Taken by an Immortal Elf

Elves Among Us: Forbidden Love #0.5

by L.E. Sunwick

My captor sees me as one of those destroying his sacred forest. I see him as the most gorgeous male on earth.
So handsome. Those muscles. That athletic self-confidence. He is an immortal elf more than a century older than I. He calls me a lioness because I stand up to my wealthy uncaring parents - and him. Ours is a forbidden attraction. He is an elf of legend. I am a mortal duchess and a human he does not trust. We cannot be together.
But I would sacrifice my happiness to save his sacred lands from my parents’ greed. My brief time with him was a lifetime’s worth. If I don’t do something, lives - and our budding love - may be lost. Even the courage and prowess of a hundred real lionesses may not be enough. But for a tiny chance at true love, I am willing to find out.

Genres: Fantasy, Fae, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Ebooks

82 pages, Paperback

Published August 10, 2023

Reviews

[cobwebbing · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given a free ARC from Discovery. My original review can be read here.

Taken by an Immortal Elf follows Leona, the unladylike daughter of a duke performing land development on top of a sacred forest and an elf, Ulf, who kidnaps her in an effort to blackmail said duke into stopping the project. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Leona does not make for a good bargaining chip and they instead fall for each other.

While the title is not inaccurate for describing the contents of this book, it feels too lowbrow for what it ultimately ends up being about. That is, a story with a historical fantasy setting and sympathetic, likable characters who also want to jump each others' bones. There is a level of care that belies the suggestiveness of the title and subtitle—An Age Gap, Forbidden Love, Low Fantasy Historical Paranormal Romance Novella. On the other hand, the title did grab my attention, so I cannot fault it on that front.

I buy the affection between Ulf and Leona on both a physical and emotional level. Once over the initial understandable hostility and sense of propriety, they have good chemistry with each other. The spicier sections tantalize and I found myself blushing outright, though there were a couple of cliches that made me wince ("Do you like what you see?" and "She exploded" being chief among them). Despite the conflicted nature of the situation, there is a clear level of concern and consent.

Side note, pretty descriptions of natural settings stuck out to me, which felt appropriate given that Ulf particularly cares about the natural world. Forests, gardens, and a spring are lovingly described.

There are a few things that hold me back from rating this higher. One of them was the archetype Leona fits into. It feels old hat at this point to have a female character in a Victorian English setting who is bad at needlepoint/dancing/the like. That said, there was in-story justification. Her parents also felt a bit flatly evil, but given that the story isn't really about them I can let it slide. There were also errors with incorrect or lack of punctuation marks here and there, a few too many adverbs, and the same adjectives repeated close together. I think more editing passes would fix those errors.

Overall, I am happy to have picked this book up—"d'awww, cute" is the resounding vibe by the end—but it could use a bit more polish in places.

[Fritz Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I find the title emphasis on "Immortal Elf" to be a bit off-putting. The book is far more interesting than that would let on.

The author has written blog posts about her attempt to focus on elves as they are portrayed in source material -- as *people* but more so. Taller, stronger, more beautiful. But no pointy ears and limited magic.

The love story between Ulf (the elf) and Leona (the fierce human) is very well told. Leona's (terrible) father is razing a wood that is sacred to Ulf's people and planning to sell her off in marriage. Ulf captures her as a bargaining chip to save the wood. Which, of course, does not work. But he does NOT want to fall in love with her for the obvious pain of watching his love eventually descend into death.

Anyways, a very good book.

[Sentinelle23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

💮Distracting.

England, Year 1840:

Ulf couldn't believe his eyes. In place of the thousand-year-old sacred forest, all that remained was bare and arid ground...

Who had done this?
And why ?

Ulf was wondering how to announce this to his people...

^^^^^^^^^^

Here is the entertaining story of how Ulf and Leona met.

It's well written, there's action, but I don't know why I didn't get hooked on the story.

For fans of the genre

[Alejandra Guerrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Ok, but there’s some anachronistic expressions that took me out of the story, like the MMC saying “Okay”. It’s supposed to be the mid 1800’s. I’m no expert, but I don’t think “okay” was used back then. There’s some telling instead of showing, and some of the dialogue felt unnatural. It should have been longer, that way we could have more relationships and character development, as well as world building.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short novella is the prequel to the Elves Among Us series and is a great read! Ulf and Leona’s story is intriguing with fantastic chemistry. Shocked at seeing his forest decimated Ulf has taken Leona as a bargaining chip against her father who is destroying everything only he doesn’t realise that it will not work and instead he falls in love with her! It’s well written and entertaining with some action and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

[Rachel’s Coffee & Rain Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a mess unfortunately. The characters had potential and were generally likable, but were so surface level it was hard to feel anything for them. The spice was barely there and glossed over, and the writing needed a good round of editing and improvement. Repeated words and phrases, grammatical errors, and poorly constructed sentences made for an awkward reading experience. Sadly won’t be continuing the series.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This prequel does not have a cliffhanger which I appreciate. The two main characters are interesting and the world building is good for such a short story. The plot was entertaining but, needs a little work, as well as, a proofreader. There are definitely steamy scenes.

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author and this is my honest and voluntary opinion.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great novella

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, enjoyable read with likable characters.

[Careena Byth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick easy novella read, fast-paced. Great wee story for fans of this genre. I can't actually remember if there is spice in the story 🙈

[Carien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable novella to introduce readers to the series.

[Barbara Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allow an afternoon for this satisfying tale of a thrown-away daughter and the elf in charge of the forest her father destroyed. I had an ARC from Bookfunnel and this is my voluntary review.

[Sharon Wingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, enjoyable read. It definitely needs proofreading. Ulf and Leona have fantastic chemistry. Looking forward to reading the series.

[Sara Irons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful short love story. Ulf was set on revenge but what he found was Leona. Leona was everything Ulf was not expecting.
I highly recommend this book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Morgana Lefaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet prequel to the Immortal Elf series, this book describes the meeting of an elf named Ulf and a human woman, Lady Leona Haverford, in 1840. It doesn’t have the depth of characterization of the longer books of the series, but the payoff comes in book 3, Saved by My Immortal Elf, where you learn why Ulf and Leona are significant beyond their own love story. But for that, you’ll have to read the rest of the series.

[Mary J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Given that it was a freebie, I don't want to be too hard on it. That being said, I thought the storyline weak and the characters too shallow. I found it difficult to want to finish but I pushed through it. Glad I'm done with it.

[Morally_Gray_Nola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title:
* Taken By An Immortal Elf
Author:
* L. E. Aunwick
Length:
* Novella
HEA/Cliffhanger:
* HEA
Series #:
* Prequel for the Elves Among Us series
Epilogue:
* No

Gettin’ Down To The Nitty-Gritty…
Genre & Tropes:
* Enemies to Lovers
* Romantasy
* Forbidden Love
* MF
* Age Gap—He’s over 200 years old
* Violence
Triggers:
* Death
* Parental Cruelty
* Threats of Violence
* Violence
* Explicit Scenes
Burn Speed:
* Medium
Spice Level:
*

[Shirley Bennett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast story- Leona has rejoined her very selfish parents- who want only to profit from her- selling her into marriage- she meets - ok - she’s kidnapped by Ulf- who is angry at the disrespect and distraction to the forest. That’s all I’m saying- cute short story