Fortuna Sworn

I'm ever hungry for new, engaging faerie books, but not just any faerie book: I crave ones where the faeries are beautiful and scary and terrible and complex.I think it was a stroke of fate that the author reached out to me to offer me a copy of her book and I very much thank her for it (I did get a free copy from the author, but I also purchased a copy myself, and I only took the copy under the condition that I was free to express my thoughts. I'm a transparent sort of person, so I wanted to state all this immediately) because I ultimately did quite enjoy Fortuna Sworn.The titular character is one of several races of creatures descended from fallen angels (collectively referred to as "the Fallen") known as a Nightmare, a being capable of sensing the fears of those she touches and manipulating their minds into experiencing delusions of these fears that can drive them to their deaths. She and her brother are the last known of their kind, who were so feared in the past that they were hunted nearly to extinction. Fortuna, who has lived amongst humans her whole life, has been searching for her missing little brother, Damon, for two years and after accidentally ending up at a black market peddling slaves, she catches the attention of a faerie, Collith, who knows where her brother is and offers to take her to him... if she agrees to marry him. The story then follows Fortuna as she descends underground to the strange, cruel world of faeries to try and save her brother, whom she loves, without losing herself in the process.When I look at faerie stories, a big thing I want to experience is the courts. I think of immortal beings with so much time on their hands they can play politics to extremes, they can waste time playing tricks and partaking in debauchery, they are bound by rules and stipulations, they are hard to understand as they sway around a spectrum of grey morality, at times cruel in their kindness and kind in their cruelty.I liked that this world wanted to invest in this side of faerie lore. I don't think the world was quite as expansive as it could have been and that some of my personal enjoyment stems from my own familiarity with faerie lore filling in any gaps as I read, but it was an enjoyable angle that took the faerie story back down to its dark, sinister roots in a way a book like Tithe did.One thing that I found somewhat unexplained and odd was the presence of the character Oliver; perhaps he will play a bigger role or be more explained farther down the line, but in this book his scenes struck me mostly as bizarre because Fortuna kept insisting he was imaginary and going to him in her dreams when she needed comfort, yet from the first introduction, I suspected that he wasn't merely some part of her imagination and the events that unfold seem to have reinforced that. I'm anticipating some reveal later on involving him (like maybe he's an angel that's watched over Fortuna her whole life and grown up with her through a shared heavenly realm and he enters the earthly realm to act as romantic competition with Collith for Fortuna's heart or maybe we learn that he's some part of Collith who's always been connected to Fortuna or maybe he's from the Seelie court or SOMETHING, there are several possibilities beyond "imaginary boy") but the whole "random imaginary boy I go to for respite that I say is my best friend but who I'm physically rather intimate with in a way that suggests we're not just best friends" angle was a little odd to me, but I'm willing to roll with it and see where it's headed.A good chunk of this book is devoted to Fortuna enduring faerie culture and trials necessary to become queen (a goal she undertakes to have the power to save her brother from what is clearly an abusive relationship with a faerie captor) and I like that it's not just head-first plunging into declarations of romance with the faerie she married because "bond" or something with her ultimately neglecting the reason she's there (her brother); she interacts with the people around her and the reader is given time to get to know everyone as Fortuna does and she doesn't let her brother encompass everything nor does she push him to the sidelines; her priority of saving him is balanced very well.The only sudden thing Fortuna really feels is lust, which makes sense because faeries tend to be highly linked with things of a sexual, debauched nature, and I don't think it was overkill and I feel they were used appropriately as the situation called for them. We get several scenes of kissing and petting, but it's not like we're berated with excruciatingly long sex scenes that detract from the story, which was a huge problem for me in a book like Beautiful Beast, which opted to gut out as much story and character development as possible so it could cram in copious amounts of repetitive, worthless sex scenes, thus ruining what had been shaping up to be an interesting book.I found the writing to be very lovely, with worthwhile descriptions and enough prettiness balanced against a good base of syantax and story creation to make for an engaging read. For an indie title, the editing is pretty solid and I appreciate that very much. I didn't personally take note of any problems with my subtitle-editor brain, which is always a plus.Overall, I'm glad I read this book! I tend to steer away from adult fiction because I often run into the situation with the aforementioned Beautiful Beast with just an onslaught of pointless sex and crassness ruining a good story or even come across situations like Heart of the Fae where I want to like it but there's just too many things that don't click for me that I tend to stick with YA, but I'm glad I took the leap with Fortuna Sworn! It's right up my alley when it comes to what I want out of NA and adult fiction; the heroine is my age with relatable experiences and thoughts and wants, there's a story to be told here with mature themes that isn't drowned out to slap in erotica, and it doesn't try to force shock horror to seem edgy and gritty. The dark themes and tones speak for themselves. The author got the finesse for a darker themed faerie story down and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.Also, look at that cover. It's stunning! I'm salivating; a digital painting with high detail for a book cover created without manipulating stock photos? What a treat!

❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧❧NO SPOILER REVIEWRating★★★Spice level🌶️ 2/5This book was all over the place. I usually dnf at 20% but this story tricked me. At 60% things began to get confusing ...First, the brother thing. It worked at the beginning . Fortuna made a bargain with the gorgeous Rhysandeske fae who tilted his head oftenly so she can save her brother who was missing for 2 years.She enters the unseelie court and nothing is what it seems, blah blah ..to this point all ok, it got me hooked, ..I wanted to know more about Coolish ( the mysterious fae with whom she made the bargain ) and as a MMC he promised A LOTBut suddenly Fortuna begins to get annoying and decides to do things to save her sibling that really DIDNT MAKE SENSE.As a result, we got Under The Mountain 2.0 without Rhysand .( trials included )But hey Aleesa..didnt you say there was a gorgeous fae at the beginning of the book ?Well yes, but the author FORGOT ABOUT HIM and became a support character , plain with almost no lines and no purpose in the story because SUDDENLY another guy enters the scene. This wouldn't be a problem usually, but it was so FORCED and so unpredicted in the worst way because it seemed to fill pages.And plz how can we forget THE DREAMS Fortuna has that..they seemed KEY to the story but why bother explain any of it . ( better left that to anmother book to $$ more )The author keeps adding characters and love interests to the story instead of focusing on developing one or two MMC.This is a 5 book or 6 book series, sadly I discovered it AFTER reading this first installment. I dont tend to read series that are longer than 3 books because I don't like this to happen. Confusing storylines with a lot of subplots and character that were SO PROMISING being left behind to favor making a series longer.Overall, it had potential but it lacked tension and conflict at the end.

My late teens and early twenties were spent reading sci-fi and fantasy written by the likes of Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Katherine Kerr, Andre Norton, Julian May and David Eddings. That is were I learnt the patience of waiting for the next installment in a series, where I learnt that a cliff-hanger is not something to be feared but can be a thing of beauty and fell in love with all things fae.K.J. Sutton is a new-to-me author who has instantly secured a slot on my "must buy" list. The story of Fortuna Sworn reeled me in and kept me on the edge of my seat. It took me a chapter or two to really get into the story, but once I did this became a book that I didn't want to put down. In fact I became most irate when trivial things like work, kids needing food and sleep got in the way of my reading it.This is a twisty tale of a Fallen one, a Nightmare, a seemingly normal girl with a hidden ability and her battle to rescue her brother. Damon has been missing for two years, when Fortuna discovers he is being held by an Unseelie fae she is prepared to do anything to win his freedom. That anything involves a mysterious fae who turns out to be a heck of a lot more important and powerful than Fortuna could ever have guessed.Fortuna will face trials and battles that will stain her soul as dark as the blood she must shed. Those battles of wit, intelligence and cunning are woven into a complex tapestry of a story, one where you can never be sure if the person in front of her is friend or foe. Added into the mix is the mystery of Oliver, who should be just a figment of her imagination but who seems more real than it is possible for him to be.Whilst Collith seems to be the forerunner as her love interest, there are hints at other possibilities too. The book is fairly slow burn and the sex scenes were fairly tame, making this a suitable read for older teens and upwards. I would recommend this to fans of Pippa DaCosta, Kate L Mary and Lexi C Foss, or anyone looking for a well written fantasy/paranormal story. I LOVED it and will be jumping straight in to reading the next one. I just hope book #3 is finished soon!

A very enjoyable dark faerie romance, but make sure you have the next book in the series lined up, because this story is addictive as hell. The main character is surrounded by irresistible faerie men and women, so who knows which one she’ll end up with at the end. As far as the romantic part of it, even though it is an adult novel, there is more stress on lingering looks and feelings. I guess the author is building up to some things since there is supposed to be at least 6 books in the series (according to current Goodreads list).However, if you’re not a fan of romance, there is plenty of Unseelie Court politics, scheming, and the usual faerie antics with some torture and dark humour sprinkled on top.

I was drawn to read this book because of the blurb. Do not be misled by the cover, which looks like a fairy tale retelling and, on my phone, I found it impossible to make out the title. This was an exciting, fast-paced urban fantasy (as good as the Dresden Files) and Fortuna, the snarky heroine, has to be even more ruthless and cunning than the courtiers of the Faerie court to survive. I particularly liked the way the ‘slaying a dragon’ trope was handled. Why would you kill such a magnificent creature unless you had no choice? Even though that was her situation, Fortuna still bitterly regretted killing the dragon and I was on her side all the way. I had no idea where the plot was going and couldn’t stop reading. An exhilarating read.

So, I bought this thinking I was getting a smutty book, this was the only disappointment I had. The story was well written, you attach deeply to all the characters and the plot takes twists and turns without losing the interest of the reader. I so enjoyed this. I’ve read book 2 and waiting for pay day to get the 3rd instalment. I so enjoyed it.

If life didn't get in the way, then I would have read this in one sitting. Wow! KJ Sutton has written this brilliantly - I was hooked onto every word! The world she created is absolutely amazing and I love all of the characters, even the ones that can't be trusted! And that ending... I was so gripped into a mystery that was about to be revealed, and when it was, the story cut off and I was screaming with annoyance! That was one hell of a cliffhanger! I'm definitely going to get the sequel to this, I enjoyed reading this so much. Hats off to KJ Sutton!