Rating: 4 out of 5.

4.5 stars

What a fantastic first book in a new, creative fantasy romance. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but definitely want to read her backlog of books while I wait for book 2 of this series to come out. I’m a little distressed that I can’t find out anything about book 2 or an anticipated release date, but considering this book just came out on August 19, I guess my impatience is showing. 🙂

This book contains a unique magic system where while wearing certain jewels the ruling “Blessed” can leech all different kinds of emotions from people with a touch. A brief touch will steal an emotion, but a longer touch can steal days, months, years and even someone’s life. Emberline Arkova has the unique ability to tell which gems contain magic that allow the Blessed to steal emotions and which ones don’t. Her uncle is the official jeweler to the evil King. Officially he’s “training” Ember in the trade but secretly he’s protecting her by hiding the fact that she is immune to the magic.

On the day Ember plans to leave the village for a bigger city in search of answers to her immunity, her uncle disappears without a trace. Needing to protect and care for her family in her uncle’s absence, Ember is forced to take up his duties. She goes from avoiding the Blessed to becoming the center of their magic. She’s assigned a guard to protect her, and while at first glance Hart appears to be a loyal servant, he’s got his own secret agenda tied directly to Ember. Magic, politics, and an old prophecy set the stage for an epic story.

Ember is a determined, fierce woman hell-bent on protecting her family and changing the world. She’s sickened that she has to create jewelry that will help Blessed steal emotions. She is stupidly fearless at times, putting herself in danger without thinking about the consequences. Luckily Hart is there to pull her out of the predicaments she keeps getting herself into. Ember doesn’t trust easily, but with her uncle gone, she has no choice but to trust Hart to some extent if she’s going to figure a way out of the kingdom for her and her family. She’s drawn to Hart for sure, and it’s more than just his hotness that pulls her in. Hart knows more than he’s sharing, and she can’t fully trust him no matter how much she wants to.

Hart is a complicated character. His loyalties seem to shift throughout the story and you never really know what’s true or what you can trust. There was plenty of foreshadowing about his place in the story, but the prophecy was a bit confusing and I’m hoping it becomes more clear in the next book. I mean, I get the main gist of it, but don’t really understand what it all means for the kingdom and beyond.

This is a fast-paced entertaining fantasy and a great start to a new series. I highly recommend you read this book and join me on the journey. It’s currently free on Kindle Unlimited, so go get it now!

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from The Nerd Fam. All opinions are my own.