Winter's Heir (Fairy Queens #4) by Amber Argyle

A price must be paid.

Elice has left behind the ice and isolation of winter. Before her is the warmth and wonder of summer with all its color and life. Adar, the young man she saved from the sea, is by her side, and his touch sends tendrils of heat where before there was only cold.

But all is not as it seems. There are secrets hidden in the heart of summer. Secrets that could burn Elice to the ground and take the whole world with her. The decades-long war between the fairies of winter and summer has thrown off the balance of nature, leaving the world in its death throes.

Adar believes Elice can stop the destruction—if only she will listen to him. But like the fairies’ bargains, that trust comes with a cost. And the price Elice will pay will tear asunder the boundaries between dreams and family, loyalty and betrayal.

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I've been waiting to read this final installment of the Fairy Queens series.  The last book ended in the middle of the saga so this book was much needed to bring conclusion and resolution to my mind and heart.

The whole fairy queen saga is so intense.  Each book pulls you in and just refuses to let you go.  The world of the fairies is brutal, violent and beautiful all at the same time.  It has been quite the journey.

I think I loved this last book the best though.  It just fit in with my heart the best.  Love has it's triumph in many different ways, resolution came and everything was tied together from the other books.  It just felt good.  It was a hard journey to get there though which makes the resolution all the sweeter.

Amber Argyle is a gifted and talented writer.  She creates fantastic pictures in my head- of worlds, people and creatures.  I'm really looking forward to what she comes up with next.

Content:  violence

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Daughter of Winter (Fairy Queens #3) by Amber Argyle

Bargains. Only the truly desperate make them. Only the truly desperate need them. And always, the desperate pay.

The silence and never-ending dark of winter are all Elice has ever known, for she is the daughter of the Winter Queen. Isolated in a northern queendom with only the seals for company, she dreams of color and music and life. So when a whaling ship crashes just offshore, she doesn't hesitate to rescue the lone survivor, Adar, who quickly becomes her friend. She must keep him hidden from her mother at all costs, for if the Winter Queen discovers him trespassing, she'll kill him.

When her mother reveals just how dark her soul has become, Elice realizes she is as much a prisoner as Adar. To ever know true freedom—to ever become the woman she was meant to be—she must flee with him. But in their flight, she begins to see hints of something more nefarious. The darkness that has taken hold of her mother is spreading, staining the world with its influence.

Unbeknownst to Elice, a bargain was made long ago. A bargain she was born to fulfill.

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This book swept me away to a far off place of ice and cold where light and warmth rarely come.  <shiver>  Poor Elice knows nothing other than the cold world her mother, the Winter Queen has created.  Elice has such a soft and gentle heart that longs and dreams for more than the harsh world she lives in every day.  The only source of love and gentleness for Elice comes from her grandfather and one of the fairies.

I love how Elice saves animals and reads books.  She loves to dream and create things.  These things make her instantly likable and easy to connect with.  Even her mother's cruelty cannot suffocate the goodness in Elice.

This book was so vivid in nature.  I could easily picture the ice world and it's cold inhabitants.  A sense of foreboding is always there- throughout the whole book.  Dangerous things are alluded to, but never come to complete fruition in this book.  This book feels like the set up for the big bang that is still to come.  It kind of leaves you hanging at the end.  Well, not kind of.  It does.  

The pacing is good although not quite as fast as the previous books.  I felt like the intensity and violence, although still there, were taken down a notch compared to the previous books in this series.  That isn't a bad thing, just something I noticed.  I enjoyed this book and I'll be looking for the next book.  I can only imagine the awful things coming for Elice.

This series always has the prettiest covers.  I love this one.  It perfectly represents what is contained inside.

Content:  Some violence but otherwise clean

My thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Summer Queen (Fairy Queens #2) by Amber Argyle

Nelay never wanted to be queen.

Poised to become the most powerful priestess in Idara, Nelay doesn’t have time to become a pretty bauble for the king. She’s too busy saving her people from the invading army sweeping across her kingdom.

But in defeat after defeat, Nelay begins to realize a bigger power is at play than that wielded by mere mortals. Only she can stand between the cinders of her once-great nation and the vengeance of a goddess.

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Oh, man.  Wowza.  Okay.  Where do I start and what do I say?

Summer Queen is the second book in this series.  The first book in the series, Winter Queen (Fairy Queens Book 1) , will be on sale for .99 cents from April 10th-17th.  Of Fire and Ash is the prequel to Summer Queen and gives an excellent background on Nelay.  It really sets the stage for Summer Queen and helps you understand who Nelay is.  You can read Of Fire and Ash free!  Just click on the ebook format of your choice.  Mobi  Epub 

Summer Queen was intense.  Like scary intense.  At least for me it was.  There was so much going on in this book.  There were plots and sub-plots.  It was full on, all the time.  Several times I had to walk away from this book because the emotional intensity was too much.  I just needed to breathe for a few minutes and let the anger go.

Nelay is strong and smart and determined.  She knows what she wants and she has a plan.  Unfortunately, other people try to force her into things she doesn't want but Nelay is so determined.  She will accomplish what she has set out to do.  No matter what.

Nelay is also angry a lot.  She is a force to be reckoned with.  She is fiercely loyal to her family, her people and close friend.  Actually, Nelay is just fierce.  I wouldn't want to go up against her!  That is not to say that she doesn't have some softness in her, because she does.  It just doesn't come out a lot because she cannot afford to be soft.  To be soft would mean death in most instances.

This book is very violent.  So much fighting, so much death.  It was hard for me to read.  That, combined with the intensity, is the reason I had to put it down and walk away several times.  But this is a book about war and Nelay is in the middle of it, fighting for her life and her people.  She never gives up.  She never gives in.

I think the message I took away from this, in the end, was about love.  Love is what keeps us anchored.  It keeps our humanity.  Love is worth fighting for.

Amber Argyle is such a gifted writer.  She obviously knows how to draw the reader in and evoke real emotion.   The scenes were vivid and real in my head.  It takes talent to write like that. 

Content:  Violence (graphic, and lots of it), sexual innuendo and situations.  

Amber Argyle is the number-one bestselling author of the Witch Song Series and the Fairy Queen Series. Her books have been nominated for and won awards in addition to being translated into French and Indonesian.

Amber graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in English and physical education, a husband, and a two-year old. Since then, she and her husband have added two more children, which they are actively trying to transform from crazy small people into less crazy larger people.

To learn more about Amber, visit her blog at http://amberargyle.blogspot.com

Of Fire and Ash by Amber Argyle (A Fairy Queens Novella)

One promise can change everything.

The fairies must never know of Nelay’s sight, for the attention of such dark and terrible creatures brings more things dark and terrible. But when Nelay's father is near death, the fairies are the only ones who can save him. All they require is a simple promise that she'll return the favor one day.

Some promises are lethal.
Well, I'm a day late to officially say that this is release day for this novella, but the day after is still close.  Like the day after Christmas is a fun day too, right?  :)

If you know Amber Argyle's writing and her books you know that she writes beautifully.  She has a style all her own that really stands out and for me, separates her from other authors.  This is a novella, short and sweet, about Nelay's early life.  What a hard life with hard choices.  It really sets the stage for the next book, Summer Queen, which I'm really looking forward to reading.  Especially since I've just read this little tidbit and I want more!  These are fairies like you've never know them.

If you are interested in reading my review for Winter Queen, the first book in this series, you can find that HERE.

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