Review: Lady of Light and Shadows by C.L. Wilson

Lady of Light and Shadows (Tairen Soul #2)

by C.L. Wilson

Fantasy Romance

As the nobles of Celeria foolishly contemplate opening borders for the traitorous Eld, Rain must find a way to show that the Eld are still as evil as they were 1000 years ago and keep his soul mate Ellie safe. Ellysetta also has her own battles to face as she discovers her origins that have the power to turn her truemate Rain away from her.

This series just gets better and better!

Rain and Ellysetta are fast becoming one of my favourite romantic couples. What I like about their romance is that although it is a fated-to-be-mated plot line, they still have doubts Ellie based in her insecurity about who she is and Rain through his past experience of love the consequences of which scorched the world. So, although they are soul mates I like the slow build up of trust between them and watching Ellie's feeling going from hero-worship and fear to something deeper. Having said that, the first two books are set over 10 days, it just feels much longer from all the events that happen to them!

Not only do Rain and Ellie make these books for me, but the secondary characters in this also come to vivid life from C.L. Wilson's fantastic writing. Ellie's quintet, her parents, the King & Queen they all have a role to play and Wilson manages to wrangle all sorts of emotions from you in this book through them.

As well as the romance between Rain and Ellie and teh character, what also draws me to this series is the pending war between the Eld and the Fey. I can't wait to see what happens next, this book gives you a lot more details on the Mage's activities and I can't wait to see what happens next. I am particually looking forward to see how Ellie is meant to heal the Tairen.

This is a great series a blend of romance and adventure, magic and swords and I can't wait to start on the next one.

Favourite Quote

They could not fight. They could not win. But with each moment left for them to live, they could love. That was the greatest gift the gods could ever give, and it was worth the price they would have to pay.

Review: Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

Lord of the Fading Lands (Tairen Soul #1)

by C.L. Wilson

Fantasy Romance

This book just proves adage "Don't judge a book by its cover," the cover may look like your teenage sister has just got hold of photoshop for the first time but what is inside was fantastic. I really wish I had started reading it when I first bought it at the beginning of the year, instead it has been languishing in my kindle.

Set in a fantasy world full of the Fey, dark mages and magic, Lord of the Fading Lands introduces us to Ellysetta Baristini the adopted daughter of a master woodcarver and considered plain, awkward and more then a little strange by most. Ellie is fascinated by the Fey and their King, Rain Tairen Soul but never expects to see him in anything but poetry and art, but he is visiting Celiera for the first time in a thousand years as he hears his one true mates cry of pain and is determined to find her.

This book had a mixture of two of my favourite genres fantasy and romance, I really enjoyed it. The writing was fantastic and drew me effortlessly into the world the C.L. Wilson has created. It is a fantasy world with a medieval feel to it with kings and queens and magic in it, it also revealed enough of the history to give you the feel of the world without bogging you down in too much detail.

But what has made me like this book most was the characters of Ellie and Rain. I am not normally a fan of books with Fey in them I tend to avoid them and leave the Fey for YA readers and make a grab for shifters and vamps instead, but Rain may just change my mind. He's mad, bad and a little crazy but you have got to love a guy who raises a woodcarvers daughter to Queen of the Fey and daring any one to say differently. The character I liked most though was Ellie, I could feel her bewilderment and uncertainty at her sudden rise in life and I admired her courage for just getting on with it with no moaning.

What was also fantastic was the growing storyline about the rise of the dark Eld mages who are slowly taking over Celiera through an insidous and silent campaign of fear and corruption, I can't wait to read the next book to see what happens next.

This was a great read which I had trouble putting down a good mixture of fantasy and romance that I have feeling is going to be one of my new favourite series.