I’m going to admit that this book started a two star read for me. It was so hard to get into. I thought it was a little childish in the beginning and a lot of the details didn’t make sense. I almost felt like the author had two good storylines, on one side was the royals, Kitt and Kai, the political dynamics of the kingdom and royal family and then on the other side was the trials, contestants, and ordinaries and when she tried to smash them together it was not making a great story. It didn’t make sense why the trials and games were being played. Paedyn is an ordinary and a thief making her living by blending into the slums where she lives and stealing from people, yet when the people nominate her for the trials they know her full name to put on the banner and where to find her to bring her to the castle? Kai is the younger prince to his brother who will become king so his Father is raising him to be the future enforcer but it never explains who the current enforcer is. You would think they would be having a hand in his training and someone would need to be managing those duties while Kai is away for weeks at a time during the trials. Also, Paedyn has stayed alive by hiding that she is an ordinary and pretending to be a psychic based on little observances she makes about people, but once she is thrust into the spotlight in the trials and has to perform her ability in front of the kingdom there would end up being more than a few people who don’t have something for her to guess about them. She would eventually get it wrong. I was about 1/4 of the way through the book and dragging, I kept wanting to read something else but there have been so many amazing reviews for this book so I decided to push through and I am so glad that I did! This author is amazing at writing romance! Kai and Paedyn are everything for me ♥️♥️ They are so cute, sweet, and fun together. I wish we could have at least had ONE kiss between the two of them but let me tell you that the romantic tension and sweetness between these two almost makes up for that. I hope we get even more in the second book. A few things that I wish the author had cleared up for us by the end are why Kitt pursued Paedyn even though he knew how much she meant to Kai. Was he colder than he seemed on the outside or was he jealous of Kai and wanting to beat him to it? It never says but maybe it will in the next book. I also didn’t understand why the king didn’t try harder to have Paedyn killed. He sends Kai out to kill people in their homes so why didn’t he try to have her killed in her room? The only explanation he gives Paedyn is he needed her alive but it never tells you why. Even with the plot holes I did think this was a really good story in the end. I hope there is improvement in the next book and I can’t wait to read it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ No spice 🌶 Tropes: #Tournament #ForbiddenRomance #DystopianSociety #Powers#SlowBurn #WittyBanter #ForcedProximity #EnemiestoLovers Two very important things... 1. THIS IS A MUST READ! 2. I NEED RECKLESS ASAP!! This was so good. 6 ⭐️ isn't a thing? That's too bad! This deserves the exra ⭐️ I was here for the BANTER!!! 🔥 The writing, the story, the characters, the romance. It was sooo good, such a fun read that kept me completely immersed.There was no spice, but my poetic broken KAI 🥰 makes it all worth it. 🗡Pae🗡 is the definition of a BADASS. All 28 of her freckles 😮‍💨 There are plenty of twists and turns. That love triangle 🔺️ had me on the edge of my seat 🫣 and the ending shattered me!! @laurenrobertslibrary why do I feel like you're going to stomp on the remains with Reckless? ✨️Did I mention Kai is a poetic god?✨️ “If I am to be her enemy, I want it to be because she loathes herself for wanting me.” “It's like drowning in the ocean. Her eyes are the color of the Shallows Sea's deepest corner, a clear sky as it begins to drift into night, the subtle shade of a forget-me-not. And like the hottest flame, her eyes are blue and full of fire.” “She is the embodiment of a bad decision. The twin of danger and desire. The fine line between deadly and divine. And I can feel myself drowning.” “I'd never thought about what my favorite color was before. It never seemed important. Not until I looked into a pair of ocean blue eyes and realized that perhaps drowning was a beautiful thing. Not until I looked into a pair of fiery blue eyes and realized that perhaps burning was a painless thing. Not until I looked into a pair of sky blue eyes and realized that perhaps falling was a peaceful thing. I'd never thought about what my favorite color was before because I hadn't seen one that was worthy of the title. Until now, that is. ‘Blue’ I say, my voice low.” “And I'll save your life again and again, aimlessly hoping you will allow me to stay in it.” “What do you want to call me? -I want to call you mine.” The strongest weapon a woman has at her disposal is that she is often underestimated. “Remind me to make you smile like that again, when you aren’t dying, and I have all the time in the world to memorize it.” “My soldiers don’t mean anything to me. They are expendable and easy to replace.” His chest heaves, his eyes locked with mine. “So, yes, Gray. You aren’t one of my soldiers.” “Oh, I’m not making you do anything, darling. You can leave me to bleed out if you must. Because I only want your hands all over me if you want them to be.” Walking on a sharp blade and hoping I don’t get cut. Playing with fire and hoping I don’t get burned. Swimming in a dangerous current and hoping I don’t drown. He is dangerous. She’s so stunning, yet so stubbornly oblivious to how the sunset behind dulls in comparison to the vibrance that is her. “Darling, I doubt that the sight of someone dying would affect me as much as you do alive and well.” I hadn’t realized he could look at me like that. Look at me like he cared. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken so softly, so soothingly to someone before. And what scares me even more is that I don’t think I ever will for anyone but her. Everything beautiful, everything bold, everything breathtaking—that is what I feel in her gaze. She is a vision, a nightmare, a dream. A grim reaper clad in black, come to steal my soul and my heart. I’ve never seen something so beautiful, so bold, so blatantly wrong for me. She is a devil. She is a deity. She is a man’s downfall in human form. She is my downfall. His eyes are mesmerizing, like melted steel, morning fog. They cut through me as though he is unafraid to see every part of me. His gaze feels right, familiar. And when his eyes lock with mine, I wonder why I ever bother looking at anyone else. I’ve never been looked at like it’s a privilege to be in my presence, an honor to hold my gaze, a gift to get a glimpse of me. Not until I met him. “I meant what I said. I can’t take my eyes off you. I can’t take my mind off you.” “Run, Paedyn. Because when I catch you, I will not miss. I will not falter. I will not make the mistake of feeling for you.” 💔