ISBN - 9781612353807
Publisher - Melange Books
Release date - April 2012
Find - Goodreads
'No one ever said love was easy...
Serenya Crowe may be a half-elf commoner, but she's no ordinary woman. With the ability to interpret dreams, and a birth defect that forces her to wear gloves, she's endured gossip and the cruelty of her husband, Sebastian, The Earl of Summerwind. All she's ever wanted is to live a quiet life and raise a family. When she meets the new stranger in town, her world and her heart, are turned upside down.
Wood-elf Jayden Ravenwing is an ex-secret agent who wants nothing more than to forget matters of the heart. He left the bustle of Leogard and his failed marriage to make a fresh start in Summerwind. He never planned to fall in love again, especially with the enchanting Serenya Crowe.
When a strange portal opens on the Crowe property, Jayden is thrown into an investigation, knowing that if he fails, Serenya and everyone in the town may die.
Together, he and Serenya must overcome an ancient evil, and their own inner demons, to save Summerwind and find the love they've always dreamed of.' - Goodreads
Serenya's Song is the story of Jayden Ravenwing after he leaves Caliphany at the end of A Ranger's Tale and Serenya Crowe, daughter of an innkeeper, born with strange abilities including interpreting dreams and married to the Lord of the Manor & Earl of Summerwind, Sebastian Crowe.
Serenya and her father, Douglas, move to Summerwind after the terrifying events surrounding Serenya's birth. Her mother died in childbirth and when she was minutes old the village was attacked by unknown assailants. Unhappily married but still strangely drawn to her bully, abusive husband Serenya meets Jayden when she escapes her prison-like home late one night and literally crashes into him. On discovering that he is in Summerwind to get away from his past and that they share a passion for music the two become close. For Jayden it's love, even knowing that Serenya is married, but she can't and won't leave her husband, torn between the two men. Serenya is struggling with not knowing who she is beyond the fact that her mother, Alina, was a wood-elf. With no explanation as to why she has claws at the end of her fingers and constantly has to wear gloves so as not to frighten people, suffering horrific visions and, as the story progresses, developing an intense craving to feed on meat so strong she starts to wonder whether she is insane, a fact compounded by Sebastian who tells her that this is the case, she inherited this madness from her mother and that no-one must ever know or she'll be locked up in an asylum for the rest of her life. Add to this a mysterious elixir which, at first, Sebastian forces her to take, saying it will mask the effects of the madness and give her enough time to have a child. As this is the one thing she wants, a family of her own, Serenya is soon willingly taking the 'elixir and pushing aside her conflicting feelings for Jayden, her bewilderment about why she is still desperately attracted to her brutish husband, she battles on trying to be the Lady of the manor, strong, dependable and completely sane.
Serenya's Song is a completely different read to A Ranger's Tale but I enjoyed it just as much. Serenya is a completely contrast to Caliphany, having faced adversity one way or another all her life she is a much more well rounded character with more strength and depth to her. It was really nice to see Jayden in love, the right way, rather than loving someone who could never quite commit the way he wanted. There were lots of great new people in this one too, in particular a Paladin named Sir Robert who was such a fantastic character he gets his own book. The storyline, the plot and the writing all felt much stronger in Serenya's Song, as in her first book I find it heard to believe Ms Parker doesn't have a string of books out! It kept me turning the pages rapidly, there was never a dull moment and even in the action's downtime there was still enough going to completely hold your attention. The next instalment of Tallenmere, Hearts of Exile, is about Sir Robert (the Holy Paladin mentioned above) & his lost love, Loralee and is out now! Come payday I'll be buying it - even though by then the book ban will be in place...
A big thank you to Mysti Parker who provided me with a copy of Serenya's Song to review! As with the first book there are a lot of 'adult situations' so for readers aged 18+
Can I just say, I LOVE your ratings system! :-) Cool review.
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