Author: Penn Cole
Series: The Kindred’s Curse #1
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Self-pub
Publication Date: June 1, 2023
Edition: Kindle
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Powell's |
Synopsis:
When old secrets catch fire, everything will burn.
In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.
Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.
With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.
In a mortal world colonized by the gods and ruled over by the Descended, their cruel offspring, Diem Bellator yearns to escape the insular life of her poor village.
Her mother’s sudden disappearance—and the discovery of a dangerous secret about her past—offer Diem an unexpected opportunity to enter the dark world of Descended royalty and unlock the web of mysteries her mother left behind.
With the dying King’s handsome, mysterious heir watching her every move, and a ruthless mortal alliance recruiting her to join the growing civil war, Diem will have to navigate the unwritten rules of love, power, and politics in order to save her family—and all of mortalkind.
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This is an... interesting book. None of the characters are particularly likeable, and the world building feels a little underdeveloped. But I am so invested in what is going on.
Diem is very unlikable, very self-righteous and a little dumb. She has "I'm the MC" levels of plot armor. The reveal at the end not surprising at all, though I don't know exactly if that's a bad thing, sometimes that means it's good foreshadowing. She was often brash, and would pick fights with people who had no qualms about hurting her.
Henri, I honestly hated him from the start. He somewhat acted like he was entitled to her love because they were childhood friends, and that's honestly kind of shitty. He also in a round about way ridiculed her for having compassion for sick and injured Descended people.
Luther, he was kind of a nothing burger of a character even though I think he's supposed to be more important than he was presented to be. I think it would've helped if his character had more of a presence in this book.
My biggest gripe is that I don't know what the plot focus was supposed to be. I initially assumed it was going to focus around Diem trying to find her mom by some covert actions or whatever, but it was almost imminently brushed aside. Diem travels to another realm, and doesn't ask any one she sees if they know her mother, or saw her. It felt like she did nothing to look for her, and then yelled at her adoptive father for not looking for her.
I am very interested in reading the rest of the series, but I am okay with waiting for book four to come out so I can binge the rest.
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