I really loved this Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce, the main characters are charming and fun, the plot is intriguing without being over complicated and the writing is polished.

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fierce heart by tara grayce

Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce

Elven Alliance #1
November 26, 2019

Read this if you want:

  • Closed door romance
  • Political marriage
  • Kindle unlimited  

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Fantasy romance, or romantasy – a portmanteau I really dislike – has become very popular of late so I decide to seek some out. After all the fantasy genre is what made me fall in love with books, but it has been a while since I have picked up any, romantic or otherwise. This is how Fierce Heart by Tara Grayce came into my life and now I have a new series to obsess over.

Essie, or rather Princess Elspeth of Escarland, has agreed to a political marriage with the elves to try and ease the tension between the human and elven nations. Which is how she finds herself married to Prince Farrendel and travelling to the elven city of Elstyra. Essie is determined to be happy and even if she doesn’t love her new, very stoic and silent husband, she endeavours that they can atleast be friends. As she gets to know Farrendel and elven culture Essie begins to understand her new husband’s painful past and the strange and isolating status he has with his people. But sometimes love is a choice and Essie and Farrendel soon learn that they choose each other.

Fierce Heart is a closed door fantasy romance, which I know might put people off, but if you want a fantasy romance that is little lighter with some very likeable characters, I would say give it a chance anyway. Something I thought I would struggle with is how young our protagonists are, and yet, I absolutely loved both Essie and Farrendel. In fact, Essie and Farrendel are both about 20 years old so this could probably be classed as a young adult fantasy. This is not only because of their youth but because of the theme threaded throughout the book of finding your identity outside of your family. This quasi coming of age aspect of the book definitely lends itself to a YA interpretation.

If you like the opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine dynamic, this book could be for you. Although it’s less grumpy and more stoic. They both bring out the best in one another and one of the delights of this book is seeing them slowly getting used to and falling in love. By the end of the first book they’ve had a cute as heck first kiss and I am absolutely melting for them.

But, as well as the slowly budding relationship between Essie and Farrendel, we also have the political aspects of this book. The elves are being raided by the trolls and it is very close to all out war. A war that the elves will struggle to win without assistance. This trollish threat is what pushes the plot of this book forward and adds a real aspect of danger and urgency, especially as the book reaches its climax. I already have the next book downloaded and waiting for me as I need to see what happens next after the revelations at the end of Fierce Heart.

I really loved this book, I just know I am going to be binging the rest of this series, the main characters are charming and fun, the plot is intriguing without being over complicated and the writing is polished. If you want a fantasy romance on the sweeter side or you want something a bit lighter to read, I highly recommend giving Fierce Heart and Essie and Farrendal a try.

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