Scarred by Emily McIntire
Fairytale Romance, Historical Romance
January 4, 2022
Review by Jen
Scarred by Emily McIntire is a dark romance inspired by the Lion King. The author’s first book in this series (saying that lightly, as they really aren’t tied to each other) is Hooked, inspired by Peter Pan. After reading this one, Hooked is on my TBR list!
We have two brothers. One, Michael Faasa II, has been freshly kinged and the other, Tristan Faasa, is the hot evil prince with the scarred face and dastardly plans. The king gives all outward appearances of being decent, but isn’t. He’s quite the man whore and 100% cruel. The king needs a queen, enter Lady Sara. She’s got secrets of her own but looks and acts the part for King Michael. Until… she and Tristan meet over and over again while they’re both sneaking around the castle trying to fulfill their own agendas. Both are of the morally grey, ok with killing for a cause kind of main characters. And, their chemistry is palpable. Forbidden love- check! Enemies to lovers- check! Slow burn- also check!
There are some good side characters. I especially loved Simon, a little boy who is the bastard son of King Michael. He’s adorable, playing with a toy sword and looking up to Tristan as a role model. In those moments, the author does a great job of expanding on Tristan’s character and showing his empathy.
There are clever threads of language from the original Lion King. Tristan is the Scarred Prince. King Michael had a Pack of friends who bullied Tristan when they were kids. The commoners in the kingdom are referred to as Hyenas, a derogatory term. And, the royal family’s last name of Faasa is a homage to Mufasa. While to me it felt a bit like a dark fairytale, because of the Lion King, it’s set in the early 1900’s, so it’s really more of a historical romance.
This was a super fun read, very fast and easy. It’s just the kind of dark, spicy book that I love.
Grade B+
HOOKED IS INCREDIBLE
It’s based on Hamlet. As is the lion king but it starts with a quote from hamlet. Read an older book, gain historical context.
I don’t know if this is the right audience or website for needing historical context lol
Hooked is very good!! I’m halfway through Scarred and couldn’t tell how on earth it was related to Peter Pan lol, so thank you for clarifying. This book is really good but I did like Hooked better so far.
I need to read Hooked! I had completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it. Thanks for the reminder! :)
This is the fourth book of her never after series that I’ve read. It took me awhile to realize it was the lion king but I’m already enthralled. The rest of the books are just as intriguing!! Love this series!!