Trust in Love

Full review posted at Reader’s Edyn on 05/09/20

Nicolette believes in love, but more than that, she trusts in it. Marked by the love tattoo in a fit of rebellion, she has seen the joy and happiness that comes from finding your one true love. Love that deep holds great power and maybe a bit of magic, but she never could have imagined she would find her mate in the face of an enemy. Captured by her family when their fight against her people failed, she set him free. It’s been five long years, but she trusts that she will see him again soon. When she realizes that Farrow is near once again, she finds him and sets out with him to return to his home. She believes he has come for her and isn’t aware of his evil intent. Through their journey, they overcome several obstacles, but each time she makes a slight knick in Farrow’s denial, he fights even harder to push against their connection. Nicolette would do anything for her true love and even if he is unwilling to believe in their love, she determines to trust in their love enough for both of them. But even that might not be enough.

Farrow has been brought up completely opposite from Nicolette. He’s only ever wanted to belong somewhere and be claimed by his father, despite the horrific monster that he is. So when he is forced to kidnap Nicolette under duress and the beauty literally walks right into his arms, he is convinced it is a trick. But as her claims of love and happily ever after continue relentlessly, he starts to wonder if what she is saying could be true. Except this is what he has wanted his whole life and the chance of this woman bringing it straight to him is unbelievable. Rather than capitulate, he rebels in an effort to protect himself. He’s also got to figure out how to keep Nicolette from his father’s clutches and still be able to save his sister from harm. He knows he would have never been able to turn Nicolette in – he remembers their odd encounter when she saved his life five years ago – but he still would not have been able to go along with his father’s horrific plans to cripple their enemy through Nicolette. With the odds continually mounting against them and the corruption that runs so deep, there doesn’t seem to be a path of escape, the punches keep coming. But Farrow never allows himself to admit his love to Nicolette and certainly doesn’t realize how much stronger they could be united rather than separated. As the danger increases, it begins to look like Farrow has pushed Nicolette away for the last time and that her trust in their love has finally reached a breaking point. Because who could love someone like him after all he has done to break her trust – even if she has become his greatest desire.

I don’t even know where to begin with this book. In one way I am glad I did not read the first book because it’s dreadfully clear that much occurred. Nothing different here either. I’m not sure I would have kept everything straight. On the other hand, there were a few small spoilers and enough provided about the precious book to keep the reader from feeling completely lost. I was left sitting in the middle of wondering if I could handle another book with such complexity and near-desperation to catch myself up by jumping right into the precious book as soon as I finished the second. You guys – I didn’t sleep. Each time I told myself I would stop at the next chapter, something else happened and I found myself continually promising to go to bed after the next chapter. And I had to work the next day. At 5am. Ugh. I mean you have true love, magic, the possibility of other realms, actual people from those other realms, traitorous political agendas, scorpions that wouldn’t survive a spelling bee, a gun in a land where they simply do not exist, nearly everyone is a murderer in one way or another – it’s just a crazy mess of a plot. But damn if I wasn’t completely caught up in every moment of it.

One tool that definitely benefitted this book was the POV switches. Things were told from Nicolette’s view as well as Farrow’s. You know that Farrow never forgot her and is immediately drawn to her all over again and that Nicolette never had the option of forgetting him. While Farrow might continually disclaim Nic’s clues of their connection, we also see as he gradually makes that switch to acceptance and then selfishness to longing even as he continues to fervently deny reciprocated feelings of love. He may have been rejected by the King, but was also trained and educated well, so for him, it is his job alone to protect Nic. He got her in the situation, so he has to figure out a solution that will keep them all safe. But Nic is not one to stand idly by and when action is needed, she never once hesitates to do so. She also knows her own mind and her trust in her mark makes her a worthy adversary to Farrow’s repudiation. Having seen the connection between mates, she knows what they stand to lose if he doesn’t eventually come around to her. Before too long these two are set on a course neither of them could have predicted or expected. I hope to be able to check in with them later as the series progresses.

This book is a bit lengthy at around 450 pages, so be ready to settle in. That said, I wouldn’t say there was too much or too little. It ended in an appropriate place and even had an epilogue. When that was over and I was wondering about Indigo’s mark, there was a second epilogue generously included. Because yes, there is yet another character – Indigo, her bodyguard – and he has yet to meet his mate. I look forward to that little bit of drama meeting exposure. If I had any complaint, it would be that the language doesn’t always seem appropriate. One chapter might include a bunch of “aye” to the point I am starting to imagine a Scottish brogue and the next has exclamations such as “sweet!”. I felt like the language caused a bit of distortion simply because at times it didn’t make sense. Those are just a couple of examples of the oddity in language choice. Other than that, I found nothing to grumble about. There was another character introduced toward the end of the book named Mater (I think) and I wonder what his significance is. I feel like there is something more given his network of connections. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe not. I have labeled a book a wild ride before, but this one truly embodies that description. And did I mention the scorching passion? Good grief! The connection Farrow and Nicolette share is unreal. His denial is nearly the more unbelievable characteristic of this story even in the face of the fantasy element. I’m not generally a huge fan of fantasy romance, but I’ve been known to dabble. If Ms. Kage sucks readers into this type of vortex with each book, then she is definitely one to continue visiting. At this point, I plan to visit again and again.

Kindle version received by Xpresso Book Tours/NetGalley/Author in exchange for an honest review.

Completely entertaining fantasy adventure!

How’s this for the start of a book to pull you right into the story?… the Hero is sent to kidnap the heroine because his father plans to beat & rape her to get revenge for the defeat he suffered from her brother. The only reason the Hero agrees to this terrible errand and kidnapping is because they have his sister chained in a dungeon until he returns with the girl.
To add the first twist, when our Hero arrives at the Princess’s castle, he finds that she has packed a bag and is waiting to go willingly with him because she thinks he is planning to elope with her…

This book was awesome and entertaining, lots of action adventure and romance. The perfect story to escape into during these crazy times.
-5 Stars-