Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.
Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.
Publication Date: May 6, 2013
This was on my Kindle for a while now and I’m kicking myself
for not reading it sooner. I really loved it! I have to applaud the author on
an amazing debut that had me blowing off work to finish the book today.
Serena’s society was tough to stomach. The warlocks own the
women in the society and the fathers sell off their daughters to the highest
bidders. Serena is sold off to a cruel man, but a twist of fate has her engaged
to a man from another country where customs are very different.
The book definitely enraged me as I read about the way women
were forced to take part in cruel customs. I liked that Serena was willing to
take risks to go against the unfairness of the practices. Serena was very naïve
and lacked conviction in some parts, but I felt her flaws made her more
relatable.
I liked Zade a lot and I wished there was more of a focus on
the romance. The point of the book is for Serena to escape being forced to
marry, but I still wanted more love scenes. It was still very sweet to see how
much Zade and Serena grew to care for one another despite their different
backgrounds. The side characters were also enjoyable and I did feel like they
were all well developed.
The plot was good although I would’ve preferred a tad bit
more world building. I just had a hard time picturing what the town looked like
and would’ve liked to know why the society ended up the way it did. I liked the
magical elements a lot and loved the descriptions of the parties and the
elaborate clothing.
The end tied up everything nicely and I do see there’s a
prequel out now and a sequel in the works. I hope there are more of Serena and
Zade in the second book and maybe a story focused on one of Serena’s sisters. I
believe the book is categorized as YA, but it definitely has crossover appeal.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
I received a copy of the novel for my honest review.
