Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 0.5🌶️
Trope: Enemies to lovers

This was a bit YA which I’m not usually a huge fan of but I really enjoyed it!!

It has enemies to lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance, trauma bonding … some of my favourite tropes!

If you’re fairly new to fantasy this is a must read for you!! There’s not a lot of world building or politics which makes it really easy to follow along and really get into the story line.

A magical read! Highly recommend🥰✨

This was a strong opening chapter in the Elven Kingdoms series, it had a great overall concept and thought it worked with the romance element. The overall story worked with the concept and was glad I got to read this. It introduces the world perfectly and can’t wait for more from this book. Donna Grant writes a great overall feel and can’t wait for more.

In most romantic stories, even if the characters hate each other at first sight, there is a gradual warming up to each other. The characters in this book can't stand each other at the beginning and in one chapter, their view of each other changes drastically. It felt so unreal and was a big turn-off for me. Rising Sun was a quick read and I think that many people who love an enemies-to-lovers trope would enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me.
*3.5 stars

Rising Sun is a new series that spins off from another of Donna Grant's series. Grant steps away from her Dragon Kings to a new group. Yasmin is a human in Elf territory. She escaped from imprisonment in another kingdom and because she was caught stealing to help the children she cares for, she is forced to take Ravi over to the kingdom she previously escaped.

He has no love for humans and she has no desire to return to her past. The mission brings them closer together. I like the new series and expect that it will be as good as her other series.

My first by Donna Grant, but definitely not my last. I was completely enthralled by this world. And the emotional toll on both Yasmin & Ravi. They start out as enemies, both on their own journeys that become intertwined. Then friends, to then lovers. A slow burn that keeps you on the edge. I look forward to more in this series

Four and a half
Wow this is an excellent start to this new spin off series from the Dragon Kings and I'm already loving the different types of Elves mentioned. Essentially we have Ravi, an agent sent to infiltrate a notorious, secretive resort that caters to based instincts as he commits to capturing a magical weapon. Yasmim escaped from Shaldorn and has absolutely no desire to return but when blackmailed to show Ravi how to get in she very reluctantly takes on the task. As a Sun Elf the inhospitable icy mountains are a challenge for Ravi but Yasmin might be human but she's not exactly helpless !
This was really fun and very entertaining and I particularly enjoyed the pace as the couple got to know each other. Ravi is very independent and doesn't trust easily but his kind nature just shone through. Yasmin has had awful things happen in her life and yet still has compassion in spades and she came across as very courageous and a worthy heroine. Whilst not exactly enemies to lovers this story had lots going on to recommend it and the epilogue means the author is already setting up to return to some of these characters and I for one will definitely want to read more.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

A new series
A Fantasy with magic,drama,mysteries,twists,suspense,and romance.
Yasmin a human and Ravi a elf are sent on a dangerous mission to retrieve something from very evil place.
Things don't go as they plan.
Very intense story.
Voluntarily reviewed.

3.5/5

Received as an ARC, thank you to Donna Grant for the opportunity to read this book!

In a world where the elves outnumber humans 20 to 1, humans find themselves at a major disadvantage to the magic wielders. In Rising Sun, we follow the POV of Ravi, our elf MMC, and Yasmin, our human FMC. Forced to work together to prevent a humanitarian disaster, they have to put their prejudices aside in order to survive.

I found myself engaged from the very beginning, despite finding some of the world building a bit clunky, and I only got more interested as time went on. I was unaware that Donna Grant had so many series already published, I think potentially reading one of those might have helped the beginning of this for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! The love story within this novel was so fun and followed all of the tropes I find myself enjoying. I did go into it fairly blind and I believe that might be the best way to start this book. If you like an independent, takes no crap from anyone, fmc then you will definitely fall in love with Yasmin! I did find it hard to enjoy Ravi at first, but I think as time goes on in the story, he begins to change in a way that made me more apt to liking him.

This is romantasy at its finest, even for a non-romance person. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced, entertaining, and easy fantasy book!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fascinating, fun, action-packed and I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you, Donna Grant, just when we think we know all the players in the Dark Universe, we find out there are more! This is fabulous news!! Seven genus of elves, nice! Enemy to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes as well. “Rising Sun” is the first book in the new series, “Elven Kingdoms.”

A human, Yasmin and the Sun Elf Ravi have a mission together. Yasmin and Ravi - who cannot tolerate one another, are sent on a mission together to Shaldorn to thwart an evil plot that will start a war with the Dragons. The journey to Shaldorn is just the beginning of this wild ride.. There is danger, not to mention the lies and deceit - even mystery and you won’t be able to put it down. I need to mention the magic, which rounds out this perfect novel; and the graphic descriptions of the beauty of Zora. It’s just like being there. Every.single.time..

It was an excellent read, with a few unexpected twists and turns, and Donna makes it all feel like the reader is present, watching it all play out. Thank you for this new addition to the Dark Universe, it’s a great read and well worth your time!

This is book 1 in the Elven Kingdoms books and while it can be read as a stand alone, I would at least read Dragon Lover as the Elves are introduced in that book! Nothing could make Yasmin return to Shaldorn, the place of nightmares. But when she’s caught stealing, she’s given an ultimatum: take Ravi over the Dangerous Peaks to the stronghold or face imprisonment. She has no choice but to agree, though she intends to escape the elf as soon as she reaches the mountains. Yet, as they battle nature itself, the two enemies find common ground—and an all-consuming passion. Can they prevail in their dangerous heist, or be torn apart by a betrayal?

Most of this book I absolutely loved! Most of it. Yasmin is a human who has been through the worst things you can think of. She is just trying to survive in a world that seems to hate humans, no matter their age. She has managed to create a family of sorts in the midst of it all, and knows she will do whatever she must in order to try to keep them safe. I loved her character and the way she has this sense of not just responsibility, but she also has this strength of will that keeps pushing her to be the best that she can be. Even when others expect the worst of her. Ravi was the one I had some issues with. He judges people so fast, without even knowing a thing about them. Or even trying to understand their point of view. And he judged Yasmin so harshly right from the start. But once he is forced to truly spend time with her and actually understand what she and her family have truly been through, it opens his eyes to so much more in their world. And he makes up for his mistakes and learns from them, which I absolutely did love. I loved the Dark elves that are shown in this, and I hope we get to see more of! I also loved a certain Mountain elf and how much he cares about not only his people but the people he claims as friends. The story sucked me in and kept me needing to know more. And I definitely need to know more about One!!! All in all, definitely a great read and I absolutely am loving the Elves! Because who doesn't love Elves!!!

Rising Sun has a fresh take on the world of Elves and creates a brutally beautiful land. Yasmin struggles as a human in a elven dominated territory and winds up having to say yes to an arrangement with DIA agent Ravi. The Sun elf and the human must cross dangerous terrain and experience brutal conditions to get to the stronghold of Shaldorn. The last place Yasmin would ever want to be. Yasmin’s plans of escaping the elf once they hit the mountains starts to drift away as she gets to know the man behind the pointed ears. The two enemies soon find themselves fighting together rather than fighting each other.

I thought this was a great story! Yas is likeable, strong, funny, and kind. She has reason to be made of stone with her past yet finds it in herself to still be a caring individual. She was a great character to follow.
I loveeeee getting our MMC POVs. It just makes the experience feel more whole to know their inner workings. Ravi is such a sensitive elf with a tough exterior. I really enjoyed their dynamic and the way they slowly just began to “fit”. The blend from strangers, enemies, tolerable partners, friends, into lovers is so fun to read. If you love that slow build you’ll love this.

The adventure portion of this was written great. I saw the mountains, felt the bite of the cold, endured the harsh elements along with our characters and felt as though I was climbing walls right along with them. The ending was perfect for resolving what had already happened and leaving us on that “let’s see what happens” note. Can’t wish to see what comes from this series and more from this author!

If you’re interested in :
🌙One Tent
🌙Elf’s
🌙Enemies to Lovers
🌙Slow burn romance
🌙High Fantasy
You’ll love this story!

First of all, thank you NetGalley and DL Grant, LLC for letting me read the book.

The book basically talked about the love between an Elf, Ravi, and a human, Yazmin.
Yazmin escaped Shaldorn, a fortress you can only enter by invitation. She escaped and came to Rannora where she helped 6 human children escape their elf parents and raised them. The DIA (not entirely sure what that is exactly) took her and told her she can escape imprisonment if she led Ravi to Shaldorn. She gave her word and agreed. For about 200 pages it talks about their travel up the mountains alone to Shaldorn. I stopped at page 200, the book wasn't my kind of style and I couldn't read it any further. It had no plot twists (which I like) and focused on their romance. Anyways, if you like romance, enjoy. If you like an exciting plot, I wouldn't recommend this to you.

3.25 ⭐️

I liked this one but it was so slow that it left me so uninterested at times. I liked the FMC, I liked her a lot. The romance is slow burn too you don’t really see any romance until the very end of the book. I was interested in the story itself but I didn’t get on well with the writing style, it felt quite choppy in parts which left me really uninterested and I did consider DNFing at some points. I would probably revisit this at some point and try again to see if I feel different about it.

ARC review - DNF at the 35% mark. I really really really wanted to like this story and I think it has tremendous potential. However, I think the writing style feels a bit disconnected from any emotion. I’m reading that she’s sad about leaving the kids and that she’s afraid, and yet I FEEL nothing about this. I don’t get those emotions from the characters because of the lack of depth.

I think this is supposed to be a romance fantasy and yet so far there is barely any relationship between the two characters and I felt a better chemistry between her and the stones.

I think eventually I may come back to finish it but right now I just think it’s too slow paced for me to get into. This far into the book it’s basically just some very tense camping and mentioning constantly that they don’t trust each other.

An elf and a human has to put their mutual animosity aside and face the horrors of their past in this magical tale.

Rising Sun is the first book in a new series about the elves on Zora that we first met in Dragon Lover (book 5 of the Dragon Kings series). I don’t know why I’m still surprised by the way that Donna Grant can create new characters and new plot lines in this super extensive universe that is already teeming with so many interesting characters and events.

Yasmin had a very traumatic past that was revealed in bits and pieces and showed her phenomenal fortitude. Ravi was an intriguing mixture of hard and soft. He had to be hard because of his job as spy, but he was very solicitous of Yasmin almost right from the start. Both had to let go of their race-based preconceived notions about each other.

Ravi and Yasmin’s journey to stop a war was fraught with nail-biting danger interspersed with moments of exquisite beauty and tenderness.
The elven world and culture seemed multi-faceted and interesting and I am excited to read more about them. And, as usual, the author very cleverly sprinkled subtle hints around at the end about what may be coming next.

I can highly recommend this entire universe of books if you like shifters, fae, elves, magic, thrilling action, and steamy romance. You can start with this book and this series, or go back and discover the magic of Donna Grant’s Dark World.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am loving this new series and can't wait for more. Donna Grant did it again by bringing us great characters and exciting stories.

NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL A WELL-DONE ROMANTIC FANTASY!!! This was my first time ever reading Donna Grant and it will certainly not be my last!!

In Rising Sun, we meet Yasmin, the strong, selfless and brave human with a sassy attitude. After being caught stealing, she is forced to help Ravi, a broody sun elf find passage into the fortress of Shaldorn, a place from her worst nightmares. Tropes include:

- one tent
- forced proximity
- enemies to lovers
- elves vs humans
- found family
- trauma rep

I was immediately hooked when I started listening to my advanced reader copy. The banter between Ravi and Yasmin was so well done, and I loved the gradual development of their relationship moving from enemies to friends to lovers. Though their love story is a highlight, it is second to the plot line in the book. Yasmin’s background story and the secrets within the fortress had my heart aching. Watching Ravi finally overcome his prejudice and open his eyes was such beautiful character growth (which is always an important factor in my 5 star picks).

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review. All ratings and opinions are entirely my own, and trust me when I say you want to check this new fantasy romance out!

I don't know where to begin.
This book consumed my mind the whole week.
I'm having a hard time moving on.
When I first read the first 10 chapters, I admit I was close to dnf'ing this book because it was so slow and nothing was happening.
I didn't even have any idea that it was a freaking slow burn 🤦‍♀️
But let me tell you, good thing I didn't stop because, HOLY MOLY!
The slow burn is burning soooo scorching hawt!
The tension between Ravi and Yasmin is off the charts! like jeeeeeez! my gosh!
And the spice?! *chef's kiss* it was divine!
Another thing is that I thought this was just another romantasy book about elves and fighting and all that, but hell, I did not expect this to be a dark, high romantasy book, and thats what caught my attention.
The writing style is impeccably good.
This is my first time reading from Donna Grant, and I'M A FAN!

I gave this book 3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Net Galley and DL Grant LLC for the ARC of this book. These are my honest opinions.

Rising Sun is a high fantasy with dragons, elves and a magic system. It’s an angsty slow burn, enemies to lovers romantasy.

The FMC is relatable, so I was rooting for her. She is forced to do the one thing she never wanted to do. This leads to high stakes and a fast pace.

It was a little slow to start and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it when it started with describing the different elf “varieties”? But, it quickly picked up the pace and I was invested.

It ends on a cliffhanger and is book one in a series…