Book Review--Halayda by Sarah Delena White

A mortal alchemist. A faerie king. A bond that transcends death.

Betrayed by a trusted mentor, Sylvie Imanthiya hides on the fringes of society, caring for half-fae orphans and trading her alchemical creations on the black market. She lives for the one night each season when she can see her dearest friend—a man whose destiny is far above hers.

King Taylan Ashkalabek knows better than to exchange halayda vows with a mortal. Even their friendship is a risk; love is an impossible dream. Then a brutal alchemical attack poisons his realm, unearthing a dark power within him—and leaving Sylvie with the ancient mark of Faerie’s savior.

Manifesting unpredictable abilities and aided by allies with their own secrets, Sylvie and Taylan journey into the wilds of Faerie to heal the damage and confront Casimir, an invincible star-fae determined to claim the realm as his own. But only their enemy knows Sylvie’s true capabilities—and Taylan’s weaknesses—and how to use them in his vicious schemes.

Her fate is life. His fate is death. With Faerie in the balance, Sylvie and Taylan must stand together before reality as they know it is destroyed.

Through My Window

I LIKE THIS BOOK.

Things I like:

Sweet adult heroines who aren't dealing with teenage angst or delusions that being kick-butt and angry-all-the-time makes them a strong female.

Faerie kings who don't act like they are sexy, super mysterious, super powerful...I mean, he IS, but he doesn't act it.

Really awesome side-kick duo who are actually married. And are flirty and playful without provoking the reader.

Characters who come from tainted, even promiscuous pasts, but have still become good people who regret their mistakes and aspire to be something better.

No love triangles.

Really complicated villains who almost start to make sense. (Do I like this actually? It gets confusing. But it was well done.)

Clever conversations and adorable quotes.

Richly realized worlds, strongly visualized settings, interesting magic systems.

A main theme that honors and promotes the power and beauty of faithful marriage.


ANYWAY, I like this book. Sure, it may not be perfect, but it was the only book I've read in a long time that made me want to read every bit of it and not miss anything....plus....there's a lot of mystery and info drops scattered throughout, so it's really important not to miss anything, lol.

Things some readers may want to be aware of....

Okay, so there is a lot of magic, obviously, it's faerie world. That being said, the humans also deal with alchemy that has magical effects.

There is a fair, though not over-saturated, amount of language. Uses of d----, b-----d, a--, and one use of b---h by a villainess while tearing down a heroine.

Violence happens often, but is not heavily described. Mostly magic violence.

There is a lot of kissing, mostly between married couples. However I was SO OVERJOYED how the usual emotional/physical/lustful descriptions from the inner pov of the character were left out. I mean that stuff provokes the readers, not to mention is an invasion of personal space. Please, please, please, dear author, keep that up.

Also, one brief moment of a female flirting to a female, though this is quickly rebuffed.

Anyways, this was really well-written, I loved the characters so much, the themes and messages were very interesting, and although the ending was solid (yay for happy endings), I am totally looking forward to the next book!!!