Book: Between Tides & Thunder by Leena Kazak
Reviewed by Karina's Magical Reads
Rating: 5/5
The way this book had my jaw hit the floor not once but at least 3 times. This is a standalone Romantasy that packs an emotional punch in all the best ways. This story follows a Princess Mayah who has lived under her Father's emotional distant rule since losing her mother at an early age. She's been a dutiful daughter and princess. In order to make peace and help the future of her Kingdom, her father arranges a marriage between his daughter and Faramir, the Crowned Prince of a neighboring kingdom. This kingdom is responsible for her mother's de@th. When the time approaches for her to be sent to meet her betrothal, she is surprised when instead of the Crowned Prince to retrieve her, it's his brother, Zevayr (Zev). He's a very handsome but also the terrifying Dark Commander of their guard. He wastes no time taking the Princess and they begin their journey to her new future husband and Kingdom. Along the way, so many things happen that change the trajectory of what Mayah thought would happen. What happens after this point is jaw dropping and the plots twist so many more times and you never see it coming.
The amount of times I said "What the H*ll just happened!" was more than I could count at this point. Leena does an amazing job keeping the plot going and the story maintaining fluidity! The world building was great and the characters were all very relatable. You not only have a light enemies to lovers but you get the most delicious "One Blanket / One Cloak" situation that will make your heart seize. The banter and the yearning and burn between these characters is done so well. I loved this story and the characters and would definitely recommend it to all of my Romantasy readers. The few things I would say I missed was the ending felt a tad rushed and a few moments that could have been expanded to really dive into characters and their history would have been awesome. However, this is a Standalone and we had to get to that HEA, so I am happy with the ending and I adored this book very much. I was sad to see it end, but the strength of the relationship between the MMC and FMC was one of my favorite parts aside from the really unique magic systems and abilities the characters had in this story.
Thank you to the author, Leena Kazak and the IRIS Influencer Society for this ARC opportunity. This is my own and honest review.