Reviews

Violet is the seer of her kingdom. She has risen to this position after being a street rat, and she won't stop at nothing to keep her status, even if it means mixing lies with her prophecies. Cyrus is the prince of the kingdom, whose bride was prophesied years ago to be the saviour or the destroyer of the kingdom. The whole population has been following Cyrus' journey to fall in love, but once again he came back from his last journey without a bride. Violet and Cyrus can't stand each other, but the feelings of disdain actually cover something deeper than neither of them is willing to admit. But when a witch sets her sights to Cyrus, and a conspiracy starts breeding in the court, Violet and Cyrus need to work together and admit that they can be each other saviours or destroyers.

This book kept me on the edge from page one. Violet is cynical and knows that she needs to get her hands dirty in order to survive. Cyrus is more sentimental and idealistic, but he knows what he wants although he won't admit it. Their banter was phenomenal and I was so happy that the relationship between the two turned out as I had imagined. I'm curious to see how their story continues.

I received an ARC through NetGalley, but I'm leaving a voluntary and honest review.

the_book_addict_16's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

4.75

hailey2510's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 ⭐️

I wasn’t totally sure what was going on the entire time, but I think I liked it? It was a bit confusing. That could have just been me reading it way too fast though.

hellobookbird's review against another edition

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4.0

I believe in wolves—in con men and crowned men who wear wickedness as if it were a talent. Who don’t ask for judgment before devouring what’s theirs. They know the future is no better than a roll of rigged dice, so they may as well do the rigging.

Pulled from the streets at a young age, Violet is now a prophet for the royal court. The King knows that where common sense and royal mandates can't secure compliance with the populace, a prophesy can. While she can look into the threads of Fate, Violet more often provides influenced divinations at the king's behest...something that places her at odds with Prince Cyrus who dreams of ruling with integrity and justice.

When the King asks her to falsely prophesy Prince Cyrus' one true love (said to either be the kingdom's salvation or its ruin in breaking the kingdom's curse), it becomes apparent that it is only the start. With the Fates screaming for blood, the king trying to use the opportunity to expand his borders and the prince trying to oust her from her position, which path will she choose where she isn't devoured?

“Can you even say where my so-called journey ends?” “Not up your own ass, so maybe you should pull your head out.”

Despite how much I liked this, to compare this to [b:The Cruel Prince|26032825|The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)|Holly Black|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574535986l/26032825._SY75_.jpg|45959123] is a disservice. There was neither the depth of plots nor the power differences between their struggles. The banter was closer to [b:Serpent & Dove|40024139|Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove, #1)|Shelby Mahurin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549476128l/40024139._SY75_.jpg|61991324] but I also wouldn't rate it on the same caliber. If you go into this expecting either of those, you will be disappointed.

To be remembered as someone good, you have to do good. To be remembered as someone great, you have to get elbow-deep in bullshit and come out looking spotless.

While I feel like the love-to-hate could have been done better, I think what I liked the most was the difference in perspectives between the two. Prince Cyrus is the optimist, the dreamer and wants justice and integrity to be the anchors of the court. Violet is a realist, an orphan that got to where she was by working within the systems already in place...and she knows they are neither just nor honest. Cyrus views Violet as an instrument of the king. Violet views Cyrus as someone who has never had to work for what he's been given.

Understandably, they hardly see eye to eye. This was great for tension throughout but it seemed to go back and forth quite a few times.

Spoiler

Like seriously, wtf on throwing her under the bus last minute when you'd gotten so far and worked to win her friendship and loyalty??? Exactly HOW was it for her benefit??? Can men stop making decisions for women that's "for their benefit" when it's really their desires that get in the way all the time???

However, I loved how it played out at the very end. (And in the middle? Boy howdy was there some steam!)

Recommended for those that enjoy any type of hate-to-love and unraveling vague prophecies.

I started writing a story about a heroine who saw the world too clearly. She was brash, cynical, and unexpectedly personal. - Gina Chen

enchanted_reading's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.0

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