Shadows of Lela

Lela Trilogy, Book 1

By: Tessonja Odette

Narrated by: Emma Faye

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

A forgotten princess. A deadly quest. A threat that hides in shadow....

Sixteen-year-old Cora is a princess with a dark past. Exile has kept her safe. But when she rescues a dying unicorn from a mysterious band of hunters, her identity - and her life - are in danger.

Prince Teryn has the perfect plan - win the quest, marry his betrothed, and become king. But his mission goes awry when he faces a feisty young woman in the woods. Although they meet as foes, she shares a secret that bonds them.

Teryn and Cora’s fates are entwined in a plot far deadlier than they ever imagined. Can they face the threat together? Or will a terrifying enemy destroy the land they love?

Shadows of Lela is book one in the Lela Trilogy. If you like swoon-worthy romance, adventurous quests, breathtaking magic, and surprising twists, then you’ll love Tessonja Odette’s epic fantasy tale.

©2018 Tessonja Odette (P)2019 Tessonja Odette

A fantasy youth will surely enjoy

Cora began life as a princess . She witnessed the slow death of her parents,then the slow agonizing death of her beloved sister in law and baby in birthing. Mortified, Cora was certain the smirking,evil Mordecai was behind it all! When she confronted her brother with her strong suspicion, she was devastated when he turned on her and banished her from the castle forever. She was but eight years old. Fortunately, the “forest people “ took her in and raised her.

The twin Princes’ vied for their former childhood friend’s hand in marriage.Both brothers thought he loved her, yet only one truly did. Th brother who was to be the Crowned Prince was the only one accepted to be in final competition,

This tale has several good points to consider. It is filled with action, terror and suspense.

The characters were well developed and scenes easily visualized. The Book Cover and Title were both very effective and appealing to “the browser’.


At first, the voice of the Narrator, Emma Faye, grated on my nerves. As the story progressed and more “voices “ were added, it got slightly better. The emphasis were delivered well. However, she failed to be totally consistent with the individual “voices “.

I offer a Three and a Half Stars rating.
*This book was gifted me with no pressure for a positive review. This is my honest review.

strong heroine for young girls to look up to

Cora, the main character, is a friend I’d like to have. She’s a heroine who’s strong, determined and ends up being very accomplished. I liked that she was anything but helpless and was able to make decisions, despite her secret past. I love Cora and Teryn’s dynamic! It’s so fun to read about. All together I would definitely recommend this one! I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great Story!!

I really enjoyed this book!!

Anything with Unicorns is a plus in my opinion.

Loved the characters, and how they grow throughout the story!!

Cant wait for book 2!!

A Reimagining of the Old Battle of Good vs Evil

•A memorable story!
•Tales of unicorns will always have a home in my heart!
•Coming into Odette's work, she suggested that fans of The Last Unicorn would enjoy this series. With that in mind, I geared up for a story with a unicorn hero/heroine that I could follow and gallop through adventures with. Although this story contains unicorns, they are an accent to the story, rather than the subject. While this disappointed me at first, I buckled up and geared myself for the rest of the ride. What I got was a sort of coming-of-age story about a banished princess who has to figure out what her life's purpose must be after enduring a tragic and traumatic banishment from the kingdom she once called home. What intrigued me the most is that she was not the sole focus of the story. I was able to see the land through Prince Teryn, Prince Larilys, and even Princess Mareleau. And while I would have LIKED to see and hear more from our unicorn companions, these main four are dynamic people and stirred up my emotions more than I think they should've. The only truly disappointing detail would have to belong to the ending Odette decided to go with. I was looking forward to, and wishing for a more dramatic and heartbreaking close to transition into a drama-filled sequel. After all, this is a slow-burn romance, right? Now I'm wondering how the sequel can even compare. What will be the conflict? Is anything going to happen to our heroes that will force them into action? Or will the focus be on a new cast altogether? Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this read (er, listen?) and will continue to keep Odette and her works in my reading list!
P.S. I want more Valor pls
•Once I got used to the narrator, her expression of different characters through different voices really blew me away. I especially loved her slight Gaelic accent of the Forest People. Although sometimes her voice for a male character would suddenly change and become exactly like that of another male character, so that was the only thing that would through me off in the later chapters.

Full Of Action And Adventure!

I really liked Cora's character and how she never pretends to be anyone other than herself (with the exception of concealing her past and her true identity). I liked that she became this smart, strong, and fiercely loyal person after everything she had to go through to become that person. To be honest, I enjoyed Cora and Taren's storyline far more than I enjoyed Taren's brother and Marilow's. There's more character growth and a true relationship/bond that's formed between Taren and Cora. The reader gets to see how it develops and grows and how each character changes. That's not the case with Marilow and Taren's brother. Which is mostly why I wasn't invested in their story. The narrator also wasn't bad, but her voices for Marilow and Taren's brother did begin to irritate me a bit. Overall though, I enjoyed the book and would continue with book 2.

Didn't really connect

I don't know why but I couldn't really connect with this book despite it having so many storyline aspects that I absolutely love in a book. It had multiple character perspectives, magic, unicorns, strong females, men that learn from their stupidity, and a slight natural romantic element but the writing was kind of mediocre. I liked that there was strong character development and growth. The world development was good but could use some work. The narrator definitely improved upon the story. If I had been physically reading this book idk if I could've been interested enough to finish it. I probably won't listen to it again or continue the series.

Fantasy!

Loved this story! Great fantasy, what would it be like to see and ride a unicorn! Loved the way the. Narrator read the story!

cute story

I enjoyed this book from the very beginning. I did not love the narrator however, as I just couldnt imagine the characters sounding quite like she made them (especially the villian). Cora and her unicorn were the highlights of this book for me. I dont read alot of books that incorporate unicorns so it was really different, in the best way, to have this magical creature be a part of the story. I am really looking forward to diving into the next book!

Shades of fantasy

I remember when I first read this book and it took me a while to get a clear picture of the storyline. I felt it the same listening to the book. It started slow but I found with the amazing performance of the narrator it came alive faster. She created unique voices for each of these diverse characters and helped to share their personalities and allowed me to become engaged with each of them very quickly. I still don't like Mareleau but I think I understand her a bit more this time around. The story came to life and I found myself enjoying every minute and each pov through the battle and the surprise ending. I'm excited to continue the series and see how Cora builds her kingdom back from the destruction caused by the evil sorcerer. Kudos to the author for creating such a fascinating new world and such intriguing characters.

Unicorns! Cannot miss with Unicorns!

So few stories out there that have Unicorns that I just had to try this one. And I was really pleasantly surprised. A good story about two young people meeting and falling in love. Cora, a young Princess, saves a dying Unicorn while in the woods. In the mean time a young Prince, Teryn, meets up with Cora in the woods after a twist of fate. The rest is just plain Romance. I received this Audio Book for free in exchange for an unbiased review. Good One! Well worth a credit!