This was cute!

I wasn’t sure how I felt about either character at first, but they both grew on me. Sebastian was reckless and feisty, but kind and struggling with trauma and wanting to do something that would help people. Elethior (Thio) was standoffish and rude at first, but he was willing to apologize and had a lot of hidden sweetness. Both were quick-tempered, but they both had good hearts and messed up situations the other just didn’t know about.

The romance was a little bit enemies to lovers, a little bit forced proximity, but not too extreme with either. The progression from animosity to hooking up to feelings as they spent more time around each other and got to know each other more felt believable. By the time these two started kissing, I was into it and rooting for them. Very mild spoiler, I guess? The fight they had at one point felt like it was blown way out of proportion, I didn’t understand why they were reacting so strongly, but that’s a pretty common romance trope, and it didn’t go on for too long, and I suppose emotions can just be like that sometimes. Overall, they were a very sweet and supportive (and horny) couple.

There was also a really sweet friendship between Sebastian and Orok. I was worried that Seb dating Elethior might be a point of contention with Orok and was relieved that it wasn’t. These two friends have been through a lot together, and they’re just supportive and love each other.

Speaking of what they’ve been through, there is some heavy stuff in this book. These two experienced something traumatic, and it has affected their lives, their mental health, their family relationships. It’s not a dark book though, and ultimately they are healing.

The world this series is set in is like our real modern world, but with mixed with DnD. There are different classes, races, gods, etc. Magic is common. But they also have cell phones and cars and live in the US.

The audiobook narration by Sam Stark was great! He captured Sebastian’s personality, sounded mostly natural, and made all the characters sound different enough to easily tell them apart.

Overall, this was a cute fantasy romance with a fun modern DnD-esque world and sweet, supportive romance and friendship!

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2026 // Format: Audiobook*