Review // A Queen of Broken Realms by Brynne Weaver

So many times I've tried to imagine we weren't meant to be enemies, even when we were. I wanted to forget we were a vampire and a demon, hunter and prey. I wished we were just a man and a woman, trying to come to terms with one another. Probably ourselves too. Now, suddenly, I realize how precious this moment is. Because I'm not trying. That's all we are.

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A Queen of Broken Realms by Brynne Weaver

The Shadow Realm #3
Release - October 27, 2022
Genre - Paranormal Romance / enemies-to-lovers
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5 / several descriptive scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Length - 379 pages
Publisher - Indie

Other books in the series: A Shadow in the Reaping * A Heart of Bitter Poison

Lu promised herself she would never go back to the Shadow Realm, but the fates have other plans. Ashen has forfeited his rule to crown Lu the Queen of the Reapers, and now she has the power to remake the realm of the demons, to bring back merciful justice to the land where souls suffer in eternal servitude and violence lurks in the twilight fog. But not everyone is on board with the new change in leadership to a vampire queen, and following the torture and trauma of her last visit to the Shadow Realm, Lu isn’t thrilled about it either.

Trouble is, there are worse creatures than the dangerous demons whose flaming eyes follow her through their realm of darkness.

Lu’s enemies aren’t just lurking in the shadows. They’re beating down her door.

When Lu and Ashen are attacked in the Shadow Realm, the secret goals of the Nephilim begin to surface like creatures of the deep, dragging everyone’s ancient history with them as they rise. And if the Nephilim succeed, they will seize the ultimate power to rebuild the realms to their own design. Their reach and might is greater than anyone anticipated. And unless Lu can conquer not only her own fears but the distrust that immortals hold against one another, the Nephilim will win the new war.

Secrets have sharp edges in the Shadow Realm. Love can be a lethal poison. And Lu must never forget…
No betrayal is worse than when it’s delivered by the hand of someone you love.

My Two Cents

4.5 "A few endings... and new beginnings" stars

With A Queen of Broken Realms, Brynne Weaver delivered a book full of action, chaos, blood and guts mayhem, and so much love. Seriously, love was virtually overflowing from the pages of this book!

Who knew that such a perilous story would also make me laugh? I laughed so freaking much and at the most inappropriate times, but that was the kind of humor these characters had. Finding joy amidst the darkness. Having a smile through the madness. And I loved every moment that this demon full of rage and his lover found happiness.

"Your touch reminds me that there are better things than rage." - Ashen

In the end, everyone is where they are meant to be. Honestly, I don't want to give you much more than that because this is a story you need to experience yourself. And while I'm still left in confusion as to why Ashen gave up his kingdom (yes, yes... I get it... he's broken and feels undeserving... but STILL c'mon!!), my bafflement means nothing. Because this story was amazing. Each person that mattered was incredible. Ashen is still my favorite, but Lu is right up there because she was beautifully vulnerable in this book. So real!

So yeah, start from book one and read on. The discovery of The Shadow Realm does not disappoint!

Quick Peek

I take off my clothes, setting them on a dry patch of stone when I'm done. Ashen places his on mine and I nearly choke on my own spit.
"What?" he asks, confusion thick in his voice as I cough. It's impossible to look hot in a bikini when you hack up a lung, by the way, but I still make a valiant effort.
"It's just...I mean...I've seen you naked—"
"Obviously—" "And I've seen you with tailored suits, and armor, and then those snakeskin wings, I mean those are really f*cking hot. Seriously. I like the wings. But why," I say, my voice almost pained as I wave my hand in his direction and try not to cough. "Why is it you look even hotter in swim trunks? Your audacity knows no bounds, Ashen."
And oh my God, no sooner do the words leave my mouth than the demon blushes. Impossibly, he's even sexier than he was just two seconds ago. I cross my arms beneath my boobs and cock a hip and give him a chastising arch of my brow like this is a problem. Frankly, it is. Those low-slung black swim trunks with their subtle diamond pattern in thin lines of charcoal gray, the expanse of muscle and radiant skin and lines upon lines of black tattoos, they are a problem. A big problem. Because I'm about ready to jump him in what will shortly be a public location full of off-season human tourists looking to make the most of this instagrammable location.

The Author

Brynne is a fan of velociraptors, the Alien movies (well, most of them), red wine, and wild adventures.

She can relate nearly anything you say to a line from the movie Hot Fuzz. She has been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince her husband that they should acquire a pet mink to add to their menagerie of animals (what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!).

Brynne has been everything from an archaeologist to a waitress, a deep-sea core analyst to an advertising account executive. For the last several years, she has been working in the field of neuroscience clinical research. Brynne has been writing since childhood and has published a non-fiction book under her real name, but she won’t tell you what it is unless you provide a live, fully trained velociraptor.

When not busy at her day job or writing, Brynne can be found working with her husband and their son on their family farm in Nova Scotia, Canada, or enjoying her other passions which include riding horses, reading, and spending time with family and friends around a raclette and a bottle of wine.

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