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Review: A Betrayal of Storms (Realm of Fey #1) by Ben Alderson

December 30, 2024 by Paige Leave a Comment

Rating: 6.5/10

Synopsis:

With the political intrigue and high heat of A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash, A Betrayal of Storms is perfect for readers who enjoy stories full of magic, romance, and adventure… but with added spice.

Half-fey Robin Vale has grown up amongst humans, but that doesn’t save him from being captured for coin by fey hunters. When he’s rescued by a fey princess, he’s taken to Wychwood, the fey realm – where everyone is focused on preparing for war against the humans who hate, hunt, and kill them for coin.

Robin doesn’t understand how he fits into the fey’s plans… until he’s revealed to be the lost heir to the Icethorn Court. Aided by the unclaimed, destructive power of the Winter Court, which had been thought destroyed with Robin’s mother’s death, the fey ready their numbers for complete domination of the human realm.

But by claiming the throne with the help of his devastatingly handsome personal guard, Erix, Robin’s very presence opposes the long-planned invasion. Along with his allies – including Althea, a stern princess hellbent on stopping the human hunters from killing her kin – Robin is thrust into a world of betrayal, murder, and lies. He must survive long enough to have the choice: listen to fate and claim his family’s power, or let it wreak havoc on a realm that turned its back on him for becoming who he was truly meant to be.

Review:

Thank you Angry Robot for sending me a copy of A Betrayal of Storms for review.

This book (and I suspect the series) is fun, if you want a Fae Court fantasy with bodyguard romance this one is for you. You’re not going to find anything brand new, but sometimes you just want to curl up with a book that feels like a comfort read before you even begun.

Coming in at just over 400 pages A Betrayal of Storms is a good intro to the series. We’re introduced to Robin, a half-fey, and Erix, his bodyguard. They don’t start that way but that dynamic emerges pretty early in the book. The magic system is also introduced pretty well as we learn about it through Robin’s eyes after he accidentally unleashes ice and winter, I enjoyed the concept of his birth-right magic just raging around his Court and how the magic system works in this world.

I’ll admit that I’m not sold on the romance in this book, I like Erix but I can’t help but feel there’s a serious power imbalance going on as Robin is quite the timid character. There’s just something that doesn’t sit right, and as much as I did also enjoy watching their romance unfold and waiting in anticipation for things to tip over the edge I can’t help but not be completely on board. I get the suspicion that we might meet someone else though (afterall this series is clearly heavily inspired by SJM). That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the romance, just that I’m not convinced it’s the be-all-end-all romance of this series.

This is quite clearly a SJM-inspired romantasy, specifically ACOTAR. I’m not complaining though, it does have it’s own spin and differences, and as I said at the start sometimes it’s nice to relax into a series that feels like a comfort read from the start.


Filed Under: Erotic Fantasy, Fantasy, Reviews, Romantic Fantasy Tagged With: A Betrayal of Storms, Angry Robot, Ben Alderson

About Paige

Paige started book blogging 7 years ago and never looked back. She started out in YA and has since moved on to Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror, although it’s rare for her to read something she doesn’t enjoy! Paige is chronically out of shelf-space but that doesn’t stop her buying books. She is an avid gamer when she isn’t reading.

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