Phantom Assassin (Darkling Penitentiary Book 1) – Stephany Wallace
Synopsis
Tonight, I killed the Queen of the Starlight Faeries… my grandmother.
I am Zeneviève, the Starlight Princess, and with one glance you’d think nothing else of me, yet there’s another side that no one knows. From the age of five I’ve secretly trained in the dark arts, foreseeing that one day I would be summoned by the God of the Realms.
So, when a burning rose appears on my pillow, I know I’ve been chosen.
Accepting my new purpose means losing the only family I’ve ever known, earning a one-way ticket to Darkling Penitentiary. Nevertheless, my mission is bigger than all of us. But there is one obstacle I didn’t anticipate, the monster who rules the prison, and in order to fulfill my destiny I’ll have to eliminate him.
The issue? He appears to be the only creature immune to my deadly light.
Review
“All hail the Starlight Queen”
O.M.G.
The truth is that this book did not appeal to me so much because the idea of a prison did not convince me. I can’t explain how glad I was to have read it anyway.
Zeneviève is a Starlight Faery, a really special kind created by goddess Dalu, and being from the royal family, she can absorb energy from the moon, which can be clearly seen in the shine of her wings. But Zeneviève is even more special. She is a Star of Prophecies that are born every 5000 years in the Fae Realm.
Legend told that at the beginning of time, Goddess Danu reached into the night and brought down the brightest star from the sky. Infusing her own magic into it, she turned the star into a woman, and the first Starlight Faery was born.
Our first queen.
Looking at Grandma now as she flew down to the ballroom, her wings illuminating the entire space, I believed it.
Being a Star of Prophecies implies having premonitory dreams, but they don’t simply show the future, they actually give her instructions she must fulfill. None of her predecessors have been able to escape their destinies.
Every 5.000 years, a Star of Prophecies is born in the Fae Realm. The day I first opened my eyes, the clock reset itself...
The last one was Zeneviève’s mother and, as only one can be in existence, when Zeneviève was born, she gave her life for her daughter’s. She was raised by her grandmother as, after her mother died, her father disappeared. However, she never lacked affection. The relationship between Zeneviève and Queen Noreen is perfect.
Except that they both know that Zeneviève’s dreams show her that she must murder her grandmother. Since Noreen knows the nature of these dreams, she urges her granddaughter to accept them and simply enjoy until they come true. And among Zeneviève’s joys is Jareth, her royal guard with whom she has a “relationship.” However, she knows that her time in the palace will not last much longer.
“No matter what you wish for me, Jareth, the day will come when my duty will rip me away from here, never to be seen again. I will disappoint you. I will betray you and everything we ever held dear, but I will have no other choice.”
After murdering the queen, Zeneviève is sent to the Darkling prison, a place of darkness where even the moon does not exist, and must resign herself to waiting for her new mission to be able to leave that place. However, for a prison it is not so terrible. Except for the guardian. A Dark Phoenix.
The massive Dark Phoenix was perched at the very top, on the edge, looking down into the prison like it was his nest, and we were all worms waiting for him to eat us. It was kind of intimidating; I wasn’t going to lie.
This beast is the one who rules the place together with his babysitter assistant, Lord Aros. A muscular man with obvious disdain for shirts and huge black wings sticking out of his back, who happens to hate faeries more than anything in the world. And that hates Zeneviève even without knowing that she is a faery.
Idiots. Everyone here was an idiot. The guards were idiots. The hot as fiery hell guy with the black wings was an id—Did I just call him hot?
Ugh.
Now Zeneviève must fulfill her mission, which by the way she does not know, while she makes sure not to reveal her identity and finds a way to get rid of the surveillance of the giant bird.
As soon as I started reading this book it immediately captured me. I thought we would meet Zeneviève at the time of the crime or even afterwards. With the synopsis I never imagined that I would understand her reasons, but she really had no choice. Despite knowing that she would kill the queen, I hoped with all my heart that she would find a way to escape her fate and have a life with her grandmother and Jareth. But this was impossible and, as she herself expected, Zeneviève is sent to the prison for the most dangerous criminals where they literally never see the light of the sun again.
Zeneviève is accepted by the most powerful couple in the prison, Alani, a vampiress, and Lynet, a Banshee. Who become her “frenemies” in prison.
There are also Gwenn, who works at the prison, and her son Keegan. Who prove to be loyal friends and powerful allies for the new mission of Zeneviève.
I’m sorry I’m late. Keegan took forever to fall asleep. I love Junior to pieces, but I swear sometimes I feel like tying him up and hiding him in the closet” Her eyes widened when she realized what she had said out loud. “I’m only kidding.”
Here appears Lord Aros. To be honest, the typical shirtless handsome (I’m not complaining) who hates Zeneviève for no reason. But it is impossible not to fall in love with him. He is totally a slave to his past and his own darkness.
Wiping the fog from the mirror, I glanced at myself for several moments, trying to find the other half of the man I once was. The man Callista found in the shadows of a cursed existence.
I didn’t know what destiny awaited me, but I knew the happiness she believed I deserved, had been just an illusion. Nothing more, nothing less.
However, he has a good heart and, inadvertently and despite trying to avoid it at all costs, he sees in Zeneviève the light that could illuminate his life again, even against his will.
We are all slaves, Aros. Slaves to our nature, our duties, our legacy, our families, and even to others’ expectations of us. Our chains might all seem different, but we are bound by them nonetheless.”
Incredible world-building, fabulous characters, all with a past that sustains them. In addition to being original and funny, but no less emotional for this. My only complaint is that the second part is not yet out. I recommend it 100% and now I just have to wait.
Bye bye 💕
