Customer Reviews

Strange Brews (Heartspell)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mages Eliana Daere and Damir ap Kora have competed against one another since childhood with each trying to trump the other. A gifted herbalist Eliana believes she has the right brew to finally make her opponent admit that she is the more talented magician. However, Damir manages to switch the elixir so that she drinks the potion. Not long afterward Eliana suffers from amnesia. Feeling a bit guilty Damir takes her into his home claiming to her that he is her husband. This feels right to the bewildered Eliana.

As they live together, they begin to fall in love. He fears what will happen to the relationship once she learns the truth about his deception. However, first both fear the darkness that threatens to engulf their land as the Norsk is assaulting the kingdom. Damir believes Eliana holds the key, but her memory is gone and recovery may save their people but probably end their relationship.

STRANGE BREWS is a fabulous romantic fantasy that grips the audience once Eliana drinks her own brew and never slows down until the final altercation between the lead rivals. The action-packed story line makes believers out of the audience that magic is real and that Eliana and Damir are powerful practitioners. Their competition augments a fine thriller especially when both realize they love their greatest rival. This is an appealing tale that readers of both sub-genres will treasure.

Harriet Klausner

"Brews" started out pretty interesting, but lost something along the way....or more accurately, it waxed and waned. Some parts I was really into, other parts not so much. One major drawback for me was that the Hero and Heroine seemed to have the same argument over and over again. Their relationship didn't progress normally with them tackling new problems/issues and growing continuous closer but rather jumped around abruptly from bliss to misery every other chapter with the same old issue that never gets resolve but merely festers. I put the book down at least once before finishing it. Not a good sign.

Since childhood the two orphans, Eliana Daere (the Fiend) and Damir ap Kora (the Demon), both powerful Mages of the Woodlands, have engaged in a game of `one-up-man-ship'. Their individual gifts were diverse, yet to Eliana's dismay, Damir continued to come out on top. Gifted as a powerful herbalist, Eliana felt sure that she had finally come up with a potion that she knew would finally gain her the prize she so desperately sought. By luring Damir to a meeting to declare a `truce' she was once again bested when Damir switched the goblets leaving Eliana to drink her own potion, effectively wiping out her memory!

Feeling justified in a bit of revenge for what Eliana tried to do to him, Damir brought her to his home and after she awoke with no memory of who she was, told her she was his `wife'. What seemed like just desserts in teaching Eliana a lesson came back to haunt Damir later who began to wish he could keep this sweet and caring Eliana in his life forever.

As a dark evil began to gain strength enveloping the Woodlands, it would be up to both Damir and Eliana to join forces in traveling north to battle the Norsk who were being manipulated by one of the Woodlands rogue wizards. Knowing the truth of their relationship but with her memory still lost, Eliana bravely traveled with Damir who was beginning to see the true character of the woman who had been his nemesis for years.

*** Using very strong character leads along with a plethora of likeable secondary characters to flesh out the adventure made this an extremely pleasant read. With the quest to rid evil forcing Eliana and Damir to finally work together they were both able to re-examine feelings they'd had since childhood and this developed into a lively and lovely romance. I have no trouble in recommending this book, and will be looking forward to reading the next in her fantasy romance series - PRINCE OF ICE.

Two of the most gifted and talented people in all the land are also fierce rivals. Damar is an accomplished magician and warrior, and the only man Eliana Daere fears. She is as beautiful as he is handsome and gifted in herbal arts. He does not trust her anymore than she him, but when they agree to drink the Wine of Truce, all things change. Instead of Truce, the wine is meant to be a trap Eliana will spring on her foe, making him forget everything with a sip. Yet, she is the one who drinks it, and has her memory erased, making it simple for Daere to trick her into believing they are married. Soon they find things are going on that are much vaster in scope than their petty differences and will have to work as one for the greater good. They also realize that their love is greater than hate.

This very imaginative novel has a well matched hero and heroine who strike sparks off one another. Ms. Piel creates an effective romance without relying on overly describing intimacy and is to be commended for that. She's built a whole world, one that might be worth further exploration.

Amanda Killgore

I really enjoyed this book. Those of you who have read Ms. Piel's more science fiction like novels will not be disappointed with this fantastic story. My only complaint is that the story needed a little more filling out. I would like to have had a little more detail in the storyline.