NerdyBirdie

This book had the same problems as The Kiss of Deception and The Heart of Betrayal.

I gave it a 2 star rating considering the things I liked and didn’t like. So… I’ll say why the things I didn’t like had a bigger impact on me.

Inconsistent characterization. You’ll see A LOT of this throughout The Beauty of Darkness! The first 25% was great, and then it all went downhill when Tamlin Rafe chooses to lock up Feyre Lia because he wants to protect her. Deja vu, anyone? Also, Lia who was someone very compassionate and ready to listen to everyone’s voice in the first two books of this series suddenly (along with Rafe) turns into mega-bit—meanie!

“I never scorned my duty, Lia. I came to Morrighan to marry you. I sacrificed everything for you. I put my own kingdom at risk—for you.”

The bloody furrow inside me tore wider. What he said was true. He had risked everything. “Is that my debt to you, Rafe? Do I have to give up all that I am and everything I believe in to pay you back? Is that really who you want me to be?”

LIKE, WHERE THE EFF IS THIS GIRL GETTING THIS FROM THAT’S NOT EVEN WHAT WAS HAPPENING, QUIT SLIPPING! Lia would say that one of the characters would do something and then she’d do that exact same thing!

Angsty love that wasn’t really necessary. Ugh. I really didn’t care for the romance in this one. I was looking forward to how Lia & Co. would outsmart the odds against them, but really, when Lia and her love interest weren’t fighting, she was just sauntering around going all like: “This is what I’m meant for!” I mean, the romance wasn’t even the main drive for this book, so I see no sin in just having a nice romance where the characters actually supported one another.

Anti-climactic ending. Yeah, I was waiting for the final showdown. But, don’t worry! Even though our characters are completely ridiculous at communication, they talk their way out of completely ridiculous situations consistently!

Too much deja vu moments to A Court of Mist and Fury. What the eff?! That moment when Tamlin Rafe locked up Feyre Lia made me so mad! And OH MY GOD, Kaden is so creative! He named a baby Rhys! (-.-)

Kind of disappointing. I was invested in a good third for this book before I was laughing my head off because this was just too funny.