Ever since reading the A Court of Thorns and Roses Series, I have been a fan of Fae romances (check out my spoiler free review of the series). However, I have seldom encountered one that I love as much as I loved the Fae Isles by Lisette Marshall. You have been warned: new addiction ahead!

Attention:  I will be reviewing all books of the series in this post (gradually), but everything apart from the first book will be hidden so that you will not see any spoilers for the rest of the series (unless you want to, of course).

Court of Blood and Bindings

In book 1, Court of Blood and Bindings, Emelin stays behind at home when the entire village celebrates their hard-earned victory over the Fae who had been collecting high tribute payments for decennia. By keeping her at home, her father hopes to prevent anyone noticing her forbidden magic. Unfortunately, not attending the party doesn’t prevent her from being spotted by nobody less than the deadliest Fae murderer, Creon. Unexpectedly, he decides to spare her life and abducts her to the most dangerous place for any human being: the Crimson Court at the heart of the Fae Isles. Emelin soon finds out that there’s a lot more to Creon than she would have ever suspected. He’s maybe not so loyal to the ruler of the Fae as everyone seems to think…and he requires Emelin’s help to overthrow her.

Fae romance – more please!

Goodness, do I love spicy Fae romance. Like…a lot <3

The first sentence of the book immediately jumped out at me, and the book didn’t let me go ever since:

“Wine, mathematics, and distant shouting were a terrible combination.

And then when Creon took Em from her burning village, I knew I was potentially reading a new obsession:

I hadn’t been forgotten at all. Quite the opposite–I had been remembered.

The reader is soon introduced to a magic system based on colours, which is something that I personally had never encountered before. I found it fascinating. The magic wielders use different colours of objects around them to create different kinds of magic. Very cool idea indeed.

Court of Blood and Bindings is an adventure tale with lots of romantic tension (quite some spice too), snarky characters and witty banter, and great characters overall. Em was a bit impulsive (as many fantasy heroines tend to be), but her fearlessness and personality really spoke to me. Creon and his relationship with Em were two of the main reasons for my evaluation of this book. A morally grey character with a traumatic past, an improbably romance, great chemistry, spicy scenes, loved it all! I also loved the way in which he – more than a bit awkwardly – tried to build up Em’s confidence and deal with her difficult memories. I really loved the moment when he told her that there was “nothing small about her”.

Furthermore, there were quite some funny scenes that I really appreciated:

I knew my place. It was located somewhere among the ranks of the perpetually stupid and the unreasonably stubborn.

There are quite some famous tropes in this novel, like enemies-to-lovers, there’s-only-one-bed, and fake relationship.

This book pushed all the right buttons for me, so without a doubt: four out of five gemstones.

Recap book 1

In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book. Of course, this is by definition full of spoilers, so it is hidden behind a spoiler tag. Enter at your own risk!

Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)

World: : Emelin/Em. 20. She’s half Fae, half human and is an unbound mage.

Creon. Also known as The Silent Death. 368. Fae prince with batlike wings who has lost his voice when he was bound by his mother. His father was a demon.

The Mother. 1000. Leader of the Fae. She’s a combination of two powerful Fae sisters. She has bound all magic users so that they cannot attack her.

Lyn. Phoenix who looks like a seven-year-old girl. She’s part of the Alliance.

Tared. An Alf who is also part of the Alliance.

Ophion. Fae male and lover of the Mother.

Thysandra. Fae female, also known as the Demonbane. Decades ago, she fell in love with Anaxia, the demon she was supposed to kill and has been pining over her ever since

Main characters: 130 years ago, humans lost the Last Battle against the Fae and they have been paying them tribute ever since. The story starts in Cathra, a human island that has recently installed an iron ward and believes itself to be freed of the Fae dominion. The rest of the story takes place on the Fae Isles, and more precisely, in and around the Crimson Court of the Mother.

Plot: At the beginning of the story, Emelin accidently shows her magic to Creon, the Fae murderer who has been sent to wipe out Cathra after they installed an iron ward. He decides to spare the humans and takes Em with him to the Fae Isles, where he introduces her to his mother (the Fae queen known as the Mother) as a human who “amuses him”. He reveals to Emelin that he is trying to overthrow his mother, and in return for helping Em to find her real parents, she agrees to help him fight against the queen. He needs her assistance for this as he is bound by his mother and he needs someone with unbound magic. They pretend to be in a sexual relationship, but they soon find themselves really falling for each other. Em also befriends Lyn and Tared, who are members of the Alliance (a secret rebellion). They have a history with Creon and ask her not to reveal their presence to him. Creon believes that the key to his mother’s magic is her throne, so he and Em try to map the labyrinth underneath the palace to get under the throne to destroy it from there. When Lyn and Tared reveal to Em that Creon might very well have been using his demon magic to manipulate her into falling in love with him, Creon and Em fight, and Em recklessly goes off into the Labyrinth alone. She’s arrested and – at Creon’s request – blames Creon, who is then arrested and tortured for being a traitor. Em manages to blind the Mother and rescue Creon, and at the end of the novel, they leave together with Lyn and Tared.

Book 0: Heart of Silk & Shadows

Review coming soon!

Book 2: Lord of Gold and Glory

Summary & Evaluation. (click here, contains spoilers)

Summary:

Creon and Em have successfully fled the Crimson Court and are now at the Underground, the secret hideout of the Alliance. However, not everyone (or anyone at all, really) is happy to have Creon in their midst, so their new location isn’t much safer than their previous one. While Creon heals, Em is taught how to fight in preparation of the upcoming war with the Mother. But being surrounded by enemies isn’t great if you possess demonic abilities to sense emotions, and Creon’s control over his powers is slipping. Because of this, they decide that he will temporarily leave the Underground while Em remains to continue her training. It soon becomes clear, however, that Creon is in danger so Em and her friends decide to travel to the Golden Court, his last known location.

An Amazing Sequel:

I was so happy when I was selected as an ARC reader for book two! I loved this book just as much as I loved part one.

When starting this book, I really, really hoped that it would live up to the expectations created by book one. I was so very glad to discover that it did!

In book two, the reader gets to learn more about the colour-based magic system and the history of the world in which the story is set. In the next book, I hope we get to know even more about demon powers and about Creon’s father. I think there’s quite an interesting story there that is still (partially) untold.

I love the attention that is given to the mental health of both main characters, their traumatic pasts and the way they cope in the present. Quotations like the following simply broke my heart:

“Don’t be visible. Don’t be difficult. Don’t be you.”

I loved to see how Creon and Em’s relationship developed and I was pleasantly surprised that the author gave them the necessary time to get to know each other better. And the smutty scenes? Oh my, those were VERY good <3 I truly ship these two: the way in which they understand each other, can be themselves around each other while playing pretend with everyone else is *chef’s kiss* "Em. He closed his eyes. I’m not your bloody audience. I stared at him. Don’t make me that. Don’t make me someone you have to be perfect for. The gods know I’m imperfect enough, and you still seem to tolerate me for reasons I’ll never be able to grasp. There’s no need to tip the scales further to my disadvantage."

Usually, I’m not the biggest fan of the type of plot line that develops once the characters arrive at the Golden Court (I am being very careful about spoilers here, not easy). However, it was done in such a believable way that was at once funny, infuriating, and emotional that I really like it this time. I am so curious to see this unfold further in the next book. You’ll see what I mean once you get to that part of the story 😉

Last but not least, there was one scene in particular that made me laugh so hard, it’s ridiculous. It’s probably one of those “you had to be there moments”, but I’ll try and explain. To give you some context: I work at a bank and protocols are my everyday life, so I couldn’t help but laugh out loud thanks to the following lines:

“‘Well,’ Tared said, taking a chair uninvited. ‘Do your protocols have anything to say about this situation, Lord Protector?’ ‘In protocol terminology,’ Agenor said stiffly, ‘this would be called a problem.’”

Adventure, love, found families, great magic and greater spice, what more can a girl want? Four out of five gemstones again!

Recap book 2

Want a recap before starting the next part? (click here, contains spoilers)

World: : See recap of book 1

Main characters: Main characters: see recap of book 1

New characters: Various family members of Tared and other members of the Alliance, none of which are fans of Creon.

Agenor. 1254. Fae lord and overseer of the Golden Court. He turns out to be Em’s father. He’s known for always following protocol, but, in secret, he has been working against the Mother for ages.

Plot: The story starts with Em, Creon, Tared, and Lyn arriving at the Underground, the secret hideout of the Alliance. Creon is in a bad shape and requires urgent medical attention, but while he is cared for it is clear that nobody wants him there. Creon has never learned how to shield, so those emotions make him depressed and he starts to isolate himself. When Em learns that he used to be in love with Lyn, they finally have an honest conversation and they move past their differences. Not being able to shield himself, however, takes such a high toll on Creon that he loses control over his powers. They decide that he will leave temporarily, while Em continues her combat training with Tared to prepare for the upcoming war. Creon is soon captured, however, and Em, Lyn, and Tared travel to his last known location: The Golden Court. This court is run by Lord Agenor, who explains that he is on their side. It soon becomes clear that he’s Em’s father and he explains that he believes her mother Allie (whom he loved very much) is still alive although she disappeared right after having had “a stillbirth”. They agree to work together and kill all the Fae at court who are still loyal to the Mother. Em encounters a female Fae who is trying to flee and decides to show mercy. Unfortunately, she betrays them to the Mother, who sends Ophion and an army. During the battle that follows, Creon unleashes his demon magic, saving Em. The Alliance wins and they manage to capture Ophion. Em makes a bargain with him: his life in exchange for honest answers to some questions. This way, she learns that bindings can be undone by the Mother, and decides that she will find a way to give Creon’s voice back. At the end of the story, Creon and Em proclaim their love for one another to each other, and Em slowly starts to build a relationship with her new-found father.

Book 3: Ruins of Sea & Souls

Review coming soon!

Book 4: Queens of Mist and Madness

Review coming soon!

Book 4,5: In Love and War

Review coming soon!

Book 5: With Wing and Claw

Review coming soon!

Notes on the Fae Isles Series

Age Category: New Adult

Representation: LGBTQ+ supporting characters, PTSD

Trigger warnings (click here, contains spoilers)

Book 1 & 2: Warnings for parental abuse & neglect, and torture.

Do you want to discover more?

If my review inspired you to pick up the first book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores:

Amazon.nl: Paperback Edition

Similar to this

Lisette Marshall has also written The Queen and the Assassin Series, which starts off with Iron. This novel is described on Goodreads as a “steamy assassin fantasy romance” with enemies-to-lovers and grumpy/sunshine tropes. Doesn’t this sound marvellous? I’ll definitely also read this one.

Looking for more Fae romance? I’m assuming you’ve already read the A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas. If not, what are you waiting for? This series is well worth the hype. You can find my spoiler-free review of the series here.

Did you already read all the famous ones? Then I would love to recommend you a lesser known series which I also adored: The Rowan Blood Octology by Kellen Graves. Book one, Prince of the Sorrows, tells the tale of a human changeling who is desperately trying to stay in the Faerie realm. In order to do so, he strikes a deal with a Faerie prince, but that deal is in no way without danger. LGBTQ+ Fae romance with lots of adventure and attention for non-binary characters: what’s not to love? Check out my review here!