Welcome to the wonderful world of fantasy and romance: The Embraced. As nations war and history is in the cusp of change, Gwennore is becoming restless as an elf in a human realm. She’s looking for some escape; but capture by dragon is not something she could’ve planned for. Arriving in the strange mad world of Norveshka she meets their General, Silas. As more secrets about the kingdom come to light Gwennore has to decide: risk a future of persecution or her own happy ever after.
When you hear comparisons to Game of Thrones and other fantasy series, know that is so accurate! Sparks paints an elegant picture of different non-humans and magic induced humans mixed in a world of dragons, trolls, and elves. While the story has a romantic aspect there’s always a larger picture of danger and espionage. The elusive Chameleon from previous books has returned and is after another crown. As Gwennore and Silas begin to unravel the curse upon his kingdom and family, she begins to discover more secrets from his past. Silas is not all he’s portrayed to be; and Gwennore has some serious decisions to make on what she’s willing to handle for her future.
Sparks’ world building leaves nothing to the imagination. From a lands to creatures and even forms of travel, everything in her Embraced series is fantastical and wonderful for the creative mind. I highly enjoyed the twists and surprise in Gwennore and Silas’ story and I can’t wait for more of the sisters’ tales!
Gwennore is an Elf able to track down the cause of an illness and heal it; a valuable asset to her people. But when she is thrust into the realm of the dragons, she discovers a haunted place of power and magic, plagued by an ancient curse. And then she meets the smoldering General Silas Dravenko. She’s been raised never to trust a dragon, but never did making a deal with the devil feel so good…
Silas has no way of saving the royal family he’s served for years. But when a beautiful elf comes bursting into his world, Silas is awakened to desire in a way he’s never felt before. But can he trust a sworn enemy?
As the three men came to a stop, Gwennore noted that the ladies-in-waiting were curtsying, so she did, too.
Karlan bowed. “My lord general.”
“At ease,” the gorgeous man in the middle said.
Freya rushed to his side. “Silas, you arrived just in time. I’ve discovered an assassin.” She pointed at Gwennore. “You should arrest her!”
Gwennore popped up from her curtsy, ready to defend herself. But before she could say anything, the general had enveloped the queen’s hand in his own and turned her away.
“Your Majesty.” He flashed a smile that caused a few of the ladies to stumble as they rose from their curtsies. “I came as quickly as I could after hearing the news. May I congratulate you on the birth of your daughter?”
“Why, yes.” Freya blushed. “Thank you. I was in labor a dreadfully long time, you know.”
“Yes, so I hear.” He patted her hand. “But thank the Light, you and the babe are doing remarkably well.”
What nonsense was this? The gorgeous general was acting like the others—playing along with the queen’s delusion. Gwennore drew in a deep breath to voice her objection, but the general shot her a warning look with his sharp green eyes.
When she lifted her eyebrows as if to question him, he inclined his head ever so slightly. He’sasking me to trust him. It was as clear as if he had spoken. For a moment she wondered if she was experiencing a mental connec- tion with him like she had with Puff.
Don’tjump to conclusions, she chided herself. She was only hoping for a connection because he was the most handsome man she’d ever met.
Something flared in his eyes, a spark of gold in the em- erald green, and her knees grew weak. Good goddesses, was she about to swoon like these other silly women? She needed to be stronger than this.
“Thank you, Silas,” Freya said, drawing his attention back to her. “Doesn’t the baby look just like her father?” “Yes, indeed.” The general glanced at Eviana, who was still clinging to Gwennore’s legs. “And to mark the occa- sion, I have brought you a gift.” He motioned to Gwennore. “A nanny. As you can see, the princess has already
developed a special fondness for her.”
Freya gasped. “You brought the elf here?”
“Of course.” He gave Gwennore a wry look as if he was daring her to contradict him. “She’s a noblewoman I captured some time ago in battle, but since then, she’s learned our language and proven herself quite useful.”
So General Gorgeous had no problem spinning lies or manipulating a madwoman. Gwennore snorted. But since she was in danger of being imprisoned and even exe- cuted, she was not in any position to reject his solution.
Even so, she wondered if she could actually trust him. As the general of the Norveshki army, wouldn’t he see her as an enemy?
“We dare not trust an elf,” Freya muttered. “She could be a spy. Or an assassin.”
“We can trust her,” the general insisted. “Lady Gwennore cares deeply for the princess. Enough to risk her life for her.”
Gwennore’s heart lurched into a fast pace. He knew her name? And what she’d done? Puff must have told him everything that had happened. That meant General Gor- geous could hear dragon voices, too. It made sense, she figured, since his job would require him to communicate with dragons. But did that mean he had ordered the first dragon to kidnap Eviana? Or perhaps, he had ordered Puff to try to stop the kidnapping. Which side was he on?
“But elves are such violent creatures,” Freya whined. “They are fierce warriors, that is true,” the general
agreed. “That is why Lady Gwennore will make an ex- cellent nanny. No one will protect your daughter as well as she.”
“Well . . .” Freya looked confused. Her hands fluttered around her chest, causing the rubies to sparkle in the after- noon sun. “I suppose we can give her a try.”
“Excellent.” He turned toward Karlan. “You and your men may return to your posts.”
Gwennore exhaled with relief. She wasn’t going to the dungeon. And as the official nanny, she could remain close to Eviana.
“And remember.” The general stepped closer to Karlan and added softly, “Lady Gwennore is my guest. She will be treated with respect.”
“Yes, my lord.” Karlan motioned for his men to follow him back to the main gatehouse.
With Gwennore’s superior hearing, she’d heard the general’s whisper. He had to be on her side. For one thing, he kept referring to her as a lady. The status of noble- woman would shield her from any physical abuse during her stay here in Draven Castle.
So, most probably, she had two allies in Norveshka—Puff and General Gorgeous. She could only hope they would both prove to be trustworthy and honorable.
The general turned to the nearest lady-in-waiting. “Your name, please?”
The woman stumbled back a step. “O-Olenka, my lord general.”
“Lady Olenka, would you please escort Lady Gwennore and the princess to the nursery? And make sure they are well taken care of.”
“Yes, yes, of course, my lord general.” Olenka nodded, then curtsied again.
“I’ll drop by to check on you later.” The general shot a pointed look at Gwennore. “Till then.”
Gwennore inclined her head, understanding he in- tended to have a talk with her. That was fine. She needed to talk to him, too.
“Oh, everything will be perfect, my lord general! You can trust me.” Olenka motioned for Gwennore to follow her. “Come along now.”
Gwennore lifted Eviana in her arms and walked toward Lady Olenka. As she passed the queen, she bowed her head. “Good day, Your Majesty.”
Freya narrowed her eyes. “If anything happens to my daughter, I’ll have your head. I will not lose another child!”
Another child? How many had the queen lost? “I will protect her with my life,” Gwennore told her, then fol- lowed Lady Olenka toward the northwestern tower.
As she neared the general’s two companions, she noted there was a slight difference in their uniforms. One had three brass stars embedded in his leather breastplate, while the other had two. Did that mean they were officers? The general had four stars on his breastplate.
These men were handsome like the general—tall, muscular, long dark hair. No doubt they knew how to make a….
Apparently, she has issues with reality. After writing 16 books about vampires and shifters, Kerrelyn has now completely gone off the deep end and wound up on another planet.
Although Kerrelyn is best known (so far) for the Love at Stake series, which has hit as high as number 5 on the New York Times list and 22 on the USA Today list, she hopes her readers will love The Embraced as much as they did her merry band of vamps and shifters.
Kerrelyn lives with her family in the Greater Houston area of Texas. You can visit with her on Goodreads or her Facebook page, where she does a monthly contest. On Twitter, she posts as @KerrelynSparks.
Amanda Bouchet grew up in New England where she spent much of her time tromping around in the woods and making up grand adventures in her head. It was inevitable that one day she would start writing them down. Drawing on her Greek heritage for the setting and on her love of all things daring and romantic for the rest, her debut trilogy, The Kingmaker Chronicles, took form. She writes what she loves to read: epic exploits, steamy romance, and characters that make you laugh and cry.
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