Helpful Score: 3
Lylene's life changes when at her sister Beryl's wedding, the groom is killed and Beryl is kidnapped by another man. Desperate and worried about her sister, Lylene appeals to all she can for help but is turned down. Finally she seeks out a wizard and asks to learn magic in order to save her sister. She gets what she wants - but for a price she didn't realise she had to pay. Eventually she finds herself in the company of a couple of mercenaries who agree to help her. I thought the premise for the book was a good one but it wasn't fleshed out as well as I had hoped. The writing felt very rushed and seemed to hop from one frantic scene after another with not much time for relationship building, although there is something there. It felt too short. Not my favorite of Velde's works (surprised me, I usually like whatever she writes).
Helpful Score: 1
Something a little different, as far as swords and sorcery goes. A little more geared to younger readers, and some people may find the ending unsatisfying.
Helpful Score: 1
Very good - and there's a good related book, Changeling Prince, which tells the story of this heroine's troubled werewolf companion. NOT your typical werewolf and magic story. Well written adventure tale full of magic and mayhem, with a strong female protagonist. More in the vein of a classical Grimm fairy tale - would definitely like to read sequels!
