Prince of Air and Darkness: A Gay Fantasy Romance (The Darkest Court Book 1) Kindle Edition

Phineas is a mere human, the only one in a school of magick. He has enormous power at his fingertips, he just can’t control it. Roark is the Prince Of Air And Darkness. Very powerful in his own right but when he and Finn work together magick happens. Not as expected, totally out of control, but still magick.This was an interesting book to read. Because I like fantasy books and have become acquainted with the OTHER wizard (not the Potter variety) I am a little familiar with the different courts and their denizens. This story, while at times confusing, was a good one. The underlying feelings between Finn and Roark even when they claimed to hate each other, wove it’s way through the story.The book was slow to start but once it kicked in I finished it in one sitting. While the ending wasn’t exactly what I wanted for them (a HFN), with the promise of a second book I’m hoping for more.Finns mother told him a child isn’t indebted to their parents because they were born. I liked this sentiment and felt it was very important for the solution of their story.

GUYS. I love this book so much??? You guys don't even understand. This book came out of nowhere and hit me square in the feels. WHAT THE HELL.You have a soft human (Phineas, also known as Finny or Finn) who can’t control his tie to the ley line and has monsters coming at him from all sides, and then there’s the princely fae (Roark) who will do everything to protect Finny whilst denying he has feelings for him.Trigger warnings for torture scenes.So. I will say that the cover DOES NOT match the tone for the book at all. I saw the cover awhile back and without reading the blurb, I thought this was going to be a MC (motorcycle club) romance and almost didn’t pick this one up. I feel like the story is lighter than the cover suggests. This is instead, a book where two fae courts are in a tense standstill and war seems to be just on the horizon. There's the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, also known as the Summer and Winter Courts. This book has a strange balance of funny and endearing, mixing with it scenes of torture and ANGST.This story takes place at a college, but it’s unclear what kind of college they’re at (besides it being a school of magic for magical beings. It’s mentioned a few times that they’re getting their Master’s degree, but I’m assuming they were there for their Bachelor’s as well? I do find it interesting that Roark is going through the motions of school while being an undefined “centuries” years old.There’s a lot happening in this book, and a lot of the world-building is confusing, but I find this book is more about the characters even though there is a lot of stuff happening in the plot. I hate getting out of a book to Google something, so I did spend the entire book confused between the differences between the unseelie and seelie beings. I'm not sure how important it is to know beforehand some of the more intricate details of faeire lore before starting this book, but I sure didn't know a whole lot and I think I managed to get the gist of it. Roark is the second prince of the Unseelie Court and his time on campus is to be look over his Court's subjects. His unspoken duty is that he must look after Phineas.Phineas is a soft human boy who is built like a football player and has the biggest heart. All he wants to do is to learn how to control the ley line magic coursing through him in order to save his parent's farm. The power of the ley line is very powerful and no one is known to have survived very long with the power, and honestly, his acceptance that he could die very soon just breaks my heart.Roark has his own sacrifices to make too, of course. And I do love Roark a lot but I do have moments where I see him in a different light and I wonder if he really deserves the pure hearted Finn. His time before meeting Finn is one of darkness. He has made a name for himself by torturing just about anyone for information if it benefits his Court. By the time we meet Roark, he's a different person and a lot of that does have to do with Finn, but that side of him is still a part of him. So, I feel like the one torture scene in the middle of the book I could have done without, or at least without Roark leading it.That being SAID. I do enjoy reading Finn and Roark's interactions with one another. It starts off kind of enemies-to-lovers, with a lot of snark between the two. But, OH, there is a LOT of pining involved and Roark consistently jumping into situations to save Finn's life. Their interactions with one another makes me grin like a SAP and I'm pretty sure I have almost half their lines highlighted on my Kindle just because they're so precious (even when they try to break my heart).There are some moments of this book that remind me a LOT of what Aelin goes through with her fire in the Throne of Glass books, and even the title reminds me a lot of Cassandra Clare’s book, Queen of Air and Darkness (who is Roark’s mother’s title in this book). There are hints of the Foxhole Court books too in this story and of COURSE any mention of the ley line reminds me of the Raven Cycle books. So, there are moments in this story that feels like a mixture of YA books, rather than an adult m/m romance. This probably falls into that in-between of NA because the characters are in college and aren't teens. There are a few sex scenes, but they're easy enough to skip over if you don't want to read them.This story ends on a HFN, and I’m kind of sad that the following books in the series don’t follow with more Finn and Roark. In the vein that this book feels like so many YA books even though it's not YA, it seems weird to switch to other characters's stories with each new book and I feel like there are some (minor) questions left unanswered from Finn and Roark's story. The book never shows whether or not Finn ever tells his parents what he’s decided at the end and I really wish it did. It seems empty for them to not know what’s happened, considering how sweet they are and Finn is their only child.So, with the rest of the books in this series, well, I have THOUGHTS. I liked Sebastian in this story, but I just don’t see why we need to have a new pairing to tell the rest of the books. Because while there is an impended war, I feel like Finn and Roark could have carried on the rest of the books. But maybe that's because I love Finn and Roark too much and just want to read more from their POVs. I have my suspicious that judging by the title for book three that it'll be about Roark’s older brother? So, I admit that could be interesting, if we really MUST change love interests each book.In conclusion, I love this book a lot, and while I'm sort of hesitant about the rest of the books in this series, I will still read them.

I found this a bit confusing in the beginning. Perhaps some of that was due to having to shift my expectations, as most books I’ve read with fae characters paint the Seelie in flattering light, with the Unseelie playing the role of villain. It’s not exactly the opposite here, but the main human character, Phineas, is friends with and a roommate of some Unseelie, and feels more of an affinity with them than with the Seelie (which is interesting, seeing as he’s studying agriculture, which seems more Seelie to me). We get a much more Unseelie-centric view of things in this book than in others I’ve read, which was fascinating to me.The rest of the confusion stemmed from the necessity to world-build in the first book of a series, plus the need to tease out Finn’s backstory in a measured way. Eventually, things were revealed and started to make sense, and my feelings for Phineas, and for Roark, the Unseelie Prince of Air and Darkness, took root. By the end, I was totally enthralled. Unfortunately, there are several months before book two is released; I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next!

I read this book because of the author. I've read some of her other books and love her writing. Even though I don't read much m/m or fantasy, I simply adored this story. The author gives you enough background for you to understand what is going on and the characters are outstanding. Finny is the all around nice guy who everyone loves and who should be able to do anything. Except control an uncontrollable power he didn't ask for. Roark is his nemesis and when the two are together, sparks fly. I loved getting a glimpse of Roark underneath and how he's not all ice and steel. And how much of what he does is to protect his roommate (Finny) who has come to mean so much to him. And when the two finally realize that working together has a better outcome...watch out.

Prince of Air and Darkness is an incredible m/m fantasy filled with magic and mayhem. Unseelie Prince Roark Lyne is caught between politics and love and it takes our human hero Phineas Smith a long time to figure it out. But to be fair he is dealing with learning to control his incredible gift of magick. These two are ice and fire and totally combustible. I really enjoyed this book and its fantastic world. I look forward to the next installment.

This was a brilliant series opener and I loved getting to know the world Grant had created. The fae and their courts are so twisty, I loved that Roark had a bit of a darker side when he was dealing with them, and it was interesting to see how the human Finn reacted to that and how the relationship built afterwards.My only quibble is that I wasn't too sold on their supposedly being 'enemies'. Finn says time and again that Roark would kill him if he could but everything we are shown is Roark saving him and then having a bit of snarky commentary afterwards when Finn gets himself into trouble. Yes Roark had his dark side, but never where Finn was concerned, he just kept himself distant.I did think their romance developed quite quickly, but I was actually okay with that. They were such a sweet and loving couple, always supporting each other and I loved that they were so evenly matched power-wise even though Finn was a human and Roark was a faerie prince.Overall a highly recommended mm fantasy book. I loved these two tortured boys and Roark is definitely one of my favourite characters ever.

3.5 stars rounded-up. I really enjoyed this book, but there were definitely flaws and things I feel weren't explained properly or examined thurroughly enough. I don't think the characterisation of Roark or Finn was as good as it could have been from the beginning, which made what was a great story feel lacking at points. The whys in regard to certain things were also notably absent, and certain explanations, when they did come, didn't entirely make sense. I would definitely be interested in reading the sequel, but I do think this story could have been a lot better quite easily, and it would have been a 5 star read.

Not a bad story, but I had to keep fighting against the present tense.6 more words required la is la.

An really good read with strong characters. Best story mm story read in a long time. Well written. On to the second book. Well worth the purchase.

Great world building. Really liked the story and the development of the relationship between the two main characters. Actually, it was quite an exciting read! Highly recommended. Looking forward to the next book!