Arcane Hearts

Hearts of Avalar #4

by Faedra Rose

Jareth Grimclaw sets out on a quest: to end the blight of The Dread Barrens spilling into his territory, The Green Sea—a beautiful lush jungle region. As the Alpha of his panther shifter pride, the task falls to him to do something before it’s too late, and the damage is irreversible.

Venturing into The Dread Barrens, Jareth has no choice but to confront the warlock, Bane Umbra. When Bane speaks to Jareth using mindspeech, Jareth feels the immediate spark of the sacred Fated mate bond. He can’t believe it—he’s Fated to the enemy!

66 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 24, 2023

About the author

Faedra Rose is a USA Today and Internationally Bestselling Australian Romance Author. She writes love in all the hues of the rainbow, from light to dark, and contemporary to the otherworldly… but you can always be assured her stories will be spicy!
Neurodiverse, curvy, and obsessed with caffeine in all its forms, she can often be found between the pages of a book or binge watching her next serial obsession.

Reviews

[Kate V · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 -4 smut-scale stars!

Arcane Hearts was cheesy erotica at its best! It was a short novella so it did fall rather short on the world building and relationship development but as long as you know going into this not to expect a literary masterpiece then I think it will be quite the smutty and enjoyable MM read for most.

Jareth is a panther shifter and in his task to confront the warlock Bane on the growing threat to his packs land, he discovers the grumpy warlock is his fated mate. Jareth and Bane's personalities surprised me because they went a different direction than I was expecting but I didn't hate it. The two of them burned up the sheets...or should I say hammock lol and their journey to a HEA was thoughtful.

Overall, Arcane Hearts was a fun read with some serious instalove that was cheesier than a cheese quesadilla but hey sometimes you just need a read like that!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Katriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faedra Rose is a new-to-me author, and now I'm interested in reading more from them.

This book may be on the shorter side but Faedra packed a lot into these chapters. I enjoyed the different point of views, and the detail that was in this story. I liked the fated mate aspect of them sealing a bond by kissing? That's new and I haven't read something with that quirk before. I also thought the part where Jareth gave Bane a week to decide if Jareth would be returning as a mate... Or as an enemy. And while I know this is a shorter book, in that regard it felt a bit rushed. But overall it was a really good read, and I'm happy I was able to read it. The only reason I didn't give this a five star is because I feel like both of these characters using the others full names almost every time they talked got a bit redundant. Overall though a good book!

Short, sweet, and to the point.

*I received an early copy of this book and this is my honest review.*

[Chani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, sometimes ridiculous, read, but not in a bad way. If you're looking to kill some time but still want a detailed fantasy world I recommend this one. Things move pretty fast, but fated mates tend to be that way so it was expected. The descriptions were great.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sarah (missrelena) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and sweet MM shifter novella, this story was a lovely and quick escape. While the fated mate bond between the two male leads was a bit. . . convenient (but when isn't it in these types of stories), I still enjoyed their relationship. I very much appreciated when Jareth gave Bane a moral wake-up call, then stepped back to give his mate the opportunity to come to his own decisions. It would have been hard to put your faith in the hands of a man with the traditional moral ambiguity of the warlock race, but Jareth saw it through.

I loved the overall ideas of the story. However, I wish the author had taken the time to see it through to afull length novel. There was much that was left unexplained or unanswered that often created the need for gaping plot convenience theater. It could have been much more fully flushed out with the coming together of the other shifters and supernatural people's to help Jareth in his time of need. Instead it was as glossed over as a pre-teen's pouty lip. Maybe it is further developed in another story, but it made me sad that there was barely a hint of it here. Please, author! Don't be afraid to give us more!

Recommended for fans of Gail Carriger's "San Andreas Shifters" series and books by Claire Cullen.

* I received this as a free eARC from the publisher via BookSirens. The opinions here are my own and are left without any compensation. *

[Anne Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can’t fight fate
Jareth is the Alpha of panther shifters pride, and the territory The Green Sea is a beautiful lush jungle region but there is a warlock that is taking all the goodness out of the land making his pride struggle. Jareth knows he must confront him for their survival. He knows it’s not gonna be easy but he must try. But it seems they were both in for a shock.
Bane Umbra was a strong warlock who grew up knowing he must use his powers and stay strong taking from the land. when a panther shifter demands to talk it seems that fate has played a game on them because from enemies they became fated mates and this changed everything.
Would there be any chance that these two could come together and be mates? Would the pride welcome a warlock? Would they trust him?? Could Bane Make the land lush once again??
This is the first book that I have read in the series so I’m wondering if that’s why it’s took a while for me to get in to it.
I struggled to get into this book at the beginning but then when something happens to put this couple in danger I really got into the story. I liked the connection between Jareth and Bane. A nice read.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danielle Mccowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"From now on, I’m going to make every moment count and appreciate them all. I’d love to watch the sun rise, and set, with you.”

Ok this was such a sweet read. I loved Bane and Jareth. They had the best chemistry and angst being rival warlock and panther shifter. This book was full of change, second chances, spice and banter. The world building was great and the spice 🔥 Let me just say... There is a unique use of a hammock 😏 Faedra write another lovely romance and I highly recommend this M/M novella.

[Flavia Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top shelf reading,. I loved the dialogues between Bane and Jareth, the internal struggle that both have. And how duty seeps into their desires and passions. How together they find the best way to do things and the unconditional love of the Fated Mates.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tyler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you Booksirens for the arc of this book. The following review is left voluntarily and contains my own opinions.

I will say I liked the concept of this book. Alpha shifter and warlock become mates, what's not to like? Well with this book it was the execution. I unfortunately did not feel connected to the characters. They did not have enough meat to them to really pique my interest, they felt like they were just there and therefore, their romance felt bland and boring. I also found the world building to be rather lackluster. We learn minimal details about the shifters, their tribe, the land, the other races, the way magic works, I could go on. The plot was really rushed. This goes back to the relationship being boring. It's straight up instalove and they know absolutely nothing about each other even at the end. Soooo we must save him just because fate says so? Last but certainly not least, I immediately got the ick multiple times during the spicy scenes in this book. I get you can only explain body parts so many ways but let's not always put cat in front of them. We know he is a panther shifter there is absolutely no need for that.

[Shelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a fun ride from start to finish. Jareth is the Alpha of The Green Sea Pride and in order to save his land and pride, he must travel to find the reclusive warlock that is responsible for death of their land. Bane is the warlock Jareth seeks but he is a recluse as warlocks, in his belief, only take from everyone and everything in order to continue growing his powers. When they meet, it is evident they are mates. But how can that be when Bane knows he needs to be alone because if he shows any weakness others will come for him and anyone close to him? For Jareth, Bane is the enemy and can't be trusted, right? As they begin their new life together, evil comes for Bane. Will Jareth and the pride stand together and save his mate, or will Jareth have to go alone? This is a good quick read that is worth the time. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Latecia Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love fated romances...especially fated mates and this romance was nice. I'm guessing I'm missing some details because, I'm not sure why Bane and Jareth are enemies at first. Not sure if they were introduced in previous books prior to this one but anywho...I was lost a bit but once they met and realized their connection, things start rolling quickly...not everything makes sense to me other than them being mates and by being together they will be restoring the land. This was a quick read and I was satisfied with their HEA.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Arcane Hearts by Faedra Rose. It's the fourth book in the Hearts of Avalar series. I enjoyed Bane and Jareth's story. A lot happens in this short fated-mates, enemies-to-lovers novella. I loved that Bane chooses to be with his mate, be a better warlock, and look at all the friends he makes in the process.

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tasmin Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new to me author. I got this book from booksirens for an honest review.

This was a pretty quick read. And because of that things moved way too fast. But knowing it's a novella I could look past that. Still this would have been a great full length book for sure. I really enjoyed Bane in this. And would have loved to get to know him more. I definitely need to go and read the series and see what they are like.

All in all this was a good read.

[Ash J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short M/M romance. It was exciting, steamy, and had nice characters. I loved how we got to see characters from the previous books in this series as well. Can't wait to see if there's more!

I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[JackaayReadsallday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first fated mate MM story and I loved it from the very first page! Jareth is the perfect possessive shifter & Bane is so a adorable with his perfect nerdiness. I love how much they balance each other. I’m only sad about one thing & it’s that I wish it was longer. I love this couple and I want more.

[Lea Gesser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the story of this book. Climate change caused by a human [warlock], not quite, but still. The story of Bane and Alpha Jareth [Kitty Cat], the story gives hope that not everything we do to the Earth is unchangeable. If we work together, that is, everyone, regardless of race, rank or status, we can make a big difference. So good book to read.

[Christyn P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Babe and Jareth are a fated pair that didn’t even know they needed each other. Bringing out the best in one another, their forever after was dependent on being vulnerable with each other, which was something new and scary. Their passion was hot!! Good plot kept the pages turning. A good one!

[Stephanie Vicente · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 ⭐️ It was a short sweet read and the overall premise is what pulled me into this story , this was a fun ride , this was a quick read this was steamy and was well written. I think this was the perfect shifter romance read. I loved this story and it had some nice characters in it too.