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Mel knows the price of secrets.

They cost her everything. Her marriage. Her family. Her happiness. Now, she lives a simple, isolated life in the mountains, far from the troubles of Cantheon. But trouble, it seems, has a way of finding her.

She never should have helped hide the man with mixed blood from the Order, especially when it puts her in the crosshairs of the vengeful town steward and rips apart the life she fought for in Viviers.

In a last-ditch effort to warn her newfound friends and untangle herself from their conflict, her life is derailed when she’s forced onto a ship with the one man she never dared to confront again. Rhodric.

The man she still yearns for.

The man she walked out on six years ago in the middle of the night.

In this action-packed tale, Mel is torn between her loyalties to Rayelle and Paladin (The Blessing Giver) , the unexplainable forces sparking within her, and her desperation to stay far, far away from her former lover and the dark secret they share.

Return to the Passage Realm for this enthralling slow-burn, second-chance fantasy romance. The Blessing Giver series continues to deliver an irresistible blend of passion and adventure that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

Scroll up and click BUY NOW or READ FOR FREE to continue the series today!

428 pages, Paperback

Published June 25, 2023

20 people are currently reading
51 people want to read

About the author

Cindy Gunderson

28 books163 followers

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5 stars
31 (31%)
4 stars
39 (40%)
3 stars
22 (22%)
2 stars
4 (4%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Erin.
914 reviews105 followers
February 15, 2024
3.5 stars. I liked it. Good installment and I’m def reading book 3.

Plot- the plot carried the first half of the book when the romance wasn’t giving me the feels. Still an interesting storyline although I did get confused at the very end by a maybe-betrayal that may not be a betrayal? It will be better explained in the next book.

Pacing- the plot had good pacing but the romance didn’t.

Characters- Paladin’s character made a very rash, ridiculous decision near the beginning of the book by beating someone up who didn’t deserve it and it bothered me. The other characters were great, though. Except the FMC- I didn’t love her for the first half of the book. But I liked her a lot by the end.

Romance- this was not great until it was great; it was a quick flip. I prefer a buildup, a slow burn, but this was like nothing to everything. The everything was awesome, tho.
At the 30% mark, I had finally decided that the FMC was not super likable. She was fine, but just not my favorite personality. She was often hard, sharp, cold, and kept everyone at a distance. The fact that she ran from her emotions and/or uncomfortable situations showed the depth of her immaturity, which not only hurt herself but also hurt others. I didn’t enjoy the scenes when she self medicated with alcohol, tonics, and a failed attempt at intimacy. It was sad and disappointing.
Same situation at 45% and the romance was feeling like a slog. She should have been opening up and begging Rhod’s forgiveness, or at least making SOME progress, but instead she was still stubbornly actively building walls. I needed softening. I needed honesty. I needed chemistry.
However, eventually she snapped out of it and then the romance was great and I liked the FMC much more! So I enjoyed the last half of the book’s romance a lot better.


I will definitely read the next installment. I love that every book features a new romance!


Content-
Language- no swearing
Spice- one sex scene that was a fade to black between a married couple. Not explicit but still hot. Very well done.

Narration- great (by the author, btw!)


How I rated this series-
The Blessing Giver- 5 stars (Rayelle & Paladin)
The Herbalist- 3.5 stars (Mel & Rhodric)
The Diviner - 5 stars (Bella & Gerrish)
The Balancer - 1.5 stars (Aedra & Brion)

*Even though I didn’t enjoy the last book in this series, I loved the 1st and 3rd books and I think it’s worth reading 1-3 for sure!
I enjoy this author and think she can write a great romance, so I’ll def read her other books.
Profile Image for Chelsea.
1,033 reviews1 follower
September 14, 2023
Great, fast paced sequel to the series. Liked it even more than the first (and I liked that one a lot!)
Profile Image for Tiffany  (Bluestocking).
448 reviews18 followers
November 21, 2023
After reading the first book I had very high expectations for this second one. Sadly I was incredibly disappointed. While this was supposed to be Rhodric and Mel’s story, they still felt like secondary characters. Nothing they did was as exciting as Paladin and Reyelle’s story (The Blessing Giver). Every time I read Mel’s POV I wished it were Reyelle’s instead. They just could not keep my interest.

There was so much angst between Mel and Rhodric that I just couldn’t anymore. They were exhausting 😩 There was also a little love triangle that I could not get behind because I just loved the other guy and thought Mel took advantage of him. He deserved so much better.

I must say the ending, the last hour of the audiobook, was a bit exciting. Bella and Garrish, the main characters of the next book, seem promising. So I’m actually looking forward to their story. Hope I’m not disappointed yet again.

Content: PG-13 clean, Fade to black, Mild language, Mild violence
464 reviews4 followers
September 25, 2023
The herbalist

OMG what the heck this is a real rollercoaster ride of will they won't they I found I was shouting in my head oh! come on ,once again a brilliant story, characters that really work and a world that's sounds so real Cindy you are great I highly recommend these books a very well deserved 5 stars
4 reviews
February 2, 2024
Had to DNF at 50%. I tried really hard to enjoy the first book in the series and thought if I kept going maybe it would get better. It did not. I enjoyed Mel as a side character in the first book and was surprised when she was supposed to be the FMC in this book. Her character greatly failed to be interesting. It seemed as though all of the characters acted completely differently than they did in the first book and become incredibly boring to me. The scenes on the ship felt so dragged out and flat.

Deeply disappointed by how these books were written when they had potential to be great.
Profile Image for Jesica.
1,705 reviews15 followers
February 4, 2025
CLASIFICATION: 3.3 ESTRELLAS

El primer ibro prometia bastante y como pico mi curiosidad decidi comenzar este. Sin embargo, no era lo que esperaba y la verdad en muchas partes del libro me di cuenta que tenia que devolverme porque no le estaba poniendo atencion a la lectura.
En fin, le puse 3 estrellas porque al final se puso interesante, pero no seguire la saga.
5 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2024
Okkkk I loved this one even more than the first! Mel is such an awesome lead character and I loved her romance story so much!! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series. 🥳
79 reviews
May 16, 2024
The first book was ok, I was intrigued. This book was great! Looking forward to the last 2 books.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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