ARC BOOK REVIEW - THE RABBIT AND THE RAVEN by MELISSA ESKUE OUSLEY - THE SOLAS BEIR TRILOGY # 2 - YA FANTASY - CASTLE GARDEN PUBLICATIONS

By: Melissa Eskue Ousley
Published By: Castle Garden Publications
Released : March 2014
Details : ARC Paperback for honest review, 330 Pages

Thank you Melissa for the book.

RATING: 4.5 FANTASY STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Darkness is beguiling...and power always comes with a price.

Adopted by loving parents, David Corbin had no idea his life as he knew it was a lie. Then he met a girl. Abby Brown freed David from the spell keeping him from the truth, that he was the lost heir to the throne in a magical realm.

Even though he got the girl and gained a kingdom, David had no clue about the unfathomable power he would inherit, nor did he realize how much he would have to sacrifice to keep the throne.

If there is any hope of winning the war against the deadly Blood Shadows, David and Abby will have to journey to the outer edges of the realm to secure the loyalty of the four Oracles. Along the way, they will learn just how seductive darkness can be.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Melissa has captivated me even more with this installment in The Solas Beir Trilogy.

We journey from Newcastle Beach into the world of Cai Terenmare with Abby, David, Jon, and Marisol along for the ride. Marisol has redeemed herself from her bullying ways in the first book and she is now part of the gang, fighting the good fight.

Cael is still the ever present First Knight to his beloved Eulalia, Queen of Cai Terenmare.

I totally dig Cael.

Nysa the nixie makes an appearance and Fergal is always a cutie. I like him.

Tynan Tierney is a most excellent villain. One minute I was almost sympathizing with him, then the next I understood why he was the villain of this story. I think he is very well written. He is almost one of my fave characters.

Did I just say that?

Or should I say he is one of my fave villains? He does know how to manipulate his minions like a true puppet master.

I did get a couple, gasp moments with our resident villain.

A fantasy filled with creative creatures, I mean fanged toads, not something you want to meet without protection. The Daughter’s Of Mercy, those chicks don’t know how to play nice.

The Kruorumbrae are quite evil and Tierney’s minions are in full swing in this installment.

Melissa raises the bar with some gore, and I had some sad moments. I also got a couple awesome twists that I did not see coming.

I always give an author a glove clap when I get a twist thrown at me that I hadn’t theorized on.

I will be honest and say I thought the first half of the book was a little slower than the latter half.

The latter half really took off and I really enjoyed the time we spent with the Southern Oracle and the Boto.

When we were in the Eastern Oracle’s realm, was one of my fave parts of the book as it was fast paced and a lot was happening in the storyline.

Shiz was going down.

All the characters were being challenged. I wanted to whip out a sword and join in.

Hedeon is a new character I really like.

But can he be trusted?

The ages of Melissa’s main characters are all eighteen and over, yet the romance is very chaste and they are all rather proper with each other. Almost old school with their behavior.

Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is a very clean read.

I do enjoy reading this trilogy. The fantasy is creative and visually I do see it very well in my head when I am reading.

I loved the moment when the title of the book clicked.

I am intrigued to know more especially after the ending that lends itself to the title of book three, plus all that shiz that went down.

Whahhh!

I was taken on a fantasy adventure with endearing characters, a villain that is quite unpredictable and a cast of fantasy creatures that go bump in the night. I am left tapping my foot for the third installment.

"You don't have to carry me -- I can walk. I'm fine. Really."
"Shhh," David said. "I was trying to be romantic. You're stepping on my hero moment here, woman."

Michelle