Kerrelyn Sparks: EMBRACED SERIES

Author:  Kerrelyn Sparks
Series:  EMBRACED
Plot Type:  Soul Mate Romance (SMR)
Ratings:  Violence—4; Sensuality—4; Humor—2-3
Publisher and Titles:  St. Martin's Press
       1   How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (3/2017)
       2   So I Married a Sorcerer (8/2017)

       3   Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon (8/2018)

This post contains an overview of the series world-building, a full review of novel 1, and the cover art and publisher's blurbs for novels 2 and 3. I will not be reviewing any more of the books in this series, but I will continue to add the publisher's blurbs and cover art for new books as they are published. 

                         WORLD-BUILDING                         

     On her web site, Sparks introduces her new series with this description: "The Embraced is a new paranormal/fantasy romance series that is best described as Game of Thrones meets The Princess Bride. This world has two moons, and twice a year they eclipse (or embrace). A child born on the night the moons embrace will be gifted with a supernatural power. They are called the Embraced. Each of the five heroines is Embraced, so they all have a different kind of power. Of course, the heroes also have some awesome powers! So what can you expect? Action, adventure, suspense, spooky stuff, shifters, dragons, elves, witches, lots of laughs, and of course, plenty of romance!"

MAP OF AERTHLAN
Sorry about the line down the middle of the map. I couldn't 
prevent it because the map covers two pages of the book.

    Sparks sets up the series mythology in the Prologue to novel 1 and repeats it in similar form in the ensuing novels. In each novel, she includes a map of Aerthlan, the fantasy empire in which the series is set. 

The series heroines are all young and beautiful women who have been raised by the nuns who run the Convent of Two Moons on the Isle of Moon. Their religious beliefs are centered on Aerthlan's two moons, as are those of the fishermen and their families who live on the neighboring Isle of Mist.

     Each hero is a handsome, brave young man who grew up in one of the countries on the mainland: Eberon, Tourin, Norveshka, or Woodwyn. The countries are ruled by kings who are constantly at war with one another. On the mainland, the kings are too macho to worship a female god, so they worship the sun, a male god. There is also Rupert's Island, which is ruled by the pirate and sorcerer, Rupert, who is the hero of the second book.

     Twice a year, the two moons align (or embrace) and if a child is born that night, he or she receives some sort of supernatural power. These gifted children are called the Embraced. The power-mad kings do not want anyone to have special powers that they don't have, so in their four countries, the Embraced are considered to be abominations who are immediately killed by the kings' assassins. A few parents have been able to send their Embraced children to safety to the convent on the Isle of Moon, where they are raised with no knowledge of or contact with their families. The families pretend that the children died at birth so that they are not punished by the kings. This series tells the stories of five of the Embraced young women, one novel at a time: Luciana, Brigitta, Gwennore, Sorcha, and Maeve.

     In the first novel we get clues as to the homelands of the five girls: the family of Luciana (book 1 heroine) is from Eberon. Brigitta (book 2 heroine) looks like the people from the kingdom of Tourin. Gwennore (book 3 heroine) has the lavender-blue eyes and pointed ears of the elves of Woodwyn. Sorcha, with her fiery red hair, probably came from Norveshka.  That leaves Maeve, who (based on some not-so-subtle clues in novel 1) probably has relatives on the Isle of Mist. 

                 NOVEL 1:  How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days                 
PUBLISHER'S BLURB: 
     As one of the Embraced―one born with magical powers―the beautiful, innocent Luciana escaped certain death after her father hid her away on the Isle of Moon. Now, nineteen years later, her father has returned with a frightening request. He will be executed unless Luciana returns to the mainland and marries a man feared throughout the land: a terrifying brute known as the Beast.

     Luciana accepts her fate and agrees to wed the Beast―Lord Leo―in order to save her father. Soon she learns that her betrothed is also one of the Embraced. With the ability to wield lightning, Leo’s immense power strikes fear into the hearts of men. . .and his mere touch can put an end to a woman’s life. But Luciana cannot deny the passion that burns between them. How can she resist the man who scorches her soul and makes her feel intoxicated with desire―even if surrendering to him could destroy them both?

MY REVIEW:  

    The first novel (as you can tell from the title) has a Beauty and the Beast story line. The beauty is Luciana, an Embraced with the ability to see and communicate with the ghosts of the dead. She also has some seer power. As the story opens, Luciana's father, Lucas, Duke of Vintello, arrives at the Convent to take her home to Eberon. This is upsetting to Luciana for a number of reasons, foremost of which is the fact that she thought that she was an orphan and is furious that her father dumped her at the convent and never contacted her again. She calms down when she learns that he did it to save her life, but she still doesn't want to leave her friends at the Convent. Then she gets some more mind-blowing information―that she is a twin and that her twin sister, Tatiana, just died and will be buried in the Convent graveyard under a gravestone marked "Luciana." Luciana will then become Tatiana. 

     Lucas explains to Luciana that he has a huge problem. King Frederick, the sociopathic madman who rules Eberon, has decreed that Tatiana must marry his nephew Leofric (Leo) of Benwick, Protector of the Realm within two months. Frederick has long been itching to get his hands on the rich vineyards of Vindalyn, and he figures that if he marries Lucas's heir off to his nephew, he can then have both her and her father assassinated, leaving Vintello in the hands of his nephew, who will be next on the assassination list. If the marriage does not take place by the two-month deadline, the King has threatened to execute Lucas and take over his lands. It's a no-win situation for Lucas and Luciana.

     The titular beast is Leo, who is also Embraced. Unfortunately, Leo's superpower is so frightening that everyone is terrified of him. No one has been able to kill him because his power is too great and they are too frightened to get close to him. Beginning when he was five years old, Leo became a magnet for lightning, which he absorbs and stores as energy within his body. Then, he uses that energy as a weapon against his enemies, frying them like steak on a hot grill until they char and turn to ash. Leo always wears full body armor and heavy gloves so they he doesn't accidentally brush up against someone and burn them.

     Needless to say, not many people mess with Leo. But Leo's electrical storage capability means that he can never touch or be touched skin-to-skin by another person. He learned that the hard way during that first experience with lightning when his nanny tried to save him and was burned to death. Ever since then, everyone has called him the Beast and they fall back in fear when he comes anywhere near them. Many rumors have sprung up over the years, including one that he burned his mother to death (not true, and this cruel gossip is very painful to Leo when he learns about it).

     The primary villain is King Frederick, a clichéd, one-dimensional, power-mad sociopath who adds absolutely nothing to the value of the story. He has either killed or banished all of his relatives because he fears that they might try to take the throne away from him. At a certain point in the story, Leo becomes Frederick's immediate successor. Leo has absolutely no interest in the throne, but Frederick doesn't believe that. Frederick can't imagine anyone not wanting to be the supreme ruler of Eberon so he keeps coming up with new ways to get rid of Leo. Frederick had hoped that as Lord Protector of the Realm, Leo would be killed in battle like his father was, but so far that hasn't happened. 

     The plot includes several story lines: 

The Romance: In the primary story line, the slowly blooming romance between Luciana and Leo bumps along painfully at first but then picks up speed in the second half of the book. One of their main problems, of course, is that Leo is afraid to touch Luciana for fear that he will kill her with his electricity. (The resolution of that problem is predictable from the very beginning of their relationship.)

The Twin Sister: Luciana can see and talk with her dead twin, Tatiana, who turns out to be a spoiled brat who (at first) makes fun of Luciana and has no interest at all in helping her adjust to life on the mainland. Fortunately, Tatiana eventually has a change of heart and the two become friends.

Leo and Luciana's Family Histories: Both grew up without a mother (and Luciana had no parents at all during her childhood). Luciana manages to make contact with her mother's ghost and get the whole story on what happened when she was born. There are a number of angst-filled scenes involving flashbacks to Leo's early years.

Leo's Friends: They play different roles in his life and one has a special gift that he keeps secret from everyone but Leo. I'm guessing that at least one of them will be the hero of a future book. The interactions among these friends are the source of lots of sarcastic "bro" humor.

The Assassination Attempts: At a certain point in the story, the King begins to send assassins to kill Luciana, so Leo has to come up with inventive ways to protect her and outwit the killers.

     Based on my enjoyment of Sparks's terrific LOVE At STAKE series, I had high hopes for this new series, but I'm sorry to say that I didn't enjoy this novel very much. The characters are so flat and bland that I couldn't make myself care much about their trials and tribulations. The plot lacked any true suspense and had no inventive twists to perk up my interest. I'm guessing that the remaining novels will follow the same formula, so I've decided not to read and review them. I will, however, continue to add the publisher's blurbs and cover art to this review post as each one becomes available. 

     Click HERE to read or listen to an excerpt from How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days on its Amazon.com page. Just click on the cover art for print or the "Listen" icon for audio. If you haven't read the sixteen LOVE AT STAKE novels, you should give them a try. Click HERE to read my reviews. 

FULL DISCLOSURE: My review of How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days is based on an electronic advance reading copy (ARC) of the book that I received from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I received no promotional or monetary rewards, and the opinions in this review are entirely my own. 

                         NOVEL 2:  So I Married a Sorcerer                         

PUBLISHER'S BLURB: 
     Growing up on the Isle of Moon, Brigitta knew that she was born with the magical powers of the Embraced―even if she did not know how to wield them. But she has finally learned the truth: Brigitta is the lost princess of the kingdom of Tourin. She was sent into hiding as an infant to escape the wrath of her half-brother, the king. And now he knows just where to find her.

    Rupert is a notorious pirate and sorcerer. He’s spent most of his life plotting revenge on the evil king―and Rupert believes that Brigitta could be the key to finally destroying his enemy. But what begins as a kidnapping of the innocent beauty escalates into something deeper, and more passionate, than either captor or captive could have imagined. Rupert soon vows to protect Brigitta against the king―but will they survive long enough to find their happily-ever-after. . .or does fate have something else in store?

     Click HERE to read or listen to an excerpt from So I Married a Sorcerer on its Amazon.com page. Just click on the cover art for print or the "Listen" icon for audio.

                  NOVEL 3:  Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon                  
PUBLISHER'S BLURB: 
     Gwennore has a talent. An Elf able to track down the cause of an illness and heal it, she’s a valuable asset to her people. But when the kidnapping of a young girl thrusts Gwennore into the very heart of the realm of the dragons, she discovers not only a place of power and magic, but also a haunted land, plagued by an ancient curse that all but ensures extinction to the royal family. But when she meets the smoldering General Silas Dravenko, they strike a bargain—save the country from its cursed illness, and he will return the kidnapped girl. 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 curing the family he’s loyally served for years. But when a beautiful elf, long considered the enemy of the dragons, comes bursting into his world, Silas is awakened to passion and desire in a way he’s never felt before. But can he trust a sworn enemy to save the very existence he holds dear? And can their love survive those that threaten to tear them apart?

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