Royal Pawn by K.N. BanetMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Manipulated By The Fae
I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is the sixth book of a continuing series. It crosses over with characters and events with a spin-off series set in the same world, The Tribunal Archives. Though the previous books in this series are required reading to understand this book, you probably don’t need to read the spin-off series, though reading it would make your understanding of the characters involved more in-depth. There is no cliffhanger, as the story ends at a natural break in the plot.
With Jacky’s position in the supernatural world, she has more influence and impact on people and events than her age should dictate, but she is her father’s daughter and because of that and his love for her, she will always be more important than would normally be expected. It also makes her a target because everyone knows that Hasan, the oldest werecat in existence will tear apart the world to protect his youngest daughter.
In this book, a royal Fae decides to use Jacky for his own ends and uses her relationship with Heath to blackmail them both into protecting his human wife. He knows that Heath and Jacky have others to rely on to help them protect his wife and if worse comes to worst, he will have the aid of Hasan.
There were certain things I didn’t enjoy about this book, namely how Jacky and Heath were manipulated by circumstances and by magic. They had no defence against either and it felt very one-sided. They were puppets and not particularly strong ones. Very few of the fae characters in this story were particularly tolerable, let alone likeable and they just left me cold. I didn’t particularly like the woman they were protecting either. In the past books in this series it felt like all the trouble Jacky got into was worthwhile because she was protecting people and ideas and in this book, she was powerless and being used for something she didn’t care about.
There were also things I really enjoyed about this book, as always KN Banet writes fantastic plots and worlds. I loved reading about the fae and the different realms. Just because I didn’t like the fae as people, didn’t mean I didn’t like reading about them (I’m weird like that sometimes). Cassius and Sorcha were introduced to me in the Kaliya Sahni series and they have always been likeable, so it was nice to read about them in this book, even if things were difficult for them. I hope that we read more about them in future books. My hope is that with the scope of this amazingly complex world the author has created, one of the series will be about the fae and we’ll read more about them.
One other really good thing about this book was how Heath and Jacky were in this book with each other. Their relationship is growing in depth and strength and despite it getting them into trouble they are not prepared to leave each other. As always the romance is not the main focus of the plot, but it is important and their emotions are a vital part of the story.
The plot was complicated and fast-moving and the book was over very quickly, despite its number of pages. KN Banet always manages to suck me into her books and only lets me go when I hit the acknowledgements at the back, and this book was no exception.
Once again, I’m left hungry for more books in this series as I really love Jacky as a character. She’s brave, strong and at the same time vulnerable. Her humanity is still with her as she was changed 10 years ago and sometimes the emotions she brought with her into her new life have the power to hurt her still. Her love for Heath and his daughter is tender and strong and she will defend it with everything she has. In particular, I enjoy her struggles with providing the right kind of support and advice to the teenager when she isn’t Carey’s mother and she doesn’t want to step on Heath’s toes and say the wrong thing. As much as she wants to support Heath’s decisions as a parent she also wants to make sure that Carey has someone she can always be honest with. It’s a fine line to walk and I really enjoy that aspect of this character.
I can’t wait to read what happens in the next book as though there is no cliffhanger, there are will definitely be consequences for how this book ends.
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