Married by Fate
JENNY HICKMAN
(Book 2 in the Arranged Marriages of the Fae, a multi-author collaboration of
stand-alone novels)
Synopsis:
He’s a Prince bound by duty.
She’s his brother’s fae bride.
Until fate intervenes.
Lady Roisin knew her fate was to marry a human prince, helping to heal the rift between the humans and the fae. Luckily, she fell desperately in love with her betrothed, the dashing heir to the Vellanian throne, Prince Alrec. One day soon, she will be his queen. A day Roisin has been looking forward to for as long as she can remember.
As the king’s youngest son, Prince Caiman knew his fate was to live in his older brother Alrec’s shadow. One day soon, Alrec will be crowned king. A day Caiman has been dreading for as long as he can remember.
When tragedy strikes the kingdom, Caiman is forced to ascend to the throne in his brother’s stead. But becoming King of Vellana means upholding the alliance with the fae by marrying his brother’s betrothed. And marrying a woman who has despised him for years cannot end in happily-ever-after . . .
My rating: ★★★
Categories: YA, romance, fantasy, fae, novella/short story
Content:
Language: A few minor swear words
Violence: Some discussion of war and fighting, beatings, intentional burning, description of scars, and mention of attempted sexual assault. There are also a few brief skirmishes and some description of wounds and serious injuries.
Sex: A few kisses and multiple allusions to sex. There are a few fade-to-black sex scenes, though most are only one line or so.
LGBTQ: Not present
My Review: I was given a free digital ARC by the author in exchange for my review!
This was a short, fairly enjoyable read that could have used some more world-building and character development. But it's a novella, so I can forgive that.
My Review:
Thank you to Jenny Hickman for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I'm not a huge fan of novellas, so I knew I wasn't going to completely love it, but I was actually surprised by how much I liked it. I enjoyed the author's THE PAN (I've only read the first one—I will eventually get to the others!), which was why I decided to enter the giveaway the author was hosting for some ARCs, and I'm glad I did. It gave me a taste of what Hickman's writing is like outside of the contemporary space.
But I'll admit, I feel a little cheated out. The world building was lukewarm and the characters changed their ideas and opinions very quickly (I get it's a novella, but this is supposed to be enemies-to-lovers). I might have forgiven the lack of world-building and regarded it as just another generic fantasy world, but the thing is, the island the story takes place on is apart of the author's series of NA standalone novels). So to really get into the story and not feel like you only read half of it, you have to read the Myths of Airren series, which isn't even in the same age category.
*Sigh*
So yes, I was a bit bummed out about that. But there's nothing to do about that. This was a quick read, fairly enjoyable read and now I'm curious about what the other books in this series are like. I love how in the back of Married by Fate, there is a section describing the tropes used in the rest of the books!