Series: Beholder

Synopsis:

For Elea, there’s never been a better time to turn away from witch life. The Tsar is in exile. The Vicomte is dead. And Rowan? Falling for him only broke her heart. Instead of casting spells, Elea spends her days running Braddock Farm and enjoying the flirtations of the very handsome and non-magical Philippe. Everything is going perfectly, except for one problem.

Someone’s trying to kill her.

Shujaa is a Changed One, a Creation Caster mage whose mutated form makes him invincible in battle. Now that the Tsar and Vicomte are gone, Shujaa wants to rise and rule. To do so, he must eliminate all those powerful enough to oppose him, and Elea is top on his list. Anyone who offers her aid quickly ends up dead.

In the end, there’s only one person who can keep Elea safe while helping her defeat Shujaa: Rowan. Like it or not, Elea must team up with her old love. With Philippe along for the ride, Elea plans to team with Rowan without losing her heart this time. But that’s when all her plans fall apart…

Review:

Cherished was action packed and a ton of fun.  I know I’ve said it before, but this series is so easy to devour.  It’s filled with magic, fabulous characters and a plot that keeps me entertained.  I absolutely adore the Beholder Series!  This time around I was ecstatic to see that the puzzle pieces were falling into place and so many of my questions were finally getting answered.  So here are some of my favorite things about the third book in this series –

✮Redemption –

“Would it change anything to say I can explain?”
“Some lines can’t be uncrossed.”
“But my culture isn’t yours. When we exchanged mating bands, you saw my soul. Am I capable of such terrible deceit as to become betrothed to another?”
“Souls are tricky things. I once thought my friend Tristan was incapable of deceit.”
“I’m not him.”

This book toyed with my emotions in the best of ways.  I’m more than impressed!  You see, I started getting frustrated that so many of the characters spoke in riddles, didn’t tell Elea what was going on and seemed to know what was best for her.  I was about ready to throttle quite a few of them.  And Rowan was sadly even in that group.  But looking back, oh how Rowan deserved more of my faith in him!  Because we finally started to learn truths.  And it wasn’t just an oh okay that makes sense kinda thing.  It was an oh my gosh, I definitely get it and all is forgiven kinda thing.   So have faith, because that was the one of the best explanations I have ever read!

✮Heartfelt characters –

My mind became a blank as I strode toward Rowan. Curse the gods, the man was smirking.
How I hated him.
Definitely.
Possibly.

Whether it was Elea, who was a heroine that was fierce and deserved my respect.  Or Rowan who melted my heart and made me want to steal him out of this book.  To even new characters we meet, like Jicho, who were absolutely adorable.  There was something heartfelt about each and every one of them.  But my favorite moments, with all of these characters, was when Elea and Rowan were together.  Their chemistry was captivating and I loved being caught in their seductive spell.

✮That ending –

He paused by the edge of the bed. “I’m not going anywhere, Elea. You’re my heart and my future. I won’t ever give you up. I love you.”

That ending was everything I was desperately hoping for in the last two books.  It was beyond wonderful, beautiful, and heart warming.  It left me ecstatic to see how the final book will play out.  And the best part was that I was finally given the hope that I desperately needed.

Now I’m off to read the final book, I can’t wait!

PS Again there were typos in this book but I’m emailing them to the author so they can get fixed.

*Book was kindly provided by Christina Bauer in exchange for an honest review*

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Cursed #1 Review: Jen	Concealed #2 Reviews: Jen	Cherished #3 Review: Jen
Crowned #4 Review: Jen	Cradled #4.5 Review: Jen

Synopsis:

As a Grand Mistress Necromancer, Elea’s a witch who commands the ultimate power over spirit and bone. It’s magic that she’ll need in order to stop the Vicomte Gaspard from killing her Sisters by draining their magic along with their life force.

To find and free her fellow witches, Elea must venture into some of the most dangerous places in the realm. What starts off as a rescue quest could easily turn into a suicide mission. And with the handsome warlock Rowan along to help, Elea may be risking more than her life. Her growing feelings for Rowan might put her heart on the line, too.

Review:

*Spoilers for Cursed #1, reading order at bottom of review*

Concealed was a solid second installment to the Beholder Series and was filled to the brim with magic, friendship, romance and betrayal.  And I loved that it was such an easy book to devour and read.  But you know what wasn’t easy?  The betrayal.  It was a bitter pill to swallow and don’t say I didn’t warn you. But besides that heart damaging fallout, I swear I’m not being overly dramatic lol, Concealed was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to see how this series will continue to go.

“Band of Eight? I only ran across five of them.”
Rowan’s smile broadened. “I might have helped a bit. Someone has to keep an eye on you.”
A warm feeling spread through my chest. Rowan watches over me. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“I know.”

Three months have passed since the end of Cursed, and Elea still hasn’t found her Sisters.  They were taken by the Victome, and while he didn’t seem much of a threat, with the Tsar gone he has become a man obsessed with power.  Elea is in a race to find her Sisters, before they are next in line to die at the hands of the Victome.  On her mission to find her Sisters, she comes into the path of Lady Amelia Masson, who is one of Victome’s adopted children.  With Amelia quick to join Elea’s aid, they have adventure, heartache and much more than either of them ever could have imagined in their future.

Amelia gripped my hands again. “Do you think we can really do this?”
“Absolutely.” I was pleased that my voice didn’t waver.
Amelia nodded slowly. “I believe you.”

When we first met Amelia, I wasn’t too sure about her.  To put it mildly, the girl was rather quirky.  You’ll see what I mean!  But after spending time with her, I definitely warmed up and came to adore Amelia.  And the same thing happened with her brother, Philippe.  He was a total player, but his love for his sister and his aid to Elea quickly won me over too.  The three of them together made the most interesting team!  I loved that they built their friendship on a mutual goal, and over time their trust and friendship with one another grew.

I can’t afford to feel more for you than I already do.”
Rowan’s eyes took on that intense look I knew so well. A muscle worked in his jaw for a long moment. “I understand. We both have work to do.”
I exhaled. “I’m glad you can accept the truth.”
“I didn’t say that.” He scooped up the ropes and offered them to me. “This isn’t over.”

But what I loved watching grow the most was Elea and Rowan.  Rowan was there for Elea, time and again.  Not only was he there to physically help her out, but emotionally too.  And if that wasn’t enough for me to fall that much harder him, I loved that he let Elea know how much she meant to him.  His actions, words and loyalty to Elea made my heart oh so happy.  Rowan was still fierce and protective to Elea but his charming and seductive side shined through hard.  Especially when they were kissing.  Sigh, their kisses were electrifying.  It was impossible not to absolutely love everything there was about Rowan.

I wound my arms around his neck and pressed my cheek against his firm chest. “Thank you.”
“I’ll always come for you, Elea.” He gently kissed my cheek.

And I was so happy that Elea had Rowan in her life, because the girl never seemed to get a break from all that she was up against.  And that was definitely evident when she was slapped in the face with betrayal.  Again.  Now here’s the thing.  I saw this betrayal coming back in the first book.  The clues were definitely there and they were scattered throughout this book too.  I hoped that I had guessed wrong, but sadly I didn’t. *cries*  Lies, betrayal and deceit stung my heart, just as hard as it did to Elea.  And I’m just standing here hoping that we get all of our whys answered in the next book because that ending was brutal.  I’m not okay with what unfolded and I’m definitely going to need a very solid explanation as to why some things were done.  So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there’s a lot more hope to be found in the next book.  Elea most definitely deserves it!  Now I’m off to start the next!

PS Again there were typos in this book but I’m emailing them to the author so they can get fixed.

*Book was kindly provided by Christina Bauer in exchange for an honest review*

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Cursed #1 Review: Jen	Concealed #2 Reviews: Jen	Cherished #3 Review: Jen
Crowned #4 Review: Jen	Cradled #4.5 Review: Jen