Enchanting the Elven Mage

Kingdoms of Lore, Book 1

By: Alisha Klapheke

Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly, Gary Furlong

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

A human princess. An elven warrior. A betrothal bound in a curse.

Today, Aury learned three things; one, she is a princess; two, she might be a powerful mage; and three, a brutal mountain elf is on his way to the kingdom for their marriage. Aury can’t escape her newly revealed royal parents quickly enough. If they think she is going to marry some vicious elven warrior mage, they have another thing coming. They claim she’s a mage too, but she has yet to prove it. She heads to the magic military order to get her rune-marked staff and learn everything she can. If she becomes the weapon they need instead of her not-if-she-can-help-it husband, they’ll send the mountain elf packing, right? If they don’t, she will. 

Filip is certain of three truths; one, he is bound to wed a stubborn mule of a princess; two, the union will give his people the farmland they desperately need; and three, his nightmare of a bride has wild magic that will probably kill him before their wedding day. But he will die before he gives up on winning her hand. War is coming, and the first battle will be fought in the heart. 

Loosely inspired by the old tales of Sleeping Beauty, this novel is set in the same world as USA Today best-selling author Alisha Klapheke’s Dragons Rising series, but listeners can easily start with this book.

©2021 Alisha Klapheke (P)2021 Podium Audio

Good but not excellent; too brief

I’ve been waiting for this for a few months and was excited by the description, but a little let down when I read it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad at all, it’s good, it’s just not as great as I had hoped.

In part because it is a standalone (I had thought it was the first of a series with the same main characters), so the story was too short and quick. The love between the characters is too quick so it doesn’t feel authentic. Even if a stand alone, I think I would have been more satisfied if the story had been drawn out more and the book length was at least 8 hours, preferably 10-12 hours.

The story is sweet and unique, with good messages. I wish there had been a bit more backstory about the enemy, and interaction with the dragon to explain the communication and such. Lots of interesting characters and great narration.

It comes down to your credit budget: in hindsight, I wouldn’t have put it at the top of my list, but it would be in my wish list.

Absolutely Marvelous!

I read this before the audiobook came out, and it was such a fantastic read.. the audiobook definitely didn't disappoint! I loved the dual narration! This book (and series thus far) is absolutely.. ENCHANTING. ;) Cannot recommend it enough! Dragons Rising is one of my absolute favorite series of all time, and I LOVED seeing Easter eggs from that series in this one. Alisha Klapheke has such amazing talent. I can't wait to see what else she comes up with in the future. ❤️

Better than I expected

Better than I expected. Both narrators did a good job. I wish it was more a duet type read though.. Gary suffered a little on the female voice, but still did decent.

Romance and action

This was a well written and fun fantasy romance. I enjoyed the creative take on sleeping beauty, which was totally unique and different than anything else I’ve read or listened to. I loved the tension build up between characters and all the witty banter.

Meh

I was unimpressed by this book. It was unexciting and the romance was blah. I have to say I'm usually pretty easy to please with books like this but I could barely finish it.

Excellent and fully satisfying

I could not stop listening, laughing and enjoying this book! It has the perfect mixture of romance, mystery and excitement. The characters are robust and enjoyable. The main heroine is strong and figures out exactly what she wants prior to the “oh I am an idiot and messed it up” phase that’s so common. Just loved this book. I’m going to listen to this book again and have already purchased several other box sets from this author to listen to.

Kept my attention

I like the story but I found bouncing between the 2 narrators really irritating, the female did a nice job at both male and female voices the male not so much.. There was very little difference between the voices and it was hard to tell what character he was portraying. I didn't like that at all, I found it very distracting.

Such a great Sleeping Beauty Retelling!

I loved this! I had no idea going in that this was a fairytale retelling, although I’m sure I knew it at one point lol. Actually, I wish I had started with this one, instead of Stolen by the Shadow King. Now, I’m ready to read the whole series!! The voice actors for this audible were amazing!! The accents and the song Caitlin Kelly sings near the beginning was a complete show stopper! This book had all the feels. I especially loved the “misunderstanding” in this book, which I would never say! But wow the emotions that are described right after are so moving and the relationship here totally drew me in. This is an enemies to lovers, guy falls first, fairytale retelling that will stay on my list of favorites. I’m so glad I had a long drive that pushed me to listen to the audible first ❤️❤️🔥😍🧝‍♀️🐉🌊🧊

Fantastic!

So many ups and downs...I was regularly yelling at my speaker out of frustration! lol I loved the descriptions and the journey Alisha took me on.

Definitely A Fantasy Romance To Read Today

Enchanting the Elven Mage is book one in the Kingdoms of Lore series that is both an epic fantasy and a romance tale. It is written in third person omniscient perspective from the two leads' point of views (alternating chapters). Though there are implications of bedroom intimacy and clothing on scenarios, there is no explicit content in the book.

I rarely branch out of paranormal romance, but I do make the occasional foray, and I must say I was quite pleased with this particular jaunt off the regular path. Enough so, that I will read the next books in the series (the second is in my audible library already). This book has lovely world building, excellent character development, the detail of a full cast with enough information but not too much about each, a lovely young adult romance, a plot that entails both living up to responsibilities while not sacrificing one's sense of self in the process, and the setup of a solid base for further tales in this world.

Aury is our heroine whose backstory is rather convoluted. She comes across to me as very teenage angsty, but understandably so. I'm happy to say that she grows out of this as the story progresses and learns from her mistakes. She grows both intellectually as well as emotionally/psychologically and that progression is made to feel natural rather than forced as so many young adult novels tend towards. Rather than say I adored her from the start, I will be honest and say I came to like her character as the tale wove on.

Filip was a character I admit to enjoying from the start. He was a bit older than Aury, and much more worldly and the author did a wonderful job of portraying that. He was much more open, and very straightforward overall, which is rather refreshing for a male lead. His playful demeanor was a wonderful touch. Their eventual romance was all the better for the protracted lead up that involved quite a bit of awkward, if adorable, courting.

If you're looking for some fantasy with a healthy helping of romance, some great friendships of varying sorts, a nod to Sleeping Beauty, fantastic magic AND magical beasts, and a great tale of taking the world and making it yours, this is a great book to pick up.

As a side note, the audible was phenomenally well done. Both narrators (they took turns per perspective change) were very good at bringing you into the character's headspace. The male narrator had some very good accent skills.

It’s not in my top ten, but enjoyable

Well narrated and pretty well written. The story works, but lacks the impact it should have. It’s enjoyable but not as good as others in this genre