Reviewed by Ella Patreece Lybarger
Every girl needs to be called Ma Petite Menteuse at least once in her life. If you want to find out why you need to read Scarred by Emily McIntire. This story is the second dark romance novel in her Never After series. These stories are unique retellings of the world of fairy-tale classics, infused with morally questionable, highly emotional overtones. In Scarred, McIntire focuses on the well-known story, The Lion King. However, in her version, she sets up a completely different plot of betrayal and power struggles in a palace filled with ghosts, secrets, and WAY too much sexual tension, making it an exciting read for anyone who loves romance novels.
The heartthrob main character of the scarred story, Prince Tristan, is at the heart of all the chaos this book entails. As a neglected second son of a king who had never really seen him as fit to succeed as an heir. This troubled prince also has an older brother, Michael, a corrupt bully and ruthless man who inherits the coveted throne of Gloria Terra upon his father’s mysterious death. Throughout the book, McIntire portrays Tristan as someone whose actions are shaped by his childhood neglect and a sense of injustice.
Sara, the book’s heroine, is portrayed as the fiancée of King Michael and as a woman who was nothing but a political chess piece in a game of politics and alliance-making. While her role, according to others, is just to be arm candy for a handsome, newly crowned king, Sara is anything but. Instead, Sara has a cunning plan of her own when she infiltrates the castle and only plays the part of the beautiful fool when she thinks everyone is watching. The only problem is that she didn’t just catch the attention of her fiancé; she also caught the attention of the scarred prince. This chaos puts her right in the middle of the emotional turmoil between the Fassa brothers, which drives the story’s plot.
One aspect that makes Scarred by McIntire interesting is her creation of a haunting atmosphere of the 1910s. The palace setting is described as suffocating and dangerous, where backstabbing occurs in tunnels and taverns, loyalty shifts sides, and violence is always a possibility. Everyone is operating under double meanings, and there is no element of trust. The environment mirrors the characters’ inner worlds, especially Tristan’s, as seen in his scars. The story’s time period is also well represented, with cars and candlelight used at night.
While Scarred has an undeniable romantic subplot, it is definitely not a typical love story.
Rather, it unfolds through tensions, secret moments, and slow-burning emotional conflicts. Tristan and Sara grow closer gradually, relying on their secret conversations and mutual understanding. There is even a sense that Sara and Tristan share something others are simply unwilling to acknowledge. Still, this bond between them proves difficult because of the political situation and Sara’s engagement to Michael, the novel’s antagonist.
Michael himself is portrayed as both vicious and attractive in the traditional sense. He is the bully-style leader who believes that anything can be justified if it serves him and his advisors. McIntire does not try to make Michael appear as anything less than a formidable adversary; therefore, he is an excellent match for Tristan. The competition between Michael and Tristan is not only personal but also an ideological struggle for the throne.
The stylistic elements in the author’s book are engaging and emotional. The author uses many internal monologues to show the reader what the characters are thinking at any given moment. This is especially useful in stories with many psychological components. At the same time, the author sometimes tends to be quite descriptive in her narration, which can slow the reading pace at times. I personally enjoy how McIntire presents dual points of view in her stories and gives the reader insight into both Sara’s and Tristan’s thoughts throughout.
The themes in Scarred include physical and psychological trauma, hierarchy of royalty, and how Tristan tries to take back his personal power within an oppressive environment. The scar on Tristan’s body is not just physical. McIntire uses it to represent his brother’s hatred and underestimation. Additionally, Sara’s quest can be interpreted as her attempts to establish her identity in an environment that seeks to suppress it.
However, Scarred has its downsides too. For instance, the moral compass of the characters’ behavior might be hard to swallow for some readers, given that manipulation and abuse are central to the story. Unlike clear-cut good guys and bad guys, the story features a wide range of morally gray characters, each making increasingly worse decisions as the plot advances. McIntire does include a list of trigger warnings for readers, though, so that the book can be read at the reader’s discretion if they are sensitive to those topics.
Moreover, some events within the story hinge on secrets and withheld information, which may be easily predictable for experienced fans of the dark romance genre. At times, the storytelling pace slows as the story builds toward its key surprises, yet suspense remains.
Despite these complications, the author succeeds in creating an absorbing and emotional retelling of the conventional fairy-tale structure. McIntire’s talent for combining romance and suspense keeps the story interesting despite the moral ambiguity of its heroes. The relationship between Tristan and Sara is what fills this novel with love and loyalty that I feel all readers can enjoy.