Shadows of Lela by Tessonja Odette

Fantasy. 329 pages. 4 Stars

Synopsis:

A forgotten princess.
A deadly quest.
A threat that hides in shadow…

Sixteen-year-old Cora is a princess with a dark past. Exile has kept her safe. But when she rescues a dying unicorn from a mysterious band of hunters, her identity—and her life—are in danger.

Prince Teryn has the perfect plan—win the quest, marry his betrothed, and become king. But his mission goes awry when he faces a feisty young woman in the woods. Although they meet as foes, she shares a secret that bonds them.

Teryn and Cora’s fates are entwined in a plot far deadlier than they ever imagined. Can they face the threat together? Or will a terrifying enemy destroy the land they love?

Shadows of Lela is Book One in the Lela Trilogy. If you like swoon-worthy romance, adventurous quests, breathtaking magic, and surprising twists, then you’ll love Tessonja Odette’s epic fantasy tale.

Buy Shadows of Lela to embark on a magical journey today!

My Review:

Well, this was certainly a great read! I’d read the short story prequel, but this was the first true book by the author for me. 

The prequel set book one up perfectly and gave me a head start on one of the primary characters. The book was well-written, and I found no errors. It was written in first person, from four different povs. I didn’t find the pov switches confusing at all. They were all clearly marked, and they allowed the writer to switch easily to the relevant part of the plot. I do like getting into people’s heads, which the multiple povs also allowed. 

The plot was probably the best part of the book. I loved following the story line and watching as multiple threads spun together. At first, I wondered how Cora’s story would play into the others’, but I thought the meshing was very well done. There was enough action to keep me on the edge of my seat and yet still a good balance of slower bits to develop everything around the story.

Second best (or perhaps tied for best?), I liked the world building! I loved the idea of the Ancient Ones and the Forest People. I liked the way Mrs. Odette portrayed the unicorns and her other creatures were creative. The magic was intriguing and I am hoping we will learn more about its system in the following books. The geography was a little confusing at first. It took me a minute to figure out that Lela was a land with multiple kingdoms in it (3, I believe) and I never did quite feel completely oriented other than with Kero and the two northern kingdoms in another land. I would really have enjoyed a map to reference at the beginning of the book. But, this didn’t draw me out of the story more than once or twice, and it was easier to go along with once I figured out the multiple kingdom to one land idea. I’m very curious to dig into the history of Lela and it’s laws and kingdoms and such.

I did truly enjoy the characters as well, especially once things started heating up. I liked watching them grow and adapt to each other and their surrounding situations. I feel like the book almost did Mareleau a disservice (after having read the prequel). She didn’t quite get as much explanation as I suppose I expected, which may be why there is a prequel, but I just feel the readers who opt out of the prequel are kinda missing an important piece of her. I had Larylis kinda pegged from the beginning, but that wasn’t such a bad thing. He was a bit of a hidden gem, I think, because he often took the high road where he easily could have backed out without consequence. I liked him, even though he was sulky for a good while. Teryn took some time to grow on me, honestly. He was…kinda brainwashed in the beginning, but somewhere in the middle he snapped out of it and I enjoyed watching his true nature come out. Cora. Oh, Cora. Of course, I’m partial to the name. 😉 But she was such a fun character! She was feisty, capable, and still human. I’m very excited to see more of her, and curious to see what she will do now. Demetrius was such a bittersweet hope and Morkai was deliciously evil. I’ve already mentioned the Forest People, but there were a few SCs that made me smile there too.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading the sequel. As for content, please listen up! There were a few (single-digits) swear words sprinkled throughout the book. There is a bit of violence and some of it is a little detailed. None of it was horridly graphic, but it could be a little much for some younger readers. As for romance, there was actually very little of it. That said, I felt that there was a bit of an emphasis on women’s physical beauty rather than their character and integrity. It was what was desired romantically and I didn’t really feel like that was ever truly addressed or corrected. And, finally, there were a handful of moments in which the female figures were described with enough detail to make me just a little uncomfortable. They all passed quickly, but just didn’t seem necessary at all. I would probably recommend this book to 16+ so please just be aware when reading or screening for your kids.

More: 

Book 0.5, the prequel novella, in the Lela Trilogy is Princess of Thorns (4 Stars)

Book 1.1, a short story or extra chapter, is The Secret Wedding (3 Stars)

Book 2 is Veil of Mist (4 Stars) Released July 3rd!

Book 3 is currently untitled.

Both the prequel novella and the bonus chapter are available for free, so go check out the author’s website! Book 2 is released July 3rd, so go show it some love!

I have reviewed each of the above on Goodreads. Follow the links to find more info on the books and then scroll down to see the reviews. Mine is among them.

These books should be read in order. Although the prequel novella isn’t necessary, I’d highly recommend starting with it. The bonus chapter was cute, but you could easily do without it.