Review: A must read Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 16, 2013
Renhala by Amy Joy LutchenMy rating: 4 of 5 starsGENRE: Urban FantasyTHEME: Magic/RomanceRECEIVED: AuthorREVIEW:Now this is an Urban Fantasy you don’t want to miss out on! I was seriously brought back to when I first fell in love with Urban Fantasies, reading about complex fantasy worlds, with imaginative characters and a story that is so detailed you feel as if your really there. This story is an adventure that just kept on coming and the surprises were at every turn of the page; I can’t wait to see what happens next.Renhala follows Kailey Rooke who is trying to get back on her feet after being horribly attacked. With the push of her best friend Amber, she sets out one night and meets a mysterious elderly man who changes her whole life. She is told of a realm and that she is not only apart of it but holds a unique power of Karma. Kailey sets off on many quests to uncover secrets of the other realm as well as trying to save it. With many dangers heading her way, she and her new friends must fight together to save their worlds and stay alive.Kailey is one heck of a girl, the readers will see her character develop from a scared and sad young woman, to a warrior and devoted friend to many people. For everything that happens to her and all the information she has to take in about herself and the other realm, I don’t know how she kept it all together. She does have her freak out moments; she isn’t perfect and starts to discover her strengths bit by bit, which I felt made her a fantastic protagonist. My favorite tidbit about her character was the relationship she had with her mother, it was sweet and they had such an amazing bond.The men! I’m very fond of romances in Urban Fantasy books. I adored both love interests, even though I’m not a fan of love triangles. Conner is a sweet man who has an immediate spark with Kailey when they first meet. They do have their ups and downs, but most of the time it’s jealously. I enjoyed their development and how he too has a special gift like Kailey. Ladimer is a very unique character that is super hard to explain without giving too much away. I loved finding out about his history and he is also very protective of Kailey. There does seems to be one man that’s chosen at the end but in series, you never know who she’ll end up with until the very end.I have some favorite secondary character that I couldn’t get enough of. Let me just say there are lots…and I’m mean lots of characters that get introduced to, this is a longer and very detailed story. My two favorites were Bu and Kioto, Bu is a big, smelly creature from the other realm that I just adored to pieces and Kioto is Kailey Akita who is protective and such a warrior pup. I seriously wished that I had a Bu as a friend, but at least I do have a Kioto but he’s a German shepherd.Overall, this was an insanely creative first book. The details of the worlds and history, were just amazing, Lutchen must have had to brainstorm like crazy to create such amazing characters, creatures and magic. Kudos to her! The only thing that bothered my through out most of the book was Kailey’s best friend Amber; I don’t know how Kailey even wanted to be friends with her or stayed friend with her. She was a horribly rude and selfish character, but I loved the interesting development with Amber as well. In the end, this is a must read, the romance, magic, and characters that you will love from beginning to end, you will not want to put this book down!RECOMMENDATION:This is an adult book with some sexual content for a mature reader. Fans of Kim Harrisons Hollow series and Rachel Caines Weather Warden series will want to get there hand on Renhala asap!