I had to fight through thickets of bad formatting to read my advance reader copy, and there were a few times I decided to quit and read my copy when it arrived. But I kept picking it back up and then, I finished it! Because I worried that I had missed things, I requested an advance listener copy and listened to it after I finished reading it. So, yeah, I liked it enough to put up with headaches and inconveniences.
Enchanting the Fae Queen is one of my favorite kinds of enemies to lovers – they’ve been opponents for years and have come to respect each other (and maybe even love each other). Gerard de Moireul is the Golden Beacon, the no nonsense High General of the Serafin Empire. He is tightly laced, virtuous, and correct. Queen Lorelei is a half fae, half human Queen of Villainy – flighty, immodest, and unserious. She particularly loves to torment Gerard. When she kidnaps him into the fae realm, surely it’s just another example of Lorelei being a menace.
Dangerous things are afoot in the Empire and the Emperor is moving from regular terrible to genocidally terrible. Lorelei needs Gerard on her side and he won’t listen to her under normal circumstances. She kidnaps him with the intention of competing together in a fae contest of strength and wit, thus building a bond of trust between them. I realizes that kidnapping someone to build a bond of trust sounds insane, and that’s because it is. It’s also the only option that Lorelei sees. Matters become more complicated when, instead of her mother, the head of the competition is Oberon, a fae prince who once tried to slip Lorelei a fae roofie. He hates her and will now do his best to make sure she dies in the competition.
At this point, I should let readers know that there are a number of things in the book that could be triggering. Lorelei’s father tried to murder her when she was a child and then she was essentially rejected by her mother. Two previous lovers have also attempted to murder her. Gerard was made to watch the public execution of his parents for treason when he was 8. Lorelei doesn’t trust easily, for good reason, and Gerard has worked hard to undo the damage to his family’s honor. Lorelei needs him on the side of the Queens of Villainy if they hope to protect wild fae and magical creatures, and their own countries from being eradicated by the Empire. There are a lot of elements that reflect current events, so this could be the best thing to read right now (good wins over evil). or too much (the evil is very familiar). Use your best judgement for what works for you.
I very much enjoyed Jennifer Jill Araya’s narration. I really appreciated the different voices she used for Lorelei – her public sparkle, private seriousness, and inner fears.
I’m looking forward to the next book, Melting the Ice Queen. It’s enemies to lovers, but also second chance and marriage of convenience. I’m very interested to see how Clothilde is redeemed from her role in her brother’s schemes.
I received this as an advance reader copy and an advance listener copy from Tor Publishing, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
