As the king’s niece, Elise Lysander is a powerful political piece that can be married off to secure wealth, alliances, or power. To arrange the best possible match, a well-known merchant is tasked with being Elise’s dowry negotiator. Legion Grey dutifully steps into the role, but Elise discovers that the wealthy man is much more than he seems. As tensions in the kingdom rise, Elise finds herself turning to the mysterious Legion Grey, hoping that he may be the answer to both her heart and a future that ends her family’s cruel reign.
Curse of Shadows and Thorns by LJ Andrews is anything but subtle, and obscurity is not this story’s strong suit. It’s written with a heavy hand, leaving no doubt as to what type of people the characters are or where the story is going. There’s not a lot of mystery for you to uncover here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It won’t challenge you, but it will let you sit back and relax while it dutifully doles out its secrets.
As soon as we meet Elise, we are reminded often that she is “not like other rich white girls” because she is sympathetic to the servant class and fae folk. Elise constantly tuts at her rich, heartless family’s racist leanings and sees her servants as friends. And while the story’s sentiment is in the right place, overall the protagonist’s characterization made me uncomfortable because it’s just there to make Elise look like a good person, and it painted her as naive. The servant characters act like tools to prop up Elise and remind us how remarkable she is for not treating them as less than. It’s not unforgivably bad, but I did feel a little icky at how frivolous the race and class relations were portrayed at times, especially when it feels like it’s pretty common knowledge in media by now that this is a problematic character element.
The foreshadowing throughout this book is also so in your face that what I’m about to tell you can’t even be considered spoilers because it’s going to be waiting for you right on the page. Not only is Elise the perfect, woke protagonist, but mysterious Legion Grey is surrounded by blinking neon signs that point out all his secrets. Isn’t it so strange that Legion disappears all the time or that he looked really sick that one day or that he reacted so poorly when Elise mentioned the Blood Wraith? Elise, with her heart of gold, is very naive, and she looks at Legion with puppy dog eyes so big it blinds her from every secret that is revealed so carelessly around her.
Surprisingly, I was entertained by Curse of Shadows and Thorns to an extent, but it was because I quickly accepted that I was not going to be actively uncovering anything in the story. I liked Elise and Legion’s dynamic as they navigated their growing feelings for one another. As her dowry negotiator, it does put Legion in difficult spots, and it was nice to see him prioritize Elise’s happiness and safety above all else. This story is perfectly laid out for the reader, and while I sidestepped around the murky race themes, I found ways to enjoy this little tale.
Rating: Curse of Shadows and Thorns – 6.5/10
-Brandee
