Welcome to my stop on the launch tour for Candace Wondrak’s The Harbinger!
The Harbinger (Book #1)
Genre: Reverse Harem/ Fantasy
Expected Publication Date: November 5th, 2018
Synopsis:
The rules of the Second, a list by Faith Blackwell.
One: technology doesn’t work. The Second doesn’t need electricity when it has magic. Two: don’t trust anyone. The Second’s races—the Elven, the Malus, the Ulen and the Dracon—are way too pretty to trust. Three: when someone tells you you’re the new Harbinger, believe them. Bad things happen if you don’t.
Back in the sixties, the last Harbinger permanently opened the gateways between Earth and the Second. Humanity grew accordingly. Faith is in her fifth year at the Academy, with her sight set on joining the Division, the branch of government that enforces what most law enforcement can’t, like smuggling goods between worlds. Following her mother’s footsteps has always been the plan.
Of course, she doesn’t want to follow them to a T. Her mother had awful luck with men, as did her grandma. Faith wouldn’t mind finding out what’s so special about a man that it has her quirky grandma swearing at them constantly. A field trip to the Second is just what she needs.
Being the first female Harbinger in the Second’s history and having to face down the realm’s most dangerous Dracon, also known as the ridiculously-named Dread King? Not what she needs.
Faith isn’t a hero. That sort of responsibility is not what she wants. The perks that come with it—like a sexy but infuriating Elf, a flirty Malus, and a quiet and pensive Ulen—well, maybe for them she’ll make an exception to her grandma’s no-man rule.
Maybe she’ll have them all.
The Harbinger is the first in a slow-burn, reverse harem fantasy series. Expect eventual hot and steamy scenes, coupled with the Chosen One trope, and a heroine who will reluctantly try to save a world that isn’t hers.
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My Review
Even though this was a reverse harem novel, I would still recommend it to those who aren’t necessarily fans of the genre. This first book of the series focuses more on the fantasy elements than the romance elements.
Faith is going on her fifth-year trip to the Second as a part of the Academy. She wants to join the law enforcement team that keeps the peace and order between worlds, but she doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps exactly. If everything goes well, she will get the job she wants. But knowing her luck, nothing is going to go well. Her Elf companion named Light is snobbish and hates her, and she can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Then, everything is turned upside down, and she learns that she might be the first female Harbinger.
It took me around 30-40 pages to get into the storyline, but after I got into it, I was truly addicted. I loved the slight chemistry that Light and Faith had, and for a while, I forgot that there were gonna be more men in the series. Then the others started to appear, I instantly knew that they were going to be fun to meet. They didn’t start appearing until the book was almost over, but I enjoyed the short time that I had with them.
The ending felt a little rushed, but it did end on a cliffhanger to leave us hanging for the next book in the series. I wish that the ending had been stretched out a little more so that I could keep better track of the story. Either way, the middle was the best part of the book for me.
The plot of the book had varying speeds which threw me off a little bit, but it didn’t affect my reading experience all that much. It just made me like the slower parts of the story better than the faster parts. I didn’t notice any grammar or formatting errors that would have thrown me out of the storyline either.
I would recommend this book to lovers of fantasy and reverse harem novels.
I received an advance copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Excerpt
The three males that had chosen willingly to follow in a hunter’s footsteps for a week were strong enough to string their bows, though their aiming power left much to be desired. On average, they hit their targets about one in…five.
Awful. Terrible. Light was aghast that these were supposed to be humanity’s so-called protectors.
When he was done with the men, he turned toward the final participant in his seven-day extravaganza. She was on her back, laying the sun, one arm draped across her face to shield her eyes from the light.
Was she sleeping?
Light was purposefully as quiet as he could be—which was near soundless—as he picked up the final unstrung bow and dropped it unceremoniously on her, landing it right on her stomach.
She jerked awake, blinking half a dozen times as she stared up at him. Her irises were of a pure, untainted green. They seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. They were only a level or two of intensity away from being exactly like Elven or Fae eyes. Their color…wasn’t ugly.
“That was rude,” she said, grabbing the bow and getting to her tiny feet. How did she walk on those?
“Perhaps you should not have fallen asleep during my lesson,” Light spoke, irate.
“Perhaps your lesson should not have been so boring,” she chimed, running a hand through her hair, which seemed more red than brown in the sun. “It’s memorization, buddy. Not that hard. It’s actually something I’m kind of good at.” She walked away from the two males who sat near her, studying the vellum, past the third who returned to the group after taking out the few of his arrows that made their target. “Now teach me how to shoot.”
Light smiled as he crossed his arms, the leather on his chest tight as he commanded, “I’ve already attached the bottom of the string. All you have to do is finish stringing it. It shouldn’t be too hard, since you seem to be so good at everything.”
Her bright green stare squinted at him, and for a quick moment, her eyes fell to his feet, traveling up him like she studied each part of his appearance. She stared at him too intently for his liking. Turning her back to him, she whispered, “Trust me, I’m not good at everything.” Her words probably had a hidden meaning, but Light did not care to inquire.
He watched her shoulders hunch as she sought to bend the bow—wrongly, of course—and somehow get the string to settle in the handmade notches Light had carved in them. He’d made all of the materials himself—yet another one of his punishments from the Court. That’s how he saw it, anyway.
After he laughed out loud, Light said, “Perhaps the funny one is not as strong as she thinks she is?”
She whirled to him, glowering, though the stern look did not reach her eyes. She didn’t really care about succeeding here, he could tell. “I never said I was strong. And my name—so you can stop calling me the funny one—is Faith.”
Faith.
He’d have to make certain he tried hard to not remember it.
Available on Amazon
About the Author
Hey guys! I’m a writer, an office worker, a wife, a mother to two dogs and two cats, and half of a strange pair of young adults who flip the houses they’re living in with the goal of having no mortgage (so that I can eventually focus on my writing career!). Needless to say, I’m busy.
Still, I somehow find time to write, to read, and to enjoy life. Wish there were more hours in the day, really!
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Giveaway!!!
For a chance to win a $10 Amazon GC and a digital copy of Book #2 in The Harbinger Series, called The Fellowship, be sure to enter the giveaway below!
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Great review Bri! I will adjust it on the schedule. For some reason I had you down for a promo 🤔
Thanks for hosting!