Review: Scarred by Emily McIntire

Author: Emily McIntire
Genre: Romance, Fairytale
Format: Paperback
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Published: January 2022
Publisher: Bloom books
Series: A Never After Novel, Book #2
Price: $9.67 (Amazon)

Synopsis: {via GoodReads}

She doesn't belong to him...she belongs to the crown.

Prince Tristan Faasa was never destined for the throne. That was always his brother, Michael. The same brother responsible for both Tristan's tormented childhood and the scar that mars his face. When their father dies, Michael is set to assume the throne, and Tristan is set to steal it. The leader of a secret rebellion, Tristan will stop at nothing to end his brother's reign. But when Michael's new betrothed, Lady Sara Beatreaux arrives, Tristan finds himself in the middle of a new kind of war. The kind that begs the question of what's more important, the crown or the woman about to wear it.

Sara has one plan. Marry the King and eradicate the Faasa line, even at the risk of her own peril. But she never expects the Scarred Prince. He's dangerous. Forbidden. And one of the men she's been sent to kill. But the line between hatred and passion has never seemed so thin, and as secrets come to light, Sara grows unsure of whom she can trust—torn between vengeance and the villain she was never supposed to love.

Scarred is a DARK Royal Romance and a complete standalone within The Never After Series (A series of fractured fairy tales inspired by our favorite villains). It is not a retelling or fantasy. It contains subject matter which may be triggering for some. Reader discretion is advised.

Review: 

*May contain spoilers*

Whew, this one's hot! Scarred is book #2 in Emily McIntire's Never After series and, like Hooked, is another "fractured fairytale" with a main character whose a villain. Tristan and Sara's story take it's fair share of twists and turns, dips into dark themes, and ends with a happily ever after.

The Characters: 

As mentioned above, Tristan, the Scarred Prince, is a hero who is a villain. He's dark, suffered during his childhood, and wants nothing more than to take revenge on his brother, the king. He'll do whatever he needs to, including kidnap and torture, to ensure his ends are met. He's a bit beyond morally grey, right on into morally dark, with a soft spot for both Sara and Simon, a little boy who lives in the castle. 

On the other side, Sara comes off as sweet but capable and it's not long before we learn she's more than she first appears. Sara is a strong heroine and, though she's more morally upstanding than Tristian, she's still a good match for his darkness.

The Plot: 

Scarred is a rift on Hamlet and the Lion King, and it's themes match both those stories very nicely without the plot being directly in-line with them. Tristan, the scarred prince, wants revenge on his brother for killing their father. Sara also wants revenge, on the Fasaa family, for killing her father. In this way, Tristan and Sara's stories make a nice parallel. In the end, it comes down to a lot of small details and, of course, both them them have a shift in priorities. Still, they get their happily ever after and, in the end, the right person is made king. 

There's no loose ends, nothing she doesn't tie up, and the plot moves as a nice clip. Not too fast or two slow. McIntire allows Tristan and Sara to fall in love at a pace that's believable with the rest of the story. There is a madness element to the story, where Michael is concerned, and even that progresses at a pace that makes sense. 

Rating:

❤❤❤❤❤ 5/5 - simply wonderful. This book kept me up reading half the night and kept my interest from the front cover to the back!