WILD’S SCAR by Saria Bryant
Fiction, M/M, Fantasy, Book #2 in Elemental Things
4****

Blurb: Vesryn Rydel has a new Fate string—a magical bond tying him to his soulmate. Unfortunately it’s to a fae who lost all memory of his name to the human who enslaved him. He gives himself the name Fated to die. Neither want a Fate bond—Vesryn because he is a guard to the heir of the Sun Throne, and Fey because he must venture north to seal the veil between realms that ripped open with his return.  On their journey through the Wound—the barren, magic-void, lifeless wasteland that tore across the center of their continent—they must learn to trust each other and accept the memories of their past selves in order to restore both the Wild Throne and balance to their world.

THOUGHTS: This takes place in the same world as “Shadow’s World” but with different main characters. Like the first book, this has excellent world building and characters. I loved the imagery. The story is excellent – Vesryn is an elf who can’t do magic, but he is a really good royal guard. but when a “fate string” appears on his finger and is tied to the mysterious fae, he wants to fight it. But you can’t fight fate. At first, when the raven-feathered fae orders him not to follow him, Vesryn finds a way around the order. They finally meet up and fight their way across the Wound (wasteland) to the Wild Throne. They need to restore the throne, but have no clue who is going to sit on the throne. They are up against monsters as well as other fae. When they finally reach their destination, they discover what Fate has in store for them – and it’s nothing like they thought.

I really enjoyed the story. The play between Fey (the Raven) and Vesryn is really well done. My biggest problem was with naming the fae, Fey. I kept getting confused. And although the story ended… the book definitely did not. There were a lot of dangling threads, so I see a third book coming (at least). Still, if you like fantasy with a few hot M/M scenes, you’ll like this one.

Recommended – but read “Shadow’s Wound” first to get the full story of what’s going on.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”