Review: Enchanter's Echo

"The keep-out spell awoke at her approach. The enchanted mesh of vines and branches that blocked the entrance to Rallis Territory's forbidden forest vibrated in welcome as its creator returned..."

Welcome to Book Two in the Mayflower Mages series. (See my review of Syphon's Song: Mayflower Mages Book One.)

Picking up shortly after the events in book one left off. Our heroine is an enchanter mage (one of several new breeds of mages that author Anise Rae introduces us to) living on her own terms on the wrong side of the Republic tracks (known as the Drainpipe).

When we meet Aurora Firenze, she's on the backside of a long-term vow to one of the founding families (the Noble family) and she's not in a rush to find herself avowed to the service of another family, no matter how deep her bond with Edmund Rallis is. (Remember him from Syphon's Song?)

Much like her previous book, Rae is writing a romance with so much more. We've got a case of sabotage on the Rallis family (and their entire territory) and an entire cast of suspects to choose from. And while they're trying to save Rallis (and Edmund himself), our hero and heroine are on a crash course to falling in love.

I want to take a second here and commend the author. In both of her books now, she's featured a love story that, while complicated, isn't tortured. I really love that and found it so much easier to root for our couple--they were in love and even if one (or both) thought sacrifice was necessary, there was no question (or potential love triangle) to muddy the waters. It was pure and emotional and came across the pages. I dug that!

There's a gentleness to Aurora (compared to the timidity and fear our poor Bronte carried in Syphon's Song) that's sweet and sort of made me want to hug her--or at least invite her over for hot chocolate and Jane Austen movies.

I mentioned in my previous review how much I admired Rae's world building. It was all still here in book two, but in this entry in the series, I was fascinated by the way the vibes (magical auras) ratcheted up the sensuality and tension in the story...almost like a separate character in itself. It made the bonds between Edmund and Aurora that much more layered and was fascinating to imagine.

As if I needed more reasons to love this series, I happened to reach out to the author via social media with a question about review timing. I'm happy to report she's just as lovely as her series and it makes me root for an author and their work even more when they're genuinely nice people.

Rumor has it (okay, she told me) that's she's hard at work on book three, and if you happen to read the acknowledgements, she mentions book three will be Gregor's story (you'll remember him from Syphon's Song.)

Hooray, ya'll!!

Enchanter's Echo was incredibly unique, well written and full of complex characters that you can't help but to root for. The magic was fantastic and really draws you in.

DETAILS

Title: Enchanter's Echo

Series: Mayflower Mages, Book Two

Author: Anise Rae

Publisher: Kensington 

Price: $3.99 (released in February 2015)

Author Website: AniseRae.com

Author Twitter: @aniserae

(I was incredibly lucky to get an advanced review copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.)

Goodreads review available here.

Review: The Dragon King and I (Adrianne Brooks)

I have a bit of a problem when it comes to fairy tale retellings,especially ones with a romance and adult twist to them. They cause me problems. They keep me up late at night, way past my bedtime. They stick with me if they're well written. I love them. I'm addicted to them.

That said, I also hold them to pretty high standards because it's getting harder and harder to stand out in a saturated fairy tell crowd.  I read the recommendations on Goodreads for "The Dragon King and I" and figured it would be worth a try, even if dragons have never really been "my thing." Werewolves? Yes! Dragons and vampires? Not always.

A quick summary: Alex(andra) Greyson is cursed. She's got this "siren" aspect about her that causes men to lose their minds in an effort to "save" or "protect" (or even maul and sexually assault) her. When a man dies trying to return her umbrella, she knows things need to change.

That change comes in the form of one Amazonian stripper/fairy godmother named Seraphim. Who's really Maleficent from the Sleeping Beauty fame. With me still?

Seraphim/Maleficent, despite lacking the usually fairy godmother credentials is actually pretty good at her job and she's one of my favorite characters. My only complaint is that she didn't get enough "screen" time for my likes.

She sends Alex on a quest to remove the misguided blessing (also known as a curse) and sends along an afflicted dragon-man named Sam. Sam's got his own problem as leader of his clutch of dragons. He's sick and the longer it takes to fix his problem, the more of his type are dying.

Add a demented piper, a whacked out mother, a goblin, a demon genie, a whole slew more aggressive goblins, a creepy fairy head with pig tails and the ability to "mind speak" and we've got ourselves an adventure, folks.

Alex needs a list of items (including...gasp!...a dragon's heart) to break her spell. Sam needs a dire solution to his problem and the pages in between hurtle us toward the story's conclusion...and the possible beginning of the next story. Sign me up.

I noticed a few reviews on Amazon griping about a misspelling or grammatical error here and there and I'm pretty sure I noticed it when I read it, but it never pulled me out of the story. The story wholeheartedly sucked me in. I'm hooked.

A bonus.

I rarely read the end matter of books, but I'm so glad I did. There's a note from Adrianne Brooks that really sealed the deal for me and made her one of my favorite authors ever. From the back of the book:

"Dear Readers,
       At the time this all started, I'd thought that I would give up writing after the completion of this book. I never expected so many people to like it, but I'm glad you all did because it encouraged me to keep doing the thing I love the most.
      So thank you, and if you're at a point in your life where you need a sign to keep trying...you're looking at it right now.
       ---Adrianne Brooks"

Call me a sucker for sentimentality, call me someone at that point of abandoning a writing career....but I loved this little part of her book and I love her as an author so much for this note.

Happy reading!

Next book in Fairest of Them All: "The Frog Prince" ($0.99)


DETAILS

Title: The Dragon King and I

Series: Fairest of Them All

Author: Adrianne Brooks

Publisher: Rascal Hearts

Author Website: AdrianneBrooks.com
Author Facebook: Adrianne Brooks Facebook
Author Twitter: @AdrianneXBrooks

Book Source:  Purchased