Rating: 4.75⭐️
What an incredible story. I’ve already said that Thea Zoltaire , a young woman with a short time in which to make her own legacy, is one of my favorite characters. Here she starts to become the warrior of her dreams, the one of legends.
As with everything in her world, her advances come with even greater challenges and personal costs.
Scheuerer’s writing style is vivid in imagery, powerful in her plotting. She carries us emotionally alongside the characters as each navigates through learning to deal with the lightning magic that the sisters have, the horrifying dangers that the enemy is bringing to the battlefield, and the hidden secrets within the world around them.
The biggest challenge is the relationship that still developing between Thea and Warsword Wilder Hawthorne. Torn between being solely responsible for her skills and survival as her mentor or those of her lover, Wilder is vacillating with his feelings and his orders, as well as his own tortured memories.
Here I was so throughly invested in Thea’s growth as a warrior and individual, her depth of character that had to accept some brutal truths about her own life and background and then resolve them into her current emotional state and situation. The author really did a fantastic job in creating the inner turmoil of Thea’s journey and the maturity that had to occur if she was to survive and move forward.
If I had any issues, it’s with Wilder’s character. Any main character, but especially if they are men, that decide that withholding information, highly major details, from the other person, is the only possible option is a lessening of that individual. I’m sure it’s an important part of this series arc but it destroys the integrity of the dynamic and any respect for the woman. It’s a typical “I love you too much to let you make your own decisions/choices “ relationship, and I hope that we get past this, eventually in the future for romance relationships.
This book ends on a fabulous cliffhanger of an ending and as the other books are out to go read, I’m heading right into the next one.
Highly recommended. Love Thea Voltaire.
The Legends of Thezmarr – 4 books completed:
Blood & Steel #1
Vows & Ruins #2
Fate & Furies #3
Shadow & Storms #4
Buy link
Vows & Ruins: An epic romantic fantasy (The Legends of Thezmarr Book 2)
Blurb
Against all odds, Althea Zoltaire emerged from her trials as a champion. Now, she must train even harder and prepare herself to become a true warrior of Thezmarr.
But Thea’s world is turned upside down as she struggles to navigate her newfound magic and uncover the secrets of her past. Slowly, she begins to untangle the truth about her family, her powers and the evil that threatens to engulf the kingdom.
When Wilder Hawthorne returns to be her official mentor, everything changes. Dark forces are gathering, and he will stop at nothing to prepare her for the challenges to come, even if it means breaking her.
As war looms and their quest for answers leads master and apprentice deeper into danger, the undeniable connection between them intensifies – defying all odds, but also threatening to tear them apart.
With secrets unravelling and evil closing in, Thea and Wilder fight to save the world, and each other. The fate of the realms rests in their hands – will they emerge victorious, or will the darkness consume them both?
Full of action, adventure and steamy romance, Vows & Ruins is the second book in the spellbinding epic romantic fantasy series, The Legends of Thezmarr and is perfect for fans of The Bridge Kingdom, From Blood and Ash and The Witcher.
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- Publisher: Alchemy (September 21, 2023)
- Publication date: September 21, 2023
- Language: English
- Print length: 536 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 