Taken by Katerina Martinez – A Book Review

Posted April 11, 2021 by Booksandblurbs in Fantasy, Reviews / 0 Comments

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Taken

(The Coldest Fae – Book 1)

by Katerina Martinez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantasy
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

The Hunger Games meets the Fae Bachelor – and it’s everyone for themselves in this Kindle Unlimited Fantasy.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

In Arcadia, winter has no heart.

I make magic dresses for a living. I’m not rich or pretty enough to wear them, but I love what I do, working out of my family’s shop on Carnaby Street in London—until the fae show up.

It’s a straight-up kidnapping, and before I know it, I’m brought to this wintry place of cold hearts and beautiful nightmares, but that’s not the worst part.

The worst part is, they think I’m fae, and I’m supposed to participate in some competition against a host of other women who have been training their whole lives for this. The prize? The winner is to marry the Prince.

On the surface that sounds almost like a fairytale, only this competition is brutal and bloody, and the Prince is the jerk that kidnapped me. I can’t get too close to him or he’ll know I’m not fae, and then I’m dead. But I want to get close to him. His body burns with the fire of a cold star, and I’m drawn to him.

I need to fight the pull and survive long enough to find a way out of here, but these winter fae won’t make that easy.

My Thoughts on Taken

I’ll admit, I snort-laughed more than I’d like through this book – not because it was really funny, but because it wasn’t supposed to be… Dahlia just has a way of dropping a line that tickled that dry wit bone I like to nurture now and again. She’s innocent yet snarky, oddly bold even as she is bashful and far too honest to survive long in the Fae world, and yet she does. I can’t help it, I like her. I like her a lot. And when she meets Mira? Well, the gloves are off then and this mismatched duo really galvanizes the story and takes it to the next level, far more so than the dubious Prince.

I mean, the Prince is nice and all – good looking and mysterious, but he almost seems superfluous, even though he is fundamental to the plot… as in, there wouldn’t be a plot without him. But really, the friendships that are formed and showcased here are the backbone of this narrative and why I kept reading, and why I will follow the series.

Perspective:

First Person, Single POV

Ending Type:

Episodic

Rating:

Romantic Dynamic:

M/F

My Final Verdict on Taken

Fiery and inventive, this is a series worth catching up to. The Fae are cold and brutal, yet the layers that are slowly revealed under that ice keep this book fresh and appealing – not to mention the friendships that inspire no small amount of envy in the reader – just me? Ok then. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

Taken

Published January 10th, 2021
297 Pages

If you enjoyed this review of Taken, please consider checking out a few of my other articles.

Your Turn

What are you reading today? Have you read this book yet? What other books by Katerina Martinez have you enjoyed? Leave a comment, I would love to talk!