Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos)

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The fae king was--simply put--basic bitch pretty boy and disinterested me from the start. I'm so glad he didn't have a point of view in this book because I might've had to remove my own eyeballs if I had to subject myself to that. Blech. i cringed every time atlas was in the scene. maybe it was me but his every remark felt condescending. But, with every answer we get, we end up with more questions along the way. There are hints dropped, clues provided, and easter eggs mentioned and I can only draw my own conclusions about what the author is trying to foreshadow. Some of them seem kind of obvious because they're repetitive, but I'm still not sure where she is going with this. I think it will be a very satisfying story once all of the pieces are put together... so she nearly drowned and died. but king chose her to kiss right after she gained consciousness. i didn’t believe him. he had ulterior motives. he’s tamlin and i was waiting for rhysand. he did have ulterior motives.

But Lor doesn't belong in the Sun Queen Trials. She doesn't understand why she was freed, and she isn't a citizen of the Sun King's court. The other Tributes resent her presence and will stop at nothing to ensure Lor is wiped off the gameboard, permanently. In terms of the other side characters, they weren't amazing- but I still would've preferred to have read about them. Don’t worry, Lor. I am giving due attention to all the Tributes, as is my duty. But I am only a male and I am searching for my queen. I’m allowed to have my favorites.'' Point blank -- if you're going to set up a plot point in which a character is regularly subjected to physical and sexual abuse and coercion by all the men in her life and is bullied and manipulated into caring about people or giving them favors because they "love" her and she's "special," you CANNOT leave it hanging and not do anything with it. actually when or if one of the tribute became the queen , suddenly all the staff that tortured them during the trials was going to kiss their ass. so my question was why madame odell was so stupid lol. she interacted with a potential future queen daily, so maybe show a little bit of respect??In terms of the MMC, 🤡😭- I don't even want to think about how disappointing he was. He was just as bland as they come, and truly made me question so many things. He couldn't even do his reveals right 💀. i was getting TOG vibes. prison, cruel ruler, deadly competition, always there guard, secretly not a plain human but a long lost queen. He tells me of the forgotten realm of Heart and its fallen queen. Its lost Artefact—a crown with a blood-red stone.”

Tropes: new adult/adult fantasy, bride trials, day/night kingdom feud, hidden identity, rags to riches (kind of), slow burn I will keep this original review spoiler free and then update ( 1/9/23 UPDATES NOW POSTED AT THE VERY END OF THE REVIEW) with additional speculations/opinions (and will be hidden in a spoiler tag). I'd hate to spoil this book for anyone because it was such a fun read and should be experienced spoiler-free 😊 BUT I want to be able to discuss with everyone because my god this needs to be talked about!! (and oh my Zerra isn't this cover just STUNNING?!)First, I'll start off by saying something that actually worked in this book's favor because it needs the brownie points for what I'm gonna say after. Lor is a prisoner in the Aurora Kingdom where she lived for years. Lor is very, very determined and strong headed. She will fight anyone ( literally, the amount of hair pulling and punches thrown by her🫢) who disrespect her, BUT she will also fight tooth and nail to protect her loved ones. i wanted fmc to doubt the king. to not to fall under his charm. i wanted her to use him for her own gain. Nope, there's no romance in the book, just insta-lust all over it. Their whole conversation is so cringeworthy I was tormented reading it. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, and truly had high hopes for this, but the more that I read, the more underwhelmed I became.

i got major King Midas from the plated prisoner series vibes ngl 👋 You know where he keeps Auren in a cage and manipulates her for years into believing he's only doing that for her love and safety. When it turns out he only kept her for her POWERS? Yehhhh

I genuinely don't get where this book was going, because the reveals at the end didn't even reveal anything 💀. if atlas was master of illusion i wondered if he made his super fancy appearance and in reality he’s very repulsive like his personality (the truth about which we will learn only later🙄🙄🙄 we indeed learned it later). he was sleazy with his complements, they had bad aftertaste. Endured 12 years under the Aurora King. Lor wants to get free and make him pay for every torment he's done. But then she finds herself kidnapped and enters a deadly contest to win the Sun King's heart. While I wouldn't classify this as having a cliffhanger, there are some major developments that occur in the last few chapters. I also don't really count the epilogue as an epilogue because it happens a few hours or days (not very clear) after the final chapter ends and gives us some more reassurance to our FMC's safety so my anxiety has been alleviated for the most part. But that said, overall I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to book 2 (projected early 2023) and will be reading it as soon as I am able to!! The Bachelor meets the Hunger Games. Ten women. A deadly contest. Only one can win the Sun King's heart.