Book Review: Bartered To The Fae Lord By Rylee Winters

Bartered To The Fae Lord
(Fated Mates #1)
By Rylee Winters

Elise’s life sucked; she was stuck in a dead-end job as a check-out girl at the local grocery store, she didn’t have enough money to go to college to better her life, and her father who’d abandoned her and her mother when she was only a small child keeps reappearing in her life to screw it over.

But now things have just fallen to a whole new level of crappiness even she couldn’t imagine!

Her dead-beat father has struck a bargain with a Fae lord and offered her up as his bride to save his own worthless skin.

Unfortunately, she discovers once a deal is struck with one of the immortal folk, there’s no way out…

Callum, the mysterious Fae lord, comes for her personally, spiriting her away to his cold, wintry realm. She’s given no choice but to marry him and remain his captive. But Elise isn’t about to give up––she’s concocting a plan to escape. Only she’s in danger of losing herself heart, body and soul, to this brooding, chiselled, Fae warrior before she can realize her plan.

Meanwhile, war is brewing in the Kingdom, and Callum has been ordered to ready the army of troops in his garrison to march for battle.

There are enemies in the shadows and conspiracies happening behind closed doors, and he and Elise will find themselves caught in the crossfire. Will Elise be able to find out Callum is her fated mate before war erupts around them and tears them apart? Or will she abandon him in his greatest moment of need, when she’s unexpectedly given a chance to return home?

*Bartered to the Fae Lord is a standalone steamy paranormal romance with a HEA. Each book in the Fated Mates series will feature a different couple with a complete story.*

Available At:

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My Review:

This book had a lot of potential but it didn't manage to blow everything out of the water. Another round of two of editing would have also done this book a lot of good. One thing that I hadn't come across in books that I figured out with this one that bothers me to no end is consistent exclamation points in inner monologues. Is the person supposed to be screaming in their own head? That doesn't sound fun. Also ending a sentence with an ellipsis has become a grammar pet peeve of mine from this book forward.

Elise started off like a character who was going to wreak havoc on the prince but that never came to fruition. Instead, she ended up liking where she was at and falling for him after a few days of stewing in her anger at the situation. Personally, I found it strange how she never inquired about visiting her mom (who had done nothing wrong and only tried her best to help her) or having her mom visit her. She was just forgotten in the story.

Callum got off to a very villain-esk start. Let's call what he did what it actually was: kidnapping. It was all due to Elise's father throwing her under the bus but we find out a bit of titillating information (which is a spoiler I won't be mentioning here) and it kind of put him in an icky light if you ask me. Their chemistry didn't come off correctly through the writing. It was just something that one day wasn't there and then *boom* there it goes.

The ending was a little too rushed. I would have loved to have been present when Elise went to the king and the conversation they had. I also would have liked a little more motive for the villain (whose name escapes me now) to have done what he ended up doing. There was one interaction that was creepy and everyone on edge and then *boom* everyone is proved right. I would have liked more of a lead up to it, is what I'm trying to say. Overall, it was an enjoyable book! Though, I think this author and her writing have great potential it's just not there yet for me.

My Favorite Quotes:

"Bad things can happen unexpectedly - it's a part of life."

"You don't need to feel guilty or ashamed for pursuing something you are passionate about - even if others may not understand; if it brings you joy, you should do it. "

My Rating: