The third book in the Tairen Soul series has led me to the infinite conclusion that C.L. Wilson is a romance/fantasy literary phenom.
We've followed along the journey with Rain and Elly as they have traversed a path laden with obstacles, ranging from past love/war hang-ups, prejudice against Fey kind, fear of a growing darkness in the Eld, and a mating bond that has not completely formed into place.
How to describe this book and it's vast amount of twists turns, intrigue, and soul without completely ruining it for you....hmmm.
Imagine you are riding a bicycle through the forest.
The Beginning:
You see wonderous creations around you, a fantastical world of magic and wonder as you peddle along at a nice leisurely pace. The sun is shining, your hopes are high, and you feel as though you are physically becoming a part of the world around you.
We've followed along the journey with Rain and Elly as they have traversed a path laden with obstacles, ranging from past love/war hang-ups, prejudice against Fey kind, fear of a growing darkness in the Eld, and a mating bond that has not completely formed into place.
How to describe this book and it's vast amount of twists turns, intrigue, and soul without completely ruining it for you....hmmm.
Imagine you are riding a bicycle through the forest.
The Beginning:
You see wonderous creations around you, a fantastical world of magic and wonder as you peddle along at a nice leisurely pace. The sun is shining, your hopes are high, and you feel as though you are physically becoming a part of the world around you.
Elly and Rain have traveled back to the fading lands, where we further learn about Elly's magic and her ties to the Eld, Fey and Tairens. We also get a glimpse at the horrors of Rains past during the Eld wars, and why he keeps a part of himself from Elly (< which I come to suspect is WHY the true bond has not snapped into place between them).
The Middle:
You ride that bicycle on and on, and things start to get a little repetitive. You see tree after tree, plant after plant, squirrels having long winded political chats and jargon galore. Every once in a while there is a glimpse of something sparkly in the distance, but you just keep losing track of it, and wondering when it will get back to the interesting parts.
The middle of the story kind of dragged for me. While we learned new information regarding why the Fading Lands are dieing, there are still so many questions unanswered, and the list of them just seems to be growing. That's not to say that there were moments of some minor excitement, but it felt like a lot of political machinations needed addressing and I found myself skimming to a certain extent. (I'm not usually an impatient person, but I came to a point where I had SOOO many questions sitting in my head that I really Really needed to find the answers to).
And Finally, The Ending:
You're biking on and on, and as you near the end of your journey, you can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread. As if something bad is looming in the distance, you'd like to turn around and go back, but it's too late now. Suddenly, the turbo boosters strapped onto your peddles (the ones you conveniently forgot about) kick on and you hit the sound barrier at mock speed. You're adrenaline is beyond healthy proportions, your heart is pounding, but there's just no stopping this crazy train. Cause your brakes have gone out....
Full speed ahead.
The ending. Woah nelly. It was almost like you could feel the doom on the horizon. You could even taste it in your cheerios. With AS MINIMAL AMOUNT OF SPOILERS AS POSSIBLE, I will let you know that the ending, Kicked some serious A$$.
We got answers, characters we have desperately wanted to get answers Finally got them, and war has officially begun.
The thought of the ending being such a deliciously powerful semi-cliffhanger has me jumping onto Amazon to immediately purchase the next book. I'm in this for the long haul baby.
"To victory and life!" the warriors cried.
Rain summoned the Change, took Ellysetta on his back, and shot into the sky, leaving his plain warrior's leathers where they lay, the skin of his old life, now shed forever."
( SIDE NOTE ) In an earlier review I did of the first book in the series Lord of The Fading Lands, I mentioned how much I disliked Rain constantly doing comparisons of Elly to his past (heart mate) Sariel. My wee frozen heart has been made happy by the fact that we finally see Rain's feeling described when they cross through the Fading Lands mist.
"The sight of her didn't rip at his heart the way it always had before Ellysetta. Now, her image only filled him with sadness for the beautiful Fey maiden whose millennia of life had been cut so short."
"Rain, the mate of Sariel, had died a thousand years ago on a bloody battlefield just north of Teleon. A different Rain had risen from the ashes, born the day Ellysetta Baristani's soul had called out and his had answered. From that moment on, no other - not even the woman for whom he'd once scorched the world - could lay claim to any portion of Rain's heart or soul."
Happy. This makes me damn happy. Not only that Rain has finally come to accept Sariel's death, but that he (at least to our knowledge since it's the first time we've heard him think it) knows that Elly is not just his souls mate, but his hearts as well.
Happiness.
4.78 war-huh-ya-what-is-it-good-for stars🎇
