Kayla Reviews A DEAL WITH THE ELF KING

The Iron Raven apparently left me with a hankering for Y.A. Fantasy, so I picked up this little e-book between ARCs, and I have no regrets.

Summary

For centuries the Elf King has claimed a human bride to help maintain the Fade, that space between the human world and the world of magic. The Fade keeps the humans safe from the monsters, but the humans have no idea how important the Human Queen is to Midscape, the Elf kingdom. Without the power of the Human Queen, Midscape would be plunged into an eternal winter, but keeping the land of Midscape alive is a great burden on the Queen as it drains her magic and eventually her life.

When town herbalist, Luella, is claimed by the Elf King, Eldas, she is more surprised than anyone. Luella is smart, and in the face of an unwanted marriage is willing to do anything to find another way to keep Midscape alive–to keep future generations of human women from being stolen by the Elf King. To her surprise, King Eldas is willing to help her escape her fate, but as they work together, their arranged marriage starts to transform into a relationship of love.

My Take:

It’s a love story, a fantasy epic, and a morality tale all wrapped into one.

Luella is a feisty but likable protagonist. I usually get frustrated with YA heroines because they aren’t always active players in their own stories, but that is not the case here at all. Luella’s mission from page one–before she even knows about her magic–is to lead a life of her own. She wants the right to choose her fate and is more than willing to fight for it.

I really thought that my issue with this book would be Eldas. He starts off cold and rude, and I was worried that there would be no plausible way for him to transition into a viable romantic lead. Boy was I wrong. Elise Kova handles his story like a pro. He’s so easy to sympathize with even when he’s being a jerk, and the love between Eldas and Luella is plausible and so hot.

I would strongly recommend this one to anyone whose a fan of fantasy or romance. Not that it needs my recommendation, it’s one of the number one ebooks on Amazon right now.