This book has it all, I swear. Our enemy, The Wolf, seems like the *worst* kind of monster at first, at least, compared to the priests and priestesses of Sorcha's religion. He kills, he maims, he murders, he conquers, all to be the monster the prince wants him to be. Sorcha sees him as villainous, yet handsome, from the very start. The problem? He very very quickly becomes tender toward her, and his men notice it as soon as it happens.
This puts our captive, Sorcha, in even more danger. After all, she's seen as a witch, a temptress, a heretic, and is in a blood cult! The Wolf's men don't want to stand for it, because their bloodthirsty leader has never shown tenderness, has never hesitated to kill, and has never protected someone above them.
Sorcha is constantly reminding herself that The Wolf is the bad guy. That he's a monster. But more and more she realizes that he's a monster due to his situation, just as she is just a vessel from her own.
They find unspoken camaraderie in being who people expect them to be, and, in turn, quietly fall in love with one another.

"Because I can't go on without you."

Their unspoken dreams of being with each other are perilous and most unlikely, so speaking them is useless. But, as readers, we know that the more words that are spoken, the more spice we get.

"There is no shame in loving a monster," the voice said. "We all love monsters."

And boy oh boy do we get some hot and heated physical encounters. They go along with soft and sensual, caring and tender encounters, as well. It's a great balance between hot and heavy v. tender and loving.

"he wanted her to scream his name and swear no one else would ever touch her like this again."

"He would have given her everything. Anything she asked. Burn the world. Kill the prince. Race across the continent until they reached the ocean and then keep going."

Although our MMC, Sorcha's perceived enemy, is, by all accounts, not a great guy, it's obvious that the story has much much much *worse* guys. The antagonists are different men, with different motives and personalities. Their differences make for a nice duo of evil who despise both Sorcha and Adrian. The dangers in this world are heavy, unpredictable, and volatile.

"He wanted everything she was, all she would be, in his bed and inside his soul."

I would say this is an epic fantasy, with multiple storyline facets, potential for huge character development (more than was already displayed in this book!), and it is a definite page-turner. The slow-burn is top-notch, the spice may need a glass of milk to go with it, the action is never lacking, and the characters each have more depth to them than meets the eye.

"I loved you in the ruins of a city. I loved you beneath a burning sky filled with stars. I love you now when the world is ending."

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.