Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Book Review: The Fire’s Princess (Elemental Royals Trilogy Bk 2) by Ley Hayley

The Fire’s Princess (Elemental Royals Trilogy Bk 2)
by Ley Hayley
Publisher: Ley Hayley
Published: June 4, 2014
ASIN:

Synopsis:

Rose has lost everything she's ever known. 

Her father has been murdered. She has fled her home in the Forested Land to take refuge with King Andrew Rivers in a foreign kingdom. 

Her home is under the control of a tyrant king, one who will stop at nothing to see Rose and all of her family dead. She has to fight to stay hidden, stay alive, and find a way back home. 

Now Rose must find a way to organize a rebellion to get back to her homeland, as well as 


win the hearts of a kingdom that doesn't know her. With lords scheming with hidden agendas and her own secrets threatening to be exposed, Rose must face enemies she never expected and find a destiny she never planned for. 

In the stunning sequel to The Forest's Heir, Ley Hayley takes readers on a journey through court intrigue and matters of the heart. The Fire's Princess truly is a fiery ride!

Book Links
Amazon

My Thoughts:

The Fire's Princess is a continuation from book 1 The Forest's Heir. I would recommend reading these books in order.

King Andrew has brought Rose, her sisters and mother to live with him in his castle. He has also graciously opened his home to Gavin Ashford, whose family hid Rose from her uncle who stole the throne and murdered Rose's father the king. Gavin was once betrothed to Rose before she became the Princess Crowned.

Since the wedding between King Andrew and Princess Rose was cancelled when Gavin showed up in the middle of it Rose has noticed an animosity growing toward her from some of the lords of the River Realm. As Andrew negotiates in the Privy Council to raise support for an army to invade the Forested Land to remove Richard from the throne and return the kingdom to Rose, he meets continued resistance and time is running short as the campaign season draws near.

In the meantime, Rose discovers that she has more abilities than just making things grow. She also has the magic from her mother's realm, the Fire Kingdom. Strong emotions cause her to burst into flame, not something you want to do in front of a lot of people!

The Fire's Princess continues the beautiful love story between Andrew and Rose. Rose is still in love with Gavin, though she also loves Andrew. With Gavin staying in Andrew's castle she can't bear to hurt him by wearing Andrew's betrothal ring, let along wedding him. Talk about a love triangle!

I was very impressed with how chaste Andrew and Rose kept their relationship even when they shared a bed. I was therefore very upset when they decided to change that, However, I would still classify this as a clean romance as the details were kept behind closed doors and the couple were given their privacy.

The characters continue to develop in this second book and we learn more of Gavin and Philip's characters as well as how the trauma that Rose's sister Valerie has been through has affected her.

There are another couple of twists that take place in the story of which the results are yet to be seen. The war may impact them. These events may impact the lord's perception of Princess Rose. They may come to nothing at all. It will all depend on what happens in book 3. Yes, it's a bit of a cliff hanger, but still there was logical ending point for book 2. I did feel like there was some closure,

I can't wait for book 3 to come out. I gave The Fire's Princess 4 stars out of 5. If you enjoy historical fantasy, I would recommend this book to you.


Thank you to the author who provided a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

A Message From Ley:

I’ve always been a huge nerd when it comes to books. Well… in all honesty, I’ve always been a huge nerd about just about everything. And that’s just because it’s my personality. I like to get goofy and enjoy myself. One of the things that I’m really nerdy about is The Lord of the Rings.

            I think every writer has that one book or that one writer that just makes them go kind of weak in the knees. For me, that’s Tolkien. I’ve always had a love for his ability to tell stories and build worlds. I guess you could say that he’s my hero when it comes to writing. And he made me want to write a medieval story.

            It’s actually because of Tolkien that I minored in medieval European history in university. I took half a dozen classes on warfare, politics, geography, and philosophy of the Middle Ages. And I could see where so many of his influences came from. A lot of them made their way into my book, The Forest’s Heir. True there aren’t any orcs or elves, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t wonderfully Tolkien-ish.

            There are grand stories and quests, a person of royal blood who has no desire to lead, but takes up the mantle when it is thrust upon them. It is strong and beautiful, full of love and loyalty and a desire to see good triumph over evil. And I suppose that’s what I got the most out of Tolkien… good will always win in the end but not without sacrifices from the best of us. I’m not giving away any spoilers about the third book (mostly since it isn’t even written yet), but that’s the kind of tale I would like to write.

            I’m not saying I want to be the next Tolkien, mostly because I don’t think anyone could ever be that fantastic ever again. But I would like to have the kind of story that someone picks up over and over again, that they love because it resonated with them, because it touched a part of their life.


            Maybe that’s the real lesson I got from Tolkien.

About the Author:

Ley Hayley was born in Virginia on the night LA Law premiered in 1986. This is important, because her mother never let her forget it. From early on, Ley's life was surrounded by stories. Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, Ley heard a thousand different folk tales and family histories from her grandmother and other family friends. Even before she could read, Ley loved books.

After moving to North Carolina at 13, Ley took up debate (much to the dismay of everyone around her since she wouldn't shut up). If anyone wanted to find her in high school, the first place to look would be the library. It was then that she found her first real literary love: J.R.R. Tolkein's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. To this day, she reads the entire series once a year, every year. And it never gets old. 

She went to college, got a biology degree, went back for a nursing degree, and had to go back to full time work. Much to her mother's dismay, Ley looks at work as her hobby. Reading and writing are her real loves and her full time pursuits. It's Ley's goal to read more and more books every year.

Ley lives in North Carolina with her family and two dogs.

Author Links
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