Tainted Waters: A Dark Paranormal Fantasy Novel

Paranormal Peacekeepers, Book 1

By: Lucretia Stanhope

Narrated by: Joan Dukore

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Half witch. Half light elf. Welcome by neither. 

Alice is alone and desperate to fit in at her aunt's coven when she embarks on a dubious quest for cave nettle.

Dark elf.

Decker is a leader running out of time. Isolated from the main cave system due to a hex making the water in his cave toxic, even the war his clan demands won't save them. The two must put aside centuries-old survival instincts and work together to save lives and preserve the fragile treaty between the coven and clan.

©2018 Lucretia Stanhope (P)2018 Lucretia Stanhope

Wow

I got this ARC via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. This book was confusing from beginning to end. A good confusing because it was so well done by the narrator. Alice and the White rabbit, elves, witches, mages, undercover agents, spelled water, half human, half elf, and so many other strange things including a betrayal all combined to make this book a wow read. Loyalty tested, eating creatures for rituals, creating events in peoples minds that makes them loony all were included. Although it is described as a dark paranormal to me it is really not but is a good tale.

A thrilling tale!

I found myself thoroughly engrossed with Lucretia's tale because I love and live for all things supernatural and paranormal. The story revolves around the halfling witch Alice going into a cave, hunting for nettles. Unbeknownst to her, the cave is filled with dark elves that despises witches for good reasons.
She soon discovers that she's a part of a prophecy to undo a terrible her placed on their water supply but it doesn't mean Alice is safe from the dark elves. This story has many plot twists and character of that will have you guessing who's truly friend or for for Alice. A great read that I highly recommend.

The Story is More Tainted than the Waters

I was given this audiobook but the review is voluntary.

The cover and the description were captivating and I quickly requested to listen and review!

I suppose if you want an easy-to-read and ‘in for the ride’ non thinking book, this may be a book for you.
However, I never felt like I gave a flip about the dark elves’ tainted water nor the plight of the Alice, whose background is the typical mysterious, poor-me-I-don’t-fit in but now the witches wanna kill me because I betrayed them.
She comes across as TSTL who only has a sharp tongue when it suits the flavor of the moment but is more often an insipid dull flat character.

Decker had a creepy voice. Maybe it was supposed to be like that. But for what he does to her (to save himself), it was written so flippantly and she accepted it. Like. WHAT did I miss?

Jasper, the elven mage or whatever, knows WAY too much about witch magic. The reasons he gives is far fetched.

I love fantasy, but I’m really starting to wonder where I can find a good book. This is not the first elven book I’ve picked up in which I’m left with such a deep disappointment.

Is it too much to ask for real characters who have a distinct personality but grows? These characters are wishy washy and act like elementary kids .....

Tainted Waters

I really enjoyed listening to this audio, it is a different take on elves and witches (and others). I look forward to reading the next book in the series. Alice is a witch I would enjoy hearing more of.

Great story

I really enjoyed this story. It’s well written with twists and turns you won’t see coming. Alice is a young untrained witch that forms an unlikely alliance with Decker, a dark elf. Jasper is an Oracle who helps train Alice so she can fix the water her coven has tainted. Witches and elves, magic and spells make this a great story

Joan Dukore did a good job with the narration. She moved between characters easily bringing the story to life

very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Tainted Waters

This was a fantastical story of covens and elves.Alice is being 'hazed' and is sent to find nettle in a cave.What she finds is the unexpected.An Elf patrol.How the heck will she escape this mess?I enjoyed it. Joan Dukore was a very fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

When there's only your enemy to trust

Tainted Waters takes place in a world where witches, light elves, and dark elves are in perpetual conflict. A cold war between the group simmers and it won't take much to spark a hot war. Despite the inherent animosity, strange allegiances form between witches and elves. But can anyone really trust anyone else? Trusting your natural enemy for benefit and survival is the theme at the heart of Stanhope's novel.

A coven of witches and a clan of dark elves share a forest, both want access to its resources. Their forays into the woods bring them in deadly contact and conflict with one another. Alice--half light elf and half witch--is a new member of the coven. As many of the characters point out, Alice shouldn't exist. A union between a light elf and witch shouldn't happen, but she does exist and her mixed blood gives her unique abilities which makes her dangerous to everyone. Alice is young and still in training, hardly aware of her strengths.

Someone in the coven sends her to a cave to search for nettles. The cave is the home of the dark elves that share the forest. Alice is captured and questioned. She would have been killed straight away and cut up for her bloody bits but the dark elves are intrigued by her lineage. They also have a problem. They believe a witch has poisoned their water supply and the leader of the clan decides to use Alice to remove the hex. Alice realizes she was sent to the cave to die. Someone in her coven wants to be rid of her and maybe start a war. Alice decides to help the dark elves with their water. She doesn't have a lot of choices. Complications abound as Alice discovers her worst enemies might be her best friends.

Regarding the narration, I found the reading a bit flat. It was serviceable and easy to listen to but I thought it could have been better. But don't let the narration stand in the way of a great story.

If you enjoy stories about magic and twisted allegiances where it's not clear anyone can be trusted, you'll love Tainted Waters.

A very original fantasy novel

I'm not sure what I expected with this novel, but it sure wasn't what I read. From page one it just felt different, one of a kind and unpredictable. It turned out to be just that.

The main character, Alice, a young witch, is sent on a simple errand by her coven to find a cave dwelling plant. Except this simple errand turns out to be a setup, a suicide mission as she finds herself surrounded by angry elves. Try as she might to explain away what happened, there is no way around it, this was no accident. Someone at the coven deliberately sent her to her death. However, things don't turn out quite that way. Alice convinces the elves that she can fix their water that was hexed. But since witches hexed it, they clearly feel they can't trust her. A truly character driven piece.

I won't give away any more of the story than that. I will say that the book has one surprising twist after another and many of the characters you spend most of the book trying to decide if they are good or bad. Most, you decide, are in fact gray, with many, many layers. The only one who is completely unquestionable is Alice who goes from a sweet, innocent trapped in a snare, to a brave hero, unafraid to face any challenge.

An excellent book, well written and well thought out. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

An added note narrator is spot on. She disappears into the background and lets all of the characters speak in their true voice. Very masterfully done.

Great Book!

I really enjoyed this book. The narrator done a great job telling the story. A different type of story between elves and witches and the battle to fix their water. I look forward to listen to more books by this author.

Great start

Really enjoyed listening to this. Alice is half witch half light elf but she doesn’t know and thinks she’s just a witch. She’s sent on an errand to get some nettles but unbeknownst to her she’s been duped to enter the dar elf territory . She’s captured by Decker who threatens to kill her constantly but Alice doesn’t take any nonsense and battles him from the start and he grows to respect her.