Title: Lord of the Fading Lands
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Tairen Soul # 1
Publication: October 2, 2007 by Avon
Source: Purchase
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Once, driven wild with grief over the murder of his beloved, the majestic Fey King Rain Tairen Soul had laid waste to the world before vanishing into the Fading Lands. Now, a thousand years later, a new threat draws him back into the world—and a new love reawakens the heart he thought long dead.
Ellysetta, a woodcarver’s daughter, calls to Rain in a way no other ever had. Mysterious and magical, her soul beckons him with a compelling, seductive song—and no matter the cost, the wildness in his blood will not be denied.
As an ancient, familiar evil regains its strength, causing centuries-old alliances to crumble and threatening doom for Rain and his people... he must claim his truemate to embrace the destiny woven for them both in the mists of time.
One small misstep could lead to disaster. But for Aurelia, facing disaster is easy; it’s relationships that are hard.
My Thoughts
Lord of the
Fading Lands has been on my TBR for years. I’m talking 10+ years. To tackle the
ever growing TBR pile, I finally read it! The Tairen Soul is a beloved fantasy
series with raving reviews across the board, so I had high expectations going
in. The series is centered on a small village girl with hidden powers who is the
fey king’s soulmate and savior to the fey kingdom. I’m a sucker for faeries and
the chosen one/prophetic tropes.
It took a
few chapters to really get into the story. Ellie is described as an insignificant
plain Jane but as with most story goes, that’s never the real case. And then of
all the people in all the kingdoms, the most handsome warrior king has chosen
Ellie as his soulmate. This screams snowflake. Not a fan.
Even though
Ellie was the epitome of a special snowflake, behind her kind and gentle demeanor
is a steel backbone, which was surprising and appreciated. Ellie constantly
made self-deprecating comments about herself and had to be reminded over and
over from Rain, her quintet, her parents that she was just as worthy as anyone
else, even the Queen of Celieria. It got very tiring reading Ellie calling
herself a peasant and a nobody, woodcarver’s daughter. However, Ellie stepped
up to the plate when it mattered and didn’t let anyone use her as a doormat. I can
see Ellie growing into her powers and title. The book is set up in a way to
showcase just that.
Rain, the fey
king is your typical alpha male. It was a bit much, then again, his other form
is a giant black cat. I enjoyed seeing Ellie and Rain’s courtship as he tries
to win her trust (let’s just say it didn’t take long). But Rain by himself, as
the hero of the novel…I didn’t care too much for. I didn’t like or dislike him.
I’m more interested in his general Bel’s story lol (hopefully there’s a novel
for him).
Overall Lord of the Fading Lands is a good start to a series with a few flaws which is typical of first novels. With the groundwork set, I am still curious enough to see where this story goes. I do hope that the author does a better job ending the novel in subsequent books because in Lord of the Fading Lands, Wilson ended it abruptly. It wasn’t even a cliffhanger ending. Just poor execution.
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