Kingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau

Young Adult, Fantasy Romance, June 25, 2019 (Sourcebooks Casablanca)

Source: Off My Bookshelf

Leena is a beast charmer, exiled from her home for a crime that she didn’t commit and accused by the man that she loved.  Noc is a shadow assassin cursed to kill those he cares about. He takes the job of killing Leena. Nothing goes as planned. Leena strikes a deal with Noc. She’s seeing an A-class beast with the hopes of proving her innocence..  Noc would like beasts for his closest friends to prevent another “Leena situation” from happening again. But, then he learns that there may be a beast that can break his curse.

You can find a full summary, here.

I’ve had my eye on this for a while and finally picked it up. I’m so glad that I didn’t let this one linger on my shelf, as is the routine. Even though I have picked up a few YA books I am still weary of them. Often, they look and sound good but I am usually left disappointed. But not with this. I devoured this! I loved the characters-pretty much all of them.You get to know them as they get to know each other. And while you’re not seeing the story from just one perspective. These characters are fleshed out, complicated with their own stories to tell. The romance happens gradually and catches both characters off guard. Everything that stands in the way is complicated but realistic. There aren’t any easy solutions. It was angsty in a way that I enjoyed. The triangle(-ish) situation was handled well. And if y’all have been with me for a while you know I am not a fan of triangles.  Martineau succeeded where so many others have failed. The tension of the final events was so tightly strung that I didn’t know if I even want to break to catch my breath or keep going. I do think that the actual fight was over too quickly But this is the first book, and the assassins haven’t learned how to fight with their beasts. I’m hoping that as the battles gets bigger, they are given more time on the page. 

Always Shine!