Legends of Abreia SPOILERS

 

Heeelllooo, world! While I'm taking a hiatus from my other blog, and revamping the layout and all of this... well, I figured I'd start with something. I think I've got it figured out now (for reals this time, I promise!). It'll be organized chaos and not as time consuming considering I'm sitting here at work, again, working on the blog. Hey, it keeps me awake most of the night, right? I promised you a post, so here it is. I'm not really sure what to do on a book blog, except recap a story and then maybe analyze it...so bear with me!

So, this book caught me-- hook, line, and sinker. I was definitely enraptured by the cover and thought the synopsis sounded fairly decent. And boy, was I not disappointed. It was a bit slow in the beginning, as the author immediately introduces the main character, Leisa, and another very important character, King Soren. The world building wasn't something I would call epic, but it definitely tied nicely with the events happening as they unfolded, as well as Leisa's view of her kingdom and beyond. 

Leisa is a mage-- one that can alter her appearance with any reflective surface (aka a mirror mage). Other fantasy creatures are mentioned in the book as well, and it's made known to the reader that mages and other creatures with magic were no viewed as people and often executed. In other words, Leisa must keep her true identity and magic on the down low. The king, who is like a father figure to her, knows about it.

She's sent on this epic adventure to a rival kingdom (Garimore) under the false pretense of being Soren's daughter, Everaine. If I wasn't super involved in the book yet, this turn of events would've snared me in its grasp. Red flags start popping up when Leisa's lady maids are dismissed and only her closest guards are kept...separately. King Melger, the ruler of Garimore, also gave me some slimy up to no good feels. His son, Vaniell, was more of a mystery...

Anyway, then you meet Melger's knight... The Raven. A formidable knight known throughout the kingdoms, he doesn't speak or make any sign that he's a person underneath all the armor. Melger controls him with magic (stupid, considering he fears the very beings like mages with said magic..) He's eventually assigned to "protect" (spy) on Leisa and report back to Melger with anything concerning. 

Leisa starts to befriend him, this silent knight and tries multiple times to elude his presence when she needs to do her spy work. Doesn't help Vaniell, who is supposed to be Soren's daughter's bethrothed, gives Leisa a necklace.... and that necklace forms a sort of bond between Leisa and The Raven... 

With her kingdom on the line, Leisa digs for information while attempting to maintain a facade, and eventually realizes she's in deep shit. She barely escapes, but is bruised and exhausted when the Raven finally catches up to her... only to have Leisa use the little bit of strength she had left to dig into her magic in order to melt away the armor...

Lo and behold we have the yummy, sexy, awkward night elf Kyrion. From a powerful race of magical beings, his magic is still held at bay with gauntlets on his wrists. Leisa doesn't have enough strength to do anything with them and both mage and night elf come to an agreement: Leisa returns to warn Soren of what she learned, and then return to Kyrion to accompany him home and hopefully remove the gauntlets.

There isn't a lot of romace, no spice, no smut. But the buildup and budding relationship between Leisa and Kyrion was just as good as spiciness. Like I said, world building wasn't super epic, but somehow tied in with the story as the author wove her tale. Leisa is a strong, independent heroine who knows how to wield weapons and stand her ground. When it comes to magic, she's not quite as sure, as she had no one to really teach her about the magic she possesses. 

The Raven as we know Kyrion for the first half of the story, is a stoic presence. But we get glimpses of his personality when the third person POV switches to his thoughts and feelings. He definitely resents Melger and everyone in Garimore for being imprisoned, but has no choice but to obey due to the binding spell Melger put on him. The Raven finds Leisa endearing at times and becomes an ally of sorts, though he tells her he isn't one.

When we finally learn who The Raven actually is, I was a little shocked and wasn't expecting him to be a night elf. But I guess it could be expected. Kyrion is a bit awkward at times and so cute. He protects Leisa for what he says is out of interest for himself, but let's face it; he likes Leisa, friend or more....

This book was so freaking amazing, I devoured it in almost a day. And then found myself disappointed the second book wasn't out yet, but stoked at the same time to learn it was releasing soon after I had read the first one. This book delves deeper into Kyrion and Leisa's relationship and gives us a look into the world of night elves. If you haven't touched the second, but read the first, I HIGHLY suggest continuing the series. And now I learned the third book will be about Evaraine... which I'm a bit nervous about. I was so invested in Leisa and Kyrion, it'll be hard to switch to Evaraine and even Vaniell...

But I'm ready for it. And I think I may have found a new favorite series.

Playlist:

Castle Walls by T.I ft Christina Aguilera

Heartless by Kanye West

Rise Above It by I Prevail

DONTTRUSTME by 3OH!3

Villain by Lily Rose

Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish

All Out by Overtime

The World We Made by Ruelle

The Red by Chevelle

Under Your Scars by Godsmack

Breaking Down by I Prevail

Popular Monster by Falling in Reverse

Wolf Totem by The HU ft Papa Roach

Dance Macabre by Ghost

What's Up Danger by Blackway

You Should See Me in a Crown by Billie Eilish

Monster by Boondox

VICES by Mothica

Bloodshed by Upchurch

MONSTERS by Shinedown

Finish Line by SATV Music

The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars

Control by Halsey