Title: Prince of Air and Darkness (The Darkest Court #1)
Author: M. A. Grant
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: February 25th, 2019
Page Count: 310
Format: Electronic ARC provided by NetGalley
ASIN: B07GB7WD2G
My Rating: 5 Stars
Author Website | Amazon | GoodReads
The only human student at Mather’s School of Magick, Phineas (Finny) Smith has a target on his back. Born with the rare ability to tap into unlimited magick, he finds both Faerie Courts want his allegiance—and will do anything to get it.
They don’t realize he can’t levitate a feather, much less defend the Faerie Realm as it slips into civil war.
Unseelie Prince Roark Lyne, Phineas’s roommate—and self-proclaimed arch nemesis—is beautiful and brave and a pain in the ass. Phineas can’t begin to sort through their six years of sexual tension masquerading as mutual dislike. But Roark is also the only one able to help Finn tame his magick.
Trusting Roark’s mysterious motives may be foolish; not accepting his temporary protection would be deadly.
Caught in the middle of the impending war, Phineas and Roark forge a dangerous alliance. And as the walls between them crumble, Phineas realizes that Roark isn’t the monster he’d imagined. But their growing intimacy threatens to expose a secret that could either turn the tide of the war…or destroy them both.
I loved EVERYTHING about this book. Everything. I need more Roark and Finny in my life. *sigh*
This was an excellent pseudo enemies-to-lovers tale that was done very well. I say “pseudo” because you don’t ever get the feeling that they are really, truly enemies. They are two (desperately adorable) idiots pining for each other while thinking the other one hates them.
The only ‘complaint’ I have is that the author assumes you are well versed in magical universes, so there is little to no explanation of magical terms (such as Seelie, Unseelie, hob, redcap). As this was pretty much the first book in the magic genre that I’ve read, I had to do a lot of googling.
Boy, was it worth it!
Other than that, I absolutely ADORED this book and these characters. The author did such a good job of making you really root for this couple and really care about them. It made my heart ache with how much Roark was willing to sacrifice for Finny, and what lengths he was willing to go to for him. (The same is true of Finny in regards to Roark, too!).
I don’t want to say too much, but this is part of Harlequin’s Carina Press line, which promises a Happily Ever After/Happily For Now. And with this book, we definitely get what we were promised.
5 very enthusiastic stars from this happy reader.
In related and very exciting news, the second book in The Darkest Court trilogy, The Marked Prince, comes out August 5th! I’ve actually already read an early copy and SPOILERS it’s ah-mazing!
Just as a side note – if you are a visual person like me, you may always be wondering what these characters would look like. I believe the handsome fellow on the cover is meant to be Roark, and I’m very ok with that. However, I was also watching a music video for a group called 2Cellos (the song was Thunderstruck if you are interested in checking it out WHICH I RECOMMEND), and instantly, they were Roark and Finny and I can’t unsee it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Books/Carina Press for providing me with a free advance review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Book Consultant 
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