Author: Tessonja Odette

Books in series: A Throne of Shadows, A Cage of Crystal & A Fate of Flame

First Published: 01 April 2025

“She was a force to be reckoned with, a storm wind, an inferno. She was a wind-tossed sea and a snow-capped mountain. Beautiful like the edge of a blade.”  

I will start by saying that I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own. Thank you so much to Tessonja for sending a copy my way! This is the omnibus edition of her Prophecy of the Forgotten Fae trilogy as this is a series review, I will keep it spoiler free.

This complete collection includes all three books in the trilogy in a single volume!

A feisty outlaw.
A conniving prince.
A war of magic and shadows.

Wanted by the crown for a murder she didn’t commit, Cora dreams of getting revenge on the mage who framed her. In the meantime, she hides in the forest and hones her witch magic. But when she discovers her enemy’s violent hunt for rare and endangered unicorns, she forms a plan for vengeance.

Prince Teryn, heir to a bankrupt throne, will do anything to keep his country from sinking into ruin. When he meets an outlawed witch wanted by a neighboring kingdom, he gets his chance. The woman has an impressive bounty on her head, one that could pay off his kingdom’s debts.

If Teryn can help Cora save a few magical creatures, he can gain her trust, hand her over to her king, and collect the bounty. But Cora has plans of her own, and none of them include being betrayed by her handsome new traveling companion.

The closer Cora and Teryn get to their desires, the harder their tasks become. And it isn’t just their budding attraction that’s the problem. A secret war is coming, one stemming from ancient feuds and forgotten fae magic. They must work together to stop it, or else both their kingdoms will crumble to ash.

It’s no secret that I adore Tessonja Odette’s Fae Flings and Corset Strings series. When I saw this omnibus edition, I had to pick it up. The Prophecy of the Forgotten Fae series offers a unique tone from her other works; however, I thoroughly enjoyed this young adult fantasy romance. We had lush world-building, political intrigue, witches, prophecies, a brewing war, and unicorns. Honestly, what more could you want?

This narrative is told from multiple perspectives. The four main perspectives are from our main characters—Cora, Teryn, Mareleau and Larylis. These perspectives offered a broader view of the world and brewing conflict. It also helped us piece together what the prophecy means and decipher who will be the one to defeat the evil warlock.

My heart aches for Cora. The amount of trauma and danger that Cora is subjected to because of this prophecy is insane. It’s beyond me how she overcame it all, acting with such maturity and selflessness to safeguard her community despite the cruelty she’s suffered. I don’t think it could be me. She struggles throughout the story to find a balance between her witch side and her past. Cora is a clairsentient witch and has strong empathy magic. She begins the series as a fugitive, dwelling amongst nomadic witches. Cora feels like an outsider because of her hidden past. Life takes an unexpected turn when she saves a unicorn from a hunter. The hunter is under the orders of Duke Morkai and Cora is thrown into danger once more. The unicorn Cora rescues, Valorre, is one of my favourite animal companions I have ever read about.

Teryn is quite a noble character. He sacrifices a lot at the start of this series, all to help his kingdom. After his father’s attempt to go full on Henry VII and divorce his wife to marry his mistress ends in nothing but debt. Teryn is driven and has spent most of his life putting aside his own needs until he meets Cora. The pair bump into each other while Teryn is hunting unicorns to win Princess Mareleau’s hand. Winning this trial will secure a marriage alliance to save his kingdom. This man falls hard and fast for Cora. I love how he recognises her strength and will do what he can to support her. I adored how Teryn realises that his own wants and needs are just as important and will fight for what he wants.

Larylis is Teryn’s half-brother. I loved how close they are, despite the tension between their mothers. Larlyis is recognised as the king’s son. He is a bit of a nerd, preferring to hide in libraries and avoiding the judgmental court. I love it when we get a nerd hero. Larlyis is pushed into a position of power unwillingly. He struggles with feeling worthy of his new role, one he never expected or trained for. He must come up to speed quickly and enter the political landscape. All while other players circle, waiting for him to fall. You can feel the pressure he is under; it’s suffocating. It was satisfying to watch him find his niche in the world.

I really did not like Mareleau at the start of the book. She comes across as this vapid but equally ruthless princess who’s not above putting others at risk to get what she wants. Despite my instant dislike for her, I thoroughly enjoyed her character arc. We slowly get to see behind her mask to a girl who’s devastated that she’s not allowed to be with the love of her life and that she cannot rule her kingdom in her own right. While Cora is definitely our badass, warrior character, I enjoyed seeing how Mareleau wields her power. I love seeing powerful female characters who embrace their femininity.

Never fear, my romance lovers, Tessonja knows how to weave an excellent romance in her high-stakes fantasy plot. In this series, we have not just one but two romances developing. One romance is this wonderful enemies-to-lovers with a delightful marriage of convenience thrown in. There are a few hiccups along the way, but I adored how it ended. And the second is a second chance romance with a friend-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers’ vibe. There is a ton of betrayal and misunderstanding, which feels believable. This is a young adult series, so there are minimal steamy scenes with only a handful of scenes across the last two books. These scenes aren’t overly explicit.

I thoroughly enjoy this world. And we get to see a lot of it because the characters are from different kingdoms. They all have different but vital parts. I also love the different vibes of the kingdom. In particular, I loved the French Renaissance vibe of Mareleau’s kingdom. I enjoyed that for the first book, A Throne of Shadows, focuses on Cora, Teryn and the unicorn hunt. And once we get the feel of the world and these characters, the story expands in both locations and plot in the following two books.

If you love upper YA fantasy series like the Throne of Glass series or The Grishaverse, I highly recommend picking up the Prophecy of the Forgotten Fae. And as a bonus, the entire series is out, so you can binge-read to your heart’s content.