So I purchased this book due to a Facebook Ad (which I never do) and the ad promoted this book to fans of Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout.
I am a pretty big fan of these authors, but I have become pretty jaded to advertisements that compare their book to these authors' works. Most of the time the book isn't even in the same league as these authors.
I will admit I was pleasantly surprised with "What Lies Beyond the Veil".
There were some things I very much enjoyed about the book, and there were things I didn't care for or thought could have been elaborated on. However, I finished the book in less than 24 hours and I am getting ready to pre-order the next one. So there you go.
I give this book 4 stars.
This review contains minor spoilers.
"What Lies Beyond the Veil" is Fantasy Romance that is a little darker and spicier than the average book in this genre.
Basically, this is a story about two species, fae and human, who fought a devastating war hundreds of years ago that led to the creation of "the veil" to keep the two species apart and keep the peace (Nod to Sarah J. Maas here). Our MC is an 18 year old girl named Estrella who lives near the veil and works as a harvester to help support her disabled mother and her brother. Ever since her father's death, Estrella has caught the eye of the nearby Lord who rules over their land and has become to the focus of his unwanted attentions.
The Lord has plans for Estrella. Plans that Estrella wants no part of. When Estrella is faced with an impossible choice, death or a life of suffering with the Lord, Estrella realizes she will do anything to be free, even embrace death.
However, Estrella's whole world changes in a instant when a powerful force shatters the veil, and all of the beasts and evil creatures of the fae world start spilling into the human one. Magic floods the land and the people. Many humans suddenly find that they have been "Fae Marked". The Fae Mark indicates that the human bearing the mark belongs to a fae as their destined mate, and they will be hunted by both the fae trying to claim them and the regular humans who want to destroy them before the Fae Marked can be taken back to Fae lands.
Desperate to escape her fate once her own Fae Mark appears, Estrella flees with the help of her brother in attempt to outrun those who want to possess her or destroy her.
While on the run, Estrella meets another Fae Marked man named Caelum who wants to join them and help Estrella outrun her fate. Estrella feels a connection to Caelum, to this human man who has found himself in a similar position as her own. The fact that he is extremely handsome and genuinely cares about Estrella's well-being only strengthens Estrella's pull to him.
When tragedy strikes, Estrella and Caelum have to rely on each other as they search for the resistance that is rumored to give protection to humans like them, the Fae Marked.
Passions ignite, relationships blossom, and revelations are made about about the true history of the fae and human war that could change everything that Estrella has always been taught to be true about her world and her destiny.
I loved the fast paced nature of this book. Like I said, I devoured it in less than 24 hours. The pacing was successfully set up throughout the story so I felt I had to keep reading. I had to find out what happened next. Also, Estrella is an engaging, strong female character who wants independence from the men who have constantly sought to control her life. I am looking forward to seeing how her character continues to develop as the series progresses.
I love Caelum. I love how he tries to take care of Estrella without trying to limit or control all that she is. He does have some possessive tendencies that Estrella is quick to shut down, but he truly cares for her. I melted every time he called Estrella, "my star".
The world building in this book is intriguing as well. I still have a lot of questions about the world, but I am hoping many of these will be addressed in the next book.
Be sure to read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book before you start if you have any issues with stories that deal with abuse or contain graphic sexual content. I enjoy stories with some spice, but this one may have been a little too graphic for me. Voyeurism is not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to my romance novels.
The only other problem I had with the book was the cliffhanger. The big reveal at the end needed at least another chapter to flesh out how the characters were going to react to this new situation and what the next steps would be. There were too many questions left unanswered. I don't mind books that leave room for surprises in the next installment, but I feel like this one just needed a little more.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this book and will be continuing on with the series. Book 2 comes out in August of 2022!
