This is the fourth volume of Toni Cox's novella series. "Luke" gives the reader an in-depth look at one of lesser characters in Cox's Elemental Trilogy Series.
Luke is Maia's son, born on Earth and swept away to Elveron when Maia completed her time on Earth. He arrived with his sister, Jasmine, and his father when Maia's spell to return accidentally included them. Maia, an Elf princess, was one of two Prime Elementals in many years and that moniker imbued her with powers that were unlike any other elf alive except, ultimately, her husband, Blaid.
Luke was training to be a doctor on Earth and it was natural that he should continue his studies under the master healer in Shadow Hall, his new home. He became trusted and relied upon. Through the course of a war against the Vampyres, Luke met and fell in love with Blaid's sister, herself an Elf Princess and a Warrior from another kingdom.
This tale highlights many of Luke's accomplishments both in Shadow Hall and again in Elbendal, Blaid's sister Siana's home.
Cox manages to make the reader quickly endeared to Luke. He becomes a friend and the reader invests themselves into his life and escapades. Toni Cox is a master of characterization and dialogue. The result in this novella as in all her other work is the believability of her characters. Cox can also create great story lines and does so in this little book. Our introduction to Luke is definitely dependent upon having read her previous books in the Elemental series as she make allusions to occurrences that were highlights in the other books. For me, this was the only flaw if the author wants to make this a standalone work...there is too much assumption the reader knows the background.
The settings work amazingly well considering this is a total fantasy world (I think). Without over-the-top descriptions, Luke's world works and each setting change definitely contributes to the story line in a meaningful way.
Cox is a relatively new Independent author and previous works have had errors in continuity, spelling, word choice and phrasing. After reading "Luke" twice, I found one error.
All in all, this is a simple, quick read for anyone who loves pure fantasy but I would recommend that readers invest time in either the previous books in the Elemental Short Story series or her Elemental Trilogy.
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