In the end, if I had to choose a character that I actually liked, it'd be Harrow and that is hilarious considering how in this status update, the someone I was referring to was him. But at least he was actually pretty interesting, although he obviously didn't appear as much.

A DEAL WITH THE ELF KING is a stand alone, fantasy romance. It sits right on the cusp of older YA and adult. There is some steam in the book. It's set in the Married to Magic universe. Because this is a standalone, it didn't feel as "epic" as most high fantasy novels. There wasn't a "big bad guy" and there wasn't a crazy plot twist/cliffhanger at the end. Instead, it was a very easy and straightforward read with a HEA ending. This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, I just think it's good to set your expectations before you read. Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella's village to be their Human Queen. ahahaha and the romance?!?! I never thought the day would come when I'd find another book with a romance I'd be bored with. I expected some amazing chemistry between the two, but NO, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.😤 Where was the angst??? Swoony moments??? I wanted to fall in love.😭 All I saw was the two constantly arguing over the most boring topics known to humanity.

Well, if you weren't confused by that super long sentence, with this book—the beginning of that argument had to be one of the most stupidest I've ever heard in my life. It's so stupid that I couldn't help but start laughing over the fight they were having. Why does Eldas get so mad over Luella not telling him about Harrow's addiction to glimmer/what he does??? Luella even tried explaining to him, but he kept. cutting. her. off. She's a healer and one of her jobs is to also respect the patient's secrets or else they wouldn't be more trusting towards them and who knows what would've happened to Harrow if he hadn't trusted Luella with what he was doing??? *sigh* Y cuando por fin lo tuve en mis manos, en ese preciso momento, la tentación se hizo libro! Vamos, es que tiene todo lo que me encanta: magia salvaje, un enemies to lovers de esos que desarman, un rey elfo frío pero muy y una heroína increíble! Also, if you enjoy H&P retellings for the Underworld elements, you don't really get that here as Midscape is not anything like the Underworld and Eldas truly isn't a death god/king/etc.

I also do love the couple, but their story was weak. The book features a slow burn romance but somehow, I don't think it was working well with this book. Nothing interesting happened between them nor there any sexual tensions infused, making it unfulfilling. It does get progressive towards the end but with the initial slow burn, it suddenly feels too rapid, their dynamic fell short. Character features and dress were rarely described and it was near impossible for me to draw up a mental picture of them. Overall, it is a good YA book, the world-building, and the concept of having a Human Queen bound to the land is interesting, and the hate-to-love/arranged marriage are two tropes that I really enjoy, but sadly the hate-to-love was not the best one I’ve read. The storyline is basic though and I would have liked to have more political intrigue or action… I feel that there is potential here that the author did not exploit. The ending is sweet and satisfying, but I was expecting more since I enjoyed the Air Awakens series so much and I was ecstatic when I learned that Elise Kova was writing a Hades and Persephone retelling. I would still recommend this book if you are looking for an easy and light read.To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she’s dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town’s only healer.

The way I don't know how to write this review... I haven't written a 2-star review in sO long (not since Shatter Me, which btw I read two years ago). Also, I was going to rate this 3-stars but I realized how unfair that would be to the books I've read and rated 3 stars out of 5. So, what was this book's crime?This is my #1 favorite thing in a book. The entire plot can be absolute garbage, but if the slow burn romance is good, I’ll keep hanging on every word. Thankfully, this book’s plot is NOT garbage and the slow burn isn’t either. 😏😏😏😏 This books uses a lot of subtleties when developing the relationship between the two main characters. Subtle looks, whisper touches, throat clearing, unfinished sentences, etc. It really goes all out on building the tension. My book club and I (lol my book club has two people in it...including me) were big fans of the MC always noticing the Elf King’s destroys hands. 😏 A Deal with the Elf King is a light fluffy romance trying to be fantasy, and not even trying hard. The only Elvish characteristics were in the name, The Elf King. It was easy to mistake all the characters for nothing more than human and easy to mistake the entire book for contemporary. Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Uprooted, this standalone fantasy romance about a human girl and her marriage to the Elf King is impossible to put down! PSA: While this is the first in the series (Elise Kova says there are four planned books in this world, at the moment), it is also a standalone, so you needn’t worry about cliffhangers...which I find SO REFRESHING! 😅 Así que cuando vi este libro, con tamaño portada😍, me calcé mis mejores zapatillas, me puse mis pantalones de deporte y salí disparada hacia el ordenador, para comprarlo. Ni te cuento lo que sudé en esos escasos cinco segundos! Es más, creo que hasta batí mi propio récord de salto de sofá y de esquinazo al perro para llegar al escritorio...