Summary:
Still struggling to process the terrors forced upon her in the light alfar Kingdom of Urial, Genevieve Autumn arrives in the sadistic Kingdom of Doonak where her father, King Drezmore, has named her as his heir. Half-human, half alfar, Gen must train in the ways of politics, war, and diplomacy to stay ahead of those who find her unworthy to sit on the dark throne.
Finally reunited with her sister Lilian, Gen finds an unexpected home in the mountainous walls of the dark court, and an unexpected friend in Ambassador Erendrial Lyklor. As her fondness for Eren grows, Gen tries to reconcile her feelings for the male she has come to know with his cruel and conniving reputation.
Meanwhile, terrifying creatures continue to pour from portals around her new kingdom. Gen and Eren will need all their power, skill, and influence to face the growing threat. Surrounded by enemies both known and unknown, Gen must determine friend from foe while fighting an internal battle between her head and her still-tender heart.
My Thoughts:
Awakening the Dark flame started off strong right where we left off from book 1, and I was so pumped to read this book! I felt like the first book was setting us up for this book to be a doozy. Ambassador Lyklor/Eren is my favorite character, followed closely by Otar hands down! I love both of them, and I love watching Gen grow throughout this book.
She has her FMC arc of healing, general butt kicking, training, political games, and learning how to hold her own, and I loved every minute of it.
You know what else I loved? the banter and tension between her and Eren/Ambassador Lyklor. SO GOOD!! I loved the banter so much, it was the highlight of my read for sure. And when they finally gave into the feelings? So steamy.
Eren’s rising up the ranks story was heartbreaking, and I really felt for him. I liked what Gen did for him, but it sort of came out of nowhere, and I didn’t feel like there was enough lead up for it. Now I get that she has all her trauma and that makes sense, but it did give me pause when I thought about it.
I will say I got confused several times from the flip flopping of Eren vs Erendrial versus Ambassador Lyklor versus Lyklor… He has like 10 names and it was confusing to realize they were all him. Once I got that down, it was all good.
The ending bit and what happened with Gen wasn’t my favorite, but I really look forward to the next book! I can’t wait to see how they come together and what happens!
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Awakening the Dark Flame, book 2 of the Dark Throne series by Jessica Ann Disciacca, and I am super excited to read book 3 – I can’t wait for it to come!
Read-worthy.
See what other books I think are worthy of a re-read here.
Read my review of book 1, Awakening the Dark Throne, here!
