When Kairi Freemont happens upon a winged man on her parents’ Tennessee Ranch, she’s given what she’s wanted ever since the day she was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: An escape from the pain of her chronic, invisible illness. Through the power of the Aetherial Sun, Aro shows her there’s not only a place where her pain disappears but that she can live in a fairytale world of Unicorns, Fae, … Unicorns, Fae, and magic she’s always wished was real. But when Kairi discovers that meeting Aro was no accident, that she may have lived a whole past life at Aro’s side before being stolen away by the monstrous Draconians, things start to spin out of control.
Are the Draconians, a race of banished dragon riders who have long since lost their precious reptilian steeds, as monstrous as the rest of Aetheria believes? And what lies at the heart of Aro’s motivation behind sweeping Kairi off her feet? Is it simply flirtation and his desire to give her a better life, or is the truth far more malicious than she could have ever expected?
THE QUEENS OF FANTASY SAGA
BOOKS IN THIS SAGA
TRILOGY ONE- THE TIDAL KISS TRILOGY
THE KISS THAT KILLED ME
THE KISS THAT SAVED ME
THE KISS THAT CHANGED ME
TRILOGY 2- THE ASHEN TOUCH TRILOGY
THE OPAL BLADE
THE ONYX HOURGLASS
THE OBSIDIAN SHARD
THE AETHERIAL EMBRACE TRILOGY (COMING 2019)
INDIGO DUSK
VIOLET DAWN
LAVENDER STORM
BOOK 10- CONCLUDING NOVEL
QUEENS OF FANTASY
for more information on this saga and the rest of the Kristy Nicolle Infiniverse, go to www.kristynicolle.com
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An absolute must for every fantasy romance fan out there, especially those who love fae stories mixed with Greek mythology. A great multi-POV, high fantasy book from an own voice author. Detailed world-building aside, these are three-dimensional characters that you will cheer for, even when it comes to the bad ones.
A fantastic world where anything is possible, Aetheria. Why would Kairi not want to live there pain free forever? An amazing story that is so descriptive it paints pictures in the mine while being read. Mythology integrated within the story reveals how the gods have played with people, creating worlds beyond description. Reading this story left me feeling engrossed in these worlds. Kristy Nicolle is a gifted storyteller.
Indigo Dusk – a review by Rosemary Kenny
Set in the fantasy world of Aetheria, that’s peopled by Sephilim, Nephilim, Fae, Greek Gods and Dragons among others, comes Indigo Dusk, a story that’s like a hybrid love-child of Game of Thrones and the Lord of the Rings and it begins The Aetherial Embrace Trilogy.
The unexpected heroine of this table for of derring-do and a damsel in distress, is Kairi Freemont, discovered as a Moses-like baby, seemingly having been set adrift by adverse circumstance and rescued by a kind protective stranger, (or two).
How will Keiri’s fortunes fare, as she’s drawn from an urban upbringing, to a rural setting and finally to a world unlike anything she’s ever dreamed of?
Get your copy of Kristy Nicolle’s Indigo Dusk and be whisked away for an amazing (guaranteed Covid-19-free), adventure you’re not going to forget any time soon!
An escape from reality. Ask any book lover and I guarantee their greatest escape from reality is found between the pages of an amazing book. Reading can be utilized not only as an escape but also as one of the cheapest forms of therapy. For me personally I used reading as both an escape and therapy while going through chemotherapy. Anything that would distract me from what was really going on, and I know I’m not alone. So what exactly do well written books give readers who are struggling mentally, physically, and emotionally? HOPE. There’s nothing quite like reading hope between the lines of a book. You have the ability to “hang in a moment that’s halfway between a nightmare of hope that will never be fulfilled, and a fantasy whereby everything [you’ve] ever wanted is firmly within [your] grasp.” You have a main character who can relate to your struggles, especially those of us in chronic pain, and Author Kristy Nicolle shows us that it’s okay to not find our way back to the person we once were before the pain. She allows us to believe that “the imaginary could become tangible.”
Kairi Freemont is a free spirit, but even free spirits have trouble flying with a clipped wing. At 23 years old Kairi is dealing with a diagnosis that would bring most people to their knees to bargain with the devil. She chooses to deal with it one spoon at a time, knowing she doesn’t have the same 20 spoons a day most people do, more like 6 (if you are unaware about spoon theory for chronic pain, please visit here). Living with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is “wanting respite from the pain of yesterday, but [careless actions] will most likely cost today’s comfort as well.” It’s no wonder Kairi finds her freedom in well worn novels, a mental escape into a pain-free world. Thankfully Kairi has the help she needs at home with her fathers however, “it’s impossible not to feel infantilised with a condition like this because often I need help doing things that even a child could manage.” If a winged stranger showed up out of the blue and promised you a place where you felt no pain, would you take the bait and go? Kairi takes a chance to remember what it was like to live a life without hindrances, only to be shown that wishes and dreams are a two-faced bargain, and not all stories have credence.
Note: While I may not look upon some of the things I say as a spoiler, others might. It is never my intention to spoil a book for anyone.
The Covers
Cover Photo
I’m a complete sucker for a gorgeous cover. What I love about Kristy Nicolle’s covers are the diversity. All eye catching, all gorgeous colors, all relevant to what the actual story is about. Even better, once her trilogies are all complete she piles them into on big tome. Needless to say so far I have each individual book as well as their respective tomes.
Book Set-up
“Indigo Dusk” has a pretty linear story line. There’s no jumping back and forth between present and past. The only jumping the reader will be doing is from mortal to immortal world (which is rare), jumping from one continent to another in the immortal world, and one instance of a memory backstory which you will be living through vicariously and wishing there was more.
Here’s where we get down to brass tacks about what readers prefer/like and what they don’t. ALL of Kristy Nicolle’s books are heavy handed with descriptions. I know a lot of readers deem this unnecessary or even at times fluff, however I disagree vehemently. I enjoy well written descriptions of people, places, and things to view the story accurately in my head. I know not everyone does this, only a select few of people. Kristy is extremely articulate in her descriptions, a place for everything and everything in its place. Which ultimately leads me to my next topic.
Conspiracy Theories
Because I’m a sucker for detail, I occasionally start to hyper-focus on things others could have possibly missed. Whether knowingly or unbeknownst to the author, there are a certain set of clues in the beginning chapters that directed my thoughts on how the book would turn out. One was color. There is a certain two-toned color that is mentioned three times within a chapter (or two). My biggest discovery (and here could be a possible spoiler) was almost a simile for a cage. Naturally Kairi feels her diagnosis as some sort of cage, trapped. When going into Solis Castra, what would presumably be her “escape”, she is brought into the city in a covered carriage. Okay Angie, what’s the big deal? It’s a carriage. My point being, as mesmerizing as this new escape is, she’s traded one cage, for another. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side, it could be AstroTurf. One of the other main characters also has a mode of transportation mentioned, and it’s an OPEN sleigh. Again, to some this minute little detail can be overlooked, I could be labeled as taking things out of context, however I was correct in my theories.
People, Places, Things
The … enormity this book contains blows my mind. While I’m familiar with Kristy Nicolle’s other worlds (see Ashen Touch and Tidal Kiss) there are times where I do feel a bit lost on characters and places. Here in Aetheria we have 4 floating continents, all divided with species on each one. I cannot even get into all of it without giving some of the mystery away. There were a couple of times I had to go back and re-read some descriptions to make sure I was in the correct place or remembered what happened in a certain place with a certain person. If you’re used to a small group of characters in a book, get ready to have your socked knocked off!
Similar Books
While each book in it’s own respect is independent, I receive a few messages asking if I enjoyed this book, what is another book similar you think I would enjoy? In particular, two books stuck out to me while reading “Indigo Dusk”. For readers who enjoyed Lauren Kate’s “Fallen” series, and Sarah J Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, you’ll find yourself surrounded by familiar themes.
The Good
This is Book One of “The Aetherial Embrace” trilogy, however this is NOT the first book in the “Queens of Fantasy” Saga. You’ve got:
1. The Tidal Kiss Trilogy
2. The Ashen Touch Trilogy
3. The Aetherial Embrace Trilogy
While reading these trilogies out of order isn’t exactly suggested, it is doable. Personally, I started with the Ashen Touch Trilogy not aware that there was an entire trilogy before it. What fans will tell you is that reading them in order you’ll read over little easter eggs in each book, almost like an inside joke to Kristy Nicolle fans.
The descriptions are top notch. Again, I know descriptions are not for every reader, and this could possibly make someone give a book a lesser star for it. I find “Indigo Dusk” completely rich with detail.
The bad
This is just my personal opinion- some may not view this as bad. There is a MAJOR trigger chapter in here that I’m not even going to get to in here. Some may deem it as unnecessary, however traumatized I was after reading said trigger I have to disagree. Sometimes you need to have a bit of violence to see through the glamour, see through the character flaws, and ultimately have a villain to hate.
Conclusion
While this isn’t my all time favorite book from Kristy Nicolle, this was a solid start for a new series. There are no loose ends (except the obvious cliffhanger), she didn’t dump useless information at the end of the book to tie up the knots. Everything was laid out beautifully for the continuation of the series. There was only one split second where I was confused at the end of a character’s disappearance and then reappearance.
I never know what to write in a review that won’t spoil the story so I generally stick to character development, world building etc. These are things that Kristy Nicolle does very well in all her books, so I start to sound like a broken record. So with that in mind let me assure you she did an excellent job crafting all of her characters, even the bit players, so that they all have a unique voice. Her world is complex and very detailed and she masterfully lays it out for us a piece at a time so we can experience it organically.
Now that that is out of the way I would like to talk about the heroine for a minute. She has an invisible illness and I truly appreciate how we get to see her coping with this life altering condition. She has EDS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This is something that the author shares with her character. I think that helps transform this novel from great to exceptional. This also means that this must have been incredibly difficult for her to write. I appreciate all of the hard work and emotional labour she must have undertaken to write something so profoundly personal. It takes great courage to share our struggles with the world and I applaud Ms. Nicolle doing so. I would love to see more characters with diverse medical backgrounds and conditions, including invisible ones, appearing in novels. Maybe if they did we, as a society, could have an honest conversation about how difficult life is to manage for those individuals and how much they have to give of themselves just to survive.
I hope you enjoy this story as much I did (I already can’t wait for the next one). I would also like to encourage you to follow Kristy Nicolle on social media. She is very open and honest about her condition and what it is like to live with. By following her I have gained a ton of insight as to how much harder life is for people with invisible conditions.
Happy reading!
I am a huge fan of Kristy Nicolle, and I know I always say “OMG this is her best book evar! Eeeeeeee!” But Indigo Dusk is both her most magical work yet, and also her purest, most honest and real narrative I’ve read.
From the allure of magical solutions for real problems, to the fear of relying on hope again while still fumbling with the pieces of a broken life, this book was both painful to live through and beautiful to behold.
I love it.
I’m at a loss for words. This story took me places so vivid and fantastic that I can’t imagine what the inside of the author’s mind must be like. Kairi is a woman who is fighting daily to survive for one more day with an illness that breaks her in so many ways. When a handsome winged man shows up one day and tells her he’s been waiting for her, searching for her, and promises to help her escape the painful life she’s leading, she can’t help but want a taste. But everything is not what it seems, and danger follows her wherever she goes. She has choices to make, and any one of them could mean her end. Yet, there are truths that have traversed time, and when she discovers them, it will change the direction of her future and help her find her real destiny.
There were so many moments in the story that had me on the edge of my seat. There was so much love with her earthly family. But the pain was tangible, and I could see the author’s heart and life within Kairi’s. I have been addicted to these stories from the first trilogy. Each one takes us to a new plane and the colorful painting she gives us becomes more brilliant with each stroke of the pen she brushes onto the page. This was an unpredictable, heart-stopping, and mind-blowing experience. She gives us heroes and heroines we fall in love with, villains who break us, and builds worlds we never want to leave. I don’t know where she’s going to take us next, but I am looking forward to continuing the journey.
As a bookworm, I’m constantly looking for books to lose myself in and Kristy Nicolle did not disappoint. This book has such a pull right from the beginning and as a fellow chronic illness warrior, I was captivated from the start. The best part of this book is finding small parts of the author’s soul on every page and in my opinion that makes the book all the better. Kaira was the character I didn’t know I was missing from my many travels through the book world. Kristy gives you such an intricate look into the world of Aetheria that you really feel like you are right there smelling the Fae world, dancing in the fancy gowns in this fairytale-like world. Between the dragons and the Fae, I can’t tell you what my favorite part of this book is because it’s now taken place as my number 1 favorite book. If you’re looking for a magical world to completely lose yourself in Kristy Nicolle is who you need to read. Happy Reading!
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.
Kristy weaves a tale of magic. This is a beautiful story of the acceptance of oneself as well as the rediscovery of oneself. Not only is this story magical its is a bit educational as well. The main character draws with a condition called EDS which stands for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. It is great to see a character dealing with issues that are not well known. It brings them to the light to help desigmtis hidden syndromes. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean someone is not going through it.
I really don’t want to go to much into the book because I believe with all of her books you should just read them and been taken along for the ride. This is one ride that you will not want to miss.
Captivating! A beautifully crafted new series that took me to a new intriguing world full of dragons, Fae, magic and more. I really loved this new world and the unique creatures in them. The story itself pulled me in full of love, betrayal, mystery, and lies.
So compelling, so engaging!
It’s a good thing that I’ve been having a lot of reading time lately, because I have been reading both of her trilogies and this new release and I could not put any of them down. This newest book is the best one yet. I thought that about The Opal Blade, but now this has topped that. There’s just something about the writing style that has enchanted me. Well written, with well developed characters and a good plot. And Kairi, it took no time for her to capture a place in my heart. I could so feel her pain, being chronically ill myself. An invisible illness. So I loved reading her story. I can’t wait to read more!
Indigo Dusk is by far one of my favorite reads of 2020.
I’ve followed this Author since her debut novel and she just keeps getting better and better. Her attention to detail is insane. Her character and world-building are out of this world. She doesn’t just let you fall into the story. She sweeps you away in it like a ferocious hurricane!
Indigo Dusk is about a young woman named Kairi, fighting an invisible illness. She finds solace in a man whom she thinks is going to give her a happily ever after. He sweeps her away to a magical place. The vivid imagery of this fairytale-like place is just beyond amazing. The detail that went into this new world is phenomenal. I felt like I was in this heavenly sacred place. The color scheme and details were just so precise and painted the best picture in my head. It gave me all sorts of the feels. I love that by the end of the book Kairi does not let her disease run her life. She accepts her past and takes charge of the present and her future. This book left me wanting more. SO much more. It’s going to hurt waiting for the next installment. This was just such a great book! One that will stay with me for a long time. I love mythical creatures and fairytale-like stories. So, this had me hook line and sinker. I often can tell how a story is going to end and this one had me at the edge of my seat the whole time. I would highly recommend this book to others.