Ensnared by the Shadow King (Night's Curse) Paperback – July 30, 2022

Love the way this author writes. She builds a story and you can't help but get lost in it. There's depth, character growth, passion, vivid storytelling. I love that the heroine is strong, blunt, but has a core that's soft and vulnerable if you're lucky enough for her to show to to you. The male hero is strong, but open, consistent , and mature enough to break her walls down. He has a lightness that compliments her shadows. It's not dripping in sex, but the passion gives you hot vibes. I love that the lack of initial sex created a space for them to develop. Crazy banter!

I'll start by mentioning that this isn't the first book I've read by Lola Glass. I believe the title of the first book I read by her was "Forced to Be Fae" and the story while interesting was not for me (I have written a separate review for it). Because of this, I was nervous to deep dive into a new story by her but I'm glad I gave her another shot!While I found the writing to be amateur at times/ more telling through 1st person narration rather than truly experiencing it as a 1st person pov, I still found the plot of this romance fantasy to be captivating. I generally prefer more action in the novels I read but following Diora in her assimilation of freedom and unraveling the mystery of their pasts had me tearing through this story within a day.There were a few world building facts I found lacking with explanations that didnt fully fill a hole, along with the writing style that causes me to deduct a star on the rating. The plot line though and lead in to the next book was perfect though! I usually read the standalone story and don't have much desire to read another in the same series but in the case of these 3 kings and the survivor women who've adopted their magical abilities, I'm truly interested to see what happens to each individually and how it'll affect the divided kingdom as a whole. Well done, Lola Glass!

I am loving Lola’s style of writing with a series being different stories that are interwoven set in the same world and all with a lot HEA

It felt sorta rushed, but the writing was good so it sorta balanced it. I’m never a fan of characters who just accept their circumstances. The author tried to explain some of it, and it kind of worked, but I can’t see anyone who is hell bent on killing just going “meh” that quickly.

If a book isnt ineresting enough for me to want to binge read the whole thing in one go...I dont want it. I spent my day reading this book and doing nothing else. A day well spent. I only leave reveiws if I enjoy something. A little gesture to show my gratitude towards the author for being a compotent storyteller. Ill sacrifice a minuite of my time to write this reveiw when I could be reading the second book in this series already. So in my oppinion, this book is wothy of your precious time so indulge and feel comfort in the assurance that you'll most likely find this book at the very least, enjoyable. .. pardon my poor spelling and grammar, I cant summon the energy needed to care about such trifles.

I highly enjoyed this story and the beautifully balanced development of the characters (particularly her efforts to find a creative activity that fulfills her). Is it a masterwork of hyper-realism? Well, no. It’s a fantasy, after all, and cuz’ magic. It’s not stunningly profound or complex, but it’s lovely and certainly exceeded my expectations.

The way the king loves his mate without shame or entitlement to her is refreshing. So often fated mate stories toe that line or cross it completely. There are triggers warnings for SA but not as graphic as some. Definitely recommend for mature adults.

I enjoyed this story. Namir is a great character. He is different from many of the other lead male characters Lola has written. He is funny and so optimistic. Diora is a bit rougher. I don’t dislike her at all but she’s a tough character. I struggled with the believability in the details of this one. Chained since birth is a lot and it just brings around so many questions. She shouldn’t even really know what a kitchen is or how to walk really. She should tire easily as well. So, if you can set aside all that and just focus on the story as it’s presented, it’s a good story. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

The story is fast paced and very well written and the main characters are very likable and interesting. The world construction is well explained without too many details, which sometimes throws me off a little if the author spends too much time on it.However, there is basically four characters in the whole book, there was almost zero interaction with others in the whole realm besides those four characters, which was a little odd to me. But the reason I removed half star is because (stop here if you don’t want any spoilers) of the vocabulary of the FMC. I’ve nothing against the use of cuss words or slangs and definitely not sexual innuendos and jokes, but it was not credible coming from a person who was imprisoned her whole life (since she was an infant) and have had contact only with other two girls who have been in the same situation for the past 21 years. She didn’t know how to read and write or what a shampoo was but she definitely knew how to be sarcastic and make jokes and sexual innuendos. That was a little of a stretch for me. But overall a very enjoyable read.

A great storyline with nice characters and a lot of magic. I read a lot of Lola Glass’s books and haven’t come across one that didn’t capture me from page one yet. Great little read

I couldnt put this one down. I read it in a day. The storyline of diora and the shadow king is enthralling as well as the past history.

I liked this story it was a unique idea!

It had potencial, but there was so much context missing!In the end, it was all about Sex! And even that wasn‘t exciting 🤦🏻‍♀️