REVIEW: BETWEEN THE LINES BY JODI PICOULT AND SAMANTHA VAN LEER

What happens when happily ever after…isn’t?

 Delilah, a loner hates school as much as she loves books—one book in particular. In fact if anyone knew how many times she has read and reread the sweet little fairy tale she found in the library, especially her cooler than cool classmates, she’d be sent to social Siberia . . . forever.To Delilah, though, this fairy tale is more than just words on the page. Sure, there’s a handsome (well, okay, incredibly handsome) prince, and a castle, and an evil villain, but it feels as if there’s something deeper going on. And one day, Delilah finds out there is. Turns out, this Prince Charming is not just a one-dimensional character in a book. He’s real, and a certain fifteen-year-old loner has caught his eye. But they’re from two different worlds, and how can it ever possibly work?

Genre: Young Adult Fairy-Tale Romance

Rating 5 out of 5 Stars

Review:  

This was a sweet, charming, and enchanting tale!

The story is unique told: going back between Delilah and Oliver's POV, while also telling the story of the "book within the book". This took a bit to get used to but after a few chapters I really enjoyed this as it made for a well-rounded story. 

I also greatly enjoyed the illustrations in the book, specifically the ones scattered in the pages, designed to match the ones in the  "book within the book". I loved that while I was reading about Oliver clinging to the letters on the page I could actually see it.

Delilah and Oliver were a delight to read. Delilah is shy, awkward and a loner, as mentioned above. I found her very relatable as will all of us who carried our favorite book with us everywhere we went. I really adored Oliver; he's not your ordinary prince. He's incredibly sweet and lonely, just like Delilah. They go together really well.

It felt very magical to see the behind-the-scenes of the fairy-tale. We learn about the real lives of Oliver's best friend, Frump; Socks the noble steed; and the villain Rapscullio, who paints in his spare time.

There was only one hiccup that comes to mind. *Spoiler Start* In a scene towards the end of the book, Oliver asks Delilah to marry him. She is shocked and replies that people her age (15) don't get married, they date. She's not wrong obviously. However the scene felt very abrupt and startling given the fairy-tale, otherworldly feel of the whole book. I just think they book would have been better if this scene had been cut entirely. *Spoiler End*

I also liked when Delilah was able to meet the author of the book, Jessamyn Jacobs, and her son Edgar. That was really fun. Edgar's character was a little whiny for me personally but I didn't see his character coming and I liked the twist involved.

Overall this was a magical read and I look forward to reading it again!




~ Since completing my review I started (and stopped) reading the sequel. It was very different from this first book and very disappointing. I can't recommend the sequel but my love for Between the Lines is deep and abiding. ;) 

NEW RELEASE: THE HEIR OF ARGATALLAMS (ARGETALLAM SAGA #7) BY ELISABETH WHEATLEY

Janir and her people are now the world’s last hope against Malkalar’s sorcery. The battle for Staspin was won, but at great cost. Over the mountains, a remnant of elves has barely survived the plague sent by their former prince. Brevia is scattered and divided in the wake of losing their king. 

Even with the aid of the Argetallams, the allies fail to turn back Malkalar’s witchcraft. Growing desperate, they are left to seek an ancient power none of them can control, none can withstand, and none can predict. Only one thing is for sure—ending Malkalar’s life will cost Janir her own

Add this book on goodreads!

Purchase on amazon!

Read my review of: 

Book #1 - The Key of Amatahns

Book #2 - The Secrets of the Vanmars

Book #3 - The Chalice of Malvron

Book #4 - The Temple of Tarkoth 

Book #5 - The Lord of Adasha (Coming soon!) 

Book #6 - The Ruin of Staspin (Coming soon!) 

Book #7 - The Heir of Argetallams (Coming soon!) 

NEW RELEASE: WITHER AND WAYWARD (THE HIGHTOWER TRILOGY) BY JADIE JONES

 The Runaway Pen would like to wish a happy release day to Wither and Wayward by Jadie Jones!

For nearly a thousand years, Lucas, an immortal shapeshifter, has waited for Spera, his murdered human lover, to reincarnate. He has no way of knowing when or where she will return, or if she will even look the same in her new life. He must rely on his ability to recognize the actions of her fiery soul and her knack for attracting a killer king’s attention.

After his search leads him to a quiet Norwegian harbor town, a surreal encounter with his own kind leads to devastating consequences, causing Lucas to question his belief in himself and his quest. With his will and options quickly fading, Lucas is offered help from an old enemy who claims to have knowledge of Spera’s return. But it comes at a price: the assassination of the immortal king who took Spera’s life.

With an army raised and a strategy in place, Lucas is ready to attack, until the sudden appearance of a ghost from his past appears, forcing Lucas to take an even bigger risk than attempting to kill a malicious king…letting him live.

Tanzy’s journey races toward an explosive end in Wayward, the third book of the Hightower Trilogy.

Tanzy Hightower has crossed the veil between the Seen and Unseen worlds. She is now the only mortal in a land teeming with creatures who want her dead. To stay alive long enough to stop Asher and seal the door between worlds, she is forced to accept his marriage proposal and seek refuge inside his fortress. Tanzy is certain she can withstand any offers he makes to tempt her into opening the door, but he possesses a bargaining chip she could never have imagined.

On the Seen side of the veil, Tanzy’s allies are fragmented, lost, and leaderless. They must learn to work together as they gather more candidates and begin training to defend their world against unfathomable predators poised to strike should the veil holding them at bay dissolve. While Tanzy has accepted her own inevitable death in fulfilling her destiny, her closest friends refuse to stop searching for the impossible: a way to save Tanzy’s life.

A choice will be made. The veil will change. The worlds as Tanzy knows them will never be the same.

Wayward (book #3) of The Hightower Trilogy and Wither (prequel) can be found at the links below.

Wither: Amazon | Goodreads

Wayward: Amazon | Goodreads

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COVER REVEAL; THE WEAVER (THE WEAVER TRILOGY #1) BY HEATHER KINDT

Most writers choose the endings to their stories . . . most writers are not Weavers.
Laney Holden is a freshman at Madison College whose life goes from normal to paranormal in a matter of seconds. When the antagonist in the book she’s writing shoves her down the stairs at the subway station, she learns she is a Weaver. Weavers bridge the narrow gap between fantasy and reality, bringing their words to life.
Laney soon meets William whom she also suspects is a character from her book—one she’s had a mad crush on since her pen hit the paper. But he’s in danger as her antagonist reveals a whole different ending planned for Laney’s book that involves killing William. Laney must use her writing to save the people closest to her by weaving the most difficult words she will ever write.
THE WEAVER is the first installment of The Weaver trilogy. It is an NA paranormal romance set in a small town on the north shore of Boston. It will leave you wanting more

We hope you enjoyed this beautiful cover reveal from Heather Kindt and The Parliament House!

If you're intereted in adding this book to your to-read list, you can do that: here.

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Heather Kindt: Website

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PROMO BLITZ: CURSED: THE HUNTER INSIDE (CURSED #1) BY CASEY M. MILLETTE

Cursed: The Hunter Inside

Publisher: Parliament House Press

A war rages between kings and clans for centuries, their nations split and their kingdoms fallen. Caught in the midst of poverty and bedlam, twenty-year-old Aldor faces a choice. Should he leave home and start his life anew, or stay and protect what little he has?

Aldor has only made one friend in his life and has never seen a legendary creature before. As soon as he steps beyond his door, he finds himself an outlaw, hunted by creatures of pure fantasy.

Forced into joining a team of misfits in a race to recover a sacred, lost stone, Aldor finds unexpected friendships and adventure. But just as things start to look promising, disaster strikes, wielding the unexpected and the terrifying!

Aldor's life will never be the same as he struggles with true feelings of fear, loss, love, and suffering for the very first time

EXCERPT

It hurts. There isn't a way to describe a stab-wound that justifies it, so that'll have to do. It was a close call – being pinned down to the floor like an insect to a ruddy scientist's board, nor was it an experience I'd recommend. If it wasn't for Jethro, once the metal entered my skin, it would've been over within a heartbeat. Glimpsing Farthan's smirk but unable to hear his words as he screeched—a brittle sound—was enough for me. It’s been days. Days since the bloody squeals of arrows, chains, and pullies… like the gateway to hell started, and I’d be lying if I’d told you it hasn't been pandemonium. It’s hard to remember where we came from or where we’re going, King Jethro, the troops, and I as we cower between the only thing between us and Farthan: a rock wall not a meter thick. Every time the sun is snuffed out, we see nothing; rock behind, death ahead. Having Farthan gut me like a fish last night made me wonder –

There wasn’t anything else. The rest of the narrative was splattered with far too much blood for comfort. Crimson stains seared away the rest of the lettering like a burn charring flesh, little droplets here and there dotting the i’s for Rowan as a favor. It was the last thing the man had written since the demolishing of Bishopthrope Citadel. Like most stories, good had won in the end. Shortly after Rowan’s death, King Jethro had been able to rally his troops to victory against Farthan and the army he'd bred himself. Orcs hadn’t been used as an asset of war since ancient times, but Farthan had figured how to change that quickly.

The library was a greasy place. That's probably the reason why Aldor never got into books. He hadn't thought it possible for firelight to look sticky, but the torches lining the walls of the dungeon-like athenaeum certainly did. Books. Crackling. Papercuts. Old ladies. Ugh, definitely not the best place in the world.

Aldor closed the script gently and shoved it behind the counter again. Two things got him the special privilege of having access to the real archives hidden in the library: being Rowan's son and having Prince Jonathan as his best friend. Some people argued that Aldor was only Jon's friend because of the benefits, but seeing as Aldor didn't have the guts to interact with anyone else, that speculation dissolved quickly.

A good eighteen years had come and gone since his father had passed away, and now all Aldor could do to be sure Rowan existed once was stare at his blood drippings that dotted the manuscripts. Despite the wounds carved into the teeth of mountains and the marks searing the moors, it was like Eldoran had fallen asleep. Orcs hadn’t been seen in nearly two decades and civilians were off their guard. It was like a curtain that had briefly encircled the world was thrown back. No one second-guessed another’s intentions, the smog of war rendered the north completely untouched. His heels slapped the library floor, the echo of his footsteps strangely satisfactory as he strode through the corridors. The light poured in now and poked his eyes, having to adjust to the brightness of the world above ground.

Aldor was pleased to say that he had more to life than studying ancient scripts. Aldor lived in Dagon, a northern agricultural realm, for longer than he could remember. Glen, his nurse from infancy, told him so. His world was composed of the empty plantations stitched together by hedges and nothing else. The hunger for change burned in his belly whenever he saw the guards ride into the forest that enclosed the tiny bubble he called home. He hated it. He hated the feeling because it couldn’t be contented.

His head was too busy to notice much of the market, so all the faces, sounds, and sights were only smears of memory. The market stood in a vast, cobblestone square, circled by dense forest on all sides. The Castle is a bit monstrous with gargoyles to match, looming several thousand feet high, its spirals tickling the sky's underbelly. Shops crowded around a dense sea of bodies and noise. There were no gaps between the stalls. The mingling smells of sweet blood from the butchers, sweat, and spices could've been overwhelming if Aldor wasn't so used to it.

“Oi! Watch it!”

Aldor dipped his head apologetically, slipping through people making him stagger. “Sorry, sorry!”

He slunk along the edge of the town and out of way, moving into the forest. Noises of a different life set apart from the turmoil of the city enveloped him as he shifted into trees. It was soothingly dark, the harsh eye of the sun cast a glare on the trees which absorbed it into a dense canopy. The forest, though mostly feared, was often taken for granted as a sort of protection. It kept things out. The natural wall was thick, and no one ever ventured in there—except for Aldor, Jon, and the king's patrols, which was a rare thing to see in these days of plenty.

The blue thread of the river gushed through the woods nearby, slicing Dagon neatly in two before moving on to join the River Everlasting farther down. Parts were more lax than others, and that was exactly where Aldor found him. The heavy sword on his belt made Jon look more intimidating than he really was. He was a princely figure. Literally. Jon hated being the king’s grandson, but that wouldn’t stop his ceremony of becoming admiral. A ceremony which was to take place that night. Aldor was proud of himself because he hadn’t forgotten.

Find Out More About Casey Millette at http://www.caseymillette.com

About the Author

Casey M. Millette, sixteen, has been into writing since she was five. Her love of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia has inspired her to write the Cursed series. Casey lives just outside Atlanta, Georgia with her family and cat, Hudson. You can follow her on the Casey M. Millette Facebook page, Instagram, and her website: www.caseymmillette.com.

Contact Links

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COVER REVEAL: DOUBLE CROSSING THE BRIDGE BY SARAH J. SOVER

Rent in New Metta is through the cavern ceiling. When Granu barely survives her first gig teaching students who attempt to fillet her for lunch, the baby-eating troll ends up unemployed and facing eviction. Granu's only prospect for income is grueling work in the tar pits. That is, until her playboy best friend devises a perfect, if suicidal, scheme—a heist!

The Covered Bridge, the largest source of income for the city, has New Metta well under hoof. In a week, TCB Corporation pulls in enough cash to buy a small country. It's the ideal target, but security is top-notch. Granu needs three things to survive this heist: a crew of specialists, impenetrable sun protection, and gallons of grog.

There’s just one thing Granu doesn’t plan for—those damn meddling billy goats.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today to check out this cover reveal!

If you enjoyed it we suggest that you add this book to your to-read list here. 

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AUDIOBOOK COVER REVEAL: BLINDING NIGHT BY CHANTAL GADOURY

What if you were the missing piece in one of the world’s most epic legends?

Despite being an art history student, Summer isn’t thrilled to be stuck with her archeologist family all summer in Greece. While the rest of her college friends are posting a million selfies by the pool together, Summer is stuck alone, trying to entertain herself alone in a place where she doesn’t even speak the language.

Upon her arrival to Greece, strange dreams and even stranger shadows seem to haunt Summer, leaving her to ponder the meaning of pomegranate seeds and twisted, darkened faces.

Suddenly, her stay abroad leads to tragic twists, leaving Summer in the arms of a dark stranger, who claims to be the god, Hades, whom she feels like she knows from another life. In a whirlwind through the busy streets of Athens, Summer is seduced to the lowest point of Greece where Hades’ lair awaits…the Underworld. Determined to find out who she is and where she belongs in an age-old myth, Summer joins Hades to discover that the secrets about her past life are beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

We hope you enjoyed this audiobook cover reveal from Chantal Gadoury!

If you'd like to learn more we encourage you to check out the links below. :)

Follow the author: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

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COVER REVEAL: TWO THOUSAND YEARS [SPECIAL EDITION] BY M. DALTO

Two thousand years ago, the Prophecy of Fire and Light foretold the coming of the Queen Empress who would lead the Empire into a time of peace and tranquility. But instead of the coming of a prosperous world, a forbidden love for the Empress waged a war that ravaged the land, creating a chasm between the factions, raising the death toll of innocent lives until the final, bloody battle.

Centuries later, Alexandra, a twenty-two-year-old barista living in Boston, is taken to an unfamiliar realm of mystery and magic where her life is threatened by Reylor, its banished Lord Steward. She crosses paths with Treyan, the arrogant and seductive Crown Prince of the Empire, and together they discover how their lives, and their love, are so intricately intertwined by a Prophecy set in motion so many years ago.

Alex, now the predestined Queen Empress Alexstrayna, whose arrival was foretold by the Annals of the Empire, controls the fate of her new home as war rages between the Crown Prince and Lord Steward. Either choice could tear her world apart as she attempts to keep the Empire's torrid history from repeating itself. In a realm where betrayal and revenge will be as crucial to her survival as love and honor, Alex must discover whether it is her choice - or her fate - that determines how she survives the Empire's rising conflicts.

We hope you've enjoyed this cover reveal of 

Two Thousand Years, The Empire Saga, #1 (Special Edition)!

This special edition will be released on April 11th. If you're interested in 

learning more we encourage you to add this book to your to-read list here. 

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M. Dalto: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Website

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REVIEW: SWITCHED (TRYLLE #1) BY AMANDA HOCKING

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She's not the person she's always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel―all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she'd ever admit. But it isn't long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth―and he's come to take her home.

Now Wendy's about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that's both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she's meant to become…

Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy Romance

4 out of 5 Stars

Review: I remember hearing about Amanda Hocking back in 2012, but I ended up passing on the books for some reason or another. However recently I noticed a copy of Switched at my local library and decided to give it a try.

As I'm now *cough*23*cough* it's getting a little bit harder to relate to some Young Adult novels, hence why the reviews on the blog have been sparse lately. With that in mind I was some what wary going into this book.

I was pleasantly surprised! I actually really enjoyed this book. It had its flaws, including many of the repeated YA fiction cliches but they were easy for me to get past. What I loved most about this book is actually how similar it is to other YA books from 2008-2012. Those were my prime Young Adult reading years and Switched took me right back to those days. Seriously, reading this book made me feel fifteen again. There's something almost innocent about books from that time, not innocent in content necessarily but they do feel less scandal-y or edgy than YA books now.

Wendy was in some ways very different than a typical main character. She's a little selfish and lazy. Also prone to using her gift of influence to get other people to do what she wants them to do. Still the reluctant-princess is a good character type to read and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the nest book.

I liked Finn, although he was very annoying in the beginning. I grew to like him more, and by the end of the book I felt like I understood him a little better.

The idea of them being trolls would be unique were it not for the way they're presented: they look mostly human, except for some of them are slightly green hued, some of them have telekinesis or persuasion, and they live in their own communities away from humans. Basically they could be switched out (get it?) for nearly any other fairy/faery-like creature and the story wouldn't be any different. They might as well be generic fairies.

Still this book transported me back to my younger years and I enjoyed every moment of it! 

COVER REVEAL: THE SIN SOLDIERS (THE FRAGMENTS SERIES #1) BY TRACY AUERBACH (THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE)

Red compound makes them angry. Yellow exhausts them. Blue drives them into a state of ravenous addiction. The thief Kai knows about the chemically controlled soldiers of the Eastern forces and their savage, deadly nature. When a robbery attempt at Club Seven goes wrong, Kai is captured by a handler and his bestial soldier-boy. She wakes up inside the military base with no idea what happened to her twin brother, Dex.

Things go from bad to worse when Kai is started on a drug and training regimen, and forced to take injections of blue compound. The scientists in charge plan to make her into a working soldier who will mine the mysterious power crystals beneath the desert. Kai becomes a victim of the bully Finn, a handsome but nasty soldier whose years on red compound seem to have erased his humanity. Still, she begins to pity the Seven Soldiers, including the monstrous boy who tried to rip her to shreds at the club. They appear to be nothing more than genetically enhanced, drug-controlled teenagers.

On the outside, Dex and his tech-savvy boyfriend try to crack the soldiers’ chemical code to find a weakness that will break the system. But Kai has already been drawn deep into her new world. Strong feelings for the soldiers she’s come to know have started to cloud her judgment. Can she escape and find Dex without becoming a monster herself?

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COVER REVEAL: LINEAGE BY C. VONZALE LEWIS (THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE)

Smart-mouthed Nicole Fontane has a way of getting herself into trouble. She’s been fired from every job she’s had but still refuses to work in her father’s apothecary shop because of his practice of Earth Magick. On Tulare Island where Nicole grew up, Magick has always been a way of life—one she’s determined to avoid at all costs.

With less than two hundred dollars in the bank and rent due, Nicole is forced to take a job at Tribec Insurance as a last resort. Little does she realize, the moment she sets foot inside the building, she becomes a pawn. A sinister force has set its sights on her and will stop at nothing to use her in a sadistic game.

Tribec’s proprietors, the Stewart family, are curiously preoccupied with the Naqada, the mysterious pre-dynastic Egyptian society. Nicole finds it creepy, but on the bright side, the job reconnects her with her estranged friend, Marta. Yet the eerie atmosphere, disappearing Magick wards, and the smell of blood inside Tribec bring Nicole to a startling conclusion—the Stewarts are practicing Blood Magick, the deadliest of the Five Principles. By the time Nicole uncovers the truth, Marta and her four children have gone missing, and all signs implicate the Stewarts and an archaic blood ritual to an Old One, a Naqada god imprisoned on Tulare Island.

Battling the evil of Blood Magick will demand Nicole to confront a hidden past and unlock the Magick buried within. But can she set aside her deep-rooted fears to work with a team of vigilante Mages? Or will the clock run out on Marta and her children—and on Nicole?

We hope you enjoy this lovely cover reveal from C. Vonzale Lewis!

Be sure to add this book to your to-read list: here.

And follow C. Vonzale Lewis and The Parliament House for the latest updates on this release.

Thank you so much for stopping by our blog! We hope you have a wonderful day! :) 

~ The Runaway Pen Team

COVER REVEAL: FRACTALISTIC BY GERADO DELGADILLO

Today we are pleased to share this beautiful cover reveal of Fractalistic by Gerardo Delgadillo and publisher, The Parliament House. 

Coming summer 2019, make sure to add this book to your to-read list!

Also follow the author and the publisher. :) 

After moving to Mexico with her parents, Winter Gutan had been hoping the local alternative medicine doctor would cure her mother’s illness. When her mother does not survive his controversial treatments, Winter’s life spirals in despair. Her father, a software engineer, insists his computer program, Fractalistic, will enable them to communicate with her mother’s spirit. But as his sanity begins to slip, Winter confides in her friend Rafa, a computer wizard, who tells her he’s found information about using fractal technology to treat false memories—nothing paranormal about it, leaving Winter confused and without hope. Will she lose her mother forever?

Suspecting her dad is hiding a deep secret, Winter runs Fractalistic behind his back, unveiling a sea of computer-generated imagery swirling on the screen. Her mother appears to her…begging for help! But is this all just Winter’s imagination?

Fractalistic may enable Winter to communicate with her deceased mother, but it might also unleash more mysterious memories buried within Winter’s mind. To figure it all out, Winter must hack into her father’s system to uncover a horrifying truth...or remain in the dark forever.

COVER REVEAL: HELL AT HALFINGDON ASYLUM BY ALICE J. BLACK

We are excited to bring you this cover reveal of Hell at Halfingdon Asylum, book 9 of the Soul Seekers series from author Alice J. Black and The Parliament House Press! 

Peyton is asked to work on her hardest case for Soul Seekers yet as she’s called to Halfingdon Asylum to clear it of spirit energy before it’s converted into an office building. She has her reservations from the start but keeps them from Jake, her partner, as the investigation is underway.

However, the asylum isn’t going to give up easily, and Peyton will not only need to save herself from the darkness that seems hell bent on keeping her locked inside but figure a way out of the building before it’s too late…

COVER REVEAL: Hook & Crown by Nicole Knapp (The Parliament House)

 The Runaway Pen is very excited to share this lovely cover reveal from author Nicole Knapp and her publisher, The Parliament House! 

 You've heard of Neverland and its inhabitants... Fairies, pirates, mermaids and a boy who didn't want to grow up. But you can't always believe the stories.

Elena Hart arrives in London, bound for a new boarding school operated by her estranged uncle. A fresh start is exactly what she needs. But when strange things begin happening, things she can't explain, she begins to wonder if she has lost her mind.
Until the night a strange girl appears in her room, claiming to be a fairy from Neverland, come to take her to the fantasy world at the request of its ruler.
Skeptical, Elena refuses. But the following night, a young man with strange green eyes appears, and though she tries to resist his charms, something about him draws her in and Elena is whisked away from the world she knows, to a world she always thought was make believe.
But when she arrives in Neverland, it is nothing like the stories and Elena realizes that she must figure out for herself who the true heroes and villains are. Add this book to your to-read list!

REVIEW: BETRAYAL (THE PRIESTESS TRILOGY #2) BY MELISSA SASINA

 To save her clan, she must wed her enemy...

Shiovra, High Priestess of the village of tara, is set to wed one considered the enemy for the sake of her clan. Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Shiovra decides her fate and faces the truth of Odhran.

Still hunted by both the Milidh clan and her own kin, she learns that not all enemies are quite what they seem. Loyalty is brought into question and power lost within enemy ranks in what shall ultimately lead to one thing: BETRAYAL.

Genre: Irish Fantasy Romance

4 out of 5 Stars

Review: 

We're travelling back to the village of Tara in today's book review. I'm glad to be diving back into this unique fantasy series. 

I really enjoyed following Shiovra's journey. I will say that the surprise of the novel isn't much of a surprise for the reader since I'm pretty sure we knew who Odhran was from the start. I'm a little disappointed that Shiovra didn't realize it sooner, but I'm glad she figured it out before the wedding and that they both talked about it.

At times I was little confused with the different characters, probably just because it's been awhile since I read book 1. I also felt that some of the extra story lines didn't fit well into the overall plot.

The story was packed full of adventure, quite a lot happens within these pages, friends become enemies, and new alliances are formed. The story moved at a steady pace, and I had trouble putting it down. Shiovra is ever ready to do whatever it takes to protect the people of Tara. I particularly appreciate her ability to give second chances and to recognize when former enemies are ready to change their ways.

What kept it from being 5 stars for me was: Morgan. Now I actually liked Morgan as a character, sneaky, sassy boy that he is. And that's part of the problem. From the moment he steps on the scene Morgan is interested in Shiovra as her protector...and possibly more. And given that she's recently married I found this awkward. It got worse when her husband Odhran, eager to make use of Morgan fighting skills as an ally, tells his wife,"Do not deny him what he seeks." which read to me like he was encouraging his wife to sleep with this guy. Icky. This really unsettled me even though I'm trying to remember that it is fiction, and they may have different views around marriage. There's also the likely chance that I'm reading too much into this or misinterpreting it.

Regardless I enjoyed this installment. Shiovra is a brave force to be reckoned with and I look forward to reading the conclusion of her adventures! 

~Important Links~
Read my review of book #1
Read my review of book #3 (coming soon!)
Find this book on goodreads
Find this book on amazon
Learn more on the authors website