Author: Erin Rhew
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Publisher: BookFish Books LLC
Series: The Fulfillment Series, Book Two
Genre:Older YA, Paranormal, Romance
Age Recommendation: 16 and up
Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
With King Jesper dead and Prince Wilhelm mortally wounded, Halfling prince, Nash, and the Fulfilment, Layla, assume the throne of Etherea. They must contend with a new Prophecy Candidate who asserts herposition, and Layla is surprised to find her fate intertwined with this challenger. Facing a myriad of choices, Nash and Layla’s decisions affect not only their own futures but that of two kingdoms.Unbeknownst to the Ethereals or the Vanguards, a slumbering menace stirs in the south, awakened aftercenturies of slumber. The mysterious Outlanders, a force shadowed in mystery, sit poised to tip the balance of power, sending ripples of fear throughout both warring kingdoms.Elder Werrick proved a formidable foe, but Layla may yet meet her match in the monstrous Outlander queen. This mistress of the dark’s plans, rooted in revenge and ancient lore, now threaten the livelihood of all three kingdoms.Racing against time, Layla travels to the Borderlands—home of the Voltons and Ecclesiastics—to discoveras much as she can about the war, the First Ones, and the prophecy itself. Lives teeter in the balance, kingdoms sit on the cusp of ruin, and a beast, greater than any she’s ever faced before, plots a catastrophic attack.
My Review:
I am sitting here staring at my computer trying to think of the best way to describe this tale. A tale full of mystery, intrigue, danger, friendships, and love. Oh the love, this book is the mother of all love triangles. I typically am not one to get all wishy-washy about who I believe should be together. It doesn't always work out the way I hope, but I almost always am able to say who I think it should be, but not in this story. I am so torn up about the love triangle in this that I can barely see straight. Who will it be in the end Layla and Wil or Layla and Nash and who do I want it to be? Gah, I have no idea thy are both two halves of an amazing whole...really I think maybe they should just all live together in some happy little three-some so I can find peace and no one gets hurt, haha.
The story of The Outlanders picks up right where we left off in The Prophecy. The battle between the two armies has been fought, but the battle for the Kingdom, for peace and for Wil continues.
Wil has been struck down by 'King' Vance and we watch as he slowly begins to slip away. He's given the kingdom to Nash and Layla as well as given them his blessing.
"A crackle pierced the air as the energy coursing between the three intensified. Wil believed it to be a sign from the First Ones, a confirmation of his choice. He would die loving Layla and she would live loving Nash." -Wil
With Wil on his deathbed, the kingdom of Etherea in turmoil Nash, Layla and the Queen Mother will be lead to make difficult and painful choices while struggling to understand the secrets of the First Ones, and their roles in the prophecy. Add to that a new player to the game, Mia...self-proclaimed Fulfillment. Could she be the real Fulfillment and not Layla or is she playing her own dangerous game?
Layla is as strong as ever. I loved in The Prophecy how she never backed down. Does she question herself everyday, her faith waivers, her belief in who to trust falters, but she never gives up on doing what she knows to be right. She is loyal to her family, to her friends, and she is trying to be loyal to her heart. The last proving to be the most difficult. I suppose that is the only thing that truly bothers me when it comes to Layla her back and forth and indecision when it comes to loving Nash and Wil, but then again with Elder Werrick's binding, the turmoil that she is continually thrown into and the fact that she spends so little time with Wil or Nash individually I can understand her not being able to differentiate between platonic love and 'physical' love.
I missed seeing more of Nash this book, his situation takes him out of much of the action and I would have really liked to have gotten to know him better...but that leaves me to hope in the next book we will see more of him. What I can say about Nash is that my heart is breaking for him. I don't know where his story is going, but I am afraid it will be one rife with heart ache and disappointment. Please, Please prove me wrong Erin Rhew. He is an amazing character, (as are Wil, and Layla) strong, loyal, and caring. I suppose he would be considered the bad boy of the trio, but considering what he learns about his family and they way he grew up you can't blame him. Also his bad boy streak is simply his need to take care of those he loves and he will do it his way.
Quick discussion on Mia...I don't like her, I don't trust her and neither should you, haha. I don't know what she has planned but I think someone could use a little torture to get it out of her. She's cunning (or at least trying to be) and she's using everyone for her own benefit I just wish I knew what it was exactly. She's always there, but a bit in the background. I think that would be my only negative for this book. Mia is brought in as this new integral character but by the end we really know nothing about her and seriously I just want her gone, haha.
"Everything about Mia felt wrong. The girl, who looked so much like Layla, just happened to be where Samson could find her and came with him to the home of her enemy without any resistance?" -Layla
All in all I am really loving this tale and am so glad to have had he opportunity to read it. I think Erin Rhew does an amazing job building the world these characters live in. Her characters are characters that you can't help but love (well, except Mia *wink*) and feel for. They are loyal and dedicated to one another, something we don't see a lot of these days. I'd like the mystery to unfold a bit faster, but that is simply because I lack patience and I want to know what is going to happen. We've been left with another cliffhanger, left not knowing what is happening to Nash, but knowing he's likely broken, left with out answers about Mia, and left still in the midst of this love triangle that is going to leave my heart a achy mess on the floor I am afraid.
This is a wonderful story for any one who loves paranormal or fantasy books. Don't let this one pass you by!
Book Excerpt:
Everything
about Mia felt wrong. The girl, who looked so much like
Layla, just happened to be where Samson could find her and came with him to the
home of her enemy without any resistance? Whole generations of Ecclesiastics
searched for entire lifetimes and never found the Fulfillment, yet Samson
encountered two potentials in short succession. She couldn’t pinpoint the
reason for her unease, but something tickled the back of her mind, inching
toward the surface with painstaking sluggishness.
“I
don’t understand why she would just come with you to Etherea.” Layla struggled
to keep her voice level and calm to avoid raising Samson’s hackles.
“She didn’t have anywhere else to
go. Vance killed her family in Vanguard.”
Layla made a mental note to confirm
Samson’s version of the story with the information Nash managed to extract from
Mia. “If she’s a Vanguard, why would she come with you to Etherea?”
“You came here,” Samson shot back,
his inexplicable protectiveness for the mystery girl heightening her concern.
She treaded with care. “Well, some
insane man in a black and purple robe stole my brother, so I didn’t really have
a choice.”
Mia stared at the young man before
her with a mixture of curiosity and weariness. She understood why others found
him so handsome—rich, dark hair and those shocking green eyes. If she
succeeded, he would be her…she stopped herself, determined to keep her mind
clear. She had to give off an air of mystery, to lure the Ethereals into her
web so they followed her plan. More than anything, she needed them to follow
her plan, so much depended on it. She could not slip up. She could not make a
mistake.
Taking a steadying breath, she
refocused her thoughts and slid her amethyst colored eyes across the prince in
front her. She wouldn’t even think his name or give any indication she already
knew about him. She had to forget how much she’d been told about him…how much
she’d been told about them all. Feigning ignorance factored into her plan.
“Who are you?” he asked, after
spending an inordinate amount of time regarding her.
She noted how his gaze bounced from
her eyes to her hair and back again. As planned, her appearance intrigued him.
Though he’d asked a different question, she heard the real one layered beneath
it. He wanted to know why she resembled the proclaimed Fulfillment. That
question would then lead him to an inevitable one…could Mia be the Fulfillment
instead of Layla? And if she were the Fulfillment, what did that mean for him?
For Wil? For Layla?
“I’m Mia.” She almost grinned,
pleased she’d answered his question but given him nothing more. When his lips
twisted, her grin broke into a full smile at his evident irritation. “And you
are?”
He hesitated. “Nash, brother of the
king.”
“The injured king?” He flinched, a
subtle movement most might miss, but she caught it.
“According to our friend, Samson,
you’re an Outlander.”
“He found me in the Outlands.” The
less Nash knew, the better.
Frustration flickered across his
face, marring his otherwise handsome features. She smiled to herself, not
trusting his patience should her lips turn up yet again.
“Sooo,” he dragged out the word.
“Are you an Outlander?”
“No. I’m a Vanguard.”
Nash cocked his head to the right.
“Why were you in the Outlands then?”
“I went to escape Vance’s
oppression.” Mia stared at the wall behind him until her vision blurred. She
willed tears to form. Given the pressure she’d been under, summoning them
proved easier than she expected. When the familiar tight burning started near
her lids, she blinked at the prince. He shifted in his seat. Mia wanted to
snort at his reaction. Tears always made men uncomfortable. “Vance killed my
family.” She paused and swallowed, hoping he believed she needed a moment to
collect herself. “I ran as far as I could and ended up in the Outlands. Samson
found me.”
Nash cleared his throat and shifted
again; she increased the flow of her tears in reply. “What do you know about the Outlands?”
“Very little.” She sniffed. Looking
as pathetic as she could manage, she attempted to wipe her eyes, an impossible
feat given her bound hands. Nash frowned as his gaze landed on her restraints.
She bid him to unbind her hands, and for a moment, she believed he might. To
her disappointment, he gripped the side of his chair until his knuckles turned
white and left her tied up. Mia ground her teeth.
“Do you believe you are the
Fulfillment?” Nash kept his voice steady despite the turmoil she read upon his
face.
Mia waited a moment to respond, both
to further escalate his frustration and to collect herself. In this moment, she
needed to be most convincing, to begin what she’d been tasked to set in motion.
She gestured with her chin, drawing Nash’s attention to the blazing “F” upon
her upper arm. The dark purple birthmark matched the shade of her eyes.
“The First Ones speak for
themselves.”
Nash shook his head. “It’s too
obvious.”
Mia’s head jerked back. She
struggled to maintain her composure as his reaction, so unexpected, derailed
her careful planning. Her mind racing, she grappled for a response.
“Too obvious?”
“Yes. See, Mia—” His clear distaste
tainted the sound of her own name. “I know about the First Ones.”
“Who do you think you are? An
Ecclesiastic?” She smirked at him, acting like she retained complete control,
but her insides knotted. She couldn’t lose her ability to direct the
conversation.
To her surprise, Nash laughed,
though she noted no pleasure in it. “The Prophecy states, ‘In a time of war, when
the land is divided amongst the two, she, with raven black hair, purple eyes,
and a special blessing from the First Ones shall bring peace.’”
“I think everyone in the three
kingdoms and in the Borderlands is familiar with The Prophecy.” Mia rolled her
eyes for effect. “What’s your point?”
“My point is, the special blessing
wouldn’t be something as simple as a birthmark. If it were, the First Ones
would have just said raven black hair, purple eyes, and an ugly purple ‘F’ on
the upper arm.” He flicked his hand toward her arm. “Special blessing is vague,
indicating something mysterious. There is nothing mysterious about your
birthmark.”
Mia’s heart pounded as she felt the
tables turn and the conversation slip away. “And there is something mysterious
about her?”
The word her hung between them for a moment. Mia took another deep breath,
worrying she’d pushed him too far. Beneath his shirt, she saw Nash’s muscles
ripple and hoped she’d managed to touch a new nerve.
Mia clenched her teeth. She hated acting
this way, so out of character, but she had to press on. No one could know the
truth. She had to win this game…
Erin Rhew is an editor, a running coach, and the author
of The Fulfillment Series. Since she picked up Morris the Moose
Goes to School at age four, she has been infatuated with the written
word. She went on to work as a grammar and writing tutor in college
and is still teased by her family and friends for being a member of the
"Grammar Police." A Southern girl by blood and birth, Erin now lives
in a rainy pocket of Pacific Northwest with the amazingly talented (and totally
handsome) writer, Deek
Rhew,
and their “overly fluffy,” patient-as-a-saint writing assistant, a tabby cat
named Trinity. She and Deek enjoy reading aloud to one another, running,
lifting, boxing, eating chocolate, and writing side-by-side.
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