The Oracle of Dusk
Elyse Thomson
Cycle of Calamity #1
A Legend of Zelda inspired Fantasy Romance
Cover and Synopsis
The Oracle of Dusk Cover & Blurb
An oracle should know better than to fall for a doomed king.
Aurora is a historian—not a prophesied hero. But the day she finds her first artefact, destiny pits her against the primordial monster that has repeatedly destroyed her world. Cornered by the beast, she escapes death when the artefact sends her to the ancient past and gifts her one chance to kill the monster before it’s unstoppable. Except it also lands her in the arms of King Theron, a handsome schemer infamous for his tragic fate.
Theron is a bad man but an excellent king. When a battlefield mishap sends him to an enemy queendom in chains, the last thing he expects to find is a beauty with the knowledge to save his kingdom and crush his foes. Tempted by Aurora’s uncanny foresight, Theron vows to possess her at any cost.
Aurora’s only hope to defeat the monster in the ancient past is Theron’s army. With her world’s future at stake, she knows better than to succumb to his seduction, yet finds herself hopelessly drawn to him. But as she awakens magic that torments her with visions of predestined tragedies, Aurora begins to fear her heart is as doomed as the man—and world—she’s trying to save.
Book Information
Cycle of Calamity
Independently published May 2025 by Elyse Thomson.
Pages : 437 pages, Kindle Edition
Review
Cycle of Calamity by Elyse Thomson
The Oracle of Dusk by Elyse Thomson came across my threads feed one day and I was instantly intrigued. Inspired by The Legend of Zelda, I knew I had to read it. I fucking love The Legend of Zelda. So here we are. I received an advanced copy of The Oracle of Dusk in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.
To avoid spoilers, jump down to my Final Thoughts.
- I’m picking up on the LOZ vibes almost instantly.
- The sinister planets are aligned!
- I like that these characters are older.
- The princess is extremely protective.
- I thought it was all going to be from the pov of the fmc’s, Aurora. But now we are getting the Princess Phaedra as well.
- Triad’s tits. I love the creative ways fantasy characters swear.
- Aurora has zero magic and Phaedra (Fae) has wild wind magic.
- Gods help anyone if something happens to Aurora. Touch her and die. Fae will murder them all.
- Well excuse me, princess.
- The hero, Silvanus, is oh so fancy and has two types of magic. Wild and divine.
- That’s some Master Sword shit right there.
- The battle was over, but this was only the beginning of the calamity to come.
- I’m with you Silvanus, Aurora awakened her magic when she was a kid and doesn’t know it.
- Here comes a third pov. Silvanus now.
- Oh Silvanus. Wtf?
- Aurora’s magic is tied to time and I’m really intrigued by it.
- Drakon’s glittering crimson form emerged from the clouds hanging over Dragon’s Tail Mountain.
- Another POV. King Theron. I wish this had title cards for the chapters.
- We are fucking time traveling now.
- He bit off my ear!
- The little fairy woman? She’s mine now, and I don’t share.
- I mean, who is Drakon anyway? One of Batea’s beasts?
- Aurora thinks she’s in the first calamity but according to Theron, there’s been others?
- Even Theron thinks Drakon looks like Batea’s beasts.
- Aurora had exhausted herself trying to convince them to save their worthless lives.
- Is Aurora going to end up back in her timeline?
- Death swept over him in Her dark and endless embrace.
- Are we about to get a jealous Theron?
- Oh something definitely happened back at Theron’s place.
- Very fucking bad indeed.
- Fucking Flora.
- I feel like Epicasta could be a beneficial alliance.
- A double wedding
The Oracle of Dusk by Elyse Thomson Review
Minor Spoilers
I really enjoyed the concept behind The Oracle of Dusk. The sinister planets are aligning and are about to unleash a great beast upon the world. A cycle of chaos and calamity that continuously repeats itself destroying everything in its wake. A hero has been chosen to defeat the beast Drakon.
The timejump
I love timelines and timejumps but this one could have been executed better. Much like our fmc Aurora, I had no idea what was happening. And I have to wonder what was the point of Phaedra and Silvanus? I would have preferred to get to the time jump without investing in them if they were inconsequential.
Pre-timejump was the slowest part of the book for me.
I didn’t particularly like Aurora at first. I preferred her best friend the Princes Phaedra. But after being thrust back in time 1000 years, she grew on me. She is funny and compassionate. The girl tried her damnedest to save people from the monstrosities even if it made her look like a lunatic.
Aurora had exhausted herself trying to convince them to save their worthless lives.
The Oracle of Dusk is told from multiple points of view. Much like the timejump, this could have been better executed as well. I like when multi point of view books have the character name with the chapter. I found myself preferring Theron’s chapters. I enjoyed the side characters. But no one in particular really stole the show.
I’m interested in seeing where this story goes and what happens in book two. Fair warning, The Oracle of Dusk ends on a cliffhanger.
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