Review: Promise of Darkness by Bec McMaster

Promise of Darkness
(Dark Court Rising #1)
Bec McMaster
Release: September 17, 2019
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ARC provided by the author

Princess. Tribute. Sacrifice. Is she the one prophesied to unite two warring Fae courts? Or the one bound to destroy them?

In a realm ruled by magic, the ruthless Queen of Thorns is determined to destroy her nemesis, the cursed Prince of Evernight.

With war brewing between the bitter enemies, the prince forces Queen Adaia to uphold an ancient treaty: she will send one of her daughters to his court as a political hostage for three months.

The queen insists it’s the perfect opportunity for Princess Iskvien to end the war before it begins. But one look into Thiago’s smouldering eyes and Vi knows she’s no assassin.

The more secrets she uncovers about the prince and his court, the more she begins to question her mother’s motives.

Who is the true enemy? The dark prince who threatens her heart? Or the ruthless queen who will stop at nothing to destroy him?

And when the curse threatens to shatter both courts, is she strong enough to break it?

A fairytale twist inspired by the Hades and Persephone myth.

Review:

Promise of Darkness started a little slow for me, but that's not unusual for a first book in a series. By the end I was completely sucked in. There's so much Fae mythology packed in to this fantasy world with magic and portals and monsters. Most of the books about the Fae that I've read have a more modern setting so that was a nice change. There's also a mystery to solve and a curse to break. It's so wonderfully twisty!

I love an Enemies to Lovers romance and McMaster puts an interesting spin on the trope. Princess Iskvin isn't sure who her enemies are most of the time. She just knows that she's being lied to. And Prince Thiago smolders and seduces as he tries to earn her trust. Slow Burn FTW!

This book reminds me of Amanda Bouchet's A Promise of Fire in a lot of ways. Obviously, the titles are similar and they are both the first book of an adult fantasy romance trilogy that follows the same couple. Both feature rival kingdoms and evil queens. Both also use modern language and familiar mythology to make a high fantasy setting more accessible.

But my favorite thing about Bouchet's series was the found family of supporting characters surrounding the prince and McMaster has done a great job of creating that as well. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better as the series progresses. And Prince Thiago in particular has so many more secrets to reveal, I can't wait to see what's next.

    

4  stars