A Deal with the Elf King: A Standalone Fantasy Romance (Married to Magic)

Stacie

A book worth every word!

"I cant actually start and explaining how much I loved those two! Deal with the elf king by Elise Kova 💫 💫 Well, this is the first book I own from the author, and to be honest, I really liked her writing skills. With the combination of fantasy music, this book traveled me from the graphic Capton to the magical world of Midscape and beyond the fade. The Persephone and Hades vibes are definitely there, but it is not a retelling, and to be honest, I am glad it is not. 💫 The book was enjoyable, and the bonus scene gave the after ending that we all needed but didn't know we did. It's an amazing book to pass your time, and I don't understand why people didn't like it more according to goodreads. It is a stand-alone book with a sweet story, slow burn, enemies to lovers, and a very good plot. 💫 I can't wait to read something else from Elise Kova, her fantasy world felt like home 🧡 💫 This book traveled me a lot and I loved the plot for a standalone so... yes 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟/5 ["

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July 23, 2025 Verified Purchase

M

Great Hades x Persephone Retelling!

"“The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.” ― Elise Kova, A Deal with the Elf King Luella has dedicated her life to become a healer until the elves come to whisk her away. She has been chosen as their Queen but she is determined to break the chains of their traditions. A Deal with the Elf King is a fantasy retelling of the Greek legend of Hades and Persephone. This stand-alone novel is a fun read filled with an interesting world and likeable characters. Even though the author plans to write more in this series, this book can be read as its own, complete novel. If you are looking for an easy, romantic read, then you have found a great book! Luella is a strong heroine that knows what her goals are and is compassionate in all the best ways. Her interactions with the broody Eldas were awesome and I was rooting for her every time she stood her ground. Eldas, on the other hand, is a mysterious character who melts into a delectable softie. They are a great match for each other but I wish that I could see more from his perspective so I could know when he started taking interest in her. His affection for her seemed to come out of left field but I forgave that since their chemistry was great. Pacing wise, I felt that the author did a great job at keeping my interest. The plot was interesting and there were stakes along the way to keep the story moving. I did find some issue with the end and some of the conflict but as a whole (which is how I judge books) I had a pleasant, and enjoyable read. To conclude, I believe this is a great book for those who love: *Strong heroines that are proactive *Brooding, hot fae *Magic *Complete endings with no cliffhangers ["

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April 28, 2021 Verified Purchase

Ash

Great Read!

"What a fun, bingeable read. This is a standalone but set in a greater world that is part of a series. Luella is sassy, headstrong, and so smart. Which I adore in a female main character. This was a fun take on Hades x Persephone and I really enjoyed myself. Kova's writing style very much appeals to me and the pacing was quite good. A few slower moments, but overall it made up for it with a formula that kept you engaged without getting you bogged down in world building or complex magic systems. The simplicity paired with a fun narrative really worked for me. This story is a good tale. It doesn't take over your brain and force you into a slump, but every page is a fun time and keeps you interested in knowing what happens next. I also really enjoy that each book is a standalone, because, I don't think I would be interested in several books about these characters. I like knowing I might see them again, but I get to keep expanding the world and learning more and meeting new people that might be more (or less) interesting. Which makes for a great kind of series. ["

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June 13, 2023 Verified Purchase

Ida

Story is built to be boring

"Words cannot express what I felt for this book … because all I feel is blah. Sure, there were some intrigue at some points in the story but overall I just felt very blasé to it all. Let’s start with the beginning. That’s probably the only part I actually had an interest in, when the world was built up with the mysterious deal between the humans and elves, Luella’s passion for her work and the relationship between her and Luke turned ugly. It hit high peak when the elf king himself got involved with the story and the whole Hades and Persephone and/or Beauty and the Beast set in. I was really all in at that point with the drama, the intruding magic, the cold elf king and the forced/arranged marriage. My only grievance at that point was the relationship between Luella and Luke. While I liked the betrayal and drama that came from it I just didn’t feel like the story gave Luella any reason to be in love with in Luke. Sure, I was told they grew up together and that he was protective of her. Key word here is “told” because immediately as the story starts he does nothing but make decisions for her and try to control her. The story gave no room to show him developing into becoming this way but instead had him start off as the bad guy from the get-go, hoping that us readers being told that he was once nice would do the trick. It just came off sort of forced and unbelievable in my opinion. Anyways, in the big picture that issue was small compared to everything else. The beginning is for developing good characters so the readers get pulled into the plot and world and I feel like it did manage that to some degree, but as soon as they arrive in Midscape it all just kinda fell flat. Gone was the ruthless ice king that came to take his bride and instead we had this manchild throwing temper tantrums when he didn’t get his way and instead of this passionate human healer we had this … I don’t even know. Not a lot of personality came from her other than her constant and repetitive ramblings about her duty as a healer in her village and breaking the cycle. Other than that she didn’t have much else to her to be honest. Sure, the story tried to play these characters off on each other to create some strong characterization, drama and a developing and intriguing relationship but their arguments were so stupid and immature that it failed on all points. Especially on Eldas side, being mad that she wouldn’t bend to his every whim and not break her patient confidentiality. Worst of all was that there were no recognition of his wrongdoings, but the story rather had Luella as the one constantly making amends and as the lead builder of the romance. Even the good and sweet times between them fell flat since they never really did much other than read journals. There was no chemistry between the two. How could it be, with so little to build off of between them. The entire relationship was just blah from arriving at Midscape to finish. Sometimes I felt like the story put a lot of focus into the world instead of the characters, with the rich descriptions, the races, the fade and the deal. However this just made the story boring, well more boring than it already was. For the world and plot to be interesting, the characters need to be interesting first since it’s through their eyes we readers are supposed to see and experience the world and what’s happening to and around them. This is almost more built like a tell and don’t show since the story kinda fails in the interesting characters department. Long descriptions of the world, the magic and so on wouldn’t and shouldn’t be needed if Luella and Eldas had development and conflicts that pulled me as the reader in to the world and plot. Instead of them spending days or weeks in a castle reading journals and sometimes arguing over petty things the plot had so many other opportunities that it didn’t take. For example Rinnis part in the story. A much more intriguing and reasonable conflict could be built out of jealousy over her and Eldas past. Or how about his mother’s role in the story which is pretty much non existent. There was a lot of resentment and anger there that could have been used. Hell, even Luella’s past feelings for Luke would do better to build a conflict, but sadly he just dropped out of existence as soon as the human world was left behind. Although a happily ever after I felt that the story had more it could offer that what it did, or rather instead of what it did. I had at some point excepted some sort of conversation about his father and the previous human queen to get more information about their relationship as well as Eldas mother. Even some discussion of the tradition of siring children through lovers was kinda left in the air untouched and if Eldas will be required to do this so that the heir can control the fade. So overall, a pretty boring and uneventful story with lost opportunities as information. Three stars at most. ["

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August 13, 2022 Verified Purchase