They thought they'd eliminated the threat. Instead, they provoked her.
Stolen away in the dead of night, Anastasia was plunged into a life of misery. Her only source of comfort came from the boy who lived next door.
Now, twenty years later, she's finally living the life she'd only dare dream about with the boy who turned into a man she couldn't live without.
But after an unprovoked attack leaves her clinging to survival, Anastasia is forced to make a choice.
Stay and risk death to be with the man she's always wanted, or escape through a portal with a stranger promising to keep her alive.
Fantasy like you've never experienced. This coming-of-age adult fantasy series is addicting and will have you cheering for the underdog from page one.
Please This series contains darker elements, including explicit language, mentions of abuse, and torture. It is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. This is the first book in a completed five-book series.
USA Today Bestselling Author of steamy PNR and fantasy romance.
Ever since my grandmother first handed me a Nora Roberts novel, I KNEW I wanted to write romance.
I love love. Crave it. For me, genre doesn't matter as long as there is a beautifully epic love story woven into the storyline.
Which is exactly why I chose to write across so many genres. Paranormal, fantasy, contemporary, suspense...no matter which of my books you choose you always know what you're getting: a love story for the ages.
And before I was an author, I was a reader! Please be sure to follow me here, or add me as a friend! I love to connect!
A fantastic well written book. Anastasia lives in Seattle with her very abusive father and mother. Her best friend for ever Dakota was always there for her. After graduation they became room mates. Eventually they admitted their true feelings for each other, that was the day Mitch her father came and got her and took her back to the family home and beat her severely after a row. A man seemed to appear from nowhere and offered safety, she had no choice but to go with him.
This is when the book gets exciting. She is taken to a parallel world, where there was no electricity, cars etc. They lived a simple life and then she found out about her past and her future. Ana is stuck in this world and trains to be the best fighter she could be against the Brutes (huge man like creatures) who kept attacking the settlements. After 5 years she manages to slip through a portal and arrives back in Seattle straight into the arms of Dakota.
He had been searching for Ana all this time and was none too pleased to find out she went willingly. The Brutes had gone through the portal before her were going to take over Seattle. Long story short Ana realised that she could make her own portals and went back with Dakota and his mother after being attacked by some Brutes. There they plan the next course of action. So much is packed into this book. Gripped me from beginning to end. Can't wait for the second book.
Anastasia doesn’t know how strong she is. After a life of hardships, her saving grace comes in the form of a stranger. Quickly she learns that she is destined for greatness, Terrenia (a world she never knew existed) is relying on her. The only thing missing is Dakota. Dakota was her rock throughout her childhood when things were tough. Now, living in Terrenia, she is missing her other half. Watch as they learn how to take on their new lives apart and how a chance encounter will suddenly bring them back together! This novel will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout every page! I cannot wait see what lies ahead for Anastasia and Dakota!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I just love to read anything written by Jessica Wayne, she has such an amazing way of writing and she seriously knows how to write a really good suspense book. Yet again, Jessica has done another amazing job and I am honestly so happy to have read this book, I seriously couldn’t put down this book, although at times I found myself wanting to throw my kindle because of the plot twists that Jessica put in there. I was gripped until the very end and was honestly gutted when I reached the end, I turned the page expecting to carry on reading and bamn, I was at the end. I seriously can’t wait to read the next book as I really want to know how the story continues, I fell in love with the characters and seriously want to know if everything works out in the end. If you’ve not read this book yet, then you need to rectify that, seriously Jessica’s work is amazing and you don’t want to miss out on it.
Anastasia is such an amazing girl, however she looks and thinks of herself so lowly due to how she was brought up. Her father wasn’t exactly the best of dad’s so he wasn’t going to be getting awards for being a great one any time soon, now whilst she didn’t have the best time at home, she did have one amazing thing in her life…… Dakota. He is her childhood best friend, her next door neighbour. With him, she honestly doesn’t know how she would have survived. Now that Anastasia is an adult, she is trying her best to make a life for herself out in the real world away from her parents, that seems to be going well up until one morning when her father makes an unexpected visit to her and Dakota’s apartment and her whole world is shaken and ripped apart. Will life ever be the same for her?
This book is super good. I loved the romance and the world building. The world building is super detailed and extremely unique. The main characters are unlike anything I have read. They are genuinely relatable and super nice. I would love to be friends with them. I also enjoyed the slow burn romance. There is a nice sizzle. Also, this book has great action scenes. Go buy this book!
I loved really liked this book! Anastasia and Dakota’s relationship is so beautiful! Anastasia is a strong, fighter and an independent women!! Her back story only makes her stronger!!! It had the fun paranormal stuff (if you call it that) with magic and portals and different worlds! I can’t wait to hear how she kicks Vincent’s butt in the next book!!!!
This is such an unbelievably riveting read! All I will say is that you should read it. A fantastic blend of urban fantasy, romance, and brilliant writing. Can't get enough of this author at the moment!
I'm going to be completely honest and state that I wasn't fully feeling this book once I first started it. I was underwhelmed with the storyline and lack of details. A lot of it felt brushed over. I kept reading though. I'm glad I did. I fell in love with the story. I can't wait to read the rest.
If it weren't for such amazing character development, I wouldn't have given this story a real chance. And that's sad because this wound up being a pretty amazing story. The characters, especially the main two, were so easy to connect with. There were a few characters that I wish had a bigger role, but maybe they will in future books!
The narrator was the other reason I didn't put this book down. She has incredible talent. I was pulled into the story and the emotions because of her. I hope she goes on to narrate the rest of the series. I also look forward to listening to more books narrated by her.
All in all, it was a great story. I may not have enjoyed it at the beginning, but I warmed up to it immensely. I fully recommend this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. I'd love to find people who have also read this book to talk about it with them.
This is book 1 in a new series by Jessica Wayne and it is AWESOME! A well written fantasy genre story that tells the tale of over lapping parallel worlds in which magic reigns and evil wants to take over. Anastasia has grown up abused by her parents, longing only to get away and make something of herself. The only true friend she has is Dakota, her neighbor, who has always been there for her. Just as their feelings begin to evolve beyond friendship, Anastasia is abruptly thrown into the whole new world. A world she knew nothing about but has deep ties to. This a fantastically told story with great characters, complex story lines, magic and true love. A must read for all!! Highly recommended!! As mentioned this is book one, so there is a cliff hanger ending but so worth the read.
Absolutely loved this book, so much so I couldn't put it down. I liked the fast pace and of course the love story. Although what I found awesome is the main character Anastasia. She starts as a weak main character, with too much mental and physical damage done by her father. By the end she becomes a very strong independent woman without all of the whining that you hear too much in similar books. I won't spoil anything, but I will say it is worth a read!
Almost every character in this book was hystrionic, over reacting to events. World building was weak, with very little sense of place. Half of the book was supposedly set in Seattle but one would never know it from the descriptions. The other half was set in another dimension, but only came across as a vaguely rural world.
I couldn’t do it. I DNF at 57%. I wasn’t attached to anyone or the story at all. Seemed really juvenile and like an idea or summary of a book instead of a fully fleshed out story. I can’t believe how many good reviews this book had. It was slow, boring, unoriginal and I was not emotionally invested at all.
DNF 37% It's just boring. I keep going back and trying again, but it has no depth. Just accepting this other world stuff so quickly made it so ridiculous. Not for me. I got it free on kindle, so maybe one day I'll finish it.
This is a great start to a new series. It will draw you in and not let you go. Once you start reading it you will not be able to stop. I can't wait to read more
This is book one of the Rise of The Phoenix series and the main character is Ana (Anastasia) a young woman who has so far lived a life of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of the man she knows as her father. The only lifeline she had was the boy next door, Dakota, who helped her to cope with some of the worst of her life at home. His parents became her surrogate parents, allowing Dakota to keep her in his room at night to keep her out of her father Mitch’s hands, as he blamed her for everything and anything. He would keep food away from her and Dakota’s mother Elizabeth, would always ensure she was fed at their home, whenever possible. Mitch was the Assistant District Attorney and kept a very public face, which was completely different to the face and anger he showed at home. Even though Dakota’s father was a policeman, he couldn’t take any action against Mitch due to his extended influence in the law and law enforcement circles! Dakota and Ana shared a flat, after they both graduated school and his parents allowed her to stay with him at a very low cost, to enable her to go to college.
When she suddenly disappears from his life, just after he finally got the courage up to ask her out, he is left bereft, not knowing what has happened, nor where she may have gone or if she is even alive! A sorcerer has taken her to the world of Terrenia, through a portal between their worlds, just as Mitch and two other men had come to get her for their boss! The people of this other world, where there is no electricity or running water, nor any technology like she is used to, believe her to be the prophesised saviour and warrior, who will stop the darkness. This darkness has led to numerous villages being attacked by large creatures called Brutes, mainly humanoid in features, but with light blue skin and way large and stronger than the normal human warriors. They keep coming through portals and attacking, seemingly at random, wiping out hundreds of Terrenian people. Each village rules itself and many are reluctant to leave their homes, even knowing they may be attacked and overrun.
Ana wants no part of this war, she just wants to return home and back to Dakota. But the man who brought her there, Gregory Silvan, says he has no more vials of magic to create a portal or get her back home. The only way she will get home is to train as a warrior and learn to fight these huge creatures, to try and defeat the darkness. Gregory and his wife Annabelle, reveal Ana has magic within her and he wants to try and teach her how to use it safely, unlike his brother Vincent, who has taken a liking to dark powers and is a huge part of the problem facing everyone. Ana has terrible nightmares which seem to reveal all those she love as dead and surrounded by utter devastation. Are they really dreams, or portents of the future? Lots more to come in this series and a young woman who has come from a lifetime of pain, but will have to endure a lot more, before this is over. A very detailed storyline, with an evil that has grown for decades and a prophesised warrior to defeat it. Great characters and a definite page turner! I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
I just love to read anything written by Jessica Wayne, she has such an amazing way of writing and she seriously knows how to write a really good suspense book. Yet again, Jessica has done another amazing job and I am honestly so happy to have read this book, I seriously couldn’t put down this book, although at times I found myself wanting to throw my kindle because of the plot twists that Jessica put in there. I was gripped until the very end and was honestly gutted when I reached the end, I turned the page expecting to carry on reading and bam, I was at the end. I seriously can’t wait to read the next book as I really want to know how the story continues, I fell in love with the characters and seriously want to know if everything works out in the end. If you’ve not read this book yet, then you need to rectify that, seriously Jessica’s work is amazing and you don’t want to miss out on it.
Anastasia is such an amazing girl, however she looks and thinks of herself so lowly due to how she was brought up. Her father wasn’t exactly the best of dad’s so he wasn’t going to be getting awards for being a great one any time soon, now whilst she didn’t have the best time at home, she did have one amazing thing in her life…… Dakota. He is her childhood best friend, her next door neighbour. With him, she honestly doesn’t know how she would have survived. Now that Anastasia is an adult, she is trying her best to make a life for herself out in the real world away from her parents, that seems to be going well up until one morning when her father makes an unexpected visit to her and Dakota’s apartment and her whole world is shaken and ripped apart. Will life ever be the same for her?
The first book in the “Prophecy” Series by Jessica Wayne, “Birth of the Phoenix” is a very well-written book that succeeds in narrating Anastasia story as a blend of realistic fiction and supernatural fantasy, what appears as an oxymoron at first sight is actually an exceptionally well-crafted plot that mixes action, supernatural romance and elements of thriller into an extremely enjoyable story.
Anastasia's life has been living hell at the whims of her very abusive parents, with a sole ray of hope, her friendship with Dakota Parker, the boy next door, who has grown up to be not only the pillar of her existence but also a very interesting young man. As they finally work the nerve to admit their feelings, happiness is once more ripped from her by her abusive father, until an strange man appears out of nowhere and transport her through a portal to another realm, where she is forced to face some hidden truths: magic is real and she is been hunted for hers since her birth, and to make everything even more complicated, she has just been thrown in the middle of a centuries-old-battle, she is expected to join. At last Anastasia is truly on her own and will have to face the past and embrace her own magic, if she wants to stand a chance to ever see Dakota again.
Jessica Wayne story transcends fantasy to tell the coming-of-age story of Anastasia and her struggle to become the person she was always fated to be, the supernatural aspects make the story all the more entertaining while never resting credibility to the tale. Jessica Wayne writing style is crisp, and flows from page to page easily, her characters are multidimensional, credible, realistic and interesting. This is a great story, a very good start into the series and a clear recommendation.
⚔️⚔️ONE TUMULTUOUS WILD RIDE⚔️⚔️ Holy hellhounds joker! Jessica delivers with this thrilling, action packed, heart pounding, pulse racing, adrenaline pumping, page flipping dynamo, grabbing your attention from the start and holding steady until the very last word launching this jewel to a whole new level. Redefined limitations and outdated restrictions are heightened and expanded, drawing deep for every ounce of strength in a fierce surge of determination, putting our characters through their paces, merging this gem together seamlessly. The characters, banter, interactions and charged atmosphere are realistic, complex and genuine with traits and qualities, adding depth and diversity, transforming into outstanding personalities. The scenes are abundantly descriptive with colorful details that blend and flow, creating one vivid backdrop that's so rich and lively it feels as though you were transported to ground zero with them. Remarkable job Jessica, thanks for sharing this thrilling block buster with us.
This! I love allll of this! Such a refreshing and unique story. Ana and Dakota grow up next door to each other. Ana had a not so great home life, and Dakota and his family were her safety and escape with Dakota becoming her best friend. After high school, they become roommates, with neither admitting to feelings for each other that were much stronger than friendship. Well, they finally own up to their feelings for crazy things to happen, and Ana to up and mysteriously vanish, without a trace. Ana is taken to another world, one that is nothing like the world she left. Dakota is left behind, lost and broken, determined to find Ana. 5 years later she appears, and with her, absolute craziness. Jessica does an amazing job bringing you into this new world, sucking you down the rabbit hole, and making it so you never want to get out! There is action, adventure, and the sweetest romance! I absolutely love this first in series, and am so glad I gave it a chance! I highly recommend this series! For real...you have to read it!
It's great the way Ana has Dakota, but it's just sad about all the people she lost. The story is really nice and I read it in two days. I feel sorry for Shane and I don't because I want Ana and Dakota to end up together. I hope her relationship with Dakota doesn't go bad even though their relationship might probably get tested in 'fighter'. I still don't really get what Vincent really wants because his conviction isn't strong enough for me regarding what he did to his brother and sister-in-law and even Ana. I'm looking forward to Ana's confrontation with Vincent. I hope it really says what's his deal. I'd say when I got to a point in the book I was asking myself 'what is Vincent's end goal' I found the book answering my questions so I'd say this book was on point. I think I'd like to understand Vincent and his villainy. I could care less if he died and then it wouldn't make sense for the people whose death he's responsible for.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book is a whirl wind! Anastasia is so sweet and innocent and meek when the book opens. You feel for her because either you were her, or you were friends with her. We all have known a sweet girl in a horrible situation that we would love to see them break free from. When she does, it throws Anastasia into a parallel world where she learns about a prophesy and begins to train as a warrior. Anastasia is thrown into her hero’s journey with no training wheels. She has left her friends and love behind and must walk this alone. I feel for her. Not only did she get separated from Dakota, but the two of them never have a chance at the life they had planned.
I feel like this book packs a lot in its chapters. I know there is more story to tell, so maybe it was all packed in to start the story. Either way, this book is hard to put down.
One of my favorite genre's is fantasy and this was a great read that weaves a tale between two worlds, ours and the fictitious parallel world of Terrenia. Anastasia grew up on Earth, struggling to free herself from her abusive father and make her place in the world with her only true friend and love Dakota when one day her live is threaten and she is whisked away to Terrenia by a stranger. Learning that she is from this "new" world that is being threaten by creatures wanting to take over, she must learn to fight and chose where her hearth lies. In Terrenia or back on Earth with Dakota? A story filled with magic, secrets and evil forces this is a well told new series that will keep you interested. First in the series so it ends in a cliff hanger.
I just absolutely love a great fantasy story and this one completely fell in that category for me. This is my first book by this author, so I dont have previous works to compare it to. Not that its needed at all, but this one just made me want to read more of her work. This is a story where two worlds collide with magic all around. Where there good, there's evil and evil always tries to reign highest. Anastasia and Dakota are friends and neighbors. Just as things start to change between them, shes whisked away to another world where she fights to return to him. This story is told in rich dimensional context to fantastical worlds. There's much more to come and I'll be back for the second round for sure!
Anastasia began this story as an abused daughter who was in love with her best friend. What she became was so much more. She wasn't just a strong and kind survivor, she was a warrior. She had so much more within herself than she ever knew, and I loved watching her discover that. Dakota was a best friend and guiding light to Ana in so many ways, but when they were ripped apart, neither was sure how to move forward. This book was full of magic, violence, heartbreak, and hope. The characters were well written and felt real to me. The relationships were everything. I loved it, and I am excited to see what happens in book 2. I highly recommend this to lovers of magic and tales of good versus evil. Ana is an excellent heroine, and her story is a good one!
Phoenix is a pretty easy read. I quite enjoyed the world that Ms. Wayne has created. Anastasia is a strong woman who has overcome years of abuse from her “father”. I enjoyed how realistic Ms. Wayne made her characters. Sure, there’s magic and portals and other dimensions and creatures not of this world, but you have this main character who is prophetized to save the world from darkness and she doesn’t just fall into being a badass warrior. She actually trains to fight and struggles to learn magic. It’s very refreshing to see a main character who doesn’t become everything she’s meant to be just overnight; it makes a fantasy so much more believable. I can’t wait to read the next book and see how things go for Anastasia. I’m ready to see Vincent go down.
Fantastic page turner!!! 💖 This is the second series by Jess that I read and I'm already in love with it!!! 🤗 Anastasia and Dakota are wonderful characters, I couldn't help but love them both, for standing tall despite all they have been through, mainly Ana, her life was a living hell and she has become a strong warrior, willing to fight for her loved ones, even if that means giving her life to defeat the evil mage trying to kill them all 💪👊 #girlpower #youcandoit The relationships between them is so sweet, so romantic, they are each other light, each other strenght!!! 😍💞 Can't wait to read the next book, dying to read what will happen next!!! ❤️ I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Anastasia has been through so much hardship in her life, more than she actually knows. But when a man shows up to save her she goes but finds herself in another dimension and without her rock, Dakota. She learns she is meant for so much more and she’s stronger than she ever knew. With war and death around her will she ever be able to see or be with Dakota again ? What happens to Dakota when he finds out she’s gone ? Will he move on or keep looking for her ?
Ends in a cliffhanger. This book is a well written back ground first book. I haven’t read this series before so I’m excited to see where it leads.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Okay so I'm the minority here, I did like the book well enough, I liked the characters. Anasatasia reminded me of a young there was some character development, Anastasia became a kick ass warrior, Dakota became a . However I couldn't connect to the characters. Anastasia barely needed convincing about . Just my opinion.