Title: The Mark of the Tala
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Genre: Fantasy
First line: My version of the story goes all the way back to the once upon a time with the three princesses, each more beautiful than the last. That's me, there, in the middle.
Summary: Born the middle sister, Princess Andromeda is neither her father's favorite, nor the most beautiful. For the most part, she is invisible. And she likes it that way. But then one day, while out riding, she meets Rayfe, leader of the shape-shifting Tala, who claims she is destined to be his queen. He believes she is the key to saving his homeland of Annfwn. It seems her mother, who died when she was five, was one of the Tala, too. Not that Andi knows anything about them, or their magic. To make matters worse, her father, High King Uorsin, has declared the Tala his enemy and is determined to prevent Andi from fulfilling her destiny. In reality, he wants the fabled Annfwn for himself. Which leaves Princess Andromeda caught in the middle once more.
My thoughts: This is a fun read. It's not too long or overly complicated. And the three sisters are an interesting study in contrasts, although this is mostly Andi's story. I ended up liking Rayfe a lot, with his dark intensity and ability to shift into the shape of a wolf or raven. He and Andromeda make a great pair. And the Tala magic is cool, though I wish there were more of it in the book. There are a couple of fairly graphic sex scenes, so be warned if that's not your thing. All in all, I'm glad I found this fantasy on the K shelf; and even though I probably won't be reading the next two books that follow it (which are about Amelia and Ursula, Andi's sisters), I enjoyed reading this one.
Happy Reading!
Similar reads:
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
You know, I find it is kind of a relief when the first book of a series is enough and I don’t feel obligated to read more. Then I have more time to try other books! I felt that way about The Dresden Files, for example. Glad I read Storm Front, but totally OK with not continuing.
ReplyDeleteI so agree. What I hate is when I get to the end of the first book and the story isn't done. That can be annoying, especially when I'm not expecting it. :)
DeleteNothing wrong with only reading the first in the series. It sounds like a fun story.
ReplyDeleteSometimes one book is all I want. :)
DeleteThis sounds like a fun read. I agree that sometimes one book is enough so it's always good that a series book can read as a standalone. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree...and I think this one book is probably enough of this series for me. :)
DeleteI usually follow up on a series if I enjoy the first one, if the next one is on NetGalley or at the library--and if I don't forget because I'm swamped with other books I want to read. :)
ReplyDeleteIt depends on the story for me whether I keep reading the series; sometimes the second book isn't the story I want to read. But sometimes, like you, I just get too swamped with other books. That's why, this summer, I've tried to catch up on some of my favorite series...before I start too many new ones. :)
DeleteThis is an author I haven't come across before. Before I started blogging, I was a series binge reader—if I liked the first one, I plowed through as many as I could find, as fast as I could find them. (Which wasn't always very fast, when I was on a budget and the library didn't have a copy.) Now I often get pulled from one series to another because I have ARCs waiting...but I still like reading a series in order in a relatively short period of time when I can find the time.
ReplyDeleteI read some series all the way through, and other series I stop after one. And the ones where I stop after one seem to be in the majority at the moment. :)
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