Luella makes a deal with the devil *cough* I mean elf king *cough* in this fun, if not original, fantasy romance.
While Deal with the Elf King had all the beats of an epic fantasy romance, it never quite resonated with me. The idea of a standalone romance sounds amazing, but the application of it always seems rather shallow (particularly in the first novel to a new world setting). Finding the right balance between world-building and the building of a romantic relationship is challenging. Something always seems to be sacrificed to make these elements work in a solo book, and, in this case, it was both. Luella and Eldas’ romance was built way too rapidly for it to be believable. Timing is everything – more time needed to be spent with them as a couple in addition to them as individuals. Additionally, the world building was murky and confusing as not enough time is spent developing it. Future novels set in this world will be able to explore the world-building, but this romance will always be lackluster.
tl;dr A lackluster romance and murky world-building left me feeling rather meh about this new series.