Melanie's Book Reviews

Awww it’s so good to be back in Quelondain!
Following the epic battle between Hayden & Braw, peace had settled on the land of Quelondain, it’s a tentative peace and holds a fine line as shifters & humans lack trust in each other and judge based on species & alliances – presumed or not – and none know this better than Ternach - former magical immortal and major player in the battle five years ago- as he sets out on his journey to finally face Hayden in the hopes she can restore his magic. On his journey he comes across many hostiles who readily believe the worst in him and beat him for his new found humanity, eventually he is taken by a pack and meets Sarah. As their time together progresses, a mutual attraction is felt and fondness turns to something special but Sarah has been holding out on Ternach and when he finds out, he is forced to make a difficult decision leading him straight into Hayden’s domain again as a new prophecy emerges and Ternach looks to be having a hand in this too. Running alongside Ternach & Sarah’s story is Red & Greg’s as they take tentative steps into a new life away from Paradin, after Red loses her mate in the battle & turns her back on her former life she is captured by a pack of humans of which Greg is a part and after a shaky start between them, their relationship slowly turns sweeter and it seems they have a hand to play in the events that are slowly unfolding elsewhere…. One thing is for sure, all need Hayden’s guidance and who better to help than the former chosen one.
I really enjoyed this book, as I said it was so good to be back in Quelondain, I’m familiar with the world and its characters so slipping back into this world was so easy. I liked that the main character was Ternach, he was and interesting character in the previous books and I like that we’re finding out what happened to him in the aftermath… which doesn’t seem to be good considering he has lost his magic & immortality. It has definitely affected him and he finds it difficult to adjust even after five years, always longing for his power back but even so, he still doesn’t jump at Hayden’s offer to hopefully restore his power… for Hayden always seems to bring him pain ;) it was nice when he met Sarah and they made a connection, warming to each other, she brought out a bit more life in him and made him feel like being human wasn’t so bad. Sarah was a good match for him and I liked how they got together, I think it’s more of a cosmic connection and we are witnessing the beginnings of a powerful couple. Sarah’s secret is quite interesting, I want to know more, again I feel that this will unfold more as the series goes on so I don’t feel we’re seeing her in her full potential yet. I really liked Red & Greg too, I felt more emotionally connected to those two because they seem to have been given a harder life, both being human, they are practically hunted and beaten at every opportunity when all they want is their own little piece of ‘perfect’. Red is a mysterious character, turning her back on her former self following the battle, we do find out a little about her but again, there is more to this lady than we get in this and I look forward to more from her. The relationship was just lovely between her & Greg and I really routed for them to be happy.
The storyline is only in its early stages so we only get fed snippets of what’s at play but what’s important is that there is a prophecy! And I’m all over that, I love prophecies and by the sounds of this one, I know I’m going to love it! Let’s just say, it involves magic orbs & mated couples… even just that makes me happy! This focuses on introducing a few of the players, building the relationships that will come into play, understanding the magic that surrounds the prophecy, its origins & how the chosen will come into play. I have a feeling that the other continents are going to be ventured into for this series, there are mentions of the possibility of some of the orbs being displaced to them and I’m glad of this because it will open up this world even more and I have been curious about them since ‘The Chosen One trilogy’. We are definitely getting a new bad guy which we have yet to meet but already appears to be sinister through the descriptive prophecy so I’m curious to see what his game is. I think this book was an excellent introduction to The Witteck Chronicles, obviously it opens up a lot more questions than answers but I know Mireille will follow through with what promises to be another epic adventure in the land of Quelondain.