Once Upon a Demon's Heart

I already love K.M. Moronova’s books, and while this one wasn’t my absolute favorite by her, I still couldn’t put it down. Demi-god × demon? Enemies to lovers? Dark atmosphere? I especially loved the tension between Alira and Kalel. Their relationship felt so emotional and intense the entire time, and I was constantly waiting to see what would happen next. But honestly, I also loved the side characters so much. Characters like Nick and Tara made the story feel even more alive for me and I got so attached to them while reading. They all fit so well into the story and added so much to the overall atmosphere. Even though I enjoyed some of her other books slightly more, this story was still addictive, emotional and so entertaining to read. Definitely recommend this to readers who love romantasy, morally grey characters, emotional tension and enemies-to-lovers dynamics ♡⚔️

First: I like to make some references to known books just to make you get the spirit of the one I'm reviewing. It feels a bit like ACOTAR but here it's more about God born and demon born people who are in a war. Oh and there a dragons, by the way. This story is really well written I flight through the pages and it was another sleepless night totally worth of. We follow Alira, God born, and Kalel, demon born. We get both POVs which helped me a lot to understand both. That was necessary for me. The chemistry, hate and lust between them is understandable and relatable. They fight a lot their feelings and honesty I have to say that they misunderstood each other because they're hurt from the past. I felt that both characters are deep and full of emotions, hopes and hurts. The side characters like Nik and Tara are something. Nik is developing feelings in my opinion but here's me. The kings aren't definitely not of my liking but I'm still here to read the second book of the Duet. Oh, and the Cliffhanger in the end... I don't see why it should be that difficult. I was expecting this from the very beginning, so I wasn't surprised. conclusion Nice book. info: This is book 1 of the cruel fates Duet. book 1: Once upon a demons heart book 2: Once written in gilded blood (coming 2026) You need to read the books in order. book description This is no fairytale—It’s yearning and guilt of two burdened hearts that will leave readers breathless. Alira, a devoted demigod knight, has found herself trapped in the throes of a brutal curse. A time loop in which the demon kingdom’s Blood Knight kills her every time. She is haunted by the attack she led on the innocent village of Thornhall, and her guilt consumes her from the inside out. After the twentieth time loop, she has finally had enough. Something has to change, lest she die at the Blood Knight’s hand for the rest of time. A choice she hopes she won’t regret—one to end the war between demigods and demons. Alira is shocked when she realizes that she’s marrying the very knight who has slain her so many times. A daughter of Venus and a duke of demons. Their love is both cursed and destined—a marriage to save the fragility of their kingdoms. Kalel is as cruel as they come. A devourer who survives on the gilded blood of demigods. He wants to hate her as much as he did when Thornhall fell, but he finds himself warring with his heart over his emotions for her. Together, they unravel the truths of Faultore, that perhaps not everything is as it seems. The gods may be pulling more strings than they should. It’s not a question of what love can conquer; it is a matter of what they are prepared to demolish in the path of it.

This book has no similarity to ACOTAR — I have no idea how people came to that conclusion. There’s a lot of sex in this book, so if that’s your thing, you’ll probably enjoy it. I did find the book a bit boring at times. In a few places it dragged, but the ending (even though it was predictable) saved it and made it interesting again. All in all… you can read it, but you don’t have to. In the end, I bought it because of the cover. But content-wise? There are actually very few pages when you consider that every new chapter starts with an illustration and the back side of those pages is left blank… with over 40 chapters… well.