Eldrenoire

A cursed queen. A sentient castle. A slow-burn fantasy where survival is the fiercest kind of romance.

Seven years ago, Queen Améliane Morvenne was betrayed. Her kingdom stolen. Her court imprisoned. Her body cursed to shift. Trapped inside Eldrenoire—a magical, gilded prison hidden by mist—she became more myth than monarch. But memory is rebellion, and some names refuse to be forgotten.

When a hunted fugitive stumbles through the castle’s gate, he carries with him a truth powerful enough to unravel the curse—or doom them all. As forgotten magic stirs and dangerous secrets rise, Améliane must lead her cursed court through a gauntlet of grief, love, and impossible choices.

But escape demands more than bravery.

The gate opens only for those willing to face the mirror—and survive what they see.

Eldrenoire is a gothic romantic fantasy inspired by the French fairytale The White Cat by Madam d’Aulnoy. Perfect for fans of slow-burn romance, atmospheric magic, and morally complex queens.

The court was cursed.
The queen was caged.
But neither were broken.

• Eldrenoire by Elle Wildes
• Series: The Ruined Realms book #1
• Published: House of Ink & Ruin on August 5, 2025
• Genre: Fantasy, romance, fairytale-inspired
• Pages: 428
• Dates/Time Read: 9.17.25 – 9.29.25; 12 hours 32 minutes
• Format: Paperback
• Add on Goodreads
• Purchase on Amazon
• ⭐⭐⭐⭐¾
• 🌶🌶🌶

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Months ago, while mindlessly scrolling on TikTok (TT) one night, I came across a woman’s video post. I follow a lot of “BookTok” influencers, so this wasn’t surprising. Most of my ForYouPage (FYP) is either book, dog/animal, or nursing-related. She was discussing a fantasy romance that she had just finished reading, and I followed her because I really enjoyed her review. She didn’t gush and simply say, “OMG, you HAVE to read this!!!” She actually, very articulately, explained the reasons why she liked the book and recommended it. It didn’t hurt that she seemed to be in my age group. Sorry to all you young little things, but sometimes I have to seriously wonder if someone who is in their 20s has anything in common (book taste-wise) with me, a woman in my mid-40s. The few books that I have read based on a younger person’s review, *clears throat* (I’m looking at you, Icebreaker), just don’t do it for me. It also didn’t hurt that the woman was stunning and had a sense of humor.

The next time I came across her on my FYP, I was shocked to find that she was discussing her very own book! What?! She’s an author as well?! How did I miss that? And then I noticed her username. Elle Wildes∣Author. Look, I never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the bunch, ok? lol But this immediately made me like her even more. There are so many authors who are on TT or Instagram (IG) that do nothing but talk about THEIR book(s), and I get that. It’s an amazing new platform for authors to utilize, and that makes me soooo happy!! But the fact that she came across my FYP for the first time, gushing about someone else’s book, and not hers…meant something to me. I ran to her profile page and binged about 30 of her videos, and a majority of them were either videos about other people’s books she enjoyed or just funny videos of her being a goofy human at times. Obviously, I didn’t like every one of the videos, publicly, of course. I didn’t want to come off as a crazy stalker! lol But needless to say, I developed a bit of a girl crush on my girl Elle, and when I found out that her book was due to be released soon, I immediately pre-ordered it. Not just because of her, but the premise of the book sounded like something right up my alley. Beyond being an author, I swear this woman must be Super Woman or something. She’s managed to finish her PhD, write a novel, work on the second novel in the series, and is incredibly responsive on her social media posts. She literally responds to every single comment she gets! Where does she find the time, or energy?! I was overwhelmed by just the 15-20 comments I received on Facebook last week for my birthday from friends and family, and this woman has hundreds of comments and manages to give a thoughtful response to every single person!! Have I gushed enough? haha Let’s talk about the book, shall we?

I have just recently, within the last 7-10 years of my book-loving life, started to enjoy fantasy books. Therefore, I don’t have a lot of books or authors that I can compare Elle Wildes to, so please forgive me. But I have read Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses and Crescent City series and George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, and I would say that Eldrenoire would be something similar-ish. So if you’re a fan of either of those authors, I think that you would also really enjoy Eldrenoire. What sets Eldrenoire apart from a lot of fantasy books is that the MCs are a bit older (in their late 30s-40s, I believe). They’ve lived, loved, lost, and have the scars to prove it, and I believe that’s what distinguishes Wildes’ characters from other fantasy books. Her characters aren’t just coming of age, needing to be rescued or saved while they discover who they are. Her characters already know who they are, what they stand for, and aren’t willing to put up with crap from other people. As a woman in her 40s who would describe myself exactly like that…I was all for that in a fantasy/romance book! Yes please!!!!

“I used to believe pain was a thing to endure. Something to push through and forget…But it leaves patterns…It reshapes how we speak. How we move. How we grieve…It becomes the shape of memory. And if we’re not careful, the shape of legacy.”

Wildes’ writing style is very beautiful. You can tell she knows how to tell a story. I have so many highlighted quotes from the book, and I’ll share some here to give you an example. She can describe something so well that you actually think you can smell/taste/feel/see what it is she’s trying to get you to envision. You could feel the gloom and oppression as Mathieu first sets foot onto the castle grounds. You could almost taste the delicious coconut cake that he and Améliane first shared together. And while I’m on the subject of those two…I loved their slow-burning romance and teasing banter. It felt natural and real. Not over the top, where he was doing cartwheels to win her over, saying just the right things at every turn, but he had just enough stubbornness to let her know that he could handle whatever she was throwing down, and he would not be pushed away that easily.

“Tell me, does royalty always raid their own kitchens, or is this just a special privilege of cursed queens?” The corners of Améliane’s mouth turned up as she huffed a quiet breath, slicing off another bite of cake. “A true queen knows how to get what she wants.” Mathieu arched a brow. “And what is it you want?” Her frosted silver gaze met his, steady and sharp. Then, deliberately, she lifted the fork to her mouth and took another bite. “At the moment?” She licked a stray crumb from her lip. “Cake.”

I was pretty much in love with both of them after this scene played out, and it only got better and better as the story progressed. I loved how Améliane didn’t give off “better than thou” vibes. She didn’t treat her people as if they were below her, but as if she were one of them. She considered them friends and family. Yes, she was closer to some more than others, but she was never a snob about it. She didn’t even seem to particularly like being doted on that much, opting to have her space and to do for herself more times than not. Améliane was a very relatable character, despite being a Queen. She’s been hurt and betrayed. Because of this, like many women have and do, she kind of stops believing in happily ever afters. She guards herself and those that she loves. She has many walls built up. And despite this, she isn’t bitter or angry. She does still have hope; she just needs to be shown that someone is worth it before she will let them close to her. I think that many women can relate, and this is why I really loved this character so much. I understood where she was coming from.

She had held too much for too long. Carried too many crowns. Buried too many screams. And now, wrapped in the arms of a man who wanted nothing from her but truth, it all came loose.

Despite my girl crush on Elle and my love for the book, the one thing that I disliked about it was the castle and the magic/curse behind it were a bit confusing. We don’t learn until much later in the book why or how Améliane was cursed. All we know up until this point in the book is that she, along with many of her loyal followers, was cursed and trapped inside a castle, and the castle changes itself. When you open one door thinking you’re entering the library, it turns out you’re right back where you started from; sometimes taking you hours to get to where you wanted to go. While you do eventually learn the truth behind it all, I felt a bit frustrated at times getting to that point, not understanding the whys behind it all. And perhaps that’s a personal issue, as I’m still somewhat diving into fantasy stories. Mathieu, on the other hand, just seemed to accept it all! lol I think perhaps that this would be a perfect opportunity for the author to someday write a prequel for the series, maybe. You definitely feel like you have an “ah-ha” moment once Améliane reveals the truth about everything, but it felt super rushed. I wanted more backstory on Edric, the curse, Alaric, the mage who designed the curse, etc. There were also a few characters, such as Alaric and Bastian, that weren’t very well explained as to how/why they were significant to the story, which also felt a little frustrating at times. With Bastian, I can only assume that he will become much more important in the upcoming books, as he even has a few chapters in Eldrenoire dedicated to his POV.

All I can say is, this has all the makings of being the next big epic fantasy series, and I am SO excited for it!!! Much like Martin does in A Game of Thrones, Wildes ends Eldrenoire on a bit of a cliffhanger. There is some resolution, and I won’t spoil that for you guys, but buckle up, buttercup…cause we’re just getting started!

“If you are not your throne, your curse, or your court-then what remains?”…Her answer wasn’t spoken aloud. It pulsed outward like a vow written in blood and tide. “I REMAIN. I AM ENOUGH.”