4.5⭐️

I loved this sequel! For me this book was better than the first one. Picking up where the first left off Thea is on her way to finishing the challenges to join and complete the council. We immediately see the tension between Thea and Clay since Thea is trying to keep her distance to avoid more problems with The Dragon. Now I absolutely loved the political and court intrigue. That is one of my favorite parts of fantasy books and I always love to see how the main character works through it.

After a very exciting challenge testing Thea’s magic she becomes a full council member and now comes the time to find a husband. This had been threatened since the first book so I was so curious to see what was to come. And of course it so happens to be Clay’s cousin. When Thea has to go to her future husband’s kingdom Clay comes along which finally leads to Clay and Thea having some much needed conversations. Their tension and buildup was so strong from the get go that I was waiting for them both to break and finally be together.

Now we get some new insights into the underworld and Hyrax in this book as well as a new controversial character. I loved seeing more from Hyrax, his kingdom, Thea’s history, and so much more. The gods are such an interesting part of this world that we are slowly starting to learn more and more about. After that ending I can’t wait for the next book! So many mixed feelings about how the main characters are left in this book and wow I am so curious to see where the author takes some of these relationships. This was such a great read and I need the next book asap!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC. Is book 3 available yet? Because that ending😬😬 I flew through this book, finishing it on the same day I started it. There were so many twists I didn’t see coming, a few that I did, and it all left me captivated. The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because I felt like the back and forth between wanting each other and pushing away got a bit too repetitive for me. But still a wonderful story and a great sequel which is not easy to do. I can’t wait to hear what more people think about this once it released!

🩷 Book Review 🩷
📚 The Crown of the Dark Prince
✒️ Arcadia Rayne
🗓 8th May 2025
💫💫💫💫

Thank you @netgalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, this book broke me. It broke me with one simple quote; "I love you. Only you. And it's only ever been you."

Yep, book 3 now please!

It was like Arcadia learnt from the first books predictability and went "oh yeah, you think this is going to happen... yeah, I don't think so" and it wasn't randomly written, it worked! It fitted into the plot like a glove that I question my easter egg sleuthing skills.