Published: October 2007
Pages: 386
Series: Tairen Soul #2
Summary
He had stepped from the sky to claim her like an enchanted prince from the pages of a fairy tale, but behind the mesmerising beauty of his violet eyes she saw the driving hunger of the beast and and an endless sorrow only she could heal.
Only for him would she embrace her frightening magic. Only for him would she find the courage to confront the shadows that haunted her soul. For ahead an epic battle was fast approaching, and only united could they hope to turn back the armies of darkness.
My thoughts
“As with all adventures, we start with the first step. Something small, something simple.”
This book has everything I loved about book one with a smidge less of romance and more of a focus on the politics and mysteries. I feel like book one did such a good job setting things up and now we can really get our teeth in and see the plot develop and play itself out.
We still have more courting which (woohoo!) is needed. Yes, I’m really not a romance fan but give me a slow burn, yearning, courting romance of genuine feelings… I will eat that up every single time. The patience, the understanding, the empathy. I just love it, my inner romantic was kicking her feet whilst reading this.
This book does have a slower start which I wasn’t a huge fan of, mainly because I got so much from book one I wanted more. I needed answers, I needed to understand more so it was my own impatience that was getting in the way. Alas, I didn’t need to worry too much because once things started going the action did not stop. I’m not sure I was okay after that ending.
“Do you know how a pearl comes to be?”
“Oysters make them, from a bit of sand.”
“Aiyah. From a bit of sand.” He rolled the pearl between his fingers. “All pearls begin as something unpleasant that the oysters cannot expel from themselves, even though they may want to. So they embrace these things that will not leave them, shaping them and smoothing away the sharp edges, until over time, they make of these unwanted things great treasures.”
There are much, much more politics at play and we get to see a bit more of the plotting that’s going on. People are moving their chess pieces and we’re not quite sure yet what they’re working towards. Although I definitely have a lot of opinions… I could not put this book down after I got passed the half way mark. I think that it was makes this book so good in my eyes is that it makes me feel so many emotions. I felt annoyance, anger, warmth, laughter, frustration, it really was a wild ride. And per usual there are certain words that I kind of skim over *ahem* mate… pack.. *ahem* but I enjoy this book and its characters so much I don’t care too much.
We learn so much in this story which I won’t say because I want you to read it!! But we get to see more of Ellie’s history and her background and my heart !! If you’ve read this we need to speak.
Her mother was such a real, confusing but raw character. She was really battling between the love of her daughter, her strong religious beliefs, her innocence and trust as well as her own prejudices. Although I found her frustrating, I could also see her own perspective which is why books are so important, to put yourself in others shoes.
Ultimately, the romance of our main couple is a large feature but it opens up much more of this book to the action, mystery and plotting that I need to read more of. I’m writing this review as I’ve already finished book three.. I have two more to go to get all my answers, I am now in it for the long haul.
“She would defy laws and kings and Mages and demons and even the Church of Light to be with him. She would tear down the barriers that still lived in her mind, confront whatever darkness lurked behind them, and defeat the Mage who thought to claim her soul.”
There is so much I want to know but I’m happy taking it slow as I go. I haven’t mentioned the humour in this book but gosh I laughed out loud a few times, chuckling to myself under my bedside lamp because its passed midnight and I just needed to read the next page.
“If I get in the water in this outfit, the cloth will turn completely transparent.”
“I know, and I’m looking forward to it more than you can imagine.
Would I recommend?
Yes, I really love this series. Although I would class this as a high fantasy with a heavier romance, if you are bored of the typical romantasy books with instant-love all following the same plot outline being built around tropes instead of fantastic storytelling.. (yes I’m holding a grudge on what feels like copy and paste books). Then you should try this series! A great balance that offers so much. This series will be finished by the end of year!