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The Ithenmyr Chronicles #3
Of Ash and Ivy
The future in Ithenmyr is dark.
After the disastrous events in Vlarone, Aileana and Xander are on the run from High King Edgar. The Crimson King will stop at nothing to get his hands on the bonded mates. In the Sanctuary, Aileana must learn to harness her growing powers before she loses control.
Back at Nonna’s cottage, Daegal and Ryllae face problems of their own. They must travel to the Indigo Coast to visit the merfolk if they have any hope of lifting the curse placed on the Death Elf Princess. The journey isn’t easy, and numerous roadblocks challenge their growing trust.
Time is running out for all of them. Can they follow the paths set out for them by fate before the Crimson King catches up with them?
This Rapunzel retelling is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy and is filled with banter, fated mates, fake marriage, and world-building. Of Ash and Ivy is book 3 out of 5 in The Ithenmyr Chronicles.
All books should be read in order.
NOTE: This series is upper YA/NA and will have moderate steam as the series progresses. There are some instances of violence, language, and mature situations. Recommended for ages sixteen and up.
After the disastrous events in Vlarone, Aileana and Xander are on the run from High King Edgar. The Crimson King will stop at nothing to get his hands on the bonded mates. In the Sanctuary, Aileana must learn to harness her growing powers before she loses control.
Back at Nonna’s cottage, Daegal and Ryllae face problems of their own. They must travel to the Indigo Coast to visit the merfolk if they have any hope of lifting the curse placed on the Death Elf Princess. The journey isn’t easy, and numerous roadblocks challenge their growing trust.
Time is running out for all of them. Can they follow the paths set out for them by fate before the Crimson King catches up with them?
This Rapunzel retelling is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy and is filled with banter, fated mates, fake marriage, and world-building. Of Ash and Ivy is book 3 out of 5 in The Ithenmyr Chronicles.
All books should be read in order.
NOTE: This series is upper YA/NA and will have moderate steam as the series progresses. There are some instances of violence, language, and mature situations. Recommended for ages sixteen and up.
516 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2023
324 people are currently reading
4865 people want to read
About the author
Elayna R. Gallea
32 books2,006 followersElayna Gallea lives in beautiful New Brunswick, Canada with her husband and two kids. They have dogs and cats and enjoy touring their beautiful province whenever they can.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
February 4, 2024
Good addition to the series, but I get it, you’re “bonded mates.” 🙄
January 7, 2024
Sorry, but just didn't enjoy. Had to push myself to finish this one and will not be continuing the series. I love the characters, but am no longer enjoying the story. It feels like its the same song and dance every chapter in all the first 3 books so far. FMC gets angry, over reacts, gets in trouble, makes up with MMC. MMC over reacts, gets angry, gets over protective then apologizes. It's fine to have occasionally but it's All. The. Time. It's gotten to be very predictable and repetitive.
August 8, 2025
ok, also das war es dann jetzt. Erst ist überhaupt nichts passiert und mir sind die beiden mal wieder sehr auf die Nerven gegangen... dann wurde es eigentlich zum Ende hin ganz spannend. Also zumindest der Showdown, der dann aber relativ kurz war, leider. Und der Schluss war mir ein bisschen an den Haaren herbei gezogen. Also das die Königin seine Schwester ist? Ich bitte euch Leute. Also das war das ausschlaggebende für mich. zwischendurch dachte ich noch, ach so schlimm ist es gar nicht, aber jetzt höre ich doch mit der Reihe auf. Schade, wo sie doch so vielversprechend anfing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2025
The one bored me. The main character and her personality is insufferable. Won’t be continuing the series
January 15, 2025
Better than book 2, ending in a cliffhanger, good pacing, good romance, great magic system
Read
June 30, 2025DNF 56%
Just lost interest and tried getting back into it but couldn’t
Just lost interest and tried getting back into it but couldn’t
January 13, 2023
Holy freaking cow! I did not see the twist coming at the end of the book! Each installment in this series gets better, which is saying a lot because they're all 5 star books. I'll be waiting with bated breath for the next one Elayna!
December 29, 2023
FMC kinda annoying
I really liked the 3rd instalment, tho I wish she would just listen sometimes. Almost DNF because of the way she would bond but carried on about marriage being a cage and only wanted her own wants, needs and opinions met. The lack of self preservation aswell and constantly passing out or having a panic attack after being asked not to do something was annoying asf. Again, she’s a badass and I enjoyed it
I really liked the 3rd instalment, tho I wish she would just listen sometimes. Almost DNF because of the way she would bond but carried on about marriage being a cage and only wanted her own wants, needs and opinions met. The lack of self preservation aswell and constantly passing out or having a panic attack after being asked not to do something was annoying asf. Again, she’s a badass and I enjoyed it
May 28, 2025
I will say this has been the best book of this series so far. It was less repetitive, though I think that was because it was coming from four character views. I kept reading because I like the magic system and world building and love the side characters like Myhenna.
My issues -
1. Still minimal of no character development - even with the two new people we are following
2. I couldn’t easily tell the four characters apart when reading their point of view.
3.The forced argument between Xander and Aileana was terrible. Who cares if they get married, they’re bonded mates. It felt so forced and stupid. The storyline would have been awesome without it.
4. Editing was badly needed, especially in the underwater scenes which I’m pretty sure were originally written as taking place on land and then for fun in was in water.
Examples
“Tinix pointed out the bathing room, pulling leafy greens and dried crackers from the cupboard” ummm we are underwater, how are crackers dry?
“Remnants of old wooden ships were strewn around us as water lapped at our heels” again were underwater so what?
This scene takes place during the middle of winter and a blizzard “night insects chirped, and the bitter wind howled” insects aren’t out or alive then.
My issues -
1. Still minimal of no character development - even with the two new people we are following
2. I couldn’t easily tell the four characters apart when reading their point of view.
3.The forced argument between Xander and Aileana was terrible. Who cares if they get married, they’re bonded mates. It felt so forced and stupid. The storyline would have been awesome without it.
4. Editing was badly needed, especially in the underwater scenes which I’m pretty sure were originally written as taking place on land and then for fun in was in water.
Examples
“Tinix pointed out the bathing room, pulling leafy greens and dried crackers from the cupboard” ummm we are underwater, how are crackers dry?
“Remnants of old wooden ships were strewn around us as water lapped at our heels” again were underwater so what?
This scene takes place during the middle of winter and a blizzard “night insects chirped, and the bitter wind howled” insects aren’t out or alive then.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2023
This latest installment in the Ithenmyr Chronicles followed two couples instead of just Alieana and Xander. It also follows Daegal and Ryllae. It still had all the danger and adventure, this book was just a bit slower to get fully into for me. It was still amazing though! The peek into the mer court with Daegal and Ryllae was fascinating, but seemed rushed. Whereas their run in with the resistance seemed unnecessarily long with nothing coming from it but injury. Following Xander and Alieana I felt their side of the story was more compelling. The time at the sanctuary was really slow for me and the issues with myhenna (sp?) we’re only like half revealed? I felt the reveal could have been a bit more explanatory. ALIEANA MATURES AND ITS AWESOME. The next conflict with the crimson king is fast and dangerous and was well executed and the reveal of the southern queens identity 😧😧 i won’t spoil the ending but it was amazing and wrapped it up well without leaving SUCH a big cliffhanger like the last book. Still a cliffhanger but not as dire as her falling off a tower.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2023
Xander is growing more frustrating with each passing day. He throws a tantrum because she won't marry him and shows bare minimum empathy towards Aileana's trauma. While he is in death's door he is still upset that she won't marry him. Like bro, chill. It's not that dire. It's very petulant. His reasonings for wanting to marry her are all "I want her to be fully mine" and it's got super possessive vibes.
Aileana facing her fears is impressive but her lack of character development regarding her trauma is a little disappointing. Give the poor girl a break and some healing, she's been through a lot! :(
Truthfully Daegal is taking the crown for best male because of his complete and genuine attempt to respect Ryllae and everything she went through. Ryllae also shows a better attempt for healing her trauma and trying to make a better life for herself.
Also, how the heck does the White Death, feared across the nation, keep getting freaking kidnapped? It doesn't make sense.
But the twist at the end was pretty impressive and I did not see that coming. When the character was introduced I thought it was possible but I was largely leaning towards it being someone else that hadn't been mentioned yet.
Frustrating male dragons aside, its a good book to continue the story and the wicked witch is dead so I'll take it
Aileana facing her fears is impressive but her lack of character development regarding her trauma is a little disappointing. Give the poor girl a break and some healing, she's been through a lot! :(
Truthfully Daegal is taking the crown for best male because of his complete and genuine attempt to respect Ryllae and everything she went through. Ryllae also shows a better attempt for healing her trauma and trying to make a better life for herself.
Also, how the heck does the White Death, feared across the nation, keep getting freaking kidnapped? It doesn't make sense.
But the twist at the end was pretty impressive and I did not see that coming. When the character was introduced I thought it was possible but I was largely leaning towards it being someone else that hadn't been mentioned yet.
Frustrating male dragons aside, its a good book to continue the story and the wicked witch is dead so I'll take it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2025
This one was more of a struggle to get through. The book starts with Xander and Aileana facing off with the high king in the tower. She is falling out and Xander has to save her. They go to the sanctuary and work on training. Then Xander is taken by the king, she goes on a solo mission to get him back. The book ends with Edger being killed and we learn that his wife is Seana who is Xanders thought to be dead sister who is now evil. I think I struggled with this book because the time they were hiding away in the sanctuary (which is a majority) just drags on. I know it is important for her to learn her manic but I just don’t care. They also add in a lot of back story with different elemental spirits that tends to be more boring. The brightest part of this book is that we start to get chapters from Daegal and Rylle’s perspective and it made me start to fall in love with them more. It is a little super slow burn between them with her still being mentally unstable but it was nice to see the start of their relationship.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2023
The third installment in The Ithenmyr Chronicles, Of Ash and Ivy is a well-paced, multi-POV continuation of the story. Aileana struggles to understand her magic and awaits her maturation, while Xander must heal from poisoning. Ryllae must deal with the fact that, although her prohiberis is gone, her magic is inaccessible. Daegal proves a true gentleman in treating Ryllae honorably, keeping her past in mind. (He’s obviously one of my favorites at this point.)
I was pleased to have additional POVs from Daegal and Ryllae in this book. To me, they were really stars of the story, and I loved their chapters. The peek into the mer court was a lot of fun, and overall the reader gets a broader look into the world (both Surface and underwater).
This was such an engaging read and I’m excited for the fourth installment!
Special thanks to the author for the ARC. All thoughts in this review are honest and my own.
I was pleased to have additional POVs from Daegal and Ryllae in this book. To me, they were really stars of the story, and I loved their chapters. The peek into the mer court was a lot of fun, and overall the reader gets a broader look into the world (both Surface and underwater).
This was such an engaging read and I’m excited for the fourth installment!
Special thanks to the author for the ARC. All thoughts in this review are honest and my own.
April 1, 2023
Keeps getting better and better
I'm devouring this series. Unputdownable.
If you like: fated mates, dragons, magic, strongwilled and stubborn MFC's, finding the reason(s) to never give up, going up against a slew of earth shattering obstacles in hopes of making a difference, stabby tendencies, funny banter, having a book evoke every emotion you can think of and make it feel like you're on a roller coaster and you don't want to get off it because you need to know what happens even though its 3am and you have to be at work in two hours, intimacy that makes you swoon and blush so much you don't care its closed door, .....Start this series. Gallea has such an incredible gift for pulling you into her stories , transporting you. Her imagery and world building are fantastic, her characters being relatable and complex. The themes present are ones I can identify with. Love the series.
I'm devouring this series. Unputdownable.
If you like: fated mates, dragons, magic, strongwilled and stubborn MFC's, finding the reason(s) to never give up, going up against a slew of earth shattering obstacles in hopes of making a difference, stabby tendencies, funny banter, having a book evoke every emotion you can think of and make it feel like you're on a roller coaster and you don't want to get off it because you need to know what happens even though its 3am and you have to be at work in two hours, intimacy that makes you swoon and blush so much you don't care its closed door, .....Start this series. Gallea has such an incredible gift for pulling you into her stories , transporting you. Her imagery and world building are fantastic, her characters being relatable and complex. The themes present are ones I can identify with. Love the series.
October 21, 2024
Don’t know why I’m still reading this series but I guess it’s because I don’t like to leave things unfinished. Same song and dance; she doesn’t listen, he’s overprotective, they’re bonded mates…we get it already. Although I can appreciate the different viewpoints and the fact that more “dark” stuff is happening which makes it interesting, I’m still struggling with the dialogue. Saw the twist happening at the end but I do want to know what’s going to happen with Ryllae and Daegal, obviously we know they’re mates but I want to know more about her powers as the Lost Daughter of Kydona so I guess we’ll see. This would have made a great “dark” fantasy if it had a bit more umph, spice and the dialogue was better. Right now it just gives me Twilight vibes (movie, not book 😆) like it’s so bad it’s kinda good if that makes sense
February 3, 2025
Really interesting story
The book is captivating, definitely worth reading/buying the series. The only part i disliked was the constant possessiveness throughout this series which seems to be a common trait through many of the authors books- “she is mine, he is mine”- repetitively.. yea we get it but it just starts to feel like book filler.. and in this series for a character claiming to need her independence she sure puts up/contributes to alot of that, and it kind of dampers the story a bit as it’s romantically too dominative and unrealistic. Ryllae and ..Daegyls situation so far was more captivating and authentic. That said i’m looking forward to reading book 4, this authors books ARE binge worthy, i love how the story lines are starting to match up. I can only hope this author will keep writing more, they have true talent, and i am definitely a fan!
The book is captivating, definitely worth reading/buying the series. The only part i disliked was the constant possessiveness throughout this series which seems to be a common trait through many of the authors books- “she is mine, he is mine”- repetitively.. yea we get it but it just starts to feel like book filler.. and in this series for a character claiming to need her independence she sure puts up/contributes to alot of that, and it kind of dampers the story a bit as it’s romantically too dominative and unrealistic. Ryllae and ..Daegyls situation so far was more captivating and authentic. That said i’m looking forward to reading book 4, this authors books ARE binge worthy, i love how the story lines are starting to match up. I can only hope this author will keep writing more, they have true talent, and i am definitely a fan!
December 13, 2023
I think this is the best book out of the series so far. This book starts at the same place as the last book left off when Aileana falls out of the window. It did get a little bit annoying sometimes because when they would jump from character to character, things would overlap a little bit. Xander almost dies, and Aileana and her mate are led to the sanctuary. They stay there for quite a while Aileana is learning how to use her earth magic. She feels that one of the earth spirits is lying to her, and she finds out the truth when they leave. I really like Daegal and Ryllae. When they found her, she was on the edge of madness and she still is but she’s getting better. In this book, she does end up getting her magic back. I’ll be excited to read the next book in this series because this series is getting a little bit old and I could use the end.
September 22, 2024
I have to give 2 stars for this book. I can’t wrap my head around the ending because in the end all was really too easy. Maturing is suppose to give mad power to the elves, but I can’t understand how a newly matured elfe can understand and master all that power in a matter of days. She can be royalty all she wants but she should train in order to master her magic. And two weeks on the back of a spirit doesn’t count as training in my head.
Killing Edgar was really too easy and it bothers me…
The whole story around Daegal and Ryllae was cute, but I don’t understand why the rebels were introduced. I hope it was not just to injure Daegal.
I will continue the series because it’s fun to read but there are quite a lot of plot holes in my mind.
Killing Edgar was really too easy and it bothers me…
The whole story around Daegal and Ryllae was cute, but I don’t understand why the rebels were introduced. I hope it was not just to injure Daegal.
I will continue the series because it’s fun to read but there are quite a lot of plot holes in my mind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2024
WOAH. holy plot twist. I like how we all knew who it was but then they didn’t say it for like the last 15% of the book so you doubted yourself. And I also kinda like how she matured and we saw it and she depicted it, but it wasn’t like the full story it was just in the background. Also wooo they’re back together again 😍 and the other little love story hell ya!! Also can’t wait to see that bitch werk werk werk werk werk. And it’ll be fun to see them do shit together and be matching!!! Iykyk also Xander wtf bro
April 20, 2023
I really don’t think I can put into words how content I am with this book and how scared it makes me for the next one. We get more POV’s, even more romance, a lot of heartbreak and some laughs. I love our characters growth throughout the book and how the conquer some of their biggest fears. Also, the ending blew my mind 👀
I can just say that I’m definitely waiting for next book, that Elayna made it again and that I fall in love a little bit more with this series with each book.
I can just say that I’m definitely waiting for next book, that Elayna made it again and that I fall in love a little bit more with this series with each book.
May 24, 2023
**spoilers**
I'm so enjoying my journey with these characters.
I did find Xander's overprotectiveness and Aileana's moments of acting more like a damsel in distress prior to her fully maturing a bit over-the-top and distracting. However, I loved the badassery in the end.
I also really enjoyed the addition of Daegal and Ryllae's journey to the story. I hope we get to see more of the mer-folk!
I'm so enjoying my journey with these characters.
I did find Xander's overprotectiveness and Aileana's moments of acting more like a damsel in distress prior to her fully maturing a bit over-the-top and distracting. However, I loved the badassery in the end.
I also really enjoyed the addition of Daegal and Ryllae's journey to the story. I hope we get to see more of the mer-folk!
March 12, 2024
I am really interested in seeing where this story goes but the writing overall is not as good as it was in this authors Binding Chronicles.
The air grows thick so often I’m surprised anyone can breathe. I don’t need to know every time the characters use the bathroom. Certain phrases are overused far too much in this book. I started skimming and skipping large sections just to get through it.
Xander has become insufferable by this point and I’m so sick of his crap. I found myself really enjoying Daegal and Ryllae’s stories and dreading anytime it switched back to Xander and Aileana. The author likes to put a lot of action near the end and that was enjoyable. The rest was a drag.
The air grows thick so often I’m surprised anyone can breathe. I don’t need to know every time the characters use the bathroom. Certain phrases are overused far too much in this book. I started skimming and skipping large sections just to get through it.
Xander has become insufferable by this point and I’m so sick of his crap. I found myself really enjoying Daegal and Ryllae’s stories and dreading anytime it switched back to Xander and Aileana. The author likes to put a lot of action near the end and that was enjoyable. The rest was a drag.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2024
The split perspective with the additional characters wasn't really for me. And I felt like in some ways the MMC was super dramatic in how he responded to the FMC. Overall I loved the first two books, but this one just couldn't hold my attention. The love story was a huge part of it all for me and I feel like we got a conclusion to that arc in the previous book and now it's harder for my attention not to stray.
April 19, 2024
I still have the same gripes from the first two books about numerous typos and grammatical errors along with disliking Aeliana/finding her POV to be excessively juvenile a lot of the time…but the additional POVs were a welcome change, and the plot itself has me hooked and I want to know what happens in the rest of the series, so I guess I’m gonna keep going until I finish it lol. I’m a sucker for a series.
June 14, 2025
This book gets a whole lot more interesting with the introduction of Ryllae & Daegal and an expansion in the universe, we meet the merfolk and journey to coral city, while the sanctuary and its type of magic systems are further explored.
More pieces of the puzzle fit together and we see more characters develop and plots evolve. Are some of them obvious? Yes, are they enjoyable? Truly.
The little tie ins to the connected binding chronicles are always nice to spot too
More pieces of the puzzle fit together and we see more characters develop and plots evolve. Are some of them obvious? Yes, are they enjoyable? Truly.
The little tie ins to the connected binding chronicles are always nice to spot too
January 3, 2023
I received this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you so much!
This series!!! Book three is action packed and had me turning pages as fast as I could to see what would happen to our beloved characters! The cliffhangers though will most likely be the death of me with these books. The continued world building and character growth is so well done!
Thank you so much!
This series!!! Book three is action packed and had me turning pages as fast as I could to see what would happen to our beloved characters! The cliffhangers though will most likely be the death of me with these books. The continued world building and character growth is so well done!
June 2, 2023
So very thankful that there was no beating around the bush addressing the events following the cliffhanger at the end of the last book.
Elayna (as per usual, I should expect nothing less at this point really) did an astonishing job with this book, allowing us to explore new characters and environments all beautifully interlinked with the undercurrent of the main story.
Seeing Aileana further evolve into the person she is destined to be, as well as seeing Ryllae finding her way after everything she has gone through is so beautifuly heart warming.
Also if you haven’t read the bound in magic anthology, do so, as there is an incredible tie in between Elayna’s short story in the anthology and this book that I was so excited to see.
Elayna (as per usual, I should expect nothing less at this point really) did an astonishing job with this book, allowing us to explore new characters and environments all beautifully interlinked with the undercurrent of the main story.
Seeing Aileana further evolve into the person she is destined to be, as well as seeing Ryllae finding her way after everything she has gone through is so beautifuly heart warming.
Also if you haven’t read the bound in magic anthology, do so, as there is an incredible tie in between Elayna’s short story in the anthology and this book that I was so excited to see.
July 10, 2023
The writing has gotten soooooooo much better in Elayna's books. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. There were parts I didn't love and Ailena drove me crazy sometimes, but overall, a fun read and the characters grew quite a bit through the book. I also loved the additional perspectives added to this book. So 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.
April 17, 2024
I really wanted to like this series and it started off quite well and original. Unfortunately I found it too tropey and repetitive with far too many typos as I went on.I am on the fence as to whether I will read any further in the series.
I would read this author again im hopes that with time the writing and editing will improve.
I would read this author again im hopes that with time the writing and editing will improve.
June 23, 2024
The first half dragged on for forever. I skimmed through some of it because it was just boring. I love the addition of Ryllae and Daegal though. The last half got much better as more happened. I’m unsure how I feel about Aileana and Xander. I love them but their relationship seems a little off to me. I don’t know, that’s just me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews