ARC Review: "Burden of Faete" by Ligia de Wit ★★★★★

ARC Review: Burden of Faete (Bradaís Pledge #2) by Ligia de Wit

This enticing sequel in the Bradaís Pledge series is just as incredible as the first book! With more twists and turns (some of which I could never have anticipated), higher stakes and even more action than ever before, this will have you at the edge of your seat. The butterflies do be yelling huzzah! 🩵

“I love you.”
“I don’t know what that is, Ryanne. I don’t understand.”
“That’s okay; I do.” She took my hand and placed it on her chest. “I love you,” she repeated, smiling.

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
Continuing the events from Touch of Faete, 22-year-old Ryanne Kelly, a human imbued with fae powers that predict the future, has been tasked by the fae queen to bridge the rift between fae and bradaís. She endeavours to do so with Titus Aodhán Doyle an immortal pirate/bradaí who abducted her in Book 1 and, despite his thirst for killing and gold, appears not to be as corrupt as his kin and has developed a fondness for Ryanne. Finding and activating the spark within Titus would sever the hold the evil god-like being Anord has on the bradaís.

Titus has just gained Ryanne’s trust and she is worried what will happen if he finds out she has been using him to gain information about bradaís for her mission. But there are bigger fish to fry, to coin the proverbial phrase, because someone is on their tails. Someone who Titus dreads the most: Captain Edward, the Alpha, most ruthless and powerful of all bradaís – even Titus. So powerful in fact that he is the only one with the ability to kill his own kind.

Edward is on a mission: with every bradaí killed, he absorbs their power. He desires above all Titus’ power, but he needs Titus’ name given to him by Anord to do so (Aodhán). Titus begins to form a plan: find the leader of the Shadow People, Quintus, to learn more about his magic; find his “family”, Kara and Sergei, who abandoned him because Edward framed him for murder; gather all their strength and band together to defeat him.

However, many obstacles get in the way of their path: including Sanders (the man who wanted Ryanne for her powers in Book 1), the fae who are displeased with Titus’ escape from their realm in Book 1, the bradaís – and not to mention Edward himself. And Ryanne has yet to face her biggest fear in order to become a proper fae and enhance her powers.

I let myself be guided by my touch of fae, a power I used to dismiss, since it had appeared randomly and of no use to me. A power used to show me snippets of a romantic pairing in the future because that was what I’d wanted.
Now I wanted to be stronger, capable to face supernatural creatures. I didn’t have the physical strength, that much was clear. But I had my fae connection, one that had been a stranger inside me but not anymore.

This is told from the first-person past-tense POV of Ryanne and Titus.

OVERALL OPINIONS
Ligia de Wit has done it again! She has a way with her characters, description and overall energy that makes you want to be swept along on the adventure. After just finishing the first book (which you should absolutely do before reading this one), I was more than ready to jump into this. The world-building is expanded on beautifully and because most of the basics we need to know are established in Book 1, there is less confusion about what is happening and more honing in on the new information – or information from Book 1 that is expanded on here.

Some of the chapters are interestingly told from Titus’ past, helping to form conclusions from the presented information and helps us better understand Titus and what has transpired between him and Edward up until now. I loved discovering more about the bradaís in this book because just when you think you have it worked out, boom! A plot twist. And then boom! Another.

As I said before in my previous review, I adore that de Wit has drawn inspiration from Celtic mythology and Irish folklore in order to produce something wholly unique. Indeed, the whole concept behind this story, of having a stereotypical pirate but with dark magical powers and immortality, is so different. The irony of course is that pirates don’t tend to live long and do very dangerous things that risk cutting their life shorter. I like this, with the exploration of a man living through centuries seeing the rise and fall of empires, gathering so much knowledge and still knowing nothing of his own kind and it takes a human with fae powers for him to truly open his eyes.

I also meant to say since it is covered in this book as well I love that the touch of fae “provoked visions since we humans were way too concerned with the future, so the fae energy woke that part of us” – this is genuinely such a clever idea, because it is so true! And I liked some of the references to Peter Pan – when Ryanne first met her mentor Gallchobhair she thought he was Peter Pan hence his name being Peter. The nymphs wanting to spend time with Peter is much like the mermaids obsessing over Peter Pan. Titus has a red coat and is compared to Captain Hook.

Titus and Ryanne were my favourite parts, of course, and with her pixie friend Bricius not around as often, we have more of *those* scenes in this book – so you bet I was giggling and kicking my feet for those (or doing one of those happy silly dances that Ryanne likes/wants to do haha)! I like that not only are they working on themselves individually, Ryanne especially with her self-defence and magic (even her visions are getting more accurate), but they also find more ways of working together – but I’ll not say too much.

I am just like Ryanne, always asking loads of questions. It’s cool and cute that she has learned some of her magic when fighting from observing Titus using his dark magic. And Titus is out here making me fall in love – wanting to avoid the storm so Ryanne can sleep better, letting Ryanne have control during their first time, still possessive of her. It’s cool that he can fight with both hands.

Titus seized my chin tenderly. “Do you know that your lips are sweet? That their softness doesn’t compare to anything else?”
He caressed my lower lip with his thumb as if to print the sensation on his fingertip, making my heart flutter.
“Gold won’t kiss me back”

I’m very much looking forward to Book 3! Bring it on!

<< Positives >>
🠚 The cover is so stunning! It makes so much sense considering this book covers Titus’ story more, so there’s the sea and creatures, along with the coin bestowed upon him by Anord which plays a large part in this story. It is also fitting as Ryanne has to face her fear of drowning.
🠚 Appropriate image for each book part, with a lovely ship paragraph/section divider
🠚 The time jumps are interesting!
🠚 Plenty of plot twists to keep me guessing, wondering if even Fé Erie couldn’t be trusted.
🠚 The amount of strong women in this book is inspiring!
🠚 Any questions or information I wanted fleshed out from Book 1 were pretty much answered here.
🠚 Again, any potential plotholes in character’s behaviours or world-building elements were fine. In Chapter 5, more things were covered about the bond from Book 1 and why he chose her hand and not her arm, for example. Chapter 33 explains even more why Ryanne is needed for this quest.
🠚 A dragon is in this story! I LOVE dragons. And finally, having the dragon portal described! Worth the wait haha.
🠚 The bond between Titus and his friends/found family like Homkar, Kara and Sergei was heartwarming to see. Especially Homkar, the way Titus treats him more as a friend and lets him speak his mind, and the way Homkar approves of Ryanne. It’s lovely!
🠚 I’m glad that Peter and Titus are beginning to reach some sort of understanding.
🠚 The last few chapters of the book AHHH!

<< Negatives >>
🠚 I had hoped for more interactions between Mouse and Ryanne – don’t get me wrong, we do get some of it here, with her teaching Ryanne self-defence, which I love. But she disappears after Chapter 13, about a third of the way through the book.
🠚 In Book 1, Titus says “I will not touch you. You have my word. How will I know when it’s time? Would you give me a sign?” and Ryanne says “I’ll give you a, ‘Let’s do this, stud.’ Does that work?” – I therefore kind of expected her to say “Let’s do this, stud,” in a shared joke sort of way in this book when it finally does happen.
🠚 The comparison of The Scáil Dragún to the “USS Constitution marooned in Boston”, while excellent, I feel would have been better placed in Book 1.
🠚 I don’t think we’re ever told what Feihnum means, where it comes from, why it appears. It seems to be chord that sort of triggers her fae abilities but why is it connected to the ship usually?

FAV QUOTES
• He just pulled on his discarded black trousers and white shirt, his favorite combination, along with his knee-high black boots and red jacket. A true pirate’s life for him. A dark, *immortal* pirate life for him.
• Is fearr lúbadh ná briseadh, as an Irish saying goes. It’s better to bend than to break.
• The image of her in his arms churned my stomach, and the cabin swirled around me. I’d get her back. Whatever the cost. Even if I had to take the taigh by assault, I would. That dryshite would never have her. Never.
• I couldn’t lose Ryanne, not now... I missed her, missed her flowery perfume and her arms around me. Missed every inch of her. Her lush chestnut hair and moss-green eyes that reminded me of the high seas.
• I felt like a pawn, but whether I was still on the board or pushed aside, I couldn’t tell.
• His intense kisses barged into my memory, the way his lips took mine, claiming them for himself.
• The rain stopped and birds chirped sweetly above. A bright rainbow appeared on the gray sky, and I smiled—a beautiful reminder that light always conquered darkness. Heck. It was up to me to decide *my* fate, not the fae’s obscure rules.
• “The sea crashes and sweeps, but there’s peace within,” I whispered in his ear. That line he’d said back in our second submersion had come unbidden and the words slipped from my lips, as if my brain knew I must say those words. His chest heaved, and his expression softened a little
• Before I knew it, I was encircled in his arms, his nose touching mine. Careful not to rattle him, I caressed his back, his breath warming me. His lips searched for mine and placed a chaste kiss, a kiss that smelled of the sea. | “My pirate,” I mumbled. | “My little seer,” he croaked.
• He reached out and latched his hand on my neck, pulling me to him. Like clay, I molded my body to his and sighed against his lips. The kiss was soft and tender, like a lazy wave slapping over the sand on a hot summer day.
• A strange feeling harbored in my usual empty chest. Something warm that made me smile. My little seer, always attentive of me. What would I have done without her?
• I was grateful I’d died and was brought back here with her. Heaven. The only one I could aspire to.
• What I needed was a dragon. A mighty one. Red eyes floated before me, and I felt taller, even as it only happened in my head. “I shaped it in the way I wanted.” It wasn’t only in my head. I was powerful; I was mighty. I was Ryanne.
• She laughed, and the entire forest vibrated as if a fresh rain had fallen.

══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Ligia de Wit and BookSirens for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“Burden of Faete” is out now!