A Ranger's Tale - Mysti Parker

A Ranger's Tale - Mysti Parker @Twitter
ISBN - 9781612351209
Publisher - Melange Books
Release date - December 18th 2010
Find - Goodreads

'In the world of Tallenmere, an elven noblewoman longed to leave her gilded cage. A half-breed former pirate wanted nothing more than to escape his guilty past. Easier said than done...

High elf Caliphany Aranea leads an enviable life as King Leopold's niece and daughter of Sirius, Leogard's most famous wizard. Yet, being forced to follow in her father's footsteps and being betrothed to a man she doesn't even like makes her want a taste of life outside the city walls.

As a young boy, half-elf Galadin Trudeaux witnessed his parents' death at the hands of pirates. After being raised by those same murderers and forced to do their bidding, he escaped and now lives an honest life as a sea merchant and ranger.

When two brutes at Leogard Harbor attempt to kidnap Caliphany while she dreams of faraway lands, Galadin comes to her rescue. Impressed by his skills, she asks him to train her as a ranger. Though he is hesitant at first to train a woman of her class, Caliphany's hefty sack of gold finally persuades him. Unfortunately, her father is not amused, and the two must escape before Caliphany faces a forced marriage and Galadin faces a noose.

From that moment on she and Galadin embark on an adventure of a lifetime. Only if they can survive the trials ahead, will they find a love that stands the test of time.' - Goodreads

After a slow (but good) start A Ranger's Tale races along at a fast pace. There are secret organisations, pirates, ogres, trolls and all manner of fantastical creatures making for a great fantasy read but ultimately this is a romance.. The story is about Caliphany, sheltered daughter, full blooded elf & niece of the King of Leogard and Galadin Trudeaux, half human, half elf, ranger & ship's captain who meet when Cali is attacked by two men at the docks.

On discovering that Galadin is a ranger Cali decides to put into action her plan to break free from her stifling life & arranged marriage and begs him to train her so she can survive by herself. They have three months to do so whilst Cali's father is away and in that time the inevitable happens, Caliphany & Galadin fall in love although this is never admitted by either of them until, having been locked up by her disapproving father Cali escapes using her new-found skills and stows away on Galadin's ship. The pair declare their love for each other but unfortunately the path of true love never runs smoothly and tragedy strikes. This is where I fell out of love with the characters a bit as I'm not a fan of love triangles in the slightest and, considering her circumstances, Cali moved on a bit too quickly for my liking. Both men were interesting characters but it was blatantly obvious from the start who was a better fit and even though Jayden was her childhood friend he just didn't mesh as her husband. Thankfully, without being too spoiler-y, there's a happy ending for everyone involved!

A Ranger's Tale was well written and held my attention all the way through once I got sucked into the story, hard to believe it's a first novel at times. I loved the development of all the characters but especially Caliphany, she went from whiny & petulant (more like a teenager than a century old elf) to a strong, confident woman perfectly capable of looking after and making decisions for herself. I'm excited about reading the next instalment of Tallenmere, Serenya's Song, soon and hopefully it will be just as good as this one!

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of both A Ranger's Tale and Serenya's Song! Please bear in mind there are a couple of adult scenes in this book so more suitable for readers of 18+.