Renhala by Amy Joy LutchenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
THEME: Magic/Romance
RECEIVED: Author
AUTHORS BLOG: Amy Joy Lutchens' Site
BLURB:
Kailey Rooke, timid accountant, dedicated to philanthropic work, finds herself spiraling into a deep depression after she suffers a horrifyingly odd and humiliating assault, to only discover more of these freakish assaults occurring across the globe.
A chance discovery leads Kailey to a meeting with elderly Gunthreon, actual master of persuasion. Gunthreon, who seems to know too much of Kailey's history for her liking, opens Kailey's eyes to a coexisting realm she never knew existed: Renhala, while entrusting her with the knowledge of her newfound power as karmelean, serving as a beacon for karma from the Higher Ones. Kailey slowly starts revealing new talents, and Gunthreon is fascinated with what she starts achieving.
She soon discovers that Renhala is in danger, and this danger has been leaking into her own realm. As she uncovers secrets within herself, and toughens up, she fuses with an unlikely band of fellow travelers (including a dragon, woodsprite, six-hundred-pound greble, her faithful female canine companion, and a "giver"), balances the egos of two very strong males, deals with her sexy and flirtatious best friend’s “issues,” and finds the courage to master a new deadly weapon.
On her mission to save Renhala, Kailey will find herself running from life-threatening disasters, such as greble Tartarin, who likes to remind Kailey that when he catches her, he plans on eating her brains with ice cream; she'll run from the deadly meeples: small cute bunnies with talons and an undeniable thirst for imposing self-destruction on others. Kailey will also run into the possibility that a centuries-old Renhalan rumor is true, that advanced technology existing in Kailey's realm shortens all life spans.
As blood is shed and puzzles near completion, Kailey pulls from deep within herself, conjuring up mystical qualities that enable her to astonish as once predicted at her birth, but despite the newfound strength, Kailey will discover that monsters not only come in ugly packages, but can be easily disguised as those she has come to love and trust.
A chance discovery leads Kailey to a meeting with elderly Gunthreon, actual master of persuasion. Gunthreon, who seems to know too much of Kailey's history for her liking, opens Kailey's eyes to a coexisting realm she never knew existed: Renhala, while entrusting her with the knowledge of her newfound power as karmelean, serving as a beacon for karma from the Higher Ones. Kailey slowly starts revealing new talents, and Gunthreon is fascinated with what she starts achieving.
She soon discovers that Renhala is in danger, and this danger has been leaking into her own realm. As she uncovers secrets within herself, and toughens up, she fuses with an unlikely band of fellow travelers (including a dragon, woodsprite, six-hundred-pound greble, her faithful female canine companion, and a "giver"), balances the egos of two very strong males, deals with her sexy and flirtatious best friend’s “issues,” and finds the courage to master a new deadly weapon.
On her mission to save Renhala, Kailey will find herself running from life-threatening disasters, such as greble Tartarin, who likes to remind Kailey that when he catches her, he plans on eating her brains with ice cream; she'll run from the deadly meeples: small cute bunnies with talons and an undeniable thirst for imposing self-destruction on others. Kailey will also run into the possibility that a centuries-old Renhalan rumor is true, that advanced technology existing in Kailey's realm shortens all life spans.
As blood is shed and puzzles near completion, Kailey pulls from deep within herself, conjuring up mystical qualities that enable her to astonish as once predicted at her birth, but despite the newfound strength, Kailey will discover that monsters not only come in ugly packages, but can be easily disguised as those she has come to love and trust.
REVIEW:
Now this is an Urban Fantasy you don’t want to miss out on! I was seriously brought back to when I first fell in love with Urban Fantasies, reading about complex fantasy worlds, with imaginative characters and a story that is so detailed you feel as if your really there. This story is an adventure that just kept on coming and the surprises were at every turn of the page; I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Renhala follows Kailey Rooke who is trying to get back on her feet after being horribly attacked. With the push of her best friend Amber, she sets out one night and meets a mysterious elderly man who changes her whole life. She is told of a realm and that she is not only apart of it but holds a unique power of Karma. Kailey sets off on many quests to uncover secrets of the other realm as well as trying to save it. With many dangers heading her way, she and her new friends must fight together to save their worlds and stay alive.
Kailey is one heck of a girl, the readers will see her character develop from a scared and sad young woman, to a warrior and devoted friend to many people. For everything that happens to her and all the information she has to take in about herself and the other realm, I don’t know how she kept it all together. She does have her freak out moments; she isn’t perfect and starts to discover her strengths bit by bit, which I felt made her a fantastic protagonist. My favorite tidbit about her character was the relationship she had with her mother, it was sweet and they had such an amazing bond.
The men! I’m very fond of romances in Urban Fantasy books. I adored both love interests, even though I’m not a fan of love triangles. Conner is a sweet man who has an immediate spark with Kailey when they first meet. They do have their ups and downs, but most of the time it’s jealously. I enjoyed their development and how he too has a special gift like Kailey. Ladimer is a very unique character that is super hard to explain without giving too much away. I loved finding out about his history and he is also very protective of Kailey. There does seems to be one man that’s chosen at the end but in series, you never know who she’ll end up with until the very end.
I have some favorite secondary character that I couldn’t get enough of. Let me just say there are lots…and I’m mean lots of characters that get introduced to, this is a longer and very detailed story. My two favorites were Bu and Kioto, Bu is a big, smelly creature from the other realm that I just adored to pieces and Kioto is Kailey Akita who is protective and such a warrior pup. I seriously wished that I had a Bu as a friend, but at least I do have a Kioto but he’s a German shepherd.
Overall, this was an insanely creative first book. The details of the worlds and history, were just amazing, Lutchen must have had to brainstorm like crazy to create such amazing characters, creatures and magic. Kudos to her! The only thing that bothered my through out most of the book was Kailey’s best friend Amber; I don’t know how Kailey even wanted to be friends with her or stayed friend with her. She was a horribly rude and selfish character, but I loved the interesting development with Amber as well. In the end, this is a must read, the romance, magic, and characters that you will love from beginning to end, you will not want to put this book down!
RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult book with some sexual content for a mature reader. Fans of Kim Harrisons Hollow series and Rachel Caines Weather Warden series will want to get there hand on Renhala asap!
USA Only
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I love Urban Fantasy and this looks amazing!!! Thanks for the giveaway!
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