I have been craving a shorter Romantasy lately and this prequel novella was exactly what I was looking for. At around 100 pages there is just enough to get you into the story and root for the characters while also feeling happy with where things end. I have not read any of the other books in this world so the characters are all new to me but I loved Kelvar and Alyx. Now I need to go pick up the others books to see where things go from here!

“Your gentle bloom is more powerful than my raging storm.” “Your storm is beautiful too. And a flower can’t blossom without a little rain.”
I'm always a little nervous reading a novella. Many times you are left just wanting a little bit more, something explained a touch more in depth, but I should know better than to ever doubt S.C. Grayson. As with her full-length novels, she gives us everything we needed from the story and more. You don't have to have to read the other books in this series to enjoy this prequel novella, but you absolutely should! If you think Alyx and Kelvar share a love that will move mountains, you will not survive the love between Keera and Erix.

I received an eARC directly from the author and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.

- Desert setting
- He is the most powerful warlord for a clan
- She is the daughter of a different clan lord
- She is the most powerful healer
- He kidnaps her
- One horse
- Share one bedroll to preserve heat
- Touch her and bye bye
- Spicey

This was a fast-paced, romantic novella that takes place in a fantasy world. This is about finding your true love and not fighting that love. I really enjoyed how refreshing this novella was. I love a good slow-burn, especially when the characters fight the tension between them. Yet, it is nice to take a break from that trope and read about characters who are not scared or so full of guilt and low self-esteem that they pretend they don’t have feelings or are not attracted to the other. Currently, I am really into books where there is direct communication, the characters are bluntly honest with themselves and others (especially the love interest), and cut the crap. This novella was that and I was alllllll for it!

I was drawn in from the first chapter, I mean IMMEDIATELY hooked. S.C. was not playing around…. The plot and action starts immediately. Emotions like anxiety, anticipation, and fear were all provoked in the first two chapters. Then I felt joy, longing, anger, surprise, love, and so much more as the book progressed. The plot was strong, the tension was high, there were multiple action scenes, and the romance was thick (pun intended). The writing was descriptive and showed us thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and body’s responses. We were not told really anything, we were shown, and I loved this! Both characters had significant growth and found themselves through by finding each other and being challenged. The fact that S.C. could fit all the above in and not make it feel crammed or rushed within 110 is IMPRESSIVE!!!

The setting was in the desert, this was unique and I enjoyed this. Further, the magic stood out as different from other books in this genre. This was a novella focused on romance and setting up the world for book 1; therefore, we were not told or shown a whole lot about the world or magic system, but that did not impact the story in any way. We were given just enough to understand and have it make sense. I am excited to learn more in book 1.

I am sold and plan to pick up book 1 ASAP.

I have posted this on Goodreads and plan to update Amazon when able to do so.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8208359922

4.5⭐

This is the first book from this author I have read and I found her writing style very easy and approachable. There were plenty of descriptives, you could easily picture where you were and what was happening, but these did not bog down the story. The prose flowed well, never dragging you out of the story to double check something.

There was a surprising amount of story, worldbuilding and character development in this little gem of a novella. Indeed, I found it impressive how much "story" was packed into these 109 pages (yes things happened quickly, but the pacing still felt right). If the author can do this with so few pages I'm looking forwards to finding out what she can do with a full length novel.

I will making room in my TBR for more books by this author in the future.