Hidden Beneath The Embers by Fay Bec ARC Review

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Hidden Beneath The Embers by Fay Bec 

Read 10/12/22-10/20/22

Disclaimer -This is a New Adult Fantasy book. Please make sure to be mindful of your triggers.

Triggers include grief, violence, blood, torture, death, PTSD episodes, emotion & physical abuse, sexual assault (mentioned in passing several times), difficult pregnancy contributing to the end of a mother’s life, profanity, and sexually explicit content.

 

Summary | "Hide-and-seek was a game Davyna loved playing as a child because she always won. But after the death of her adopted father, the game became her life's mission to seek a blood relative to set her free from the cursed deal she made.
When every lead turns up empty, Davyna is forced to seek help from the creatures that hide in the dark.
What started as a quest for her freedom quickly turns into a fight for her life as Davyna navigates loss, lust, and love. But more importantly, as she seeks answers to who- or what- she is."

 

 

I received an ARC copy of Hidden Beneath the Embers in exchange for an honest review. It blew my expectations out of the water. I’ve been following Fay’s writing journey the majority of the year, and there were still unexpected twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

Manipulated into a service contract, Davyna’s only goal is to find her father and find a way out. But when that search all of a sudden takes her down a path full of the things that chase her in her nightmares, she must decide whether to follow what is safe and easy, or follow the darkness and step into her power and save herself. 

Off the back Davyna gives off straight fiery, bad ass female vibes. Shooting whiskey and putting guards in their place within the first few pages? I’m here for it!

There wasn’t an extreme amount of world building, but enough for you to get your bearings on the world the MC was in and the things, places, and creatures she was experiencing and I personally appreciated that. Although world building is crucial in a fantasy novel, it can easily become overwhelming if too much info is thrown at you. Some of the pacing in the first part of the book, felt a bit inconsistent, but that could just be me being overly anxious to get to the meat of the story. Not enough of an annoyance to knock my rating, but worth mentioning. Once Davyna entered the magical realm, the pacing to me was much smoother, and I couldn’t put the book down. 

Red flags were immediately being set off for me with one of the male characters, and he felt predictably untrustworthy, but the full extent of his assholeness did end up surprising me in the end. 

Fave quotes

“Let your fire shine bright... Let the world see you.” 

“Don’t play with the Devil, Dearest. You’ll end up hating yourself for liking it.”

"Maybe he was the Devil, but right now, I would gladly sin to get more of him."

"We can be painted as villains in anyone’s story, but even villains have a reason for the things they do."

If you’re looking for 

- Enemies to lovers 
- A magical realm & shapeshifters 
- A fiery, badass FMC, discovering her strength & power, with a smart ass mouth
- A deliciously morally gray vampire
- Spicy tension filled relationship 
- Touch her and you die vibes 

Then I highly recommend grabbing Hidden Beneath the Embers when it releases on Oct 27th. 

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆.5 /5