Onyx & Ivory by Mindee Arnett

Onyx & Ivory (The Rime Chronicles, #1)

by Mindee Arnett

“At once fresh, at once classic, Onyx and Ivory is a page-turning blend of monsters, magic, and romance.” —Susan Dennard, New York Times bestselling author of Truthwitch

Acclaimed author Mindee Arnett thrusts readers into a beautiful, dangerous, and magical world in this stunningly epic and romantic fantasy for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah Raasch.

They call her Traitor Kate. It’s a title Kate Brighton inherited from her father after he tried to assassinate the high king of Rime.

Cast out of the nobility, Kate now works for the royal courier service. Only the most skilled ride for the Relay and only the fastest survive, for when night falls, the drakes—deadly flightless dragons—come out to hunt. Fortunately, Kate has a secret edge: She is a wilder, born with forbidden magic that allows her to influence the minds of animals.

And it’s this magic that leads her to a caravan massacred by drakes in broad daylight—the only survivor Corwin Tormaine, the son of the king. Her first love, the boy she swore to forget after he condemned her father to death.

With their paths once more entangled, Kate and Corwin must put the past behind them to face this new threat and an even darker menace stirring in the kingdom.

Reviewed by Leigha on

5 of 5 stars

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Two ex-lovers must come to terms with the past in this amazing young adult fantasy romance.

I did not expect to completely and totally fall in love with this world and these characters. I picked this book up from the library on a whim, but now I just want to buy a hard copy for myself.

The story shifts between two narrators, Kate and Corwin. While their romance drives much of the novel, they each have separate character arcs. I'm a sucker for a romance when both characters aren't only defined by their romance! With chemistry in spades and an angst-filled past, these two will definitely pull at your heart strings. And I absolutely love how these two are together romantically in the end. They don't get separated, they don't make it too complicated, they just choose each other through thick and thin. *squee* The secondary characters are as richly drawn as the main characters.

The world-building is a little murky, particularly the dragons. Are they actually small dragons? Are they big lizards? Still not sure, but they aren't necessarily the antagonists in the story. The setting seemed to hover between medieval England and a generic fantasy realm. The plot slowed considerably in the middle, but it ended with tons of action and a surprising twist!

Listen, I'm not sure if the novel is really great or if it just tickled my fancy at the right time and the right place. All I know is I enjoyed myself immensely while reading this book, and I can't wait to get my greedy hands on the next book in this series.

tl;dr Epic romance with great character moments and a surprising twist make this a must read for fans of fantasy romance.

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  • 29 July, 2018: Reviewed