Curse of Shadows and Thorns: A romantic fantasy

Jenny O.

Fantasy intrigue and slow-burn forbidden romance at its best

"The entire Broken Kingdoms series is criminally under hyped. LJ Andrews builds a vivid fantasy world with an amazing magic system. This series gives 4 intertwining stories with each kingdom focused on a different MMC and MFC. They also crossover with the Ever Seas series. Books 1-3 Northern Kingdom Books 4-6 Eastern Kingdom Books 7-8 Southern Kingdom Book 9 Western Kingdom Book 1 is set in the Northern Kingdom where we first meet Legion Grey, a sexy and mysterious man who's got a dangerous secret, and Elise Lysander, a woman who's a pawn in her uncle's game. The characters are loveable, the plot twists are twisty. The slow burn attraction and forbidden relationship is mouth watering. In full disclosure, The Broken Kingdoms series is one of my two Roman Empire series (the other being Flesh and Fire/Blood and Ash series). I've read this series 3 times and it does not get old. Forbidden romance Forced proximity Dangerous secrets Hidden identity Dark fantasy Epic battles ["

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September 16, 2025 Verified Purchase

Alex

Really enjoyable

"CURSE OF SHADOWS AND THORNS was a great start to what I'm sure will be an epic fantasy romance series. The writing was engaging and the world building was perfectly paced so I felt immersed in the story without being overloaded with new information. What really shined though were the characters, especially our POV character Princess Elise Lysander. I really liked how loyal, honorable, and outspoken she was; she wanted better for her people and those they shared the land with and her compassionate heart was evident in every scene. At the same time she wasn't naive or silly and knew how to take care of herself and when to fight. From the moment they met, Legon Grey was taken in by how unlike the other royals Elise was. I liked that Legion embraced Elise's fire and spirit and he ever tried to dismiss her worth the way others did. There were so many moments I wanted his POV because I was just dying to know what he was thinking. This is only the beginning of Elise and Legion's story and it was definitely a slow burn with minimal spice, but it was perfectly paced and suited for the story. I can already tell these two are going to have to fight hard to be together in future books but I'm looking forward to Elise smacking some sense back into Legion. Throw in some great side characters, Halvar I'm looking at you, and I think I'm really going to enjoy the journey this series will take me on. ["

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May 8, 2026 Verified Purchase

SimplyAdventures

This book got me out of my book slump

"So I've been in a book slump for The last month and I happened to come across this author's tiktok And read the blurb and I sat on the book for a few weeks until I saw another TikTok And decided to take the plunge because I noticed that the last book comes out soon So by the time I finish Reading needs the last one will be out. Well this book got me out of my book slump. It is so well written and the characters are just perfection. I will say that the FMC does make some really dumb decisions BUT She does them in a way that you can relate to As a younger coming of age adult. Spoilers below probably. So this book follows is 1 person POV. Elise is the main character you follow. She is related to the Royal family in this book. Her Uncle is the king and her Mother is his sister. She has one older sister and she is betrothed to her Uncle son ( her cousin ). So yes there is some light incest that is talked about but it is not in the book. It's just more historical think GOT or British Royal Family. Now this book does talk about consorts and how taking on lovers and cheating is a thing historically. I just want to mention both of those things because I do know some people have problems with those types of things but I don't think they are a problem in this book because they are not Really brought up in a s$xual way. There is very little smut in this book there are a few scenes between the main MCs. So the book starts out FMC has become of age at 20 For marriage and her dowry has been open so people can start bidding her hand at marriage. So There's a marriage negotiator named Legion Gray who is the MMC Who has been basically called upon to take on the negotiations for her marriage to find her a husband. You soon find out that everything is not as it seems. There is a lot going on And there are people coming for the Crown but you also find out quickly that there are lots of Fae In this book and you realize that the throne was taken by Elisa's distant relatives that are now dead.. You also find out that Legion is not who you think he is and has been cursed to not remember who he is. The last 25% of this book is perfection there It's so much going on that it is amazing. At the end of the book we find the FMC and the MMC separated but you understand why even though the decisions might not be the best You can understand why they're in place and why they happened. I will say that with the book series having 7 books and this book being 350 pages it can be a lot and there are parts that are somewhat slow in the book but I don't think the book needs to be Shorter or any parts taken out becauyes there's so much back story going on that each part of the book is taking a step towards telling the story and I think it's needed. There isn't too much repeating but there was a time or 2 where I did pause from reading but I still read the book in A-day and a 1/2. I think how they tied the blood wraith into who Legion Gray was and how he was and how he is actually valid the last nightprints really sets up the rest of the series and how Ari it comes in to play for the next book. As I touched on above the only thing I really didn't love is how naive the FMC was but I understand why she was written that way but I didn't think she made smart decisions like not taking off her bracelet That identified who she was or When she was going to go back to where her Hometown was after she saw what her sister and cousin did. She had absolutely no reason to go back there even to get Mattus knowing that atthat time she could not trust Mattus's Uncle. Even if she had met up with Mattus at that point she could have been kidnapped or in trouble in the sense with the blood wraith. ["

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December 18, 2022 Verified Purchase

NK

Worth reading to get to the rest of the series

"Edit several months later: this book had hiccups, but is worth reading if only to get to the rest of the series and the Ever Seas series. Her writing style and character depth improved significantly and I found myself greatly enjoying the rest of her books. The plot is interesting and I like the world building but I have a several gripes. Even with these, if someone is looking for a baseline entertaining read that doesn't require a lot of thought energy, this is good for that. Elise is by far the least intelligent female protagonist I've ever read, especially by a modern romantasy author. She's 20 but she acts and thinks like a 13yo. Her ability to interpret her surroundings and think critically are entirely lacking. Her empathy and sympathy come when it's convenient. She doesn't think long term. And she is constantly needing to be saved, which would be fine if she wasn't built up at the beginning to be this allegedly independent, strong woman who can protect herself. Legion has no personality, though I do think that improved in the last quarter of the book. I've fallen in love with the main love interest of many romantasy books. Him I just found uninteresting. The Blood Wraith at least makes up for that somewhat. All the antagonists are ridiculously one-dimensional mustache twirling villains with no depth whatsoever. Some of the plot points are also incredibly contrived and the drama is sometimes soap-opera forced. And not a single event in the book couldn't be predicted. Yes you shouldn't pull a deus ex machina on your readers but you also don't need to bang them over the head with foreshadowing. At that point it's just giving the story away. ["

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March 21, 2025 Verified Purchase

Kayla L

Great plot but lacking...

"3.5 I grabbed this one when it was free several months ago and forgot about it as one frequently does. Then I saw a teaser for it that made me interested in reading it just to discover I already had it. I dove in knowing nothing else. The story itself will capture you immediately. There is so much mystery and intrigue without the huge info dump you often get with fantasy books. I was hooked and stayed up way too late and read about 50% of the book and then finished the rest the next day. The plot itself kept me needing more. The writing itself leaves a lot to be desired, sadly. It obviously wasn't enough to make me put it down, but it felt disjointed and sporadic at points. It was like sentences were missing as the author so heavily expected things to be implied when they should have been said instead. Listen, I can't stand when every dagum thing is written out, either, but this fell in the opposite end where often you felt shorted. A lot happens in this one- A LOT- so much so that because I wasn't paying attention, I thought initially maybe it was a standalone. Nope. 9 book series. 🥴 Not knowing how the rest of the series progresses, this one feels hectic, and I wish more time had been taken in the development of scenes, characters, and relationships. I happily would have read another 100+ pages to have those additions. This story has so much potential, and I'm curious to where it's going and will likely keep reading just for that. My hope is that this author's writing develops more as things progress and they achieve a steadier voice that will give this tale what it deserves. ["

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December 24, 2025 Verified Purchase