You know nothing of what it's like to be enslaved.
Empire of Flame and Thorns
Marion Blackwood
Flame and Thorns, book one
ebook, 366 pages
Published October 21, 2024
ASIN B0DD5V1NXJ
ISBN 9789198904260
A fae rebel.
A ruthless dragon commander.
And a deadly trial that will turn their lives upside down.
Trapped in the Seelie Court by a forest of thorns, Selena Hale lives at the mercy of the dragon shifters. Her only chance to gain her freedom is by entering the Atonement Trials: a deadly competition that pits fae magic users against each other. Only three people can win, and Selena intends to be one of them.
There is only one problem. Draven Ryat, the ruthless commander of the dragon shifter army, is determined to make her lose.
He symbolizes everything that she hates, and if he finds out that she is also a member of the secret fae rebellion, he will not only mess with her chances to win, he will kill her. But the more time she spends with him, the more she finds herself inexplicably drawn to him.
And nothing is more dangerous in a lethal trial than a distracted heart.
Especially one that beats for the enemy…
First test: Get inside the palace.
Second test: Show your power.
This had to be some kind of initiation on Imar's part. Some form of dragon shifter hazing. Because the entire exercise seemed targeted at torturing the guy.
But when it's Selena's turn, Draven volunteers himself in Imar's stead. Though confident at first, Selena finds she cannot find the "typical" emotions she'd expected. No smugness. No boredom. Nothing. So... she goes for shock and whips her shirt off. And the strike lands. Draven staggers back and she siezes on the panic that follows until he's bumbling and cursing like a fool in front of the entire assembly.
Shocked and scandalized.
Even more so when she makes him laugh.
At the ball, he asks her to dance. Claims it's to put a target on her back. That may be so in terms of her competitors, but I was far more entertained at the idea of what message it sent to his fellow dragons. (Spoiler alert: It's never mentioned so perhaps they don't care.)
Trial one: Stay in the circle.
Basically they battled it out until only a chosen number remained. Culling the herd as it is.
Trial two: Get out of the maze.
Carry a glass egg through a maze without having it shatter. I rolled my eyes at this but it was the first blatant display of sabotage on Draven's part so I let it go with only a lingering suspicion that the prize for the Atonement Trials may not be what Selena expects.
Trial three: Collect a coin.
Not a fan of this one. However, it allowed Selena's magic to shine as she basically willed the "volunteer" to surrender her coin without harm.
Trial four: Retrieve a ring.
The climax of the event. The MCs are still very much enemies, still very much hot for one another, and so... the inevitable comes to fruition. The spice. The win. An unexpected fall through the forest floor into a land long forgotten but it's a simple hike out and the book closes on the revelation of the true purpose of the Atonement Trials.
Surprise, surprise, their slavery levels up.
And I'm still left wondering how she ended up in his bed.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook
Next in the series:
2026/04