Ava, a fae who was abandoned as a baby and raised in the human world, comes home on her birthday to find her human boyfriend in bed with another woman. Ava is heartbroken until she is invited to participate in the Seelie King's competition for a bride. Ava is whisked away to Faerie (yes their realm is literally called Faerie), where her and the King make a deal - if she wins, he will pay her $50 million to marry him for a year. Then they can divorce and go back to their normal lives. The catch? If Ava loses, she has more to lose than just the throne and $50 million. She may just also lose her life. 

I read this on Graphic Audio, and I'm glad I did because I don't think I would've liked it as much if I read the eBook edition on KU. All in all it was pretty decent, although the pacing could be a little slow during the times that Ava wasn't actively participating in the tournament. As for the tournament, I thought the trials were kind of stupid and felt disjointed from each other. WDYM that they have to race, and the top 6 then go on 1 on 1 dates with the king before a final fencing tournament? I wish Crawford had explained more historical significance for each of the trials - I think maybe something like what they were originally and how they have now been watered down over time to not be as barbaric as what they symbolize. Like the race could be symbolic of how the women participating in the tournament were dropped on one side of the forest and had to survive the trek through it back to the castle. They had to survive against the wildlife, weather, and other contestants to race back to the castle, and the first 6 to reach the castle got to move on. As they are right now, I didn't quite understand the significance of them and why the fae courts of centuries past thought these specific trials were needed to choose the next queen. As other reviewers said - it's basically The Bachelor but make it fae and slightly more dangerous. Which is basically how it's described in the books, but it bugs me that there's not more clear historical context beyond trashy TV.

As for the romance between Ava & Torin, the tropes in the blurb describe it as a slow burn, enemies to lovers but the slow burn just doesn't hit. It's not quite insta love because there's definitely a little bit of enemies to lovers, but it's mostly Ava thinking the king is hot and the king being like "ugh just know that I can't love you." I also 100% saw the twist coming, so I don't think it hit as hard emotionally as it was intended. 

I enjoyed it for the most part, especially since it was on Graphic Audio so I could listen while I did random time waster activities around my apartment. If you enjoy trashy, reality tv style romances then this would be right up your alley. I think the issues I had with the plot and pacing stem mostly from the fact that this was self published. I think the story could benefit from another round or 2 of edits from an editor, as I did enjoy the story and it was just some of the execution that felt a bit lackluster.