5 Spontaneous Flower Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

This book just puts a smile on your face…

So it's not really a secret, just more of an unknown fact, that I used to be obsessed with Historical Romance. This was all before I started writing reviews and before my dreaded 3-year book slump. But I can actually say - I liked Brigerton before it was cool.. Now I am obsessed with Romantsy, it's like my literary catnip, that I can't seem to get enough of...

AND this book is a perfect blend of the two as it took a beautiful mix of fantasy and historical romance and came up with a magical story that was utterly fantastical and brilliant. Some people have said it's like a Fae Bridgerton, which is correct but actually it's more than that. It's more akin to any great historical romance, such as Pride and Prejudice, just with a little more smut on the page and fewer hand flexes. Being within its pages as the story progressed felt like coming home after a long winter in the snow. It was like finding a long-lost love or turning nostalgic and wistful at a memory of a good time well spent.

This book follows Edwina Danforth, who is a human on a book tour in the Fae Islands for her spicy romance novels. Due to events out of her control, her book tour is hijacked by William Haywood as she missed her first two signings. William is a writer of poetry and is super arrogant and judgmental towards Edwina. The two realize that their publisher is going to award a three-book deal to the writer of the tour who sells the most books, and both of them have valid reasons for needing the money. Edwina - knowing she's missed out on two signings and is already behind William - strikes up a bet instead: the winner being awarded the contract. The bet: the person who can seduce and successfully perform an act of personal intimacy in their bedroom with the most people.

I adored the world-building as it was easy to understand and it felt exactly like a historical fiction novel. You could feel the period in the words, and see the time by the way the characters spoke and dressed. This gave a delightful blend of regency with the magic and wonder of fantasy, maintaining the propriety of the time but mixing certain aspects with the absurd. This wasn't a problem though because these eccentricities were accepted. After all, we were on the Fae Island, and the Fae were not as modest as the humans in Bretton. It was also thrilling to see something painted as "Historical" be so accepting. Some characters use "They" as their pronouns and Edwina's work in progress she is writing throughout the novel features an MM romance.

Edwina is an interesting character because she is incredibly stubborn and often prideful in how she reacts. She will let nothing stand in her way to win and is determined to make a name for herself. She is also very peculiar and curious - which puts her in some very interesting scenarios.

William has a secret. The person he portrays as William the Poet is not the same as the person who he is away from the spotlight and there is something about Edwina that makes him want to show her the true version of who he is. As he spends more time with her, he realizes how smart and beautiful she is and he finds it more and more difficult to get Edwina out of his mind.

Their chemistry was spectacular and well-developed. Their banter was giggle-inducing and there is probably one of the best "acted-out sexy" scenes in book I have ever seen. I was kicking my legs, screaming and squealing when this happened. I also liked that there was a balance of character development and plot.

Tropes in this include:
▶ Cosy Fantasy
▶ Dual POV
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Enemies Rivals to Lovers
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Voyeurism
▶ Nicknames
▶ "Use Me"
▶ Chin Lifts

Overall, this was a gorgeous, beautiful, cosy fantasy that made me reminisce on how much I used to adore historical romance and reminded me why I now love romantasy. I cannot wait to see the rest of the books in the series.

Thank you to Tessonja Odette and Netgalley for my gifted ARC copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.