Kyra never fails to give us fantasy romances that are dark, gritty and absolutely delicious! This book is no different, and definitely gets this series started off with a bang! Lia is a human (that's possibly not fully human), and is known as the Harbinger. She's been trained to kill mass amounts of people (or fae) with just a thought. But this girl doesn't have a mean or ruthless bone in her body, and when she decides she's had enough of being the villain's pawn, she sets his fortress on fire along with him inside and runs. Seven years later she's discovered by three fae she knew from before, but they are not going to be her saviors. Kallum, Grey and Dane all believe the vicious and horrible rumors about her, and are convinced that she's an evil murderer bent on destroying everyone and everything. They force her to return to the fortress with them, but they're keeping a very big secret from her. On their journey Kallum and Grey slowly begin to realize that everything that they have been led to believe may not be true. But Dane is blinded by revenge and anger. And her greatest enemy she believed to be dead is more alive than ever, and won't rest until he has her in his clutches again.

This book was so good, I had a hard time putting it down once I started. I love Lia. She might be my favorite FMC of Kyra's so far. This girl is kind down to her bones! I love that she has the power to literally kill everyone around her, especially the hateful, disgusting creatures around, but she chooses not use her power. She believes she deserves all of the horrible things being done to her, because of what Varrick made her do. The guys, as usual for Kyra's books, are definitely morally charcoal. It takes a little while for Kallum and Grey to grow on me, but I have a feeling they're going to have it out for Dane in the next installment. I cannot wait for the moment when Dane realizes he's been wrong all along (cue the evil laugh). This book does end on a huge cliffhanger so be prepared to have your heart ripped out. But it's definitely worth it!

4 ⭐️

My brain is trying to figure out if I like this or not.

Edit after finishing the duet:

I went into this with the understanding that it is a Dark Fantasy romance. It’s definitely that. I’m not typically one to embrace the darker side of romance. Personal traumas and all that. But I love a good gradient and fantasy is my jam so I figured I would give it a shot. It’s important, if you are not a dark romance connoisseur, that you continue to remind yourself that this is in fact, Dark. If you do that, then it’s not horrible. It is however, underwhelming. The first book has a lot more happening more frequently while the second book feels like you’re just waiting for things to happen. There just wasn’t enough on the second half to really round out the story for me. The ending was severely anticlimactic considering how awful the villains are supposed to be. There are also some contradictions that are a bit annoying but it’s not enough to rage quit.

Over all, it’s not a bad story if you’re reading it with the understanding of what it is. The second half fell short for me personally but, it’s a decent short read.

Very interesting world they live in. Lia is an interesting character who I would love to know more about and see what happens to her and the trio. Ends in a cliffhanger so luckily the new book is out! Good read!

I loved the Dark Brothers series and here we get more of this fascinating world in the first of a new series set in the Dark realms.. The world building here is amazing, in this harsh and unwelcoming as we travel with Thalia, our human FMC thru gates to new worlds where she’s considered no more than property. In the Dark realms humans are at the bottom of the pecking order, Thalia even with her special abilities as a Harbinger is treated like dirt and bullied.
Her three fae captors and owners she has history with, having met under commander Varrik who has nefarious plans for her. The guys treat Thalia badly, being under the impression she’s wronged them , I really feel for her as they are so cruel especially Dane and Grey, the only slightly nice one is Kallum and he has his own selfish plans for her.
Such a fantastic story that leaves us on a breath taking cliffhanger, I desperately want to know what happens next. I’m still really hating all the guys, they’ve certainly got some explaining and grovelling to do.

Pretty much this is going to be me raving about how incredible this book is and how I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

This is not happy go lucky, nor anywhere close to being tooth-achingly sweet but it is still so good. I am a very big fan of the hate to love trope and this was done seemlessly. (Though I am not conviced they’re at the love stage now, but its definitely less than hate). There was such an incredible shift in dynamics and character development through the story that left me wanting more. I had a very strong love/hate relationship with the men, but that dosen’t stop me from admitting that the spice was without a doubt incredibly spicy, like off the charts. Which is never, ever a bad thing in my eyes. I appreciated that it was not insta-love and everyone had their own agenda/timeframe (even if it’s taking some longer than others).

What made this book special was the perfect mix of well-structed world building, fantasy elements, and the delightfully dark romance. All were given equal attention and I didn’t feel like any were lacking. I am truly itching to see what happens next because.. You guessed it. Cliffhanger.

I don't understand RH authors' obsession with putting their FMCs through literal hell and then making the MMCs relentlessly hate and bully her for the dumbest fucking reasons while being absolute pieces of shit.
Are the authors okay?