Author: Emily Krempholz
Overall impression: Cozy, Low stakes, predictable ending, but enjoyable.
I gave this one 3.5 stars
There may be spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Violet is a likable character, who is trying to turn her life around after being raised by an evil mage her whole life, and being forced to perform evil deeds. I feel she’s overcompensating for her past deeds, bottles up her trauma, and verges on being twee. What I have a hard time believing is that she never realized she could kill her captor earlier in life. I also know abusive parent dynamics are hard to escape, and that’s very much the relationship she had with Bad Guy. Guy Shadowfade raised her from a small child, and for better or worse, he’s really the only parent she’s ever known. She’s struggling not to reveal per past, and trying to control her evil powers, which results in an imbalance that causes a blight.
The story is very lighthearted and I almost feel like there is nothing at stake, despite what is happening around them and what has happened to them. I knew the story is going to resolve with a HEA, and be wrapped up with a neat little bow. The bow turns out to be the long hidden dragon of legend, but that’s okay too. I expected the book to go the way it did based on the cover art, and it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the story.
I do wish there had been more exploration of the world’s lore, especially around the rock goblins. I really liked them, and they are very important to the resolution of the story. I also wanted more of Violet’s childhood and her life with Shadowfade. Let’s not forget Bartleby. I guess he’s destined to live as a pothos for the rest of his life, because Violet can’t figure out how to transform him back into a human. No wonder he’s so irritated and stabby!
I appreciated that she wasn’t a trembling virgin, which would have been entirely unrealistic in my opinion. She’s a grown woman who knows what she wants, and isn’t ashamed of it. The spice is pretty tame, but there is some. Violet’s love interest, the grumpy alchemist Nathaniel, is good looking and deep down is a good hearted individual. He too has a past he’s not proud of and came back to Dragon’s Rest for a fresh start.
I don’t feel like everything about this world was deeply explored enough for my taste. While I did enjoy this book, it left me feeling like there was something missing, that the story needed more meat. For that reason only, I didn’t give it higher rating. If you meet this book where it is, rather than expecting something it is not, you will probably enjoy it.
