I thought this story would be more about magic but instead it felt overly religious and particularly anti-feminist. That's a non-starter for me.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

I never really connected to this book or the characters. I should have loved Marta but the overall world and writing style just did not draw me in enough.

This one took me a while to get into, for some reason I just couldn’t seem to gel with the main character at all! But after several none starts, and swapping my mood, I found myself eager to see what would happen in each chapter. Wonderfully unpredictable and lots of fun, this is well worth snagging next time you need a read!

I really did not like this book. The characters felt very young, despite the topics they were debating on and the argument just kept going in circles. I actually did not finish the book. The chapters I read were very predictable, and I just do not like Marta as a character. I think the main reason I was so irritated by this book was the main character.

*thank you to Netgalley, Teresa A. Harrison and Acorn Publishing/Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


2 stars.

While this wasn't bad exactly, I found it just wasn't for me. I just couldn't really get into it and wasn't that interested. I'm not sure what I had been expecting so I had been open minded while going into it. Unfortunately it's not one I will continue to read the series of but I am thankful I was given a chance to read this book. I hope others like it more than I did.

The Maiden is a book of love, betrayal and magic if you are looking for a book to take you on a journey in a world of magic then this book is for you. A must read for all the magic lovers out there.

Marta and Jayme are old friends with different beliefs. Marta dreams of becoming a healer. Jayme has been schooled by the black-coats, a group of priests who claim women are inferior, and he fears Marta is jeopardizing her eternal future. Despite a heated debate over Marta’s soul, Jayme betrays her to the priests. The consequences of his betrayal change Marta’s life forever. After a brutal massacre, Marta awakens deep in the forest overcome with grief for her lost sisters, but the world will not let her rest. The tragedy has changed her. She hears the voice of nature, eventually steering her toward a small cottage in the wilderness. There she learns of nature’s magic and what it means to be a Lightwalker. The path is there for her to follow. If she’s strong enough to embrace it…

Marta and Jayme are old friends with different beliefs. Marta dreams of becoming a healer. Jayme has been schooled by the black-coats, a group of priests who claim women are inferior, and he fears Marta is jeopardizing her eternal future.

Despite a heated debate over Marta’s soul, Jayme betrays her to the priests. The consequences of his betrayal change Marta’s life forever.

Despite this promising description, I was disappointed. The story just didn't make sense, and the characters were shallow. Also, starting of with saying women are less is not the best way (for me).

I would like to thank Netgalley and Acorn Publishing for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted by the blanket which made me think of a fairy tale. You can see the pretty Marta from behind.

We learn that Marta and Jayme have known each other since childhood. The women are attacked by priests, Jayme immediately puts Marta in safety who will find herself in the forest and surprise a conversation. Still in danger, she'll have to run away. She will find herself with elves who will help her and drive her to a cabin. As for Jayme, he's going to do everything he can to find her.

A first book read almost all at once, so much did I get hooked on the story so gripping, addictive, full of suspense and twists and turns and the characters so endearing. Looking forward to reading on.

I did not finish - I have tried reading this book on multiple occasions and just could not get into it.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I am not sure about this. The deep religious debate in this novel and the part about women being inferior kind of pushed me off. I did not get a lot of the story. It did not make a lot of sense. The characters did not have a lot of dimension. Not sure if I will continue to read the series or not.

I recieved a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For the first few chapters I had to push myself to keep reading. I found the religion a little much to begin with, not knowing where it was going it felt a little heavy handed before getting to know the characters well. But I did push on, and once I got to know the characters and started to care for them it made more sense and I found the religious parts quite interesting even if in my opinion they dragged on a little. I think there could have been a little more to some chapters they felt like very long lessons and not just for the characters.

There was a little too much repition for me, some lessons were shown both to Marta and Jayme, with no alteration so the reader was reading the exact same thing they had read a few pages ago.

Overall I did find this book interesting and really did enjoy it. I am not sure I will be reading the second one though, there was no hook at the end to get me wanting to delve into the next one. BUt I will see when it comes out.

3 out of 5 stars

This started off really awesome, with dark themes of people using religion for their own gain & as an excuse to persecute others, but maybe 1/4th in got into just fairy magic stuff that was presented in such a boring way & felt so convenient.
It’s still a good book, but my expectations from how good the beginning was continued throughout the book, and I kept hoping it would get as good as the beginning again.

I actually really liked this book. I am interested to know whether there is more in the works or not. I would 9/10 recommend.

Despite the lovely cover, Maiden was not what I expected it to be. The story just didn't make sense, and the characters were shallow. I couldn't get interested enough to keep reading. I skimmed through this one. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 out of 5 Stars

This book has an interesting concept, the struggle between new and old beliefs, the place of women and their beliefs in a changing society.

Jayme and Marta start off on differing views regarding religion and beliefs. Jayme truly believes he is saving Marta's soul, but I did get the impression that he struggled with his new beliefs. He believes that the men he follows are righteous that they simply want to save people. It would have been easy for him to just keep following through with this even after everything he saw, to set up a conflict between the two main characters that doesn't need to happen. I appreciated that the author decided not to go this route.

But that leaves little conflict to this story and that is where things fall apart for me. Everything is focused on their training and that is it. This bills itself as the first of a series but it could have easily been a stand along book as there is nothing that brings me back to wanting to read the next. Would the priests be back as a main conflict or could it be the character that gets introduced right at the end who would be the next advisory? There is no hook or hint at where the book will take us next which is a disappointment since it does have an interesting concept.

Favourite Quote: "You must always be prepared for the unexpected. We seldom know where the path of our life will take us. From our place on the earth, we cannot see any farther than the next bend in the road."

Synopsis

Marta and Jayme have been friends for so long that they don't remember a time they weren't in each others lives. They know each others secrets, expressions and dreams, that is until a group of black-coated priests make themselves at home in their village and pull Jayme into their new religious ways. Marta would rather follow her heart and celebrate the earth in 'pagan' ways with her aunt Elaine and friends.
Jayme is worried for Marta's soul, so he believes he's doing the right thing by telling the priests of one of their celebrations for Marta and of the planting season and new beginnings, he had no idea it would end in bloodshed. Jayme snaps out of his self-righteous new ways and instead sacrifices everything to save Marta and the other women.

'A thought bubbled to the surface and then rolled off her tongue. "You think I'm less than you. After all, the new priests claim women are inferior. You're afraid I'll stain your soul. Aren't you?" Marta sniffed in disgust, but her heart quickly softened at the sight of Jayme's fallen gaze."'

My Thoughts

Firstly, I would like to thank the author for providing me of a copy of her book. I really got into the story and felt the journey was a great way of introducing her first book in her Lightwalker series.
The book is told from two perspectives, Marta and Jayme. Marta is determined to follow her heart and live for what she has always trusted and believed in, she tries to convince Jayme to do the same as he once did. The priests have brought too many unwanted rules to their once peaceful free village, and now Marta must keep her beliefs a secret from the black-coated newcomers. When Jayme unintentionally puts her life in danger, Marta has no choice but to escape from the village to avoid being caught by the priests or their soldiers. This new heartbreaking journey brings Marta to a world between worlds full of magic, purpose and destiny that she didn't think possible.

The story itself plays with religion in various perspectives, the means of listening to your heart, the guardians of the world who keep the balance and the beliefs of the new religious priests who view any early celebration as a sin that must be overthrown and overpowered. For someone who is not religious personally, it opens your eyes to the world and it's beliefs with it's pleasing recollection and detail with the supernatural twist.

'The only constant in life is change. The warmth of the sun is beautiful, but without the cloudy skies and nourishing rains, the crops won't grow. Even the warm days of summer must give way to harvest and the sleepiness of winter. The earth must rest and prepare for the next growing season." 

The scenes were really nice, you could place yourself in the setting whether it was getting lost in the forest, the Little Mans home or in the mountains during Marta's journey to discover who she is meant to be. I have to say though, for a journey of discovering who you are, not much really happens between the characters besides realising they are both destined to be something more.
Marta travels through the forest, discovers the Little Man who guides her to Old Mother in the mountains, she spends months learning how to use herbs to heal the sick and then goes back to the Little Man to stand a trial for her LightWalker destiny.
Jayme experiences a bit more, he works hard to become strong and controlling his emotions with the help of Little Man and his own traveling guardian Gorenth. He uses his new strength to find the stolen women who were not killed in the massacre and return them home before confronting the black-coats. It didn't feel very powerful or compelling but his path was clear in his actions to becoming a LightWarrior.

'There is a reason the two of you connected and found friendship where it might not have been expected. The light within you both shines brightly. You must walk your own paths, but in the end, they lead to the same place.'

Was all that I expected . Enjoyed through and through! Enjoyed the story line and authors writing . Thank you for letting me review!

Although not what I expected, it is a good book if you've got nothing else to read. I was a little bit disappointed, because the plot sounded mesmerizing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Sadly, I was unable to finish this novel. While it started out with gusto, it fell off. The story began in such a way that I needed to know what happened next, but it quickly devolved into a novel that I felt like I had to read, instead of a novel that I wanted to read. I made it about halfway through before I felt like I had to give up. I appreciate being given the opportunity to read Maiden, and I wish that I had enjoyed it as much as I did at the beginning.

Final Thoughts
This novel started off strong with characters that I enjoyed knowing more about. It didn’t stay that way. I did enjoy parts of this book, but it wasn’t enough to keep me reading.