Scarred by Emily Mcintire
Genre: Dark Romance
Read: March 2023

I’m not a huge fan of books set in an early time period so I was a bit hesitant to listen to this one.

Let me tell you, I saved the best for last! Scarred is by far my favourite of the series. Everything about it was perfect, right down to the last sentence!!

It had everything I love, a jealous man, a strong independent woman, fantastic banter and insane chemistry between Tristan and Sera. Would definitely recommend this as a stand alone to anyone who loves mortally grey characters who would kill for each other.

Scarred by Emily McIntire book 2 in the Never after Series
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

I finally finished, took me 5 days not that it's a competition but this was a slow pace for me. I feel Hooked flowed a little faster and more smoothly so for a good portion of this book I will say that it dragged for me and I almost had it at a 3 star rating and almost DNF'd it but I am so glad I stuck with it, because it definitely got hotter, more exciting and more badass. ( At least in my opinion)

The story line overall is intriguing and enjoyable, the author notes in the beginning that this is not a Lion King retelling and although I'm hesitant to agree it really isn't a retelling; however there are a lot and I mean a lot of references to the beloved characters of Lion king but as my youngest says its more of an alternate universe where the character names have changed, they are human and a whole lot of bad, unhinged stuff goes on... Including a very good amount of spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.

The premises is similar to a lot of other fantasy books and even to the cartoon, in only as in Sibling rivalry trope in the sense of who is better suited to wear the crown. I will even say some parts even reminded me of the CW Show Reign with Adelaide Kane, which I will be honest in my mind she was Sara Beatreaux with her long black curly hair ( Also Ms. Adelaide Kane is hot and a badass in Reign).

And we have Tristian - The Scarred Prince - 😍 😍 -- Good Lord, he just moved up to very top of my book boyfriends, because whew, the man is just divine 😍😍. His little pet names for Sara, the way he just overall handled her, I won't say more just because, I know there are some young ones probably reviewing my review. The way he would burn the world for his wants and desires, the ultimate bad boy (yup I have a type 😂, thankfully for me I married my bad boy in real life - maybe not as severe as Tristian but enough 😂😍😂

The crazy thing is I am not normally even a spice/smut reader type of person but if you are, this is the book for you if you are patient because as I stated it is slow paced in the beginning as well there were some situations that just didn't transition well unto the next part.

Over all 4 stars and Hell Yea, if you like spice but with a storyline that keeps you going this is definitely for you.

If you are an audiobook person I also recommend, however keep in mind there are minor differences in the audio from the physical book. Example, in the audio Hyenas - book they are referred to as Jackals. In the Audio I think he calls her My little lion, in the book My little doe.

Below are some of my favorite lines ⚠️⚠️ may contain spoilers ⚠️⚠️

" My mind wanders to Lady Beatreaux, and I wonder how much fire it would take to see the heat beneath her flesh." Tristen

"If I were to around and look back, I'm sure I would see their faces painted in surprise at how easily I agreed . I'm not known for how well I take orders. But surprisingly, I want to find her."

" Together we rule, divided we fall"

" I want to consume you, Sara, until I feel you thrumming in my veins."

"You could burn down the entire kingdom until it's nothing but charred rubble, and I would crawl over the embers with glee, so long as I could worship at your feet." 😍 ( )

Tristan is a dark, charismatic character who wants to overthrow his brother and take the throne.
Sara is a woman with a plan to marry the king and eradicate the Faasa line. Both were strong characters that had great chemistry between them, and were well developed.

The story was a little slow to start but once it picked it up, it really got going. Again, certain words or descriptions were way over used. Smile/grin/smirk descriptions were used excessively. And the characters head movements were consistently described as well, nod/tilt/incline/etc.

It took at least half the book for the spicy scenes to occur but they were spicy. 5 peppers on my scale: full, anatomically correct, step by step descriptions of sexual activity are given significant space in the story. They were well done and the author used good descriptions, but again certain descriptions and words were excessively used. ( )

I loved this more than Hooked. It is not a retelling, but is inspired by the Lion King, and indirectly William Shakespeare's Hamlet. I loved the characters. Tristan was dark, brooding and I loved his scars . . . physical and emotional. I cannot wait to continue the series. ( )

I loved all the little references to both the Lion King and Hamlet, and they are manipulated in just the right way to change how you view the different characters and where your loyalties lie. Plenty of good descriptions and quotes, and has a slow burn to it as well. ( )