Sealed with Deception

Book: Sealed with Deception by Marlee Cross

Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5

๐Ÿ…ฝ๏ธŽ๐Ÿ…พ๏ธŽ ๐Ÿ†‚๏ธŽ๐Ÿ…ฟ๏ธŽ๐Ÿ…พ๏ธŽ๐Ÿ…ธ๏ธŽ๐Ÿ…ป๏ธŽ๐Ÿ…ด๏ธŽ๐Ÿ†๏ธŽ๐Ÿ†‚๏ธŽ
๐”ป๐•–๐•ฅ๐•’๐•š๐•๐•–๐•• ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•ง๐•š๐•–๐•จ ๐• ๐•—- SEALED WITH DECEPTION by MARLEE CROSS

โ„๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜๐•ค-
๐Ÿ—ฃ(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐Ÿ“š ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5 / 5
๐ŸŒก๏ธ ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ / 5 not very explicit or long lasting but frequent
โ™Ÿ๏ธ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น- >>>โš”๏ธ<<<
๐ŸŽƒ: ๐ถ๐‘ข๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐ŸŒ‘: ๐‘€๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ฆ โš”๏ธ: แต’แต’แต’สฐสฐสฐ หขแต—แตƒแต‡แต‡สธ แต–แต‰แต’แต–หกแต‰โ€ขโ€ขโ€ข ๐Ÿ’€: ๐‘…๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ MฬถEฬถNฬถUฬถ ๐Ÿ˜ณ -๐‘– ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘‡๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘”๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘Š๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”๐‘ !! โ˜ ๏ธ: PอŸIอŸTอŸCอŸHอŸ FอŸCอŸuอŸKอŸIอŸNอŸGอŸ BอŸLอŸAอŸCอŸKอŸ!

๐•‚๐•–๐•ช ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐•—๐• :
โ€ข๐Ÿ“– 295 ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€
โ€ข๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜? 2 sittings in one day
โ€ข# MULTI ๐—ฃ๐—ข๐—ฉ
โ€ข๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ-15 Dec 2025
โ€ข๐—ฃ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜ or ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ driven? CHARACTER
โ€ข๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ & ๐—•๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ ๐—ป๐—ผ-LADY OF THE MOON TRILOGY, BK 1
โ€ข๐—”๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ on ๐—ž๐—จ? โœ…
โ€ข๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ- FAST
โ€ข๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ? ๐Ÿšซ
โ€ข๐—”๐—ป๐˜† ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...) ๐Ÿšซ
โ€ข๐— ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜€; ๐‘ณ๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’‰๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’‚๐’“๐’•๐’†๐’…, ๐‘บ๐’•๐’†๐’‚๐’Ž๐’š, ๐‘ท๐’“๐’†๐’…๐’Š๐’„๐’•๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’๐’† ๐’ƒ๐’–๐’• ๐’”๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’”๐’‡๐’š๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, ๐‘ด๐’‚๐’ˆ๐’Š๐’„๐’‚๐’, ๐‘ด๐’š๐’”๐’•๐’†๐’“๐’Š๐’๐’–๐’”, ๐‘ฏ๐’‚๐’–๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, ๐‘ญ๐’๐’“๐’†๐’ƒ๐’๐’…๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ.

โ—๐•‹โ„๐•†โ„™๐”ผ๐•Š
๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐•Š๐•–๐•”๐•ฃ๐•–๐•ฅ๐•ค & ๐”น๐•–๐•ฅ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ช๐•’๐•๐•ค
๐Ÿชฆ๐•ณ๐–”๐–—๐–—๐–”๐–— ๐•ฐ๐–‘๐–Š๐–’๐–Š๐–“๐–™๐–˜
๐Ÿซ๐ถ๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘™๐‘’๐‘”๐‘’/๐ด๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”
๐ŸŽฒ๐•Ž๐•™๐•ช โ„‚๐•™๐• ๐• ๐•ค๐•–
๐Ÿ˜Iแ‘ŽีTแ—ฉ แ’ชOแฏแ—ด
๐Ÿค๐‘‰๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘› ๐น๐‘€๐ถ
โณ๐ƒ๐š๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ
โšฐ๏ธ๐‘‰๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ 
๐Ÿง™โ€โ™€๏ธ๐”š๐”ฆ๐”ฑ๐” ๐”ฅ๐”ข๐”ฐ
๐ŸŒ•๐‘Š๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘“ ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘“๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘ 
๐Ÿ‘น๐–‰๐–Š๐–’๐–”๐–“๐–˜

๐ŸŒ ๐•Ž๐• ๐•ฃ๐•๐•• ๐•“๐•ฆ๐•š๐•๐••๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜, ๐•จ๐•ฃ๐•š๐•ฅ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•• ๐•ก๐•’๐•”๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜:
Ok so I enjoyed the book, Iโ€™d easily recommend it too but it just didnโ€™t hit the spot for me.
The plot was brilliant and fast paced, staying steady all the way through. The world building was good, not too detailed as there definitely could have been more but Iโ€™m hoping that itโ€™s being added to in the next book.

The writing style was really easy to read and follow, the author uses young language as the main characters are around 19-20 years old. They are in a gothic style uni, with classes on folklore but we donโ€™t see any others, so thereโ€™s nothing to supernatural about the place even though itโ€™s mostly vamps, wolves and witches that attend with just a select handful of humans getting in as food for the above. We donโ€™t get any learning scenes/chapters where they have to study something or were introduced to anything in particular or even just a study session over book in the library. We do get a brief scene in a cafe but the r/s is around campus, the dorms and some select outside locations.

The main plot line is that she is a witch but doesnโ€™t know it, then the romance side comes in next followed lastly by the big bad evil happenings. Speaking of romance, itโ€™s rather poorly written, ok, well, what I mean is- considering this is a why choose and thereโ€™s multiple scenes, theyโ€™re all over and done with on the same page pretty much. It was very disappointing for me as I was expecting a lot more on this front, I expected a lead up and details on things being drawn out or someone being wound upโ€ฆ but itโ€™s pretty much just- she slides onto him and says a delicious sound then sheโ€™s hungry. Yes- that simple and quick, I actually feel very sorry for her considering she was a V and now thatโ€™s all she has to remember it by. Even the why choose scene was dull and quickly done with.

Finally there is the big bad evil plot, this was a little predictable but ok, there was some angst and foreboding moments leading up to it but again nothing is drawn out or drawn upon with detail.

๐Ÿงโ€โ™‚๏ธ โ„‚๐•™๐•’๐•ฃ๐•’๐•”๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค:
I enjoyed the simplicity of the characters, no one was too deep or detailed so it was simple to follow. The boys were cocky- and had strut of the walk- I own this place kind of vibes, the FMC was a naive, stupid, typical DID styled virgรฌn who questions nothing.

๐Ÿ˜ฅ ๐•Ž๐•™๐•ช ๐•Ÿ๐•  ๐•—๐•š๐•ง๐•– ๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ค?
It just wasnโ€™t detailed enough for me, the characters were the best part but they were so shallow, the plot was interesting and I enjoyed it but I just and more world building, history and character backgrounds. Plus the spicy scenes were just awful for my taste- if you donโ€™t like explicit spice or long detailed scenes then this will be just what your looking for, far easier to read for anyone who likes spice but is still a little sensitive to some things- perfect for dipping your toe into the why choose genre!

โณ ๐•Ž๐• ๐•ฆ๐•๐•• ๐•š ๐•ฃ๐•–-๐•ฃ๐•–๐•’๐•• ๐• ๐•ฃ ๐•ฃ๐•–๐•”๐• ๐•ž๐•ž๐•–๐•Ÿ๐••?
Yes to both but, only to catch up before reading the next one and I would recommend to the right people- this has a specific audience I feel and I would put it at the top of the list for those types of fans! (New to why choose, new to fantasy or an occasional fantasy reader, and still a little new to explicit spice).

๐Ÿชง๐”ฝ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•’๐• ๐•ฅ๐•™๐• ๐•ฆ๐•˜๐•™๐•ฅ๐•ค:
If you want an easy to read book that is full of paranormal creatures and magic but still a low fantasy- then this is perfect for you! If youโ€™re after a high fantasy rich world with character development and strong subplots with memorable side characters and banter, then perhaps give this series a miss.

๐น๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘ค๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘”๐‘”๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ;

๐•‹๐•š๐•œ๐•‹๐• ๐•œ
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๐•„๐•ช โ„๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐•Ÿ๐•˜ ๐•Š๐•ช๐•ค๐•ฅ๐•–๐•ž๐•ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

๐Ÿ”ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

SPICE SCALE:
๐ŸŒถ๏ธโ€“ segsual language and a little on-page action

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธโ€“ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธโ€“ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ โ€“ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ โ€“ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.

Read full review on ARC Library