I received an ALC from Victoria Editing NetGalley Co-Op and this is my honest review.
- ✌🏻Dual POV
- 2️⃣ Duet narration
- 📕 Short story
- 😘 Plot & relationship development (less world building)
- 🐴 One horse & one bedroll 🛏️
- ⭐️ Shared goal
- 🧐 God told her to find him
- ❤️🩹 Healer & warrior ⚔️
- 🦠 Disease killing the fae
- ☀️ He’s sunshine, she’s grumpy 😠
- 🫑Spice free
Alright, let’s start off with a review of the narration. ❤️ Jacci Prior ❤️ is my #1 female narrator and, of course, she was AMAZING. She had such unique voices for each character and brought each person to life. Jacci used her voice to create vocals that matched the scene. She changed her tone, added passion, and/or added grit/scratchiness to the vocals when needed in order to bring what was happening on paper to life. Then, Anthony Palmini, one of my favorite male narrators. He was like Jacci. He brought each character to life in such a unique way. I really appreciated that, during the parts of the story when the MMC would lower his voice and whisper or be more coy, Anthony would match it perfectly by lowering his voice or decreasing his tone and inflection. I listened to this at 1.75 speed through the NetGalley app, finding it to be a perfect pace for me.
Onto the story. This was a short story I listened to in under an hour, especially at a faster speed. The author made it very clear from the beginning that this story was intentionally written in a short manner to be published alongside other short stories. She warned that, because of this, there was little world building. I appreciated the author set up realistic expectations and then matched those expectations. I often become frustrated when an author tells us to expect one thing and then the story does not match that expectation set. I am happy to say the author’s up front honesty matched exactly what she wrote!
We had two strong, complex characters with a forward pacing plot. Although this story was short, there was so much to the characters and overarching story. For example, the MFC was a woman living her life alongside her sister, working as a healer, and closed off to romantic and intimate relationships. She could hear their God’s voice in her head, who told her what to do and where to go, never steering her in the wrong direction nor ever lying to her. The MFC was working hard to find a cure to a plague killing fae. Then, we had the MMC. He was raised by a thoughtful and warm mother. He also had a cold and evil father and brother. The MMC was a soldier working hard to undo all the damage his father and brother had done in the world. He was the guardian of a special item, which he lost to his evil family, knowing they planned to use it for nefarious reasons. God directed the MFC to the MMC, where she learned of the special item he had been guarding and how it could be used to cure the plague. The MC’s then go on a journey together to get the item back.
Through this journey, we learned about the MMC’s magic, his family history, and his goals in life. We also learned about the MFC’s life, why she was so rigid in not finding a life partner (i.e., mate), and what she valued most (e.g., listening to her God and healing people). Together they bonded, having shared a horse, bedroll, and goal. The MMC was respectful, thoughtful, and a true gentleman. The MFC was determined and an honorable person. They found each other right when they needed each other. I enjoyed both of them and how they grew independently and together.
The pace was fast the whole time and I am so glad I was able to listen to this in one sitting, as I would have had a hard time stopping this to do something else. I enjoy stories that are more focused on character growth, relationship development, and plot, with less world building. Don’t get me wrong, I love a story with world building, but sometimes it is nice to have a shorter story that moves things along at a faster pace by removing some of the overarching details. This book got to the point and I loved it!
The story ended with a big question… what is going to happen next? I definitely plan to pick up the next book in this series! I cannot wait to learn more about the characters and their relationship, world, and magic. I also cannot see how the plot unfolds from how it ended (as it was not resolved!).