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Review

4.5 stars!

A brand new fantasy series from KA? Sign me up! I was so freaking excited to start this book, the first in The Rising series, and though it was very different from what I was expecting, I loved it and I am completely hooked!

This series is a spin-off from the Fantasyland series, set 25 years after the events of those books. But you don’t need to have read those books first, this story reads completely separately (though I did enjoy a cameo from a certain Drakkar).

The land of Triton is under threat from the Beast, a mythical creature that once destroyed the land and has been buried ever since. Now evil forces are coming together to once again awaken the creature. The only way to stop it is to fulfill a prophecy which would see the four strongest warriors from the different nations of Triton married to four of its powerful witches. And so, bound by destiny, four couples are brought together to save the world.

This is unlike KA’s usual inter-connected standalones in that it’s not one complete story. Instead, we have four stories all unfolding at the same time. So in this book we see the beginnings of four separate love stories… four heroes, four heroines, in a new world with different lands, customs, and languages for us to come to understand. It’s complicated and it took me a while to fully understand who everybody is and how they fit together. Not only do we have the four main couples, but also parents, siblings, friends, guards, children. It’s a lot! And with all of the main couples, the bad guy, and some of the side characters having chapters written in their perspectives, it can be really hard to keep track. I ended up keeping notes just so that I could remember who everybody was and all of their tie!

It’s a bit of a slow build-up as we are introduced to everybody, but once I had a handle on things, I was sucked right in, and I loved watching the story unfold as they all gather together for the announcement of their betrothals and the first wedding.

• Mars and Silence (warrior king and innocent maiden)
• Cassius and Elena (warrior prince, widowed single father and a fiercely feminist warrior princess)
• True and Farah (the good guy and the banished daughter of a traitor)
• Aramus and Ha-Lah (pirate king and his super-mysterious bride)

Most of the crew already know each other, and some are meeting for the first time, and there are some fantastic dynamics there. Not everybody is pleased with the arrangement, but they are doing their duty, and as they get to know each other, there is chemistry and sexual tension all over the place! We can see the different relationships emerging – friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, a slow burn, and a fiery passion. I definitely have my favourites, and no surprise it’s the more alpha of the men that I’m more drawn to, which was great for me as this book seems to focus more on the upcoming marriage of fiercely protective Mars and innocent but curious and strong Silence, and I love, love, love them together!

These aren’t straightforward couplings, and there are a lot of hurdles to overcome – particularly with the differing cultural issues (think of the conflicting norms and expectations that were experienced in the Fantasyland series), and the strong personalities at play. There’s no actual love yet, but it’s a solid start for all four of our couples, and I’m so excited to see how their stories are all going to play out.

There is some steamy time (no sex) for those couples who are feeling the attraction. And KA continues to indulge her seemingly new-ish preference for descriptive and filthy kinky sex, but bizarrely, it’s only for the bad guy with his m/m and menage encounters, and other side characters who like to get their kink on. Why do we need to see this? I really don’t know, but I guess it gives us some insight into who those characters are, so whatever.

The audiobook is narrated by a full cast of 14 narrators! A different narrator for each character, which is genius, because it really helps differentiate between them all. They each have their own distinct voice with different accents, and when you have SO much going on in one book, you need all the help you can get! And as a bonus, every time Mars says “my Silence” in that drawl, it’s shiver inducing!

I really enjoyed this read. It’s complex, but it’s a wonderfully developed fantasy world with intricate politics that are playing out in the background of a fabulous character story with great dynamics. Be aware that there is no resolution in this book, ending on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I’m so looking forward to continuing on.

Loved it – 4.5 stars.

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The Rising

 

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