Latest / Deep Trope Fantasy & Romance Podcast / Hunted by the Fae Duke by Kris K. Haines | Mini Deep Dive

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Hunted by the Fae Duke by Kris K. Haines | Mini Deep Dive · Deep Trope Fantasy & Romance Podcast

• Rachel: Welcome Deep Trope, where we go deep into fantasy and romance books, one trope at a time. We're your two book basties gushing over plot characters, Easter eggs theories, and of course, our favorite spicy moments. I'm Rachel, romantasy theorist. Kate: And I'm Kate, lover of all things dark and spicy. Rachel: And today's our deep dive into Hunted by the fae Duke by Kris K. Haines. We'll be recapping and discussing the full book. So if you haven't read it yet, pause the podcast and give it a read before tuning in. Last week we welcomed Kris onto the podcast for a spoiler-free conversation about this book, her almost complete debut series, The Memory Puller, ⁓ and life as an indie If you haven't listened to that episode yet, be sure to check it out. Kate: And before we begin, we want to take a moment to share what's next on Deep Trope. Next week we'll be celebrating Pride Month with a conversation about some of our favorite queer books, characters, and authors. Then we'll be welcoming cozy romantasy author Tee Harlowe onto the podcast on June 30th, discussing Light Wielder by Rachel Schneider on July 7th. Then, starting July 14th, spend the rest of July on our next deep dive, The Silversmith by LJ Claren. If you haven't it yet, this is the first book in the epic romantasy series The Selvaren, and it features god tier level tension and yearning. Rachel: We've got lots of exciting things coming up in the next few months. So be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And we're still a new podcast, so we truly appreciate every like, subscribe, and share. Our goal is to make sure every romance and fantasy reader has a book bestie to gush over their favorite theories ⁓ and their favorite spicy scenes. So be sure to connect with us social media to join in all the fun. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook at Deep Trope Podcast. Kate: Lastly, this podcast is fully unfiltered and meant for adults, and any trigger warnings for the book also apply to this episode. All right, let's dive in. Rachel: Alright, so this book starts out with my favorite thing in any romantasy book. A pronunciation guide. Kate: Thank God. Rachel: Gods bless you, Kris K. Haines, cause we sure need it. And even with the pronunciation guide, there's still a chance that we might mess some of these up. Kate: Yes, please give us grace. I think a lot of the words seem to be derived from like Gaelic or Norse kind of dialects. So there's ⁓ it there's some very cool names and ⁓ ⁓ here. So it's it's fun, but it also ⁓ trip us up a little bit. ⁓ Rachel: Yes, you know what's interesting? So I agree. it seems very like Celtic oriented and even some of the creatures are from like Celtic lore. ⁓ but the story begins in Breton, which ⁓ actually a region of France. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: We probably should have asked Kris about that when we had her on the podcast. Maybe we'll have to have her back now that we're we're really hunted by the Fae Duke experts now that we've read it several times. ⁓ Kate: Yeah. Yeah, no, I didn't realize that at the time. But I do I loved there was one point where she references ⁓ a university and she called it Harbridge, which I loved because like Harvard, Ca Cambridge. I yeah. So there were just some like fun things where you could like really see where she got some of her inspiration from, but she turned it into this like cool fantasy, not quite Rachel: Yes. Kate: reality. It's not Britain, you know? So it's it's fun. Mm-hmm. Rachel: Yes. Not quite Britain. Yeah. Yeah. It is. Well, like I said, our story begins in Breton. And this book is broken up into sections based on location. And that's how we'll be covering the book today. So we'll do a little recap of each section, followed by our thoughts on it. other than the epilogue, the entire book is in first person from the perspective of our female main character, Charlotte Emilie Fitzroy. A woman starting her seventh social season, so essentially a spinster. And Charlotte is described as having unruly pale blonde, maybe wavy, maybe curly hair, a gap in her front teeth, golden green eyes, and freckles from too much time outdoors. And this description just tells me that she's a bit wild. Not necessarily taking the steps to fit into society and make herself a palatable match. You know, she's not using her parasol when she should be. Kate: Ha ha ha. Rachel: So the book opens with Charlotte locked in a powder room at her aunt's house, receiving some poorly performed secret cunnilingus from her boyfriend, George Somersby who she is certain will propose to her that night since they've been fooling around for a year and she just found a ring box. They are honestly not that unfortunately interrupted by Charlotte's aunt Teddy, who is screaming for her because Esmeralda. Charlotte's pet snake got free from its cage. And we learn that she inherited Esmeralda a year and a half ago after her beloved granny Maggie passed away. The fact that everyone hates this snake except Charlotte and the grandmother who raised her tells us that both of them like kindred spirits. They're a bit quirky with big hearts, caring for those that others maybe wouldn't. Kate: Mm-hmm. For sure. Rachel: In this section of the book, we also meet Lizzie, Charlotte's beautiful but fairly shallow and selfish younger cousin who is excited to enter her first social season. And that night, Aunt Teddy hosts the opening ball of the season, where king names the favourite of the season. does publicly propose at the ball, but to Charlotte's nemesis, the utterly awful Jane Spencer, and immediately after he corners Charlotte, telling her he sees no reason that they can't continue their relationship. Kate: ⁓ my god. Rachel: This guy sucks so much, and fortunately, Charlotte may be feeling a little extra saucy from the scotch that she's been sipping all night because she slaps him and ends things. Kate: He sucks so hard. Rachel: Later that night, when she can't sleep, Charlotte throws on her nightgown and grabs her sketchbook, and she makes her way through the house, heading for her favorite painting, The Knight Departs, which depicts a dark haired knight embracing a teary-eyed, red-headed woman in white as green winged moths, which Charlotte has seen near the estate, swirl around their heads. But on her way to the painting, Charlotte is distracted by a pile of gifts in the ballroom, which have been sent to Lizzie, the favourite. But Charlotte can't resist opening them because she is in a rage. And she's nibbling at all of the treats and sipping her gifted sparkling wine. One of the packages includes a ring that says for the favourite on the box. And she slips the ring on as the clock chimes midnight. All right, so this is the end of the Breton section. And I just loved the opening scene because it was such a humorous and unfortunately probably relatable way of introducing us to the main character, as well as her love interest, who we all hope is not the love interest for long. Charlotte's description of her unsatisfying hookup with George just tells us so much about who not only he is, but who she is. Like she's funny, at least in her own mind, and has sort of a dry sense of humor. ⁓ but she's also a people pleaser. And, you know, she tells him that it's her fault, not his, which is clearly not the case. This man needs a map. Kate: Mm-hmm. Bullshit. ⁓ I I did I loved that this was how we were introduced to her. It really was such like it just told you so much about her without even like you said, like without even having to to get that much detail, you still got like this essence of who she is. And I was definitely glad to see that her impending spinsterhood didn't also mean that she had to be celibate. Like Rachel: Ha ha. Kate: She she might have been, you know, languishing on the sidelines at the ball, but she was not ⁓ suffering for male company during that time, it seems, which on one hand is great, but also kind of made it just even more annoying that none of them were willing to like be public with her. But Rachel: I know. Yeah, she was never the girl that was chosen. Kate: I know, which just I mean it sucks, but at least she was getting some, you know, like 'cause the only thing that would have been more tragic than her reality was her reality plus still being a virgin. I mean that would have been brutal. Rachel: Yeah, or like I mean clearly this book is ⁓ based on Bridgerton, so not even knowing what ⁓ the birds and the bees are, which is the the main plot of that book. Kate: Mm-hmm. Yeah, no. So she's she's not worried about her purity being a barrier to finding a husband, which is great, but still, ⁓ all these men that were so happy to fuck her. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, George sucks. ⁓ I also want to note the ball. Charlotte drinking scotch at the ball had me cracking up. Like, ⁓ I love but that is not a ball drink. That is not like a going to a social event drink. That is a like at home reading by the fireside ⁓ beverage. ⁓ Kate: But yeah. No Yeah, it's not very ladylike. I mean scotch I believe is like what the men would drink when they would leave the women and go do whatever the fuck they were doing in their like cigar room, right? They're like, we're going to retire to the to the salon and you you all can ⁓ your womanly things, whatever that is. And it's like, what are you what are they doing drinking scotch alone in the cigar room? Like, are they just there to make out with each other? Because why else would you Rachel: Mm. Kate: refused to let the women in. Rachel: ⁓ Kate. Okay. Okay. Maybe this this is gonna be Kate's Regency era novel. And then opening the gifts, this was so cringy but so funny. And the thought of Charlotte just drunkenly rage eating all of Lizzie's treats really cracked me up as someone who has been known to also rage eat chocolate, typically chocolate that belongs to me, but still rage eating it nonetheless. Kate: Yeah. Yeah, like I know she wasn't thinking clearly, but what exactly did she think would happen in the morning when everyone saw this carnage that she had made? Like What's your plan here, girl? Rachel: Yeah. ⁓ my gosh. I know and she even like notes it. She's like, they're gonna find this in the morning. ⁓ that would have been such an awkward encounter. Cause you can't like, what was she gonna do? She can't replace all the gifts. Like, like I remember like, you know, when I had roommates having to like replace the Nutella way too often. Kate: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think this goes beyond like eating your roommate's yogurt. Like this she wreaked havoc on these gifts. Hilarious. Rachel: Yeah. And she just she even specifically says, like I took a nibble out of each one. Kate: Yeah, just like she didn't she didn't even want them, you know, but she just didn't want Lizzie to have them. I I aspire to that level of pettiness. ⁓ yeah. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, I mean she she's been through it. Seven seasons she's been through it and she's like this girl went to her first ball. She's the favourite She's got a pile full of gifts. Like, don't mind if I do. Kate: Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, I definitely don't blame her. I just I do kind of wish that we had we got like a scene of everybody finding this mess that she made. Yeah. Rachel: Yes, Kris, we need that bonus scene. When Charlotte over the threshold to exit the ballroom, rather than enter the hallway, she ends up in a tomb with two large crown statues behind her. She feels a sharp pain from the ring, but when she tries to remove it, she can't. She stumbles out of the tomb into the woods and directly into the path of Sir Lachlan Cathal. Not Cathol, as I have been pronouncing it. Up until Kate just read me the pronunciation guide. A literal knight in shiny white armor. And not just any knight, a sunning, red-haired, sapphire-eyed, pierced fae knight with luscious VSLs. Convinced she's dreaming, she hands him her wrists and tells him, Bite me, please, to wake her up. Which he does, hard enough to draw blood. She passes out and awakes in his arms as he carries her into a castle where she meets Duke Desmond Macan known as Des, another beautiful faery man with blue-black hair. in a banter-filled conversation with Des and Lachlan over breakfast, Charlotte learns that she is in the Otherworld, a celestial kingdom that has been without a queen for nearly 50 human years. The human world works sort of like dog years compared to the Otherworld, where it has been about seven years since the previous queen, Queen Caer, and her husband, King Aegus passed away. Charlotte learns that the ring on her finger didn't just transport her to the Otherworld, it tied her to it. The ring contains a seed of novillum, light from the firstborn star in their sky, and it ties her and every mortal queen that came before her to the Otherworld. oh no! ⁓ Charlotte now in a deadly time scavenger hunt to become queen of the Otherworld. Humans and fairies cannot produce children together, so royalty isn't passed down generation to generation. Instead, the dukes from the three celestial territories will compete in the wild hunt to win the queen and crown. Before Mabon, Charlotte must find and reassemble the pieces of the Bannrhorn a relic of their gods, a piece is hidden in each territory, and each duke will have a clue to its location. Once assembled, the Bannrhorn will initiate the wild hunt, where the three dukes will hunt her, and the first to claim her, you know, with sex, wins her hand in marriage, the crown. But there's an additional catch besides just the hunt part. If she doesn't assemble the Bannrhorn and start the wild hunt before Mabon, the ring will fall off and she will die. Things don't look good for Charlotte, Kate. ⁓ She'll meet the other dukes at a presentation tomorrow night, where they will decide whether to invite her to their territories and give her their clues to the Bannrhorn. Of the six candidates since the queen died, only the first gained an invite to the other territories. They leave to meet sister Aowen, and on the way, Charlotte encounters Desmond's pet gryffalcon Andraste, a flying creature with the head and wings of a bird, and a furry mammal body with clawed paws and a long tail. They meet Aowen, who is strikingly beautiful, with long dark hair, a milky pale complexion, and large blue eyes. I loved this line to describe the siblings. Quote: If Desmond resembles a storybook prince, then his sister Aowen is both the tale's plucky princess and the vengeful centuries-old queen who'd rather feast on the hero's heart. Along with Aowen we meet Vesper, who was really the star of the show for many readers. She's a pixie the size of a raven with lavender skin and hair, translucent, segmented wings like a fly's, and is convinced Charlotte is. Food, pretty food. Despite are repeatedly telling her Charlotte is a friend. Vesper even goes so far as to lick Charlotte. We that despite voracious appetite, Vesper is an incredible tailor, and as Aowen says, her creations are worth more than a little sacrifice of flesh every now and then. After settling in her room, when the clock strikes midnight, Charlotte attempts to step over the threshold and back to the human realm. But Sir Lachlan Cathal is there to tell her it doesn't work that way. But ⁓ On the bright side, he is there to help her, saying that if she wants to be queen, then he wants her to be. It is also to his benefit since Desmond has agreed to release him from his service once he secures the crown. Together, Lachlan and Charlotte work through the cryptic clue Desmond had provided and find the Bannrhorn at Caer, 's tomb. The next day's presentation is And Charlotte enters a room filled with hundreds of fe in a beautiful but revealing gown Vesper chose for her. Let's have a moment for the fashion. A peach to purple ombre silk gown that drapes from her shoulders into a deep V just past her navel. The cut is giving J Lo at the Grammys for sure. Charlotte's mind is racing with what she is supposed to do, and she hears Lachlan's voice in her mind reassure her, you're doing fine. We learn that this is Lachlan's gift, but moving forward, he'll knock first, which feels like tingly creepy crawlies against Charlotte's mind. Desmond turns to the crowd, reveals the Bannrhorn fragments, and proposes to Charlotte. After she accepts, it's time to meet the other two Dukes through an enchanted mirror that reveals only their reflections. Each Duke will ask her one question and then decide if she is invited to their realm. After some banter, Duke Aine of Tir na Lune asks her how she found the Bannrhorn and down the mental bond. Lachlan encourages her to tell the truth. She knew the fairy tale. The Surly and apparently Duke Cernnunos of Tir na Dobh asks Charlotte what she fears most in this world. Surprised, she answers honestly to die alone, never having mattered to anyone. When Desmond asks if they will welcome Charlotte to their territories to search for the Bannrhorn, Duke Cernnunos responds with a curt no and disappears. But Duke Aine agrees. Charlotte is to depart for Tir na Lune the next day. are will be her sponsor for the season and leaves that day with Vesper to get everything prepared for Charlotte in Tir na Lune. After some negotiating, Lachlan will accompany her as well as her bodyguard. The next day we get a one horse trope as Lachlan and Charlotte depart for Tir na Lune on Lachlan's Kelpie, Tula. During their travel, we get a bit of a data dump on Lachlan. He had a mysterious different job previously that he was fired from before becoming a knight. Celestial knights cannot marry or own land. He is from a place called Campan's Vale, which was part of Tir na Strelle House Aine annexed it to Tir na Lune . His mind speak gift is called the diamhran, meaning a god song, and it was previously more prevalent, but he is now one of the last capable of it in the celestial kingdom. It requires an exchange of blood, so he was able to establish it when he bit her. It doesn't last forever, so they will need an another exchange to continue the connection through the season. Okay, we got a lot in this section as we sort of built the world. So some things that I really enjoyed. We got a no pregnancy trope. So humans and fae can't procreate. ⁓ rather than as we've seen in ⁓ books, ⁓ where it becomes part of the story of like, well, how can we make it so that they can procreate? ⁓ it Kate: Yes, thank God. Rachel: Really, I mean it comes up at the end, but not really. Like it's not explored really further in the story at all. And obviously here we are firm believers that women have value far beyond who they birth. And I just love that Kris took it off the table right away and really didn't bring it back around. Kate: Yeah, I'm so glad that we didn't get a surprise pregnancy trope in this one. I honestly might hate that trope more than the miscommunication trope. Like I don't know how you feel about it, but I I don't enjoy that at all. Rachel: ⁓ It doesn't bot I understand why people don't like it. It doesn't bother me as much, but I do understand why people don't like it. Kate: Yeah, I just like I just don't want to bring like a child into the story. So it's not it's not the pregnancy so much as just like, now we have to read and like if you're listening to an audiobook, I have never been a fan of any narrator's child voice. Like it's just it's grating so Rachel: That's fair, that's fair, I get it. Yeah, we're not here for the kids. Kate: No, we're not. Rachel: I mean I'm a fan of like I am a fan of parent books I get like, you know, Love Me, some Gilmore Girls. Like I do love exploring that ⁓ bond, but I know what you mean. When I when I Kate: Sure, but like Rory is is a an a a person with like a personality and stuff, you know, like maybe a shitty personality, but she has one. Rachel: Yeah, babies are cute. Babies are cute in real life, but you don't want to read about Kate: Yes. Exactly. Rachel: ⁓ we also get introduced to some creatures. So Vesper is the best creature I've encountered in a fantasy book. Like I just loved Vesper. I mean, that's a big statement to say, but Vesper's my current favourite. You know what mean? ⁓ Kate: ⁓ yeah, she's adorable and a little bit creepy, which is a great combination. Rachel: Yes. Also, like I I had a whole picture in my head of who Vesper was and then on the reread realized that like I painted the wrong picture because I was imagining like kind of like a purple Furby. Kate: Why so furry? Rachel: I was convinced it was furry. I had like a very specific image of like a furry creature. And then when I reread it, I'm like, ⁓ it's she's got like nasty skin, like purple skin, but like it sounded kinda gross, maybe a little scaly-ish, and then like long purple hair. Kate: Yeah. And the the like translucent translucent wings and all of that. Yeah. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, no, the wings are fine. The wings are fine. I just really wanted her to be this like purple fluffball. Kate: I mean, it's your imagination, girl. Like Rachel: Yeah, that's true. ⁓ although Kris, rumor has it, Kris is maybe gonna get us some character art of Vesper, hopefully. Kate: I was gonna I was gonna say we've gotten a lot of character art of the fairies and of Charlotte, but I would love to see Vesper. Rachel: Yeah, I mean maybe we just maybe we should crowdsource a Vesper Vesper painting. ⁓ but Vesper has like these lines the entire book that are just so funny. She calls Charlotte to start out food, pretty food. And there's just like variations on that line throughout the book that are just like this perfect comedic relief every time we need it. So we get like in this section we get food, pretty food. Kate: Ha ha. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Rachel: Food trembling food and food naughty food. Kate: Ha ha Rachel: and like despite the fact that Vesper like desperately wants to eat Charlotte, Charlotte still loves her and relates her to her pet snake, Esmeralda, which just of course she does. ⁓ and then we also get Kelpies. So enjoy that. in this book are magical horses ⁓ they are ancient. Shape shifters that can travel across natural phenomena like water, wind, and shadows. And I was imagining them as something out of Lisa Frank, right? When they're like crossing the luxbridge. Because Tula is a light kelpie, so she can travel fast over this luxbridge, which is essentially like the walking sidewalk at the airport. ⁓ Kate: Mm-hmm. Yeah, like a little ⁓ a magical people mover. She's like like traveling over the rainbow. Rachel: Yes. Yes, exactly. trope that we got here is the Knight in Shining Armor MMC. Like, honestly, from ⁓ second he walked on the page, I loved Lachlan. I loved him. And I love that he's this confident but calm, consistent, ⁓ but obviously strong presence, you know? Like when Charlotte runs into him when she's attempting to escape by walking through the door at midnight. Kate: Of course. Mm-hmm. Rachel: She describes it as walking into a warm, solid chest, and he just calmly smiles and says, The doors between realms don't don't work that way, I'm afraid. And but he's not like angry or panicked. He just kind of like gives her a little smirk and you know he he'll be there to catch her when she messes up, Kate: Yeah. ⁓ my God. His confidence is so sexy. Like you said, he's calm and he's gentle. And I think all of that comes from his confidence. Like he knows that he's in control of the situation. And that's so attractive. Like he doesn't have to be loud and obnoxious about how great he is because someone who's actually great doesn't have to shout, you know? Like they don't have to be so loud about it. People will just be able to sense it. They'll they'll just be able to tell when. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yes. Kate: They interact with you, you know? So it that quiet confidence is very appealing. Rachel: we were just on AX Romantasy Chaos HQ podcast to talk about what is daddy and who is daddy. And that was more speci Yes, Lachlan is daddy. ⁓ Lac Lachlan's like the like ultimate daddy, I think. Like his calmness and his demeanor. Kate: ⁓ my god, Lachlan is daddy. Lachlan is so daddy. Rachel: I think he's like top tier daddy Kate: Yeah, we because we we specifically said that confidence is very key. And he has that in spades. It's gorgeous. Rachel: Yes. Yeah, and when you pair it with like the humility too, like of him just being like quiet and like my dick my dick speaks for itself. Kate: ⁓ yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Or my dick makes you speak for it. Rachel: The that too. And like Desmond's great, like they describe Desmond as like Prince Charming, but like he's not daddy. Kate: No. No, yeah, like it it was interesting because I don't know, I kind of expected them to make him seem less appealing, you know, like in contrast to Lachlan. And like, yeah, he was less appealing than Lachlan, obviously, but they still like she she still wrote him as an attractive, like appealing figure, you know, but just not right. Rachel: Mm-hmm. ⁓ there's nothing wrong with him at all. Like he's literally just not Lachlan. Kate: Yeah. Which I mean, listen, ⁓ putting anyone in that direct comparison is unfair. Rachel: That's true. That's true. We also ⁓ see so banter in this book. And ⁓ like, ⁓ these early it was so exciting to see like Charlotte interacting with Lachlan immediately, lands in the Otherworld, and here she is being like her quirky self. And, you know, they have that banter immediately when she's like, bite me, you're not real, you know. ⁓ and we could pick out so many. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: exchanges but just in this section some that I wanted to point out that I that made me giggle were Charlie. Who's Charlie? Could be you. Like why did could be you like gave me butterflies and I don't know why. Kate: Ha ha. It's so flirty. He's like, I don't know, I'm just you know just making up nicknames. Maybe maybe it'll be our thing. I don't know. Rachel: Yeah. Could be you know. You just Yes. And you know we said it like all quiet and soft with that deep voice. Kate: Mm-hmm. ⁓ my god. Rachel: when Lachlan asks Charlotte what she made for in their conversation about what she was and was not made for, ⁓ she says long drawing sessions outside in sun, eating an inadvisable amount of pastries in a single sitting, spending a quiet afternoon with a raunchy book and a strong cup of tea. And like, same. ⁓ That's what I was made for. ⁓ Kate: ⁓ my God. That sounds glorious. Rachel: Yeah, like I was made for luxuriating. Kate: Mm-hmm, mm hmm. I was made for dilly dallying and farting around. Rachel: Like she Yes, exactly. Like she's like, No, I really don't want to be queen, but I also don't want to die, so I guess I have to be queen now. Kate: Yeah, ⁓ A tragedy. Rachel: ⁓ And then finally the last one that just had me cracking up was, it's rather an unpleasant word, panties. And Aowen says, not when the right person says it. Kate: Which she is she is very right. I don't enjoy that word, but they there's a callback to this later in the book and Aowen is definitely proved correct. Rachel: There's an important call back to it later in the book. Kate: An important callback. Very graphic callback. Rachel: I loved the magic system in this world. You know, I love me some cozy magic, teacups that stir themselves. ⁓ and that's essentially what we here. They can twirl their hands, point at the stars, and things just appear. We see Lachlan do this when he gets clothes for Charlotte before they go Bannrhorn hunting. And we Aowen do it to serve tea. That is the perfect temperature. And I just love it. That's like my favorite part about a cozy romantasy. Kate: I know the the whimsy here is so fun. And like this book goes to some really dark places, but it doesn't mean that we can't have a little cozy whimsy at the same time. Like, why not both? Rachel: Why not? Why choose? Kris said why choose in a way that we didn't expect. Kate: Mm-hmm. Yes. Rachel: ⁓ fairy age. So I love that Lachlan is like thirty-five in human years ish. Well, I guess two hundred forty five in human years, thirty-five in fairy years, He's the end of the first third. You know what I mean? Kate: Yeah. No, like he's these these are not like children still figuring out who they are. I I do I do appreciate that. I like that Charlotte is I mean, again, ⁓ spinster seems like a harsh word for somebody who I think is 26. ⁓ but still, like, you know, we in romantasy we do get a lot of like 19 year olds or 20 year olds that are Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Kate: You know, it's what's more of like a coming of age kind of story. This one, yes, she's kind of finding herself in this world that finally allows her to kind of be herself rather than suppressing her, but it's not a coming of age. Like she still is pretty confident in who she is. She's just finally able to show it. Rachel: Yes. Yeah, she came and now she's just gonna come a lot more. Kate: ⁓ pun intended. Rachel: And then finally, the diamhran. The diamhran. diamhran. I can't Kate. Kris. Kris, you made these words and I can read them, but I can't say them. ⁓ the diamhran. So I love Mindspeak. It's a popular trope for a reason, because I think a lot of people love it. But in this book, I especially love that it's tied to a blood exchange. And we see this. in the memory puller as well that Kris likes to like write fae who have sharp fangs and a little bit of like a maybe a vampire element in some ways. ⁓ I really like I like that kind of fae. Kate: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, like they are a they're a little rough on the edges with know, just that one element of no ⁓ these ⁓ can some damage. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah. Kate: Alright, so now we are moving into Tir Lune. So Charlotte and Lachlan arrive at Tir na Lune via a magical transition. They are met at the gate by Aowen and an elegant fairy woman named Lisande LaBeaumont Lachlan immediately demands to know the whereabouts of Aine, ⁓ only to be told by Aowen that the Duke is indisposed and by Lisande that he cannot be there to welcome every woman who comes to call. Girl is a bitch. ⁓ Charlotte later learns that Lisande is the Duke's current lover and that she likely orchestrated this snub by the Duke, manipulating a trip for him to the Vegas-like city of Farlock's Edge to her own power and standing. So we're gonna keep an eye on her because she's feisty and not in the way that we like. She's shady. Lachlan feeds on Charlotte's blood to re-establish their mental link. Rachel: Shady. Kate: And he notes that the connection can be accelerated by powerful emotions, ⁓ which we will see some more of. And during the feeding, Charlotte really struggles to control her attraction to him, and she starts to realize that she's enjoying the pain of it a little bit more than she expected to. Eager to find the second fragment of the Bannrhorn, Charlotte convinces Lachlan to search the Aine family crypt. Their exploration is interrupted when a cloaked assailant forces Charlotte to hide in the shadows and then breaks Vesper's fingers to lure her out, which is so evil. I know, I know, I know. It's it's truly evil. Rachel: How dare they? How dare they? I mean, you know, we talked about this in our Fury Bound deep dives of like touching creatures dead to ⁓ Kate: Mm mm. Mm-hmm. The assassin corners Charlotte and attempts to force an unknown acid green liquid down her throat, but Lachlan arrives, slicing the man's arm off. Lachlan violently bites the man's neck to form a mental connection and learn his motives, but the man poisons himself before he can read his mind. Later, while Charlotte is sketching a portrait of Lachlan in the castle gardens, an emergency takes him away. Lachlan tells Charlotte to stay in her room, so she ends up hanging out in her room with Aowen who is all too happy to take the opportunity to spill some tea. Aowen reveals that before becoming a knight, Lachlan was the most highly demanded courtesan in the celestial kingdom, specializing in domination and pleasure control. Since becoming a knight, however, he has been practically celibate. I mean, a pleasure dom who looks like Lachlan, I cannot blame the woman who spent a true fortune to have his services for a whole year. Rachel: Yeah, true. Take my money. Kate: When Charlotte suddenly senses Lachlan might be injured, she sets off through the castle to rescue him. Instead, she's ambushed by a báshound a hideous lion dog hybrid creature. In the chaos that follows, Charlotte notices a small landscape painting of a bell shaped hill that causes her ring to warm up, signaling a clue to the fragment just before she is attacked. creature mauls Charlotte's calf, but Lachlan arrives to fight it off. Trapped by a second báshound, they are saved when Duke Aine finally returns and whistles his pets off. Charlotte is furious at the Duke's total lack of accountability, boldly scolding him. Rather than being angry, Duke Aine is amused by her defiance, stating he enjoys being scolded by a beautiful woman. Lachlan identifies the bell-shaped hill from the painting as something from his homeland, Campan's Vale, a region currently under a cruel occupation by Duke Aine. Because Lachlan is banished from the Vale for defending citizens from Aine's knights, he uses a magical glamour to transform into the exact likeness of Vesper to sneak out into the old Aine estate. They locate a church on the estate where Charlotte's ring gets so hot it blisters her skin. In the catacombs beneath, they find a door with a magical skull knocker. The door refuses to open unless Charlotte asks a specific question, which she can't know about without the Duke's clue. Before returning to the castle, Lachlan takes Charlotte to his childhood orphanage, the Smythe Children's House, also known as the Eyrie run by Garred Smythe. There, Charlotte learns about how Lachlan repays the kindness he received from Garred by teaching the local children self defense doing what he can to help them during the occupation. As the weeks progress, Duke Aine, whose name is Torvil repeatedly ignores Charlotte, choosing instead to spend his time with Lisande. When they finally go on a Kelpie ride together, the Duke demands she prove her obedience, modesty, and humility before he shares his clue, launching into an hours long monologue about himself. ⁓ my god. I already hate this man so much. Distraught by her failure to charm the Duke and feeling passed over just as she was by her human ex-lover George, Charlotte confides in Lachlan. Lachlan encourages her and tells her she is full of charm, offering himself up to help her practice the art of seduction, saying, Use me. You want to learn how to seduce powerful fairymen? I am a powerful fairyman. ⁓ I loved that line. Charlotte initially declines because she's an idiot. and she does admit to herself that she probably just made a huge mistake. Rachel: Yes you are. Kate: But for a few days she takes the edge off her sexual frustration by rubbing one out to thoughts of Lachlan repeatedly. But after a humiliating public dinner where she is once again ignored, she changes her mind about his offer. Thank God. When she goes to Lachlan's bedroom to accept his offer, he already knows exactly why she's there, and he seems very relieved. As we all are. Rachel: haha Kate: They sit on his couch and mostly talk about Charlotte's past sexual frustrations with George, sex with whom she called fine, which is a terrible reality for someone you claimed to love, ⁓ but also seems like a generous depiction based on the very first page of the book. Rachel: ⁓ my god. Yeah, like was it fine? Kate: Yeah. You need to raise your standards, I think. But she doesn't know how good it can be yet. You know, she'll get there. Yes, she is. Rachel: Yeah, she's about to. Kate: Lachlan tells Charlotte that what the Duke really wants isn't just her undivided attention, but also to be intrigued by her and to see that she is desired by others. When Lachlan finally kisses her, it's so hot, I swear that couch was gonna catch on fire. But he stops before they can go any further, telling Charlotte he won't continue until she admits why she's really there. Stubborn woman that she is, she refuses. Rachel: What? Kate: I know, I know. Girl is crazy. Lachlan's advice seems to do the trick. Charlotte spends less time vying for the Duke's attention and more time with the other courtiers, including Lord Hopnell, who commissions Charlotte to paint a portrait of him. The attention Charlotte receives from the rest of his court, especially the intimate time Charlotte intends to spend with Lord Hopnell, finally piques the Duke's interest. Of course, because he's the worst, so he'd only care about her when he sees other people want her. Rachel: Obviously. Ugh. Kate: I just like my my brain just like drips with disdain every time I read about this man. Rachel: Yeah, I mean we all knew you wouldn't like him anyway, he's blonde, but Kate: ⁓ you know what? I didn't even clock that fact. I didn't even get that. I just hated him for so many other reasons. Amazing. Just add that to the list. Okay. Rachel: Ha ha. Kate: So anyway, the Duke, of course, has Charlotte start to paint a portrait of him instead, ⁓ which she makes very flattering to him. And over the next few weeks, Charlotte studies old newspapers to learn about the realm and to get fodder to feed the Duke's ego. In one edition, she reads a shocking tale about Duke Cernunnos of Tir na Dubh Apparently, the last attempt at the wild hunt ended when the candidate disappeared without a trace while in his realm. The news reported it as a murder, claiming that the Duke must have murdered her before she could find the final horn fragment. There was no clear evidence found since the Duke did not allow anyone into his territory to investigate, but he did not deny the allegations. While Charlotte spends her days wasting away in the mindless presence of Duke Aine, her evenings are starting to be spent with Lachlan. Charlotte finally admits that she wants Lachlan as much as he wants her, and hooray! They can finally fuck. And fuck. And fuck. Hooray! Initially, Lachlan says, Let me have you for real, just once. Rachel: Yeah! Kate: But ⁓ boy, is it most definitely not just once. The sex scenes between them are truly incredible. He clearly was not a Dom when he was a courtesan just because his clients liked it. Like, he is into it. He loves to take control in the bedroom. And Charlotte loves to be controlled. The pleasure control piece of his resume, I'd say, is maybe not in full effect with Charlotte, though. Like he definitely edges her a ton. But Girl is having so many orgasms, he really can't control them all. Like she's just like. One after the other. Good for her. And she's finally getting what all the stuck up losers she was with back in Breton couldn't or wouldn't do for her. And we love that journey for her. Rachel: We really do. Kate: After a few weeks of dragging the painting out, Charlotte finally finishes the portrait of the Duke, and he claims it's the most amazing likeness of him that anyone has ever captured. She seizes on his vanity and tells him that if he makes her his queen, she can paint portraits of him depicting all his great deeds to be shared with the citizens of his kingdom so they can be constantly reminded of his greatness. And this seems to be the final push that he needs, and he finally tells her the clue to find the fragment. Lachlan and Charlotte return to the catacomb to retrieve the fragment, and as a kind of celebration, once it is secured, they fuck in the church pews. Lachlan finally goes down on her, and it's a delicious juxtaposition to the opening scene. Whereas George couldn't even be bothered to find her clit, let alone do anything useful with it. Lachlan is so good, he has to actively stop her from orgasming multiple times so that he can prolong the experience. Rachel: He does not need a map. He is the cartographer. Kate: ⁓ yes. He also ties a napkin or some kind of kerchief or something around her her mouth so that she's not too loud because they're not exactly in public here, but there's like a group of men that are outside of the church that could probably hear them if she was as loud as she wanted to be. So she gets a little gag, she gets Rachel: Yes. Mm-hmm. Right, right. Kate: I don't know how many orgasms in this scene, but it's lovely. And she finally knows that it was not her. It was one hundred percent George. Rachel: It was yes. Kate: Ha ha ha. Rachel: She's not the problem. Kate: Absolutely not. We all knew this, but now she finally does too. Rachel: Yeah. Right. Kate: During the event where Torvil will propose to Charlotte, Lisande ends up getting completely plastered and steals Charlotte's drink right before the toast. It turns out the cup was poisoned, and Lisande dies a horrific death as the man she loved looks on in disgust. The way that they described his face looking at Lisande as she's like gurgling on her own blood, dying on the floor, was Like, this man has no heart. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, I loved that Lisande died, but Kate: Sure, but I mean Torvil's the real the real enemy here. Like he is just a rotten, rotten man. Rachel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kate: The next day, are questions Charlotte about whether the poison was truly meant for her, suggesting that Duke Aine himself have been the intended target, or perhaps even the one who poisoned the drink. Charlotte doubts the Duke poisoned the cup, reminding Aowen that he needs her alive to become king and previously saved her from his own báshounds That night, they are all surprised to find Desmond joining them at dinner to celebrate the good news. He's secured permission to have Charlotte continue to the next leg of her journey. He and Torvil both vie for Charlotte's attention during the meal, and before Charlotte departs, Torvil gives her a stunning diamond bracelet. When he tries to kiss her lips though, Charlotte skillfully deflects, pressing her fingers to his mouth and whispering, Kiss me when you claim me, my king, leaving him thoroughly captivated and her thoroughly enjoying not being kissed by him. She is a master manipulator of this idiot man. Back in their quarters, a huge fight breaks out between Aowen and Desmond. It turns out Desmond has secured the agreement with Duke Cernunnos by bargaining off Aowen's hand in marriage as a consolation prize if Cernunnos fails to claim Charlotte in the hunt. Aowen is furious and refuses to speak to her brother once she finds out. Desmond also declares that Lachlan will not accompany Charlotte to the next realm, which Lachlan obviously objects to. But Desmond reminds him of the power that he has over him, and he reluctantly backs down. Sensing Lachlan's deep, barely contained anger, Charlotte turns his words back on him and tells him to use me. Lachlan takes her to his room where they have highly intense, dominant emotional sex. He binds her wrists, spanks her severely, and demands absolute control, which Charlotte finds completely exhilarating. Of course. Yeah. During this encounter, he takes her in the back door for the first time, which she has never done before, despite her lovers. Rachel: Of course. Who wouldn't? I mean Kate: And while cleaning her wounds afterward, Lachlan vulnerably asks Charlotte to promise never to let another man have that specific part of her body again, even after she marries. She readily promises and he vows to do the same for her. So that's just a special little thing between the two of them, I suppose. Rachel: So just the fact that they turned butt sex into like something so romantic is so hilarious. Kate: So romantic, I know. Really? I mean, it shouldn't have worked, but it did. Rachel: Yeah. Kate: During their quiet moments in the bath, Lachlan also reveals the dark history of how he entered Duke Desmond's service. Before becoming a knight, Lachlan was a highly sought after courtesan. The pleasure houses he worked in were owned by the ruthless LaBeaumont family, who brutally abused and lashed the sex workers. Lachlan used his magical gift to access secrets for powerful clients, achieving fame but growing deeply disillusioned by the systemic cruelty. Lachlan mentored a young, ambitious courtesan named Phaelyn who became the companion of Lisande's brother, Guy LaBeaumont When Phaelyn became pregnant, Guy brutally beat her, and Lachlan discovered the bloody scene, and he used his power to read Guy's mind. He snapped in a fit of rage and left Guy in pieces. Pascal LaBeaumont demanded Lachlan's execution. Desmond intervened, sparing Lachlan's life, and paid off his massive monetary debt to the LaBeaumonts making a Knight of House Macan. This act gave Lachlan hope for a better kingdom under Desmond's potential rule, explaining his fierce loyalty to Desmond's cause despite the heartbreak it now causes him and Charlotte. So this was definitely important to kind of see why he's so steadfastly with Desmond and why ⁓ Rachel: Mm. Kate: doesn't want to do anything that would potentially harm Desmond's chances of becoming king 'cause he he does truly believe that he will be a good king. Rachel: Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. I mean he's they're like besties. Like not only did he save his life, like they're like besties and he saved his life and he Yeah. Kate: Yeah, I know. But it is it's still But it is it is still a complicated relationship because he's also still beholdened to Desmond, like he doesn't want to really be in his service anymore, you know? So it's complicated, but he Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Well he doesn't yeah, he doesn't he doesn't want to give up his ability to have a family ish. Like get married, you know, have land. Kate: Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah, he doesn't want to give up his freedom, right? But he does still believe in Desmond's ability to make the kingdom a better place. So Rachel: Right. Mm-hmm. Kate: Before falling asleep, draws a portrait of him, which is a visual that Kris actually gifted us with ⁓ the form of character art. So we encourage you to take a look online to see this sketch in all its glory. It is beautiful. Rachel: Yes. He's got those big VSLs on full display. Kate: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that's the end of the Tir na Lune section. So some things that were important in this part. ⁓ like we talked about before, that scene where the assailant breaks Vesper's fingers to lure Charlotte out. Like war crime, right? that. ⁓ That so ⁓ disgustingly evil. And I I Rachel: War crime, yes. Kate: had an even stronger reaction to it because right now we are hearing reports of this kind of tactic being used in some of the wars that are happening right now, where there are drones are playing recordings of babies crying and women screaming to people out to help, ⁓ only them to be targeted and shot at by the drones. Like this is a real thing that is happening ⁓ and disgusting and it's horrifically evil. ⁓ And this just felt kind of like a parallel to that and it made me very angry. Rachel: God Kate. This that hasn't made it into my my allotted daily news budget, I guess. That's awful. I'm that's awful. Kate: I know. I know. Yeah, it's truly evil another thing was on full display here is the insufferable arrogance of men. ⁓ Torvil, Aine, is the worst. He's ⁓ just annoy like there's no part of ⁓ any with him that I anything but disdain for him at all. Like ⁓ Rachel: Yeah, no, he sucks. Kate: Charlotte is a much better person than I am because even with the fate of a kingdom on my shoulders, I don't know that I could feign any amount of interest in this ridiculous man. Or at least I couldn't pretend that I don't fucking hate him. Like, many people have told me that I do not have a very good poker face, so ⁓ I think that that would bite me in the ass in this scenario. Rachel: Yeah, same. Same and tiny dick men like that are like the kind that I really have no time for. Kate: Like she had to suffer so much time of him just monologuing at her about himself. Rachel: No, I know. I did love though when she's like, I'll just make him taller and hotter in his photo to make him like me. Yes. Yeah. Kate: I know. Well, again, she's a master manipulator of him. Like she has learned very well exactly what he needs to feel important and strong, you know? So she's very good at flattering him, but it couldn't be me. I he I'm not a good enough actor for that. Rachel: Yeah. You know this guy has a big truck too. Kate: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, he's got like a big lifted truck. ⁓ you would think that those stupid little ladders like make them feel dumb enough to not do that, but it doesn't stop them. Well, th I've seen like l little ⁓ like kind of ⁓ step stools that like flip down to help them get up. Rachel: Like with the Yes, you need like a ladder to get up to his truck. Do they have ladders? ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. No th they they say that that's just for the little lady. You know they're using it though. You know they're using it. Yeah. Kate: ⁓ okay. Alright. It's fucking stupid. ⁓ another thing that we loved in this section was The Amazing Spice. we were completely infatuated with Lachlan, and we got a number of different scenes that all made us fall deeply in love with him. ⁓ and I just love that for Charlotte, she had to suffer so many disappointing lays before this. I cannot imagine the immense relief that she felt at realizing that sex doesn't have to be mediocre. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Kate: I mean, I actually can imagine it because Kris did such a good job writing these scenes. I know exactly how relieved she felt. Rachel: Yeah, we're we're taken we are fully taken on the journey with Charlotte. Yeah. Kate: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Thank goodness for that. And speaking of which, the Dom Kink, I'm a fan. And it's funny that we read this book right after the Wolves of Ruin books because they also feature some pretty good Dom Spice scenes. I'm not mad at it. Like we didn't do that on purpose, but I am glad that we're seeing this theme in the books that we're covering. ⁓ we actually planned to read this book or cover this book before we'd even read it. Rachel: Yes. Mm-hmm. Kate: since we love and just knew that it would be great, but it was a happy little coincidence that my favorite spice genre happened to appear in all three of these books. Rachel: It's interesting that you likened it to the Wolves of Ruin because something that we talked a lot about in our coverage there is like Stark's of Dom versus Killian's. And like I could totally see a Torvil versus ⁓ Like, not that we got that with Torvil, but like I feel like it's like a very similar type of personality ⁓ you know, blonde. ⁓ but also ⁓ ⁓ Kate: ⁓ yeah. Rachel: these doms that we like love, it's like because they're like quiet, they don't say a word other than like what needs to be said in life. Like they are like yes, yes. ⁓ Kate: Yeah, it's that quiet confidence. It's the sexiest thing. Ugh, can't get enough of it. But moving on, another thing that has come up in this book and in that series is no body, no crime. ⁓ because, you know, we Charlotte learns about this purported murder from Duke Cernnunos that there is no evidence. There's no body. They didn't find the candidate that he supposedly killed. Rachel: That's right. Mm-hmm. Kate: So immediately I was suspicious of it. I'm sure that you were too, because you are very adamant, no body, no crime. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kate: There it was like kind of obvious that the villain is maybe not as evil as everyone thought, or at least it was obvious to me because I'm kind of looking for that and I'm hoping for that, you know? it made me really excited to learn more about Duke Cernunnos because it's just one of those situations that I was like, I have a sneaking suspicion that you are going to surprise us. Rachel: Yes, same. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I've really enjoyed that plot twist. Like I felt like it was it was well done where you're suspicious. Like, is he really as bad as they make him sound? It's kind of crazy that Desmond would agree to marry off Aowen to him, considering like everything we know about Desmond, he's a pretty good guy. Like that seems very Kate: Mm-hmm. Right. Rachel: opposed to his character. Kate: Agreed. Yeah, like even especially bargaining off Aowen but even trying to bargain for Charlotte to have a chance to marry him, you know, like if he was truly that evil. But ⁓ that is one thing that I don't know that we really get a resolution on of like, did Desmond know his true character or was he actually kind of an ass there? Rachel: No, I think he did I think he suspected. I think he did. We'll get into it. We'll get I I w ⁓ we'll touch on that when we get to the next section, but I think he did. Kate: Okay. I I like to think he'd he did. Yeah. Okay. All right. And then the last thing here that I wanted to touch on is one of Lachlan's tattoos, which again a pierced, tattooed MMC. my heart. ⁓ but he has a tattoo that reads, Noble deeds need not a noble birth. And I just love this line. It's such a perfect sentiment for him. And I just thought it was pretty beautiful. Rachel: Yeah, I love that too. Alright, Kate, well it's time to go to Tir na Dubh. Charlotte, Aowen, and Vesper travel to Tir na Dubh, which looks like something straight out of a Tim Burton movie with its lopsided windows and chimneys. And Charlotte describes it as having all of the charm of a graveyard. Vesper tries to encourage Charlotte, saying, Food, brave food, which you know we love a line. ⁓ I loved that one. Kate: Adorable. Rachel: We learn that each territory feeds off of the energy of the ruling family, which means this guy must be very evil or very depressed. We meet the Duke, whose name is Sabre and that is how I will refer to him. Kate: Yeah. We don't need to be tripping over Cernunnos the whole time. Rachel: Yeah. And he's surprisingly handsome, though severe. He has black, wavy hair, dark eyes, and two curling horns. He has a pet NecroWolf, which is essentially a zombie wolf named Skadi who seems like she's going to them when they arrive, but is apparently well trained because she stops ⁓ on Sabre's command. Of course, falls in love with this ⁓ half dead creature. Kate: Of course. Rachel: They join the Duke for an intimate meal during which Sabre's attention is continuously caught by Aowen despite her ire at being traded as cattle. We learn that he didn't request her. Rather, she was offered by Desmond. At dinner, it's revealed that Sabre didn't kill the previous favourite, and he doesn't know where the Bannrhorn fragment is. He and the favourite were actually in love, but she wanted children more than anything in the world. So rather than complete the Bannrhorn and wild hunt, they discovered a loophole to allow her to return to the human realm. The ring works by binding itself to the human and can be removed through a claiming or a rejection. If the rejection occurs in the Otherworld and falls off, the human dies due to the time differential. If it falls off in the human world, the human simply loses any memories of the time they wore it. So, and the previous favourite spent their time together, and then she stepped back into the human world at midnight on Mabon. Unbeknownst to him, the favourite took the Bannrhorn with her into the human realm. But Charlotte actually has a chance at finding the missing piece because the favourite was her granny Maggie. Kate: What a twist. I know. Rachel: I loved that twist. That was that was a that was a great full circle plot twist. Kate: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Rachel: Charlotte spends her time in Tir na Dobh, learning everything she can about her grandmother's time spent there. During this time, the tension between Aowen and Sabre clearly becomes something more. She gives him unsolicited advice on how to better rule his territory and eventually works her way up to renovating his manor. Charlotte observes Aowen and considers that she would make a wonderful queen. The night before Mabon, Charlotte travels back to the human realm with the help of an obscura compass in order to find the Bannrhorn. She'll have nine otherworld hours there, two and a half days in the human realm to search. And just before she leaves, Lachlan bursts through the door, insisting that he will accompany her as her bodyguard. Alright. I know, I know. ⁓ Kate: Thank God I was missing him. Rachel: So some things to discuss in this section. The land symbolism. I mean, this was a big one. This is a big one because you're kind of thinking that maybe that's the case. Like I felt like there were like hints of it with the two ⁓ previous territories, but really seeing that that's how the magic system works, seeing that come to life, and learning that, you know, this terrible, creepy place is because of like. The heartbroken Duke that lives there. I mean, I loved that. Kate: I know this detail was beautiful. I thought that it like kind of made the story feel even more like an old school fairy tale. Where like I would I was thinking about like in Beauty and the Beast when they're in the woods and the path splits and one side is like the creepy, dark path that leads towards the beast's castle, and then the other path is like light and airy and charming. And Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: It's just like, I don't know, it's just giving those same vibes the ⁓ atmosphere and the landscape taking on the feelings and the personality of the people in it is just again, it's even when it's describing such a harsh place ⁓ Tir na Dubh it still feels whimsical to me because that's just the kind of magic that it is and I love it. Rachel: Yes. Yeah, I love that. with the land symbolism, there was also the food symbolism. And this is just a single line, but it did stand out to me. So at this initial dinner, when they're still thinking like this guy's creepy, and Charlotte didn't even want to eat the food because she's thinking it could be poisoned. ⁓ she describes it as like beige and bland looking meat and root veggies, but they ended up being delicious ⁓ the wine was as well. And I just love that that was our first hint that Sabre wasn't actually evil. And I just kind of imagined it as like British food. Like it doesn't always look the most appealing, but it's like delicious comfort food. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: the big reveal, the big plot twist in this is Grandma's Secret. I love Granny Maggie's ⁓ Personality was subtly woven throughout the story as Charlotte reflects on memories and how she ended up with her pet snake and just like who Charlotte is as well. With the time differential between the two lands, this connection really brought the story full circle and it gave it such a deeper meeting. Kate: I I love that so much because clearly Charlotte feels a very strong kinship with Granny Maggie. She feels so much more connected to her than she did with any of her other family back in Breton. And so just to see that this adventure that she's been going on, even that is something that she shares with Maggie, is like you said, just a beautiful full circle kind of moment that Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: brings her even closer to her grandmother even in her death. Rachel: Yeah. I ⁓ my gosh, but you know what also I was like scared for a minute when I was reading it. I had this thought that like somebody who wasn't as good of a writer would had them in love with like the same guy, like living the same thing generations apart. You know what I mean? Kate: yeah yeah yeah. No, thank God Kris is better than that. ⁓ I know, I know. No, Kris would never. ⁓ Rachel: Yes, like thank God, because that would have been so creepy. Yeah, like she didn't even hint at it, but I'm just saying, like, I had that thought at one point. I was like, ⁓ thank God the story didn't go that way. Kate: Mm-hmm. Yeah, be like, Well, your grandmother's dead, but I guess you'll do Rachel: Yeah. I mean I d I could see I feel like a a dark romance could easily go that way, you know. Kate: That's true. But this story was not that kind of dark. Rachel: Yeah. ⁓ and then the creepy critters, so you know of course Charlotte loves the zombie dogs, like she just loves the creepy crawlies. Kate: I know, and I'm not surprised that she loves Skadi, but I don't I don't know. I love dogs so much, but I think I would still struggle to pet like a decaying zombie wolf. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, no. I love dogs, but when they have something like wrong with them, like you know, like I like dogs that I have love, like my own pets when they get like lumpy or their hair's missing, like I still love them and I want to care for them, but I'm like, ⁓ you're gross right now. Like I don't want to touch that spot. You know? Kate: Aw Yeah, the the descriptions of Skadi's behavior sounded very cute, but the descriptions of Skadi's physical ⁓ ⁓ decaying flesh, the exposed ⁓ and muscle and s ⁓ word sinew a lot, which I ⁓ yeah, it was a very vivid depiction. Rachel: Yeah. Decaying flesh. Kate: That did not make me want to like cuddle up to this dog. Rachel: ⁓ and then finally Aowen and Sabre. So we'll get into it a can we're gonna keep talking about them as we as the story progresses, but I do love watching them, you know, get to know one another and start to fall for one another. Cause Sabre really needs a badass woman to pull him out of the depths of his despair. And Granny Maggie sounds like she was quite the firecracker. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: So it makes sense that he would fall for Aowen. ⁓ I was wondering how to like describe them because I don't think it's grumpy and sunshine. Like I don't know that I would describe Aowen as sunshine. Kate: ⁓ she's definitely not sunshine. Rachel: But she's not grumpy either. It's like like grumpy and get your shit together. Kate: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of. Cause yeah, it's they don't they don't fit exactly into that mold, but they just complement each other so well. ⁓ like she is, like you said, this firecracker kind of personality. She is definitely grumpy, but is also not shy. Like she's very Rachel: Yeah. Kate: Personable when she wants to be. You know, like we saw how social she was ⁓ the court in Tir na Lune We see in this one how she immediately makes friends with the people in the kingdom and is, you know, just always gathering information. And, you know, so that's not exactly the depiction of Grumpy that we see in other kinds of stories, you know. So she's really her own thing, but she's Rachel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kate: fiercely independent. ⁓ fact that Sabre is ⁓ ⁓ think protective of that and is encouraging of that part of her. Of you like she's gonna put herself into whatever situation she wants to, and he's gonna go that and be like, yeah, no, that's great. You can help me do this. And You're gonna be, you know, a strong partner at my side. And I'd I'd love that we're gonna see this this happy ending with them because I was kind of worried when we heard that Aowen was gonna be, you know, used as a bargaining chip and that her marriage was not going to be her choice, that, you know, she's she's gonna want to choose this. Rachel: Yes. Mm-hmm. Yes, yeah. Kate: Alright, so we are moving into the next Breton scene where Charlotte and Lachlan materialize inside the Fitzroy family mausoleum. After weeks apart, they share a brief but passionate kiss, and Lachlan reveals that his mind reading magic does not work in the human realm. They emerge into the cemetery, Charlotte visits her grandmother's headstone. She realizes that while she felt gone for only about four months. Two full years have passed in the human realm, so she has been a missing person. Rachel: Well Kate: They retreat to Granny Maggie's cottage, where Lachlan weaves a glamour to disguise himself as a human, though he's still devilishly handsome. While searching the cottage for the missing horn fragment, Lachlan tells Charlotte that her would be poisoner was caught. ⁓ valet found poison in the room of a man named Timothy Hopnell, who I believe is the son ⁓ the Lord Hopnell that Charlotte was going to be painting. Timothy is scheduled to be executed during the upcoming wild hunt. And the way that they describe this is brutal, where he's not going to be participating in the wild hunt as the Dukes are. He's literally just going to be another person that they're going to be hunting down like Charlotte, except their goal is to kill him. So that's no, not to claim him. Rachel: Not to bone him. They got they need to get the testosterone moving before they get to their final prey. ⁓ jeez. Kate: I know, but But how brutal, you chop his head off or something, but no, they're gonna make him be hunted ⁓ like prey. Oof. ⁓ Rachel: I mean he tried to kill the queen, so Kate: Did he though? Rachel: Guess we'll see. Kate: ⁓ So so yeah, fun news. But they go upstairs to have sex and literally she's in the midst of riding him and she experiences a breakthrough. So she's Yeah, I mean, listen, some people have shower thoughts. Charlotte finds inspiration elsewhere. And Rachel: What'd that dick do? Apparently turns her brain on. Yeah, I have highway thoughts. So you just get screaming voicemails from me from the highway. Kate: I I mean, yeah, I have gotten some very very rambling voice messages from from Rachel. ⁓ yeah, and if if you do ever find inspiration the way that Charlotte does, please don't call me. Okay, we can talk about it later. Rachel: Okay. I won't give you a voice message then. Kate: So anyway, she's riding him and then she's like, ⁓ light bulb. She makes a connection between a sketchbook that she's been ⁓ looking at that has been reacting to her ring. So she, you know, gets that warming sensation that she gets when she's close to finding one of the horn fragments. And ⁓ she starts to make a connection between something that she saw in that sketchbook and her favourite painting at her family estate that's called The Knight Departs. So she realizes that her grandmother must have been the artist and painted it as an ode to her own past in the Otherworld. Because as you recalled, her grandma would have had about a week before the ring fell off. So she had a week that she was in ⁓ that she still remembered what was. going on in the Otherworld. So, you know, she must have painted it during that time. Rachel: Mm. Kate: The next morning, Charlotte runs into her cousin Lizzie, who reveals married a Duke at the end of her season. Lachlan plays along as Charlotte's husband of two years to explain her long absence, ⁓ which Lizzie kind of just accepts, which ⁓ is fun. I people can just disappear, and when you have cell phones to keep track of someone, ⁓ I guess, you know, maybe two years is able to just explained away. Rachel: Yeah, yeah. You know, you you're not looking on Facebook to see where they've been traveling to. Kate: Yeah. Back at Stillwater Hall, Charlotte and Lachlan examine the Knight departs. Lachlan notices the vanguard moths painted around the figures, and he explains that these moths are not from the human world, they live in a specific tree called a beacon oak that allows Otherworld creatures to return home, ⁓ he knows exactly where it is hidden. Before they can leave for the tree, they must endure a family dinner, and Charlotte's loser ex George sits next to her and he's completely hammered. George crudely insults Charlotte, and so Lachlan slams him up against the wall, threatening to rip out his intestines if he ever disrespects her again. And George wets himself, which is beautiful karma. Rachel: He's also balding. Kate: ⁓ yes. The two years of her absence have not been kind to him. Which good. The next morning, Lachlan carries Charlotte into a deeply hidden cave surrounded by thousands of vanguard moths. Inside they find the colossal luminescent beacon oak planted by the goddess Danu. Guided by a crimson ribbon wrapped around a root that matches a detail from the painting. Rachel: No. Kate: They unearth a box containing the missing bell of the Bannrhorn. With less than an hour left before they are forced back to the Otherworld, Lachlan makes stunning confession. He reveals that Desmond actually didn't give him permission to leave, and he came to find her because he's deeply in love with her. Which, of course, we knew. Rachel: Ha ha ha. Kate: He explains that a year ago, which would have been seven years in human time, Desmond had him use the minds of Vanguard moths to spy on the human realm. Lachlan saw Charlotte sketching in the woods and fell head over heels in love with her from afar. Lachlan begs Charlotte to keep him as a secret lover even after she crowns Desmond and becomes queen, stating that he would rather suffer sharing her in public than lose her entirely. Recognizing that a hidden arrangement ultimately destroy his soul the way George's similar proposal would have done to her, Charlotte selflessly refuses, telling him he deserves to be loved out loud. Heartbroken, Charlotte requests that Lachlan dissolve their mental connection as soon as they return, and Lachlan agrees. WOW this was this was so beautiful and so heartbreaking. And ⁓ there's a lot to unpack here, but I do want to start with George's humiliation because it was chef's kiss. Rachel: That's a lot. Yeah. Chevsky, yes, perfection. Kate: just again, a glorious bit of karma. The detail of him wetting himself was amazing. ⁓ I love that we get to see his downfall. ⁓ ⁓ lovely. You know what? He should have made her come more. Okay? Like ⁓ is what you get if you don't put in the effort. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Kate: We also got a bit of a redemption for Lizzie, which I found really interesting because, you know, in the first scenes that we get in Breton with Lizzie, she's very selfish. She's, you know, self-absorbed and just not necessarily like a great companion to Charlotte. ⁓ and I kind of I like that we get to see Charlotte's family through some fresh eyes. Not everyone has changed that dramatically, you know. But it was nice to see that her cousins really do care about her. And it felt like with the confidence that she gained in the Otherworld, she was able to see that not everyone in her life was out to get her. And it seemed to kind of soften some of the rough edges that had been crafted from years of self-doubt and social anxiety. You know, so like whether Lizzie actually changed in the last two years, ⁓ whether Charlotte's kind of seeing her through fresh eyes and noticing that like maybe she did. care about her a little bit more than she thought, you know, when she was feeling so l so much less confident. You know, it did it was kind of nice to see a different side of her. And again, she didn't change that dramatically. She was still Lizzie, but she she cared. She missed Charlotte, you know. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. Like, she's like this at the end of the book, too. I don't like go into it too much in our summary, so I'll just speak to it now. But like when she, you know, goes back and she's there with her, and then she moves into Granny Maggie's house. ⁓ Lizzie keeps talking about how she's gonna miss the first party of the season. Like Kate: Yeah. Yeah. So she she's still Lizzie. Okay. She still cares what other people think and but but yeah, she's not as selfish that as Charlotte thought. And again, I like to think that it's, you know, some changes that ⁓ Charlotte has had are just allowing her to kind of see that different side to Lizzie. So I like that. Rachel: Yeah. Exactly. I think so. Yeah, no, she definitely it's like less bitter. Like it's more self-assured, less bitter. I mean, you know, it's when we talked to Kris in the interview with her, she talked about like how it's this sort of journey of like self-discovery and finding someone who values you and this really shows like the power of having that kind of love. Kate: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. It makes it makes all the edges a little bit softer, which I love. ⁓ and then one of the last lines of this section, you deserve to be loved out loud. Such a beautiful sentiment. Charlotte is recognizing it in this moment, not only for Lachlan's sake, but also for her own. Like she's realizing that she deserves that as well. And she didn't get that for a lot of her life. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: ⁓ and I've also heard this sentiment used a lot in queer love stories, ⁓ where, you know, a character finally comes to terms with the fact that they don't deserve to be a shameful secret. They deserve to be loved openly and to love openly. And it's seriously such a beautiful thing. But of course in this case it's also heartbreaking. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Kate, it's time for some more heartbreak because it's time for the wild hunt. Charlotte is at the Sanctuary of the Eternal Mother, which is carved into a peak of the mountains overlooking the Eldergrove where the wild hunt will take place. Lachlan dissolved the diamhran after he left her. In preparation, the priestesses braid her hair into a crown with white flowers and wrap her in white silk pinned at the shoulders and hip, along with slippers. These are certainly not clothes meant for actually running in the hunt. They're just clothes meant for being unwrapped. Charlotte also wears the gold bracelet Torvil gifted her, which she is happy to see when they gather for the ceremony to start the hunt. In contrast, The three dukes there in hunting gear, beautiful, polished attire in their own styles, but hunting gear nonetheless, and they are heavily armed. Charlotte realizes it's to fight one another. Each Duke is allowed a second, and of course Desmond chooses Lachlan. Charlotte is allowed a second as well and chooses Aowen despite Torvil's protests as she is part of House Macan The Head Priestess them in a ceremony of vows, then assembles the Bannrhorn fragments and blows the horn, signaling the start of the wild hunt. The Blast of the Horn transports Aowen and Charlotte into the heart of the Eldergrove, and Aowen immediately jumps into action, pouring concealed puca piss all over them to hide their scent from Torvil's hounds. Of course, she has Vesper concealed inside her jacket, which is critical. They need someone to take Torvil's bracelet far, far away because it is obviously a tracker, and I'm so glad. It seems so obvious to me when he gave her that. I'm so glad that Kris was like, Yes, it is obvious and we're getting rid of that. Kate: Yes, thank God. I was so worried that that was gonna come back and like Charlotte was somehow going to have missed that. But once again, Kris is better than that. So relieved. Rachel: Right. Yeah. Aowen has more appropriate clothes for running hidden under her cloak, which she gives Charlotte to change into, and forces her to swap her golden slippers for Aowen's boots. And she gives Charlotte a small t-shaped blade called a thorn dagger, telling her to aim for the soft bits. Sabre and Aowen have a plan. Sabre will protect Desmond while Charlotte and Aowen determine their location and send it to them through the diamrhan ⁓ And this is why the whole team needs to be clued into the strategy ahead of time. Aowen Aowen is very frustrated to learn that Charlotte and Lachlan dissolved the diamrhan Kate: Whoopsie Rachel: But gives her a break when Charlotte explains that she loves Lachlan and it was just too painful to keep the connection. When Vesper returns, they head for the smoke that she spotted while scouting. They spot Torvil's báshounds, Mortis and Aegus, along with Torvil, his second, ⁓ and what's this? A third cloaked figure. ⁓ Of course cheating. And Aowen pissed that she he her move. crashes into the clearing to distract them as Charlotte sprints away, but one of the bashounds, Anguis, pursues her. She climbs a tree, but soon Torvil and his second appear with are, insisting that she come down or they'll kill Aowen Charlotte pretends to have been enchanted into choosing Aowen and during this exchange, Vesper appears and bites into the knight's ear as Aowen stabs Torvil. They flee, jumping into a waterfall to escape. When they manage to free themselves from the water, they are disoriented again, how far they traveled. Aowen and Charlotte rest, and as they chat, Aowen reveals she's developed feelings for Sabre and is now excited to marry him, Threatening to break Charlotte's legs if she tries to claim him herself. Charlotte falls a I love it. Love you, but you're not touching my man. Kate: Amazing. Mm, mm-hmm. Hands off. Rachel: Charlotte falls asleep and wakes up to find Timothy Hopnell, who reveals he was framed. He never actually tried to assassinate her. In fact, it was Torvil he has discovered that he doesn't actually need to marry Charlotte to be king. He just needs the novillum inside her. The poison would have extracted it from her ⁓ and tied it back to the Of course, Timothy is also wearing a tracker bracelet while he's telling her this, and Anguis swiftly appears, devouring Just as he turns towards Charlotte, Lachlan arrives to save the day on Skadi's back and slays Anguis When they ask how they found them, we get this incredible line from Lachlan. I don't need magic to find the other half of my soul. Kate: ⁓ my god. This was so beautiful. Rachel: I know. Then Vesper appears on the back of Andraste. It's time for Charlotte to go to Desmond. she rides Andraste to him and she says the vows to Desmond, and just as he is about to say his vows. An arrow pierces him through the heart. Sabre captures the murderer, Torvil's third man, Sir Quinn. Enraged, Aowen slits his throat. As they mourn, Mortis finds them, and Charlotte gives herself up to this báshound and goes with him to find Torvil, where he is waiting for her on a cliff. He shows her ⁓ the poison, which will pull the novillum from her. And bind it to the ring, and the antidote, which would not only prevent her from dying, but also allow her to live in the Otherworld, completely compatible with Fae. And he offers her a deal. He'll give her land, a title, and reassurance that she and Lachlan will be safe if she gives him the Novillum seed and supports his new world order. But Charlotte refuses and stabs him with her dagger. After an intense struggle where it looks like surely Torvil will win. Charlotte manages to stab him again in the neck. Mortis appears, lunging for Charlotte, but Aowen arrives just in time, shooting an arrow through his eye. Before the momentum sends Mortis and Torvil over the cliff along with the antidote, is able to grab the potion from Torvil's hand. Sabre and Lachlan appear, and though no one is happy about it, Sabre offers to claim Charlotte. But Charlotte has a better idea. There will be no king, but there could be a queen. She'll take the potion and extract the novillum, allowing Aowen to become queen. And if they time it perfectly, Charlotte can take the potion and step through the archway as it opens, allowing her to survive in the mortal realm, just with no memories intact. They say their goodbyes with Vesper finally giving her a new name. Friend, cherished friend. Andraste flies Lachlan and Charlotte to the center of the Eldergrove, and they spend their last hour together bathing in hot springs and making love. As the archway appears, Charlotte feels the ring loosen. She takes the potion, and Lachlan pushes her through the gate, saying, By the life in my veins, the will in my heart, by the persistence of my soul, I you, Charlotte Emilie Fitzroy, I am yours forevermore. Ugh. The if the book ended there, it still would have been beautiful. You know what I mean? Like it still would have been a great book. And I s but I loved what happened next. Yes. Yes. I mean, this was devastating. let's start on the happy side. Sabre and Aowen are clearly so made for each other. Have you seen the character art for Aowen? Like she's basically Megan Fox. Kate: I know, I mean s heartbreaking. Yeah, thank God. Mm. Yes, I have seen that. It's g very much giving like Megan Fox a la Jennifer's body. Rachel: And Yes, yes. And going into the wild hunt, Charlotte describes Sabre as quote, a gathering storm in all black with those two curved daggers at his hips. And then his second is wearing a necro wolf helmet. Like these two are metal and I love it. And I'm right, like they are so metal. And I'm curious, like, what is the world going to look like when they are in power together? Kate: ⁓ so metal. Yeah. I I mean we get we don't really get much of a a glimpse of it. I wish that we got a little bit more of a visual for that because I love the imagery in this book so much and the small glimpse that we get of the realm under their rule is just not enough for me. I want more. Rachel: I do too. I think Kris need we need Kris. Kris, we're begging. We need a Sabre Aowen spicy novella. I need it. Like I I need a nightmare before solstice holiday novella where they deck out their newly renovated Tim Burton mansion with like black holiday decor. Kate: ⁓ that would be so great. Ha ha ha. that would be incredible. Yes, please, Kris. Rachel: yes, okay. Vesper. ⁓ Vesper had some good lines. I loved the last line when she called her a friend, but ⁓ she gives her the bracelet to like chuck it and get rid of it, ⁓ says food, smart food, Kate: Mm-hmm. Yes, she's still food, but she's brave food or smart food or ⁓ yeah. again, I was just so relieved that Charlotte clocked that bracelet because obviously we did when Torvil first gave it to her. ⁓ And I it felt so obvious that I was pretty sure that Charlotte would know what was up and would do something about it. Rachel: Yes. Kate: But I still wasn't like there was still part of me that was a little bit worried. And I was just very happy when she was like, ⁓ yeah, this thing is totally tracking me. Like, obviously. So I'm just gonna use it against him the way that he was trying to use it against me. But the fact that Charlotte clocked that, but fucking Timothy didn't. And like she she didn't grow up with magic. She like, I wouldn't have totally blamed her if she Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. ⁓ Kate: wasn't thinking about the fact that like magic could have the ability to do something like that, you know, like she's not familiar with it. Timothy grew up with this shit and he is still just like, ⁓ it's just a pretty, pretty gift that I got. Rachel: Yeah. Yeah, but he's like a classic man. Kate: I know, he's an idiot, but still. Rachel: we mentioned this at the beginning, but not a mother. So Torvil reveals that the antidote would make Charlotte and Lachlan compatible in every way, including that she would be able to have his babies. ⁓ she thinks to herself, like, of course this man assumes that she wants children. Kate: Mm-hmm. Rachel: And I just love that we have an FMC who doesn't give a fuck about that. again, it's Kris taking this very common trope and turning it around and saying, Yeah, no, fingers in the air to you know what I'm saying? ⁓ Kate: Mm. Yeah. And even the political structure of the Otherworld kind of does that too, of like it's not based on genealogy. So even though this whole wild hunt ⁓ is also insane, ⁓ an insane way to pass the crown, but still like the fact that a queen's whole purpose in life is not just to create an heir, it it's it that's nice too, you know. So like there were a few ways that we kind of like flipped that one on its head. Rachel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yes. Finally, Desmond R-I-P. Pour one out for our homie. Obviously, Desmond had to die. Like, as I was reading this book and thinking about everything that could possibly happen, I just kept thinking Desmond has to die. I would have liked if we could have found a way around it, but it just seemed like if we were getting an H E A. Kate: Mm. Rachel: it wasn't gonna be with him around, you know. ⁓ the only only other thing that I was thinking maybe would be fun was if he had been gay and in love with Sabre. ⁓ which I also it would have been fun. But then Aowen would have had to do something else. You know, I I love how Kris tied up all the loose ends and those that she couldn't, ⁓ she killed off. Kate: I know. That would have been fun. Yeah. Hey, that's a that's tying it in a pretty clean knot, if you ask me. But yeah, I was trying to think of how this would work out and her still be able to be with Lachlan. One of the scenarios that I was thinking about was like, what if Desmond does, you know, take her as his queen and they rule for a time, but then Desmond dies in some other way, and then Lachlan and Charlotte just found their way back to each other. I was thinking that that could have been a scenario. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Kate: But it still would have required them to be apart for some amount of time. And also Desmond still would have had to die. Rachel: He also another option another option also could have been that Desmond claimed her just that one time, but then he was in the cuck chair for the rest of their marriage. Kate: Ha ha ha. Mm-hmm. Right. But again, we kind of like they they talked about that scenario and Charlotte was like, it would have hurt him too much. It would have hurt both of them too much to not be fully openly together. Rachel: ⁓ right. Yeah. True. And also like we need Queen Aowen. Like Aowen needed to be Queen. Kate: Yeah. I I I love the way that it this this ended up, even if Desmond still had to die. I I liked him, but I didn't like him so much that I was devastated by this, to be honest. Rachel: Same, big, same, big, same. That was not the devastating the devastation. I was devastated by Granny Maggie's entire existence and entire story. That was devastating. And Kate: Yeah. No. That was not the heartbreaking part. Rachel: Charlotte losing her memories and going back in time. So basically two generations of Fitzroy women losing their fairy memories. That was that was sad. Kate: Yeah. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah. Rachel: Back in three and a half years go by, and we learn that Charlotte was discovered by Lizzie's husband in the woods behind Stillwater with no memories. They tell her of her husband, Lachlan Cathal but she has no memory of him. And though they've searched, no one has been able to find him. She spends several years at Stillwater recovering from her ordeal, and though she feels like something is missing, she just can't recall Lachlan. But now she's created a career as an artist is moving into her granny Maggie's cottage for a quiet life in the country. As she unpacks her favorite painting, The Knight Departs, she notices a letter in the bottom of the frame to Margaret from Margaret. She reads the letter over and over, and it reveals her grandmother's original fairy tale, and that Granny Maggie stole the Bannrhorn for her at the urging of the seer. Hearing sounds in the night, Charlotte goes outside and finds a box on her stoop with an engraved ring that says for my favourite. She slides it onto her finger and steps through the door as the clock strikes midnight. The epilogue is our one and only Lachlan POV, and we learn that in the six months, ⁓ six months, three and a half human years, since she left, a skilled sorcerer had been able to extract a small wisp of the novillum's power and bind it to the ring without delegitimizing Aowen's crown. Aowen has dubbed Lachlan Duke of House Smythe overseeing Campan's Vale. Though Charlotte doesn't remember Lachlan, she recognizes him from her drawings. He says to her, ⁓ I made a promise to you once if you ran away, I would hunt you down and return you. Will you return to me? And when she says yes, he says he'll tell her a fairy tale as they travel to the castle together. ⁓ Kate. I just love this book. Let's final thoughts. Final thoughts. I thought it was perfect. Kate: Yeah. ⁓ I I loved it. I loved it as well. I it had everything that I wanted. It had the darkness, but it had the whimsy. It was also a standalone, which you know I I love a good standalone because sometimes I just cannot commit to an entire series. And yeah, it just like everywhere everywhere that I wanted the story to go, it went. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes. Kate: I didn't have like we had a few moments of those like, no, like it could go in this direction and ⁓ then it ended up going where we wanted it to go. And I just ⁓ I loved it. I, you know, we've read what four of books at this point from the Memory Puller series. And this one, it's ⁓ it's you know, the romantasy genres still, but it's very different from The Memory Puller Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kate: and again, just the way that she was able to build these characters and give them so much depth in a standalone was beautiful. And I cannot wait to read more from her. You know, like obviously The Memory Puller is coming to a close by the end of this year. But as we heard in our interview with her, she has some other things. Rachel: Yes. Kate: on the horizon that we're really excited for and this just made me Just I'm s I have so much anticipation now for for what's next because this was so good and I enjoyed it so much. I'll definitely be reading it again, even though I've read it like twice at this point. Rachel: I know, I agree. Like, I mean, we talked about this in our interview with her as well. It was just so different from the memory puller. The the world was different. The the tone was so different. I mean, ⁓ other than the fae having fangs, there was really not a lot in common with Kate: No, it this was so much more i it was like a fairy tale, like they said, you know, and like there are Fae in puller, but it is not a fairy tale. ⁓ Rachel: Yes. Yeah, exactly. And I just I felt if I read them ⁓ blind, I could be that it's two different writers. Like that's how different I felt that they were. ⁓ That was such an enjoyable read. And I also want to read the rest of the Immortal Hunters series. I mean, or collection, I not series. It's they're not related at all, other than the hunted part. ⁓ Kate: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, they they have a a shared theme but not any shared worlds. Rachel: Right. ⁓ but that's nice because we can just kind of read ⁓ whenever. Like it's not yeah. Kate: Yeah. More standalones. I know. I mean, I I hope that this is a a glimpse at, you know, the the quality that we can expect from the rest of that collection. ⁓ because yeah, this was this was just lovely. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kate: All right, it it wouldn't be deep trope if we didn't touch on the tropes that we saw here. and Rachel, I will ask you to to help if I missed any here, but I think we've got a pretty good list. one horse or one kelpie in this case. ⁓ Portal Travel, which was a lot of fun in this one. And we saw actually a few different versions of portals in in this story. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kate: ⁓ A Fight for the Throne, Forbidden Love, A Good Girl, Praise Kink. Love that. Which because I I did ⁓ I don't we didn't go into a lot of detail about it, but we did get a good girl in there, you know, along with the Dom. So gotta throw that in there. We got seduction practice, which only lasted like one night, really, because let's be honest. ⁓ Rachel: Yes. Yeah. Kate: She didn't at once she learned Torvil's motives a little bit better, she really didn't need the practice. She just loved fucking Lachlan, which girl, I get it. but technically there was some seduction practice in there. ⁓ we got the use me twice, you know, one from Lachlan, one from Charlotte. Love that. A princess and night, which again brings you back to that traditional fairy tale dynamic. Rachel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kate: ⁓ and then not only was he a knight, but he was also frequently referred to as her bodyguard. So I'm gonna throw that one in there too, as kind of like a separate one because a bodyguard trope is yeah. Good vibes, good vibes. Did I miss anything? Rachel: ⁓ yeah. You know. Love a bodyguard. Yeah. ⁓ well there's he bathes her. So in this hot springs he bathes her. And I think actually doesn't he bathe her in the hot in the tub as well? Kate: ⁓ yes. Yes, he does after he spanks her. Mm-hmm. He Rachel: Yeah. Well, because he he is ver he's a good Dom because he's very good at the aftercare, which is an important part of it. Kate: He is. It is, yes. Rachel: Prince Charming. I would call that a trope. ⁓ Mech Yeah. Yeah. Desmond's Prince Charming and Lachlan is the knight in shar shining armor. Kate: For for de you're calling Desmond the Prince Charming? Yeah. No, I I would agree. Yeah. True, true. Rachel: Memory loss twice. Two different characters. Kate: Ooh. I think that's a pretty good list. ⁓ good tropes. ⁓ I I I love the way that the tropes were used in this story because none of them felt ⁓ like overdone ⁓ or like they being jammed down our throat like ⁓ we've felt with a few other books. ⁓ It it just natural to the story, but still gave us a lot of what we were looking for. Rachel: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah, we loved it. Kate: So thank you, Kris, for this because this I think that this might be ⁓ my favorite book this year. I mean, I still have a lot to read. There's a lot coming up this fall, as r the romantasy ⁓ book community knows, but I think this will be Rachel: Yeah. No, I mean, I gotta be honest. I've been reading some bangers this year. Like I'm so excited that we started this podcast because like there are so many books that I can't wait to talk about. And this was just, I agree, like just such a treat. Like I I felt like after I finished reading it, I was grinning ear to ear, like had like butterflies in my belly. Like it's just like a book that will put a smile on your face. Kate: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Rachel: Well, thank you for joining us for our mini deep dive into Hunted by the Fae Duke. We hope you enjoyed this condensed version of our usual content. And if you liked this episode and you haven't listened to our interview with author Kris K. Haines yet, go check it out. You'll definitely want to hear about what's coming next from her. Kate: And like we said before, we do have a few fun things left in store for the rest of this month. So be sure to subscribe and follow us on social to stay informed. Rachel: All right, let's get out of here and get back to reading. Kate: Bye.