A Dance with the Fae Prince - Book review
A Dance with the Fae Prince is the another book of the Married to magic series, yet a complete, standalone novel (all books happen in the same universe). The fantasy romance was written by Elise Kova and was published in 2021.
This book is inspired by Eros & Psyche as well as Cinderella, though dare I say, also by the Beauty and the Beast - what a mix! Same as with the first book, I opted for the GraphicAudio version read by a full cast and bless that studio and their voice actors for the great narration of the story!
Once more, though never enough - thank you to my local libraries and Libby! I would be poor without you!
In the next sections I will dive into what A Deal with the Elf King is about, my thoughts, and my final verdict. In case there are any spoilers, you will be warned ahead so you’ll get to decide whether you’d like to continue reading this blog post or come back after you’ve read the book. ;)
You can also refer to my book rating guide that will be attached at the bottom.
The blurb
She knew her hand in marriage would be sold. She had no idea a fae prince was the buyer.
Katria swore she'd never fall in love. She's seen what "love" means through the cruelty of her family. So when she's married off to the mysterious Lord Fenwood for a handsome price, all Katria wants is a better life than the one she's leaving. Feelings are off the table.
But her new husband makes not falling in love difficult.
As their attraction begins to grow, so too do the oddities within her new life: strange rules, screams in the night, and attacks by fae that Katria never thought were real. When she witnesses a ritual not meant for human eyes, Katria finds herself spirited away to the land of Midscape.
Surviving the fae wilds as a human is hard enough. Katria must survive as a human who accidently pilfered the magic of ancient kings - magic a bloodthirsty king is ready to kill her for in order to keep his stolen throne - and her new husband is the rightful heir in hiding.
The power to save the fae is in her hands. But who will save her from a love she vowed never to feel?
This section will include spoilers of the book. You have been warned :)
A Dance with the Fae Prince is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Psyche and Eros, as well as Cinderella, with a "happily ever after" ending. It's perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.
(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55688537-a-dance-with-the-fae-prince)
Thoughts on the book
Something the author Elise Kova does exceptionally well is writing fleshed out characters with great development over the whole storyline. I believe that it is especially difficult to write books with subplots, multiple characters, and couples without accidentally having everyone sound the same. This is not at all the case with the second book I have read by the author so far.
I love that the world we dive in not only focuses on one folk, but also hints at other magical creatures we may encounter in other following books. Who knows what couples we might encounter along the series ;). And who would have thought to not only take inspiration from one but multiple tales - genius!
Katria, our FMC (female main character) is a wounded soul, born to live a happy life with her family - before her mother died and her father remarried to a mean spirited woman. (Cinderella inspiration has entered the chat).
I like that her story stayed consistent, albeit what I am referring to in this case was her pain and trauma. I don’t mean it in a way that I would wish that upon anyone, but that it was refreshing to see that her wounds needed proper time to heal. One look at a handsome man did not change her mind overnight.
However, this is a love story and yes, eventually our characters also fall in love. What? A fantasy romance where the characters fall in love? Who would have thought? Well, yes. This is why I am still mentioning this before giving you a spoiler warning. Our characters may feel attracted quickly, but they fall in love slowly. That’s all I can say without giving away too much here.
This section will include spoilers of the book. You have been warned :)
Lord Fenwood, or dare I say - his Royal Highness Prince Davien, is an equally tortured soul, though one who still believes in love.
Love is the closest thing we have to meaning in this world.
Ugh, my heart. Spoken like a true prince and poet. The fact that Katria was not allowed to see him at first and only wander around 1/3 of the estate, certainly reminded me of The Beauty and the Beast, except if this was hinting at another tale I may have missed. I did enjoy how these inspiration flowed into this plot and made this story unique again.
I liked the overall dynamic between this couple. I think Katria’s pain and her repeating that love hurts could fall on deaf ears and sound whiny, but honestly, I would be just as wary if I had never known love to be safe. So rather than annoying, I found her thoughts and inner conflicts to be believable, perhaps not smart, but perfectly humanly flawed.
Elise Kova writes characters that carry weight on their shoulders, which is why each of them would deserve their own stories to be told if the author would ever choose to do so.
Circling back to the romance, we are off with the “we shall enjoy in these delights without attaching meaning or any feelings to our actions” aka let’s just have fun for the night. Oh boy, we all knew where this would have led. This is exactly what made their story more agonising and beautiful.
Just as with real relationships, looking at the issues from an outside perspective, it would have been easy to say: “Why don’t they just talk to one another”, knowing fair well how much courage it often takes us to open up to someone. Let’s also not forget that in most cases, we are not trying to save the Fae folk while figuring out relationship stuff.
Good, now that that has been said: There are many characters overall in this book (4+ are a lot to me, if they keep appearing in the story). Taking into account that this is a standalone as well, I was still able to somewhat keep up with who was who and what role they were playing in the overall storyline. Don’t get me wrong. I believe that the fact that I was listening to the audiobook with a different narrator for each character helped in this matter a ton!
Memorable parts of the book
This section will include spoilers of the book. You have been warned :)
When Davien admitted to loving Katria to his friend Shaye. This happened about halfway through the book and though I saw it coming, I was still surprised
What actually happened to Oren at some point? Perhaps a mishap on my end where I listened with a bit less focus, but at some point I lost track of where his storyline faded.
Katria’s wings having been clipped. My heart ached for Katria.
Verdict
3.25/5 stars
2/5 spice
Another great Fantasy Romance that I personally believe is suitable for the older end of the YA (Young adult) section and up! If you are into love that unfolds at a medium pace and need a bit of magic, friendship, and adventure - this pick may be just right for you!
