Viciously Yours
Fae Kings of Eden, Book One
by Jamie Applegate Hunter
When Rennick was thirteen, the gods bestowed upon him the name of his fated mate — a human girl. As the sole heir to the Mountain Kingdom, magic bound him to his kingdom until he ascended the throne on his twenty-fifth birthday, and as a human, she couldn't cross the magical barrier separating the humans from the fae. Heartsore and consumed with thoughts of her, he did the only thing he could and sent her anonymous letters and gifts…
Until he crossed the barrier into her kingdom to claim her as his own.
Six months after Amelia's thirteenth birthday, she received a strange letter from a fae boy claiming her as his mate. Humans weren't taught much about the fae, and one look at the horrifying doll meant to be her belated birthday gift solidified her suspicions that someone was playing a cruel joke. Except the letters and odd gifts kept coming. Against her better judgment, Amelia fell in love with her mysterious admirer throughout the years, certain they would never meet. But on her twenty-fifth birthday, her walk to work was interrupted by two familiar words she'd read a million times.
"Hello, love."
All the intro warnings were right — it’s no literary masterpiece, and there were a FEW things (mostly language and plot inconsistencies) that bothered me or even physically made me cringe — but it’s still an entertaining read, somehow.
I guess I would recommend this — if the relationship is absolutely the only thing you’re after, or if you just want a quick, easy read.
I actually appreciate that the author was very self-aware of the book’s ~flaws~. The intro is full of warnings, like:
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A LITERARY MASTERPIECE, THIS MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU.
and
If you’re thinking, “There’s no way someone could write a fantasy romance book without a fantasy plot,” you’re wrong. I can, and I did.
and
Do not take this book too seriously, as it was written to be a fun, quick read with a bit of “that’s fucked up” thrown into the mix. There is a 50/50 chance you’ll have a good time reading it. Good luck.
And to avoid having to expand too much on the worldbuilding and plot, she’s added a “glossary list” explaining how the different races interact, along with little notes like:
Note: Fae kingdoms possess magic that the Human Kingdom does not. Their vegetation, animals, bodies of water, etc. are different and can be dangerous to humans.
LOL. Actually kind of funny.
So I can’t really complain about the lack of these things. But I will, anyway, you just wait.
I think what ACTUALLY bothered me in the end were the more linguistic things: the dialogue, and the modern language that just didn’t fit. I can appreciate the urge to try something different and focus ONLY on the characters and relationships — but if that’s the choice, those parts have to be done REALLY well, sort of to compensate. And a few times, all of that felt a bit Wattpad 2008, if that makes sense.
One example was Amelia’s overreaction when meeting Reina, her father-in-law’s familiar, despite already having been told about the bond a royal fae shares with an animal. A weird, misplaced attempt at quirky? Hated it.
Anywho.
Besides this, and the fact that literally NOTHING happens, I did enjoy reading about Rennick and Amelia.
Basically, Rennick is stuck in his fae Mountain Kingdom until he’s 25 (for stupid magical reasons), while Amelia lives in an orphanage in the Human Kingdom. When they’re both 13 years old, Rennick finds out they’re soulmates and sends his best friend Finn to deliver letters to Amelia. (Finn can cross the border because he’s not royal. Don’t think about it too hard.)
Since Amelia is a potential target as Rennick’s mate, they don’t let her keep the letters but take them back as soon as she’s read them. Finn also always makes himself invisible, so even he never meets her properly. Eventually, Rennick gets his familiar — an owl — and can watch Amelia through the owl’s eyes. The letters continue until they turn 25, when Rennick can finally come for her and bring her back to his kingdom.
Then there’s some drama with Rennick and Finn’s female friend Ora, who thinks she’s meant to be Rennick’s mate and queen. When she tries to force a mating on Rennick, Amelia kills her.
Amelia then finds out that she’s actually also a royal fae: the sister of the king of the Desert Kingdom, hidden away at birth from their awful father. (Who’s already been killed, so no plot there either.)
What I did find weird was that we met 2 of the couples from the following books: Amelia’s brother and her best friend from the orphanage / her brother’s spy, and then her new friend / maid and the king of the Garden Kingdom, who comes to visit for the wedding / coronation.
I mean, I guess that’s fine.
But then, in the epilogue, we get THE ENTIRE PLOT of the book for the only couple we haven’t met? WTF?!
Genuinely upsetting and completely unnecessary!
My main points of annoyance could probably be fixed with a bit of proper proofreading and editing, but I would seriously LOVE to read this properly fleshed out with politics and intrigue: both between the different fae kingdoms and the Human Kingdom, and internally, with both the rebel attacks and the Council, which was only just mentioned.
There was no fallout after Amelia killed Ora, who was a councilor’s daughter — and there could have been SO much more done with her father, both before and following her death.
And such is the focus on the relationship that we never REALLY get to see either Rennick or Amelia on their own or with other people. Before they meet, there are a few short scenes, but nothing substantial, and once Amelia joins them in the Mountain Kingdom, there are maybe 2–3 scenes that I can think of where they’re apart.
At the very least, we could have gotten some more Finn-time. Or Fawn, who’s even the FMC in book 3. It could absolutely have been done without adding a bunch of “unwanted” plot, and would have been an excellent opportunity to expand on Fawn’s character before we get her full story.
Alas.
Despite how this review might make it sound, I actually DID enjoy reading the book — there were just so many little things that kind of compounded, that I really can’t give it more than 2.5 stars.
That said, I’m not DNFing the series. This was my 2nd time reading this book, and I might continue with book 2 in the future.
A bit contradictory, but then, hasn’t this entire review been that?
⭐⭐.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
~🖤~ FAVOURITE QUOTES ~🖤~ |
“I will write your name on my chest with the blood of any man who tries to covet what is meant to be ours. Innocent or not.” |
Loneliness was a cold feeling, like being buried alive in the snow, crushed and paralyzed. |
“I am where I have always been, love: at your feet, waiting for you to claim me as your own.” |
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