Finally. Finally done with this book. Wow. ( )

No rating, as I didn't finish the book and only made it to the 17% mark.

The paranormal romance genre is tough for me. I've found some I really enjoy. But I also find a number of well-written books in the genre that just aren't my cup of tea. This is one of those.

When 60% of the story is the female lead gushing her feelings about the male lead, I just can't take it. It just seems like the book is constantly trying to find another way to say, at length, over and over and over again, repeatedly, ad nauseam,"Oh, my. What is this feeling that rushes over me whenever I'm near him?"

Funny. Reading the blurb again, I'm not sure what attracted me to this book in the first place...

So very torn. What I liked:
-the writing was well done
-first quarter of the book before MC gets involved in relationship
-the druid character
-the characters were well written and the cast was great and well balanced
-reminded me bit of a rpg adventure/tolkein
-the beautiful world and descriptions
-the general premise of the story
-the new take on fairy tales and genre mashup is done well

What I didn't like
-the cliche and terribly unhealthy relationship between MC and love interest elf. She should have ended up with someone more level-headed and non-manipulative. The whole self-absorbed womanizer suddenly changes his ways, and pouts about and makes a scene when he doesn't get his way and they (spoiler) and it fixes him forever and makes her (spoiler) is so ridiculous and unhealthy. Probably some of the similar issues I had with Twilight.
-the sex scenes were unnecessary. It felt like they were added to try and make the book another ELJames toned down to not-quite Twilight. I am not opposed to sex scenes, I am opposed to scenes that do not further the plot or characters. These did not further anything and took the book right out of a wider audience reach because of it.
-ending fight no build up and not enough sitting in that end scene or tension. Once the MC found her love interest it was downhill. There were moments where it promised an epic journey and ending much in the light of LOTR but they somehow ended up cleaning up after trolls?
-bad guys not enough development or strong enough to understand or even care about.
-characters were under or over utilized in some cases.
- damsel in distress/perfect MC who doesn't change. ( )

I was going to give this book 2 stars, because the world-building seemed interesting - based on some european mythology you don't see that often in novels - but the more I read the less sense it made. And the characters are all immature brats (some of them are supposed to be hundreds of years old ffs!). Though I suppose I liked Sariel occasionally.

This book was also boring as hell and way too long. It needs editing real bad. When a birthday party takes half a book and the final "battle" takes half a chapter, priorities were clearly in the wrong place during the writing. ( )

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Reading the synopsis, I wasn’t sold on The Flame and the Arrow by Emigh Cannaday, I have to be honest. I thought this sounds cheesy, and doubted it would do anything but bore me. But, I thought hey, it’s free, the author was incredibly lovely in her email, and the cover looks AMAZING. Plus, if I hated it, I could always just stop. I have never been happier to be wrong about a synopsis in my life! This was such a fun and fantastic read, once I started it, I just kept going until I finished it (which meant going over my treadmill time at the gym just because I didn’t want to stop!)

The writing is solid. It is clear Emigh Cannaday knows what she’s doing. Conversations sound realistic and are fun. It feels natural, especially the banter. Her characters seem flat at first, but as they charm each other, you find yourself enamored with them as well. Annika isn’t just a wannabe rock star. She is a legitimate character that is strong and stands up for herself, while at the same time, able to show vulnerability and recognize when she’s wrong. Talvi is such a charmer and such a cad, I am absolutely smitten with him. The world building is good. I can’t say amazing, simply because most of book was more focused on characters and relationships, rather than building the world up. However, I’d love to know more about all of the supernatural and paranormal creatures and the homelands. Maybe in the second book, The Silver Thread, we’ll learn more.

The Flame and the Arrow by Emigh Cannaday is an absolute treasure. It’s fun, smitten, captivating, and really just grips you. The more you read, the more entangled you become and the more attached you grow to everyone involved in the novel. Cannot wait to start the second one!

// This book is FREE on amazon and I was recommended it by the author // ( )