A Combination of Fantastic Fantasy and Remarkable Romance – 5 stars
My ReviewHearts in Exile is a story spanning sixty years, involving paladins, elves, necromancers, gods and dwarves, to name but a few. The two main protagonists, Sir Robert (Igrorio Everlyn ) and Loralee Munroviel, daughter of a High Priestess, are two young people who fall desperately and deeply in love only to be separated for ten long years, neither knowing where the other is. Loralee is banished to an island to be a Dragon Keeper with only the company of dragons and a pet snippet called Puddle. Sir Robert becomes a Holy Paladin and goes off to fight and achieve great things for king and country. A freak storm eventually reunites them. Throughout the story we learn, from the perspective of both Loralee and Sir Robert, how their lives and love began and see the tale unfold and build to an enveloping crescendo. I don’t want to give too much of the story away; it really is something you should read for yourself.
This book is the third in the Tallenmere series, and regrettably I have not yet read the first two. I am not really sure this matters a great deal though, as this book stands up perfectly well on its own.
Mysti Parker is clearly an accomplished storyteller whose imagination surpasses expectation. This is one of the few books I have read recently that I simply could not put down. Clichéd as that may sound; it really is that sort of book. To say it is well-written would be superfluous. The whole shebang is flawlessly well-executed .The characters are enjoyable and believable, and very well-developed. Having never met any of them before, I felt an affinity with them almost instantly. There are the usual; the good, the evil and the in-between, as one would expect, but these characters are a little bit more. They pull you into their world and take you with them on their respective journeys.
All in all; a unique and beautifully told story in the classic style of fantasy and romance, with all the pieces wonderfully woven together and all ends tied up.
One freak storm changes everything. Now the two of them must fight to reestablish the delicate balance of the island before the dragons take things into their own hands. Through it all, they discover the secrets that kept them, and their hearts, exiled for a decade.
Bio:
Mysti Parker (pseudonym) is a full-time wife, mother of three, and a writer. Her first novel, A Ranger’s Tale was published in January, 2011 by Melange Books, and the second in the fantasy romance series, Serenya’s Song, was published in April 2012. The highly anticipated third book, Hearts in Exile, has already received some great reviews. The Tallenmere series has been likened to Terry Goodkind’s ‘Sword of Truth’ series, but is probably closer to a spicy cross between Tolkien and Mercedes Lackey.
Mysti’s other writings have appeared in the anthologies Hearts of Tomorrow, Christmas Lites, and Christmas Lites II. Her flash fiction has appeared on the online magazine EveryDayFiction. She has also served as a class mentor in Writers Village University’s six-week free course, F2K.
Mysti reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic publication, and is the proud owner of Unwritten, a blog voted #3 for eCollegeFinder’s Top Writing Blogs award. She resides in Buckner, KY with her husband and three children.
Contact the Author:
Where to Buy:
A Ranger’s Tale, Tallenmere #1 on Amazon
Serenya’s Song, Tallenmere #2 on Amazon
Hearts in Exile, Tallenmere #3 at Melange Books
Carte Blanche by Amelia Curzon 
The title is captivating and your review made the read sound very intriguing. Fabulous review and post. Paulette
Thank you for such kind words, Paulette, and thank you for dropping by. It really is a very good book. Congratulations, BTW – I see ‘Mildred’ is doing extremely well.:)
Thanks so much for this lovely review, Amelia!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
My pleasure, Mysti. I really did enjoy it, and hope to be able to get round to reading the other two in the series soon 🙂