Blog Tour: Empyreal Fate by Rachel Hunter

Title: Empyreal Fate
Author: Rachel Hunter
Publisher: Hydra Publications
Publishing Date: May 8th 2012
Pages: 264
Genre: YA High Fantasy
Series: A Llathalan Annal #1
Source: Kindle


Goodreads Summary:


The land of Llathala lingers on the brink of war between men and elves, a dark history surrounding each race. Stirred by tensions of the land, a shadow of the past reemerges, taking precedence in reality and consuming the very soul of mans’ mortal weakness. Darrion, the son of a poor laborer, is ensnared in a hostile world, forced to choose between loyalty to his king or the counsel of the elves. Yet Fate has other plans in store, tying his course to Amarya, an elven royalblood of mysterious quality and unsurpassable beauty. But this forbidden connection incites betrayal from members of their own kin, marking them as traitors to the crown. In a land torn asunder, only Fate’s decree can allow such love to coexist with an ancient enmity.


Behold: A Llathalan Annal: Empyreal Fate – Part One.


Review:


A beautifully written story, intriguing and mysterious, I absolutely loved the story.


The story of an Elf destined to bring peace to her people and a boy who’s only desire is to keep his family fed and protected. The two meet and it puts everything into motion.


The characters of this story really drew me in. Amayra is a beautiful elf who is of royal blood. Although the book never states an age I assume she in a young adult or on the brink of adulthood. She is close to her father and he has taught her kind ways. I love the relationship between Amayra and her father. 


Darrion is a man of action. He is loyal to his family over his King and will do what is needed to keep his family from starving. There were times I was so mad at Darrion, he is smart but at times so dumb. He cannot see evil when evil is right in front of him. 


The villains of the story was so easy to hate. From the beginning I was able to see who the evil would come from but the amount of evil they had was unbelievable. The actions they take, the depths they go to, it sickened me. 

I felt a real connection to both of the main characters and felt a strong need to love or hate all the characters. I think the connections really kept the story moving for me. I really wanted to know more of their story and where it was taking me.  With every joy and every suffering I felt it inside. There were moments I felt love and joy, then pure hatred, then real despair. It was definite emotional roller coaster ride for me. 

The story was well paced for me. The beginning was a little slow. I think that it was solely due to the writing style. It’s not one I am used to and took me a bit to get into the flow. Once I did. The story took off and I wasn’t able to put the book down. The writing style is different but it is beautiful and the world that is created was like a dream for me. Rachel Hunter did an exceptional job in creating this world and in a way that painted the pictures so clearly in my mind.


Overall I loved this book and can’t wait to see more. Even though it took just a bit to get into my reading mojo with the style, I am very happy I invested myself in this story. It was spectacular.


Rating:

About the Author:



Born in 1993, Rachel Hunter has always been fascinated with words and the intricate way in which they combine. Since a child, she has been an avid writer, winding vibrant tales and elaborate stanzas on folded bits of paper.

As the years passed, her love of words never died; her adoration for reading fared no equal. Always with her nose in a book, Rachel took fondly to works spanning all genres. Yet it was the compelling grasp of fantasy and science fiction that wrenched her fascination above all.

In 2007, Rachel was selected a state winner of the Minnesota Promising Young Writers Program. Accordingly, her winning poem, “It All Starts with Creativity”, was published in An Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans.

Senior year of high school proved another momentous year. A winner of the Oklahoma Young Writers Competition, Rachel was awarded with publication of her “Sestina of Elven Regret” in the 2010-2011 anthology, Growing Voices.

In March of 2012, Rachel published her first short story with Trestle Press, titled, “Perfect Nothing“, which recounted her harrowing relationship with an eating disorder and was also fueled by her passion for psychology. But her writing does not end there. While currently pursuing a degree in psychology and in the medical field at the University of Oklahoma, she aspires also to illuminate the creative spark of eager readers. In her desire to incite intrigue, she is simultaneously exploring new worlds and creating vast empires of her own. "Empyreal Fate" is only the first in her Llathalan Annal series. Indeed, it is only the beginning.


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