The Cross of Tarlis: The Awakening by Julie D'Arcy is a Fantasy Romance novel set in the magikal world of Tarlis. While I did enjoy the story, the world building and cohesiveness of the story's parts seemed a bit disjointed to me.

The Necromancer Sernon is resurrected by the Priest Dannock-Shae, to conquer the lands, and it is up to Princess Tannith of Ellenroh and the Princes, Kaden and Erik of Wolfhead, along with their companions, to find the Cross of Tarlis and defeat Sernon. Along the way, a prophesy is revealed, that a union between Kaden and Tannith would be the only way to defeat Sernon. They are chased by Dannock-Shae and his army of Urakians as the group attempt to find the pieces of the Cross and navigate a strained, budding relationship between the two royals.

While overall, I did grasp decent knowledge of the characters, I had to piece that understanding together through multiple chapters. For example, it was not revealed Princess Tannith was decended from Elves and had pointed ears until several chapters into the book. Prince Erik and Prince Kaden were sons of a cursed King, so their eyes glowed and changed colors, but there was very little back story on the curse or how/why it was passed onto his sons.

Had I been able to become more invested in the characters, the world of Tarlis, and the barely there relationship between Tannith and Kaden, I would have rated the book higher. Upon completing The Cross of Tarlis: The Awakening, I don't feel a want to continue the series, nor any urge to follow the story of the characters to learn of their fates. As my favorite reads are Romantasy, it's a bit of a let down.