V. S. Winters

Like all good fantasy novels and I would place this square into fantasy rather than the romance category it was found in, there is a war between two kingdoms.

Now that Eden the Witch and Rowan the Elven King have wed, their first test will be to protect the rest of the Kingdoms from the pissed off Demon Queen Nija. Nija was a previous contestant in the Devotion Trials who tried and failed to kill off Eden in the trials, usurp Eden’s victory to wed Rowan, had her kidnapped during the Faewild Hunt, and in the end went back to the Demonlands and murdered her own parents to take the Demon crown. Whew, Nija needed a hug as a child!

There’s always been bad blood between the Demons and everybody else in this universe apparently. We already know that Rowan is half demon himself but very carefully keeps that part of his lineage at bay - everyone knows it because his demon mother was Queen of the Elven kingdom. We also find out what exactly happened to both Rowan’s mother and Eden’s mother. It is a mind opening truth - and while the reader had been given the start of this sad backstory in book 2, the full truth is delivered here. The story makes the reader feel complete along with Eden as she learns the full truth of what’s going on.

Eden is kidnapped for the first part of this book and when she returns she is more than ready to fight for her new people. The battle comes sooner rather than later. To fight against the enemy, Eden needs to bring all her powers to bear, all of them, even the hidden power she and Rowan share that could get her killed simply because she has it. This moment is both satisfying and inspiring. When looking into the face of defeat, the reader wants their heroine to really rally to the point where they snatch victory and this moment delivers.

In the end, a long exiled group comes to help and Eden and Rowan are victorious. The actual interaction between these two characters as husband and wife, lovers, and beings in general is great. They develop so well and have terrific moments where they’re loving, hateful, angry, sad, and support each other. It is a far cry from how they first interacted with each other in book one. The reader cares about these characters and roots for them in the end.

I read this using my Kindle Unlimited subscription. All opinions are my own.… (altro)

Eden has managed against all odds to unlock her Witch powers and used them successfully in the Devotion Trials. She and Rowan, the Elven King are to be wed. Good thing because they’re absolutely crazy for each other. There’s also more to each of them than previously thought and the idea had driven a wedge between. This new development in Eden’s powers is a dangerous secret she has no idea she’s hiding and Rowan too.

But after she had skipped back to the Mortal Realm to retrieve her dying father and sister, Eden returns to find her victory stripped away and a new challenge in front of her, the Faewild Hunt. In this new contest, male and female royal contestants will be dropped into the dangerous Faewild forest to hunt each other for mates. A female may refuse a male and a male must abide by the refusal. Acceptance means marriage.

While the concept of a wild hunt isn’t new, it was a great way to keep the suspense going after the excitement of the Devotion Trials. The reader already understands where some of the remaining players are coming from and gets the idea that there’s way more to what’s going on than they know which makes it exciting to keep reading.

The political intrigue grows but also gets frustrating because no one will talk to Eden about her mother, the previous Witch Queen or who her biological father was; she knows that Tom, the ex-cop mortal who raised her is not her actual father but she still considers him her dad. Ava, her teen sister, is acclimating well to the new life.

The relationship between Eden and Rowan stretches and strains sometimes and once the Hunt is started, she’s sure he’ll find her in no time - only, he doesn’t. Eden finds herself battling Demons who’ve broken the rules and the wild itself because she’s not yet sure of her powers nor is she a survivalist. When she consumes some suspicious berries, she finds herself wandering the forest until she runs into someone she never expected to find.

The newcomer sheds light but also sadness on Eden’s new life. She becomes Queen of the Fae after all and starts to realize that she actually cares what happens to the inhabitants of this realm, unlike in the Mortal Realm where she was a nobody.

The slow development of Eden’s character over what seems to be weeks is wonderful. I like to see that the character is having real moments of clarity but also deep frustration. Eden experiences both in this story. She knows there’s more than what people are telling her about her mother and father, she’s been betrayed by a close friend and her lover, she’s being pushed and pulled through hoops she had no idea even existed because she had no idea this part of herself existed. It feels like the reader can easily put themselves into Eden’s shoes because any person thrust into the position could feel the same.

I read this using my Kindle Unlimited subscription. All opinion are my own.… (altro)

Battle royal!

I was pleasantly surprised by this KU read. It was well put together and had almost no editing errors - which is a fatal flaw in the KU/nook freebie read arena; if you know, you know.

Eden is a 21 year old woman who’s ex-cop father has cancer and is slowly dying in the hospital and she’s at a dead end insurance job trying to keep her shit together and take care of her 18 year old sister Ava who is a typical teen.

What starts out as a pity date with the obnoxious hot guy of her office, turns into a supernatural abduction to a Fae realm she had no clue existed. Eden finds out her true lineage and must participate in something called the Devotion Trials to win the hand of a king; except, she’s never met him, has no idea what is going on, and has no magical powers...right?

Eden develops throughout this book in a slow yet steady way. She’s very confused - as anyone would be - pissed off, and reluctant to risk her life in a contest for the hand of some twatwaffle she’s never met. Especially after she finds out that her competitors are a Demon, a Siren, a Harpy, a Vampire, an Elf, and a few other Fae females who are all gifted with magical abilities. Come to find out, Eden herself is heir to the Witch throne.

The realization that there is a bigger plot going on than this ‘hunger games’ style competition was a fantastic addition to this story. It added a layer of intrigue to the plot that is otherwise very straight forward and potentially boring. The reader is taken along because they want to know what the real story is outside of the contest.

Winters has created a workable plot with characters the reader can get behind and which the reader believes in. Great first installment.

I read this using my own Kindle Unlimited subscription. All opinions are my own.… (altro)