Back of Book: 

A broken kingdom. A broken princess. A love that can heal them both.

As the magical wards protecting her kingdom fade away, a powerless princess must train with a mysterious lord to awaken her powers, only to learn that falling in love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Princess Emelin Clairborne is witnessing her human kingdom of Emeraldia fade before her eyes. The wards that keep their Fae enemies out are weakening, and the farmland is withering away. With her magic stubbornly dormant, Emelin is powerless to help.

Desperate, she seeks out Adrian Gray, a mysterious lord living near the border between human and Fae. Powerful and guarded, he reluctantly agrees to train her. Her journey to harnessing her powers is long and challenging, but amid her struggles, a romance blossoms between her and the lord. As her feelings for him grow, so does her magic.

Before their budding relationship can flourish, long-buried secrets shatter the very foundation of Emelin's world. With Emeraldia on the brink of collapse, she has no choice but to wed a Fae prince to forge an alliance with their most feared enemy. Through the marriage of convenience, Emelin may secure peace and power for her people, but the cost will be her future…and her heart.

A Kingdom of Magic and Rain is a cozy, spicy New Adult Romantasy with a soft, bookish FMC, a green flag MMC, and a Regency-inspired romance.

Book Number: One

Genre: Adult | Fantasy | Romance 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

A regency-inspired fae romantasy in which a gentle love turns into a begrudging marriage of convenience. 

Emelin Clairborne is desperate to help her kingdom. When the wards that keep the fae out of their territory begin to fall, Emelin decides it's time to learn to channel her own magic. With the help of Lord Adrian Gray, Emelin believes that she can unleash her abilities before it is too late. As the two begin to spend more time together, Emelin begins to wonder if Lord Gray may be the key to piecing her broken heart back together again. 

I must admit, I was convinced to read this one due to the immense amount of art that the author commissioned for this book. I decided on a whim to join the ARC team and promote this book because it sounded like something I’d enjoy. Thank you so much to V.I. Davis for the eARC of this book! 

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t everything I hoped it would be. I honestly fear this may have been a case of the right book at the wrong time, as this one seems like a book I could have enjoyed more if I would have been in the perfect mood for it. As it was, I found the first half to be quite slow, though the later third really stoked my interest and had me reading it in a single setting. 

The beginning of this one follows Emelin as she begins to train her magic with Adrian. It features a ton of cute moments together such as them caring for an injured hedgehog, reading in the library, and painting. This portion of the book includes a massive amount of time; months are going by in a matter of chapters. Maybe if it would have focused on a shorter period of time I would have felt more in the moment with this one, I dunno. 

The latter half is alluded to in the prologue, though I won’t go into too many details to avoid spoilers. Emelin finds herself trapped in a marriage she didn’t want and dealing head first with the fae. The stakes pick up quite a bit in the latter half, though it does take a few chapters for Emelin to stop moping around in her own woe. Once she begins to accept her fate, this book becomes more romantic and easier to get through.

I was surprised by how hooked I was at the end of this one. After spending so much time with these characters, I found myself worried about Emelin, Adrian, Thea, and Tom’s wellbeing. I wasn’t expect the conflict that went down in the end to occur, so I found it rather thrilling. The ending convinced me that this book was indeed worth reading. 

I haven’t decided if this is a series I am wanting to continue as of yet, but I’m leaning towards yes. It sounds like it will only be a trilogy and that each book will follow a noble living in each of the realm’s kingdoms. Davis has a ton of skill as a writer, so I think I owe it to her to read at least one more of her books. Also, I’m not complaining if I get to look at more stunning character art along the way. 

Overall, I didn’t find myself falling in love with “A Kingdom of Magic & Rain” which was a shame. Emelin and Adrian did eventually grow on me, but it did take quite some time. The beginning bored me a bit, but the book redeemed itself with its exciting ending. The worldbuilding was also well done, so I could see future installments in this series having great potential. I’ll probably continue on with this one at some point, but only time will tell.