"Mother of the chosen" by Janeal Falor is a dystopian fantasy following Adriella's journey as she travels on foot through the whole of Erta to save her unborn child.
Adriella is pregnant after she and her husband, Richart have been trying for some years. She can't wait to tell her husband. But when a prophecy is made that a child born with a symbol of star on him/her will kill and end the rule of High King, He orders zasins (soldiers) to bring every child up till two and pregnant women from every part of Erta to the castle so they can kill and eradicate the threat to the king. Adriella is afraid that her husband, who is a zasin will turn her in and plans with her friend to run away.
The story continues as Adriella with her friends escape into the Umpi forest, which is a home to many beings, and live there battling different creatures; the creatures they only heard about in stories.
Filled with adventure, friendship, a game of survival and a dash of romance, (They lived together for FOUR years and didn't know about each other, and now after less than nine months, there is love between them!? The love which suddenly disappeared, which he knew about her magic, even when he himself was associated with dragons.) this was one of the "couldn't-put-it-down" books. Though I feel it would have been better if the magic element was further explored, but maybe this is different in the next book *one can hope*. The cliffhanger was amazing but again, it would be better if the title of the book was something else, something less revealing. The map was a huge help. I was just going back and forth whenever a new place was mentioned. It made the whole reading experience much more memorable. I am probably going to read the next book too, so it has definitely hooked me.

I received a free copy and am voluntarily reviewing the book.

The final book in the story of Chardonia is a sad one. Bethany has been captured, tarnished, and finds herself in a very very very very (I can't say enough very's here) bad place. But she's also in a good place to try and help the resistance from within the heart of Chardonia. But a lot of lives will be placed on the line because of it.

Unfortunately, the editing errors in this one were really bad. There were times I think she mixed up the two countries of Chardonia and Envado, because otherwise parts just wouldn't make sense. The ending was also a little off. It seemed to just "poof" wrap up with a nice bow. Yes, there was a lot leading up to it, but once we got to the top, it just all dropped off really fast.

I really enjoyed this series. It leans more towards a fantasy than a romance, but each story had a nice little romance that weaves through it and really made a different set of characters stand out in a nice way.

This series takes a very dark turn in Mine to Fear. Things are not going well, and I'll warn you, the story arc does not end well. We do have a fairly decent HEA for the romance side, but the realm Chardonia is in chaos and it only gets worse.

The people of Envado are trying desperately to change things, and they are losing the battle. The Grand Chancellor is taking the country in hand by making drastic and severe changes that puts the lives of many at risk. It's scary, very scary, and you don't see much light at the end of the tunnel.

Waverly finds herself caught up in the war as she tries to free her friends from the tyranny of the Grand Chancellor and his friends that are determined to keep women and magic under the control of a very select male population. There's a lot to  read between the lines here, and it was done very well.

My biggest complaint, and Mine to Fear may have gotten 5 stars without this, is the editing. There were some areas that were quite poorly done and it really did take away from my ability to just read the story. But it is one hell of a story.

This review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews

Cynthia has a secret that she has hid from everyone she knows. Despite the fact that they were taught from birth that it is impossible for women to do magic, she can do it. She is fascinated by the colored spells even as she quivers away from her father’s hexes. Now that Serena has won the right to be independent, Cynthia is finally free of her father’s hexes. That freedom doesn’t last because soon she must be sold off the a warlock, put in the exact situation that she just came out of. Though she willing enters into this arrangement to protect her sisters, she soon learns that this will either be the best decision she has ever made or the worst. You’ll have to read to find out which!

I’ll be honest here. I did not like Cynthia in You Are Mine. I found her annoying and more than a little infuriating. How can you be boy-crazy in a world where men actively abuse women and are applauded for it? Where women are mere objects to be used and abused? We finally see behind the mask here and it was a bit more understandable why she put on that facade. How else would she learn about magic? What else could she say? “Oh, I don’t care about the boys, I just want to study that spell so I can emulate it”? That would not have worked out well. She would have been killed. With that insight, it was easy to be more sympathetic towards her. She still irked me somewhat, with immature behavior at times and a lack of ability to plan ahead. Pretty early on she finds herself stranded in town with no money and no food. That could have easily been prevented with a little forethought, but that isn’t how Cynthia works. It ends up working out well and she is just a teenager, so I tried not to fault her too terribly for that. Despite her faults, she is strong and brave and smart.

I feel like talking about the other characters is a bit of a spoilery thing to do. The official synopsis of this doesn’t really hint at how this whole thing it going to turn out, so I’m trying to keep quiet. I will say that I like the love interest a good bit. I will also say that we get a good deal of Serena and Zade and even a bit of Katherine. I also liked seeing the rest of the siblings and the new characters.

Things really heat up here, with Cynthia trying to show her family that she can do magic without revealing her secret to too many people. If the council finds out, they will kill her. But Cynthia’s family needs to know that women can do magic and Cynthia needs to share the burden of her secret with someone. The world needs to know to, but she must wait for the opportune moment to reveal that. She keeps trying to improve her spelling abilities and watching her train with a certain someone was enrapturing. Falor nailed that will they or won’t they chemistry perfectly.

The one big failing here is the appearance of a cliffhanger. You Are Mine wraps up pretty well, with everything taken care of. A few loose strands hang and obvious the whole set free the woman movement is far from finished, but Serena was free and her family was safe and things were looking up. That isn’t what you get here. I won’t say exactly what happens, but again, cliffhanger ahead. That always irks me when the first book in a series lulls you into a false sense of security because you assume if the author was nice enough to wrap things up for us there, they will continue to do so with the rest of the series. Then you read book two and are slammed with an unresolved ending. It’s almost like you can hear the author cackling (because what other way would you describe it?) at that shocked look on your face and you’re need to know more.

Beyond the cliffhanger, this was a very entertaining story and I loved seeing yet another different perspective. I want to get another angle on this. Can we see one from a male point of view? Maybe not Zade (because really, that would cause way too much swooning), but someone like him? OOOO…or that guy Zade’s sister has at thing for? That would be awesome. Or Zade’s sister herself could be interesting. Either way, I’m excited to see where this series goes!

Audio notes:
I feel rather ambivalent about Caitlin Kelly’s narrative abilities. She wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t great either. She walked that mediocre line pretty tightly. She’s has decent pacing and varies her voice a little for different characters, but has nowhere near the mastery I’m used too. ::coughs:: MacLeod Andrews ::coughs:: I will definitely check out more of her stuff in the future to see if she improves, but she’s isn’t someone I’m going to go out of my way to listen to.

****Thank you to Janeal Falor for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review****

Serena belongs to a warlock. She has to do whatever he wishes or suffer the consequences. Then she is sold again and once again has to do her new master's bidding. Then she breaks the rules, expecting to be punished, but isn't.
I loved Serena's journey in this book. I found it very interesting as I was raised free. Even if in a fantasy way as there are still women in this world that aren't free, it still gave me some insight. I really liked the plot, overall story and especially the characters. I highly recommend.

**I received an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review