The Night Realm by Annette Marie – A Book Review

Posted April 29, 2020 by Booksandblurbs in Reviews, Urban Fantasy / 0 Comments

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The Night Realm

(Spell Weaver – Book 1)

by Annette Marie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy
Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited

Down & Dirty

If you like Urban Fantasy, this is a MUST read. Action, adventure and mystery – all wrapped in a devilishly good looking package. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

What is it about?

(Blurb from GoodReads)

Clio would love nothing more than to go home. But as the illegitimate daughter of the nymph king, she’s stuck in the human world, exiled until she can earn a place in the royal family. Then her half-brother offers her a chance to prove herself. All she has to do is acquire some magic … by stealing it from the most dangerous spell weavers in the Underworld.

Lyre prefers to go unnoticed, which is a tricky objective for an incubus. He can’t hide his looks or his coveted spell weaving skills, but he’s learned to mask his true intentions. As an unwilling pawn of the tyrannical Hades family, he stays alive by keeping one step ahead of his masters.

Now he’s been assigned to watch over a visitor from the Overworld—one who’s definitely hiding something. And with her unholy talent for triggering chaos and catastrophe, his job just keeps getting more perilous. Clearly, she’ll never survive this world.

The thing is, he’s no longer sure he can survive it either.

Thoughts on The Night Realm

I loved just about everything in this novel, from the intense imagery to the emotions that swept through the pages. I read Piper’s series first, Steel & Stone, so stepping back in time and seeing the formation of Lyre and Ash’s friendship, not to mention the addition of Clio, was divine – and cleared up so many questions! This is the tru foundation of that world, the beginnings of everything, and an arrow pointed directly to the future and what it may hold.

I adored Lyre, and though I found Clio’s naivety off putting (I mean… come on girl!) she was still a character I fell in love with. Strong, determined and talented, she steps forward into an unknown world and comes out the other side, a little more worn, but a touch wiser as well.

I do feel bad though, the writing is on the wall, and you can see what is going to go down a light year away… and she (at least in Book 1) doesn’t have a clue. Poor Clio.

Pros:

Well written.
No editing errors noted.
Love the characters!
I recognize names and faces from Steel & Stone, it’s that little thrill!
Great cover!
Room for character growth and development.

Cons:

Foreshadowing is a bit bleak, you know what is going to happen…

Perspective

Third Person, Multiple POV

Ending Type

Cliffhanger

Rating

Upper YA

Romantic Dynamic

M/F

Character Age Range

20’s+

My Final Verdict on The Night Realm

This is a fabulous Urban Fantasy that melds well into a fascinating and expansive world, offering answers while still forging its own, unique, tale. A great read – Series is complete, and free on Kindle Unlimited.

Published October 20th, 2017
362 Pages