One of the most surprising series for me in 2024 is the “Artefacts of Ouranos” series by Nisha J. Tuli. Back in spring I read both Trial of the Sun Queen and Rule of the Aurora King and although they are not the best books out there, I was hooked. Both stories were fast-paced, intriguing and not that hard, which makes them a good palate cleanser whenever you want to read fantasy but don’t want to think to hard. Recently, the final book in this series got published, but I first had to read the third book in this series, Fate of the Sun King. I purposedly waited with picking this up till a bit closer to release date – okay it was actually after release date – because I wante to spare myself the agony of the long wait for the next installment as the cliffhangers in this series are always very, very brutal. Was this book as intriguing as the two previous ones? Please beware of spoilers for earlier mentioned books in this review.

About the book

Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli
Series: Artefacts of Ouranos #3
Published by Forever on June 4, 2024
Pages: 538
Genres: Fantasy, New adult, Romantasy

The highly anticipated third installment of the steamy Artefacts of Ouranos series journeys deeper into the glittering fae world as Lor puts both her life and her heart on the line in this enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance.

With the Heart Crown now in her possession, Lor must navigate the dangers of being an heir on the run, knowing more than one power-hungry ruler is after her blood. When she returns to Aphelion to unlock her magic and recover her family’s legacy, it becomes clearer than ever that all that’s gold doesn’t sparkle. No stranger to battles, she continues to fight her attraction to the Aurora Prince, understanding this might be the one she finally loses.

As the past mixes with the present, Lor uncovers the truth about the Artefacts and their role in shaping her destiny. Now, her future hangs in the balance, leaving her closer than ever to getting everything she’s ever wanted… or losing it all forever.

My review

Before reading

I wanted to pick this book up for a longer while actually, but we all know how it goes. There are so many shiny new books out there and the backlist keeps growing and growing, so it is hard to prioritize books over each other. It’s like neglecting your babies if you know what I mean. Because there are so many good books to read! Lately I’ve unfortunately been reading some books that didn’t suit me so well in the end, so I was in need of something I definitely would enjoy. With Tale of the Hard Queen being out in the world, I figured this was the best time for this book so I could continue reading if desired. I expected to indeed enjoy this book, because the rest of the series was very enjoyable for me too. I knew I had to prepare myself for some kind of cliffhanger, I expected this one to be agonizing yet again.

Characters

Again, this book is told through a multiple POV narration. We of course follow Lor and Nadir, but we also get to know more about Gabriel. He was kind of a brute especially in the first book, so I was wondering what he would be up to. We find out more about him once this story progresses. Besides Gabriel, we also get to know much more about Lor and Nadir. We already knew them to a certain extend, but they keep on growing and growing. Lor especially, she seems to find out more about her life and comes to terms with it. Her trauma is still present, but she’s slowly healing. Tuli really wrote this excellently. Tristan and Willow get their time to shine as well, but there definitely is more to them than gets shown in this book. All characters have their backstories which are part of the bigger picture. I still love these characters, especially because they have to act morally grey whereas they actually are not. They are very important, because I think this plot stands or falls without them.

Writing

Just like the previous books in this series, this book has been written well again. The writing is indulging – and the plot intriguing – which makes it easy to get lost in it. I therefore finished this book pretty fast. Multiple POVs are always a bonus for me, I find them working really well most of the time. Especially in romance and fantasy, because the stakes are often pretty high. Here, there are many schemes and agendas that have to come together and multiple POVs therefore are essential. In the previous book, we already got some flashback and this story is continued in this novel, without being confusing.

Plot

As I’ve stated before, the plot in this book is very intriguing. The cliffhanger in Rule of the Aurora King already predicted this for me, but this book indeed delivered. There is lots more of danger and history involved, as well as revelations and smut. Yes, this series get spicier with every book, but the author already states this in the premise. I thought this spice was necessary because of the development of both protagonists, so it actually comes naturally. Besides this, the plot kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time. Is it the best, high stakes, complex fantasy out there? No, definitely not. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s definitely entertaining. I wasn’t prepared for this cliffhanger though, because this was brutal yet again.

Final thoughts

I finally read Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli and I was intrigued from the start. The book picks up where the previous one left off and this always helps me to get back into the story quite quickly. This was no different here. This book excels in character growth. Lor is slowly healing and coming to terms with her history and that’s a great process to witness. The cliffhanger was again very brutal, so I’ll be picking up Tale of the Heart Queen pretty soon!