Kinder Poison and Cruelest Mercy by Natalie Mae
Rating: 5/5 for both!
Publication Date: June 16th, 2020; June 15th, 2021
Book 1: GOODREADS—BOOKSHOP AFFILIATE LINK*
Book 2: GOODREADS—BOOKSHOP AFFILIATE LINK*
*by using this link to purchase the book I would receive a small commission at no extra cost to you
I received Cruelest Mercy from the publisher in exchange for a review. This does not affect my review which is unbiased and honest.
Right from the first sentence I was absolutely hooked. Zahru was such a fun character to follow because she is one of those characters that wasn’t planning to be a main character but then suddenly she’s there and she’s sarcastic and makes these rash decisions that she says she will regret later. She was genuinely so funny and interesting and flawed and it was written so well!
The first book was an epic journey filled with so many gasp moments! I didn’t think the second book would be able to keep me as hooked and yet I was somehow even more glued to the page!
Kinder Poison was action and magic-filled and not only did it have amazing world building and a great magic system, but the characters were so interesting. They all filled me with different emotions and I definitely laughed and yelled throughout the book! The tension between Jet and Zahru was BEAUTIFUL.
BUT.
SOMEHOW.
BY THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
I ALSO REALLY ENJOYED KASTA?!
Now if you’ve read only the first book you’ll be shocked because kasta is legitimately frightening. So I was actually surprised when I got into the second book. It was just SO. GOOD.
The last half of this book I finished in one go because the stakes somehow got higher than the first book which was literally life and death so i dunno how to author managed to pull that off (magic probably… anyway it was worth it I’m sure)! I was screaming even at the last page because it was just so brilliantly done and honestly I’m so mind blown even after sleeping.
I didn’t think I’d even be questioning my loyalties for characters and switching sides over and over again this was truly just an unexpected ride I cannot wait to shove this series in people’s faces. I just truly didn’t think the stakes could get even higher. I
loved the characters especially because they were all complex and interesting and I questioned every single one of their decisions. Something about Zahru’s narration and how she became just as paranoid and questionable as Kasta from the first book was just so pleasing to me. Seeing the progression and development of the leads was honestly phenomenal and I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fast paced high stakes fantasy!
Star is All Booked Up 