by Sarah K L Wilson
Very Unique Fantasy Romance
I read this book in like an hour. Simply devoured it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
I rounded down to 4 for where there can only be 5 stars because of a couple of hiccups with editing and one key malapropism and because the ending chapters basically reiterated the gist of story.
Loved the characters Vidar and Elkhana. Both are well-drawn with decent histories of how they came to be in their current places.
Aside from the romance, I adored the concept of time and immortality in this book. It gave a poignant POV on how fleeting life is and seeing mortality fly by the mortals in the book. It’s worth the read for this element alone.
Lots more to love though. The bargain aspect, the fae trickery, the many courts of fae in this world, and yes, the romance.
Plot & Characters
The plot here was super focused and centered around the conundrum of the trapped seer and the faerie who falls in love with her. The way it was delivered in the form of an unraveling riddle is the aspect that really drew me in.
Favorite Quote(s)
“I am crisscrossed with scars from these adventures”Vidar, Loc 45% (Sarah K L Wilson)
There were lots of great lines in this book. I adore Wilson’s voice (currently reading Fly the Arrow too). But for some reason, this one stuck out to me. It’s not thematic or super meaningful, just a nice, succinct description.
Wilson has some fantastic turns of phrase.
Romance Elements
Swoonworthiness
You know how you would worry about insta-love in a romance book that’s only 124 pages long?
Yeah . . . absolutely not the case here. This is clean and swoony.
Heat
I did give a little steam rating on this one. It fades to black, but the indication of what happens is there.
Fantasy Elements
Worldbuilding
I felt like this generally relied on Fae standards. However, the courts mentioned in this novel gave it a depth that I don’t always see in faerie stories.
Magic & Magic Systems
In addition to the faerie trickery, the magic in this book is really based in bargains and/or curses. It’s good, but nothing that stands out as exceptional.
Writing & Narration
I docked the rating here for 2 reasons.
First, the ending two scenes of the book are basically a reiteration of the story itself, and it felt like she didn’t trust the reader to get the message through the showing aspects she employed so well.
Second, the verb to fledge has feathers embedded in the definition, but Wilson used it to mean magical creation of MAYFLY wings. Mayfly wings have no feathers. This really bothered me. Also, there were a couple of typos that gave me pause. So…it could do with another round of editing.
Synopsis
Sometimes stealing a life is the only way to save it.
Elkhana is the Mayfly Seer. Ripped from her family, drowned, and set into a magical cage, she lives only one day a year to tell fortunes for her former people.
When Vidar meets her, he sees a resource he can use to save himself from his enemies and the torturous demands of his own liege and court.
But the bond between Elkhana and Vidar is growing. She’s slipping into his dreams and changing how he sees the world and he doesn’t know if he can keep on using her now that he sees her as a person.
Without her visions, he’s powerless against his enemies, but if he has the chance to steal her away from her cage, shouldn’t he take it?
To succeed, he’ll need a plan, a lot of nerve, and all the bargains he can strike. Will it be enough?
STOLEN MAYFLY BRIDE is the eighth and final book in Stolen Brides of the Fae, a collection of stand-alone short novels by eight of your favorite fantasy romance authors. Start reading in any order for swoon-worthy romance, heart-stopping adventure, and guaranteed happily-ever-afters!
My Ratings
Author receives a small commission for sales made from this link.
About the Author
I write timeless stories. Not the stories you think you want but the stories you don’t know you desperately need.
I believe in happy endings and that it should take a lot of struggle to get to them.
I believe that sometimes violence is the answer, that sometimes no one is coming to save you, and that self-sacrifice is always worth it.
I believe in big twists and beginnings that start in the end.
I believe in heroic acts of bravery, that chaos sometimes trumps order, that there’s humor in dark things, and that risks are what you make of them.
I believe in the someday that will make all things new.
And I believe in stories – sweeping, epic, glorious stories that renew our hearts and our hopes and refresh our minds like woodland streams.
Oh, and I’m a USA Today bestselling author. I suppose I should mention that. November 2, 2017
www.sarahklwilson.com
sarah@sarahklwilson.com