**This review contains spoilers. To read what I think without being spoiled, head over to my Goodreads review here!**
What it's about:
Cecile dreams of becoming a famous and adored singer, like her mother before her. Her dreams are dashed, however, when she is kidnapped and sold to the ruling family of the underground troll kingdom of Trollus. Here, she is expected to marry the prince in order to break the curse set upon the city centuries ago by a witch. When things don't go as planned, her life changes forever and as she discovers more about the trolls she has been forced to live with, it turns out that first impressions aren't always the way they seem.
What I thought:
I really liked this! It was imaginative and unique and I liked the relationships that developed throughout the story and how the ending set up for the next book.
The relationship building in this story was super adorable. Tristan and Cecile go from hating each other to pretending to hate each other to just totally being in love (just how I like it, haha). The development of their relationship is one of my favorite parts of the book. At first, they're both disappointed and not super willing to take part in the Bonding (but I'm glad they did, because count me in on a romance with a psychic-style link. I love that shizz), but eventually they realize that they're on the same side and not only learn to work together but LIKE each other! And it's adorable.
Yes, this gif is supposed to be here. CONNECTIONS, GET IT? BECAUSE THEY'RE BONDED?
I also really loved the relationships between the main characters and Marc and the twins--they made for some pretty amusing and heartwarming scenes in an otherwise pretty dreary plot.
The worldbuilding was super cool! The whole reason why the trolls are stuck under the mountain is really interesting and unique and had a very cool sort of old fashioned fairy tale vibe. I love a good witch's curse story and this one is done well. I like that though we know the jist of what happened, we aren't quite privy to the whole story yet (though I'm sure it comes out in the next few books). The only thing I didn't enjoy was that the trolls lived in a place called....Trollus. Like...really? That's the best you could come up with?
The story itself moved a bit slowly for me at first, and some of Cecile's reactions to things seemed a little off to me (like...I would have been WAY more ticked off if Luc had kidnapped me and sold me to trolls. Like...who died and made him her owner? Gross.), but once the story got going it was really engrossing and I didn't want to put it down. This book could have been a one-sitting read for me if I had read it on a day off. You know a book has you in its clutches when you can't stop thinking about it, even when you're not reading!
The ending of the story twisted my heart and gave me a lot of feels. I worried about Tristan then Cecile then Tristan again, and I was just a little compact ball of emotions. I didn't enjoy it, but I accepted that it sets up the second book beautifully. I can't wait to see what happens next in this story, but I've heard that it gets really depressing, so I'm not sure I'll pick the next book up right away, if at all.
Rating: 4.25 stars
