I loved this book! I have always enjoyed reading historical fantasy romance books and this one was surprisingly good. I loved the romance and tension in this book a lot!

It has been a while since I have read a historical fantasy romance. Boy was I missing out. Ella Leon is a new author to me and him in love with her writing and her storytelling.

In this stunning story we find Lady Amara Abbott. She has status and wealth but that doesn’t matter to the ton of London Society. Her heritage is Filipino, and this causes them to treat her differently. Now there is Darren Pierce. He is heir to the Silver Order, who Amara blames for her father’s death. On a mission for his own father Darren now has to be connected and involved with Amara. With feelings for each other stirring up can they find a way for loyalty and love?

What an unexpected adventure for me. I wonderful reminder of why I love the fantasy romance. It is so well written with everything I love about fantasy like secrets, magic, adventure, amazing characters and of course perfect romance. I can’t wait to go back and read the rest of this series. I hope it’s like this one and I won’t be able to put it down.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for letting me enjoy this story. Get ready to experience the adventure yourself.

Whew another fantasy romance involving the Silver Order!
We have the heir to the order Darren Pierce who has allowed his father to physically and emotionally brutalize him after the passing of his mother!
Darren realizes his father has gone to far when the Order wants to go after Amara Abbott, Countess of Webb!
Darren was a childhood friend of hers but they grew out of touch!
Amara has been grief stricken at the death of her father!
Now her mother is ill and there is only one way of possibly saving her!
Amara is attracted to Darren but fears he will only make improper advances toward her like the rest of the Ton! She is a Philippino and must resist lewd advances because of her mixed heritage!
When Darren befriends her she is suspicious and detests his father for sending her father on a mys Dion that ended his life!
Amara’s mother is very ill with no cure in sight! When her grandmother arrives from the Philippines and tells Amara she’s to return home to save her life and bring back a life saving cure!
Amara is afraid but knows it’s her only chance! She brings her trusted servant and friend and nonstop action and some chaos erupts!
Amara must separate truth from deception! Friends from foes!
Darren pursues her to protect her but they both have secrets!
Amara makes some foolish choices at times and gets poor Darren injured more than once! Darren is a man truly in love!
Amara has to choose who to trust will she make the correct choice!? Bravo well done!

Two brave MCs get together to uncover mysterious emeralds. Their journey across the seas puts them in close proximity. Between the dangers of sea, secrets being uncovered, andhidden societies Amara and Darren lean on their wits and each other to solve mysteries ans fall in love.

Overall a decent read.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a historical romance quite like this. A biracial heroine in 1910s London, a secret society heir who claims to be an alchemist, and a voyage to the Philippines in search of folklore, family, and a possibly magical cure – it’s a heady mix, and one I found both unusual and refreshing.

Amara is a Countess with status and independence, but none of that shields her from the racism of the ton – the men chasing her all seem to want an exotic mistress, not a wife. Darren, meanwhile, is the kind of protector who hides a soft centre under all his inherited obligation and secrecy. Their journey – via storms, kidnapping and even a whaling ship – has serious adventure to it. That particular encounter was unexpectedly affecting – the whale’s death is not glossed over, and while treated as a necessary reality of the time, it was still pretty heart-wrenching.

There’s plenty of miscommunication, but also real moments of earned trust – Amara believes in Darren even when he gives her every reason not to, and it’s clear that he, and those around him, respect her fully, never treating her differently for her heritage. I would’ve loved more on the magic and folklore side, and the love scenes do fade to black, but the sheer originality and emotional pull of this story kept me engaged. A bold, adventurous romance with a heroine who quietly steals the show.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Book three takes us on an adventure with Darren and Amara. Amara is sailing across the seas to find emeralds. Darren is attempting to both get away from his father and make him proud of him at the same time. Overall, the story is riveting and well done. It's not really a fantasy story more a possibility of a fantasy as the emeralds aren't used in the story for that genre. There were a few tough hurdles to deal with regarding racism and whaling. This just proves to me that the historical portion of the story has the desired depth. Each book can standalone and is worthy of your time to read and experience life before us.

Loved reading the exciting and engaging romance story. Amara leaves to find the hidden healing powers of the emeralds for her mother, and Darren wants to protect Amara from all of the unsavory villains. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, and a must read riveting love story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

The Emerald Enchantress by Ella Leon is a third person dual-POV speculative historical romance set during the Victorian era. Lady Amara is more pragmatic than some of her peers and is looking for someone of her rank or higher to marry her who will respect her and her half-Filipino heritage. Unfortunately the men at the ton who are interested in her want to keep her as a mistress. Except Darren Pierce, but when he follows her on a voyage to Manila to get access to magical emeralds and Amara isn’t sure if he can be trusted.

Like the other books in the Silver Order series, the magic system is more on the speculative side and impacts the world in small ways instead of grand epic stakes of a lot of fantasy romances. Because of this, I don’t really feel that this is a ‘fantasy’ romance and is more speculative like the rest of the series. The emeralds have some magical properties, but the book is less about the danger they pose and more about the hunt for them and how it’s related to Darren and Amara’s romance. There is also a character who has healing abilities, though who that is is revealed much later.

Darren and Amara struggle to meet each other in the middle because Darren is so determined to get out from under his father’s thumb that he’s willing to do almost anything, including sail across the ocean to get the emeralds for his father to do it, and Amara has had so many close calls with men who later admit that they don’t see her as wife material. Their goals are not really opposed so much as they have a lot of misunderstandings and work to do in order for them to finally start seeing eye-to-eye.

I really liked how this book interacted with the time period that it exists in. While I’m not a fan of cruelty to animals in my media, the story did show whaling in all its gore as well as discussing colonization and racism and the complicated feelings a biracial person might have when they are both the colonized and the colonizer. Of all the books in the aries, I think this one does the best job at using the setting and how it’s connected to the leads to the fullest.

Content warning for depictions of animal cruelty and racism

I would recommend this to fans of speculative romance set in the Victorian and Regency era and readers of fantasy romance looking for a lighter fantastical element.

A dramatic love story brimming with magic, danger, suspense, and a dash of true love. I like uniquely named characters and I'm always invested in a beautiful cover and a stunning story. Read it, please! You won't regret it.