Avery, the first book in Charlotte McConaghy's romantic fantasy adventure trilogy, The Chronicles of Kaya, introduces a nation divided by war. For centuries the people of Kaya and Pirenti have fought bloody battles for dominance. The Pirenti, ruled by the sadistic Barbarian Queen, have the advantage of size and strength, the Kyan rely on the magic of the Warders and the bravery of their people to fight the tyranny.
During a mission to assassinate the queen in her castle, Avery is caught and savagely murdered much to the horror of his bond-mate, Ava. The people of Kyan die in pairs, and his passing should condemn Ava to death, but instead she is the first of her kind to survive. With her soul ripped in two, and cast out of Kayan society as 'unnatural', Ava assumes Avery's identity and plots her revenge on the Queen but her plans are thwarted when she is captured by Ambrose, the Pirenti Prince.
Ambrose, like his elder brother Thorne, has been raised by his mother to hate the Kyan, scorning their physical weakness and soft emotions. A fierce and merciless warrior he is nevertheless beginning to question his mother's cruelty and the endless bloodshed. Tasked to transport the Kayan boy he captured to the Pirenti prison isle, and then shipwrecked during the journey, he slowly comes to admire Avery's courage and tenacity, challenging all he has been taught ...and his barren heart.

Unusually, the narrative of Avery is carried by the first person perspectives of Ava and Ambrose, as well as Thorne, Ambrose's elder brother, and Thorne's wife, Roselyn. The focus of the tale is on the emotional journey of these four characters, struggling to reconcile their expectations and desires. The characters are quite complex and stir a mixture of admiration, pity, distaste and respect.

It wasn't until I began to organise my thoughts to write this review that I realised there were elements of the romantic relationships that made me really uncomfortable. There is the idea that a man's violent nature can be changed by love, that Roselyn's patience with her abusive husband, and Ava's endurance of Ambrose's violence, are eventually rewarded by that change. That the Prince's are excused because of their twisted upbringing, and eventually redeemed simply because these women love them. There is some attempt to mitigate the dysfunction with apologies, promises and redemption, but it is still a troublesome model of romance.

I did enjoy a number of other elements of the plot, particularly the twist that reveals the Barbarian Queen's secrets. The action scenes, even those that are quite brutal, are well written, as are the more intimate and emotional scenes. Avery explores a number of facets of love - the love of country, and the bonds between siblings, parents and lovers.

The world-building is fairly simplistic, I understood the Pirenti but didn't feel I learned much about Kaya. I did find I could easily visualize the Pirenti castle, the hazards of the Prison isle and Ava soaring through the sky on the back of her Pegasi.

Avery is a tale of love, hate, revenge and redemption. Though I have my reservations about the romance I did enjoy the story in the moment and found it to be a quick read.

finding the strength to love against all of the demons inside of you, telling you not to trust and open your heart again.
Yes it sounds familiar and like a lot of womens fiction. but that doesn't mean it isn't good!
medium paced, it allows you to digest what has been written. The writing style is engaging and makes it oh so easy to turn the next page.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The people of Kaya die in pairs. When one lover dies, the other does too. So it has been for thousands of years – until Ava.For although her bondmate, Avery, has been murdered and Ava’'s soul has been torn in two, she is the only one who has ever been strong enough to cling to life. Vowing revenge upon the barbarian queen of Pirenti, Ava’'s plan is interrupted when she is captured by the deadly prince of her enemies.
Prince Ambrose has been brought up to kill and hate. But when he takes charge of a strangely captivating Kayan prisoner and is forced to survive with her on a dangerous island, he must reconsider all he holds true . . .In a violent country like Pirenti, where emotion is scorned as a weakness, can he find the strength to fight for the person he loves . . . even when she'’s his vengeful enemy?

There are times when a book takes you by surprise and you say out loud, at the end of the book "Well, that I didn't expect!" And that's how I was with this book by Australian author, Charlotte McConaghy.

A fantasy/romance novel, it is told from 4 POV's - Ava and Ambrose, as well as Ambrose's brother, Thorne, and his wife, Rose. (Let me just say that this book lost half a star for such tacky names for the married couple - Thorne and Rose. Might sound clever, but really isn't.) While most of the book is told from Ava or Ambrose's side, there is quite a fascinating story going on with the other two as well.

The world-building was unique, with each character adding layers of our understanding of it, rather than just info-dumping on us and leaving the reader a little shellshocked. I was also impressed by the flow of the story - there was a good balance between tension and calm, giving the reader time to take a breath and get ready for the next surprise.

With all the hallmarks of good story-telling: conspiracy, romance, mystery, jealousy and revenge, this book is certain for the must-recommend list.

The other downside for me was the romance - the "I hate him/her" story that played out for a while is just so typical for a romance novel, I thought we could have done without it and the story would have benefitted from it.


Paul
ARH