Silevethiel by Andi O'Connor

Troubled by the death of her father and fearful of her own safety, Princess Irewen escapes her home to seek refuge in an elven city.  On the journey there she is attacked, poisoned and left for dead.  If it wasn’t for Prince Laegon and his Guardian Bregan she would have died.  The duo rescues Irewen and Laegon nurses her back to health in the safety  of a cave.  There are elements of Irewen that makes Laegon not only love her but suspect that she is the woman mentioned in a centuries old prophecy.  As he nurses her back to health, Irewen discovers secrets about herself and her cousin, secrets that scare her to the core.  Together the plan a journey to the other Elven kingdoms to discover the truth to her ancestory and a way to defeat her cousin and his army of spirit warriors.  Can Irewen find the strength and courage need to embrace her role in this war, and defeat a man she trusted her whole life?

This is the third book by Andi O’Connor that I have read and completely adored.  Right off the bat readers are thrown in to the action with the death of the king.  There are points when the story gets slow and drags on.  This leaves the reader feeling anxious to find out where the story is going and when it will pick back up again.  I was very interested in the abilities that are specific to the different Elven kingdoms, I was expecting to see the last two revealed in the next book, not towards the end.  It almost seemed like a lot of information was thrown in at the end to try and tie up some loose ends before going into the next book.  Holding off on the last two abilities would have made readers want to read the next book to see how else the other elven blood would present itself, but I can sort of understand why O’Connor did the reveal in the way she did.  This scene towards the end of the book almost begins the set the stage for the second book of the series, which I am patiently awaiting Andi (hint hint).

Overall it was a well written book.  O’Connor was able to me into the story from the beginning and me care about what happened to the characters.  The relationship aspect between Irewen and Laegon does not deter from the story, but seems to enhance it as O’Connor does not use that as a focus every time the two interact. The battle scenes were clean and not gory, but readers still get the sense of a horrific battle occurring.  This is a good book for young readers beginning to delve into the fantasy world, though as with anything, parents such use their discretion before allowing young teens (12-13) to read this book.

I give this book a rating of 4 out 5 rating.  I cannot wait to see what else Andi has in store for her readers.