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inmyhumbleopinion's review
4.0
This story is billed as “An Erotic Fantasy Adventure Novel”. I’ll give it fantasy adventure and there are some sex scenes but I don’t think it qualifies as erotic. The cover freaked me out because there is a set of extra hands. That being said it was a fun escape and an interesting world. The characters are multidimensional and interesting. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
swordandrosebooks's review
3.0
**This Book review was originally published on ANovelIdea.net**
Book Review: The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu
I’m not a frequent peruser of erotic novels. I like slow burns, deny me the good stuff and build character while you do. But The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu took me by surprise.
The short novel follows the story of Kyler and Leith, a young scribe that was sent to be an apprentice and an all powerful sorcerer who plans to carry out a nefarious plan. The academy hopes that Kyler will be an ever tempting honey pot to Leith, distracting him from the path he is taking. However, not everything is black and white and the more time Kyler and Leith spend together, the more she realizes there may be more to the sorcerer than she originally was led to believe.
For such a short novel, Wendy Tardieu managed to pack a little bit of world building and character development which was the first surprise I came upon with this novel. The second was that there was barely any erotica. Usually we have a sex scene thrust upon us within the first few pages but The Rules of Enchantment gives us a kiss scene 60 pages in and then a pretty mild sex scene later on. The novel somewhat teeters into slow burn territory but not quite.
The small little issues I had with this book are that certain moments could’ve been explored a little more like the romance between the two, and the complete randomness of the sex scene. I feel like there could’ve been more build up and more tension beforehand, which is why I falls short of a slow burn romance.
All in all, Tardieu’s writing flowed pretty nicely and kept to the setting of the book. If the book would’ve been a little longer maybe we could’ve gotten a more indepth view of the budding romance between these two characters.
With that said, The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu gets 3/5
Book Review: The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu
I’m not a frequent peruser of erotic novels. I like slow burns, deny me the good stuff and build character while you do. But The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu took me by surprise.
The short novel follows the story of Kyler and Leith, a young scribe that was sent to be an apprentice and an all powerful sorcerer who plans to carry out a nefarious plan. The academy hopes that Kyler will be an ever tempting honey pot to Leith, distracting him from the path he is taking. However, not everything is black and white and the more time Kyler and Leith spend together, the more she realizes there may be more to the sorcerer than she originally was led to believe.
For such a short novel, Wendy Tardieu managed to pack a little bit of world building and character development which was the first surprise I came upon with this novel. The second was that there was barely any erotica. Usually we have a sex scene thrust upon us within the first few pages but The Rules of Enchantment gives us a kiss scene 60 pages in and then a pretty mild sex scene later on. The novel somewhat teeters into slow burn territory but not quite.
The small little issues I had with this book are that certain moments could’ve been explored a little more like the romance between the two, and the complete randomness of the sex scene. I feel like there could’ve been more build up and more tension beforehand, which is why I falls short of a slow burn romance.
All in all, Tardieu’s writing flowed pretty nicely and kept to the setting of the book. If the book would’ve been a little longer maybe we could’ve gotten a more indepth view of the budding romance between these two characters.
With that said, The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu gets 3/5
storiedadventures's review
3.0
Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures!
3.5 stars!
This was hard to review because the sentence on the cover is misleading. There wasn't any erotica and there wasn't much adventure. There were a few sex scenes but more along the lines of Sarah J. Maas.
I liked the story and the characters. And the magic was pretty classic. The more you use the harder it is on your body. And different people have different levels of strengths.
It definitely reads like a novella, so it was short and fun!
3.5 stars!
This was hard to review because the sentence on the cover is misleading. There wasn't any erotica and there wasn't much adventure. There were a few sex scenes but more along the lines of Sarah J. Maas.
I liked the story and the characters. And the magic was pretty classic. The more you use the harder it is on your body. And different people have different levels of strengths.
It definitely reads like a novella, so it was short and fun!
maureensbooks89's review
2.0
In ‘The Rules of Enchantment’ we meet the exiled sorcerer Leith. Leith spends his days in his castle plotting ways to get the restrictions that the Academy, sort of their government, has put on the use of magic. When the Academy starts to expect Leith being up to something, they send him a beautiful young scribe, someone that isn’t good with magic, named Kyler to spy on him without her knowing. But soon after Leith and Kylar meet things change between them. Leith isn’t as harsh and unkind as being said. And Kylar is more gifted than anyone could have guessed.
This book started of interesting. We get a little peak in Leith’s life, and the mysterious woods he is exiled too. Soon after we meet Kylar, and I definitely enjoyed her character. She was interesting, and didn’t let her being a scribe, dictate her life. She was really fun to get to know. And I was excited to learn more about her.
We also learn a little bit about the setting, the kingdom of Salyndria, but to my opinion not nearly as much as was needed to make me really get this book. There was a lot of mystery about this kingdom and it’s world, and I kept wondering a lot of the time.
And then the major problem I had with this book. The romance. I was disappointed to read that there wasn’t much romance in this book at all. There were a view sex scenes, but they were rather sudden to me and really not that fun to read. The chemistry between Leith and Kylar was something I really didn’t feel. And their moments together felt simple off to me.
In the end I struggled to finish this read. The promised romance just wasn’t there, I didn’t get the setting of Salyndria as much as I would have liked and it just didn’t work for me. If you ask me, this book should be called a Fantasy novel, instead of a Paranormal Romance one, maybe if I’d thought of this as a Fantasy novel it would have worked more for me.
This book started of interesting. We get a little peak in Leith’s life, and the mysterious woods he is exiled too. Soon after we meet Kylar, and I definitely enjoyed her character. She was interesting, and didn’t let her being a scribe, dictate her life. She was really fun to get to know. And I was excited to learn more about her.
We also learn a little bit about the setting, the kingdom of Salyndria, but to my opinion not nearly as much as was needed to make me really get this book. There was a lot of mystery about this kingdom and it’s world, and I kept wondering a lot of the time.
And then the major problem I had with this book. The romance. I was disappointed to read that there wasn’t much romance in this book at all. There were a view sex scenes, but they were rather sudden to me and really not that fun to read. The chemistry between Leith and Kylar was something I really didn’t feel. And their moments together felt simple off to me.
In the end I struggled to finish this read. The promised romance just wasn’t there, I didn’t get the setting of Salyndria as much as I would have liked and it just didn’t work for me. If you ask me, this book should be called a Fantasy novel, instead of a Paranormal Romance one, maybe if I’d thought of this as a Fantasy novel it would have worked more for me.
tiffanyylizz's review
5.0
I made the mistake of judging this one by its cover. I wasn’t so sure I was going to enjoy as it did not capture my attention or excite me in anyway. It felt too cartoony, and to be completely honest, could’ve gone without her being nude.. but I digress. I put off reading it for about a month after having been reached out to by the publisher. And I horribly regret not diving in sooner.
The Rules of Enchantment is a slow burn with a compelling story line. Although it is an erotic romance, it is not too much or over done. I believe the first “scene”
The Rules of Enchantment is a slow burn with a compelling story line. Although it is an erotic romance, it is not too much or over done. I believe the first “scene”
reddjena's review
3.0
I was approached by the publisher, TCK Publishing, back in September 2020 about reviewing one of their new books, The Rules of Enchantment by Wendy Tardieu. I was intrigued by the description (although the cover seems a bit off) and happily replied that I would like to review a physical copy in exchange for an honest review. But by the time the book arrived, the anxiety of 2020 had overwhelmed me and I wasn’t reading much of anything at that point. I felt bad about that, but the publisher understood and told me not to worry about it. Skip forward to February, where I was doing better with reading and reviewing, I finally started the book!
And I was enjoying it. The main characters were interesting and the magic system was fun to read about. I especially enjoyed Kyler’s self-discovery and character growth. The way she absorbs information, internalizes it, and then eventually decides to act in her own interest instead of just doing what she is told. In the next section, I’m going to briefly discuss some spoilers as I explain why the climax did not work for me. In case you want to skip over those.
SPOILERS BELOW:
The main reasons for my disappointment with the climax was that the author built up Kyler’s power and newly gained independent thought but then made it so she wasn’t put of the climax of the book. Instead she was possessed and held back although she did arrive late, just in time to save Leith in a clever way. I just wish she hadn’t been relegated to the sidelines after all her character’s growth.
The other thing that I was disappointed with (that may count as spoilers) is that the cover presented something that the book doesn’t follow through on. The tagline includes erotic fantasy adventure and while there is plenty of fantasy and some adventure, there are only like two-ish sex scenes and one made me feel uncomfortable. That feels more like romance level not so much erotic level.
SPOILERS ABOVE
The last thing I want to mention is that the author uses omniscient third person to tell the story but tends to flip between POVs with no warning. I didn’t hate it but it was occasionally confusing until I realized what was happening. Overall, I liked the world, the concept, and the characters. A fun diversion when you want a short escape from the anxiety of real life.
And I was enjoying it. The main characters were interesting and the magic system was fun to read about. I especially enjoyed Kyler’s self-discovery and character growth. The way she absorbs information, internalizes it, and then eventually decides to act in her own interest instead of just doing what she is told. In the next section, I’m going to briefly discuss some spoilers as I explain why the climax did not work for me. In case you want to skip over those.
SPOILERS BELOW:
The main reasons for my disappointment with the climax was that the author built up Kyler’s power and newly gained independent thought but then made it so she wasn’t put of the climax of the book. Instead she was possessed and held back although she did arrive late, just in time to save Leith in a clever way. I just wish she hadn’t been relegated to the sidelines after all her character’s growth.
The other thing that I was disappointed with (that may count as spoilers) is that the cover presented something that the book doesn’t follow through on. The tagline includes erotic fantasy adventure and while there is plenty of fantasy and some adventure, there are only like two-ish sex scenes and one made me feel uncomfortable. That feels more like romance level not so much erotic level.
SPOILERS ABOVE
The last thing I want to mention is that the author uses omniscient third person to tell the story but tends to flip between POVs with no warning. I didn’t hate it but it was occasionally confusing until I realized what was happening. Overall, I liked the world, the concept, and the characters. A fun diversion when you want a short escape from the anxiety of real life.
carlyoc's review
4.0
3.5 stars.
There's a lot of potential in this book, and the author packed quite a lot of plot and world-building into less than 150 pages.
I was very impressed by the first third of the book. I have to admit that I held some assumptions about the quality of writing in any book that had the word "erotic" on the cover and Tardieu dashed those assumptions immediately. The beginning is well-paced with vivid descriptions and character descriptions that leave strong impressions.
The middle and end of the book, however, I found a little rushed. I was also not a fan of the dynamics of the romance. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and as much as I usually fall for the trope of dark brooding antihero and sweet innocent ingenue, these characters play that to a T with no self-awareness or deviation and rather icky adherence to outdated gender norms. This line from the initial consummation of their attraction to each other really turned me off: "she lay delicate and subdued as a flower beneath him." There are some scenes of dubious consent and absolutely no mention of contraception (or willingness to have a baby), which I guess might be the norm for romance novels, but in most of the fantasy romance I read, there is at least mention of a magical charm or potion that the woman makes a point to take to avoid pregnancy. Why even in fantasy novels does the onus for contraception always fall on the woman?
The magic system is interesting in that lust dims a sorcerer's ability to perform spells. At first this seemed a mere tool to advance the sexual tension, but it did come into play in an interesting plot twist in the end.
There's a lot of potential in this book, and the author packed quite a lot of plot and world-building into less than 150 pages.
I was very impressed by the first third of the book. I have to admit that I held some assumptions about the quality of writing in any book that had the word "erotic" on the cover and Tardieu dashed those assumptions immediately. The beginning is well-paced with vivid descriptions and character descriptions that leave strong impressions.
The middle and end of the book, however, I found a little rushed. I was also not a fan of the dynamics of the romance. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and as much as I usually fall for the trope of dark brooding antihero and sweet innocent ingenue, these characters play that to a T with no self-awareness or deviation and rather icky adherence to outdated gender norms. This line from the initial consummation of their attraction to each other really turned me off: "she lay delicate and subdued as a flower beneath him." There are some scenes of dubious consent and absolutely no mention of contraception (or willingness to have a baby), which I guess might be the norm for romance novels, but in most of the fantasy romance I read, there is at least mention of a magical charm or potion that the woman makes a point to take to avoid pregnancy. Why even in fantasy novels does the onus for contraception always fall on the woman?
The magic system is interesting in that lust dims a sorcerer's ability to perform spells. At first this seemed a mere tool to advance the sexual tension, but it did come into play in an interesting plot twist in the end.
see_sadie_read's review
3.0
I am utterly confounded by this book. Not because it’s bad, but because it goes to such lengths to declare itself something it’s not. At its core, it’s a student/teacher romance. So, if that’s your thing you’ll probably love it. But for me, my confusion started before even page one, with the cover.
For a book with “erotic fantasy adventure” on its cover, there is remarkably little eroticism in it. There isn’t even so much as a kiss until 60 pages into a 142-page book. And when it shows up, it’s totally abrupt and feels out of nowhere since there hadn’t even been any sexual tension up until that point. Nada-none. What’s more, it felt like he creepily lept on her the moment she showed weakness.
Then, there’s no more until 20 pages later. And though she’s the instigator, it’s again in a moment of weakness and felt like him taking advantage. Annnd the next time she’s asleep when he starts. She wakes up to him panting and “prying” under her robe. (There’s only one more sex scene after that, but I’m pleased to say it’s not creepy.) None of these scenes are explicit or frequent enough for me to consider the book erotic. It’s not even as titillating as a standard romance novel.
I don’t usually chronicle every episode. But I’m trying to make two points, that almost every single sexual encounter seems to be icky and problematic in a way that compromises its appeal for me, and that the book does not earn it’s “erotic” stripes.
And honestly, there isn’t really much adventure in this supposed “erotic fantasy adventure” either. And what very little there is, the heroine doesn’t much participate in. (The book is definitely a prime example of a book with a female main character that is overshadowed by the male characters.) So, considering the book doesn’t live up to either claim of erotica or adventure, I can’t begin to imagine why someone would put it on the cover. It leads the reader to false expectations and then disappointment. The book stands fine as what it is. So, why claim it’s something it’s not?
The book also is guilty of one of my biggest pet peeves, something I seriously consider DNFing books over. The heroine is 21-years-old. She’s basically whored out, though she isn’t told she’s being sent as a honeypot. And she is repeatedly referred to as a young girl. (Her personality is even described as child-like.) A woman being sent into a sexual situation in a (supposedly) erotic novel should never be referred to as a young girl. She isn’t 6-years-old. She especially shouldn’t be referred to as a girl in the sex scenes. She’s an adult.
What’s more and making it worse, it’s not like the hero is sooo old. He’s 30; not that much older than her. But he is presented as fully mature and adult. I don’t know what twist of modern toxic culture makes authors equate female childhood and sexy, but I hate it more than I can express. It’s not even that I’m particularly prudish. I just super hate seeing women infantilized, especially during sex. Let women BE women for god’s sake!
Outside of the cover giving me a false expectation and my one BIG pet peeve, the book is pretty good. The writing is sharp and well-edited. There’s an interesting world and it concludes nicely. I’d give Tardieu another shot.
For a book with “erotic fantasy adventure” on its cover, there is remarkably little eroticism in it. There isn’t even so much as a kiss until 60 pages into a 142-page book. And when it shows up, it’s totally abrupt and feels out of nowhere since there hadn’t even been any sexual tension up until that point. Nada-none. What’s more, it felt like he creepily lept on her the moment she showed weakness.
Then, there’s no more until 20 pages later. And though she’s the instigator, it’s again in a moment of weakness and felt like him taking advantage. Annnd the next time she’s asleep when he starts. She wakes up to him panting and “prying” under her robe. (There’s only one more sex scene after that, but I’m pleased to say it’s not creepy.) None of these scenes are explicit or frequent enough for me to consider the book erotic. It’s not even as titillating as a standard romance novel.
I don’t usually chronicle every episode. But I’m trying to make two points, that almost every single sexual encounter seems to be icky and problematic in a way that compromises its appeal for me, and that the book does not earn it’s “erotic” stripes.
And honestly, there isn’t really much adventure in this supposed “erotic fantasy adventure” either. And what very little there is, the heroine doesn’t much participate in. (The book is definitely a prime example of a book with a female main character that is overshadowed by the male characters.) So, considering the book doesn’t live up to either claim of erotica or adventure, I can’t begin to imagine why someone would put it on the cover. It leads the reader to false expectations and then disappointment. The book stands fine as what it is. So, why claim it’s something it’s not?
The book also is guilty of one of my biggest pet peeves, something I seriously consider DNFing books over. The heroine is 21-years-old. She’s basically whored out, though she isn’t told she’s being sent as a honeypot. And she is repeatedly referred to as a young girl. (Her personality is even described as child-like.) A woman being sent into a sexual situation in a (supposedly) erotic novel should never be referred to as a young girl. She isn’t 6-years-old. She especially shouldn’t be referred to as a girl in the sex scenes. She’s an adult.
What’s more and making it worse, it’s not like the hero is sooo old. He’s 30; not that much older than her. But he is presented as fully mature and adult. I don’t know what twist of modern toxic culture makes authors equate female childhood and sexy, but I hate it more than I can express. It’s not even that I’m particularly prudish. I just super hate seeing women infantilized, especially during sex. Let women BE women for god’s sake!
Outside of the cover giving me a false expectation and my one BIG pet peeve, the book is pretty good. The writing is sharp and well-edited. There’s an interesting world and it concludes nicely. I’d give Tardieu another shot.
barelybookish's review
3.0
The first thing I want to say is that this book was a bit too fast for me. I think this story had a lot of interesting plot points and the world-building was definitely there. This book also had an interesting magic system, that allows casters to pick their words of magic, which I found very interesting. Honestly, I think that if the author wanted to, this book could very easily have been three books, with each trip up in the story being a cliffhanger for the next. I sort of wish that was the case, because I feel like we could have explored the world more and learned about these characters instead of just being told a lot of things about them.
The next point I want to mention is that it’s marketed as an “Erotic Fantasy Adventure Novel” and I feel like that misrepresents this book. Had it not been framed in that light, I wouldn’t have really thought anything about it, but in terms of smut, I wouldn’t necessarily super high on the list. One, it takes us a while to get there, and two, the scenes are not incredibly long. Did I mind them? No, I knew what I was getting into with the title. But, I did feel like the focus should’ve been on the world with the fact that the smut wasn’t super drawn out.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was a really quick read, and I read it in a little over a day. However, I wish it was a bit longer so we could get more world-building and possibly more smut in there.
The next point I want to mention is that it’s marketed as an “Erotic Fantasy Adventure Novel” and I feel like that misrepresents this book. Had it not been framed in that light, I wouldn’t have really thought anything about it, but in terms of smut, I wouldn’t necessarily super high on the list. One, it takes us a while to get there, and two, the scenes are not incredibly long. Did I mind them? No, I knew what I was getting into with the title. But, I did feel like the focus should’ve been on the world with the fact that the smut wasn’t super drawn out.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was a really quick read, and I read it in a little over a day. However, I wish it was a bit longer so we could get more world-building and possibly more smut in there.
doyoudogear's review
3.0
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
The Rules of Enchantment was an enjoyable read, but I was a little disappointed with the worldbuilding. We're introduced to this completely fictional place, yet we learn very little about it over the course of the book. There were old gods and new, ancient evils roaming cursed forests, legendary battles fought in the past, but very few details were actually shared about any of those things. I also wanted to know more about the Orders and how people were chosen for them. It just felt like a wasted opportunity, because the potential was definitely there. I wanted to know more, and I think that says a lot.
I also felt like most of the story was rushed. The author crammed a lot into 142 pages, so there wasn't a lot of time for the characters to grow and evolve. It also stifled the story itself, since the author only focused on one potential scenario. I like it when multiple threads are woven into a single story, since it adds a lot of complexity and depth, but this book was missing those crucial components that really give a story it's oomph. It also meant that the relationship between Kyler and Leith escalated VERY quickly, and without them really having to get to know one another. Leith's demeanor seemed to change overnight, but it was simply because the author skips ahead several weeks without much preamble.
Additionally, I didn't understand Kyler's inability to use magic, and hated when the author used another character to explain something away instead of actually addressing the issue. She was too powerful for simple spells? Okay, I can get on board with that, but I still wanted to know WHY. I don't want my questions to be brushed aside for the sake of furthering the story. Also, characters (Rowan specifically) cannot confess their undying love out of thin air. If these are going to be important, lasting relationships, we need to know more about how they developed. Oh, and lust diminished someone's magic? THEN NO ONE IN THIS BOOK SHOULD HAVE HAD MAGIC.
Basically, I wish the author had spent more time on this book and developed her characters and the world more carefully. If someone loves someone else, I want to know why and how they got there. If you're going to mention Orders, towns, ancient gods and archaic languages, take the time to really explain how those work. Readers typically have great imaginations, but we also need help seeing the author's vision for their story. It was really hard to see the whole picture for this one, which was super disappointing.
I'm curious if there will be a second book, since the ending was very vague. I know what the author was insinuating with Rowan's vision, but it would have been nice to have an epilogue or one more chapter from Kyler and Leith's perspectives. If you're going to read this one, you'll have to suspend your disbelief for most of the book and just go with the flow. It's an interesting story, although I don't think it can be called "an erotic fantasy adventure novel," because there was very little adventure and even less erotic fantasy. (★★⋆☆☆)
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The Rules of Enchantment was an enjoyable read, but I was a little disappointed with the worldbuilding. We're introduced to this completely fictional place, yet we learn very little about it over the course of the book. There were old gods and new, ancient evils roaming cursed forests, legendary battles fought in the past, but very few details were actually shared about any of those things. I also wanted to know more about the Orders and how people were chosen for them. It just felt like a wasted opportunity, because the potential was definitely there. I wanted to know more, and I think that says a lot.
I also felt like most of the story was rushed. The author crammed a lot into 142 pages, so there wasn't a lot of time for the characters to grow and evolve. It also stifled the story itself, since the author only focused on one potential scenario. I like it when multiple threads are woven into a single story, since it adds a lot of complexity and depth, but this book was missing those crucial components that really give a story it's oomph. It also meant that the relationship between Kyler and Leith escalated VERY quickly, and without them really having to get to know one another. Leith's demeanor seemed to change overnight, but it was simply because the author skips ahead several weeks without much preamble.
Additionally, I didn't understand Kyler's inability to use magic, and hated when the author used another character to explain something away instead of actually addressing the issue. She was too powerful for simple spells? Okay, I can get on board with that, but I still wanted to know WHY. I don't want my questions to be brushed aside for the sake of furthering the story. Also, characters (Rowan specifically) cannot confess their undying love out of thin air. If these are going to be important, lasting relationships, we need to know more about how they developed. Oh, and lust diminished someone's magic? THEN NO ONE IN THIS BOOK SHOULD HAVE HAD MAGIC.
Basically, I wish the author had spent more time on this book and developed her characters and the world more carefully. If someone loves someone else, I want to know why and how they got there. If you're going to mention Orders, towns, ancient gods and archaic languages, take the time to really explain how those work. Readers typically have great imaginations, but we also need help seeing the author's vision for their story. It was really hard to see the whole picture for this one, which was super disappointing.
I'm curious if there will be a second book, since the ending was very vague. I know what the author was insinuating with Rowan's vision, but it would have been nice to have an epilogue or one more chapter from Kyler and Leith's perspectives. If you're going to read this one, you'll have to suspend your disbelief for most of the book and just go with the flow. It's an interesting story, although I don't think it can be called "an erotic fantasy adventure novel," because there was very little adventure and even less erotic fantasy. (★★⋆☆☆)
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