Je suis Charlie

Je suis Charlie

Monday 24 July 2017

Return of the Elves Series by Bethany Adams



It all started with an ARC that I kept shuffling around....

and then I ended up binge-reading ...

 

Blurb: 

 A deathbed promise

Arlyn’s quest is simple: Find her father and let him know her mother is dead. After all, Arlyn had promised her mother she’d go. The problem? Her father's people are myths and legends, and he doesn't even live on Earth. But despite a long journey through the mysterious mists of the Veil, finding him turns out to be the easy part.

A dream long-buried

After five hundred years, Kai has given up on finding his soulbonded. So when he stumbles across Arlyn after returning from his latest mission and recognizes her as his mate, Kai starts their bond in haste. But he never could have imagined that his bonded is his best friend’s newfound daughter. Whoops.

A hidden conspiracy sparked to life

Though the sight of Kai makes Arlyn’s heart pound, she isn’t sure she can forgive him for starting their bond without her permission. But her love life is the least of her problems. Her father is an elf lord, and his sudden acknowledgment of a half-human heir reignites the same conspiracy that took him away from her mother in the first place. Now Arlyn and her family must face iron wielding assassins, bigotry, and her newly awakened magical abilities if they hope to come through in one piece.

Arlyn thought she would return to Earth after meeting her father. Now she must fight to save the family she never knew she wanted. 


Honestly, this book blew my mind. I was just kind of pushing it around as it was an ARC and I really really wanted to read it when I requested it but when it arrived, well, Elves were least on my list of stories to read at that moment. So I procrastinated and huffed and puffed -and then I finally started to read it because - ARC, right? Duty calls and all that.
Okay, let's just say that I two days after I had started reading Soulbound, I had already finished Sundered, its sequel, as well and I'm half-way through Exiled. It is an amazing story, great writing combined with a captivating storyline and well-developed and interesting characters.
So - it's simply amazing.

★★★


And it went on ...







Blurb:

A life in shambles

Lyr might be a powerful elven lord in charge of thousands, but his personal life is a disaster. Just the month before, a daughter he’d never known existed arrived from Earth, giving him news of his lost love’s death. Since then, he has been betrayed, captured, and almost murdered. And though his enemy was defeated, Lyr’s wounds never seem to heal. He certainly doesn’t need more conflict.

A perilous journey

Amid the glittering perfection of Alfheim, Meli is a dismal failure. Haunted by visions of people and places she’s never seen, she struggles to find her place. So when her king orders her to lead an expedition to another world, Meli is caught between shock and terror. How can she navigate the Veil between worlds with no magic of her own? But with Alfheim threatened by strange, dark energy, she has no choice.

A threat that spans worlds

The last thing Lyr expects is the arrival of the Ljósálfar, the reclusive Norse elves of Alfheim. More surprising? One among them, Meli, is a possible soulbounded, a link he’d believed lost with his previous love. But wounded and besieged with problems on every side, he can’t let himself be distracted. Poisoned energy is flooding into the closely connected realms of the fae, causing sickness, and Lyr must rush to find the source of the threat.

Only Moranaia remains untouched—leading Lyr to suspect one of his own people might be to blame. 


Soulbound was amazing and Sundered is just as good as the first book had let me hope that it would be. Sundered is an amazing sequel, picking up the threads, spinning them further and the result is a wonderful, thrilling and captivating story that kept me glued to my reader. 

The moment I finished Soulbound, I started to read Sundered and I loved to see how things developed, how those characters who had taken my heart by storm in the first book, went on, became even more distinct, more alive and found love and laughter even though their world crumbles around them - until it doesn't crumble anymore. Perhaps. It might be a race against time because their foes aren't idle either...
A wonderful sequel to an amazing series...



★★★



...that still went on... 




 Blurb:

 A willing exile

For a hundred years, Delbin has lived on Earth, voluntarily cut off from his birth land, Moranaia. He’s learned to hide his elven nature and use his mind magic without getting noticed. Until he accidentally wields it on the Moranaian scout sent to check on him.

A hesitant ally

Though Inona has good reason to mistrust exiles, part of her job is to make sure they aren’t causing trouble. She sets out for Earth with one goal—get this annoying mission over with. But from the moment Delbin tries to use his power on her, she can tell he is different. As more of his story unfolds, she learns that some exiles might not be what they seem.

An unexpected enemy

When a rogue Moranaian prince tries to recruit Delbin, Inona’s mission becomes anything but standard. Now Delbin and Inona must work together to hunt down the prince and uncover his latest plot.

Delbin might not be able to return to Moranaia, but he’ll do anything to save it. 


Unfortunately this one was a bit frustrating. It was also good, on the whole, but if I hadn't read the other books by the author, this book would have got three stars instead of four because even though it was great, it was just great until the end - which came far too early. It is a novella, I'm aware of that but the book ends where the actions starts. Or rather should start because, you see, we are finally back and I was prepared to kick some a..pish brutes but - there it was: the end. I clicked back and forth actually to verify that it was indeed the end and not just some technical stuff that prevented me from going further. 

Hoping for an equally amazing sequel to this very promising beginning that is a sequel to the other "Return of the Elves" books but focuses on other characters (and trust me, you will love Delbin and Inona!), I'm really looking forward to the rest of the story, I just hope that it comes soon.

I have no problem with the story itself spanning several volumes but I would have preferred to have every couple's story in one book. Otherwise, it is well written, the story continues to be really amazing with a wonderful, well-developed world of its own that exists alongside our world and I can recommend this book if you are prepared to deal with the frustration at the end - or wait till the next book is out.



★★★
 
 






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