Court of Blood and Bindings by Lisette Marshall

The first book in the Fae Isles series, and a 5-star fave!

 

Releasing Wednesday 22 July

Amazon  |  Paperback

 

 

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Blurb

They call him the Silent Death, because he kills without sound and leaves none capable of speaking in his wake…

When the empire’s deadliest fae murderer catches her wielding forbidden magic, twenty-year-old Emelin believes her hour has come. Instead, her inhumanly beautiful captor spares her life, but carries her off on his velvet wings – into the one place from which no human ever returns.

The heart of the Fae Isles. The treacherous Crimson Court, where the Mother of faekind has ruled unchallenged over fae and humans for decades.

The Silent Death is supposed to be the Mother’s loyal servant, her invincible warrior, her ruthless, soulless killer. But in the shadows he is playing a game of his own, and he needs Emelin’s magic to win it.

If she agrees to work with him, she could free all of humanity. But can she trust a fae male with so much blood on his hands? Worse, when his smouldering dark eyes and dangerous secrets reveal glimpses of the heart behind his murderer’s mask… can she trust herself?

Court of Blood and Bindings is the first book of the Fae Isles series, an enemies to lovers fantasy romance featuring a strong-willed heroine and a broody, morally grey hero. This adult fae romance is perfect for readers of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Raven Kennedy.

Note: Court of Blood and Bindings contains a generous dose of smouldering glances, angry yearning, and midnight meetings of the illicit type, as well as other mature themes.

 

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Review

5 stars!

Wow, what a read! Lisette Marshall has delivered a powerful start to the Fae Isles series, a wonderfully intense fantasy story with magic, intrigue, politics, all sorts of supernatural beings, and an absolutely kickass lead couple (brave and feisty heroine, a broody, almost-anti-hero with secrets), enemies-to-lovers, fake-romance, and so much chemistry and sexual tension, I almost couldn’t stand it. This book has so much, and I loved it all!

Note – There is a prequel novel to this series (Heart of Silk and Shadows). At this stage, you don’t have to read it first, this book is a very strong series starter, with more extensive world-building than the prequel. But I would imagine that in later books I’m going to be happy to have the background information that the prequel provides.

Emelin is a 20-year-old human living in fae-controlled land, born with powers she shouldn’t have, and living a secluded life to hide the fact. When the brutal fae assassin known as the Silent Death sees her using her magic, he doesn’t kill her on the spot as she expects, instead, he whisks her away from her remote island home to the centre of the fae empire, the Crimson Court. He moves her into his home, pretending that she is his human lover, which gives her some protection from those who would hurt her, while he works with her to hone her powers. Because the Silent Death is not who he seems, and he has a plan to take our the ruling fae Mother and free those under her control, and he needs Emelin’s help to do it.

OMG, this book is all intensity right from the very beginning, and I was instantly sucked into the story. The whole book is written from Emelin’s POV, so we get to experience everything with her – learning about the world and figuring out her place in it. She is a wonderful heroine – strong, brave and intelligent. She very quickly understands the reality of her new situation and plays her part well, but with her irritatingly stunning captor, she is her true self, and this is where she shines.

After centuries of being the fae Mother’s most trusted assassin, Creon’s reputation is well-deserved. He is brutal and cold, and very little surprises him… until Emelin comes into his life. It doesn’t take long for us to see a different side of him, firstly in sparing Emelin, and then when he sets her up in his home and she starts to snark at him, and he snarks right back.

“You’ll keep your hands off me in that bed, too.”
“As I was planning to.” He looked up from his writing, eyes mocking me. “Unless you change your mind of course”.
“I’d rather fuck a cactus,” I informed him.
“Interesting. Let me know how you like it.”

It’s a great dynamic from the very beginning, full of aggressive banter and threats of violence, but there’s this underlying attraction that creates delicious chemistry. Neither of them act on it as Creon teaches Emelin about his world and they begin her training, but it’s always there. And when he begins to reveal his secrets and they truly start to learn about each other, their connection only deepens when Emelin promises to work with him to bring down the Mother.

“I’d rather be your equal in danger than your toy in safety.”

The book’s timeline is actually pretty fast moving, but the romance feels like a slow burn, and I was revelling in every little moment between these two. The banter is epic, the glances and touches are so meaningful, and I absolutely love the way they handle the way they are feeling. They don’t hide from each other, they tease and they flirt, and every moment between them feels like it’s dripping with anticipation. The chemistry is electric and the sexual tension is off freaking charts, and the feelings are right there alongside of the mad lust, which makes the whole thing even more intense.

“Does it make me a monster?” I managed, the fears falling over my lips at last. “Wanting you?”
His smile…it wasn’t a smile. It was an open wound. It was a wistful darkness that spread over his face and transformed into something hurt and haunted and utterly heart-breaking.
“Does it make me innocent, wanting you?”

The emotion is beautifully written, and I loved these two together so much. And when all of that tension becomes too much, the sexy time is hot, passionate and so profound as they come together, completely undone for each other, and I loved the intensity of their undeniable connection.

Uncaged, undone, he was power and beautiful and death, and he was mine.

I leaned into that fall. I let myself plummet, into the unfathomable, bottomless depths of my heart, and trusted his arms to catch me.

As amazing as Emelin is, God, I love Creon! He’s the most powerful of his kind, and though he has that broody, cocky arrogance that I love so much in my romantic heroes, he’s also wonderfully witty and he has this quiet vulnerability about him that is absolutely irresistible. We see it as he beings to open up to Emelin – there is so much of him to uncover, and Marshall does it piece by piece, at just the right pace for maximum impact. And I loved watching him fall for Emelin, feeling things for the very first time, and bravely embracing it. I feel like there is so much more of us to discover about him, and I am here for it.

“I’m not fully sure what you are to me. I’m not sure if I dare to figure it out. But I know you’re a first.”

Alongside the love story, Creon and Emelin are in a dangerous situation, facing many enemies, and if anyone uncovers their plan it will mean instant death for both of them. There are more secrets to be uncovered, and Emelin understandably wrestles with whether she can trust the man she’s falling so hard for. Her struggle is real and understandable, and brings some great drama to the story as it builds to its unpredictable and heart-poundingly exciting climax that had me madly flipping pages, desperate to see how it was going to finish.

Yes, there is a cliffhanger. It’s not a really bad one, but it still leaves us on a critical point, and I’m so invested in these characters and their story, I’m absolutely desperate to get my hands on the next book of the series.

I freaking love this book. It’s beautifully written, the fantasy world is well developed and fascinating, and the concept of color-magic is so clever. It’s such an amazing read – especially when you consider that Marshall is still a newly-published author. I rate this book up among fantasy reads by Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout (which is high praise from me indeed), and I can’t wait for more.

5 stars!

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Fae Isles series