What Lies Beyond the Veil

Oh, where do I even start with this one? It was good, definitely! Was it great? Not entirely, but I've heard the rest of the series is even better, so I can't wait to dive into the next book! I usually shy away from series, especially those with more than three books. This one has six, so it's quite a commitment for me to take it on. But with all the rave reviews, I just had to give it a shot. Series often stretch things out that could be more concise, but I'm ready for the journey!

As always: DISCLAIMER, this may contain spoilers and/or talks of sexual content, etc.

This book can probably be summed up in a sentence or two. Estrella chooses to be sacrificed rather than stay with the man who groomed her since childhood, and honestly, who could blame her? As they attempt to sacrifice her, the veil around their city collapses, she then becomes marked as a mate to a Fae. The rest of the story follows their travels, with Estrella believing her travel companion/boyfriend is a human who's just SUPER obsessed with her. Some parts make you think, "Really? No one can be that clueless." Especially when she finds a picture of the Fae, God of Death, looking just like him, and she doesn't even question it—just goes, "hmm, that's nice." Then, she gets angry at him in the end when she realizes he's actually a Fae and her mate. I get it, sometimes stories need these twists, but there were so many moments that weren't exactly red flags, as many of us would like a guy that possessive (within reason), but she overlooks a lot of obvious signs, which detracts from the story a bit.

There are also a lot of cringe moments, which are tough for me to get through—they make me want to cringe myself!

Overall, the storyline is fairly decent, a unique tale but somewhat predictable, which is a bit of a letdown. As I mentioned in my last review, this is another reason I highly recommended the other author's debut novel, because despite this book being written by a seasoned, popular author, I predicted about 85% of what was going to happen. Is it really exciting if it just feels like everything else you've read? Well, I'm about to start book 2, and I'm hopeful for a more thrilling storyline!