Elladur - The Awakening

by Angie Delazi

Magic - a legacy of the ancient era, created by genetic manipulation. For as long as Liya can remember, her magic has been a curse. Something to hide, something to despise. As king’s spy, she ventures out to uncover more about the political marriage of the hostile kingdom. Her nerves intensify when she realizes that her former lover, Haydn, is to be the future king of Dar'Angaar. With a war between the kingdom hanging in the balance, she and her best friend Ewan discover an ancient scroll from the long-lost kingdom of Elladur. It reveals a mysterious portal to another world, where eternal darkness and a king await his revenge.

Yet, at such a risk, who would do such a thing? The answer might be closer than she realizes.

This fantasy novel is the 1st book of the Elladur trilogy.

444 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

Mystery Stories: Angie Delazi is an Austrian writer. Already as a child she loved the world of myths and legends and quickly became a fantasy and romance lover. But she is also fan of the world of philosophy and great mysteries.

At thirteen she was already writing stories and finally she made her debut as an author with her novel "Elladur -das Erwachen" , the prelude to a fantasy trilogy.

Today, the author lives together with her family in Vienna.

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a gifted advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of a book tour hosted by Lovebookstours.

Elladur: The Awakening is the first book in an explosive, fast paced new fantasy series by new fantasy author Angie Delazi.
I could not put this book down and devoured it within 3 days! The fantasy world within this book has been intricately woven and I could see the whole book play out like a movie in my mind. The word building is superbly written and the cast of characters are amazing!
Liya is the main character and strong female lead in this book. She is a master spy for her King and is sent on a mission to uncover information about the upcoming political marriage of the hostile kingdom.
Haydn is Liya's ex-lover and to be the future king of Dar'Angaar and their lives become entangled again through the course of this book.
A darkness is Awakening and entering their world and Liya has a powerful role to play in all events unfolding.
Liya is strong, fearless and independent and I enjoyed her character immensely.
Angie Delazi is definitely an author to watch out for I the fantasy world. If I didn't know this was her first novel I would be very shocked - the depth of the story, the vibrancy of the world she has created along with the amazing characters, backstory and level of suspense is amazing! I'm desperate to read book two after that amazing cliff hanger ending!!!

[MeMe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy is not my go-to genre. But for some odd reason, I enjoyed this one. This one is the first book in the series. I loved Liyah how she is a badass female secret agent. With a primary mission that will be revealed if you read the story. I will not spoil it for you guys. The cover is what grabbed my attention. I also felt like the story could have been 100 pages less. I enjoyed how the plot had its flavor to it. The plot was different and engaging. Characters are depicted truly well, and the author has made an excellent showing. So I couldn't imagine anything better than to prescribe this book to everybody out there to proceed to snatch your duplicates and offer your perspectives. I highly recommend this one. I think you as readers will enjoy this one, especially if you're a die-hard fantasy lover. Then this one's for you. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time reading it. I just loved how I escaped reality and went to a fantasy world with many actions.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant fantasy for young adults. The main character Liya is such a strong female character and I love stories where a female character is portrayed as strong and bold. She possesses some magical powers which has been a curse - Something to hide, something to despise. She is the king’s spy, so she works to uncover more about the political marriage of the hostile kingdom. Later, she realise that her former lover, Haydn, is to be the future king of Dar'Angaar. As the story progresses, it got better and better. All the Kingdoms - Namoor, Eryon and Dar’Angaar are wonderfully created. I can't wait for the next in this trilogy!

I won't say much about the plot, except to say there's something so interesting to read for everyone. I loved the whole atmosphere surrounding the book and especially the characters and their different personality.

Language of the book is lucid. It's an amazing story for light reading and totally according to my reading taste. It takes an exceptional writer to write a story without going too fast. This book is truly a masterpiece - simply because of the magical world it created in the minds of readers.

Such an amazing book. The characters, the story, the setting, the plot, everything is so perfect and is according to my reading taste.
If you haven’t read this book, I have to insist you pick it up right away. It was a fantastic read. I wish I could write more about this book, but I just can't explain the amazingness of it with my simple, unworthy words, so I am going to tell you what you NEED to do - Go grab your copy.

[Gemma (booksta.gem) Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For as long as Liya can remember her magic has been a curse, something to hide. As the kings spy she ventures out to discover more about the political marriage of the hostile kingdom. With a war between the kingdoms hanging in the balance she must work with the enemy even if that means committing treason.”

This book surprised the hell out of me. I had no idea what to expect when I picked it up, and it was an easy 4 stars.

The book is quite big at 491 pages, but the story flows really well and it felt like I flew through it. Only thing I shrugged with at first was remembering who each character was. There are quite a few characters integral to the storyline, and at first I had to keep reminding myself who they were.
I found most of the characters really likeable, and that definitely helps the reader become a lot more invested in the story.

I thought it was written well, and paced nicely. There was a small amount of world building and I would have liked to know a little more about some of the characters back story’s, however this is only book 1 in the series.

The ending was good and left it open ready for the next book. I will 100% get the next book to read, I need to know what happens next!
I would recommend this to any fantasy fan. It’s an exhilarating easy read.

[Sara (thebookwebb) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written fantasy novel that has great world building and a strong female character. The three kingdoms of Namoor, Eryon and Dar’Angaar are well constructed with detailed descriptions, that paint a vivid picture of each setting for the reader. Liya is a great character, albeit with her own insecurities, but a protagonist that as a reader, you can get behind and root for. I did find some of the political scenes and conversations confusing, particularly at the the beginning of the book, but the pace definitely picked up for me and I soon found myself immersed in the narrative.

This was a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sarah Festa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to start off by saying that the world building in this book was so good! The magic system, the different kingdoms with different magic laws.

Liya was a great strong MC and she was also fun to read about.

I feel this book did the job of setting the scene and laying the ground work for book two to take the reins and give us one heck of a story.

There was action, romance, friendships, twists, turns.

There were quite a few love interest to choose from and I am still not sure who I am rooting for, maybe book two will help me decide.

I can't wait to read the next book!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, it had great world building and an intriguing plot, I liked the political bits too, it had a lot of history which brought the story to life, I loved how well thought out this book was!

I enjoyed the relationships/friendships and the romance was sweet throughout, I love the MC, Liya, she is brave, sarcastic and such a badass!

It had a great magic system that was confusing at times due to all the different names and people but after about halfway through I began to understand a lot of it. I really got SJM vibes which is great❤

The pace was good too, something was always happening, the only thing I was unsure about is the amount the MC Liya passes out, however this often leads to another chapter so I thought this was done well.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, plus that cliffhanger ending has me needing the next one right now!

Great work Angie, thank you for sending me your book, I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

[Gaurav · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Awakening Elladur(Trilogy Book 1)
By -Angie Delazi
Format- kindle /Paperback
Language- English/German
My Rating -4.9/5

Book review:
🧞Starting from the cover of the book and the title of the book is very appealing and intriguing as it goes with the plot of the book and I must say it's a best-suited title. So coming to the book as it's my first read from the author and also a very first (1st) book of the Elladur trilogy by the author but the work done by the author is amazing.
🧞The book is of 464 pages of 32 chapter with sneak peak and a long read but the writing style and the narration is so easily understandable that it made me so into the book and I never felt bored at any point of time. Seriously it was very intriguing reading this book.
🧞So coming to the plot... Elladur-the Awakening is a Magic -a legacy of the ancient era, created by genetic manipulation .As Liya the main character in the book where she can remember, her magic has been a curse and more powerful than others plays the role of a king spy, she ventures out to uncover more about the political marriage of the hostile kingdom.
🧞So middle plot revolves around where she and her best freind Ewan discover an ancient scroll from the long lost kingdom of Elladur . And her former lover , Haydn is to be the future king of Dar Angaar.
🧞At end "Liya show the crystal which she was carrying it . In the locket she wore around her neck . And after some part they reach Thyron city near a watch house .She climbed the steps slowly. And go to church for marriage of king and she got to know about the opening of the Dark Door and about her Magical power.She practice some magic Power of different elements of earth.
So to know what happened further spli*, go grab this book out . And you will be glad to read it.
•Is she able to close the door ?
•And have she met Elladur to ?

❤️The book teaches us how to respond to and cope with challenging circumstances in our lives like Liya have to make a success in hand " Fear ignorance , but even more fear false Knowledge ."

The book from starting only made me very curious. ...This is the first book that made me speechless I don't know what I should say..❤️

The language used is really simple and easily understandable so a beginner can also have real fun while reading it. The book is much more than I could tell you here guys as a first-time author he has done amazing and I appreciate it. It looks like I was watching real life. Example Book we can relate mixture to our Hollywood and Bollywood Movies Alladin and The Chronicles of Narnia
..
After each chapter, it becomes more interesting for me. I am sure you guys will love it so just go and grab your copy from amazon. I recommend it to all the readers out there.

Happy reading:) ❤️

[Diksha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review 📚

Elladur - The Awakening

Trilogy Book 1

By : Angie Delazi

Edition : Kindle

" Elladur - The Awakening " by Angie Delazi is the first book in the series . This book is an assemblage of total 32 chapters and the story introduces us to a lead character " Liya ". So the protagonist seat in the story is captured by Young emissary named Liya .

Liya is a secret agent of King Louis who is the ruler of Namoor . Her main mission was to reveal about the kingdom's political marriage and to collect more information about it .But she encounters something strange , she gets to know about Haydn who was her former love and is going to be the future king of Dar Angaar.

Ewan , best friend of Liya helps her in this journey . He is the Captain of the Royal Army Of Namoor . They both discover the ancient scroll in the kingdom of Elladur and later on she discovers about some magical power . But the story doesn't end here . To know what happens next ,you need to grab the book and go

My opinion :

The title suited best with the plot . The cover and the title of the book ,both are quite intriguing . Cover is captivating and it fetched my attention .

I found this book to be a long read but narration flowed so smoothly that it made it quite easier for me to go through the text . Writing style of the author is appreciative .


The plot was really different and engaging . I made to sit on on the edge of my seat to know what will happen next . I was completely hooked till last .


Characters are portrayed really well and I think Author has done a commendable job . So I would love to recommend this book to everyone out there to go and grab your copies and share your views .


You guys will definitely enjoy reading it .
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to riffle through your book and review it .

Happy Reading

[Rohit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, the story was thoughtfully written by the author and I truly appreciate the author's imagination power. All the characters were interesting and portrayed very well.

The story revolves around Liya, She is the youngest emissary and also a spy of King Louis, the ruler of Namoor. He sent Liya to Dar’Angaar for a special mission to gather more information about the political marriage of the hostile kingdom. She is horrified to discover that her former lover, Haydn, is to be the future king of Dar'Angaar.

There is another character in the story, Ewan, who is the captain of the Royal Army of Namoor, and also the best friend of Liya. They both discover the ancient scroll from the Kingdom of Elladur. It discloses a mysterious gate to another world, where a dark king waiting for his vengeance.

[charlene ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars  

★★★★

**I was provided with an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review**

☞ Trigger warnings: **contains spoilers** animal attack, animal death, arranged marriage, banishment, blood & gore depictions, body horror, burns, captivity & imprisonment, death, dead bodies, death of a parent, disappearance of a loved one, earthquakes, estrangement, exile, knife violence, kidnapping, loss of autonomy, maritime disasters, medical experimentation, mind control & possession, misogyny, murder & attempted murder, needles & syringes, physical assault, physical injuries, poisonings, attempted rape, torture, war themes & military violence. .

The Elladur Trilogy reviews: 
☁︎  Elladur - The Awakening: ★★★★
☁︎  Elladur - The Elder's Legacy: Jan 2022 release date.


There is a lot of moving parts in this book.
This book includes: balls, spy missions, land and sea battles, mysterious magical mountain people, a heist, a ruined and forgotten city, magical objects, curses, corrupt council members, an attempted coup, fortress cities, assassination attempts, magical potions that produce visions, destiny, betrayal, monstrous attacking octopuses, soul eaters, secret societies, multiple dimensions myths and dragons.

Liya is a top spy. As a woman, she is often overlooked by most. Her social standings mean she has the ability to enter high society functions and her training has provided her with the skill to disguise herself as different people, with different occupations. This fictional world seems to portray a patriarchal social structure, with misogyny that hampers Liya but also allows her to be unnoticed, helping her execute spy missions.

Liya is highly successful at her job. If the book was just about her spying on people, being a fountain of secrets and using said secrets to manipulate situations and people than I would be peachy.
This book only touches on Liya's ability as a spy master, but delvopes into delveing into Liya's biggest secret, her magic. From a kingdom that controls magic users to the nth degree, under constant heavy surveillance, Liya hides her magic to avoid that path in life. Hiding her magic felt more like a trauma response, linked to her parents and she would rather stick to her comfort zone. Her magic is an uncomfortable aspect that she hates, and causes her to think about her parents. The amount of magic she has is unprecedented and I think she knows that, knows this would mean she would be inspected, and prodded, and placed on a pedestal above her peers. She would rather the normality than to be the special girl with special powers and I think that it's understandable.

The announcement of a political marriage brings the threat of war closer. Liya is tasked with gathering information but her past is catching up with her present and will impact her future. Liya has to navigate treacherous waters, juggling her own secrets and the secrets of others. Unfortunately its not only Liya's past that has reared its head. I was angered that Liya's innution, which was highly regarded for the majority of the book by everyone (especially her King), was quickly discarded at the end. She was touted for her keen sense of hearing a lie but refused to listen to her when they needed to the most. The King and the people she trusted the most did not give her the same courtesy. She saves so many peoples lives, including the King's multiple times and yet she is quickly disgraced. I would keep the person with super magical powers that can do unprecedented things close, and not cast her off by herself, where she might be a future risk to you and your country. Easy way to make an enemy. Also she knows so many secrets its kind of stupid for them to let her go knowing them. Liya could probably topple kingdoms with what she knows. Just saying.

At face value, Elladur - The Awakening is a fantasy book about Liya, the magical chosen one. In some respects it is, but ultimately it is a political fantasy between powerful men, struggling over power and control. Underneath it all is a sinister magical darkness. Liya's use of her powers was unique and interesting. I was intrigued by what she could do with her magic, and how quickly she could adapt to precarious situations.

Ewan was a likable character that disappointed me. He was affectionate and caring with Liya but when thing got tough, when the country was on the edge of war, he became hostile with her.
Julian was swarmy from the beginning. I saw a snake and he didn't disappoint. He's the type of guy I wouldn't want to be in a room alone with. Dangerous to woman. Lowkey incel.

I found understanding the lore complicated. The eventual info dump felt insufficient. It was very easy to get confused trying to figure out what countries are good, bad and the tense relationships between the each country and their rulers.

My ARC was peppered with grammar errors and some sentences felt weird, but I had assumed it was simply because this was an advanced copy. I read a review on Amazon that the errors I read it was not just my ARC copy but the English translation as the authors first language was not English. It didn't impact the story telling much but it was annoying enough that you questioned whether it was proofed.

At this point I'm interested to find out what happens next after that cliffhanger. It was a great final few chapters that bumped this rating up from a 3.

☁︎  Would I recommend this book?
Yes! Interesting, rich fantasy book with intricate lore and great stepping point for the rest of the series.

☁︎  Would I re-read this book
Yeah, I would like to re-read the book when the next one comes out, as a re-fresher. There are a lot of details and history I would not remember that would be important later on. 

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[Nicola Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first in a trilogy series. Another map book. I love taking in these maps. This book is an extremely chunky read for all those fantasy lovers out there. I sometimes find myself struggling with this sort of a read but I found it extremely useful to keep up throughout with the characters glossary at the back of the book. Especially as I struggle with the fantasy names and places.

I absolutely loved the magic contained within this book, it’s extremely convincing and not silly in anyway. The opening prologue instantly makes you aware of the ancient legacy of the book of heavens and you instantly want to know what other legacies it’ll reveal. The book is a bit like game of thrones meets fantasy but in a different way. I think I thought this mainly due to the cover looking like Daenerys especially with the dragon wings.

Liya and Ewan come hand in hand and make a great team throughout. The author brings to life the characteristics of the characters exceptionally well throughout and you really embrace their personalities. Especially Liya, another strong woman lead, even if she does have a few self doubts. For any new fantasy readers, you may find it slightly slow to begin with but persevere because when you least expect it it becomes really fast paced.

The only regret I have with this, is that I read it alongside a few other fantasy books. I think from now on I’ll make sure to read fantasy one series at a time. This is through no fault of the author but my own. I look forward to the second and third in the series. Especially as when you finish the book your left instantly wondering what will come from the next.

[Critical Sandwich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried giving this novel a fair chance but the writing style was too horrid for me to move on with it.
Had I known the auhtor is actually an Austrian and there's a version of this book in German, I'd have attempted it in German (and would have glossed over the writing style due to a lack of a german advanced reading skill) - it's hard to say whether the writing style is sooo bad bc of the foreign nature of it or not (is it better in German?), but there's a reviewer on Amazon who wrote "Schrecklich geschrieben, wie ein Comic oder ein Film, als Buch zusammenhangslos..." about this novel, so my guess is, it's not better in German.

I do agree with that reviewer in the fact that it's terribly written and overall the sentences feel unconnected
I'm always reluctant to judge whether the writing style is good or bad due to my knowledge of english as a foreign language, but this book is obviously not only poorly written, but also badly edited.
Judge for yourself:

"He was not only Liya's best friend, but also the brother she very much would have liked to have had."

"The brother she never had" is a common expression that could've been used here without the "would have liked to (VERB present perfect)" clunky structure. "He was not only Liya's best friend, but also" - I think "Not only he was (was he?)..., but also...." is a smoother structure

Another one:

“You look adorable,” he said with a smile.
“Very funny.” She elbowed him in the ribs.
“I mean it. Rarely do I see you in beautiful clothes, and this looks great on you”

It's tricky cuz it might be personal preference thing
"You look great" makes more sense mood-wise
"Rarely do I see you in beautiful clothes" - there's a common phrase "I rarely get to see you (smth)" (and "Do I" is such a rare sentence structure and it was used here way more often than I thought was needed)
the dialogue structure - "," he said but "." She elbowed - it's such a short dialogue yet the two different styles of it clash on page. It's a difference between a dialogue tag and an action tag but imo these two put together clash. Either have both of them with dialogue tags, or both of them with action tags, or use one dialogue/action tag and leave anothe empty as it's obvious who's talking at that point.

There's tons of errors like that, a lot of inconsistencies with dialogues, missed " marks, lack of "the" when needed and insertion of it when it's not, weird commas, weird clunky sentence structure, weird narration structure with every sentence feeling detached from one another.

[Nimalee Ravi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh wow! What a brilliant fantasy story for young adults. The world building is just simply amazing. Namoor, Eryon and Dar'Angoor are the three Kingdoms and has been created brilliantly.

The characters are portrayed really well. The main character is Liya. She's strong, independent, fearless female lead. I enjoyed her character very much. If I say more, I will end up spoiling the plot, so guys please pick up a book and enjoy.

The ending was a brilliant build-up to the next book, which I can't wait for. I highly recommend this book, specially if you are a fantasy book addict, then this is definitely for you.

[Emily Skeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to @lovebookstours and @angie_delazi for my #gifted copy.

Elladur - The Awakening is the first instalment of a Trilogy serious by Angie Delazi.

I really enjoyed the character building throughout the book. You, as the reader, start to develop strong connections early on and become invested in their story. This enables you to feel the emotions alongside the characters and creates a greater depth to the story.

The world building was well done with lots of descriptive language that gave the reader a clear picture of the landscape and society of this world. It was easy to understand the politics and events of the world as you were able to visualise the scenes as they were taking place.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to any reader whether you are a seasoned fantasy reader or wishing to try the genre for the first time.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elladur – The Awakening is the first book in the series and the Author, Angie Delazi, does a wonderful job of introducing the reader to the world and characters within the story. Little by little you get to know about the characters and the world they live in and despite the fact that there are parts where there is a lot of narration, it never feels boring. On the contrary, the more I read, the more intrigued I was; and this is all thanks to Angie Delazi’s wonderful writing. The pacing was great and I didn’t feel bored by what I was reading, as I mentioned before, it was quite the opposite. As for the characters, they were well-developed and I enjoyed learning about them, I even became a bit invested in some of them. I love it when a story can make me care for a character and Elladur – The Awakening certainly did just that. Of course, I didn’t like every single character but I don’t see that as a bad thing. I’ve never come across a book were I liked every single character. Personally, Liya was my favorite character and I enjoyed following her story and cannot wait to know what will happen in the next installment of this trilogy. By the end of it, I was left wanting more but also I was very happy that I was able to read this book because it pleasantly surprised me and it lived up to my expectations.

I received this book as an ARC through Reedsy Discovery.

[Prerna Kapoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my first book in the Fantasy genre, this one was a good pick. Although I acknowledge that I initially found it confusing to keep track of the characters and plot, but this was compensated by the captivating story line. This book was a page-turner for me and, although it ended on a cliff hanger, I am not disappointed as I am now keen to pick up the next book in the series when it is out.

Note: I received a free advance copy for my honest review.

[Sarah-Louise Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, well written fantasy debut. There is the exact perfect balance between world building, character backstory and action driven narrative - something that I've found to be lacking in other fantasy debuts of late.

Liya is a strong female protagonist, who manages to walk the fine line of spy to the King, whilst working through her own anxieties and doubts. Without giving too much, I found her interactions with Haydn to be very interesting...

Ewan is also very well written, and at no point do you feel like he is but a sidekick.

Sometimes I found it difficult to keep up with who was part of a conversation, but the character list at the end of the book became my best friend at those moments and certainly assisted me.

The ending set up the next instalment perfectly, and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book.

[Domi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elladur-The Awakening is a very good fantasy book with a strong female character in Liya. This is the first book in a trilogy and as such it does a good job setting up the different characters, showing us who's with who and also explaining the world where Liya lives and works in. In the beginning there were a lot of names and with all the political intrigue going on it did take me a while to keep all the characters apart, but once the story really picks up the pages were flying by. Right until the ending which leaves me waiting for more and I will definitely want to read the next book!

I'm deliberately not saying too much about the plot cause a lot is happening and it is easy to spoil stuff, I'd rather you as a reader get the experience like I did and be shocked, suprised, mad, confused just like Liya when there is a different twist again. Everyone who likes fantasy and a strong female lead should definitely give this book a go.

*** Thank you Netgalley for this ARC***

[Sana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬. "

Fantasy lovers Caution!!! ☠

Liya is a strong woman who discovers that she is more powerful than she thinks. A new level of fantasy made my heart for wanting more of this story. I got an amazing world and discovering different kinds of magic while reading the book. Every chapter has its own twist. I love the plot and the characters both. Every character has their perfection with their different personalities. Liya's journey with her enemies and the friendship among them was comforting and so fun. The environment around Liya was so intriguing. And The connection between Hyden and Liya was so interesting. Their soft romance makes my heart fly. There are so many new creatures I meet in the book. One of them is 'Nirm' I love them so much specially Sakima. A brilliant world-building with different magical constitutions, the book is such a remarkable creation. Fantasy lovers must try this book.
As a new fantasy author, Angie Delazi has done admirable work. Because the story building is so praiseworthy. I enjoyed the book so much. Like most amazing fantasy, this book ended with an intriguing twist. Can't wait to read the next one. 🧡

[Michelle Hunter-Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Ad #Gifted

It took me awhile to get into this book. The range of characters and political machinations was a bit confusing. (The list of characters at the back of the book is useful). But I soon got caught up in the excitement of the story. This book has a unique twist on the fantasy genre. Magic in this world is not a natural phenomenon, but rather the result of genetic manipulation in ancient times.

Liya is the strong female protagonist, a spy for her king and a trained warrior. She also has magic in her blood, something she has hidden from those around her. She is sent to discover more about a political marriage involving a hostile kingdom. Liya is shocked to discover that the bridegroom is her former lover and that he is also the future king of an enemy state. The relationship between them is well portrayed and I really felt for Liya as her loyalties are tested to breaking point.

Once I got into the main story I found this book hard to put down. The world building is excellent and the characters compelling. I think that Liya could easily become one of my favourite fantasy protagonists. I'm really looking forward to the next volume in this trilogy. I want to know what happens next!

Thank you to Love Book Tours, the publisher and the author, Angie Delazi, for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will enjoy this book if you are a fan of fantasy, magic, different lands and worlds but also if you like political turmoil and the past not being quite what it seems!

I found this book hard to get into - a lot of the background and information at the beginning seemed so unnecessary at the time but as soon as our main character left for her original quest (say no more!) The pace went at lightning speed and I was completely hooked.

My recommendation is pick this one up and persevere - it is worth it and you do need the background info in the end ;) so pay attention to who people are!

[Bookshortie · Rating 3 out of 5]

18 year old Liya is the youngest of the King’s spies and probably the most trusted by the King despite the fact that she is not from a noble background. When the King is informed about a pending political marriage between two warring kingdoms he sends Liya to find out the reasons behind the marriage. It just so happens that the groom is her former love Haydn. As Liya delves into the reason behind the marriage, reconnects with Haydn and helps him to recover a crystal from the Ancient Era she quickly realises that something else is hiding behind the proposed alliance which is more sinister and an even bigger threat to her king.

I really enjoyed the storyline. I liked that although the main storyline is pitched around a marriage alliance the story quickly opens up to explore secret alliances and agendas as well as magic. Liya is a brilliant female character. She is strong and fearless and is on equal footing with her male counterparts but the unique aspect about Liya is that she can wield a large amount of magic and power. There was definitely a spark between Liya and Haydn from the first point that they reconnected. I also loved the brother sister bond between Liya and Ewan. As for the battle scenes they were epic and were so descriptive it felt like you were in the thick of it with the characters.

A story about politics and magic!

[Lisa King · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing it is full of magic and a great read.

The main character is a strong fiery female,
Liya -who is the kings best spy. She is sent out on a mission to uncover more about the upcoming marriage of the hostile kingdom.
Her mission takes her on an incredible adventure and meets some friends and some not so friendly people along the way, only to discover her former lover is to be crown king.


The author has written the characters and descriptions of the city’s so incredibly well that the image I have I’m my mind of them are so real.

The ended has led beautiful in the the next in the series and I for one can not wait to see where Angie is going to take Liya.

I was gifted a copy of this book for an honest review

[Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a good story here apart from all of the bad grammar. At first I thought that it was a bad copy, but I concluded that it is just a poor translation to English, seeing as the author is from Austria.
Regardless, the story kept me intrigued throughout even while puzzling out the occasional sentence structure and confusing word choices. The main character is torn between two kingdoms as she fights for her home and for her friends while struggling being caught in the political intrigue. The plot is fast paced and kept me glued to the entire book. The big reveal at the end was a big surprise I did not expect. It's a great read!

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Arranged marriage
Attempted rape
Banishment
Medical experimentation
Needles & syringes
Blood & gore depiction
Body horror
Physical injuries
Dead bodies
Burns
Death of a parent
Torture
Murder & attempted murder
Knife violence
Poisoning
Physical assault
Disappearance of a loved one
Kidnapping & captivity
Loss of autonomy (mind control)
Imprisonment
Earthquakes
Maritime disaster
Animal attack
Animal death
War themes & military violence.

[Lora - My_last_writes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me from the first chapter, the characters, the world, the magic, the history and the twists, I loved it!
I did however see the betrayal coming, though I didn't want to acknowledge it, in my mind I had to be wrong and I was . . . . it was not what I expected, it also still hurt 💔
While I did get a bit confused with who was who and from where, (no fault of the author) the list at the back really helped me.
I can not wait for the next instalment.

[Becca Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love magic and ancient legacies. This book didn't disappoint me there. Throw in some spies into this and bam!!!! A perfect sounding book. However I did find it confusing and in some part a little boring but overall I found it a good book, however I probably will not read the rest of the series.

[Catalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fantasy reader and the more immersive the better. Angie Delazzi was able to create a unique world that sucked me in from the first pages. The world building is very thorough, and the characters are likable and believable. Liya, the main character, is a strong, fierce, determined, and independent woman, but she also has insecurities and doubts. She fights for her home and for her friends and struggles being caught in the political intrigue between her home and what she thinks is the right thing to do. The banter and friendships that develop between the characters is brilliantly written and very funny. I wanted to be friends with some of them.
The plot is fast paced and kept me gripped during the entire book. I was able to guess the motivation or actions of some of the characters, but the big reveal at the end was a big surprise. I did not expect the last twist. How well planned that was.
I cannot wait for the next book and for Liya’s new adventure. For a debut author, Angie
Delazi created a wonderful world and a great magic system. Loved this book.

[Alice (microbookworms) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read many fantasy books in the last year, this one holds up to the many series currently on the market as intriguing and unique. I loved the magic system and the link to genetics. I also think the political tone of the book was intriguing. Combining unearthing the political landscape as you go with the character of Haydn you are very uncertain who to trust and which characters to get attached to. It is a truly fascinating world and I cannot wait to read the next instalment of the series! I think that this book would've been a four star for me but even though I know that this is a book by an indie author, I had to mark it down as the editing particularly in the beginning of the book was quite bad with extra words where you can tell a sentence has been edited and in one place half a paragraph below the initial edited paragraph. There were also too many unnecessary exclamation marks in the descriptions of actions imo. If you get past that and just pretend like you are reading a first draft or ARC manuscript as you go, you do get over it and it is really worth it as this book had me excited to read more each day. However I feel like so much happened that it would've benefitted from more explanation in certain chapters regarding the world building of its different systems or legends within the world. I think that this would flesh out the world and the interactions between characters to enable you to fully understand what was going on within the world and the interesting dynamics between characters more. This could've benefitted from making Elladur into a longer series rather than a trilogy but nonetheless I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next!