenge.If he discovers her secret, it won’t just be Maddy’s life that is in danger. She knows she should avoid him.But, the only thing harder than becoming a Valkyrie? Conquering her searing fascination with the unhinged fire-fae.If she is to survive Featherblade, she must earn her wings. If she is to survive Kain, she must make a choice that could burn their world to ash.This is the first book in the Flame Cursed Fae romantasy series, and is inspired by Norse mythology and sexy fae Vikings. It has villain gets the girl and obsessive burn-the-world-down-for-her (literally) hero vibes. The romance is slow burn and builds in steam and delicious tension.
I hate when a book description tells the truth but twists things in a way that makes the book feel like it's going to be something different than it is. Maddy is hidden by her family. Sure, they might realize that she possesses a magic that can be used to benefit them and harm their enemies. But at this point, they aren't hiding her because they value her. They hide her because they seem to be ashamed of her. She can't do much ice magic. Her family has basically claimed that she is her sister's handmaiden. Her sister has been preparing for the Valkyrie training, but when the Valkyries show up, they take Maddy instead.
Maddy arrives as Featherblade and all the other rooks (Valkyrie candidates) seem to immediately hate her. Valkyries train and fight together, and the weakest link will get them all killed. Maddy doesn't have any visible magic, and she's physically weak. She has a condition that causes her to pass out randomly. And she's afraid of passing out in the middle of a fight, while swimming, or flying, or any other manner of activities that could result in her immediate death. I felt for Maddy. She has the odds stacked against her. And her mental magic that she has to hide almost seems to give her ADHD like symtpoms of inattention and focus as well as maybe some other things. But I liked that Maddy was determined to make this work for her. She never gave up. I particularly liked her motto: Do what you can. Ignore what you can't.
Kain is a mysterious character. We don't know why he's lost his wings or why he is viewed as untrustworthy, yet he remains a teacher. He follows Maddy, but he isn't around all the time. He makes it clear that he views his punishment as unjust, and if possible, he will bring retribution upon those responsible for it. Yet, we don't know who those are. We don't really know why he's keeping tabs on Maddy. We are given a reason eventually, but it is flimsy at best.
I only highlighted a handful of times. One time it was because the sentence was followed by an immediate contradiction.
-It is an excellent defense mechanism, as enemy raiders not only don't know where they are going--they also don't know how to escape when they are caught. And we are raided often, usually by the gold fae.
So...not an excellent defense mechanism after all if you're raided often?
The other quotes were either things that I could see being brought back around in the future, but as of completing the second book in the series, they have not come into play.
I also felt like in a sea of fantasy books that are 600-1000 pages long, it was both annoying and nice to have such a short book. It was nice to be able to finish a book quickly. It was odd and annoying because the story didn't feel like it should have been one book. As a matter of fact, I've already finished book 2, Of Frost and Feather, and those two definitely felt like they could have been smooshed together. The pacing just didn't feel like what I've come to expect from the genre.
I won't say that this book was particularly well written. But I did want to continue reading as soon as I was done with Of Blades & Wings. Given I already had book 2 on hand, I did just that. I will also note that language was excessive. Yet there was only one scene that I remember being spicy in nature. Just putting it out there for those who care. Of Blades and Wings gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read Of Blades and Wings? What did you think? Let me know!
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