Published: September 2008
Pages: 472
Series: Tairen Soul #3
Summary
The magical tairen were dying, and none but the Fey King’s bride could save them. Rain had defied the nobles of Celieria to claim her, battled demons and Elden mages to wed her. Now, with magic, steel, and scorching flame he would risk everything to protect his kingdom, help his truemate embrace her magic and forge the unbreakable bond that alone could save her soul.
My thoughts
“Every journey starts with the first step, and the first step down the Dark path is choosing self over sacrifice.”
Book three is now finished and I will complete this series asap! I really enjoyed this book, although it was much slower to get into. My love for the main characters kept me going and when it finally started going I was there for the drama. I think the issue with this book is trying to bring the heavy romance from the first book together with the heavier high fantasy plot line of book two. It struggles to weave those elements together almost as if it doesn’t quite know which genre it is.
I do love the romance elements and I am here waiting for any scrap of affection I can get from this couple. I have a feeling their bond is not going to be complete until the final book which I’m finding frustrating but maybe its important to the plot so I’ll try to reserve my judgement for now!
“Do you love me, Rain?”
“More than I knew it was possible to love. All the stars will fall from the heavens before I ever stop.”
I loved to spend time with some non-human characters and the winged cats are a great addition. Again as I usually say, some of the language makes me internally cringe but if you can look past that, there is a great plot here. Ellie’s powers are coming into force and I have some thoughts on how those are going to develop so I need to wait and see. We still have the darkness from the mages and we find out more about their plans. I can sense this book getting darker and darker. I need more of that, I need more of the politics and scheming that you usually see in a high fantasy.
“It seems to me when the ways of the past lead only to death, then change is the only hope for life.”
The pacing of this book is off as mentioned but (i’ve started book four and this one is much better) so I think it was worth pushing through. It’s all a balance, especially with fantasy books that have lots of plot lines and character POVs sometimes you need to slow down to build the world and characters, I just don’t think this author got the balance right.
There are some extra surprises in this book and some characters that I think are going to play a much bigger part down the lines, I’ll have to read and find out..
“Arrogance is no substitute for experience.”
Would I recommend?
I do, although slower in pace it is more of the characters I’ve grown to love and I really need to see the mages get destroyed. I am personally attached to seeing this through.