Building From Ashes (Elemental World 1) by Elizabeth Hunter-Adult Paranormal Romance
Kindle format given by author for review/ARC
For a thousand years, powerful earth vampire Carwyn ap Bryn has served others. God. His family. His friends. But tragedy and loss disrupt his peaceful existence, causing him to question everything he has committed his eternity to.
Brigid Connor has known about vampires since they rescued her from a painful childhood. But not even their vast elemental power can save her from the demons that torment her.
As loyalties are tested and new paths are forged, a lurking danger slowly grows in the Elemental World. Carwyn and Brigid will learn that even secrets revealed can come back to haunt you when you least expect it.
A continuation/spinoff of the Elemental Mysteries series. The timeline in this books stretches from BEFORE A Hidden Fire starts (so you see a little character history) until AFTER A Fall of Water finishes. As I’m sure lots of you could tell, Carwyn had quite a few things going on in his life that didn’t make it into Gio and Beatrice’s story. So Building From Ashes explores that storyline and also sets up the Elemental World for some new adventures...
My Take:
I have been looking forward to this book for a long time now. When I was first introduced to the Elemental Mysteries Series earlier this year, not only did I fall in love with Gio, but Carwyn absolutely stole my heart. This book exceeded my expectations in giving Carwyn the story he deserved.
Carwyn has been a priest for over a thousand years. He's also an immortal vampire. The element that he draws power from is Earth. He's goofy, sweet, family oriented, loyal, and charming. Well, I knew all of that going into this book, but what I learned about him here was that this man knows how to be swoon-worthy! I guess I'm not really all that surprised it's just that up until this point, you see him as Gio and B's friend, the priest, the person you go to when you need help or comfort. I loved seeing this whole new side to Carwyn. It made me fall for him even more.
Brigid is introduced to the vampire world at a very young age. The experience was traumatic to say the least. She was brought into Carwyn's clan via his son Ioan. Even though she was human, she was protected under vampire laws since she was part of Carwyn and Ioan's family. Despite the protection and love she received from this new "family", Brigid was scarred severely by her past. She broke my heart and I hurt for her. Brigid is so tough, yet fragile at the same time. She was such an interesting character to discover.
Now, for the love. You know I have to touch on it, because it's what I look forward to most in my books. As I mentioned before, we see a new side to Carwyn that made me a bit drooly. He is shocked by his feelings for Brigid. He's watched her grow up and transform into a beautiful, confident woman. She's looked at him as a crush since she was a teen. Events transpire that bring these two together. I couldn't have been happier with this match. To see Carwyn with his true mate, made me so happy. He wanted the kind of love that Gio and B shared and he finally found it.
Speaking of Gio and B....I was thrilled to see bits of them in the story. This book takes you back through the same timeline as Gio and B's story, but we get to see what was happening to Carwyn when he wasn't with them. You see a different view of the same events as well. I loved it.
The thing about this series is that it's such an interesting world. I'm typically a character based reader, but with this series you get the whole package. You meet amazing characters and are introduced to a whole new perspective on the vampire world. I can't wait to see what happens next and I have my fingers crossed that there will be a story about Ben. *wink*
If you are looking for a fresh perspective on Adult Vampire Romance, check this one out. It's so unique and beautifully written. You won't be disappointed.
Be sure to check out The Elemental Mysteries Series!
Elizabeth Hunter
Author of the Elemental Mysteries
This series sounds awesome! I have the first book. Hopefully I can get around to it soon and catch up. :)
ReplyDeleteI still need to read Fall of Water then will have to get this one. I loved Carwyn
ReplyDeleteDang... I still need to read books 2-4 of the other series. I really like Carwyn. Maybe soon I can read this. Glad you loved it!
ReplyDeleteHaven't read too many adult vamp books that did anything for me - nice to know there might be some. Good review girl!
ReplyDeleteValerie