A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal: Stars and Shadows, Book 2

This spellbinding second act of this DELICIOUSLY sexy and action-packed fantasy series does not disappoint! A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal is even sexier and more intriguing than the first. And Evren continues to capture my entire heart with his swoony dark possession and his epically dirty mouth. Holly Renee has brought the spice to fantasy!I’ll admit, this story went in a direction that I didn't quite anticipate. After we have a volatile beginning as Adara is dealing with Evren misleading her and being trapped now in another new kingdom full of palace drama, intrigue, and secrets, Holly almost scales it entirely back. It’s quieter, slower, almost peaceful in places, as Adara starts to find security in the last place she expected it, trying to reconcile the longing in her heart with the distrust and betrayal she feels. The Blood Court isn’t at all what she anticipated, and Holly really doubles down on that theme- Adara is uncovering that a lot of what she assumed about herself, her magic, her mate, and his world is not quite true. It’s really a tale of self-discovery and actualization- Adara is coming into her powers in more ways than one. Not only is she exploring her magic but she’s also exploring her destiny and heart- ALL incredibly complicated and confusing. Adara waffles - a lot- because she quickly learns that she has more agency in her own journey than she ever thought, and that requires recalibrating. Her plan and beliefs are unsettled- so now what? What she does discover, though, is that being mated to Evren is not quite like the shackles of being mated to Gavril. But can Evren earn her trust when he’s clearly been keeping secrets?This story does feel markedly different in a lot of ways- there’s a bit more fun in it, a lot more spice, and the drama is scaled back quite a bit. That makes for some really good character development as we see Adara evolve- let go of her biases, rethink her agenda, struggle to open her heart. She’s somehow both more fierce and more vulnerable, even if she’s still so very stubborn LOL. But who REALLy shines in this book is Evren- ironic since we spend a good chunk of the story with him elsewhere, but I loved seeing him so openly push for Adara, getting to see him pivot from the petulant bastard prince to the stoic and responsible leader of his people. We realize just how much he has on his shoulders- and how up for the task he is. Not to mention, man is still hot AF and his naughty times with Adara are hella sexy. Possessive caveman with superpowers. Yum. Their connection is the real focus of this story- the tension, the angst, the second guessing and push-pull. Their dynamic is clearly more than mate bond, there is real love here- but they have so much to overcome between them AND around them. And both are in new contexts that mean they almost have to relearn each other.We also get some great secondary characters that add a little bit to this word- with some scene stealing angst of their own in the mix. And while we don't get a lot of answers and we spend much of our story waiting for the shoe to drop, the shoe in fact DOES drop. And it drops hard. The last 25% of this book has a breakneck pace and is everything I wanted. It’s chaos and magical and heartbreaking and heartstopping and devastating and such a poetic parallel. It sets us up for what I’m sure will be a really epic finale- and I can’t wait!

A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal has cemented my initial thoughts on this world Renee has created. Stars and Shadows is by far the most original fantasy world I have ever read. In a fantasy world of fae and vampyres, Renee weaves the words together with the same potent level of magic that’s inside this magical world.Don’t try to seek spoilers. Not only will you be doing yourself a disservice, but it would be a shame to not experience this series as it was intended. Dive in, and prepare to be swept up in the magic and hot AF steam. I promise you that you won’t regret it.Vagueness is on the way.....I’m not even sure where to begin. My head and heart have yet to return to reality, lost inside a world where a prophecy sets off a series of events that forever alter the lives of many. I’ve used the word spellbinding before, but in this case I mean it as more than as a synonym for consuming, because in this situation it’s both an adjective and a verb. Renee‘s words cast a spell, encompassing you inside this world from the first word to long after you read the last, reality ceases to exist.A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal picks up where A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows left off, and I’m not sure I took a full breath until long after I finished. Not only is the bond between Evren and Adara much stronger than before, but their emotions are starting to become just as intense, no matter how badly Adara wants to deny it.Renee threw caution to the wind by stepping into the world of fantasy romance, and she’s owning it. I love the uniqueness of the world, and the addictive AF storyline makes it impossible not to devour the words like you need them to survive.Adara is now in the Blood Kingdom, and we get a glimpse into a different part of this magical world. I already want more of this world, more of the characters, more time inside this magical world that allowed me the escape from reality that I desperately needed.A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal is more proof that Renee’s talent knows no bounds. A few words and I was completely immersed, not one thing from reality could break through the trance Renee’s words had me in. An addictively spellbinding blend of searing chemistry, nonstop from start to finish, whispered "omgs," "hfs," muttered "ffs," leaving you shooketh to the core while desperately wanting more, and red-hot steam. Renee should be crowned the Queen of fantasy romance. Absolutely and positively, a top read of all time and my new favorite fantasy world.

Holy moly!We pick up where the first book ended Yano that cliffhanger that had as all go ‘what the what what what’ and I was hooked from page one only putting it down to do adult human things like eat sleep and go to work and even whilst doing those things my head was still with Evren and Adara wondering what’s going to happen next.There’s a lot of push and pull and the spice is spicy if you haven’t picked up book one yet you should definitely jump face first into this series!I love the relationship between these two and also the relationship she builds with new found friends along the way.It’s twisty, it’s spicy, it’s angsty there’s tensions and there’s returning the choices once stripped. Evren isn’t your typical dirty talking dark book boyfriend we see a side of him in this book that truely shows the leader he should be!!And well HOLY CLIFFHANGER Batman she did it again!

"𝔒𝔲𝔯 𝔲𝔫𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔦𝔰 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢, 𝔞𝔫𝔡 ℑ 𝔞𝔪 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔰𝔞𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔣𝔦𝔠𝔢.ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔩𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔲𝔫𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔟𝔩𝔢. ℌ𝔦𝔰 𝔴𝔦𝔠𝔨𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔞𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰 𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔫 𝔰𝔦𝔫."A Kingdom of Blood And BetrayalSo I HAD to read book 2 straight away after finishing book one but now I have to wait for book 3?! After that ending?! I am NOT OK!!!!I really liked in book 2 we see Adara struggling with her own thoughts internally. Weirdly, I really like seeing how demanding and manipulative Erven can be mixed in with him being Adaras mate. I completely understood and felt her internal battle with her head and her heart whole heartedly and I just wanted to be there with her to tell her it was all going to be OK 😭 Adara and Evren have such strong chemistry and it's so so spicy 🥵🔥The growth of not only these two characters is great but also the growth we hear Thalia has gone through. I would LOVE to see more of Thalia!I feel sorry for Evren as he's trying to save and help everyone and please everyone. And once he's won over Adara, great, things should be easy! Until Gavril drops that bombshell as the end and gives Adara mixed feelings and insecurities all over again!I'm so excited but also so worried and anxious to see what happens in book 3 when they get back to Gavrils Palace and see how Adaras father fits into everything.Once again Holly has written an epic book that had me binge reading within a day 😂--> Touch Her and Die--> Fated Mates--> Fae/Vamp Royalty--> Divided Kingdoms--> Epic Spice 🌶 🌶 🌶️Another 4.5/5🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟I think I'm keeping my 5 star in hope book 3 tops both of these books!

Very fast pace. Likeable characters, sexual tension, magic. I really enjoy this series, but I gave 4 stars because I feel like the character development could have been developed more, and the magic isn’t particularly unique.

loved the chemistry between Evren x Adara.. loved her growth ! So glad we are introduced to the Blood Kingdom and its just so much more magical.But that ending omg .. I need book 3...

Can I just say I devoured both books in days.I am inlove with the storyline and how well the characters are portrayed!