Finished Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson. This is the first book in her Tairen Soul epic fantasy romance series. I’ve heard a lot of buzz about the series and thought I’d try it. Warning: There be spoilers ahead.

The book is about Rain Tairen Soul, the king of the Fey who can shapeshift into a tairen (think a black panther with wings and purple eyes). Rain’s people are dying, and he’s searching for a cure to save them — which leads him to Ellysetta Baristani, a woodcarver’s daughter who has powerful magic she doesn’t even know about. Rain claims Ellysetta as his mate, which immediately puts both of them in danger from evil Eld mages bent on war and destruction …

The book is an interesting mix of epic fantasy (humble, orpahaned woman discovers her great power/destiny) and romance (the Fey have soulmates and serious desires to claim/protect their mates that you see in a lot of paranormal romances). The world-building was solid, and you’ve got several nice characters without getting into the tough-to-keep-track-of cast of thousands that often populate epic fantasy books. (Seriously, you need a scorecard to keep track of characters in books like Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series).

I liked Ellie’s character a lot and look forward to seeing her grow and become more powerful in future books. I wasn’t as keen on Rain, mainly because he spends a lot of the book being an overly possessive alpha male (which, as I’ve said before, isn’t one of my favorite character types). I also really enjoyed the members of Ellie’s guard and her twin sisters and hope they get more chances to shine in the future.

However, I had one problem with the book, and that was the ending — or lack thereof. The book ends with Rain and Ellie strengthening their bond after a disastrous dinner at the royal palace. But there’s no resolution to the other plot threads, and the story cuts off in mid-stream, while several important things are cooking. (I mentioned I was reading this to a fellow romance writer, and she warned me about the ending. Now, I see what she meant).

I realize this is a series, and there will be some cliffhangers, but there wasn’t even a note at the end that said “To be continued.” The second book in the series came out almost immediately after this one, but still, I would have liked a note or some indication that this was the end, and I didn’t have any missing pages. I’m wondering if the book was originally longer and got split in two pieces. Does anyone know?

Overall, if you like an epic love story with your fantasy, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Still, I have to go split decision on this one. Thumbs up to the overall story and world building, thumbs down to the abrupt ending. But I’ll be getting the next book to read because I want to see Rain and Ellie kick some Eld mage ass. 😎

Up next: Goblin War by Jim Hines.

Books in my TBR pile: About 15.

What about you guys? What are you reading right now?