It was a fun, sweet read, but I didn't like the ending at all. Three and a half stars. ( )

Vengeance Born
3 Stars

Imprisoned by the Na'Reish king, Kalan, a light blade warrior, has little chance of survival until aid comes from an unexpected place - Annika, the king's half-blood daughter. Determined to escape her harsh upbringing and find refuge in the human world, Annika releases Kalan and the two set out on a perilous journey toward freedom with only each other to rely on.

While the world building is interesting and compelling, the characters and situations are contrived and unrealistic.

Kalan is a prejudiced jackass and a hypocrite to boot. He condemns Annika for keeping her parentage hidden when he has secrets of his own, and his rapid transition from distrustful enemy to besotted lover is not believable.

Annika's characterization is a contradictory mess. On the one hand, she is strong enough to survive brutal physical torment and social ostracism with her spirit intact, but once she encounters Kalan is constantly hurt, ashamed and undermined by his harsh words and attitude. Where did her spine go?

Given that this is a debut novel, it is necessary to mention the writing. Although the plot and the romance move along at a good pace, there is too much repetition of characters internal dialogue and emotions.

Finally, there is also excessive focus on religious beliefs. The female deity controls all aspects of the human characters' lives either by dictating their actions or confirm/rejecting their choices and decisions. This is supposedly fantasy not Christian or inspirational fiction.

All in all, not a bad read but the plotting is weak and the secondary characters are not appealing enough to continue with the series.
( )

The female is an outcast half bred but more human then her clan as she uses her healing abilities to help the imprisoned men in the dungeons. The male is one of these prisoners and though he doesn't trust her and his people hate her kind, he brings her with him as he escapes and vows to protect her. Very nice book. Fantasy elements merged perfectly with the romance creating an equal balance between the two. ( )

Getting to know the world of The Light Blades and Na'Reish was an interesting journey. Some plot twists were obvious some not so much but there were enough to keep the story going and to make this book a quick read.
Amount of romance in this book is disappointing. If [a:Kylie Griffin|4882841|Kylie Griffin|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1308683323p2/4882841.jpg] has dedicated more attention to world and character building, this would make a 4-star fantasy book, but this way sadly it is just a 3-star paranormal romance. ( )

I could not put this book down...it was engaging and wonderful ( )