Showing posts with label Amberlyn Holland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amberlyn Holland. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

review of The Lost Shrine series 3: By Blood Betrayed by Amberlyn Holland

 


                            https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40776913-by-blood-betrayed

 

This book continues a series set in a well-realized fantasy universe that is reminiscent of ancient Eire. Each storyline follows a 'power couple' brought together by the Goddess to counter forces of evil let loose by blood magick. Holland has imbued each meeting tale with gripping adventure and relatable personalities who have successfully blended their special abilities with a matrix of loving humanity and greater service to their world.

Those who prefer a veil of sacred euphemism to remain between them and the physical aspects of romance will be pleased by this series, which makes it safe for young adults. Descriptions never stray beyond kissing and cuddling in this third installment.

The three shape-shifting Hound brothers have divided the hunt for dark sorcery between them, with the youngest, Phelan, assigning himself to the dangerous borderlands of Marnak, under the very nose of the evil warlord Trask. As a spying bard he insinuates himself into the rebel underground in search of a lost power place that has been nearly drained by the evil blood magick along the border with his birthplace, the land of the Thousand Tribes. What he finds is a close-knit clan of refugees led by flame haired twins who fled from a monstrous fate.

Selena and her brother were closer to the evil Phelan hunts than they would like to admit, and it still seeks them. She knows her healing magic should be for the land and not for conquest, that family should be aligned with love and not coercion. She's given up on personal dreams of happiness, beyond keeping her brother and their self-made family safe. Is the ballad-singing stranger putting them in danger, or will he help root out a hidden enemy in their midst? Can they muster allies enough to stop the poisoning of their waters? She discovers that she has supernatural allies greater than the darkness, but will they last beyond this hour of peril?

This book stands alone quite well, but you will be craving happy endings for all the heroes.

review of The Lost Shrines 4: By Love Reclaimed by Amberlyn Holland

 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40777267-by-love-reclaimed

 

 

This book continues a series set in a well-realized fantasy universe that is reminiscent of ancient Eire. Each storyline follows a 'power couple' brought together by the Goddess to counter forces of evil let loose by blood magick. Holland has imbued each meeting tale with gripping adventure and relatable personalities who have successfully blended their special abilities with a matrix of loving humanity and greater service to their world.

Those who prefer a veil of sacred euphemism to remain between them and the physical aspects of romance will be pleased by this series, which makes it safe for young adults. Descriptions never stray beyond kissing and cuddling in this installment.
This book stands alone quite well, but you will be craving happy endings for all the heroes.


The three shape-shifting Hound brothers have divided the hunt for dark sorcery between them, and Ranulf surprised them by opting to return to the Milesan Isle of Tirnan, where once his heart was broken. Somewhere is a rumored goddess cave, fully separated from the renowned sacred Sword shrine, and dark forces could infiltrate there and put all their lands at risk. Tara's father scorned Ranulf as an adopted and inferior Milesan then; this legacy persists due to the family secrets Tara and her brother and sister still conceal.

Tara, a Defender of Hearth and Home, is struggling to keep their isle whole despite the worsening onslaughts of darkness that plague her and her sister of Harvest and brother of Storm. How can a Harbinger of Death like Ran possibly aid full Milesan Powers like them? Why was their love judged so wrong when it felt so right in their youth? It will take the truth, and the powers of both their feuding lineages, to defeat the insidious plots the blood sorcerer laid in the course of generations.

Only then will Ran and Tara allow themselves to love again. If it succeeds, and they are not separated by the Death he senses around her.

Though this is the purported end of the series I sense that there are other pairings possible and not yet explored by Amberlyn. 
 
 

review of The Lost Shrine series 2: By Destiny Bound by Amberlyn Holland

 

                     https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40776865-by-destiny-bound

This book continues a series set in a well-realized fantasy universe that is reminiscent of ancient Eire. Each storyline follows a 'power couple' brought together by the Goddess to counter forces of evil let loose by blood magick. Holland has imbued each meeting tale with gripping adventure and relatable personalities who have successfully blended their special abilities with a matrix of loving humanity and greater service to their world.

Those who prefer a veil of sacred euphemism to remain between them and the physical aspects of romance will be pleased by this series, which makes it safe for young adults. Descriptions never stray beyond kissing and cuddling in this second installment, where the bonding appears accidental.

The three shape-shifting Hound brothers have divided the hunt for dark sorcery between them, with the eldest, Maddyn, assigned to the city-state of Galwei. The magical source endangered has been so well hidden by the holy order of Kelan for centuries that locating it seems the hardest problem to solve. But when he encounters a certain unconventional novice called Yve, secrets fall into view in the nick of time as the head of the Order is ambushed by a murderous blood mage.

Yve joined the Kelan Order hoping for a life more in line with heroic legend than her present contemplative existence has been until now. The other novices and courtiers react to the Hound Harbinger of Death with fear; she can't overcome her magnetic draw to him and must resign the outcome to the will of the Goddess. It lands her in a role of influence she could barely imagine but must master swiftly, for the good of her land.

Neither of them expected this; neither of them want it to end, though they think it must. This book stands alone quite well, but you will be wanting more happy endings for our other heroes.

review of The Lost Shrine series 1: By Vengeance Guided by Amberlyn Holland

 

 


 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40776828-by-vengeance-guided

This book begins a series set in a well-realized fantasy universe that is reminiscent of ancient Eire. Each storyline follows a 'power couple' brought together by the Goddess to counter forces of evil let loose by blood magick. Holland has imbued each meeting tale with gripping adventure and relatable personalities who have successfully blended their special abilities with a matrix of loving humanity and greater service to their world.

Those who prefer a veil of sacred euphemism to remain between them and the physical aspects of romance will be pleased by this series, which makes it safe for young adults. Descriptions never stray beyond kissing and cuddling, even in this first installment, where a fertility rite is crucial to the plot.

Caerwyn of the Isles is of the Milesan race, who are each born to embody a godlike power of their universe, which overshadows their human personality when invoked properly. His is the spirit of Vengance, and has kept him roaming the lands of this world to redress the killing of his parents in defense of an ancestral Cauldron of power. He is aided in this by his foster brothers the Hounds, with shape-shifting abilities of the Thousand Tribes race but also Milesan ones, granted by the healing Cauldron. They have been summoned by Daen, prince of Galwei, because he suspects he has been bewitched. The culprit? His betrothed, Lady Liadan of Hara Dale.

Liadan herself knows that this betrothal is all sorts of wrong. The match would badly upset the balance between her tiny principality and its neighbors; besides, she was not supposed to be the true heir, but rather her sister, and eventually, her three year old niece. Now Gui, her sister's husband, is attempting to manipulate her the way her sister once allowed herself to be used. Ancestral secrets of the land are in grave danger. What does the stranger who calls himself 'Wyn' have against her family? Is he friend or foe?

What he and the Hounds uncover will not only seal the fate of Hara Dale but all of the human kingdoms.

This book stands alone quite well, but you will be wanting more happy endings for our other heroes.

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Review: YA romance and regime change; Cats and Wolves by Amberlyn Holland

I believe the universe created by Ms Holland is absolutely perfect for a YA romance audience. They have strong plots and stand on their own while detailing a new generation of shifters who are ousting a corrupt establishment, incidentally discovering the bonds of friendship and non-explicit romance. They are a dose of hope greatly needed in all our lives, acceptable for any audience.

Cats and Wolves is no exception. Carrying out a mission together brings Caitlyn into a position where she can overcome her prejudices about wolves, reclaim her family legacy, and let it go for the greater good. Doane, the wolf assisting her, gets to lay to rest some of the scars of his own troubled past and align the result with the greater good. When they both realize that they deserve happiness it's soooooo good.

The tie-ins to other episodes of the historic unfolding of regime change through love are there, but not annoying or incongruous.