I’ve only ever tested it in the forests to the south and east, on real animals in natural habitats, not on demon creatures in an evil ecosystem. Given that I’d been caught thieving from this very field, it was probably the worst place for me to have led the beast.

Finley grabs the everlass leaves that she wants and makes her way back, when the hooting intensifies and she picks up on the fact that the beast is nearby.The point of my dagger wobbled back and forth, and there was nothing I could do to hide my shaking arm. I was sure I dreamed of other things, but the only thing I ever remembered upon waking was those accursed glowing eyes, and now the roar, apparently.

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did, but I was laughing out loud so much I found myself having to awkwardly explain book jokes, which I never do.Finley is a suppressed shapeshifter (as are all shapeshifters) but this side of her nature begins to speak to her during this book. Someone older and more experienced was supposed to guide a young shifter through the change on the first full moon after their sixteenth birthday, but our powers had been suppressed long before my coming of age. I liked how interested they both were in the medicinal properties of the flowers in the woods and how Nyfain opens up about this mother and the time he spent caring for the flowers with her. This terrifies her, and in her escape, she loses her pocketknife in the dark, but continues on until she gets home and locks herself inside the house. I cannot wait for Finley to find out who she is as an animal, and I suspect that both Finley and Nyfain will fall in love with each other.

When desperate, we either let them die, or we turn to this wood and risk confronting the beast that patrols it. He is the one that the villagers used to say would change the kingdom, and he came back when the Queen had died.

Muted moonlight filtered through the threadbare curtains, and I could just make out her face turning to me, her eyes large with fear. Expect some back and forth between them and a little bit of whiplash - but you won’t be disappointed with the redemption. I had to nestle them into their drying tray and sprinkle them with water to keep them fresh until they could be dried in tomorrow’s dying sun. Knowing that she does not have many more everlass leaves left to get her father and their family through the winter, Finley makes the decision to go to the forest to pick some.

I pushed forward to my hands and knees, like I was going to get up, and then peered around the tree trunk. I freed only the largest and healthiest of the leaves, being careful not to upset the seed pods that would ensure new life when the time came. Hadriel: “You’re trying to rile me up so that I’ll get behind the paddle next time you want to be spanked.I ended up feeling sorry for her because she was constantly aroused and it went nowhere for her), a needy *insert 'c' bomb*, more wet kitty cat (use your imagination here) and more gushing between body parts. I'm not generally a prude but the graphic, in-your-face language and scenarios, particularly the Hadriel character, seemed overly aggressive and killed the romance element for me at times. There are also a few 'c' bombs here and there, too, so if that's something that will make you tsk, tsk, you've been warned so park your disapproval elsewhere. I took a step toward Father’s room, just next to mine, but my brother stopped me with a hand to my arm.