Non avevo alcuna aspettativa riguardo a questo libro, mi aspettavo che fosse molto simile ad altri fantasy di questo genere, e sebbene in parte lo sia, mi ha comunque affascinata e trascinata nella lettura.
Forse era semplicemente il momento giusto per questa lettura, forse avevo bisogno proprio di questo tipo di libro in questo momento, e fortunatamente mi è piaciuto e si è lasciato leggere con un'inasspetata scorrevolezza.
Ho apprezzato sia i personaggi che l'ambientazione, anche se verso la fine la protagonista si è rivelata una completa idiota e ingenua ragazzina che non si ferma due istanti a riflette. L'avrei presa a schiaffi per qualche ora molto volentieri.
Sul serio...nel penultimo capitolo mi ha fatto urlare dalla frustrazione!
A Oberon, però devo dare almeno un merito. E' un cattivo coi fiocchi! Così si fa! Ottimo lavoro!
Kalen ha i suoi momenti, e ho veramente apprezzato il fatto che ci fossero dei capitoli col il suo POV.

Ho letto questo libro alternandolo ogni tanto alla traduzione italiana. Devo dire che ho preferito leggerlo in originale. Dopo aver trovato un errore di traduzione nella prima pagina del libro, non è che mi fidassi molto nel continuare la lettura. Vedrò se continuare la lettura in italiano o in inglese. Di sicuro voglio vedere come Tessa continuerà a far cavolate per rovinarsi la vita!

Grazie Netgalley per avermi permesso di leggere questo libro.

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I didn't have any expectations regarding this book, I expected it to be very similar to other fantasy book of this genre, and although in part it is, it still fascinated me and dragged me into reading.
Maybe it was simply the right time for this reading, maybe I needed exactly this type of book at this moment, and fortunately I liked it and it was easy to read with unexpected ease.
I appreciated both the characters and the setting, even if towards the end the protagonist revealed herself to be a complete idiot and naive little girl who doesn't stop to think for one minute about what really is happening. I would have gladly slapped her for a few hours.
Seriously... in the penultimate chapter she made me scream in frustration!
To Oberon, however, I must give at least some credit. He's a real villain! That's how it's done! Good job!
Kalen has his moments, and I really appreciated that there were chapters with his POV.

I read this book alternating it with the Italian translation every now and then. I have to say that I preferred reading it in english. After finding a translation error on the first page of the book, I didn't have much trust in continuing reading. I'll see if I will continue reading in Italian or English. I'm sure i want to see how Tessa will continue to do stupid things to ruin her life!

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

Jenna Wolfhart does a good job with this book. Moves well. Interesting characters. Convoluted plot. Cliffhanger that leaves you wondering what really happened and primed to read next book.

A captivating introduction to The Mist King series, Of Mist and Shadow introduces us to Tessa, a strong willed and defiant woman who is working against the notoriously brutal King Oberon by stealing his gemstones. After catching her in the act, and having punished her father for treason with beheading years prior, Tessa fears her punishment only to be let free. This act is not out of kindness, and instead she is chosen to be his bride, a fate worse than death. She knows she must escape, but is fleeing into the protection of her gemstone contact better than staying with King Oberon?

+ Hidden Identities
+ Enemies to Lovers
+ Dual POV
+ Who Hurt You?
+ One Bed
+ Found Family

I am absolutely invested in this series. I was hooked with the tropes alone, but the found family aspect when it's the people you believe to be your enemies? Doubting everything you have ever been told? Coming to love your enemy? It was perfection. Knowing that this is a series, and a lengthy one at that, I am grateful for a slowburn as it gives the dynamic between the main characters time to build. The world building was fantastic, and gave me a lot of questions about the neighboring lands which lends to more in a series, and I will (almost) never say no to more stories.

The only thing I didn't liked was the miscommunication trope. I know that it adds to the drama and the continuation of the plot, but it hurts me to my core. Tessa is quite naive, so she gets a kinda pass, but not entirely.

Another complaint, how can you just leave it off on that cliffhanger!? I was already invested! I was going to keep reading!

I just couldn't keep reading this book because i got bored.

I think some would like this one but I just couldn't get through it

I feel like this is a blend of ACOTAR and From Blood & Ash, so I was kind of disappointed it felt really unoriginal. It felt like the author tried to use too many tropes , and I found that there was A LOT of traveling in this one, which gets tedious after awhile. The book ends with a cliffhanger but Im not sure Ill pick up the second.

Of Mist and Shadows is a pretty decent overall story. It has some very dark themes involving forced marriage, torture, and murder.
King Oberon’s reign has been long and horrible in the land without night. It’s the only place that the people of his lands can be safe, however. Were they to cross the bridge into the misty woods, they would be plunged into night and most likely the jaws of one of the many shadow monsters that hide amongst the trees. King Oberon is obviously a horrid overlord, but is the Mist King the villain that Tessa and the other members of Oberon’s kingdom have been lead to believe?
Although I enjoyed this story, I had a rough time with Tessa’s character. She was pretty immovable in her thoughts and was far more stubborn than someone who had her experiences should be to the proof that was right in front of her. Granted, she’s grown up in an oppressive village under the threat of constant violence, but you would think she could see through the gaslighting of King Oberon, especially with how he killed her father and tortured her.
However, despite my issues with the main character, I loved many of the supporting personalities, and I can’t wait to get to know them better in the next installment. I also was left with so many unanswered questions. What ARE the gods? What happens to King Oberon’s previous mortal wives and children? Are the human kingdoms across the sea intact? Will Tessa ever find her family who escaped into the Mist after the wedding? You’ll be asking these, too, and remain curious alongside me until the sequel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.

Thank you to the netgallery, the author (Jenna Wolfhart) and the publishers for an e-arc of this book in exchange for a honest review of this book.
This was a high fantasy read, with lots of world building in the beginning but I struggled to get through it. The storyline was okay, but didn’t keep me hooked and just felt a little bit too long, but still enjoyed

Included tropes: enemies to lovers, ‘who did this to you?’, one bed trope

Anytime I read a fantasy romance book about fae, I love it. Of Mist and Shadow has characters that I was rooting for the whole time.

Tessa lives in the kingdom of King Oberon, which is protected by a magical mist keeping those outside from getting in. Tessa’s father left their kingdom in the hopes of finding them a better life, but he was found and killed. The penalty for being discovered trying to leave the kingdom is enough to keep people inside. When Tessa is caught stealing his powerful gemstones to give to her contact on the other side of the mist, King Oberon originally lets her leave without punishment. Every generation King Oberon searches for a human bride to continue his fae line. Unfortunately for Tessa, King Oberon chooses her and takes her away to his castle where she cannot reach her family or friends.

‘A single thread wove between us, wrapping around our souls, and tying tight. Maybe this had been a terrible idea. I’d made a deal with the Mist King.’

Once she’s in the castle, Tessa is desperate to escape, and once given the opportunity, she runs through the mist, only to be captured on the other side. The Mist King is the fae who trapped her people within the mist and forced them to live under King Oberon’s rule. The Mist King has a dagger that kills Fae, and he promises to free Tessa’s people if she uses this dagger to kill King Oberon. Tessa has heard stories about the Mist King, so spends a lot of time in this book torn between her head and her heart.

‘I can’t stand the thought of his hands on you.’

This being said, Of Mist and Shadow is a romance, and it is most definitely enemies to lovers. I loved the tension between the Mist King and Tessa, which was aided by forced proximity, the one bed and one horse tropes. I had no idea how this was going to end, as there was a fair amount of betrayal in this book. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it and am in need of the sequel right now!

One thing to say: WOW

When Tessa is caught stealing gemstones from the fae king, his punishment is to take her with him to become his bride, in his city where no mortal is allowed. She could never have imagined how monstruous this place was. With some help, she manages to escape, but only to fall into the hands of the Mist King, an enemy fae responsible for the prison that her village has become. The King takes her captive and offers her a deal to save her people. But can she trust him? Which King is the less lethal one?

I absolutely ADORED this book! From the very first few pages, I was hooked, completely trapped into this amazing world. I loved Tessa's characters, how she will stop at nothing to save the ones she loves. The plot was really intense, full of twists and turns that I never would have seen coming. Since the world the author created was so intriguing and complex, it made the story in itself even more fascinating because Tessa discovered new things about the world she lives in and had to find out what was true or not. It was intense, action packed, unique, and really, really amazing to read. The enemies to lovers romance subplot had me squealing because of how good it was and I just couldn't get enough. Add to that a unique magic system and great characters that were really well fleshed out and you get an absolutely gem of a fantasy book. I cannot wait to read the sequel because that ending just made my heart stop.

I highly recommend if you like adult fantasy with romance and betrayals.

"What he didn't know was that he'd made me more determined than ever."

TW: violence, death, torture, murder, blood, kidnapping, abuse, assault, war, sexually explicit scenes

I know this book has been recommended a bunch on TikTok, so I decided to give it a go. This is in spite of the fact that I had previously dnf another book by this particular author. Unfortunately, this book was also very problematic for me, despite a promising premise. I think it could have benefited from another round of editing.

I found that I did not care about the characters, and the plot moved too slow. There seemed to be little character development throughout the book and honestly - it just fell flat for me :(.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book.

4⭐️

No real complaints about this, it was okay. The writing was pretty good if a bit clunky/cringey in some aspects. There was also some times were the plot felt very forced and sequential rather than flowing from logic. It wasn’t hugely original, kind of a mesh of These Hollow Vows and From Blood and Ash. Not sure if I’d read the next one.

I received this ARC for an honest review.

⭐️: 4/5

⤏ What to expect:
* dual POV
* fae/magic
* One horse AND one bed trope
* hidden identity
* dreamscapes
* forced proximity
* enemies to lovers
* war and court politics
* gods/goddesses
* betrayal after betrayal I mean 😩

⤏ Thoughts:
Our FMC, Tessa, is a very sheltered human girl under the protection of the fae Kingdom of Light with a tyrannical fae king. She’s grown up knowing stories of the other fae kingdoms and everything she knows comes into question when she meets the king and his people from the Kingdom of Shadow. Tessa has to fight for herself, her family, the humans, and overall a better world. This ending of this book has our plot coming to a head and ends on a massive cliff hanger! I cant wait to see what happens in book two.

DNF. The writing style in this novel wasn't it for me. I just didn't enjoy the first few chapters but this is personal preference.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When the vicious fae king catches Tessa stealing powerful gemstones from his mines, he demands a cruel punishment. She must leave her family and friends behind and become his future human bride.

Tessa has never stepped foot inside the glittering fae city until now—no mortal is allowed. There, things are far more monstrous than she ever dreamed. King Oberon humiliates her, terrorizes her, and threatens those she loves.

But when she escapes, someone far worse finds her. The lethal Mist King, the enemy fae who trapped her people beneath the reign of King Oberon in the first place. The one who destroyed human cities and watched them burn.

He takes her captive and then offers her a deal.

Become the first mortal to kill a fae king, and he will free her people.

But the mists beyond the kingdom walls are dangerous, ruthless, and mesmerizing…and so is he. As Tessa fights her growing desire, she must make a choice.

Her dagger can kill only one fae. Which king will it be?

I really loved this one! The concept was interesting and the strong sassy main character was like-able. The book has the one bed and one horse trope, as well as meddling gods. The cliffhanger was good and I am excited to read the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I need the next book immediately! This was a fun and exciting story with lovely setting descriptions and interesting characters. I am completely invested in how the rest of this story unfolds and cannot wait for the rest of the series! I highly recommend this for anyone wanting a fantastical escape into the world of the fae!

3.5 rounded to 4 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Enemies to Lovers ✔
Forced Proximity ✔
Slow Burn ✔
One bed/horse ✔
Fae war and brutality ✔
Betrayals and twists ✔
Angst and Sexual Tension ✔
Gods ✔

The story definitely drew me in from the beginning, and didn't seem to lend to much from others in the fae genre - well thought out history and world building, well written plot, packed with tropes we all love and interesting characters along the way.
Jenna has definitely set up for an exciting series, hoping the next one has more chapters from Kalens POV as I really enjoyed his parts, I definitely think it could do with some more steam, I'm hoping like with a lot of fantasy series the first book is a bit milder as it's setting up for the next one. FINGERS CROSSED. The tension already burns off the page as it is 🔥
Tessa is actually a likeable MC and I'm looking forward to seeing her attitudes develop and how she powers through all her challenges. She wasnt childish, bratty or annoying which is always a plus 😂
Looking forward to book two 😍

DNF. The writing style in this novel wasn't it for me. There were too many commas which make the story feel choppy.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

4 1/2 stars

I confess to be quickly drawn to book with the word "fae" in the description. Once I saw this book involved some fae and fae royalty, I was quickly drawn in.

Of Mist and Shadow is a wonderful start to a new series. The world building felt effortless. Sometimes you can get bogged down with that in a fantasy novel, but not in this case. It blended in with the storyline in a way that felt very natural. Also, there may be a plethora of fae books in the market right now, but this one had some originality to it that I found refreshing.

The main character, Tessa is easy to sympathize with. The fae have created a rule in her village that is harsh and unforgiving. The fae king expects complete obedience with the threat of death if you don't comply. And he's proven time and again that he will follow up on that threat. Tessa is put directly in his crosshairs when she's caught stealing his protected gemstones. The punishment he plans to exact on her is one she will find unbearable. In her quest to escape, will she find herself in the clutches of someone even more dangerous than him? And what will she be willing to do to protect her family?

This book kept me hooked from the beginning to the last page and then leaves the reader with a little cliffhanger at the end. Hopefully the next one in the series won't be too far behind.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I loved this so much, it was a great starter book to the series, great characters, enough plot to keep you interested , but you know it’s just setting things up for bigger and better things, a great start and I can’t wait for the next after that ending. Fantastic Fae

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion