Wrath & Desire Review

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wrath & Desire (Realm of Zadrya #2) by Susan Illene
Series: Realm of Zadrya #2
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Romantasy
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads

Darrow is raw power exemplified. He is full of secrets and pain. The dark elf isn’t satisfied with only marrying me. Oh, no. He wants it all—my body, heart, and soul. I must resist despite being his fated mate. Because if I don't, he could break me, and I'm already at my limit.

Aella is everything I'm not. She is full of compassion and resilience. The half-druid's grace and odd fondness for plants bring me to my knees. Though I cannot love her, I need to own her in every way. She can resist all she wants, but I'll do whatever it takes. No price is too high, even if it breaks me.

But now, war and death plague us. My mother's people have invaded our realm with ruthless precision. Our monarchy is at stake. And a blight is rapidly spreading to kill the land. Powerful forces are at work to divide our people. I may wish I could focus entirely on my new wife. But we must find a way to save our world. Even if it means traveling to a distant one with its own dangers. That is...if we can find a way there before the enemy stops us. Somehow, they’re ahead of us at every turn.

Note- This novel contains adult content, including graphic violence, foul language, rough spicy scenes, torture, and divine astral projection/consensual body sharing between multiple characters (of a sexual nature).

Other content warnings- weird homicidal chickens, terrifying hordes of venomous frogs, sentient plants with murderous attitudes...actually, many flora and fauna are not what they seem in this world, so assume nothing and mentally prepare yourself for anything. It’s fantasy. Immerse yourself in the madness or go find another genre.

 Julie’s Review:

I really enjoyed (devoured) the first book in this world, yet it took me a longer time to complete this second book. It was much longer, yes, but also I felt the pacing was slower and more contemplative. In book 2 our characters are faced with war and battles, total chaos and betrayals left and right, and high costs for asking the gods for help. On top of that, their planet is losing magic and is rotting away. So they need to get to that magical fountain which was hidden on another planet and save their world. So much struggle happens, lots of highs and lows, but there are some slow parts too. The book is told in alternating POV between Aella and Darrow, though their narration personalities didn’t sound very different to me.

Aella our FMC is much darker in this book. She’s free of her uncle’s control, and unleashes her anger and vengeance on anyone who gets in the way. Where in the first book she seemed so much stronger and emotionally intelligent for everything she had to quietly put up with, here she is raw and jealous and quick to react. She also is putting up mental walls to keep from falling for her husband due to his curse, but that tension is tensioning. She wants to only keep the marriage physical, and he wants more.

Darrow, seems to be softer than in the first book. His family curse (where the men can’t feel love) is a constant hindrance in his relationship with his wife (married as a bargain and turned into something so much more). While he wants to claim her fully, Aella refuses to let him have her heart for fear that he will lose interest immediately. But the yearning that results from the walls between them and the sizzling spicy times is quite delicious. Especially the scene with the gods. That might be the highlight of the book and is what the title references IYKYK. He claims he cannot love, but he still “remembers” how he cared about his best friends and sister, and he “desires” his wife and wants to be tender and sweet to her? I think he’ll break his curse himself, if it isn’t already broken without him realizing.

“I can’t be the instrument for your pain anymore without being the source of your comfort.” *Sigh* And you’re telling me he can’t feel love?

We have more amazing and interesting sentient plants. I have very much enjoyed the plant life in this series. And then there’s the insane chicken. There’s gotta be more to this chicken in a future book right? I want to know what the deal is.

The plot centers around repairing the portal ring, discovering the correct rune pattern, and getting enough skills and power for Aella to run the portal to Earth to find that magical fountain of prophesy and save their planet, and break Darrow’s curse. I very much enjoyed meeting the new characters from Earth and the betrayal twist at the end that sets them up for the story in the next book. What will happen to their planet if they can’t get back quickly with the fountain? What will the dark elves do while our power couple is on a different planet?

Tropes you may enjoy:

• Sentient and Carnivorous plants
• A fae-riety of magical beings
• Portal magic and other magics
• Torture and Violence
• Meddling Gods (for a price)
• Marriage of convenience -> “My wife”
• Jealousy and Yearning
• Touch her and I will unalive you so hard
• Dragons
• Dual POV

I received this arc and am leaving my review voluntarily.

Read my review of the first book: Oaths & Vengeance 

 

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