The thrilling, electrifying, and deadly third installment to the Realm of Fey series. Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and From Blood and Ash but MLM.Robin Icethorn, King of the Winter Court, must stop The Hand, who threatens to bring forth a time of monsters. The search for the keys to free Duwar, the demon God, from his unearthly bindings has begun. Finding unlikely allies, Robin is thrust into a war of Gods, becoming no more than a pawn on the game board he never wished to be a part of. Whilst new flames crackle with electrifying power and old flames return, equally changed – Robin is forced to make decisions that would change the course of his, and his Kingdoms, lives forever.A Deception of Court takes place directly after the events of A Kingdom of Lies. Readers who enjoy stories full of magic, romance and adventure… but with added spice, will love this series. Dive into the Realm of Fey series and uncover your own magic.
THE FACTS
📕exquisite world-building
📘engaging, complex MCs, growth and change
📙all the emotions it’s possible to feel in one story
📘 spicey-ness throughout
THE GOOD BITS
I just finished reading “A Deception of Courts” by Ben Anderson and I may still be in shock as I’m writing this review. Anyone who reads my reviews will know that I don’t write spoilers – especially when they’re significant. If you read Ben’s books then you know that there is always a significant spoiler (or two, or three, or a lot of trauma, or psychological damage – but I digress.)
The Realm of Fey series has been a magnificent journey so far – and the fourth book comes out in a matter of days now. “A Betrayal of Storms”, “A Kingdom of Lies” and a “A Deception of Courts” are already published. The fourth book, “A Game of Monsters” will be released on May 27th.
What I love most about these books is the way that Ben manages to create characters that are complex enough to really confuse my emotions. It takes skill to create a character, make the reader love them, do something to that character that changes them dramatically and leave the reader not knowing how to feel about them anymore. Ben is a genius when it comes to characters that are so steeped in duality that it becomes impossible to pull it all apart. The great thing about these kinds of characters is that they feel “real”. Real people are complex. We make challenging decisions, we let our emotions get the better of us, we make choices that don’t make sense – and all of these things happen to the characters in Ben’s books. The way these characters come to life on the page is really engaging. I really felt for them.
Robin, The King of the Winter Fey Court has grown so much over the course of these first three books. Born half-human and half-fey, he has always struggled to fits in. As this beautiful and emotional story unfolds, Robin continues to figure out the pieces of the puzzle that make up his being. With the emotion and frankness of his human side and the magical abilities he inherited from his fey mother – Robin has grown to become a force to be reckoned with. He is fiercely loyal, a strategist, a leader and someone who loves with his entire heart.
As Robin’s story unfolds, he gathers a found-family of sorts around him. Lovers, friends, enemies – all somehow manage to become a part of Robin’s inner circle. Sometimes, he makes deals with the devil in order to move forward towards his goal of a better world for the fey. He does what is necessarily with such commitment that is admirable and … sometimes .. blinding.
“A Deception of Courts” brings a huge storyline to a semi-conclusion while still managing to be a cliffhanger at the same time. Ben! You are too good at this. What began in book one has unraveled into an all-out battle to survive. I’m no longer ever sure what to expect from the fourth book but I am confident that Ben will come up with something that will make me cheer or cry or laugh – or most probably everything at the same time.
If you love fantasy series, I suspect you’ll love this series. If you love queer fantasy then this is the series for you.
Ben has become one of my favourite authors and I look forward to anything he writes in the future.
THE LINKS
🖊 Author
I bought a copy of A Deception of Courts by the Ben Alderson. This is an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 