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Amaranth of the Wild Things
He was hewn from cruelty and violence.
He felt nothing, he was nothing.
He was wild, untamed, a shadow, a hand of death, a law unto himself. He had never known love. He had never felt love.
Except…
For the amaranth flower. Perfect, undying, beautiful. The only soft thing in his hardened world. The only thing he had ever held in reverence, and the only thing to ever offer him solace.
He had never faltered in his assignments as an assassin. His hand had never wavered. But that was before he’d been ordered to kidnap her. A woman of unique disposition, undaunted in the face of her adversity. A woman bearing the same name as the immortal flower he so cherished.
She could be his greatest downfall…or his greatest treasure.
He felt nothing, he was nothing.
He was wild, untamed, a shadow, a hand of death, a law unto himself. He had never known love. He had never felt love.
Except…
For the amaranth flower. Perfect, undying, beautiful. The only soft thing in his hardened world. The only thing he had ever held in reverence, and the only thing to ever offer him solace.
He had never faltered in his assignments as an assassin. His hand had never wavered. But that was before he’d been ordered to kidnap her. A woman of unique disposition, undaunted in the face of her adversity. A woman bearing the same name as the immortal flower he so cherished.
She could be his greatest downfall…or his greatest treasure.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Brieanna Robertson
32 books8 followersIf someone were to ask me what I am, it could be summed up in one, simple word: Dreamer. Ever since I was a small child my imagination has run wild. I have been telling stories for as long as I can remember, creating grand worlds in my head and going on adventures that were invisible to others around me. Am I eccentric? Yes. Am I proud of that? Absolutely.
I write about the things that inspire me, both in this world and in realms only seen with the imagination. My heroines are sassy and strong. My heroes are sometimes shy. I have an obsession with music (and musicians) and a fascination with wings. I believe true love does exist, and sometimes it is found in the strangest, most unexpected places. I also believe that family and close friends are the glue that hold people together.
Above all things, I believe in being true to yourself and seizing the day. Life is an amazing gift. Make your experience as beautiful as you possibly can.
From the author's website.
I write about the things that inspire me, both in this world and in realms only seen with the imagination. My heroines are sassy and strong. My heroes are sometimes shy. I have an obsession with music (and musicians) and a fascination with wings. I believe true love does exist, and sometimes it is found in the strangest, most unexpected places. I also believe that family and close friends are the glue that hold people together.
Above all things, I believe in being true to yourself and seizing the day. Life is an amazing gift. Make your experience as beautiful as you possibly can.
From the author's website.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 25, 2016
++Spoilers++
I am tossed as to how many stars to give so I am going stright up the middle with a 3.
The beginning was pretty badly written. Seeming amatuerish. It did however slowly improve, or perhaps I just got used to it.
One of the things that put me off was the fact this tale(Which has a historical flare) used many modern phrases. These modern phrases did peeter off about midway which I was thankful for because it just seemed so out of place.
The other thing that put me off was the MC's seemed unrealistic.. not flat, but I guess you can say that the heroine was too perfect.. too good. No one would ever act like that. The hero also failed to maintain his persoanlity.
I found it ironic that the characters even knew they were not acting right. They would say to each othe "you're mad" or "are you insane" which makes me think the author at some point realized the ridiculousness of their actions as well, and tried to justify it.
The good news is that by about 70% it all seemed to work! This is one of those reads that I would have put down as a dnf, but for some reason I kept on going. I was glad I did because by the end I truly liked it.
The bulk of the story is a bit boring and repettitive. The characters are basically journeying, so 90% is of them camping... making camp.. and camping again.
The antagonist is virtually non existant, only showing up briefly twice, and is easily foiled.
I did love the hero. He was hard to like at first, but that goes with his character. I slowly grew to love him and he was such a tortured soul.
The heroine was likable enough, but as I said earlier.. unrealistically too good. Her thinking was bizarre and unnatural, but in the end I was able to accept it.
I enjoyed it, would recommend it to those who need something low anxiety to read.
I would probably read more by this author.
Safety
Hero-Virgin
Heroine-Virgin
Cheating-No-They are each other first everything..and last
OW/OM-No
Violence-Yes a little more than mild
Torture references/descriptions-Yes not terribly detailed
Rape-No
Cursing-I don''t think so
Sex-Yes. Once near the very end, not done as well as it could have been. A bit tame IMHO
Marriage-Yes twice
Adultery-No
Baby-no
HEA/ILY's yes to both
I am tossed as to how many stars to give so I am going stright up the middle with a 3.
The beginning was pretty badly written. Seeming amatuerish. It did however slowly improve, or perhaps I just got used to it.
One of the things that put me off was the fact this tale(Which has a historical flare) used many modern phrases. These modern phrases did peeter off about midway which I was thankful for because it just seemed so out of place.
The other thing that put me off was the MC's seemed unrealistic.. not flat, but I guess you can say that the heroine was too perfect.. too good. No one would ever act like that. The hero also failed to maintain his persoanlity.
I found it ironic that the characters even knew they were not acting right. They would say to each othe "you're mad" or "are you insane" which makes me think the author at some point realized the ridiculousness of their actions as well, and tried to justify it.
The good news is that by about 70% it all seemed to work! This is one of those reads that I would have put down as a dnf, but for some reason I kept on going. I was glad I did because by the end I truly liked it.
The bulk of the story is a bit boring and repettitive. The characters are basically journeying, so 90% is of them camping... making camp.. and camping again.
The antagonist is virtually non existant, only showing up briefly twice, and is easily foiled.
I did love the hero. He was hard to like at first, but that goes with his character. I slowly grew to love him and he was such a tortured soul.
The heroine was likable enough, but as I said earlier.. unrealistically too good. Her thinking was bizarre and unnatural, but in the end I was able to accept it.
I enjoyed it, would recommend it to those who need something low anxiety to read.
I would probably read more by this author.
Safety
Hero-Virgin
Heroine-Virgin
Cheating-No-They are each other first everything..and last
OW/OM-No
Violence-Yes a little more than mild
Torture references/descriptions-Yes not terribly detailed
Rape-No
Cursing-I don''t think so
Sex-Yes. Once near the very end, not done as well as it could have been. A bit tame IMHO
Marriage-Yes twice
Adultery-No
Baby-no
HEA/ILY's yes to both
August 9, 2013
AOTWT is a quick, enjoyable and at times emotional read. The writing style was at first a bit "off putting" and another reviewer described it best as "stilted"; but it worked with the story which read like a fairy tale for grown ups.
Once upon a time there was an orphan boy named Jaiden, who was unwanted and unloved. Since there was no family to claim him, when he was 15 he was sent to The Rezzegard to be trained as a mercenary and assassin. Jaiden resisted and tried to hold on to his humanity, even when the only goodness he saw was a field of amaranth flowers which represented to him "the last shred of delicate hope in an ugly, ugly world". But eventually the Rezzegard succeeded in torturing the humanity out of Jaiden and the assassin Jaide was born - it only took the forced killing of 3 men, 2 women and 1 child to shake him free of his troubling conscience.
12 years later Jaide takes a contract to kidnap a Princess and deliver her to her execution. The Princes Amara, named after his beloved mythical flower that kept him "deep beneath the layers of stone, human"; got under his skin and slowly thawed his heart, stirred his soul and brought to light the humanity he thought had been forever destroyed.
AOTWT is a sweet, moving love story. Rated PG for 1 not particularly descriptive sex scene. No cuss words. All in all, completely inoffensive. Jaide is technically an anti-hero; but not the morally ambiguous type I prefer. He is a tortured, damaged, broken hero. He truly loathes himself, what he has done and what he has become. He is a virgin in case anyone is interested. He has never experienced any type of human kindness, affection or touch, he does not like to be touched and shies away from human companionship and interaction.
My catalog of pet peeves consists of the following:
1. For the first half of the story Jaide "glowered" constantly. Throughout the story Amara "giggled". There are so many different and varied words in the English language it drives me crazy when an author feels the need to pick a handful of favorites to use repeatedly. Also any adult who giggles should be slapped...hard...until they stop forever.
2. I was slightly annoyed by Amara who spent 80% of the story behaving as if she trusted Jaide when she had no reason to, and at one point seemed to embody the quintessential TSTL heroine when she forgo an opportunity to escape knowing full well he was still intending to deliver her to death. Then when events transpired that actually should have made her think she could trust him, or at least hear him out; she couldn't wait to throw him under the proverbial bus.
Still AOTWT is an interesting and different story.
Once upon a time there was an orphan boy named Jaiden, who was unwanted and unloved. Since there was no family to claim him, when he was 15 he was sent to The Rezzegard to be trained as a mercenary and assassin. Jaiden resisted and tried to hold on to his humanity, even when the only goodness he saw was a field of amaranth flowers which represented to him "the last shred of delicate hope in an ugly, ugly world". But eventually the Rezzegard succeeded in torturing the humanity out of Jaiden and the assassin Jaide was born - it only took the forced killing of 3 men, 2 women and 1 child to shake him free of his troubling conscience.
12 years later Jaide takes a contract to kidnap a Princess and deliver her to her execution. The Princes Amara, named after his beloved mythical flower that kept him "deep beneath the layers of stone, human"; got under his skin and slowly thawed his heart, stirred his soul and brought to light the humanity he thought had been forever destroyed.
AOTWT is a sweet, moving love story. Rated PG for 1 not particularly descriptive sex scene. No cuss words. All in all, completely inoffensive. Jaide is technically an anti-hero; but not the morally ambiguous type I prefer. He is a tortured, damaged, broken hero. He truly loathes himself, what he has done and what he has become. He is a virgin in case anyone is interested. He has never experienced any type of human kindness, affection or touch, he does not like to be touched and shies away from human companionship and interaction.
My catalog of pet peeves consists of the following:
1. For the first half of the story Jaide "glowered" constantly. Throughout the story Amara "giggled". There are so many different and varied words in the English language it drives me crazy when an author feels the need to pick a handful of favorites to use repeatedly. Also any adult who giggles should be slapped...hard...until they stop forever.
2. I was slightly annoyed by Amara who spent 80% of the story behaving as if she trusted Jaide when she had no reason to, and at one point seemed to embody the quintessential TSTL heroine when she forgo an opportunity to escape knowing full well he was still intending to deliver her to death. Then when events transpired that actually should have made her think she could trust him, or at least hear him out; she couldn't wait to throw him under the proverbial bus.
Still AOTWT is an interesting and different story.
August 4, 2014
4.5ish to 5 stars.
This is actually pretty good. I don't know why it has a low rating. For those who very much love a cold, dark, and dangerous hero, I'm sure you'll like this book.
The story, written in 3rd POV, unfolds much like the Amaranth. :) It is simply beautiful. The hero's (Jaide) transformation is believable. He is, in fact, a little cruel in the beginning. And slowly, as he falls for the heroine (Amara), he found himself capable of gentleness. (But only to the heroine of course. He's still badass. ;>) ) Amara, on the other hand, is your usual kind and gentle heroine with a little quirkiness added in to the mix. But hey, it works. The two characters fit together - Jaide, with his, shall we say, fixation with the Amaranth; Amara, with her affinity for wild animals.
I like how the story turned out but I would have loved an epilogue! :) Nonetheless, I still enjoyed their love story! good read! :)
This is actually pretty good. I don't know why it has a low rating. For those who very much love a cold, dark, and dangerous hero, I'm sure you'll like this book.
The story, written in 3rd POV, unfolds much like the Amaranth. :) It is simply beautiful. The hero's (Jaide) transformation is believable. He is, in fact, a little cruel in the beginning. And slowly, as he falls for the heroine (Amara), he found himself capable of gentleness. (But only to the heroine of course. He's still badass. ;>) ) Amara, on the other hand, is your usual kind and gentle heroine with a little quirkiness added in to the mix. But hey, it works. The two characters fit together - Jaide, with his, shall we say, fixation with the Amaranth; Amara, with her affinity for wild animals.
I like how the story turned out but I would have loved an epilogue! :) Nonetheless, I still enjoyed their love story! good read! :)
August 5, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was well-written with wonderful characters. Amara - the heroine - was sweet and funny and the perfect counterpart for the grumpy, damaged and intense Jaide. My main gripe is that we never learned what was in the letter that convinced Amara to go and find him.
April 22, 2019
Wow, surprised of how good it is.
July 26, 2013
I got this for free, and so was a tad hesitant to read it, since even the most recommended freebies can often have the most atrocious grammar and spelling. But this had been recommended and had a virgin hero and he was something of an antihero, both of which are hero types I adore. And, fortunately, the book was nearly error free.
The writing style felt a bit stilted at first, but after I got into the story, I didn't notice it as much. The fantasy setting also helped make the writing style seem a bit less out-of-place.
The biggest problem I had with this book was the preface. It was just so strange and pretentious, and if I had read the sample before buying the book, I might have given up then. Luckily I persevered, because I liked the book much better after that.
One question I have: Is it really possible to strangle someone to death with your legs while your arms are tied to the wall? And how awkward is it to do that while completely naked?
The writing style felt a bit stilted at first, but after I got into the story, I didn't notice it as much. The fantasy setting also helped make the writing style seem a bit less out-of-place.
The biggest problem I had with this book was the preface. It was just so strange and pretentious, and if I had read the sample before buying the book, I might have given up then. Luckily I persevered, because I liked the book much better after that.
One question I have: Is it really possible to strangle someone to death with your legs while your arms are tied to the wall? And how awkward is it to do that while completely naked?
August 2, 2014
I really like the first half of the book and see how the characters interact. However, the last part of the story is not quite what I expected and I found it a little bit too rush for the hero to forgive the heroine of her distrust.... However, I enjoy this story very much.
February 12, 2014
I really liked this historical romance. Some people gave poor reviews b/c they did not like the kidnapper/kidnapee relationship. Did we read the same book? This was not a Stockholm Syndrome supporting book.
Read it and come up with your own conclusions. The heroine does the saving.
Read it and come up with your own conclusions. The heroine does the saving.
July 25, 2013
4.5 This was really good. Change of pace.
August 13, 2013
I found this book unreadable. The writing was very juvenile and confusing. It was very melodramatic and demanded emotions it had to earned.
Others seem to have liked it a lot. Not for me.
Others seem to have liked it a lot. Not for me.
August 1, 2014
Loved this book! Great characters that are developed well enough throughout the story in a somewhat unlikely love story.
February 8, 2014
Wasn't awful and I got it as a freebie. It was very fairytalesque.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews