There were still character and plot developments and the "visions" from Calista both confused me and creeped me out. The FMC is besties with her serfs, prefers being in the slums to her fancy royal life, and thinks everyone is equal because she treats them equally.

When Elise agreed to break a vicious curse over the man she loved, she never imagined he was a lost fae prince. The individual may struggle with persistent feelings of darkness, anxiety, or a sense of impending doom. Between finishing a second degree, running a business, and eating too much chocolate, I love writing early in the morning when no one is awake. Overall slightly disappointed in this book, I still devoured it in a day so it’s a really easy read and I didn’t have as many frustrations in the writing as I had with book 1, so the editing seems a little more polished. A fire breathing queen, a trouble making mage, and a love which will bring their world down to its knees.That said I didn't predict the coup happening when it did, learning how the managed Legion's curse was devastating and learning that the guild didnt know who they truly were caught me by surprise but confirmed my suspicion that Legion must be the night prince. The first half of this book was a little slow because the two main characters were fighting against wanting to be together.

The plot also really doesn’t go anywhere, it’s almost like most of this could have just been added to book 1 (to make it longer than it was) and made this a duology, instead of have us suffer through a book with “middle book syndrome.Honestly, I've been suffering from the Tamlin Effect, so all MMCs in the first books of fae romances are pretty sus right now.

The only thing that I’m having a hard time grasping is that this is supposed to have a Viking feel to it and I can’t make that connection at all. Fated to confront the curse and redeem the garden, Elara embarks on a quest fraught with challenges. She was very rarely every actually IN the scenes of the novel but Elise thinks of her often, usually not in a very flattering way but the one scene we do see her speaking it's in defense of Elise against the king, pleading for forgiveness for her. The Desecration of Balance: The legend unfolds when Lilith, obsessed with the idea of eternal life and rule, stumbles upon the Garden of Elysia—a paradise untouched by the passage of time. Her death had the potential to be gut wrenching and instead fell flat because it just happened and then was forgotten.Personally, I think there was an improvement in the pacing of the plot from the first book, which I appreciated.