They promised me that fairy tales couldn’t be real.And then a man made of illusion and dark magic came to take me away.My foster mother insisted I’d grow out of my overactive imagination. When I saw goblins dancing in the shadows on my bedroom walls, doctors armed with all the medication known to man tried their best to force the visions away. They always swore I was one more pill from being … one more pill from being normal.
And then my dreams became a waking nightmare.
The Erlking is cruel and obsessed. He wants to play a game, with the victor claiming the only prize that matters: my body and soul. I’ll have one chance to defeat him and escape this twisted dream.
Otherwise, I’ll be lost forever to his dark and seductive fantasy.
The modern retelling of a fairy tale that never existed, Stolen by Shadows is a paranormal reverse harem romance for lovers of dream-like fantasy with a darker twist. Contains adult themes and may be triggering to some readers. This is the first book in a planned trilogy.
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This book was not like any other fantasy book I have ever read. I can’t wait to see where the rest of this series goes. If you love Fantasy and/or reverse harem books this series is for you.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Do dreams come true…
by and1515
Sitting quietly on his throne he lingered in despair for his kingdom succumbing to
gloom and darkness.His rage was the only thing left that sustained him now.
He couldn’t recall how many crystal spheres he destroyed. It was her face that distressed him the most she’d been the end of all that was his and it wrecked him that she was the only who could resurrect his kingdom.
She didn’t have a clue what would be waiting for her but he did.
Different and unusual were kind words to describe just how weird she was most people didn’t know which was better for me. I remembered very little from my early years I even survived being in foster care.
Just say the lines please, Vaughn’s optimism had been instrumental in chosing to produce this play.
The tale itself was alluring and harrowing.
She hoped he’d take this more serious than he was.
Chloe kindly reminded her about taking her meds and that there she had prescriptions to pick up before she ran out. Of course her foster mother would call she’d been her court appointed guardian while she’d been in and out of those places.
My meds seemed to steal my ability to remember anything while she slumbered.
Chloe her roommate kept reading even when she’d asked her not to but suddenly they were bathed in darkness.
Its was so bright when the lights returned and there was no one else there with her
The words she heard.
He was perfect an so cruel as he spoke her name she closed her eyes none of this was real it couldn’t be real.
Taunting her that’s what he was doing he was simply a figment of my imagination.
Magic didn’t exsist there was no magic.
But in the end she was probably making the worse mistake of her life and she only had so many hours to win or she’d be trapped there forever.
The next thing she knew she was on a roof top he was out of his mind there was no way someone could survive.
All she could see was a maze no labyrinth one of the stones had changed colors so that meant there were only twelve hours left but where was the entrance.
Eveything happens for a reason even if you don’t understand it and she was trying desperately to make sense of being in this world with out going insane. After all she wasn’t Dorothy and this most definitely wasn’t Kansas.
Tempus fugit.
Izzy considered herself lucky indeed.
But honestly she hadn’t been prepared to face him again nor was Izzy ready for the truth she’d didn’t understand.
However in the end the final choice was all her’s.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’ve got to say I’ve never read another book like this one. The imagination that has gone into this book is fascinating. I felt like I had fallen down the rabbit hole, got lost in the maze and wandered around the labyrinth all at the same time.
Everyone things that Izzy is insane, including herself and that she is hanging on to her ‘normal’ life by the skin of her teeth and a huge amount of medication, but she is surprisingly rational about it all. Izzy as a character was fascinating, she’s struggling to maintain her college life whilst also living with another alternative reality. She is a recluse but ‘owns’ her own quirkiness. Her journey through the book shows how strong she can be even whilst dealing with her mental illness.
I feel that her relationship with the Erlking has only scratched the surface and I hope book 2 delves into it more, along with her past history with Tamlin and Puck, theres a whole story there just waiting to be told.
The writing is excellent and the descriptions really put you into the story. If you love films like Labyrinth then you will love this story.
*Spoiler Alert*
Think of a Dark Adult version of the film Labyrinth where David Bowie is a sexual sadist and Jennifer Connelly has been having the kind of naughty dreams that dont feature muppets then you get an idea about this book. Isabella (FMC) has been dreaming of Erlking – Killian Everdawn for years but everyone shes told has thought shes delusional. Until Erlking forces her hand and kidnaps her friends. In order to get back Vaughn & Chloe she has to make it through the Labyrinth within a time limit. If she doesnt she and her friends will have to stay in faerie forever. Meeting Puck (yum but too flirty for his own good) and Tamlin along the way who agree to help her. That starts an action-packed joyride of journey with plenty of manipulation added from Erlking. Just abso-bloody-lutely fantastic!! It was so good i read it from start to finish in one afternoon. Blimey that ending though?? It was knockout. Dying for book 2 now