I'm not quite sure what to say about this book. It was well written with a great premise, but I'm not sure if I truly liked the story or not. It was an interesting read with a large cast of characters. I think that I will set the book aside and read it again at a later date to see if my view changes on the book.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a day to really digest this book. There was a lot that happened over the span of hundreds of years, a complex cast of characters, and an interesting plot. What stayed with me was the fact that because of one mans decision to resort to violent ends, the reason behind which wasn’t really explained very well, he triggered the genocide of an entire line of his own family. And for what really? To prevent something that was foretold to happen anyways. The whole Morgan /Kane thing irritated me a bit, but I get it. Without it, you have no story.
The timelines and characters in this novel jumped around a bit too much for me. I had a hard time keeping track of people and places.
That all being said, I wasn’t really sold until the last 60 pages. That’s when everything started coming together and finally made some sense. I’m very curious to see where the author goes from here. The ending was satisfying and left the door wide open for another book. I’ll definitely be reading it.
Overall I would have actual given the book a 3.5 rating. It starts off complicated and a bit slow but stick with it.

The gift to manipulate the wills of people has been passed down through two warring clans with differing views on how to use it or not use it. The clan who does not want to use it has been in control, but the opposing clan is conducting secret warfare against them. In the midst of this, a being more powerful than either clan appears and unites the clans in an unexpected way.The idea behind this book was intriguing but I found that there wasn't enough follow-through to understand it completely. I loved that there was an ancient back story but felt that the ending was rushed and not explained well. It was a bunch of chaos and then it was all over and everyone was fine. While I did understand what the author was trying to get at, It seemed confusing at times.

I had to wait for a bit and ponder what I was going to write in this review. Why? Because there were a lot going on and this is an unusual story.



First of all, the story (yes, I know it's a fantasy) totally reminded me of several of William Shakespeare plays such as Romeo and Juliet, and any other play which consists of warring families, betrayals, forbidden love and etc.



This novel isn't for a quick read. It's divided into 5 parts. First part starts several centuries before the presents. Basically described the start of chain of motons into the presents. There are a lot of characters involved but as time goes in the book, you'll get the hang of it.



There will be some areas where it can confuse you.



Basically it involves two families (they share the same common ancestor) who are constantly at war with each other unbeknownst to both sides that there is another branch to the lineage who are hiding from both sides until a fate forced them to reveal themselves. The way they treatneach other is so brutal and shocking for human beings. Why so many years of war between the families? Because the ability to read, will, and bend the minds which can be very dangerous to the brains. Too much of it can kill the person unintentionally and intentionally.



The ending was okay. It was just too abrupt for my taste.



It will make you think. I had to ponder on this book for a day before I could write anything about it.



I'd give it a 3 3/4 stars.



I received this unusual ARC from Rowanvale Books through Net Galley in an exchange for my honest review.

This book was really interesting and kept me glued to the pages. I loved the characters and I will be keeping this author on my list for future reads.

I like the idea behind the story, it just didn't grab my attention.

I will not be reviewing because it was a DNF, just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it wasn't good. Netgalley made me give it a star rating, sorry!