The side characters in this were also fantastic and the found family element leaves a smile on your face. All the characters that are close to Rory (irrespective of the realm) feel like they really cared about her. It was awesome to see how much care, compassion and thought were taken into formulating these relationships and these friendships. I just wanna HUG SAM!!!!!

As a fan of the first book in the series The Umbra King, I eagerly dived into the much-anticipated sequel, Aeternum. However, what I experienced can only be described as a literary marathon that left me feeling like I needed a nap more than a plot. There were too many side characters and a good few were irrelevant to the plot. I only really liked Sam and Lauren, but I was kind of confused by their relationship, I thought it was more serious but now Sam has a new love interest? My pants already carry something much larger.” Sam grinned as he peeled the fruit and took a large bite. After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Aurora 'Rory' Raven spends years forging herself into a ruthless vigilante killer. Pike • Knight • Clanker • Wraith • Cobalt Guard • Lunar Shard • Dust • Vampire • Bat • Solar Shard • Headless Jaxe • Mega Clanker • Ghost Knight • Cursed Guard • Cursed Horse • Flare • Lunar Shield • Solar Servant • Lunar Servant • The UmbraI loved the relationship between the king and rory, the banter was good and we got a nice “who did this to you” scene after she was hurt. Rory isn’t a push over and can hold her own, is unashamed of her actions, and isn’t whiny as hell. She also isn’t a virgin!!! WHOOHOO!!! I think my only complain is there was a lot of insta-lust even tho she HATES his guts, and that just felt a little unrealistic. I would’ve liked some more resistance. Other than that? *chefs kiss* This is NOT a standalone. It is the second and final book in the Vincula Realm duology and must be read after The Umbra King.

Now onto the romance. Firstly, I love Rory so much. She’s a strong morally gray ASSASSIN who finds love in the prison realm with the Umbra King. Caius is moody, grumpy, powerful and has shadow magic. I love shadow magic (cough, hands). This book is so steamy and loved the two of them together. I would set this entire realm ablaze to keep you safe, and if you think I’m bluffing, you haven’t been paying attention.”The Umbra King is book one in the Vincula Realm Duology, which is set in the Realms of the Aether multiverse . It ends on a cliffhanger. I was so excited for this book, bit I felt like it was a bit of a letdown. The ending felt hasty and a bit crazy. Hear me out: so obviously this is a fantasy book and so on but the thing is that even in fantasy books there are certain rules to how the magic works so it is kinda stupid to throw it all over just so Rory can be the scales of justice an so on. I also feel like there was an opportunity lost to talk about the shadows and darkness and so on and it is a cheap shot to say: "yeah, this time it miraculously worked. Although they were so afraid that something bad might happen, everything went just great and all of the sun's are gone now without any repercussions."