Michele Barrow-Belisle

3.5 stars

I am a little mixed in this review. Like most anthologies there are superb ones and others that don't always resonate. I know this going in. However, I also know that I'm going to discover new to me authors. Yet, this one was not what I was expecting. Most, were low heat (if any) and more PG. It was more just fantasy than actual romance. I wasn't expecting that. I would seriously let teenagers read all but a couple of these stories.

That being said, still a nice collection of stories to fill those moments that reading steamier ones might not be recommended.… (plus d'informations)

The premise behind this book is my perfect mix - a nice blend of magic, mystery, drama, and all in a YA book.

The book starts off with a bit of world and character building, but a lot of stuff is thrown around - details - that aren't really explained. I like knowing the back story behind things, I kept feeling like I was missing a lot of information as the story unfolded slowly.

Unfortunately, the story continued to unfold slowly. Page after page after page of examining every thought that came Lorelei's way, before a few - all too brief pages - of action.

There's a lot of angst and will she or won't she when it comes to the romance story line- all too typical in a YA book - with some lies thrown in for good reason. I kept hoping the pace would pick up and that the story would start to progress, but the pacing just seemed too slow for my liking.

Why am I rating 4 stars? I really liked Lorelei and I really liked her healing abilities and the herbal remedies, and I really felt for her throughout the book. The book was well written, and there's a lot of nice description in the pages, so you can really see what's going on. I also really liked the fact that she was a healer who passed out at the sight - and smell - of blood - a little fact in a novel that just made Lorelei seem a little more real.

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I received an e-book as part of the blog tour, in exchange for participating in the tour & for my honest review. I was not paid for my review.… (plus d'informations)

*I received this book from the author via Mrs. Potter's Book Publicity Services in exchange for an Honest Review*

This story follows Lorelei Alundra, a seventeen year old who goes from the dull hum drum of a normal life to being the savior of a mythical land. Her sworn protectors are Adrius and Zanthiel, neither of whom are what they at first appear to be. Than again Lorelei isn't what she always thought she was either.
The story itself is good. The ending will leave many readers disappointed since it simply ends. There's no climatic ending to signal a sequel, there's no adventure in the last 10% of so. It simply closes and leaves the readers a bit miffed and more than a little confused since several things that were mentioned more than once in the book, which are seemingly important, go unaccounted for. Even at the end there's something that seems vital that is all but ignored when the story closes.
I did find a number of errors but I don't remember if my copy was an ARC or not, and if it wasn't, the errors will in no way impede the reader though some of them are quite noticeable.
I would recommend this book to any fan of The chronicles of Narnia, which is really the one series that stuck in my head a lot while reading this, though rest assured this book is slightly better given it's for an older audience.
I do hope the sequel will answer the questions left concerning 1) the rest of the prophecy, 2) what Zanthiel is owed, 3) the Unseelie king, and 4) Camilla. These are the important topics that are mentioned repeatedly and there is no closure for any of them in this book.
I give this book 3 of 5 paws… (plus d'informations)

This was a mostly entertaining read for me. What I liked about it was the balance of dark and light and the imaginary nature used to describe the world of the fey, elves, witches and things that go bump in the night. There is mystery, lots of adventure and clean romance included in this tale. What I had trouble with was that the story jumped around a bit for me. The heroine was somewhat frustrating to read sometimes due to the decisions she made. The other issue I had was in the emotive descriptions. Whereas the descriptions the author used to to explain the fey world were complex, the emotions were not (for example the author used the term 'rolling eyes' way too many times to describe ones mood).

Overall, this fantasy tale is a great mix of the human world and that of the other-world. Would recommend for those age 'young adult' and older who enjoy reading urban fantasy with a blend of clean romance, some mystery and lots of adventure. For those that always wanted to be or wondered what a real 'Fairy Princess' was may enjoy the 'not so nice' addition to this title.… (plus d'informations)