A Lay of Ruinous Reign Series: Disenchanted and Disillusioned

Disenchanted (Ruinous Reign, #1) by Brianna Sugalski, Briar Somerset
on October 31, 2023
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Medieval
Pages: 442
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads

Disillusioned (Ruinous Reign: Book Two) will be published under "Briar Somerset."
Lilac Trécesson is a prisoner in her parents' castle after a most wicked secret was revealed on the eve of her fifteenth birthday. Years later, her Accession looms upon her father's decision to abdicate, and between the riotous townsfolk and scheming noble bent on snatching her throne, she prepares for the worst… Until a letter arrives from The Witch of Lupine Grotto, containing a curious offer to banish her curse forever.
She begrudgingly trades her coronet for a cloak and ventures into the forest Brocéliande, only to find herself cornered by a bloodthirsty barkeep who demands her help in exchange for protection against the even deadlier forces of the woods.
With only the protection of her inherited dagger—and unsolicited help of the sardonic stranger who inserts himself on her quest—Lilac must find the impious enchantress and return in time to claim her crown. Pity the fool to underestimate the girl with subpar blade skills but the spite to make up for it.
This is the tale of a cursed princess,A crestfallen killer,The town that wants them to burn,And the witch who can save them both.

 Julie’s Review: Disenchanted (A Lay of Ruinous Reign Book 1)

I am a sucker for a story with a kick-ass FMC who doesn’t follow the norms and expectations and goes out to forge her own life her way. And that’s exactly who our Princess Lilac is. Locked away for years because of her unexpected and unexplainable ability to speak the Daemon language, she is now coming up on her coronation. And like the hot-headed, stubborn girl she is, she runs off to try to solve her weird issue so her kingdom would stop shunning her. I loved how even with her lack of real life experience, she showed so much strength of character and bravery in everything she faced. Ready to take matters into her own hands and threaten to stab anyone in her way, especially her betrothed, Lilac meets Garin, our morally grey MMC who is more than he appears. Without spoilers, the two end up on converging paths, needing each other’s.. assistance?.. to  proceed with their plans. The spice was spicing, though I would have wanted more emotional yearning. Garin’s sassy sarcasm and smooth allure was delicious, and helped bring out Lilac’s personality and character development very well in the story. This book has a lot of action and violence, while being literally journey without being journey in the way I don’t enjoy. We meet interesting characters and creatures, a found family in an inn that only shows itself to some, humans we hate more than the creatures of evil, and curses and enchantments. This book ends in a comfortable conclusion, so you’re not left with your heart torn out but with a curiosity of what new nonsense will try to bother our new Queen in her plans to help unite the kingdom and the Daemons treated as outsiders.

Tropes/Features:

• Strong-willed FMC
• Morally Grey (our favorite color) MMC
• Touch her and die
• Curses
• Medieval Fantasy
• Dark Fantasy
• Flirting Strangers to Enemies to Lovers
• Trigger warning: SA

I would like to add that this book was 400+ pages and I read the whole thing (ebook format, not audiobook where I can listen fast and while doing other things, but actually read with my eyeballs and still body) in a week’s time. I’m super proud of myself for that.

Disillusioned (A Lay of Ruinous Reign, #2) by Brianna Sugalski, Briar Somerset
on August 12, 2025
Genres: Dark Fantasy, Medieval
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
Goodreads

A Medieval Dark Fantasy sequel for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jane Austen’s Emma, Ella Enchanted, and My Lady Jane.
Throned but far from safe, Lilac Trécesson must honor her deal with Kestrel, the faerie king of the Court of the Valley. When a monstrous envoy arrives instead, she’s thrust into a deadly hunt for an arcane chest carried by the Midraal Market. With the help of several unexpected allies, they embark on a journey that sinks her into even deeper entanglement with the vampire forced to make an impossible choice when their mission turns to tragedy.
As neighboring forces threaten her crown and an emperor offers marriage in exchange for protection, Lilac finds herself torn between duty, her heart’s deepest desires, and the thing she’s slowly becoming. But it is Garin, her cursed and sworn protector, whose devotion turns obsessive—and deadly. The threat of her overthrow is infuriating, yet nothing devastates him more than the thought of losing Lilac to the emperor who would inevitably fall victim to his wrath if he dared lay a finger on her.
She’s his queen.His beloved.His thrall.And he would raze empires to keep her.

 Julie’s Review: Disillusioned (A Lay of Ruinous Reign Book 2)

Ok first of all can I complain about the length of the second book? 800+ pages excuse me! And yet it sucked me back in immediately. Picking up with Queen Lilac’s first actions and Garin’s acts of revenge, this book gets darker than the first. It shows the darker side of this vampire’s obsession with his queen, and his inner battle between wanting her completely and wanting what (he thinks) is best for her/her kingdom.

This book was LONG. Especially since so much of it felt drawn out with not enough plot development for my tastes, with all the repeated madness that occurred. There was so much madness and obsession and new fun characters with secrets and connections. But I wanted more of the story – you know, the queen being a queen! Such as the meetings with all creatures to form agreements and new laws to make all her subjects safe (not just the humans), and the repayment of the bargain with the Fae King (which started and then kind of stalled out). For the most part, this book focused on the obsessive and dark and very spicy relationship between the vampire and the queen. Lilac just wants to forget she is the queen sometimes and just runs off leaving her duties. The ending was pure chaos, and unlike the first book, left so much open for the next installment to continue.

I did enjoy the changes in POV and getting to see all of Garin’s obsessive yearning.

I will leave you with this Garin quote:

“I taste you on the wind… It is gut-wrenching how sinfully I crave you. Your laughter is the sound of cathedral bells – the scent of your hair, the warning through the high windows. Your body, the pulpit. All I want to do is kneel, and repent, and drink of your wine, and sin, and sin again, until there is little left of the monster I’ve become.”

He’s dark and obsessive and a bit delicious and the queen is into all of it. She’s just as dark and twisted herself, rebelling against everyone after being locked away for so many of her formative years. Is she twisted because of their bond, or was she already that twisted and was finally able to act on it?

I will add that I read this 800+ book in 10 days. 10 days! But it didn’t satisfy like the first book did, which is why the first book I rated higher. A solid 3.5 stars though.

Subscribe to Chapter Break posts.