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 Court of Blood and Bindings< by Lisette Marshall. You have been warned: new addiction ahead!

Court of Blood and Bindings

In 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: five out of five gemstones.

Age Category: New Adult

Representation:  LGBTQ+ supporting characters, PTSD

Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)

Warnings for parental abuse & neglect, and torture.

Do you want to discover more?

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

Amazon.nl: Paperback edition

Amazon.nl: eBook edition

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Court of Blood and Bindings is the first novel in the Fae Isles Series. Part two, Lord of Gold and Glory, is set to be published in the coming months (update: my review can now be found here). If you cannot wait, however, there’s also a prequel available, called Heart of Silk and Shadows. This novel is the tale of a human servant at the Crimson Court who finds herself forced to steal from the Fae…If you subscribe to the author’s newsletter via her bio on Instagram, you’ll get this eBook for free.

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 marvelous? 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 first four books 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!

Recap: Court of Blood and Binding

In the following section, you’ll find a recap that you can use to prepare for the next book when it is published. 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.