Thursday, October 2, 2014

Mortal Enchantment by Stacey O'Neale - Review







Mortal Enchantment (Mortal Enchantment #1)
by

Mortal Enchantment spins a unique twist on elemental mythology. This series is not to be missed.”
Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author

In Kalin Matthew's world, elementals control the forces of nature. They are divided into four courts: air, woodland, fire, and water. At sixteen she will leave the life she's built with her mortal mother. Kalin will move to Avalon to rule with her father—the elemental king of the air court. Along the way, she's attacked by a fire court assassin and saved by Rowan, a swoon-worthy elemental with a questionable past.

Worst of all, she learns her father is missing.

To rescue him, Kalin will have to work with a judgmental council and a system of courts too busy accusing each other of deceit to actually be able to help her. But, they aren’t her biggest challenge. With the Midwinter’s Ball only five days away, Kalin must take over her father’s duties, which includes shifting control of the elements—power Kalin has yet to realize.

As Rowan attempts to train her, a war looms between the four courts. If Kalin fails, her father will die and the courts will fall, but the betrayal she’s about to uncover may cost her even more.


Mortal Enchantment: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
 
Jennifer's Review:
By the end of THE SHADOW PRINCE I was hooked on this series!  I did a happy dance when this book arrived. Stacey did a great job of introducing us to Avalon, all the various elementals, the way things worked in this world (politics etc...) as well introducing us to our yummy & sexy hero Rowan in that short novella. I would definitely recommend reading The Shadow Prince prior to reading MORTAL ENCHANTMENT. (And why not the novella is FREE!)

This book was told from Kalin's POV. She has just turned 16 years old (she's young so clearly doesn't act mature all the time because she's not). She has spent her whole life in the mortal world with her mortal mom and now at the age of 16 she will go to Avalon to live with her Father and learn about her elemental powers. Her father is King Taron of the elemental court of Air. (We meet him briefly in The Shawdow Prince and he came off as a caring, fair, and good hearted) Kalin is a half-ling - half mortal/half air elemental (which is not a good thing in Avalon -- so strike one against Kalin). She arrives in Avalon to a disaster -- Her father has disappeared and the shift of power is about to occur. With her father being gone that shift of power responsibility falls on all Kalin!  Despite her young age, cluelessness of her own potential powers, the powers of others, the politics, and the world of Avalon itself Kalin is strong and never gives up. She also had a strong love for both her mother and father which was refreshing to see and she always spoke her mind! Overall a fun, strong, and witty female lead. 


Rowan - oh how I loved Rowan!  The Shadow Prince was told from Rowan's POV. I have to admit I was hoping for one chapter from his POV in this book. (Stacey -- maybe an idea for next book?? :-)). I kept holding out hope that maybe at the very end we would be able to see something through his eyes as I was dying to know what was going on in his head! His personality is awesome - snarky, a little arrogant, loyal, strong, and sweet. There were some serious laugh out loud moments with his banter and comebacks to Kalin. Their romance was slow and cautious -- going from friendship to something more as they built up trust in one another.

Rowan and Marcus had such a strong friendship in The Shadow Prince that I was kinda disappointed that Marcus entered this story so late and entered at the request of Ariel. (I thought he should of come to save his BFF Rowan)  I am hoping we see more of Marcus and Ariel in the next book as the strong friendships played a big part in what I loved about the series.

While you may be able to predict a thing or two there are some things you will never see coming so get ready for this story of the elementals. This packs in a lot opinion the 225 pages- friendship, deceit, fighting, love and adventure. I can’t wait for the next book in this series! 
Goodbye Rowan, Kalin, Marcus & Ariel for now. :-)
 






Stacey O'Neale lives in Annapolis, Maryland. When she's not writing, she spends her time fangirling over books, blogging, watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, and hanging out with her husband and daughter.
Her career in publishing started as a blogger-turned-publicist for two successful small publishers. Stacey writes young adult paranormal romance and adult science fiction romance. Her books always include swoon-worthy heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing.
Stacey loves hearing from readers. Follow her on Twitter @StaceyONeale, look for her on Facebook, Pinterest, and GoodReads. You can also visit her blog at http://staceyoneale.com/.

 
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COMING SOON!
 
 
FRAGILE REIGN (Mortal Enchantment #2)

 It’s been a week since all hell broke loose…

Rumors of King Taron’s weakened powers have left the air court vulnerable. Kalin is desperate to awaken her akasha powers, except she doesn’t know how. Tension within the court is at an all-time high. Pressure is mounting for her to ascend to the throne, but a halfling has never ruled over any court. To solidify her position, the council has advised her to marry Sebastian—a high ranking air elemental she’s never met and her betrothed. 



 

Will Kalin sacrifice her relationship with Rowan to strengthen her court?

 

Rowan and Marcus return to a fire court in turmoil. Liana’s death has fueled the fire elementals’ distrust against the air and woodland courts. The unbalanced elements have set off natural disasters all over the mortal world. Rowan takes the throne to restore balance, promising to unite the fire court. But not all elementals are happy with his leadership. Many are secretly loyal to Valac, which means Rowan needs to find allies for his cause.

 

Can Rowan unify the court of fire before the elements destroy the world?

 

Fragile Reign: Goodreads

 

THE SHADOW PRINCE(Mortal Enchantment #0.5)

 


Katee Robert, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author 

 

Sixteen-year-old Rowan has spent most of his life living among the mortals—learning to control the element of fire, impatiently awaiting the day his vengeful mother, Queen Prisma, will abdicate her throne. When he finally returns to Avalon for his coronation, his mother insists he must first prove his loyalty to the court by completing a secret mission: 

 

Kill Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental daughter of the air court king. 

 

Willing to do anything to remove his mother from power, he agrees to sacrifice the halfling. He returns to the mortal world with his best friend, Marcus, determined to kill the princess. But as he devises a plan, he starts to question whether or not he's capable of completing such a heinous task. And what price he will pay if he refuses?

 


 

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the awesome review. BTW, half of FRAGILE REIGN is written in Rowan's POV. The same will be true for the last book in the series. :-)

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  2. Stacey I was sooo excited to hear that about Fragile and can not wait to read it!

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    1. Your review gave me an idea!

      It's always interesting to me to read how people interpret scenes from the book. For instance, you thought Marcus returned for Ariel, but that's not how I saw it. Ariel told Marcus that Rowan had sacrificed himself to save them. He returned hoping Rowan was still alive. Marcus came back with the hopes of saving his best friend.

      For fun, I may write the scene between Ariel and Marcus from Marcus's POV. I'll just post it on my website for people to read. I had already planned to do that from Rowan's POV for a few scenes in Mortal Enchantment.

      Thanks for inspiring the idea! :-)

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    2. Oh Stacey I love love that idea! So just by you saying that I like Marcus a little more now :-) He has been redeemed in my eyes :-) because the way I read it did "bug" me.
      So I am definitely looking forward to Marcus's POV. Every time I read an alternative POV I find myself finding the answers I was wondering about.

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