Two stars because of a very common very copouty trope just at the end there, the all-around hated ressurection trope and as a cliff hanger another similarly cheap trope has been foreshadowed, the amnesia, so we can just replay the same romance again in the next book trope.
Why, oh why. It felt so unnecessary.
I was a little upset at the story because it felt so pointless but I somewhat admired the book for actually going there at first but, no. I guess not. Just cheapened the book. A LOT. BOOO.

Apart from this main point of frustration, the book was a bit oversaturated with the destined Mates trope and the plot was a bit thin as the romance took a lot of page-time but there wasn't any major flaw anywhere.
The magic is of the fast and loose kind that probably can do everything the plot requires at the time.
It's all rather formulaic so far but not to a point where it feels like a ripoff.
There wasn't really any novel stuff but I guess I am a bit jaded regarding this genre group.
Initially, we have a classing good vs evil setup but the foreshadowing gives a hint to a more layered conflict. I really hope the series goes there. I've seen this a lot. Some hinting at a more layer conflict but then it turns out its just a question of when you can sort the in-between people into their respective categories of good and evil.
That is not nuance. That is just withholding information from the reader to trick them. But you'll have to pay for false promises eventually.
From what I've read from the author so far, nuance is rather unlikely.
Apart from the ending, this could've been a high 3-star book even if the series doesn't look as promising.
I might look into the next one but it will probably end up as dnf. ( )

2.75-tarted out good but got boring. Read about 90% if it and never finished ( )

The Scribe by Elizabeth Hunter
Irin Chronicles book 1. Paranormal romance. Cliffhanger.
Ava travels to Istanbul, hoping to get answers to voices she’s heard in her head all her life. It’s not a language she’s be able to find in all her travels. She followed and protected by body guards wherever she goes.
Malachi has sworn to protect Ava while he looks for his own answers. In their time spent together, they begin to fall in love and answers start to become evident.

This book is very difficult to describe or review without spoiling but it’s also been out since 2013.
Spoilers follow.

*******
The language Ava is hearing is of the Angels.
I hated the ending but here is hope. Not for this book though. It’s a cliffhanger. No resolution for the lovers, but does include a teaser for book 2. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is first book in the Irin Chronicles series. There are seven books in this series right now. I borrowed this as an ebook for my Kindle through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: Previous to reading this I had read Hunter's Moonstone Cove series, her Cambio Springs series, and her Glimmer Lake series and really loved them all. This first book in the Irin Chronicles definitely shows its age compared to those books; it is a very typical alpha male type paranormal romance series. It reminds a lot of many other paranormal romance books I read in the earlier 2010's. That being said it was very well written and I enjoyed it; it was nostalgic in a way.

This book features a race called the Irin who are descended from angels and have special powers. They are on Earth to protect humans from the Grigori, sons of fallen angels who were not forgiven and remain monsters. In the past most of the Irin children and women were killed and left a race that is mostly male and on the brink of extinction. Enter, Ava, who has been different all her life and is a travel photographer. She runs amok of some Grigori in Turkey and ends up involved with the Irin when they step in to help her.

This is incredibly well written, just like all of Hunter's books. The writing flows well and is very engaging. I liked the characters and the chemistry between them is good. There is some excellent world-building and solid plot to balance out the romance. I also loved all the exotic locations and settings we visited.

As I said though, this is a very typical paranormal romance story. Malachi is very alpha male and Ava is to be protected at all costs. Ava does have a tough side to her as well, but she is thrown into situations way over her head. She ends up being rescued quite a bit but also does some rescuing of her own. Malachi's fellow Irin brothers give this a very Black Dagger Brotherhood type of feel to the novel. If you enjoy paranormal romance series like the Black Dagger Brotherhood, you should enjoy this series as well.

It looks like the first three books in this series focus on Ava and Malachi, while the later books take the more traditional approach of each focusing on a different romantic couple.

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fun quick read and a well done paranormal romance story. The excellent writing sets this above a lot of other paranormal romance series. However, the themes, story, and plot are very similar to many other paranormal romance series out there; alpha male, mysterious powers, the need to protect the females of the race, etc. I plan on continuing the series when I am in the mood for a quick PNR read. However, I wasn't dying to read more of this when I was done, it just reminds me of too many other PNR stories I have read in the past.

it wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't a great book. To me it just seemed to go slow and i never connected to it.

the last two pages describing the next book was the compelling part of the story.

But still not going to finish series. ( )