Author: Emily Blackwood

Series: Golden City

First Published: 12 January 2024

“Welcome to Moira Seminary. I hope you’re all prepared to die.”  

I will start by saying that I wI will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank so much Emily for sending a copy my way!

Huntyr has fought for survival her entire life. Raised under Lord, the master of assassins in Midgrave, she has spent over twenty years learning to kill the blood-hungry, depraved vampyres that lurk in the darkness. Huntyr is the most lethal fae in the kingdom, which is why Lord chooses her to complete the next mission.

Huntyr must survive Moira Seminary and make it into The Golden City—the mysterious elite society of the few remaining angels and the magic fae who live in luxury with no crime, no poverty, and certainly no vampyres.

Only when she arrives at the academy, she’s forced to room with Wolf—the terrifying fallen angel who happens to know her assassin identity.

Determined to keep her head down in Moira, Huntyr tries her best to ignore Wolf. Over time, though, he not only becomes the only person she can lean on, but the one who might keep her alive through the life-threatening tests to get into the golden city.

A wolf and his huntress. An academy designed to break them. Huntyr will do anything to please the assassin master, but Wolf begins to test her in ways she never imagined. Is she strong enough to stick to the mission? Or will new truths—and alliances—put everything at risk?

These cliffhangers are not good for my heart. The ending here is a massive cliffhanger. Honestly, I have no idea how Wolf is escaping unscathed. If you like dark fantasy romances with magical academies, magical bonds, hidden identities and deadly trails, this is one for you.

Huntyr has no memory of her family. She was found by Lord, a master assassin, and raised to fight for her life. She has spent decades learning to kill blood-hungry vampyres that lurk in the darkness. She has become the most lethal fae in the kingdom which is why Lord assigned her a deadly mission. She must survive Moira Seminary and make it to The Golden City – a Utopian city for the elite society where angles and magical fae live in luxury with no crimes, poverty and no vampyres. She is given limited instructions or details about this mission except to keep her head down and survive. Keeping a low profile is not working in Huntyr’s favour as she’s assigned to room with Wolf – the only fallen angel on campus and the only person here who knows her assassin identity. Wolf is interested in Huntyr and will do anything to keep her alive. Working with him might be the only way she completes her mission.

Huntyr has grown up having to prove herself and fight for her life every day. She has a complicated relationship with Lord, the man who saved her and raised her to be an assassin. To Huntyr, Lord is the only family she has, and she believes his horrible treatment of her is all for her good so she can be the best assassin. I have no idea why Huntyr is so loyal to him as I get the feeling Lord knows more about her past than he lets on and will be using that information for his personal gain. Huntyr is a fighter through and through. She is tough and closed off, never letting anyone get too close. I loved seeing her slowly open up when she got to Moria Seminary and that she made some friends. It was wonderful to see her soften up and learn that there is more to life than training and hunting vampyres.

If you love a bad boy with wings, then Wolf is the hero for you. He has skyrocketed to the top of my book-boyfriend list. Wolf is cocky, charming and occasionally broody. He has had Huntyr’s back every time she stumbled in danger at the academy and saved her life several times. I adored the scene where they bonded and Huntyr finally understood how Wolf feels about her since she can feel it. Now some things have happened in this book that show Wolf in not the nicest of lights, but I have faith that his feelings for Hyntyr are true. I’m sure we will learn more about his past and why this all happened.

The romance in here is a slow burn. Despite their chemistry, Hyntyr is determined to keep her distance from Wolf as part of her grand plan to keep a low profile. She does start dating another Fae, Lanson, who is a complete waste of space. I’m so glad Hyntyr saw the light of day and went with Wolf. They are rivals and spend lots of time hurling insults at each other. It is not until the final weeks before their last trial that they get together. Wolf is truly obsessed with Hyntyr and adores her strength and power. Love them together.

I am a sucker for a magical academy so loved that most of this book is set in Moria Seminary. Being in Moria is a great way for Huntyr and us to learn about the fabled Golden City and the magic system. The academy provides some levity to this dark fantasy world. In this world, we have fae, vampires and angels, which is a combination I have not seen before. I’m looking forward to uncovering more about this world in the sequel.

I am so excited to continue with this series. I have so many questions. I need to know what is happening. This book gave me similar vibes to The Serpent & The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent, so if you loved that book, you need to pick up Wings So Wicked.