Tar Heel Bibliobabe

I don’t read a ton of fantasy books, but when I do, I thoroughly enjoy them. This was no exception. It was filled with action and an adorably sweet romance.Akara has been tortured and used as a weapon to fight against a warring city for her whole life. She is one of the only two people left in this world who has the talent to wield magic, the other is Rydan, the magic user for the opposition. When her side loses, she is sentenced to death, but she is saved by Rydan and they escape together. They find out their origins and discover that they are the key to the world’s survival. Unfortunately, with everything Akara has been through, she does not think that the world is worth saving. Can Rydan convince Akara that it is before its too late, or will the world as they know it perish?Akara is hard to like at first, but I quickly warmed up to her. She has had a horrible life, being imprisoned and looked down upon for as long as she can remember. She has never had a friend or a confidante, until Rydan comes along. She is very hesitant to trust, and I sympathize with her very much. She is very socially awkward, which is completely understandable. Once she warmed up to Rydan, she became wonderful and very sweet.Rydan is pretty awesome. I mean, he risked his life multiple times for a girl who he did not know at all, just because her fate was completely unfair. He is selfless, always wanting to heal her first before himself. He’s a great protector. I liked his insistence to want to prove to Akara that the world is worth saving. It made their trek worthwhile.Most of the other people in this book were pretty bad, close-minded people. They wanted to harm both Rydan and Akara only because they were different, which is just so not okay. I liked Tristan, a boy that they found on their journey. He was very knowledgeable about their surroudings and helped Akara and Rydan. Tristan’s grandmother, Jesibel, was wise, skilled, and very kind. She too was a great help.The beginning of the book jumped right into the plot. There was no down time, which is something that I loved. At times, the plot was a bit predictable, only with the fact that they were chased down by the bad men, only to use magic to escape. This happened a couple times, and I kinda knew when it would happen again. Despite this, I liked their quest to save the world. It made for a great plot. The romance was something I would have liked a bit more of. It was developed quite nicely, and it definitely took some time for them to trust each other. But at the end, Akara found her reason for wanting to save the world. :)I am not totally sure if this is a standalone or a first book in the series, but nevertheless, it was amazing. If there is more to come, I can’t wait to see more of Rydan and Akara together. All around, this was a magnificent fantasy book!Favorite Swoon-worthy Quote: The smile again grew. “No. I think we make a pretty good team.” He ran his hand over her cheek, brushing back the hair from her face. It wasn’t until recently she welcomed it, now she didn’t want it to stop. She wanted him to hold her forever.Rating: 4/5 Tar Heels!See more reviews at www.tarheelbibliobabe.blogspot.com! :)