Denali Day

This is soooo good.

First of all I would recommend reading the series in order as previous couples appear and the information about their culture and history grow with each book but it's a couple per book in the series.

This series is based around the premise of the Hero's culture stealing their brides to win them over.
That said it contains no dubious consent or dark themes between the Hero and heroine.
It is a matter of honour to treat her well.
It is also not a shifter book though I would show more class it as a fantasy genre with a made up world and creatures.

It is well written. The author is fairly new but this is not reflected in her work.

We have lots of details about their culture and in this book we find out about the world around them, including any other life on or around the mountain and about the creatures they fly.

The Hero is a bit of a mystery, he obviously has an issue but it takes time to unfold as the story progresses.

The heroine, at the start is taken to the whorehouse by her older husband where he is going to sell her services to pay off his gambling debts.
Although things appear bleak for the heroine in the first chapter it doesn't get too dark as she flees and meets the Hero.
It felt a bit slow burn for a while but by halfway they are sorting things out between themselves.

These too are so darn sweet.
The heroine has no self worth due to her past experiences and the poor Hero is not very good at communicating so they have some misunderstandings.

The heroine also has great strength to her character, she is a hard worker.
The author manages to have each heroine strong in their own way.

No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
This book is a bit more detailed with intimacy but that said there are no actual sex scenes, it fades to black or refers to it as having happened, this makes it a fairly clean read.
Technically, the heroine is still married when she becomes involved with the Hero but as he was selling her to a whorehouse and the heroine mentions that her former husband will likely marry again, the marriage is sort of dissolved.

There is a small hint of other woman drama, the widow at the village but the Hero and her are just friends.

Lots of breadcrumbs dropped for future books in series, for the next book and his brothers.

HEA.

Enemy plot thread is laid out in this book and will continue through the series.

Offer of prologue book for free on author website at the time of writing this review.


ARC.
This hasn't affected my opinion. I joined the ARC team as I love the books so much. show less

The ebook for Sven the Collector is free if you sign up for the author's newsletter on her website.

This is a very cute novella and it was fun to read. It's a prequel and it focuses on the 2 main characters and their immediate location, without going into too much detail about things outside the scope of the story. The world seems interesting and I'm excited to learn more about it in the next book.

The main characters are great. Colette tends to act before she thinks, which is annoying, but show more she's badass and I like her. Sven is also badass and likable. They have good chemistry, but I think that the romance would have benefited from a longer book. show less

Hollen the Soulless is Salig of Bedmeg of the Dokiri people. He is their leader and after a long wait he has finally claimed his bride. The only problem…. She doesn't want to be claimed. He and his people are the only thing keeping evil creatures from the Lowlanders, they only produce males so they kidnap their brides, mark them and commence wooing them. I loved Hollen, he's everything I love about a barbarian hero, committed, protective, patient, thoughtful, powerful and confident.

Joselyn show more Helena Elise Fury of House Fury is an only daughter. To save her house from her father's foolishness she must marry the man blackmailing her father. When she is kidnapped by a Hollen's wyvern, she knows she has to find a way to escape to save her House from destruction. Will her strong sense of duty prevent her from finding happiness? Will she sacrifice her happiness for a father who has never loved her?

Hollen's patience and care with Joselyn quickly has her at odds with herself, knowing she must do her duty but she's never been cared for so tenderly before. Hollen helps her heal from wounds she didn't realize she had.

Can I just say 'WOW!' I loved every moment. The backstory of the Dakiri, the wyverns and their people pulled me in and I loved the comparison between the Lowlanders and the Dakiri, who are the real savages?

Watching Joselyn under Hollen's care was epic romance. Their story isn't all roses, both Hollen and Joselyn face many trials and dire circumstances before they find their happiness, but it's worth every page to follow their story.

I received a free copy of this book and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. If you like my reviews I hope you will follow my blog. https://wyldheartreads.wordpress.com/ show less

Apparently the author is allergic to spice, not a single spicy scene in the whole book. Jocelyn is extremely unlikable, Hollen was well written and I loved him.