Only the most ruthless fae can win. And I have nothing to lose.I am Caelynn of the Shadow Court, a countess banished to the human realm for killing a fae prince a decade ago. But when I get the chance to fight for a full pardon—I’ll face every regret and lost hope to earn it.Including Rev.For the first time in years I am allowed the chance to enter the world of wild magic to compete in this … years I am allowed the chance to enter the world of wild magic to compete in this ruthless completion of blood and magic. But the hardest part of the trials won’t be the shadow-wyverns or mind twisting mazes. It’ll be facing those I’ve betrayed.
Especially Rev—the sexy Luminescent Court prince who hates me.
Only one of us can win, and Rev will do everything in his power to make sure I don’t make it out of the trials alive.
Because ten years ago, I killed his brother.
And Reveln never forgets.
TRIAL OF THORNS is the first book in the WICKED FAE series featuring strong women, fated mates, and a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance. Readers of C.N. Crawford’s Dark King, Audrey Grey’s Evermore Academy and Linsey Hall’s Trial by Fae will love this book!
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Simply Brilliant….
by and1515
This is the very first book by Stacey Trombley what a brilliant writer simply amazing.
This story is so captivating it pulls you in and demands your full attention.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
a captivating and unique fae world you dont wana miss!
I LOVED IT!!! i couldn’t stop reading!. This story is fast pace and straight to the point! It keeps you entertained and i couldn’t flip the pages fast enough! This trials were hardcore! but even more when they put you against your own fated mate. Enemies to lovers? think again! this is not your usual chemistry, in fact is sad… you feel the emotions and heartbreak from this two… it hurts. . they both get moments where you can almost feel the “the what ifs”.. but is complicated . Rightfully so! so much lies, secrets, and family drama! Must read!! Everyone and everything is against them. Cant wait to see whats next!#slowburnromance#forbidden#itscomplicated
Book received from the author and I am reviewing it voluntarily and objectively.
Fantasy and fairies meet The Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Nothing felt like a cheap copy though. The Trials consist of four competitions to determine a final winner, and it has that last-man-standing, killing opponents concept.
This is an amazing book and when looking for an enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, fantasy adventure romance, this is the book for you. And at this point, I use the word romance super loosely, since technically there is none. Just the shadowing of it in the next books. From page 1 I was hooked in. The author did a wonderful job of setting the scene. She did not dally too much on the details, but I also did not feel as if I was tossed into the fae world without any details of the courts or scenery.
I really enjoyed Caelynn because she didn’t start out as some goody two-shoes. She’s living in the mortal realm, pretending to be human, after being banished from the fae realm for murdering a crown prince. Pretty dark. She’s super strong and powerful. She didn’t need Rev’s help and often did the saving herself. She’s a very good female character and very refreshing.
I was full-on fascinated with Rev. He’s morally obligated to kill Cae for what she did to his brother. He hates her, but the more he sees and knows her, the more he understands her and decides to hate her less. It becomes the issue of killing her or forgiving her. While he is physically strong, in no way did he take over Cae’s abilities so I really appreciated the equality and even swapping of typical gender roles at times.
The side characters are all strong contenders as well. Whether ally or foe, their stories were very interesting and the author did not spend all energy on the main characters only. She created characters I enjoyed having as part of the story.
It’s wonderfully written. Again, I was not bored at any point and devoured this in two sittings. Well edited, well written…just well everything.
What a fantastic story full of magic, mystery and adventure. Caelynn may have a dark past but boy is she the strong and fiesty heroine that you’ll fall in love with. The trials had me on the edge of my seat and I loved the dynamic of the characters, wondering who will betray who and who will win. I loved that the betrayal of what caelynn was the focus and that the author didn’t have the characters immediately change their thoughts and feelings on the matter. Rev is an enigma and I really enjoyed his thought processes and journey of discovery. What a magical ride! Fae courts, brutal trials and magic at every turn made this book a fascinating read that I devoured. The changing povs was fantastic and the story flowed beautifully throughout. Amazing and I can’t wait to see where this author takes us in the next installment of cae and rev!
So many things grabbed my attention when I came across Trial of Thorns! Its gorgeous and intriguing cover, the promise of a strong independent heroine, the seductive if unsettling appeal of the mythical Fair Folk combining great allure with vicious treachery, and my personal catnip, a tantalizingly strong enmity between the two main characters. It was just too much to resist, I’m only human after all.
I went in with high expectations, but somehow still underestimated how gripping this story was going to be. I was entranced from the get-go and completely sucked into the darkness and magic of the realm Caelynn and Reveln call home.
It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful story full of unexpected twists and danger coming at the characters from all sides. It’s genuinely thrilling to try and figure out who’s a friend and who’s a foe, with changing alliances, unlikely friendships, and hidden truths being revealed that change some of the characters’ long-held beliefs in painful ways.
Caelynn is an amazing character, enigmatic and strong, but tormented by the secrets in her past. Her pain is her strength, which is part of what makes her such an unusual heroine, and even though she hides in shadows and darkness, she is the true light of this story. I love her so much. I love her confidence and belief in her own abilities. She is so determined and such a savior at heart, even though she sees herself as a villain. I can’t wait to see more of her.
Rev is an intriguing character as well and he hasn’t exactly had an easy life either, despite his privileged upbringing, as he lost his brother and grew up with a neglectful, even hostile father. He does have some superiority issues at first, and his moral code gets slightly skewed by his single-minded pursuit of rank, power and revenge. However, he grows throughout the story and is quite lovable in his own right.
The secondary characters, both good and bad, are very well-written and bring added mystery, nuance and emotion to the story. I especially loved Tyadin and Raven. Hope to see more of them in the coming books in this brilliant new series.
The world-building is imaginative, detailed and original. I loved the history and politics of all the courts and people striving for power, or even just acceptance or survival, while also trying to figure out how to protect their entire world from a destructive, seemingly unstoppable scourge.
Recommend. Recommend. Recommend. Recommend…. You get the picture 😉
**I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.**
The book lived up to each and every promise the author made in the blurb. The whole plot involving the competition for the champion and savior of the realm was intriguing. It gave off strong Hunger Games vibes at certain points.
The hatred for the protagonist, Caelynn is written so well, it was almost palpable. There were some very beautiful elements put in the story, especially in the maze part of the trials.
I did get into a mixup of names, curiously. For a long time, I kept reading Reveln as Revelyn in my mind. I only caught myself when at one point, I paid closer attention and picked that missing y, still thinking of it as a typo, I went back to check all other instances of the name, lol. The same happened with Schorchedlands as well, I kept missing the extra h in the name, calling it Scorchedlands throughout. A very trivial detail, still I wanted to put it here as it was a part of my reading journey.
There are a couple of typos here and there, but not so many that will distract from the story. The names of different kingdoms mentioned made it confusing at the beginning, but I got used to them after a while.
Final thoughts, it’s the perfect enemies to lovers story against the backdrop of a kill-whom-you-can competition. Caelynn is a real bad-ass character, I loved how she came up at the top, despite all the odds that were stacked against her.
What an incredible read by this author. This is the first book I have read by her and I was not disappointed.
This author is incredibly talented and has an amazing ability to create a wonderful real feeling world and amazing characters that make you feel they are so relatable.
The main character is strong willed and incredibly well written with great growth.
The storyline keeps you hooked and you do not want to put this book down.
I look forward to reading more of this series.
Exciting start to this series!
Caelynn carries so much with her…she is an incredibly strong main protagonist (she is one of two POV that we get the story from) with such a complicated history. We know there’s more to the story of behind the male she murdered and we get details throughout this book, but I think there’s even more to come. Without spoilers, i really like how ST sculpted Caelynn’s relationship with Raven…it’s so deep and complicated and I think their revelations towards each other (spoken or unspoken) felt true.
Now Rev, he has quite the journey. His POV is written in a distinctly different voice than Caelynn’s and we can really see how his attitudes shift throughout the story as he gains more and more information about his brother’s murder and how he sees the true colors of those around him.
The secondary characters were interesting and complex and the world was well-built. The action felt right and those who advanced in the trials seemed to have the strength and fortitude (and alliances) to get that far.
Looking forward to more books in this series!
I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.