Quick Thoughts: A Deal with the Elf King (Married to Magic #1) by Elise Kova

A Deal with the Elf King

(Married to Magic #1)

by Elise Kova 

November 6, 2020

338 pages

Goodreads Summary:

The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.

Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella's village to be their Human Queen.

To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she's dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town's only healer.

That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives... for her.

Everything Luella had thought she'd known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.

The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another... but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.

A Deal with the Elf King is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone, as well as Beauty and the Beast, with a "happily ever after" ending. It's perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.

Review

I held off on reading A Deal with the Elf King because of the extreme hype around it. But being a big Elise Kova fan it was guaranteed I'd picked it up sooner rather than later. Though I didn't fall head over heels in love with the story, I can understand why it is well-loved.

What I Liked:

- the world- its vastness that holds all the possibilities

- the magic backstory

- respect for Luella for knowing herself and doing right by herself

- the troublesome but intriguing Harrow

- HOOK

- no unnecessary drama

- Luella's great relationship with her parents

The Not So Much:

- not much was happening in the first half of the book, the second half was much more interesting

- I was constantly confused by Eldas - warm one minute, cold the next

- the romance could've used more development

“Some people can never be hidden; they are meant to be seen.”