Author: Kate King

First Published: 01 April 2025

Series: Enchanted Legacies

“You’re a beautiful demon sent here to torture me.”   

I will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own. Thank you so much to Kate for sending a copy my way!

What if Belle never returned to the enchanted castle?

After her cheating husband ruins her life, twenty-nine-year-old musician, Alixandria Knight, moves from Chicago to Ironhill, Pennsylvania—a near-abandoned Appalachian ghost town with a firey history. Officially, she’s there to help her aging grandmother. Unofficially, Alix just wants to escape reality.

She’ll get her wish.

When a one night stand with a wickedly handsome stranger turns out to be more than she bargained for, Alix is whisked away to the land of the fae. There, she uncovers her family’s darkest secret. Sixty years ago, Alix’s grandmother, Isabelle, broke her promise to marry a beastly king. Now, the fae are hungry, and it’s up to Alix to clear her family’s debt.

I loved every second of A Thorn in Every Heart. It was perfection. The romance was amazing. The world is a perfect balance of enchanting fairytale vibes with a dark, sinister undertone. I love this found family; I’m keen to read more.

Alix is having a horrible time. She’s an unemployed violinist and her marriage is stale. We find out early on that her husband is cheating on her with her best friend. She’s broke, stuck, and doesn’t know what to do next. Alix heads back home to her grandmother’s house to regroup and devise a game plan of what to do next. In quick succession, she gets hit on by a handsome stranger, has her first one-night stand, and is promptly kidnapped and taken to the fae kingdom of Vernallis. A world she only ever thought was the fictional setting of her grandmother’s best-selling book series. To make matters worse, the fae who kidnapped her, Daemon, believes she is her grandmother. The long lost love of the Fae King Thorne and the cure to the curse placed on the kingdom. The pair come up with a deal – if Alix pretends to be her grandmother and helps lift the curse before the deadline and then Daemon will whisk her back home with all the riches in the world. Simple, right?

I adored Alix. She is in her early 30s, is a struggling musician and doesn’t know what to do with her life. Her life unfolded differently than anticipated. She doesn’t know how to change it. I found her so relatable. If I were transported to a fantasy world and offered vast sums of money to impersonate my grandmother to rescue strange fae from a curse their awful king placed upon them, I’m positive I would act the same way. I mean, she has nothing left to lose, right? I loved her commentary. Her chaotic, anxious thoughts left me giggling.

If you love a grumpy hero, I think you will adore Daemon. He gives me similar vibes to Des from The Bargainer series and Dimitri from Anastasia. They threw him into Dyaspora Prison, a frozen wasteland where prisoners mine until they perish. His only crime appears to be that he is the bastard child of the former king, and the people respect him more than his brother, King Thorne. Daemon hesitantly agrees to help his brother find his long-lost love, but only if Thorne releases his best friends. I adore Daemon. He has a big heart under his gruff exterior and will sacrifice everything to save his people.

I adore these two. Their banter had me in stitches and the tension was so good. They go from an explosive one-night stand to an accidental kidnapping to conspiring together to trick King Thorne into lifting the curse. Daemon struggles with his feelings for Alix and hopes to distance himself while Alix tries to woo the king. Daemon’s appointment as Alix’s guard derails the plan, forcing him into constant proximity with her. Queue all the feelings. Thank god he is there because the minute Alix ends up in Vernallis, she seems to be consistently stumbling into near-death experiences. Alix and Daemon truly are endgame. The way their relationship developed was perfect. I could read another 400 pages about them.

This is pitched as Beauty and the Beast meets Anastasia, which is accurate. I love how Kate King wove nods and beats from both references, but A Thorn in Every Heart feels pretty unique. I loved that we started in our world and had a portal fantasy element. So far, we’ve only seen one of the Fae courts, Vernallis, which gives spring vibes. I am excited to explore the other lands, which I imagine we will since each of Daemon’s friends is from another court. I loved the family-found dynamic of this rag-tag group and am dying to read more about them.

I am completely enchanted by this world. I am so excited for the sequel, A Storm in Every Heart, because I need to know what happened between Odessa and Kastian. Their tension and chemistry are off the charts! I know I am going to love it. If you are a romantasy girly like me, you need to pick up A Thorn in Every Heart because it’s pure magic.