Nineteen-year-old Karis has been blind since birth, but for some reason, she can see through the wall of smoke that separates the human lands from those of the Faeries that rule in grand courts on the other side. Most of the time, the only thing she can see on the other side of the wall is the swipe of a tail or the trailing of a bony hand along the surface. But one day, a handsome faerie appears … appears and sweeps her away into his world—a world that is being ravaged by an evil so dark and deadly, she fears she may never see her home again.
Loftin is a bounty hunter and he has been searching for Karis since she went missing from the Court of Ash. He needs to return her and collect the ransom. But the longer they travel together and the more he teaches her about what she is now able to see, the more difficult he finds the thought of letting her go. A fiery passion ignites between them, but with a monster tracking their every move, they must find a way to reach the Court of Ash before it kills them both.
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When they say this book is perfect for fans of Holly Black, I will have to agree! This is one of my all time favorite book by Casey Bond and her writing is superbly done.
World building
Character Development
It is wildly different from the When Wishes Bleed series but Casey’s flair for creative storytelling is the same.
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In this fairytale retelling we have Karis (who is this story’s Snow White), who was found blind by a group of brothers who later adopted her. The whole village thought her strange and treated her like utter trash. But Karis was as beautiful as she was different never paid heed to the villages ways.
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Loftin is a bounty hunter sent by the Evil Queen to find Karis. No hunter has been able to find her but Loftin is not like other bounty hunters. Once he finds her, he realizes she has strong powers, she is beautiful and she had a strong will to find her friends who have gone through the fog. As they travel to “find her friends” he grows fond of her and second guesses what he is to do.
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This retelling is magical. I do adore every bit of the book and find myself seeking the book out to reread it again and again. 5 stars and a tip of the Nerd Girl hat!
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*This book is done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official Book Blog.
Everything about this story was captivating. There was never a dull moment. So many unexpected twists and turns. Not to mention, the narrator rocked it!
Absolutely fabulous—a romance fantasy with a spin of the hunter seeking a most uncommon quarry, the adventures they encounter and the surprises at the end.
I’d like to thank Lady Amber Tours for sending me an e-arc of this book also for contacting me because I read the other two books, (Riches To Rags and Savage Beauty) which I am so glad for because I almost missed the sign up for this and that would have been a shame because this book was absolutely amazing! I have no faults with this book so we might as well call this a gush.
To start with the writing was amazing, it is very easy to read, her writing is very magical it immerses you in the story. You get lost in the story and it is honestly perfect. I love the plot it was so different and it brought a whole new spin on the Snow White fairytale that we all know and love. It also brings Fae in and I always like when Casey L. Bond plays around with Fae because I haven’t read many good fae books, I mean I’ve read Sarah J Maas and that’s about it! So I love reading more fae books!
The plot twists in this book I did not see coming, just when I thought I had everything figured out, bam something else would happen that would just throw me. I loved not being able to tell where this story was going, it kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a brilliant plot. I loved it.
Karis was a very interesting character and I did love her, although she believes she is blind at the start of the novel she soon realises she isn’t and was glamoured. How she navigates when she doesn’t have her sight it is amazing, I always love reading about characters who do not have sight because I find it so interesting. Like I’m so intrigued how they know things, I’m amazed by it. Anyway, she is really funny and although at times I thought she was too trusting it turns out she knew she what she was doing. I also loved that despite the fact she found out about Loftin she was still willing to protect him from the vampires. I loved Karis and her kindness. She was so curious and extremely perceptive for someone who could not see. I loved how she transformed from a shy, meek girl to a powerful, fierce woman. She was truly the heart and soul of the story, and of the fae world, and had that “Snow White” effect on everything she touched, enchanting everyone around her.
Loftin if we were ever meant to see him as an enemy character turned good, it didn’t work because from the moment we were in his point of view it didn’t feel like that at all. Unless we were meant to see him as always good then it worked because I did. Despite him having to do the bounty work from of the Queen it still didn’t feel like he was evil and he wasn’t. I loved his character that after getting to know her he couldn’t lead her back to the Queen, and was trying to protect her from the moment he saw her. I loved the protectiveness. It was cute. Also the fact he was willing to fight anything that came their way.
I loved Iric we don’t see much of him this book because he’s missing but the parts we got to see him. I loved his friendship with Karis and that he from the moment he met her just took her on as a friend and allowed her to live with him. It was so great to see them as friends and how protective of her he was due to her blindness. He was such a great character.
I loved everything about this novel and it did not disappoint at all! I can’t wait to read more of her fairytale retellings!
She was blind and was abandoned. She’d been called so many names, quite hurtful names, like Changeling, Monster. Karis lived with her adoptive family, Iric and his brothers, in the human world of Ironton. A world that was cruel and poor and suffering.
But when she was given the gift of sight, Karis was able to see beyond the smokey walls and entered the world of Faery. There she met a Seelie bounty hunter named Loftin, who vowed to protect her against banshees and every monstrous creatures that crossed their paths. And to secretly deliver her to the wicked Queen who ruled the Faery world. The Queen who would strip her off her powers and who just happened to be her own mother.
Cheers to another one-of-a-kind and unique retelling only Casey L. Bond could deliver! Words can’t express how much enamored and ecstatic I am upon reading Glamour of Midnight. It was so deliciously and fantastically great, I thought I’d never like Snow White ever again. But Ms. Bond changed all this, and now I can’t stop thinking about Karis and Loftin and even the Evil Queem Nemian!
Now I think I’m suffering from a book hangover – you know – when a book is so amazingly fantastic that you’re going to be spending the next few days gushing over the characters and thinking about the possible what ifs and what nots. And as a result, you won’t be able to pick up yet another book to read because, hangover.
As always, Casey Bond mesmerizes me with her superb storytelling and exemplary writing. She filled my head with wondrous characters and that contrasting world of human and faery was legit marvelous. I loved how the story was filled with magic and excitement right from the beginning. Everybody needs to pick this one up, it’s nothing short of amazing.
This novel is Casey Bond’s third fairytale retelling, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that they just keep getting better and better! My favorite part of all of her stories – which certainly includes this one – is how many layers there are to the story, the characters, and the intricate worlds she builds.
It’s important to note that these are all standalone stories, so I implore you to pick this one up if your favorite reads are about fae. She builds a sometimes beautiful, sometimes sad, but always perfectly detailed world of each court (summer, winter, fall and spring), along with where humans live, and all the lands and magical (and often dangerous) creatures that live in each. It’s also fascinating to read that even when humans don’t really know what they THINK they know about the faerie outside their (literal) bubble, and think all fae are out to kill them, instead of coming together, they still have their own caste system – which I truly believe would happen, because humans seldom learn.
Then there is Karis. Thinking that she is a worthless human her entire life, especially because she’s blind. Imagine the shock when one day the veil is literally lifted, and her whole world changes. She is such an amazing, strong, fantastic character. Although she always has men – first, one that is like a brother, then Loftin once her eyes are open – by her side to help her, they are her guides and her equals. She never let them completely take care of her. Even blind, she insisted on being as independent and helpful as possible. Even at the absolute scariest moments, she never cowered. She always fought.
Loftin was the perfect man to come into Karis’ life at the moment he did. Sure, he had been looking for her the entire time, but she certainly didn’t know that, and it was clear right away that the reason he was looking for her changed in his eyes the moment that he met her. The chemistry between them was subtle but definitely noticeable from the beginning, and they grew to be quite a powerful duo.
The big question was if Karis could trust Loftin’s true intentions, and if she could trust the intentions of those she continued to meet along the way, while she searched for someone close to her heart in a dangerous and very foreign land. Bond did an incredible job at keeping you guessing. Every time you thought she could trust someone, you immediately questioned that thought. With so much division between fae and humans alike, how could she possible fit into this world, and could they all coexist in any capacity? Well…Bond kept you guessing there too. Right up until the very end. I couldn’t put this book down, and did very little sleeping – and it was so worth it! Not only is this book a great read, but it is definitely worthy of a reread. Just like her last. I’m incredibly impressed with the depth of worlds and characters, and can’t wait to see what fairytale retelling she has for us next.
Found blind and wandering in the forest as a young child, 19 year old Karis has spent her entire life dependent on others. While she does her best to help out the family who has taken her in, she’s always been an outcast in their village. When her adoptive brother Iric takes it upon himself to travel into the outside world to the Fae controlled forests and lands looking for the smoke they believe keeps their village safe from the monsters that live beyond their magical border, Karis knows she will follow him to bring him back to safety, since she she has the gift of Fae sight once outside the protective barriers of her village.
The bounty hunter Loftin has been commissioned by the Queen of the Ash Court to find and bring her the daughter who escaped her grasp as a young child. Loftin knows that if he is successful, the Princess will be destroyed, but he truly has no choice as those who fail the Queen are put to death. When she literally appears in front of him, he can’t believe his luck. However, the more time he spends with her, the more he realizes he can never just turn her over to her mother, no matter what his personal cost.
As their journey through the Fae courts continues, Loftin and Karis face deadly threats and enemies at every turn. As their passions for one another continue to grow, Loftin must also find a way to tell Karis the truth about who they both are and the mission he was sent on before the trust growing between them is destroyed forever and the wicked queen is left to rule and destroy what little is left of Faery.
Based very loosely on Snow White, Glamour of Midnight is a thrilling and compelling coming of age journey through a world one can only dream of. Casey L Bond has created a fabulous and unique cast of characters that must battle their demons both literally and figuratively.
I truly loved watching Karis grow and blossom on her journey of self discovery. She became bolder and more courageous with every move she made. Her cunning and intelligence was delightful, as she went from someone most people ignored to the person who truly could save them all. I really loved the bonds she formed with Iric and the rest of her adopted brothers that helped form the person she would become.
Loftin’s character was also well written. You could tell he was a man who had lost much in his life already and was really trying to do the right thing by his people. I enjoyed watching his own personal journey as he had to fight his own morals and beliefs a to what the right thing really was.
Together, they made a formidable pair and watching them grow as both individuals and a couple was the highlight of this fairy tale. With twists and turns throughout the plot, magical and unbelievable battles with magical creatures, a forbidden romance and an evil queen, Glamour of Midnight is truly a fantastic tale. 5 stars
Such a great concept, i would have never taken this story in the direction which casey does, but it worked and turned out amazing. This is a must read whether you like fairytale retellings or not. Such a fantastic job
this was actually really good. I can see this book being a trilogy at least and kinda wish Karis story and journey didnt end with this one story
I really enjoyed this author’s unusual retelling of Snow White (minus the dwarves), and I loved the narration of the audiobook. The plot and characters draw you in right from the beginning, plus pair that with the excellent narration and you are kept engrossed right to the end. It takes you on an adventure that has evil Fae, monsters, secrets, betrayal, romance and magic. Karis is a great character, she faces adversity with determination, kindness and strength. There are lots of surprises, twists and action in this story and Loftin adds a nice touch of hotness and romance to it. The narrator really brought the book to life, she gave the characters individual personalities and did both male and females voices equally well. This is a fast passed, enjoyable fairytale retelling that was a pleasure to listen to.