I purchased Bride of the Winter King with my own money, and was kindly gifted an advanced copy of Heart of the Summer Queen for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bride of the Winter King and Heart of the Summer Queen is a beautiful adult fantasy romance duology.

The story of Adara and Elaric is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but with so much more.

In BOtWK, we meet Adara, who is planning a revenge plot against the fearsome Winter King. For many years he has stolen brides from Adara’s home, including her sister. She plans to become his next bride, gain his love and trust and then destroy his empire from within.

Adara is a strong and determined heroine, with a passion for her cause, but a willingness to learn and adapt. As she infiltrates the Winter Kings realm, and learns more about our King, Elaric, she absorbs all this information and it shapes her plan.

Holly Rose’s world building and characters really draw you in, and I sped through book one, loving every side character, every twist and turn.

Our Winter King Elaric is a fascinating morally grey main character and the cliffhanger at the end made for the longest wait for book 2.

I was lucky enough to receive a free advanced eARC for Heart of the Summer Queen, and dove straight back into Holly Rose’s magical world. It picks up the day after the end of book one and I devoured all 334 pages in one sitting.

The pacing of this sequel is perfect, as is the character development. From page one we see them both grow and adapt. We learn so much more about Elaric, his life, his world and his curse.

I don’t want to spoil your reading of this duology, so let’s just say I loved book 2 even more than book one. It was the perfect conclusion to a really well written Beauty and the Beast adaptation, fresh and mysterious but still the fairytale we know and love.

I can’t wait to read whatever next she has in store!