Malum Discordiae: Tennebrose, Book 1

I usually enjoy a good fantasy mystery/thriller, and this one was very good. The mm romance is very good, with a great enemies to lovers trope. There is a lot of spice almost from the beginning, but that doesn't mean that the yearning is any less. The story was very good as well, I liked the academic setting and the premises of a witch college. A great read and I look forward to more in this world.

Spoilers Ahead: Positives: for which I rounded up to a 4 star review. This story really grabs you from the get go and the pace keeps you interested the whole time. It’s a rich story filled with a great magic system, fully realized characters and a plot that will keep you till the end just to see what happens. Negatives: (Let me preface the next comments with this is my personal grievance with this story. ) I would have rated this a 3, maybe 3.5 stars for the way the author made me fall in love with the characters and then her subsequent plot twists. This is is definitely an enemies to lovers story complete with steamy times filled with lust but a lot of aggression bordering on/ if not outright, hate during these intimate times which I did not love. I was able to get through them though bc you can see how the characters were still getting to know each other and could eventually get past that. For me the unforgivable part of the story is where Cash has repeatedly given Graeme the benefit of the doubt and tried to show him he’s trustworthy for over half the story. Then Graeme decides he can’t trust Cash and emotionally betrays him. This author is good about making you care about the characters so I’m not going to lie, I was hurt by this betrayal. Eventually Graeme realizes he’s wronged Cash and tries to apologize but for me there was not NEAR enough remorse or Graeme suffering for his betrayal before Cash forgive’s him and they make love. This was REALLY jarring for…

Malum Discordiae By Ashlyn Drewek 5+ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Highly Recommend When I first saw this book being promoted...way back in the beginning, I was unsure if it would be my thing. However the more teasers I saw the more I was getting sucked in (you know how it is lol). Once the early reviews hit I was like okay I've got to have it. Well let me just say it was way better than I could have imagined! I completely fell in love with the mc's, Graeme and Cassius, but not just with them but the whole storyline, world, setting, etc was just amazing!! No matter what was going on, I was completely enthralled with story and it played out like a movie in my head. Not once did I get bored with the story! I stayed on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was going to happen next. Whether it was wondering if Graeme and Cass were going to kill each other or be killed by an unknown source, or wondering if their love for each other would ever be accepted by their family and community (or if they would ever accept it themselves). Sometimes I did want to scream at them to just give it an effing break..lol. But all that "fueding" did cause for some great hate sex, make-up sex, steamy sex and in some of the craziest places!! Without giving a play by play of the book (you can read the blurb and book for that), I will say if you're on the fence about reading this book due to maybe the genre or multiple tropes or whatever...forget all of that... just wipe it from your mind because no matter what…

I think I may have officially become a fan of PNR. Up until now it seemed too far out of my comfort zone, but this world that Ashlyn Drewek created? This amazing enemies-to-lovers romance that hit every single thing I love about the trope? I was sucked in from the very beginning. It wasn’t as dark as I was expecting, but I’m okay with that because the entire book from start to finish had me in its grip. This is E2L done so well, but the thing that took it next level for me? The idea of fated-love … actual soul mates finding each other and making the other stronger (literally!) together. But then you add on forbidden love due to the timeworn rivalry between their families?! Sold! The verbal sparring was so SO good! I mean, the barbs don’t stop even during sex?! I’m a sucker for it. Hot hot hot. 🥵 The subtle change from enemies to lovers can be such a tough transition but this had the perfect push-and-pull and the pining. *sigh* These two were full of passion no matter how they manifested it and I loved them together so much! The romance in this book was top notch. But. The storyline had me going as well. I loved that the background and magic wasn’t just laid out to you from the beginning, but was built upon and discovered alongside the MCs as the secrets upon secrets were unearthed and slowly revealed. The wrap-up was almost too quick for me because I was surprised by the who and what at the end (sort of, I mean I had my feelings but one person involved threw me off -ish…

Hate sex. Full stop. These 2 young, male witches come from families who hate each other. There have been a lot of shady deaths in their family histories, including some outright homicides. Cash was sent away to boarding school after his mother is killed by the enemy family. He returns as an 18 year-old several years later to attend college (and witch classes) in his hometown. He runs into the enemy (Graeme) at school but they don't recognize each other after years apart. They are immediately attracted to one another but soon learn their true identities. From there on out, they are constantly almost killing each other with familial hatred passed onto them from centuries. But then they have to work together on a school assignment.... For the most part, 18 year-old Cash and 19 year-old Graeme come off as older while you're reading. This made me very happy because I didn't really want to read about a teenage love story. But this is definitely not a YA love story. There are several very explicit sex scenes. They're all fantastic. The hate and lust between the 2 is off-the-charts sexy. There are several gruesome deaths of supporting and minor characters throughout the novel. I was actually a little shocked by the graphic descriptions of their deaths. Not my favorite parts. I devoured this book pretty quickly. It's not perfect due to a few convenient plot holes (like how do the guys not know the names of their supposed sworn enemies from the other family AND not recognize each…