“The world – my world – looks back at me as she lifts her eyes to find me.”
Sacred Struggle by Rochelle Wilcox
The Story:
An elf hiding from a malicious queen.
A rider whose dragon will be punished if he chooses his fated mate.
What will they risk when forbidden love threatens everything else?
In the land of Vanatia, Sifa’s doomed to the elven prison if she’s found.
Desperate to unearth the queen’s secrets, Sifa’s chasing answers by doing the city overseer’s dirty work. But when her boss sends her with a dangerously handsome dragon rider to the brutal prison she barely escaped years ago, she fights desire even as she confronts demons she’s still battling.
Fhord’s torn between his dragon and fated mate.
When Sifa joins him on a job, he spurns their bond because in Vanatia, dragons suffer when their riders sin. If he flouts his oath to the crown by harboring an elf, Fhord won’t be able to shield his beast from the queen’s wrath.
Terrified Fhord will discover her secret and betray her to the monarchy, Sifa battles their growing passion. And though Fhord’s dragon will pay the price if he falls for Sifa, his need for his mate may outweigh the risk.
Can Sifa and Fhord overcome their yearning for each other as they journey toward the prison that could threaten her freedom and his bond with his dragon?
Key Elements:
Romance, Dragons, Fated Mates, Romantasy, Dragon Riders, Elves, Magic, Found Family, Torture, Forbidden Love, Slow-burn Romance, Norse Mythology, Sunshine-Grumpy
More in The Tales of The Vanir Series:
- Book 2: Frenzied Fate
- Book 3: Divine Dilemma
- Book 4: Mythical Menace
Why This Rating?
I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange a free, honest review.
I was surprised at how much I just wanted to sit and keep flipping these pages. With the use of shorter, quick scenes, you are being bounced right into the next moment. The tension, the flirty natures, and the bantering made for any interaction between Sifa and Fhord wonderful. And the sunshine-grumpy trope helps the cause too! All the secrets that kept showing peaked my interest despite lack of answers. Norse easter eggs made the reading engaging. And all around, it just enjoyed the story. Below is my breakdown of all the quick mentions above for any who are interested!
The writing was pretty good! Descriptions were good. Other than the scene by the lake, simple straightforward layouts. We were focused more on characters and interactions/scenes than scenery and flowery language. I liked how we were never dumped with history or backstory moments. We were either gradually given the information from characters asking or talking to each other. The scenes were really quick though. As soon as we are done with something in the scene *zip* we’re off to the next thought/moment. It wasn’t a bad writing move. I actually enjoyed the fact we got to keep going on with the story and weren’t given fluff to fill the time. Made for constant action that kept your attention. This was especially well done for the torturing moments. Nothing was drawn out or felt like it was going too far. We came. We saw. We left. Easy enough. Also, the conversations were pretty solid too. Nothing stilted and feeling awkward. The characters conversation flowed between each other naturally. And the bantering was delicious! I loved the sexual teasing the main characters had as they traveled. Never acting on anything, but the desire was evident all around.
I would say the world building is still developing. It is book 1 and the series is already planned out, so I can see these tidbits showing themselves and will easily be expanded on as the story progresses. This one was mostly to get some background from our characters, getting comfortable with them, and building the suspense for the plot. A.k.a. clearly being a book 1 and reading as a book 1 for a series.
There were so many nods to Norse Mythos! At first, I saw the occasional name that rang a bell. Then Hel, Midgard, and draugrs popped up and it finally clicked for me. I love reading about Norse mythology and stories that spring up from this pantheon. When I originally picked up the book, I wasn’t aware of the Norse influence that is in here and I was pleasantly surprised. A part of me sort of wishes I knew that going into the reading. I would have paid a bit more attention to some of the names and stories that were told. However, I am also a reader that enjoys finding those little easter eggs in stories. If you know nothing about the mythos, you lose nothing in the reading. The author does a great job of incorporating enough information about it all in the text so you never feel out of the loop or outside of an inside joke.
The book ends on a cliffhanger. It is one that I think was done wonderfully so don’t worry. Yes, we’ve ended with some tension happening, as you do with a book in a series. We have our MCs realizing stuff about themselves both individually and together. A majority of which I was waiting for since the halfway point. I mean, Fina-freaking-ly (when you get there you’ll know)! But, I have been left with so. many. questions. Yeah, I get it. This is book 1 and it keeps the reader hooked to the series by answering some but not all questions that spring up. I wanna know though! The second one isn’t out at the time of this writing and I must wait! Why was Sifa captured in Midgard? Moved the rocks – HOW? What in the world is he? What secret? Who is SHE? (not going to lie, the last one made me think I was quoting LoTR when Gollum says, “And when we’ve got safe, then She’ll know it, O yes, then we’ll pay Her back, my precious.”) There are others, but I feel I’ve made my point. This didn’t stop my enjoyment of the book in the slightest though.
I think you guys would enjoy this one if you are also a fantasy reader and want a grumpy-sunshine, fated mates story mixed into the pages. I hesitate to bring any dragon interests into the recommendations. Fhord is a dragon rider, but you don’t get to meet his dragon until well into 2nd half due to reasons. The other dragons are minimal for majority of the book or only show at the end. So yes, there are dragons, but for book 1, I would say don’t enter this one thinking they are everywhere. By decree of the Queen – the dragons are a closely guarded secret and your head is her’s if it is otherwise.
TL;DR: This is a book of secrets, forbidden love, and tested oaths. With only a little bit of dragons showing up which was kind of a bummer there wasn’t more. A sunshine elf and a grumpy dragon rider sent out on a job together and try to keep their hands to themselves the entire time. People die, things are learned, people are found, dragons show up, yada yada. Good story and a fun read!
Time to get lost in the next story!
