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Annika Brisby #1
The Flame and the Arrow
“Don’t do it, Annika,” he taunted. His eyes were no longer bright and charming but dark and intense, yet they still twinkled. He was tempting, but was he harmful?
Aspiring rock star, Annika Brisby, thinks she knows where her life is going until she steps through a broken portal that leaves her stranded in a fae-filled realm of fairies, shapeshifter druids, psychic vampires, and other mythical beings. Unable to return until it’s repaired, she’s rescued by wood nymphs who believe her sudden arrival is no accident...
After being taken in by a prominent family of elves, Annika finds herself struggling to resist the seductive spell of their youngest son, Talvi. Equal parts arrogant and alluring, the notorious heartbreaker seems like the perfect distraction for her homesickness. Her new friends warn her that she’ll probably regret ever laying eyes on him. And what begins as a casual fling with a telepathic elf for a lover, quickly burns too hot to handle...
By the time Annika learns the consequences of their forbidden trysts, Talvi’s already under her skin and dangerously close to her heart. But on the journey home, she discovers that there’s a mountain of secrets that he’s not telling her, and Annika can’t help wondering who’s really in danger?
* Previously titled Balkan Magic, The Misadventures of Annika Brisby
418 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 25, 2008
1515 people are currently reading
2804 people want to read
About the author
Emigh Cannaday
20 books321 followersEmigh Cannaday lives in Wisconsin with her rock star/winemaker husband and a pack of rambunctious Welsh Corgis. She grew up drawing and painting but now uses words to illustrate her elaborate daydreams. When she’s not hoarding houseplants or collecting corgis, she spends her free time testing out new recipes on her friends & family.
For access to the hottest Fantasy and Paranormal Romance reads, author updates, book giveaways, and more, visit: emighcannaday.com/mailinglist
For access to the hottest Fantasy and Paranormal Romance reads, author updates, book giveaways, and more, visit: emighcannaday.com/mailinglist
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 383 reviews
July 4, 2016
I am definitely a minority here but I didn't like this book.A writer, in my opinion, shouldn't start out a story by throwing shade at one type (not even a character but a type) and make the protagonist look like a perfect victim at the same time. This is exactly what happened here. The only thing we learn about Annika in the first chapter is that she left her fiance. The author tries to shed some light on this relationship that was doomed from the start but in reality it's just a "take Annika's side, she's so perfect" kind of vibe Cannaday gives out. Frankly, we're supposed to feel sympathy towards a woman who is probably about mid-twenties, has no career and stayed in a relationship with a guy even though she knew it was wrong. She makes Daniel look like a horribly bad person who "wants her to trade in her guitar for a minivan" or something like that and while feminist movements will shout out "go girl" I wonder why she stayed with him for so long he proposed to her? I mean, if this was a serious relationship, she must have felt comfortable enough around him. She even moved in with him! So don't act all "this came out of nowhere" because it's unbelievable. She's also extremely cold and unfeeling in the aftermath and even keeps the friggin' ring!
Fast forward to her uncle calling after she basically drunk texted him. He invites her to Bulgaria to cook and she's all for it and I ask you: Daniel is detested and a despicable human who needs to be dumped because he dares to demand she become a housewife but when her uncle invites her to be a housewife in Bulgaria that's fine??? Oh and since she didn't quit a job and claims to be a musician because she writes in a journal every other day I'm guessing Daniel was the one supporting her financially? And now it's her uncle. I mean seriously, after the first chapter of this book I was already fuming and flat out hated Annika.
I hated her even more when she learned that there's more to this world that what humans know and she's just extremely cool about it. Supernatural beings exist? Okay cool. I see this in too many paranormal novels and it always makes me incredibly angry because that is NOT a believable, realistic or relatable emotion. It's a Mary-Sue kind of story where the heroine is too perfect to feel something like surprise or shock or any other emotional response.
I just hated this book. I don't really like to say this about any book but there really is nothing else to say about this one. I didn't like it isn't a strong enough expression here.
Fast forward to her uncle calling after she basically drunk texted him. He invites her to Bulgaria to cook and she's all for it and I ask you: Daniel is detested and a despicable human who needs to be dumped because he dares to demand she become a housewife but when her uncle invites her to be a housewife in Bulgaria that's fine??? Oh and since she didn't quit a job and claims to be a musician because she writes in a journal every other day I'm guessing Daniel was the one supporting her financially? And now it's her uncle. I mean seriously, after the first chapter of this book I was already fuming and flat out hated Annika.
I hated her even more when she learned that there's more to this world that what humans know and she's just extremely cool about it. Supernatural beings exist? Okay cool. I see this in too many paranormal novels and it always makes me incredibly angry because that is NOT a believable, realistic or relatable emotion. It's a Mary-Sue kind of story where the heroine is too perfect to feel something like surprise or shock or any other emotional response.
I just hated this book. I don't really like to say this about any book but there really is nothing else to say about this one. I didn't like it isn't a strong enough expression here.
July 11, 2016
'The Flame and the Arrow' by Emigh Cannaday is the story of Annika and Talvi. This is book one in "The Annika Brisby' Series. This book is about 418 pages that does have a cliffhanging end that is setting you up for the continues story of Annika and Talvi.
I was really surprised by how much I liked this story and how it drew me in. It has really good secondary characters
Annika is going to visit family to take a break after going through a relationship break. There she meets Talvi in a book store. But Annika ends up running away after some other seem to be trying to comfront her. A few weeks later while walking she runs into the ladies again who were trying to catch her. Annika finds out she looks like someone that used to know and that is why they were trying to catch her. Annika end up going with them and she finds out they have gone through a tunnel / pass through that Annika cannot get out of. Now Annika is a part of their world until she can find a way out. She ends up meeting Talvi again who is a friend of theirs. The attraction is still there for them. Annika is cautious to start a relationship since she just ended one with someone she thought she cared about but he wasn't what he seemed. Now with Talvi it appears he is a 'player' and might be using her.
We go through learning more about Talvi, the new life Annika is facing and how she is connected to their land.
Overall Really Great Mystery Romance Read.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I was really surprised by how much I liked this story and how it drew me in. It has really good secondary characters
Annika is going to visit family to take a break after going through a relationship break. There she meets Talvi in a book store. But Annika ends up running away after some other seem to be trying to comfront her. A few weeks later while walking she runs into the ladies again who were trying to catch her. Annika finds out she looks like someone that used to know and that is why they were trying to catch her. Annika end up going with them and she finds out they have gone through a tunnel / pass through that Annika cannot get out of. Now Annika is a part of their world until she can find a way out. She ends up meeting Talvi again who is a friend of theirs. The attraction is still there for them. Annika is cautious to start a relationship since she just ended one with someone she thought she cared about but he wasn't what he seemed. Now with Talvi it appears he is a 'player' and might be using her.
We go through learning more about Talvi, the new life Annika is facing and how she is connected to their land.
Overall Really Great Mystery Romance Read.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A2H...
https://www.facebook.com/sally.mae.39...
https://twitter.com/soapsrus68
May 17, 2018
The fuck did I just read.
This book is offered for free on kindle, and the only good thing I can say about it is at least I didn't buy it, but I am paying for it one way or another...
The blame for this book and others like it lie at the feet of Stephenie Mayer. She inspired a whole generation of people who can't write to think they can write, and the rise of Amazon and the self-publishing industry made it possible for all these people to crank out these ridiculous Stockholm-syndrome-esque paranormal "romances." And that's the long way of saying this is why I don't read self-published books.
This book is offered for free on kindle, and the only good thing I can say about it is at least I didn't buy it, but I am paying for it one way or another...
The blame for this book and others like it lie at the feet of Stephenie Mayer. She inspired a whole generation of people who can't write to think they can write, and the rise of Amazon and the self-publishing industry made it possible for all these people to crank out these ridiculous Stockholm-syndrome-esque paranormal "romances." And that's the long way of saying this is why I don't read self-published books.
November 5, 2016
I'm bored to death. DNF at around 24%
Want to read
April 20, 2020The Flame and the Arrow has suddenly become intriguing as a case of study, and as a book. One of my most-trusted friends hated it. Another of my most trusted friends really liked it. It has 3.52 average rating among my friends which is low considering I only add friends among those smart users that are capable of reading paranormal romance with open minds.
Then I looked through the reviews. I found a lot of rants against self-publishing in the negative reviews. That's what settles it. A reviewer I don't like hated it, so now I need to read it. Anyone who thinks self-published books are bad is someone I need to block so I won't find their stinky, biased, incompetent reviews ever again. For all I know, they could be minions of literary agencies. I'm looking for an entertaining book, not for publishers prestige. Bad books come from all kind of publishers, including the most famous publishing houses. Good books come from all publishers including those that don't have money to pay for editors and cover designers. I couldn't care less who publishes a book, all I need is the book to be good.
Admittedly, my favorite books are mostly self-published but I don't notice that until after I finish a book I really enjoy, and then rush to the author's social media to see if they have a "behind the scenes" post that gives me more insight of how they could come up with such wonderful ideas.
I see a lot of self-publishing pandering in some goodreads groups, and that's also something I despise. Not all indie books are good, but dismissing a book because the authors published on their own is irrational and it borderlines a travesty against free-speech and free market. That's the reason I'll eventually pick up The Flame and the arrow and I'll be honest with my review. This book is a perma-free, so if I don't like it, I'll dropped it immediatly.
Then I looked through the reviews. I found a lot of rants against self-publishing in the negative reviews. That's what settles it. A reviewer I don't like hated it, so now I need to read it. Anyone who thinks self-published books are bad is someone I need to block so I won't find their stinky, biased, incompetent reviews ever again. For all I know, they could be minions of literary agencies. I'm looking for an entertaining book, not for publishers prestige. Bad books come from all kind of publishers, including the most famous publishing houses. Good books come from all publishers including those that don't have money to pay for editors and cover designers. I couldn't care less who publishes a book, all I need is the book to be good.
Admittedly, my favorite books are mostly self-published but I don't notice that until after I finish a book I really enjoy, and then rush to the author's social media to see if they have a "behind the scenes" post that gives me more insight of how they could come up with such wonderful ideas.
I see a lot of self-publishing pandering in some goodreads groups, and that's also something I despise. Not all indie books are good, but dismissing a book because the authors published on their own is irrational and it borderlines a travesty against free-speech and free market. That's the reason I'll eventually pick up The Flame and the arrow and I'll be honest with my review. This book is a perma-free, so if I don't like it, I'll dropped it immediatly.
November 2, 2016
I thought that the "Flame And The Arrow" was a good adventure story with a romantic story line thrown in. "Lord Of The Rings" fans will greatly enjoy this story.
The premise takes off with what happens to a human who gets trapped in a land with the fair folk, elves, nymphs, and other beings. Does she sink or swim?
With the new Toliken book coming out soon, this would be a good companion volume.
The premise takes off with what happens to a human who gets trapped in a land with the fair folk, elves, nymphs, and other beings. Does she sink or swim?
With the new Toliken book coming out soon, this would be a good companion volume.
April 19, 2020
My mind was pretty made up about this book before the halfway mark, but I was able to make it to the end, since I wanted to see if there was any hope of redemption (uh, there wasn't, but I've got a lot to say about this infuriatingly awful book, so stick around).
Before we go on, I highly doubt I’ll be reading the next books and if I do, it'll only be out of a morbid desire to see how badly the train wreck gets as it goes along and I certainly won't be paying for them if I go down that rabbit hole.
That said, I won’t call this book the absolute worst or anything that extreme, but I honestly took no joy in reading it and consider this a terrible book.
Yet again, a kindle freebie tricked me. At least I don’t have to worry about getting a refund from this thing. I can just delete it and forget about it.
From the way the book was presented on Amazon, I assumed this was a pretty typical YA fantasy romance, but this book actually features a 25 year old heroine and enough sex scenes for me to label this as an adult read that's basically an erotica.
The sex is not the most explicit, the author dances around the words for various genitals and is more prone to vague wording and euphemisms, but it is far more detailed and happens far more often than something that just informs the reader that coitus was conducted. So, if you’re interested in this book, be aware that it’s tended for NA audiences at the very youngest and definitely qualities as adult.
(Below this line there are probably spoilers but really, this book is so bad you'll thank me for telling you what's up now.)
When it comes to the characters and the projection of their relationships, I was highly disappointed.
Annika isn’t likeable. At all.
For a woman of her age, she behaves in that all-too-easy-to-become-annoying “I don’t know myself at all!” teenager way, which is okay when the protagonist is, in fact, someone under the age of 18, but by the age of 25, generally people have a pretty good handle on who they are and what they want.
As I revise this review, I'm about a month from turning 25 and. oh lord, Annika is definitely being a fucking brat.
Her nature feels very frivolous, uncommitted, and childish. She's like a snotty teenager, dreaming of being a rockstar because she thinks that that lifestyle is nothing but fun and freedom and passion and that "settling down" means she has to give up having fun and only do boring things that she hates. Kind of like teenagers--they want all the freedom and fun of being an adult, but none of the responsibility.
She lacks the common sense to realize that there's no such thing as non-stop fun, as non-stop passion, that you can't have a functioning life if you don't act like an adult and pay rent, buy groceries, clean your house, do taxes, etc. and that no happy, healthy relationship is a non-stop pleasure ride without any fights or quiet times.
She's horribly critical of her partner, Danny, at the start of the book and portrays him as this boring, strict asshat who doesn't understand her, yet you'd think that if she moved in with him and has been with him long enough for him to propose to her and seriously consider a life with her that there'd be some manner of affection between them. But, no, Annika hates her boyfriend because he's not her ideal hot, edgy man who's also willing to financially support her like a child and let her go out into the world to be a rockstar and act recklessly.
Like, okay, maybe he doesn't understand her passion for rock music or something, but, she has the freedom to leave him, so why she doesn't and instead complains about him 24/7 is beyond me.
Wait, no, I know. She doesn't leave him because he's clearly the only one working and paying the bills so she can go out and play and be moody.
As readers, we're just supposed to take Annika's side and overlook the fact that she's a bratty leech siphoning off her boyfriend, who says "fuck you" to being an adult and then gets pissy like a child when anyone tries to make her act right--case in point: hating on her boyfriend for wanting her to spend less time pretending she's some edgy musician and instead get an actual job to contribute to their partnership.
The author really wants us to pity Annika and side with her. She does all but directly command us to do so, but more often than not, Annika so wishy-washy and awful that I honestly wouldn’t have cared if she’d died in this book.
In fact, there were many times I wish she had so the goddamn book would be over.
Outside of her wonderful start as a 25 year old woman pouting about how terrible the real world is, how she only wants a life that's as thrilling and fun and responsibility free as her dreams, how she drags her boyfriend through the mud, and then acts like a pitiful victim on top of it all, the majority of the story revolves around her playing a terrible game of tug-of-war with her main love interest, Talvi, an elf she meets in another world.
The basis of this is that she constantly hops from "this is just casual sex with no feelings, it's all for fun!" to "oh my god, that bastard is just using me for sex as I'm using him just for sex, how dare he!" to "I love him, but I don't want to be tied down, but I love him, but how does he feel about me?" and back again.
There’s at least two distinct fights where she gets incredibly pissed off at him and they have a huge fight over her suddenly thinking that he’s just using her for sex and doesn't care about her, when she herself keeps saying how the whole relationship is just casual and all about the sex.
If he’s just after sex and she’s just after sex and they both know this, why is she getting mad at him? A casual hook-up relationship doesn't have the same rules as being in a committed relationship. They also never had a mutual agreement that they'd only hook up with each other or that they'd show a certain level of affection or whatever throughout the course of their casual sex relationship, so Annika has 0 right to feel hurt or upset, yet, Talvi can joke with another woman and Annika is acting like they're married and he just committed the ultimate betrayal.
So, what that boils down to is Annika going: "I don't want to be tied down by the rules of a committed relationship because I just gotta be free, but my hook up partner, who I claim to not want to be with, should treat me as if I'm his one true love and he should look only at me and sleep only with me and give me just the right amount of adoration without being cling and then when I break things off or cheat on him, which is cool because I'm special, cause me no trouble whatsoever because it's more convenient for me if people just feel the way I want when I want them to."
Again, what a fucking BRAT this woman is. The longer I read, the more frustrated I got with her on-again-off-again behavior; the drama of this relationship exhausted the hell of out me.
She hates him for some dumb reason. She’s jealous of him talking to other girls. She just wants sex from him. She wants more, but won’t admit it. She’s convinced that he just wants sex and that makes her mad for some reason. Then she’s mad about his past exploits as something of a playboy, despite already knowing this about him before hooking up, THEN she's mad that there were some specific details that he didn't outright tell her about (as if no one does this, as if SHE doesn’t, is there anyone who recalls something play-by-play in excruciating detail the first time something is brought up???). Then she scorns him and pushes him away when he professes that he has true feelings for her because she's convinced love means being tied down and forced to live a boring life. Then fights with him over it. Then she suddenly realizes she’s always loved him. Then they fight some more. Then she hates him again. Then she wants sex. Then she doubts him. And then...
God, I just wanted it to end.
We also aren't really given much of a reason for Annika being so resistant to committing to a romance with Talvi; it's like she constantly has new excuses, but they never seem like anything she cares about THAT much. "It's just a fling because I'll be returning to earth" but then returning to earth isn't a huge priority of hers. "It's just a fling because Talvi is a playboy" when she constantly rejects any attempt of his to be serious about her and then gets mad when he behaves like anyone would when it's just a casual sexual relationship. "It's just a fling because I'm free and can't be tied down" which only is there because Annika's whole personality is "I'm so free I can't commit to anything, even holding down a job! I just gotta be free for the sake of being free even if makes no sense that not being a cheating brat would be "imprisoning" me!"
To be honest, Talvi was kind of the same, but, just not quite as extreme. It was hard to decide when he was just being flirty and playful, thinking it was all casual, or when he was serious in his advances and words. He was a little better than Annika overall because he seemed to not play her hot-and-cold unless she started a fight with him and he seemed to have the same stance the whole book, not this wishy-washy do I love him, is it just sex, no I want it casual, no I’ll hurt him, yes I must go home, ugh I want to screw Nikola*, god I’m so mad Talvi had other partners... thing that Annika refuses to abandon.
Needless to say, I just didn’t care for our leads, and then most of the side characters bothered me too. Few were likeable. Especially Yuri, who just made me groan because she's so clearly, violently, willfully stupid and selfish. Like, I don't know how you write a character so badly and then don't even have the balls to make her a villain.
Also, on the topic of Nikola...
Annika is real on board with the idea of fucking him while she's in this wishy-washy thing with Talvi, which really just speaks to how selfish and full of double standards she is. HE can't think of other girls and he's a prick for ever having slept with anyone else, but SHE can actively seek out new partners to fuck because she's a free, wild spirit just after sex and definitely isn't a terrible person who wants people to love her and do as she wants and then give them absolutely nothing in return.
There's also a general sort of back and forth with just about everyone in this series that makes it hard to know what ANYONE wants. Like, all we know for sure is that Annika loves to have lots of kinky sex with Talvi, wanted to have kinky sex with Nikola, and was totally on board with the idea of having kinky sex with Talvi and his brother, Finn, at the same time.
Now, I really have nothing against polyamory or anything, but Annika is the kind of person who, rather than openly saying "I want to be able to be in a relationship with multiple people at once" to her partners, just sort of EXPECTS that they won't have anything to say against her fucking whomever she pleases whenever she pleases. She definitely fits the archetype of a cheater more than a polyamorist. And that's what I have a problem with: a partner who isn't upfront about their wants and expectations. It's important for both people in a relationship to establish the boundaries of that relationship. It's like dating and romance 101.
The plot itself has a few fantasy clichés (heroine is born part mythical-race but never knew, is part of a prophecy, gets accidentally entangled in magic world, is caught between desires that drag her towards magic world and her home on earth... you get the idea) and once all the drama of Annika and Talvi’s relationship is stripped away you get… not much.
The whole conflict of the plot that isn’t the mess of a romance (it wasn’t even really romance; the whole thing didn’t feel at all romantic or loving or anything, it was just angst and sex) is basically that someone or something has shut down all the portals between the magic world and earth so after like 50% of the book a group of elves and vampires and faeries and trolls and wood nymphs what not finally sets out to confront a group of what are eco-terrorists who they suspect might be responsible for it so they can turn them back on and everyone can resume traveling between worlds and Annika can go home to her family. To be frank, the book is much more focused on Annika and Talvi doing nothing more than pointless fighting and having kinky sex with a dash or two of actual conversation. If this was stripped away we’d lose like 250 pages.
I’m not joking.
The only redeeming things to be found in this book are in the author’s actual writing skills, but not even being able write prose pretty well could save this book in my eyes because her idea of characters is unforgivably bad; I was just so fed up with Annika and Talvi’s relationship and how distinctly unromantic it all was that everything else soured by being in proximity.
If you can stomach all the back and forth drama of this book or forgive the heroine for being a mess of wishy-washiness and angst and Talvi for never being able to come across as sincere, then you could probably really like this book and be absorbed in the scandalous, gossip-fodder nature of the plot, but I personally prefer more emotional romances or ones that focus on being sweet, rather than on angst and misunderstandings and lust.
If I was going purely on how I felt about this book, I’d slap a 1 on it. I didn’t like it; I regret picking it up. If I was a little more lenient I'd throw it a bone by giving it 2, but my emotions are so boiling from these horrible characters that I can't.
Perhaps the next books get better since this one seems to polish off that that back and forth drama about whether they love each other or just wanted to have sex or if they will end up together or not and put it to bed, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever be that mentally prepared because despite my positivity, odds are the next books are a wash and rinse of this same stupid bickering between them over literally the same things without any semblance of character growth. I can just sense there being pointless drama to break them up so we can waste hundreds of paging of relationship angst as they get back together, only to do it a thousand more times.
The idea could have been really good and romantic and been a gem in the world of NA but this was, yet again, another sad and overall frustrating book. It’s NA like this that makes me prefer YA 99 times out of 100.
TL;DR: The lack of genuine romance and abundance of fighting between the leads, wishy-washy attitudes, and overall dramatic angst made this NA fantasy more of a book about anger and sex than love and adventure and took what could have been a good idea and made it a chore to read.
Before we go on, I highly doubt I’ll be reading the next books and if I do, it'll only be out of a morbid desire to see how badly the train wreck gets as it goes along and I certainly won't be paying for them if I go down that rabbit hole.
That said, I won’t call this book the absolute worst or anything that extreme, but I honestly took no joy in reading it and consider this a terrible book.
Yet again, a kindle freebie tricked me. At least I don’t have to worry about getting a refund from this thing. I can just delete it and forget about it.
From the way the book was presented on Amazon, I assumed this was a pretty typical YA fantasy romance, but this book actually features a 25 year old heroine and enough sex scenes for me to label this as an adult read that's basically an erotica.
The sex is not the most explicit, the author dances around the words for various genitals and is more prone to vague wording and euphemisms, but it is far more detailed and happens far more often than something that just informs the reader that coitus was conducted. So, if you’re interested in this book, be aware that it’s tended for NA audiences at the very youngest and definitely qualities as adult.
(Below this line there are probably spoilers but really, this book is so bad you'll thank me for telling you what's up now.)
When it comes to the characters and the projection of their relationships, I was highly disappointed.
Annika isn’t likeable. At all.
For a woman of her age, she behaves in that all-too-easy-to-become-annoying “I don’t know myself at all!” teenager way, which is okay when the protagonist is, in fact, someone under the age of 18, but by the age of 25, generally people have a pretty good handle on who they are and what they want.
As I revise this review, I'm about a month from turning 25 and. oh lord, Annika is definitely being a fucking brat.
Her nature feels very frivolous, uncommitted, and childish. She's like a snotty teenager, dreaming of being a rockstar because she thinks that that lifestyle is nothing but fun and freedom and passion and that "settling down" means she has to give up having fun and only do boring things that she hates. Kind of like teenagers--they want all the freedom and fun of being an adult, but none of the responsibility.
She lacks the common sense to realize that there's no such thing as non-stop fun, as non-stop passion, that you can't have a functioning life if you don't act like an adult and pay rent, buy groceries, clean your house, do taxes, etc. and that no happy, healthy relationship is a non-stop pleasure ride without any fights or quiet times.
She's horribly critical of her partner, Danny, at the start of the book and portrays him as this boring, strict asshat who doesn't understand her, yet you'd think that if she moved in with him and has been with him long enough for him to propose to her and seriously consider a life with her that there'd be some manner of affection between them. But, no, Annika hates her boyfriend because he's not her ideal hot, edgy man who's also willing to financially support her like a child and let her go out into the world to be a rockstar and act recklessly.
Like, okay, maybe he doesn't understand her passion for rock music or something, but, she has the freedom to leave him, so why she doesn't and instead complains about him 24/7 is beyond me.
Wait, no, I know. She doesn't leave him because he's clearly the only one working and paying the bills so she can go out and play and be moody.
As readers, we're just supposed to take Annika's side and overlook the fact that she's a bratty leech siphoning off her boyfriend, who says "fuck you" to being an adult and then gets pissy like a child when anyone tries to make her act right--case in point: hating on her boyfriend for wanting her to spend less time pretending she's some edgy musician and instead get an actual job to contribute to their partnership.
The author really wants us to pity Annika and side with her. She does all but directly command us to do so, but more often than not, Annika so wishy-washy and awful that I honestly wouldn’t have cared if she’d died in this book.
In fact, there were many times I wish she had so the goddamn book would be over.
Outside of her wonderful start as a 25 year old woman pouting about how terrible the real world is, how she only wants a life that's as thrilling and fun and responsibility free as her dreams, how she drags her boyfriend through the mud, and then acts like a pitiful victim on top of it all, the majority of the story revolves around her playing a terrible game of tug-of-war with her main love interest, Talvi, an elf she meets in another world.
The basis of this is that she constantly hops from "this is just casual sex with no feelings, it's all for fun!" to "oh my god, that bastard is just using me for sex as I'm using him just for sex, how dare he!" to "I love him, but I don't want to be tied down, but I love him, but how does he feel about me?" and back again.
There’s at least two distinct fights where she gets incredibly pissed off at him and they have a huge fight over her suddenly thinking that he’s just using her for sex and doesn't care about her, when she herself keeps saying how the whole relationship is just casual and all about the sex.
If he’s just after sex and she’s just after sex and they both know this, why is she getting mad at him? A casual hook-up relationship doesn't have the same rules as being in a committed relationship. They also never had a mutual agreement that they'd only hook up with each other or that they'd show a certain level of affection or whatever throughout the course of their casual sex relationship, so Annika has 0 right to feel hurt or upset, yet, Talvi can joke with another woman and Annika is acting like they're married and he just committed the ultimate betrayal.
So, what that boils down to is Annika going: "I don't want to be tied down by the rules of a committed relationship because I just gotta be free, but my hook up partner, who I claim to not want to be with, should treat me as if I'm his one true love and he should look only at me and sleep only with me and give me just the right amount of adoration without being cling and then when I break things off or cheat on him, which is cool because I'm special, cause me no trouble whatsoever because it's more convenient for me if people just feel the way I want when I want them to."
Again, what a fucking BRAT this woman is. The longer I read, the more frustrated I got with her on-again-off-again behavior; the drama of this relationship exhausted the hell of out me.
She hates him for some dumb reason. She’s jealous of him talking to other girls. She just wants sex from him. She wants more, but won’t admit it. She’s convinced that he just wants sex and that makes her mad for some reason. Then she’s mad about his past exploits as something of a playboy, despite already knowing this about him before hooking up, THEN she's mad that there were some specific details that he didn't outright tell her about (as if no one does this, as if SHE doesn’t, is there anyone who recalls something play-by-play in excruciating detail the first time something is brought up???). Then she scorns him and pushes him away when he professes that he has true feelings for her because she's convinced love means being tied down and forced to live a boring life. Then fights with him over it. Then she suddenly realizes she’s always loved him. Then they fight some more. Then she hates him again. Then she wants sex. Then she doubts him. And then...
God, I just wanted it to end.
We also aren't really given much of a reason for Annika being so resistant to committing to a romance with Talvi; it's like she constantly has new excuses, but they never seem like anything she cares about THAT much. "It's just a fling because I'll be returning to earth" but then returning to earth isn't a huge priority of hers. "It's just a fling because Talvi is a playboy" when she constantly rejects any attempt of his to be serious about her and then gets mad when he behaves like anyone would when it's just a casual sexual relationship. "It's just a fling because I'm free and can't be tied down" which only is there because Annika's whole personality is "I'm so free I can't commit to anything, even holding down a job! I just gotta be free for the sake of being free even if makes no sense that not being a cheating brat would be "imprisoning" me!"
To be honest, Talvi was kind of the same, but, just not quite as extreme. It was hard to decide when he was just being flirty and playful, thinking it was all casual, or when he was serious in his advances and words. He was a little better than Annika overall because he seemed to not play her hot-and-cold unless she started a fight with him and he seemed to have the same stance the whole book, not this wishy-washy do I love him, is it just sex, no I want it casual, no I’ll hurt him, yes I must go home, ugh I want to screw Nikola*, god I’m so mad Talvi had other partners... thing that Annika refuses to abandon.
Needless to say, I just didn’t care for our leads, and then most of the side characters bothered me too. Few were likeable. Especially Yuri, who just made me groan because she's so clearly, violently, willfully stupid and selfish. Like, I don't know how you write a character so badly and then don't even have the balls to make her a villain.
Also, on the topic of Nikola...
Annika is real on board with the idea of fucking him while she's in this wishy-washy thing with Talvi, which really just speaks to how selfish and full of double standards she is. HE can't think of other girls and he's a prick for ever having slept with anyone else, but SHE can actively seek out new partners to fuck because she's a free, wild spirit just after sex and definitely isn't a terrible person who wants people to love her and do as she wants and then give them absolutely nothing in return.
There's also a general sort of back and forth with just about everyone in this series that makes it hard to know what ANYONE wants. Like, all we know for sure is that Annika loves to have lots of kinky sex with Talvi, wanted to have kinky sex with Nikola, and was totally on board with the idea of having kinky sex with Talvi and his brother, Finn, at the same time.
Now, I really have nothing against polyamory or anything, but Annika is the kind of person who, rather than openly saying "I want to be able to be in a relationship with multiple people at once" to her partners, just sort of EXPECTS that they won't have anything to say against her fucking whomever she pleases whenever she pleases. She definitely fits the archetype of a cheater more than a polyamorist. And that's what I have a problem with: a partner who isn't upfront about their wants and expectations. It's important for both people in a relationship to establish the boundaries of that relationship. It's like dating and romance 101.
The plot itself has a few fantasy clichés (heroine is born part mythical-race but never knew, is part of a prophecy, gets accidentally entangled in magic world, is caught between desires that drag her towards magic world and her home on earth... you get the idea) and once all the drama of Annika and Talvi’s relationship is stripped away you get… not much.
The whole conflict of the plot that isn’t the mess of a romance (it wasn’t even really romance; the whole thing didn’t feel at all romantic or loving or anything, it was just angst and sex) is basically that someone or something has shut down all the portals between the magic world and earth so after like 50% of the book a group of elves and vampires and faeries and trolls and wood nymphs what not finally sets out to confront a group of what are eco-terrorists who they suspect might be responsible for it so they can turn them back on and everyone can resume traveling between worlds and Annika can go home to her family. To be frank, the book is much more focused on Annika and Talvi doing nothing more than pointless fighting and having kinky sex with a dash or two of actual conversation. If this was stripped away we’d lose like 250 pages.
I’m not joking.
The only redeeming things to be found in this book are in the author’s actual writing skills, but not even being able write prose pretty well could save this book in my eyes because her idea of characters is unforgivably bad; I was just so fed up with Annika and Talvi’s relationship and how distinctly unromantic it all was that everything else soured by being in proximity.
If you can stomach all the back and forth drama of this book or forgive the heroine for being a mess of wishy-washiness and angst and Talvi for never being able to come across as sincere, then you could probably really like this book and be absorbed in the scandalous, gossip-fodder nature of the plot, but I personally prefer more emotional romances or ones that focus on being sweet, rather than on angst and misunderstandings and lust.
If I was going purely on how I felt about this book, I’d slap a 1 on it. I didn’t like it; I regret picking it up. If I was a little more lenient I'd throw it a bone by giving it 2, but my emotions are so boiling from these horrible characters that I can't.
Perhaps the next books get better since this one seems to polish off that that back and forth drama about whether they love each other or just wanted to have sex or if they will end up together or not and put it to bed, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever be that mentally prepared because despite my positivity, odds are the next books are a wash and rinse of this same stupid bickering between them over literally the same things without any semblance of character growth. I can just sense there being pointless drama to break them up so we can waste hundreds of paging of relationship angst as they get back together, only to do it a thousand more times.
The idea could have been really good and romantic and been a gem in the world of NA but this was, yet again, another sad and overall frustrating book. It’s NA like this that makes me prefer YA 99 times out of 100.
TL;DR: The lack of genuine romance and abundance of fighting between the leads, wishy-washy attitudes, and overall dramatic angst made this NA fantasy more of a book about anger and sex than love and adventure and took what could have been a good idea and made it a chore to read.
August 25, 2016
In The Flame and the Arrow, Annika is an American, who visit her Uncle overseas, and meets some interesting, unique people at a bookstore, one of which, is the very handsome and alluring Talvi, but Annika is unsure of them, so she runs from them. Annika thinks of Talvi, but tries to move on with a hike before she heads back home, but she ends up getting pulled through a portal to a land of mythical beings, and ends up being trapped there. Annika needs to find a way home, but she also finds out some things about herself and others that she was unaware of, so she is unsure of what she truly wants, and so the adventure begins. I loved the world building, and I loved all the different types of mythical beings. The description the author writes really painted a picture in my mind as I read. I also loved that there is a bit of adventure in this book, and I loved that even though the book takes place in a realm like the Fae realm, which I have read plenty of books about, it wasn't like any of the other books I have read. There were times I really loved this book, but there were also times I wasn't liking it. Annika got on my nerves at times, I felt she wasn't very thoughtful of others, and I felt she didn't act her age; she felt immature to me, and I felt she was cold and brash at times, but I still liked her; just not loved, and now that I think about it, I didn't really love any of the characters, but maybe that's because they all are a bit complex, and often times to me, it comes off as rude. Also, some of the word choices in this book were odd; especially in the love scenes, like calling a vagina a honeycomb, and I dislike the endearment, dove. Also, the sex scenes were rather shocking because I felt the rest of the book read as YA, and there also was a sex scene missing that I found to be odd, but the scenes did get better as the book went on. I wasn't loving the back and forth between Annika and Talvi, and I'm totally fine with a little of that type of thing, but I was still ready to move past it, and I felt Annika was too blasé and indifferent towards Talvi at times, and I didn't like that character trait in her, so I felt her attitude, and the back and forth took away some from the romance aspect of this story, but there were also some really sweet moments that I really loved. In the end, I really enjoyed the whole plot and setting of this story, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book; I did read some reviews for the next book, and read some things I'm not looking forward to, but since I enjoy the setting and the writing, I hope those overshadow the stupid actions of the characters. By the way, love the cover!
July 13, 2018
This was a good story... buuuuut I did not like Talvi... at all. He was a terrible love interest. I wanted her to end up with the druid guy. Nicholas (SP?). He was cool and he had badass powers. But no, Annika had to be a stupid girl and pick the guy that didn't treat her well. Sigh. I want to know what happens next but I do not want to see how their relationship progresses.
June 30, 2017
Annika is devastated and confused not knowing where her life is heading. She decides to take time away from her life to spend at her uncle's for a brief time away. While there, she meets a mysterious man who intrigues her attention. The circumstances that follow them meeting gets her trapped in another realm with types of people she didn't even know existed.
This book is so creative and imaginative! I just couldn't get enough of it! I loved it! I listened to it in an audio book, but I will find a way to own a physical copy of this book to have on my shelf! I'll obtain the rest of the series too! It's so addictive and fun! I loved all the characters and their witty humor. It was an amazing read.
The narrator was great! He did such a great job giving all the characters their own flair and bringing the story to life in a vivid sense. I loved it. It didn't hurt that he had a very dreamy voice. I didn't let that distract me from the story too much though!
I fully recommend this book! I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series! It's witty, it's fun, it's realistic (to an extent of course), and it's edgy! It's everything I love in a book. I love to be kept on my toes but wowed with witty characters! I'm so glad I got to read this book!
This book is so creative and imaginative! I just couldn't get enough of it! I loved it! I listened to it in an audio book, but I will find a way to own a physical copy of this book to have on my shelf! I'll obtain the rest of the series too! It's so addictive and fun! I loved all the characters and their witty humor. It was an amazing read.
The narrator was great! He did such a great job giving all the characters their own flair and bringing the story to life in a vivid sense. I loved it. It didn't hurt that he had a very dreamy voice. I didn't let that distract me from the story too much though!
I fully recommend this book! I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series! It's witty, it's fun, it's realistic (to an extent of course), and it's edgy! It's everything I love in a book. I love to be kept on my toes but wowed with witty characters! I'm so glad I got to read this book!
September 12, 2016
I received an e-book copy from the author, in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. This is the first book in the Annika Brisby series. It has many elements to it and labeled as Dark Fantasy Paranormal Romance. There are fairies, elves, samodivi, vampires, humans, trolls, etc. The story itself flows well and I found it to be well written with a few places where it seemed as if the author had different choices of words to be used in one place and wasn't sure about the ones to be used, so sometimes, in the copy I received, they were both in the sentence. There are some sex scenes that are a little graphic. Not horribly so; but, enough to not make this a YA novel. Since this story is so good, I thought it would appeal to boys and girls alike as well as YA instead of new adult, and feel that it could have been written to be enjoyed by this broader age group/gender. The story begins in the current day. We are then taken on an adventure while our heroine is in Europe and gets “lost” on a final hike before heading back to the USA.
November 26, 2016
This book started out okay for the first quarter. Then it took a steady, steep decline. Annika and Talvi are annoying in their flip-flopping all-encompassing love (lust) and jealous hatred of each other.
A few of the side characters are good, but even these ones fall into the same irritating and useless actions and dialogue.
I would not have finished this book if it wasn't the Vaginal Fantasy main pick for this month. Thank goodness it was free on Kindle!
A few of the side characters are good, but even these ones fall into the same irritating and useless actions and dialogue.
I would not have finished this book if it wasn't the Vaginal Fantasy main pick for this month. Thank goodness it was free on Kindle!
October 19, 2019
I tried so hard with this book. Each time i thought it was turning out okay something stupid happened. I didn't enjoy this at all. I just couldn't get into it. The only part I liked was the Trolls. The characters were so annoying and stupid. The story just went on and on.
August 27, 2016
SO I started out feeling a little uncertain about this book... I likes aspects about it and didn't like other things.
Some of the scenes and lines felt awkward to me. The romance was at times awkward.
The thing I had a biggest problem with was how unrealistic some of the events were. And not in the fantasy unrealistic way but in the natural way. Like, boy tells you he can read your mind... The appropriate reaction is to at least give this information some thought... some acknowledgement that it's cool or creepy or unbelievable. Annika, however, didn't acknowledge it at all, as if it were normal. BUT she grew up in the human world... IT WAS NOT NORMAL FOR HER.
Clearly the rest of the book was entertaining enough for 4 out of 5 stars.
Annika was an alright character, I liked her enough (more so near the end) Near the start I felt like she contradicted herself too much. --I don't want to be a house wife, I want to be wild and free!-- Then she moves in with her Uncle and cooks and cleans for a few months... I mean, what?
Anyways, then she entered a new world with some cool people and fae.
I loved Finn, he was great. At first he scared me, I thought he might be evil, but I guess I was wrong.
Talvi was...well, you know... I don't know. I love and I hate him. But I am a hopeless romantic, so I want him and Annika to be together forever.
I feel like the big final scene the story was leading up to was not as climactic as I thought it would be, but it was still good.
I love the ending.
“That was by far the largest meadow I’ve ever crossed.”
LOVE that line. (You won't understand unless you read this) But sometimes Talvi can be perfect.
I am so happy it ended the way it did. I feel like I dont say that often enough in books. Usually it's a cliffhanger or something crazy. (Which don't get me wrong, I love those too) But this one had a really good solid ending that I appreciate.
And I am looking forward to reading the next book!
Some of the scenes and lines felt awkward to me. The romance was at times awkward.
The thing I had a biggest problem with was how unrealistic some of the events were. And not in the fantasy unrealistic way but in the natural way. Like, boy tells you he can read your mind... The appropriate reaction is to at least give this information some thought... some acknowledgement that it's cool or creepy or unbelievable. Annika, however, didn't acknowledge it at all, as if it were normal. BUT she grew up in the human world... IT WAS NOT NORMAL FOR HER.
Clearly the rest of the book was entertaining enough for 4 out of 5 stars.
Annika was an alright character, I liked her enough (more so near the end) Near the start I felt like she contradicted herself too much. --I don't want to be a house wife, I want to be wild and free!-- Then she moves in with her Uncle and cooks and cleans for a few months... I mean, what?
Anyways, then she entered a new world with some cool people and fae.
I loved Finn, he was great. At first he scared me, I thought he might be evil, but I guess I was wrong.
Talvi was...well, you know... I don't know. I love and I hate him. But I am a hopeless romantic, so I want him and Annika to be together forever.
I feel like the big final scene the story was leading up to was not as climactic as I thought it would be, but it was still good.
I love the ending.
“That was by far the largest meadow I’ve ever crossed.”
LOVE that line. (You won't understand unless you read this) But sometimes Talvi can be perfect.
I am so happy it ended the way it did. I feel like I dont say that often enough in books. Usually it's a cliffhanger or something crazy. (Which don't get me wrong, I love those too) But this one had a really good solid ending that I appreciate.
And I am looking forward to reading the next book!
April 19, 2017
I'm not sure where to start on this one.
The story itself was decent, but I felt like the author had a list of events she wanted to take place and when and she meant they were going to happen. It felt forced and rushed in a lot of places. It had potential though. I'm going to read the second book in hopes that Cannaday gained more experience after this book and can let it flow a little more organically.
Let's talk about sex scenes, though, because it was my biggest pet peeve in this. Don't black us out of their first time. At first, I was cool with it because I assumed that the author wasn't comfortable writing sex scenes and would be doing that a lot, then we started getting the full scenes later. We went from that mess to some semi-bondage that was kind of awkward. For real though, this is supposed to be a romance. The first time they do the dirty is important, and a huge change for the characters emotionally and etc. And we got nothing on it. Not even their thoughts afterward. And that annoyed me even after I finished the book. Even if you're going to fade out during the sex, we need to know how they felt about it and their thoughts. It's character development. I'll stop now.
The story itself was decent, but I felt like the author had a list of events she wanted to take place and when and she meant they were going to happen. It felt forced and rushed in a lot of places. It had potential though. I'm going to read the second book in hopes that Cannaday gained more experience after this book and can let it flow a little more organically.
Let's talk about sex scenes, though, because it was my biggest pet peeve in this. Don't black us out of their first time. At first, I was cool with it because I assumed that the author wasn't comfortable writing sex scenes and would be doing that a lot, then we started getting the full scenes later. We went from that mess to some semi-bondage that was kind of awkward. For real though, this is supposed to be a romance. The first time they do the dirty is important, and a huge change for the characters emotionally and etc. And we got nothing on it. Not even their thoughts afterward. And that annoyed me even after I finished the book. Even if you're going to fade out during the sex, we need to know how they felt about it and their thoughts. It's character development. I'll stop now.
May 9, 2016
Annika Brisby is an aspiring rock star. When she breaks up with her boyfriend, she’s unsure where her life is heading, so she accepts an invitation from her uncle, Vince, to join him in Bulgaria. While there, she encounters a strange young man and two young women in a book store. Later, when she meets them again in the forest, she follows and is pulled through a portal into a world that she could never have imagined; a world where she learns her heritage.
The Flame and the Arrow by Emigh Cannaday is a strange tale, with elements of science fiction, magic, and modern life, melded together in an enchanting, and at times humorous, mélange that will delight you regardless of your genre preference. Oh, and it has a few steamy scenes that romance devotees will enjoy.
Cannaday has woven a fascinating tale that you’ll find hard to put down. It’ll make you laugh and cry in turns, and leave you panting for more. Meet Annika Brisby, a new-age heroine with some old-fashioned ideas of love, life, and adventure.
The Flame and the Arrow by Emigh Cannaday is a strange tale, with elements of science fiction, magic, and modern life, melded together in an enchanting, and at times humorous, mélange that will delight you regardless of your genre preference. Oh, and it has a few steamy scenes that romance devotees will enjoy.
Cannaday has woven a fascinating tale that you’ll find hard to put down. It’ll make you laugh and cry in turns, and leave you panting for more. Meet Annika Brisby, a new-age heroine with some old-fashioned ideas of love, life, and adventure.
August 3, 2018
Hours and hours of mundanity. Strange thing to say about a book set in alternate word, I know, but nothing interesting really happened.
Oh yes and the male love interest told his soul mate that she smelled like a whore. Cute, right?
Oh yes and the male love interest told his soul mate that she smelled like a whore. Cute, right?
November 29, 2016
DNF at 15%. Badly, badly in need of an editor
April 23, 2019
Interesting
I found this story to be a really good one. The characters, storyline etc, all fit so well and just worked so well together that three was no way I couldn't like it
I found this story to be a really good one. The characters, storyline etc, all fit so well and just worked so well together that three was no way I couldn't like it
June 4, 2016
I was contacted by the author to read and review this book. I purchased this book and all opinions are my own.
I absolutely loved this book. I looked forward to every second I could get away and pick up where I left off because the world building was so complex and clearly written that I didn't even have to use my imagination. Emigh Cannaday is one hell of a writer and seriously wished this world she created existed. A world where just about supernatural being you can think of exists; elves, wood nyphms, faeries, vampires, shape shifter, you name it. You would think that it may have been too much but Emigh made it happen and it came together wonderfully. Where is there a portal so I jump through it? This book takes you on quite the adventure.
It's been a while since I've read a book with so many great characters who are so different from one another. I loved pretty much every character in this book. I loved Annika at first but we have a love/hate relationship, Talvi is pretty swoon worthy but also a pain in the ass, Finn is to die for. I loved Sariel, Hilde, and Runa, they were so much fun and made the book extra funny. Don't get me started on Nikola and Justinian, major hunk factor going on there, and they're pretty badass as well. And that brings me to Yuri, yea I did not like her through this whole book and at one point I ALMOST felt for her, but I quickly regretted the sentiment. There is also Zaven, Chivanni, Dardis, and Konstantin who add so much to the story.
Let me say I loved this story more than I could have anticipated. This book is adventurous and leaves me reeling more than once with its twists and unexpected turns. I almost didn't want it to end because I was so engrossed in Annika's future because it was so obscured and there is no way to anticipate what would happen next for her. The world was so beautifully constructed and thought out I can't even imagine the amount of time it took to plot it all out. Definitely on the top of my list of favorite fantasy places. The romance was so enjoyable and very hot(yes there are a few detailed sex scenes) and there is plenty of romance to around. You don't know who will end up with who. I loved it.
Only one thing bothered me with this book and it was Annika. I still loved her in this book. She started off as this badass, free spirited character who was independent and didn't take people's crap. She was also very strong willed and minded. But I had a hard time with her issue of not being played by Talvi since he's a well-known player. She always thought he was trying to pull something with her to make her look like a fool. Also, I found to be very stereotypical whenever she came across supernatural beings like the faeries and elves and made a fool of herself. As much as she may not have wanted to believe she was in a different world, she wasn't exactly being accepting. I think Annika is strong, but while she stood up to Talvi's cousin and Zavens sister, she let Yuri and Sariel speak to her and treat her any way they wanted to. So some characteristics I associated with Annika clashed with certain moments in the book. This in no way made me love this book any less.
Seriously pick this book up. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book because the ended was an "OMG" moment.
I absolutely loved this book. I looked forward to every second I could get away and pick up where I left off because the world building was so complex and clearly written that I didn't even have to use my imagination. Emigh Cannaday is one hell of a writer and seriously wished this world she created existed. A world where just about supernatural being you can think of exists; elves, wood nyphms, faeries, vampires, shape shifter, you name it. You would think that it may have been too much but Emigh made it happen and it came together wonderfully. Where is there a portal so I jump through it? This book takes you on quite the adventure.
It's been a while since I've read a book with so many great characters who are so different from one another. I loved pretty much every character in this book. I loved Annika at first but we have a love/hate relationship, Talvi is pretty swoon worthy but also a pain in the ass, Finn is to die for. I loved Sariel, Hilde, and Runa, they were so much fun and made the book extra funny. Don't get me started on Nikola and Justinian, major hunk factor going on there, and they're pretty badass as well. And that brings me to Yuri, yea I did not like her through this whole book and at one point I ALMOST felt for her, but I quickly regretted the sentiment. There is also Zaven, Chivanni, Dardis, and Konstantin who add so much to the story.
Let me say I loved this story more than I could have anticipated. This book is adventurous and leaves me reeling more than once with its twists and unexpected turns. I almost didn't want it to end because I was so engrossed in Annika's future because it was so obscured and there is no way to anticipate what would happen next for her. The world was so beautifully constructed and thought out I can't even imagine the amount of time it took to plot it all out. Definitely on the top of my list of favorite fantasy places. The romance was so enjoyable and very hot(yes there are a few detailed sex scenes) and there is plenty of romance to around. You don't know who will end up with who. I loved it.
Only one thing bothered me with this book and it was Annika. I still loved her in this book. She started off as this badass, free spirited character who was independent and didn't take people's crap. She was also very strong willed and minded. But I had a hard time with her issue of not being played by Talvi since he's a well-known player. She always thought he was trying to pull something with her to make her look like a fool. Also, I found to be very stereotypical whenever she came across supernatural beings like the faeries and elves and made a fool of herself. As much as she may not have wanted to believe she was in a different world, she wasn't exactly being accepting. I think Annika is strong, but while she stood up to Talvi's cousin and Zavens sister, she let Yuri and Sariel speak to her and treat her any way they wanted to. So some characteristics I associated with Annika clashed with certain moments in the book. This in no way made me love this book any less.
Seriously pick this book up. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book because the ended was an "OMG" moment.
May 27, 2016
Emigh Cannaday Hits the Bullseye with The Flame and the Arrow:
Overall, I was very impressed with the first installment of this series and will be continuing with the second book immediately. My attention was grabbed within the first few pages and held firmly throughout the book. That's really a rarity, so when I find a book that grabs on that tight and maintains that grip consistently enough to keep me eagerly turning the pages, I feel that's an accomplishment worthy of sharing.
Central European/Bavarian mythology is hinted at in the beginning but then becomes a reality when the main character crosses over to a parallel reality in which humans seem to be the minority. A plethora of magical and mythical creatures, as well as factions and splinter-groups of extremists within the supernatural world, round out the cast of characters in the story.
The author allows the reader to learn and uncover details along with the character. We don't get a redundant or spoonfed backstory, so as a reader, we're comfortably vulnerable, being as lost and confused as the character as she learns about the world and what her destiny might be.
The interpersonal relationships and struggles between family and love interests are believable. Suspension of disbelief comes easily, allowing the reader to sit back and enjoy the journey. While there is a romantic aspect to the story, I applaud the author for writing in a manner that I would consider to be, "tastefully erotic." This portion of the story is minimal, and I appreciate that. I've read so many books in the fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance genres where these components are overdone and a far bigger portion of the book than is necessary. Books like that are thin on plot and often utilize explicitly graphic or vulgar writing as filler. This author has done the complete opposite, and that is so refreshing.
Also surprising is the atypical European mythology of the fae and other mythological creatures, as opposed to the Celtic elements that have become repetitious for the genre. I would categorize the book as an Urban Fantasy Romance, and as a veteran reader of multiple genres, I enjoyed it very much.
It's also very important to note that the author's writing is very-well done and technically sound. As a copyeditor, things like structure and framework, flow and continuity, as well as punctuation, spelling, grammar, and consistency are always at the forefront for me. I can't help but notice these details, and unlike so many recently published books, The Flame and the Arrow reads as a finished product, as opposed to a second or third draft. With ebooks and self-publishing being a standard in the literary world, it's easier than ever for authors to publish their work, and this is apparent in the shocking number of titles that appear raw as opposed to something that is truly ready to go to "print."
In closing, I recommend The Flame and the Arrow for those who are new to the genre as well as longtime fans of Urban Fantasy, Adventure, and Romance.
Overall, I was very impressed with the first installment of this series and will be continuing with the second book immediately. My attention was grabbed within the first few pages and held firmly throughout the book. That's really a rarity, so when I find a book that grabs on that tight and maintains that grip consistently enough to keep me eagerly turning the pages, I feel that's an accomplishment worthy of sharing.
Central European/Bavarian mythology is hinted at in the beginning but then becomes a reality when the main character crosses over to a parallel reality in which humans seem to be the minority. A plethora of magical and mythical creatures, as well as factions and splinter-groups of extremists within the supernatural world, round out the cast of characters in the story.
The author allows the reader to learn and uncover details along with the character. We don't get a redundant or spoonfed backstory, so as a reader, we're comfortably vulnerable, being as lost and confused as the character as she learns about the world and what her destiny might be.
The interpersonal relationships and struggles between family and love interests are believable. Suspension of disbelief comes easily, allowing the reader to sit back and enjoy the journey. While there is a romantic aspect to the story, I applaud the author for writing in a manner that I would consider to be, "tastefully erotic." This portion of the story is minimal, and I appreciate that. I've read so many books in the fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance genres where these components are overdone and a far bigger portion of the book than is necessary. Books like that are thin on plot and often utilize explicitly graphic or vulgar writing as filler. This author has done the complete opposite, and that is so refreshing.
Also surprising is the atypical European mythology of the fae and other mythological creatures, as opposed to the Celtic elements that have become repetitious for the genre. I would categorize the book as an Urban Fantasy Romance, and as a veteran reader of multiple genres, I enjoyed it very much.
It's also very important to note that the author's writing is very-well done and technically sound. As a copyeditor, things like structure and framework, flow and continuity, as well as punctuation, spelling, grammar, and consistency are always at the forefront for me. I can't help but notice these details, and unlike so many recently published books, The Flame and the Arrow reads as a finished product, as opposed to a second or third draft. With ebooks and self-publishing being a standard in the literary world, it's easier than ever for authors to publish their work, and this is apparent in the shocking number of titles that appear raw as opposed to something that is truly ready to go to "print."
In closing, I recommend The Flame and the Arrow for those who are new to the genre as well as longtime fans of Urban Fantasy, Adventure, and Romance.
March 17, 2019
I wanted to like this book so much that I am actually sad at the possibilities and options this author squandered. The premise is good, the descriptions and world building are decent, but all the characters are assholes ESPECIALLY the two main characters.
Usually, when I read, I can’t wait to get home and get back to my favorite chair and my latest book. I first realized I hated this book when I got to my chair-time and I chose to watch reruns of The Vampire Diaries on Netflix rather than read.
Annika has literally NO redeeming qualities. There is nothing likable about her. She drinks, smokes, picks fights with elves in a bar when they have all been so gracious to her and she is a stranger in their land. She is mouthy and pushy and VERY immature even for 25.
Her “love interest” is just as bad, though I would take him over her any day. He is equally immature but he is supposedly 300 years old WTF?
Portals to the outside world are closing for some unknown reason and she is supposedly devastated and desperate to get home.......aaaaaand yet no one actually does shit to figure out what the hell is happening. Instead they plan and have a weird birthday party for the first 60 percent of the book. One second Annika is crying into her beer about her poor family, the next she is trying to bone some strange elf on the floor of a music room in a house that she is a GUEST in.....not to slut shame, but have some class.
I have to be honest I am only about 70 percent through this book and I have read some folks saying there is gratuitous (and possibly light BDSM) sex in this book but other than some awkwardly weird foreplay (honey pot and nectar gross) that got interrupted the only other “sex” I have come across was extremely vague and weird.
All this supposed build up and then suddenly she is like “let’s have sex” and he says “okay” and the author basically writes: then they had sex.
No passion, no buildup, not even any description...I’m not a perv that reads these books just for the hot parts but I honestly feel weird that their first time getting it on wasn’t even in the book. I feel strangely gypped. I need to reassess my life now.
All in all, I want to find the artist that did the covers to this series of books because that person owes me restitution for the time I wasted on this book. The cover art is so gorgeous and alluring that I expected so much more.
Usually, when I read, I can’t wait to get home and get back to my favorite chair and my latest book. I first realized I hated this book when I got to my chair-time and I chose to watch reruns of The Vampire Diaries on Netflix rather than read.
Annika has literally NO redeeming qualities. There is nothing likable about her. She drinks, smokes, picks fights with elves in a bar when they have all been so gracious to her and she is a stranger in their land. She is mouthy and pushy and VERY immature even for 25.
Her “love interest” is just as bad, though I would take him over her any day. He is equally immature but he is supposedly 300 years old WTF?
Portals to the outside world are closing for some unknown reason and she is supposedly devastated and desperate to get home.......aaaaaand yet no one actually does shit to figure out what the hell is happening. Instead they plan and have a weird birthday party for the first 60 percent of the book. One second Annika is crying into her beer about her poor family, the next she is trying to bone some strange elf on the floor of a music room in a house that she is a GUEST in.....not to slut shame, but have some class.
I have to be honest I am only about 70 percent through this book and I have read some folks saying there is gratuitous (and possibly light BDSM) sex in this book but other than some awkwardly weird foreplay (honey pot and nectar gross) that got interrupted the only other “sex” I have come across was extremely vague and weird.
All this supposed build up and then suddenly she is like “let’s have sex” and he says “okay” and the author basically writes: then they had sex.
No passion, no buildup, not even any description...I’m not a perv that reads these books just for the hot parts but I honestly feel weird that their first time getting it on wasn’t even in the book. I feel strangely gypped. I need to reassess my life now.
All in all, I want to find the artist that did the covers to this series of books because that person owes me restitution for the time I wasted on this book. The cover art is so gorgeous and alluring that I expected so much more.
October 8, 2016
Thank you to Emigh Cannaday for the opportunity to read and review her book, The Flame and the Arrow! This new adult book begins with Annika, a musician who has recently broken up with her fiance and she is talking to her best friend, James, about the events in her life. Annika travels to her Uncle Vince's home in Bulgaria for a well-deserved respite and to recover from the breakup. She goes for a hike in the wilderness and loses her way back to Uncle Vince's home. She eventually sees a person and that person is someone she met in town earlier. Annika follows her and they end up in a cave with two other women. Things become strange as they are transported to a different world through a portal, which then closes. The three women reveal that they are wood nymphs and inform Annika that she is one too. She resides with an elven family after the portal has closed and everyone suspects that she belongs in their world. Finn and his father, Ambrose, show Annika the family tree and she discovers that she is part of their world through her mother's ancestors. Annika begins to have a tumultuous relationship with Talvi, Finn's brother. The family puts together a group that will be battle ready to find and rescue a member of the family that has been kidnapped, another interesting part of this story. Annika falls in love, learns a lot about herself and becomes somewhat transformed. The writing flows, character development is strong and the story and worlds are elaborate and interesting. The Flame and the Arrow is the beginning of a new adult series about Annika and her life entangled in mystery, intrigue, complicated relationships and romance!
September 25, 2016
I am torn writing this review. Emigh Cannaday is a really good author. She created a parallel world with vivid descriptions and well developed characters. The storyline was entertaining, well thought-out, and well-paced. It also delivered a message without being heavy handed.
My problem with the story centered on the two main characters Annika and Talvi. They seemed to flip flop back and forth from being deeply in love to being truly mean to one another. Annika had a habit of saying hurtful things to more than one person. And I realize that 300 years means that you will likely have scores of lovers, but it is long enough for you to develop some morals and stop being a constant man-whore. Talvi had few redeemable qualities outside of the bedroom for most of the book. This all changed toward the end of the book and while maybe it was unrealistic, I enjoyed the couple much more. I need to see a new level of closeness, gentleness, and trust moving forward, not just hot sex and a few pretty words. Actions need to back up their supposed true love.
I enjoyed the entire book, but the last third of the book captured my attention totally. I am hooked and must find out what happens in book 2. I hope Talvi has changed for good as a man in love, because it appears he is going to be faced with a new challenge soon enough.
Side notes; Finn needs his own story. He was easily the most compelling character in the book. Hilda is not a worthy match. And Runa is a delightful character, but I didn't appreciate the closeness to Talvi at times. You don't bathe with a married man in any universe.
My problem with the story centered on the two main characters Annika and Talvi. They seemed to flip flop back and forth from being deeply in love to being truly mean to one another. Annika had a habit of saying hurtful things to more than one person. And I realize that 300 years means that you will likely have scores of lovers, but it is long enough for you to develop some morals and stop being a constant man-whore. Talvi had few redeemable qualities outside of the bedroom for most of the book. This all changed toward the end of the book and while maybe it was unrealistic, I enjoyed the couple much more. I need to see a new level of closeness, gentleness, and trust moving forward, not just hot sex and a few pretty words. Actions need to back up their supposed true love.
I enjoyed the entire book, but the last third of the book captured my attention totally. I am hooked and must find out what happens in book 2. I hope Talvi has changed for good as a man in love, because it appears he is going to be faced with a new challenge soon enough.
Side notes; Finn needs his own story. He was easily the most compelling character in the book. Hilda is not a worthy match. And Runa is a delightful character, but I didn't appreciate the closeness to Talvi at times. You don't bathe with a married man in any universe.
August 23, 2016
I had some conflicting thoughts about this book. Overall, I enjoyed it and I look forward to continuing the series.
One thing I would have really liked more of was the beginning. I would like to know Danny’s side of the story because I have no clue who he is as a character. Since the book ends with her being back on Earth, I hope to explore more of her old life.
Some of the characters I absolutely loved. Finn is by far my favorite. I found their journey to be completely entertaining, and I loved all the new characters they met along the way. The interactions between the group had me staying awake late at night just to see what happens.
At first I really did not like Talvi. The whole alpha male thing was not what I was expecting out of him at all. Definitely not from a fantasy novel, but I guess I haven’t read enough from the adult fantasy genre. As I continued on with the story, he grew on me. He may not be my kind of guy, but I can still appreciate his character. I hope that he continues to mature throughout the series.
Annika is another character I had difficulty relating to, but near the end, I thought of her as more of a close friend. I laughed so hard during the scenes where she puts Talvi in his place. I found their roller coaster relationship to be quite entertaining. I do hope their baby is okay.
There are many plotlines going on in this book and I am really interested in seeing how the rest of the series pans out!
One thing I would have really liked more of was the beginning. I would like to know Danny’s side of the story because I have no clue who he is as a character. Since the book ends with her being back on Earth, I hope to explore more of her old life.
Some of the characters I absolutely loved. Finn is by far my favorite. I found their journey to be completely entertaining, and I loved all the new characters they met along the way. The interactions between the group had me staying awake late at night just to see what happens.
At first I really did not like Talvi. The whole alpha male thing was not what I was expecting out of him at all. Definitely not from a fantasy novel, but I guess I haven’t read enough from the adult fantasy genre. As I continued on with the story, he grew on me. He may not be my kind of guy, but I can still appreciate his character. I hope that he continues to mature throughout the series.
Annika is another character I had difficulty relating to, but near the end, I thought of her as more of a close friend. I laughed so hard during the scenes where she puts Talvi in his place. I found their roller coaster relationship to be quite entertaining. I do hope their baby is okay.
There are many plotlines going on in this book and I am really interested in seeing how the rest of the series pans out!
February 1, 2017
Amazing!
I'm completely hooked. This is the best pnr I've read in awhile. Blew through the first three in days and anxiously awaiting book #4.
This book is basically D&D meets Alice in Wonderland with adult situations. It's a "dark" romance, so if your anticipating butterflies and flowers, you'll be sorely disappointed. Anika and Talvi are literally prophesied to be together, but they have a less than conventional start. While the attraction and chemistry is definitely there, both characters make mistakes with their budding relationship. Annika is definitely lead astray by jealous parties, and Talvi's sometimes questionable behavior and past is enough to make Annika second guess him. What this couple lacks is communication! Even with the very rocky start, you can't help but hope these two can make it work.
The supporting characters were awesome! They included vampires, faeries, wood nymphs, elves, druids, a Paladin, ogres, and one magical black unicorn. There is really no back story for any of them except for Sariel the samodiva. The title, The Flame and the Arrow, was named for her after all.
I really enjoyed Emigh Cannaday's writing style. It was very descriptive and helped the world building tremendously. The main plot is the broken portals, but the story arch revolves around the prophecy about the twins, Yuri and Talvi. Or at least that's what we're lead to believe...
I'm completely hooked. This is the best pnr I've read in awhile. Blew through the first three in days and anxiously awaiting book #4.
This book is basically D&D meets Alice in Wonderland with adult situations. It's a "dark" romance, so if your anticipating butterflies and flowers, you'll be sorely disappointed. Anika and Talvi are literally prophesied to be together, but they have a less than conventional start. While the attraction and chemistry is definitely there, both characters make mistakes with their budding relationship. Annika is definitely lead astray by jealous parties, and Talvi's sometimes questionable behavior and past is enough to make Annika second guess him. What this couple lacks is communication! Even with the very rocky start, you can't help but hope these two can make it work.
The supporting characters were awesome! They included vampires, faeries, wood nymphs, elves, druids, a Paladin, ogres, and one magical black unicorn. There is really no back story for any of them except for Sariel the samodiva. The title, The Flame and the Arrow, was named for her after all.
I really enjoyed Emigh Cannaday's writing style. It was very descriptive and helped the world building tremendously. The main plot is the broken portals, but the story arch revolves around the prophecy about the twins, Yuri and Talvi. Or at least that's what we're lead to believe...
did-not-finish
June 11, 2016No rating, as I didn't finish the book and only made it to the 17% mark.
The paranormal romance genre is tough for me. I've found some I really enjoy. But I also find a number of well-written books in the genre that just aren't my cup of tea. This is one of those.
When 60% of the story is the female lead gushing her feelings about the male lead, I just can't take it. It just seems like the book is constantly trying to find another way to say, at length, over and over and over again, repeatedly, ad nauseam,"Oh, my. What is this feeling that rushes over me whenever I'm near him?"
Funny. Reading the blurb again, I'm not sure what attracted me to this book in the first place...
The paranormal romance genre is tough for me. I've found some I really enjoy. But I also find a number of well-written books in the genre that just aren't my cup of tea. This is one of those.
When 60% of the story is the female lead gushing her feelings about the male lead, I just can't take it. It just seems like the book is constantly trying to find another way to say, at length, over and over and over again, repeatedly, ad nauseam,"Oh, my. What is this feeling that rushes over me whenever I'm near him?"
Funny. Reading the blurb again, I'm not sure what attracted me to this book in the first place...
November 17, 2016
I really wanted to like this as it was the Vaginal Fantasy pick for this month and it had several good reviews. But it was extremely insta-love to me and felt very flat. There's also the matter that around a third of the way into the book he's referring to her "hot little honeycomb" and how it's "spilling over with nectar." I mean..... SERIOUSLY. WTF.
February 8, 2017
even though I enjoyed it Very much I can only give it 3 stars because the excitement was down to almost zero at times. However the sequel and the final got better ratings so I'm going to be brave here and urge you to read this book nonetheless.
April 25, 2018
Whoa
Man what a vivid and beautifully written story. I can actually picture her discription of different things in the book. I really can't wait to read the rest!!
Man what a vivid and beautifully written story. I can actually picture her discription of different things in the book. I really can't wait to read the rest!!
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