Author: Callie Bates
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Lady Elanna is dedicated to the man she knew like a father: the King. When the king suddenly mysteriously dies Elanna is now the prime suspect and she runs away for her own safety. Now that she has returned to her magical homeland she must reconcile with a father she never knew and face the truth about the powers within her and her connection to the lands. Quickly a new threat faces her and now she has to lead a rebellion against the realm she once called home. She struggles between her loyalties, feeling devoted and connected to both. Will she be able to come to terms with her destiny, or will she be torn apart in the process?
When I received this book from Netgalley, I was already interested based on the synopsis. I love a good earth magic book and that is what I was expecting. What I got was so much more. First let me mention that cover! OMG how gorgeous is that! It is what initially drew me into the blurb and captured my heart. Great art work. Now into the book:
There is so much going on in this book with different kingdoms and different characters (each with their own personalities). I understand that might deter some people but there seemed to be too many, some of which we don't meet in this novel, maybe we will in future novels, but I don't know. Elanna was interesting at first, but the more she struggles back and forth between her emotions made it difficult to follow along with the real plot of the story. It was really hard to relate to her on a level beyond struggling within yourself. I liked the idea of being one with nature and feeling connected to nature, but to wed the land..what does that mean? How does one actually marry the land? And don't get me started on the sex scenes, I know this is a YA novel, but the scenes included made this 35 year old woman gasp and blush! I couldn't believe they were included in a novel meant for young adults.
The writing was beautifully lyrical, almost like reading poetry but it was also hard to follow and get an easy grasp on what was exactly happening, maybe because there was SO much going on. In all honesty I don't think I could recommend this novel to others as it was difficult for myself to read it. If Callie writes more I would consider reading it, but I hope she tones down the amount of characters/plots and make the romantic scenes not so explicit.
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