Review – The Twice-Scorned Lady of Shadow (The Guild Codex: Unveiled Book 3) by Annette Marie (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Dark Owl Fantasy
Release Date: May 6, 2022
ASIN: B09PZM4G27
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Guild Codex: Unveiled series
Source: Borrowed ebook through Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 5/5 stars
“I’m learning to embrace who and what I am, but there’s one thing I can’t face: the night Zak betrayed me. But even with the mysteries of our shared past hanging between us, I can’t turn Zak away when he asks for my help.
Powerful fae are going missing, and when he tried to investigate, Lallakai vanished too. Now he wants me to venture with him into the territory of the Shadow Court, but its bloodthirsty courtiers don’t welcome meddling druids.
Danger is gathering around us, seen and unseen. As we uncover incomprehensible clues about the missing fae, we realize this nightmare runs deeper than we imagined, and unveiling it means delving into the past—our past.
If I abandon Zak now, he’ll never make it out alive. But if I stay at his side, if I face the truth of that night, it will destroy us both.”
Series Info/Source: This is the third book in The Guild Codex: Unveiled series. This series is part of the larger Codex Guild universe but stands alone fine. I borrowed a copy of this book through Kindle Unlimited.
Thoughts: I have greatly enjoyed all the books in the The Guild Codex universe (with the exception of the Guile Codex: Warped which were just so-so). This has been one of my favorite sub-series. I absolutely love reading about Zak, and Saber is an awesome character as well.
Where the last book dealt with a lot of the issues from Saber’s past, this one deals more with Zak’s past. Some fae have gone missing and Zak is forced to confront one of the death fae who was linked with Zak’s old mentor, Bane. Zak will have to trust Saber and her new fae consort, The Lord of Winter, to help him with this confrontation.
There was a lot I loved about this book. We finally get the full story of what really happened with Zak and Saber in the past. We also get to meet some new fae and watch as Saber embraces her druidic powers and learns to control them. There is a lot of action and a lot of awesome scenes between Zak and Saber. Additionally, we ended up at the Hammer and Crow for a bit as well and that was fun.
I wasn’t crazy about the cliffhanger ending, but it was a pretty good place to stop the story at. I am dying to read the last book in this series though!
My Summary (5/5): Overall I absolutely adored this book. I am a big Annette Marie fan and I am loving this series a ton. I love that we get to learn more about Zak’s and Saber’s pasts and love the druidic magic here. There are intriguing fae creatures, fast-paced action scenes, and some steamy scenes as well. It is a perfectly balanced story that makes for a quick and highly entertaining read. It was exactly what I needed after finishing a rather heavy epic fantasy previous to this book. I would recommend the whole Guild Codex universe to those who enjoy fun, fast-paced urban fantasy with some humor.
