Prophecy demands she marry a Dark Elf prince – but will she agree to her fate? Mara Geary faces a bleak future in the village of Little Hazel until, on the eve of her seventeenth birthday, strange glowing lights entice her into the mysterious shadows under the trees. She follows, hoping for adventure. What she finds is her destiny.Prince of the Dark Elves, Brannon Luthinor has spent his life … Luthinor has spent his life becoming a powerful warrior in order to save his people. Now on the eve of war, his fate is rapidly approaching. Brought together by prophecy, Bran and Mara forge an unlikely alliance. But in the face of evil, will they be able to trust their lives – and their hearts – to one another?
From USA Today bestselling author Anthea Sharp, a richly-imagined fantasy romance uniting an adventurous young woman and a fearsome Dark Elf warrior, in a magical tale reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. Perfect for fans of Grace Draven, Sarah J. Maas, and Juliet Marillier.
AWARDS:
Second Place Winner, PRISM Contest, Best Young Adult Novel
Second Place Winner, International Digital Awards Contest
Third Place Winner, Book Buyer’s Best Contest, Young Adult
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This was a cute fantasy adventure romance. Mara is an innocent character who is expecting a big adventure, yet when she gets it she wants to run. Bran has grown up with a mantel of responsibility to his world and it shows.
This is one of those books that I realized I’d already purchased and hadn’t read (thanks for keeping track of that, Amazon!) I’d looked for it again because the synopsis popped up somewhere online and it seemed interesting.
What I like: the interesting and unusual worlds, the plot was good, and clean, with lots of action. I guess it’s probably a YA novel. I realized later it was a beauty and the beast retelling.
What I didn’t like: the heroine just seemed awfully mature for someone who just turned 17. I get that this was fantasy and in this world the children had to grow up quickly, but Mara was almost unrealistically mature. Also, for two people who found each other to be so foreign looking and unattractive, their love story didn’t seem to ‘click’ for me. It was one of those very last minute ‘oh my, I really loved him and need to get back to him’ plot lines, a real turnaround from prior scenes.
I frankly adore Anthea Sharp, both her astonishingly wonderful Feyland books and the others I’ve read (and I think I’ve read most of what she’s written at this point). Thus you can imagine my glee to discover that there’s a whole new series of books by her, the Darkwood Trilogy, of which Elfhame is the first book (it’s also somehow linked to something called the Skeleton Key books, but I haven’t figured out that connection yet). Elfhame is truly spectacular, a Dark Elf Fairy Tale, a romance, an adventure and a real thrilling ride of a story all wrapped together by superb writing and a fabulous cast from Mara Geary, human gal from Little Hazel village, to Brannon Luthinor, elven Prince of the Hawthorne Court on down. This is just a truly fantastic and fun novel. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to Hawthorne, the next book in this series.