What Lies Beyond the Veil (Of Flesh & Bone Series)

So I originally started this book last year 2023 but was really turned off by creepy ass Lord Byron so I decided not to read it ( MISTAKE ). This book was chosen for book club this month - chosen by the same person who recommended it last year as well lol. And man I am not disappointed at all. This was so good! top tier! Although some of it was predictable I definitely thought the ending would be completely different so that was nice. Now I have no idea what will come next which I like because too much predictability is no fun, amiright? Highly recommend.

Harper L. Woods' ‘What Lies Beyond the Veil’ is a captivating blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure set in Nothrek, a land shielded from the fae by the Veil for 400 years. When the Veil shatters, protagonist Estrella must flee to survive, caught between the fae and the Mist Guard.The story progresses at a steady pace, with the action and romance gradually intensifying. Despite a predictable twist at the end, the storyline of survival and forbidden love keeps readers hooked.Estrella shows potential for growth in future books. She's been through a lot but has not lost her fire. Her behavior is inconsistent at times, which makes her hard to understand.Caelum, her fae-marked savior, adds complexity and chemistry to the story, with their relationship intensifying gradually, especially since the fated mates are out there looking for them to claim them both.The book explores freedom, survival, and the conflict between duty and desire.‘What Lies Beyond the Veil’ is an intriguing story with a strong fantasy world and promising characters. Despite some flaws, it sets the stage for an exciting series continuation and is a worthwhile read for fantasy romance fans.

✨Wow! Wowowowowowowowowow.✨I have been ENTHRALLED with this book since the first page. SINCE THE BLURB.Adelaide is easily one of the most underrated authors I have read. This book is hands down one of my favorite Romantasy reads EVER.I was lucky enough to receive this book as an ARC, but I assure you that this review is very much not influenced by receiving the arc.We start the book with Estrella who is a peasant who has gleaned the interest of the Lord of her village. They live in a society that is deeply influenced by the new gods and religion that came about hundred of years ago when the magical barrier was erected between human and fae lands.Estrella, and all humans, have grown up on stories about the fae and their vicious and brutal ways.Wishing to be free, Estrella knows that death may be the only freedom she may ever see to prevent a horrible life serving as Lady to man that has sexually and verbally abused her, her whole life.Through a twist of events, everything changes when the barrier between worlds comes down and she is marked as the mate of a fae. Now she must run and hope she isn’t found by her evil fae soul half. However while on the run, she meets a man who is also marked and begins to fall for him.She must sift through everything she thought she knew and everything she is now learning to figure out the truth about herself and the fae she has been taught to hate her whole life.🌶This book is steamy, spicy, romantic. It has an incredible magic system, beautiful world building and impressive lore.The twists and turns will keep you guessing and your heart racing. I can’t even tell you how many times my blood was pounding wondering what would happen next. Who we could trust. Worrying about potential betrayal and what is REALLY going on here!This is also beautifully written, so many lines that I highlighted and will come back to time and again.I will definitely read the next book—which comes out in August.. Rude. — and will reread this book for sure and am honestly just still REELING from this whirlwind. How will I wait half a year for the next…????????? *madness sinking in*

Review Summary: Not a bad read on KU/Kindle. Does include sex/steam/spicy elements and series does get darker as it continues. Series of 4 books, final book to publish in Dec 23.Full review:Beyond the Veil is Book 1 in the Flesh and Bone series, 3 of which are written and 1 of which is due out Dec 24. The series does include explicit sex/steam/spice, which increases in frequency and scope as the series progresses. Other trigger warnings include issues curse words/foul language, physical and sexual abuse, exhibitionism, elements of captivity, and lack of free will/choice.Book 1 introduces us to Estrella, a harvester that works in a city where the human realm and fae realm meet. Centuries ago a barrier, called the Veil, was erected between the worlds to block out the fae, who reportedly wreaked havoc upon humanity. Once a year, the village conducts a ceremony to supply the necessary power to keep the veil stable.Except this year, something changes, and the Veil falls. Estrella discovers that she is not just the poor harvester she thought she was, but one of the fae marked, which means the correspondingly marked fae is assuredly going to hunt for her. Things are complicated when the human realm’s own soldiers, the Mist Guard, hunt down the fae marked as well. The fae want the marked to increase their power; the Mist Guard want the marked to kill them to prevent it. Running scared with her brother, Estrella has nowhere to go and no time to figure things out. It’s a race for her life to try to outrun both man and fae if she has any hope at all to keep her freedom.During her journey Estrella meets Caellum, another fae marked who agrees to help her. After all, he needs to run too. Only trouble is the longer they run together, the more alluring Caellum becomes, and Estrella doesn’t know quite what to make of things if she’s to guard her freedom and her heart.Beyond the Veil is a lead in to a fated mates style story. If you swap “fae” with “werewolf,” you’ve got a pretty good idea how the series as a whole develops. Book 1 is fun because we get to watch Estrella, navigating a dangerous world with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a borrowed dagger, trying to flee the forces chasing her. Characters do die in this novel, and Estrella is torn between grief over their passing, fear about what might be if she is caught, self-interest vs. helping others, and anxiety about developing further bonds that will likely only serve to hurt or confuse her further.The foreshadowing in the book I think is fairly obvious, but the worldbuilding established throughout the book was fun. The series borrows from a handful of myths and legends, including the Wild Hunt, Norse, Irish, and Celtic legends, and eventually some Greek/Roman influences. Caellum is a decided and unabashed flirt, which Estrella struggles to handle in light of her own history and upbringing. The pair do eventually bond closer, though some moments do feel a little high pressure and manipulative.Worth a Kindle Unlimited Read, library rental, or the $5 e-book buy. Wouldn’t quite pay the $16 paperback cost myself, definitely not the $23 hardcover cost, for this story.Book 2, What Hunts Inside the Shadows, requires Estrella to face some of her own prejudices and the sex/spice/steam increases exponentially…but that is for another review.

"What lies beyond the veil" is the perfect example of how SJM should have written ACOTAR. The lore is carefully constructed throughout the book, causing the expansion of the world in which it takes place to feel organic. The characters are based on rather simple archetypes and I found them a little cliche sometimes, but the simple yet beautiful writing combined with the delightful banter and passion of the protagonists make this story everything a 'fae romance' should be. This one is for those who don't feel ashamed to admit they like their smuts as dirty as possible, aned their MMC the darker shade of morally grey there is.

Oh my! Such a good book (same goes for the second book of this series)! I absolutely loved it. It was right down my alley. Very well thought through story with a lot of twists and good action (even the sex one). I was struggling to get into flow at the beginning, but that was mainly due to the style of writing rather than the story. But you get used to it pretty quick, and then it's a blast! So, if you feel like it's a bit hard at the beginning, push through it. It's worth it! The story is great

Comprei, sem querer, o terceiro livro da série então tive de comprar os outros mas parece ser muito interessante. Em comparação com o outro livro que comprei este veio mais danificado nas bordas, provavelmente por contra do transporte.

Das Buch ist wirklich gut, es wird eine Fantasy Welt erschaffen, mit aspekten die man kennt, Hexen, Fae, Menschen und der grobe Grundriss dieser Welt. Hier hat man sich eindeutig von bereits bestehenden Werken inspirieren lassen, ich persönlich finde das nicht schlimm, nicht jeder kann komplett neu eine Welt erschaffen, sich also inspiriren zu lassen und vorhandenes zu nutzen, find ich nicht verkehrt.Den Schreibstil kann ich schwer beschreiben, klar ich lese recht gut englische Texte, fand den Stil also nicht schlecht oder unangenhem, wenn man aber Englisch fließend spricht und perfekt liest, kann man das evt. anders beurteilen.Das nutzen von vorhandenen Spezies, Orten und ähnlichen, find ich gut gemacht, ähnlich wie bei Stadt der Finsternis, wo vorhande Mythen genutzt wurden und gut in die Geschichte mit aufgenommen wurden.Die Charaktere sind klassische Fantasy Figuren, nichts neues, aber gut. Caelum ist zu beginn ungewöhnlich aber nett, nimmt sehr schnell eine beschützer Rolle ein, Estrella steht für ihn über allen anderen.Den weiblichen Hauptcharakter find ich persönlich sehr angenehm. Sie ist weder ein schüchternes Mäuschen noch kriegerisch und Stark. Sie fügt sich teilweise ihrer Rolle in der Welt, lässt sich aber nicht alles gefallen. Hat ihre kleinen Geheimnisse und kleinere Vergehen oder ist manchmal in seltenen Situationen aufsässig, ich fand sie also sehr natürlich und sympathisch. Besonders weil sie sowohl Sachen hinterfragt, als sich aber auch einfach mal von Gefühlen blenden lässt, wies eig jedem passiert.Sie hat weder irgendwelche extremen super kräfte oder mega Wissen, noch ist sie ein dummchen das man als Leser eher als störend empfindet.Der männliche Hauptcharakter war für mich schnell durchschaut. Wenn man Anfängt zu lesen weiß man wo der Hase läuft. Was ich nicht schlimm fand, es war ja eig. abzusehen. Wer er aber zu 100% ist, das war nicht sofort klar. Er hat für sich festgelegt das er sie schützt, vor allen anderen, jeder andere Mensch hat für ihn nur einen zweiten Rang. Das muss man mögen, wenn das für einen, selbst in einem Fantasy Buch, zu unmoralisch wird, weil das leben einer Person über das anderer gestellt wird, dann ist das Buch nichts für einen. Er ist sehr offensiv in seinen annäherungs versuchen, für mich aber nicht unangenehm, denn er achtet ihre Grenzen, sie möchte es nicht, dann macht er es nicht. Er sagt ihr wenn er sich nicht kontrollieren kann, so das sie gehen kann, wenn ihr das denn gerade wichtiger ist. In Fantasy Romance mag ich männliche Charaktere wie Caelum, sieht man daran das ich Buchreihen mag wie die Immortals von Kresley Cole, Black Dagger, Gestaldwandler und Gilde der Jäger (Nalini Singh), er hat teilweise den vibe wie männliche Charaktere dieser Bücher.Ich werde den nächsten Teil auf jeden Fall lesen, hoffe das das ganze nochmal in Deutsch rauskommt und es evt. auch noch mal mehr geben wird.

Rating : 5 ⭐.Review : Wow, okay I was scared of reading a A Court Of Thorns & Roses 2.0 or a From Blood & Ash 2.0 BUT NO! There are similar themes but the author managed to create her own story! That was actually very good! It took me out of my reading slump! Can it be part of my favorite shelf ? I don't know, I'll see with the 2nd book that I already pre-ordered, can't wait to read it! The cliffhanger is predictable but still so good when you read it! That's definitely a 5 ⭐!!