The Fulcrum is failing, and demons are slipping into the mortal world. No one is safe.Especially not Sorrel. An orphan and an outcast within the walls of her small village because of her mystical abilities. She wants to survive…and find somewhere she can call her true home. But Fate has other plans. Sorrel has been chosen. Cursed. She must cross the Badlands to return the Queen’s crown and convince the fearsome female to save their world from destruction. Well aware she’s no brave hero, Sorrel makes a dangerous deal with Merc, a brooding, commanding mercenary known only by his unscrupulous profession. The deal? A night in his bed that she will never forget, in exchange for her safe passage. But Merc has secrets of his own, and even though desire runs hot between them, adventure, danger, and betrayal lurk around every corner.

I was really pleased with the world building in this novel. It was really easy to grasp the good vs evil world, the similarities to some of our own history helped. Sorrel with her healing magic and ability to look in someone’s eyes and see their death would have gotten her burned as witch so seeing her own village shun her was ignorant, yes, but also understandable from history’s perspective. It worked in this fantasy realm where despite being treated pretty abominably by her village she still wanted to help them survive against he evil that was coming.

The man who shows up and helps her with her quest, too, is easy to understand. A warrior who seems to have a knack for survival and isn’t afraid to kill would come in handy. Add in some chemistry between Merc and Sorrel and the plot seems promising. I just wish that heat had been more forthcoming.

This is a series so you expect a continuation of the story into book 2 but I was a little surprised and a little disappointed at the abruptness of the ending. The story had a lot of momentum through the entire book but then seemed to lack some explosiveness at the end. Despite that, I’m curious as to how this story will move forward and will be back for book 2!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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