"Another fantastic world with incredible romance!"
Phyllis Ann Welsh has written an amazing romance with
soul reaching proportions. Quite frankly I could almost
believe this really happened. She covers her plot well. Her
characters are tangible and the experiences seem almost
plausible. She knows how to find the soul of romance by
reaching for the heart in the hands of a gorgeous Elf Lord
Rendolin. The Silvan race is once again at risk of reaching
extinction. Their god Mac Lir has spoken to his high priest
of the Sea Elves, Rendolin. They need new blood in order to
prevent their own extinction and to offer them a stronger
race. This means Rendolin, must cross over to the earthen
realm and find the one human who holds a small trace of
Silvan in her blood in order to bind with her: as the race
on earth became extinct long ago. Enter Korrene, a struggling author who decides to take a
year off and write her best novel yet. Her husband passed
on roughly 4 years ago and now she is ready to plunge into
her writing and make her own way. The book she is writing
seems to pour out from her, almost as if the characters
were speaking directly through her. So when a tall, blond,
Elven man bearing a remarkable resemblance to her main
character appears too clearly in front of her, Korrene
thinks she has gone over the edge with this novel. Trying
not to frighten Korrene half to death, Rendolin tries to
reason with her. But Korrene refuses to accept his
presence. In a last ditch effort to preserve what she
believes to be the final vestiges of her sanity she
attempts to destroy her manuscript. Rendolin see this as
genocide and takes drastic action. He pulls Korrene into
the world she thinks she created. Not only is Korrene not wild about being there, neither
are the local elves very thrilled about a human amongst
their ranks. She slowly finds out the purpose of bringing
her there was to ensure their race through a binding of
Korrene and Rendolin. From here the dynamics fly and the
adventures of Korrene and Rendolin flourish. For as much as
Rendolin wishes to serve his god there are many elves that
wish to thwart his efforts as their prejudices blind them
to the bigger picture. I found myself thoroughly enjoying the world Ms. Welsh
describes. Every nuance was so creative and I found myself
just as enthralled by her varying experiences as the
character Korrene was. Yes the emotions do run the gamut on
this book. There were moments I laughed from the absurdity
of the situation, to feelings of such bittersweet
tenderness and love, to blissful amazement of a soul
touching experience and yes to utter frustration at how
relationships can be so hard when the ugly green monster of
jealousy turns its head. I must admit I thought the book ended abruptly, probably
because I didn't want it to end, and I knew there is so
much more to come for this amazing world. Thank god for
Epilogues...as I discovered this is a series and there are
more wonderful stories to be heard in this amazing place. I
so highly recommend this book. I found it to be so
enriching, heartwarming, adventurous, and romantic. High
praises to you Ms. Welsh!
Reviewed by Mindy Lobaugh
Posted October 5, 2003
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