Smoke and Scar Book Blurb Birthed in shadow. Forged in fire A Splintered Kingdom An ancient grudge has kept humans and the magical races of Arcanis at odds for centuries. The Arcane Crucible, a legendary series of trials that occurs every 25 years, offers a chance for peace. A Haunted Warrior Elyria Lightbreaker, once a celebrated fae war hero, is a shadow of her former self. Drowning in grief after losing the man she loved to the previous Crucible, now she must rise to stop his sister from falling to the same fate. A Vengeful Knight Hardened by loss and fueled by hate, Cedric Thorne’s lifelong goal to conquer the Crucible on humanity’s behalf is finally within reach. The only problem? Getting through the trials alive means working with Elyria—the very fae he blames for his parents’ deaths. An Unwinnable Challenge With alliances fragile as spun glass and betrayal lurking at every turn, Elyria and Cedric must navigate deadly trials that test their strength, spirit, an...
I kept delaying writing the review because I had to remember it and didn't want to do that. This 2nd book of Cat and Mouse duet is the story of a human trafficking survivor. This book is a huge TRIGGER WARNING . Kindly proceed with caution. I even got traumatized after reading it. So to explain the synopsis; Adeline (the main character) got kidnapped at the end of the first book and sold to some people who groomed her for some very rich and powerful clients. Almost half of the book is based on Adeline surviving the worst situations possible for a woman. Adeline had one advantage someone was fervently searching for her, and eventually, Zade managed to rescue her after four agonizing months. The scene when Zade finds her and she just could not believe it. She crumbled to her knees thinking she was hallucinating. After Zade brings her home she struggles so hard to process her trauma. She learns to fight to take control of her life. She gets close to her mother. She hates h...