bow before the elf queen

Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 560 pages
Author: J.M. Kearl
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 26th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The enthralling and romantic sequel to J.M. Kearl’s enchanting Bow Before the Elf Queen.
Layala fought against falling in love with him. Thane battled to win his mate’s heart. Now they’ll discover if their love can withstand those who tore them apart.
Held for weeks without food or water, Layala’s resolve begins to fracture as an evil darkness looms over her. She’s the key to destroying the Void or reviving its creator— the long-dead Black Mage she has a mysterious connection to.

Layala and Thane learn what it truly means to fight for love as their enemies surround them and it becomes a struggle for revenge, the kingdom, and finding the truth about why Layala seems to harbor the power of whether Palenor falls into darkness or if her Lightbringer name holds true.

Author’s note: Long Live the Elf Queen is book 2 in the Elf Queen series and ends on a cliffhanger. It contains romantic steam, violence, war, and mature themes with morally grey characters.

Thank you to House Valor Books and Netgalley for an ALC.

THAT CLIFFHANGER Y’ALL.

I don’t really mind cliffhangers, even if they cause me high amounts of stress. And this book definitely ended with a wild one that I LOVEEEE. I have no clue where this will go and why and you better believe I’ll be picking up the next book.

Audiobook thoughts: As an ALC wanted to touch base here too. I did love that within this dual narration any feminine characters were by one actor and the male characters by the other. It gave a real life conversation tone to it and made for a positive listening experiences. What I didn’t love was a few of the side characters voices. They were kind of hard to listen to and was grateful when their roles became more minimal so they didn’t show up as often.

Back to the general bookish thoughts. I really like this romance. Luckily there wasn’t a long separation here and we got to see Layala and Thane work together as a couple (my favorite for fantasy romances). There’s just the right amount of spice that works well within the plot and the story moves forward in interesting ways. I liked all of the dragons that showed up. There’s a good amount of action and I’m intrigued by the antagonists and figuring out who belongs on what side.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: a little strong
Romance: 2 brief/vague open + mild innuendo
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experiences, weapons violence, magical and physical violence, loss of loved ones, battle themes

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 598 pages
Author: J.M. Kearl
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: April 26th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In hiding all her life, Layala prepares for the day the wicked High Elf King Thane will come to steal her— his powerful mate. She trains to take her revenge for the wrongful execution of her parents, who died for her freedom.
Now that day has come, forcing her to come face-to-face with what she’s hidden from: a dangerous, dark-haired, warrior king determined to marry her.
After she’s shoved into a black carriage pulled by six ominous steeds, Layala makes plans to take her captors’ lives and free herself….but Thane has a secret that makes it impossible for Layala to slay him. She has an even darker truth that makes loving her forbidden, no matter how much Thane wants to touch.

Dare to dive into this whimsical and deeply romantic story inspired by Hades & Persephone, The Lord of the Rings, and a sprinkle of Norse mythology. A tale that will grip you from the first page and stay with you long after the last.

I’LL READ THE NEXT ONE.

I have sat on this one in my kindle unlimited library for a long time, and upon finding an audio version I flew through this!! I’m so glad I gave it a chance.

The romance set-up was everything I love about arranged marriage/enemies to lovers. There’s great banter, knife to the throat moments and all the swoon from Thane. I loved his persistent nature to show Layala exactly the kind of elf he is. It was also nice to see Layala show the ability to change her mind as new facts were laid before her. Too stubborn of a nature always bugs me and I love that this wasn’t the case here. I really liked her strength and resilience amidst a whole heap of drama.

What brought this to a four star for me was the third act conflict. I just couldn’t believe that Layala believed that about herself. It didn’t track well and made for unnecessary drama that rolled my eyes a bit.

I did like the surrounding plot and story. It keeps the pace moving well and there’s a heavy dose of action to keep you on your toes. I look forward to seeing where this book will go to next!

Overall audience notes: