“A high fantasy ride that will have readers on the edge of their seats cheering for the underdogs! Don’t miss this Fae fantasy read, this one will have your heart racing, and left screaming for more.” Amelia Hutchins, #1 International bestselling author of the Fae Chronicles and Nine Realms“If you love Sarah J Maas, or fae fantasy worlds in general, you NEED to read this book!” ~ … SincerelyABibliophile
EVERYTHING I knew died when the end of the world came. People dropped dead, and electricity vanished. Those who remained alive were never the same again.
While on the run with my boyfriend Tor across the desolate continent, the worst humanity had left attacked. Torn from the one I love, I boldly raced for help at the last human safe zone.
Only it’s not humans I found, but the Fae.
Now I have one month to rescue my boyfriend and release a savior princess from an onyx tomb or lose them both forever. A seemingly impossible task when Rune, a cursed, pain in the ass Fae warrior is assigned to train me. He’s hellbent on freeing his beloved princess and I’m desperate to save Tor. But no matter how hard we snarl during training; we can’t stay away from each other.
I thought the worst thing that could happen to me was the apocalypse.
I was wrong.
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GUYS! We got a dystopian high fantasy from Jessica Florence and it was EVERYTHING. I went into early labor a few weeks ago and the entire time I was being stuck and monitored I devoured this book. If a book is good enough to distract you from contractions then you KNOW it is AMAZING.
Plus, Jessica wrote it.
This book had some huge twists that I absolutely didn’t see coming and a few that I had crossed my fingers about.
I loved the characters for the very tart and the promise of the book as so unique and interesting that you get sucked into it form the start. I wanted to know what was coming next and was compelled to keep reading.
The character sin this book are complex and not at all what you see coming. I loved the banter between some of them and the angsty animosity between others left you absolute giddy while reading.
This book ended with the perfect bang and now I cannot wait for book two. This is not a Cliffy ending, HOWEVER it leaves you salivating for the next read!
5 stars
A quick and lively fairy tale about love, curses, fae, and saving the world with a twist.
I enjoyed this book! I mean any book with Fae I will read and I really enjoyed this one!
In this book, we follow Sapphira who lives in a post apocalyptic world and is traveling with her friend Tor to a safe haven for humans. When she reaches this safe haven, turns out, it’s run by the Fae. And it also turns out she is the one to release their princess from her onyx tomb to save everyone. No pressure right?! So, she begins training with Rune to free the princess, and learns a lot about the Fae, and begins to question a lot the things she learns about the Fae and the entombed princess.
I really liked Sapphira! My favorite thing about her is when she reaches the safe haven, instead of freaking out about her situation, she is curious and wants to know more and asks questions. I just cannot stand when characters tend to just freak out and panic first before getting more info first, just creates unnecessary drama in my opinion. Plus, I just think, if I were in Sapphira’s position, I would be curious as to why Tor dragged me here and told me it was run by humans, not Fae. I would want to know more about the Fae, not panic. So, I appreciate her as a character, she just accepted where she ended up and her current situation, and even her new role as the savior for the Fae to release the entombed princess. She of course did not just sit there and accept her situation(well I mean she basically did), but she also took the time to learn more about the Fae, the princess, and her new role.
I also enjoyed the story. I mean from the beginning, you’re just wondering where we are going, why is Sapphira so special, why is she the one to save the princess. I mean we are in the same position as Sapphira, we do not have the full picture, and I loved that! Not knowing what is going on, and learning at the same pace as Sapphira. There is also a potential love triangle, which I’m not a fan of, but I did love the romance in this one, and can hardly wait to continue this series to read more about Sapphira and the romance that is developing! Thank you to the author for a free digital copy to read!
I found this book via bookstagram and was gifted a copy by the author. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.
I first saw this book on bookstagram and fell in love with the cover. It is so beautiful and I am an instant cover buyer! I love anything with Fae and when I saw this dystopian novel had a Fae twist I was in! I sat down to read this book and found myself consumed with the story. This follow Sapphira who is traveling with Tor to find a safe place to live within this dystopian society. They are being hunted by Dravens who are a vicious people that sell survivors into slavery. Tor is captured and Sapphira makes it to the red door colony that Tor told her to run too and begs for help. She finds several friends within the colony and makes a plan to rescue Tor.
I absolutely loved this book and the Fae aspect that Jessica Florence put into the story. It is very original and I devoured every page. Sapphire is a strong female lead and I LOVED Rune! I was able to figure out one of the main questions about 1/2 way through the book but I loved how the author finished this book. This story does leave a lot of questions to be answered but lucky for me, this series is finished. I give this book 4 1/2 stars but rounded up since BookBub doesn’t have 1/2 star ratings.
This is dystopian fantasy it’s mostly plot-driven there is romance but it’s very much a background thing rather than the focus.
There’s also a slight love triangle which is a hated trope of mine here it didn’t actually bother me.
Draman’s are the humans that now rule their weaker counterparts, They kill torture sell breed and eat those they take.
Sapphira is journeying with her protector Tor to a supposed safe place on this journey he regales her with stories of a magical Fae world.
Nearing their destination they are set upon outnumbered Tor is captured whilst Sapphira escapes.
Reaching this safe place she discovers that Tor’s stories are in fact true and also that he hasn’t been entirely honest with her.
Now faced with not only rescuing Tor but freeing the Onyx princess from her eternal slumber Sapphira must prepare herself for the battle ahead.
With the help of her new friends, this is the start of a journey that will reveal many truths.
This is told from Sapphira’s POV and the story is very tame in regards to the heat, Not a criticism just an observation.
I did find this a little slow in places and I did guess the twist quite early on.
I thought this was imaginative and had some good ideas but I did find some of the characters especially Rune and Tor slightly underdeveloped I don’t think we got to know them beyond the superficial here so I’m hoping book two expands on this, This also had a very tell not show style of narration.
One thing that did bother me though was that Sapphira hardly reacted at all to the fact that Tor had been withholding crucial information from her, you’d think she’d have a bit more of a reaction than she did or at least some anger but it didn’t even blip on her radar which I found strange.
I’m going to give the next book a try I’m still invested enough at the moment to continue on as I did enjoy certain aspects of this story it just also had some weaknesses for me as well.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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Thank you to the author, Jessica Florence, for providing a copy of A Secret in Onyx (Onyx Trilogy book one). I have reviewed honestly.
A Secret in Onyx features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
YA fantasy
Fae
Love triangle
Enemies to lovers
Dystopian
Faerie realms
Kickass FMC
My overall rating for A Secret in Onyx is…
5 Stars!
I need a moment to process this book. I was utterly unprepared for the beauty and unpredictability the author wove into this tale. That ending… wow! Sapphira was a brave yet tender soul and felt relatable and lovable. The brothers caught up in the love triangle were perfect, but I’m always a sucker for the brooding male with a dark past. The world building was top notch. First you get the brutal, post apocalyptic “our world” and then you get the wonderous realm of fae. The journey Florence took me on was incredible and impossible; I’m so eager to continue this series.
This book has been on my TBR list forever and another book always came along that I wanted to read first. That was incredibly stupid of me. The only solace is that now I will get to start book two right away and not have to wait for it’s release.
The story begins with Sapphire and her boyfriend Tor making their way across what was once the US in search of the promise of safety in a human colony. They they are running and hiding from the Dramen, the most ruthless and uncivilized of the remaining humans. When Sapphire makes it to safety, it isn’t with the humans that she finds refuge, but with the Fae, beings she thought only existed in fairytales. But everything is not as it seems, a mystery needs to be solved along with saving a Prince and releasing the trapped Princess who will bring back the lost magic.
This is a slow burn post apocalyptic romance with a Fae twist. There are no steamy scenes in this book, but there is a lot of buildup for what is to come. The storyline is so original and there are so many hidden tidbits when you look back. I am so mad at myself for not starting this series sooner and I can’t wait to read book 2. Absolutely 5/5 stars for this book!
I’m not normally a fantasy reader, Sure, I have read a few (The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning…OMG), and there have been fae as side characters or mentions in other paranormal books that I have read, but it’s not my regular read. However, I kept seeing Jessica Florence on social media saying this was her favorite book she has written. Since I was looking for something different to get me out of this pandemic book funk, I bought A Secret in Onyx by Jessica Florence .
The reason why I am telling you my history is so you know that I don’t really have any comparison. I don’t quite know what is “standard” in fae world and what is Jessica’s unique spin. Either way, I loved it. The creativity it takes to set up a whole new world really showcased this author’s imagination and I am glad I got to witness it.
A Secret in Onyx takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans are few and far between and there are these evil Dramens (I think they’re like zombies) that try to kill any human they see. Sapphira and her boyfriend Tor are traveling across the country to a place that Tor knows is safe, but they get separated and Sapphira finds it on her own. To her surprise, the stories Tor had been telling her about the Fae realm weren’t just fairytales, this was the safe place Tor was bringing her to. When the world fell, so did their magic, but Sapphira just may be the one to help them get it back.
I love Jessica’s take on the fae. The fae “cores” are from nature and each fae has personalities that reflect that. Royalty has gem cores. The librarian (I loved her) has an owl core.
We have a little love quadrangle (though one of them is locked away in onyx), so it’s more of a triangle. There was a lot of dangerous excitement, some romance, and even dragons in this story and it kept me glued to the pages. A Secret in Onyx is book #1 in a trilogy and I can’t wait to read more!
Likes:
•A unique combination of post-apocalyptic and fantasy.
•Kept me glued to the pages needing to figure out what was going on.
•It was sexy and exciting.
•Jessica’s fae “cores”.
•I really loved all the characters.
•It took me out of my ‘pandemic head’ and brought me to another realm for a little while.
•Left me dying for the next.
Dislikes:
•I feel like I needed a lot more information on what actually happened to the world and what exactly the Dramens are and how they get like that.
•I kind of forgot about Tor because I didn’t get a chance to get attached to him.
•There was a bit too much telling but not showing.
The Down and Dirty:
I am hooked. Jessica Florence has me totally engrossed in a post-apocalyptic fantasy—two genres that I rarely read, and I am waiting like crazy for the next. Reading this was kind of a reset for me and it got me back into picking up books again. Her unique take on the fae was creative, and there were so many other creatures in both the fae and human realm that I look forward to reading more about. If you like fantasy or dystopian romance you should absolutely try A Secret in Onyx. Hell, even if they aren’t your regular genres, now is a great time to change!
Rating: 4 Stars 3.5 Heat