These are dark times in the land of Fallada, and I fear that they will only continue to grow darker. Only the return of those we’ve lost will even the score.
It will begin with first line of the prophecy, which foretells of a red sun over the desert sky…
–Adrah, Queen of the Fae
On the outside, seventeen year-old Selena McKinley is like any other teenage girl. Yet Selena has always felt as if she doesn’t belong and is counting the days to graduation and her freedom from the small town that makes her feel so out of place, when the arrival of a stranger turns her world upside down. Selena will learn just how different she is and the truth of where she comes from.
A lost princess, they call her, the catalyst for a war involving a world that Selena was taken from as a child. An evil queen obsessed with her own beauty with a plan to enslave the human race.…the notion seems so silly, yet Selena knows in her heart that it is true. Then there is Titus, the shape shifter whose blue eyes and claims of destiny hold her heart captive. Can Selena find the strength to do what she must while following her heart?
Blurb and cover from Goodreads
4 out of 5 stars
I love this series. I read the prequel novella awhile back and finally got around to reading this one. The mythology, the whole “other world” premise, the romance—I am so in love.
The plot:
Okay, so the plot could have been better. I thought the build up of trust between Selena and Titus should have been a little more gradual than it was. I greatly enjoyed the storyline and their romance otherwise, I just wish that aspect had been lengthened out a little bit more.
At the 95% mark, I panicked. It looked like there was going to be cliffhanger or worse, a tragedy. I put down my Kindle and stared at it nervously, kneading a pillow and wondering if Ms. Michaels was going to so thoroughly break my heart as she did with Beyond the Iron Gate. Finally, I picked it up and finished it.
I can’t tell you how it ended, but I’ll just say that while it didn’t explore everything I was hoping it would, I was not disappointed.
The characters:
Selena and Titus were adorable together. Aside from the whole development of trust that I mentioned, I thought their relationship was presented very well. Oh, and the whole “I want our wedding night to be the first time” just made me go *swoon*. (I’m a southern girl and I dig that sort of thing.)
I did not like Zoe. Period. She seemed really shallow to me and I couldn’t stand her. When she left the story, I was ready to throw confetti shouting “good riddance,” but then I don’t usually like the girl’s best friend-type characters. She had a few key point scenes, yet I still wished she’d leave. Sorry, Zo.
Adrah is awesome. She’s like a hardcore, warrior woman version of Galadriel and I liked her just as much.
There were centaurs, spear-wielding fae, werewolves, eccentric German writers and a fantasy world I’d love to visit. I adore this series and I’ll certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy fairytale!
The next book has a love triangle mentioned in the blurb and I kind of cringed at that. One thing that does make it funny, though, is that it involves a character in this book who is such an arrogant prig and I can’t wait to see him as a lovestruck swain. I’ve adored these books so far and I really, really want to continue the series, so I’m thinking I’ll give it a shot anyway.
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