REVIEW: A Ranger's Tale my Mysti Parker

Disclaimer: This book was given to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Type: Historical Fantasy, other worlds, series, rangers, elves, romance

About the book: In the fantasy world of Tallenmere, an elven noblewoman longed to leave her gilded cage. A half-breed former pirate wanted nothing more than to escape his guilty past. Easier said than done...

High elf Caliphany Aranea leads an enviable life as King Leopold's niece and daughter of Sirius, Leogard's most famous wizard. Yet, being forced to follow in her father's footsteps and being betrothed to a man she doesn't even like makes her want a taste of life outside the city walls. 

As a young boy, half-elf Galadin Trudeaux witnessed his parents' death at the hands of pirates. After being raised by those same murderers and forced to do their bidding, he escaped and now lives an honest life as a sea merchant and ranger. 

When two brutes at Leogard Harbor attempt to kidnap Caliphany while she dreams of faraway lands, Galadin comes to her rescue. Impressed by his skills, she asks him to train her as a ranger. Though he is hesitant at first to train a woman of her class, Caliphany's hefty sack of gold finally persuades him. Unfortunately, her father is not amused, and the two must escape before Caliphany faces a forced marriage and Galadin faces a noose. 

From that moment on she and Galadin embark on an adventure of a lifetime. Only if they can survive the trials ahead, will they find a love that stands the test of time.

My Review: This is one of those books that didn't suck me in right away, but once it grabbed me, it wouldn't let me go. For a while, my thought was "it's alright," until I realized that I was grabbing for my kindle every break and lunch hour so I could read it because I simply *had* to know what happened. 
The characters weren't as developed as I would have liked them to be, but their journey was so addicting I found myself not caring. I absolutely had to know what happened to Cali and Galadin, and I didn't  notice that this book might have been missing the little things that make characters feel a little more real.

World building can make or break a book for me, and A Ranger's Tale has a large, expansive world that I found myself desperate to explore. Author Mysti Parker did a fantastic job of making this magical world seem real. It truly felt like I only got to see a small portion of a much larger world - and I'm hoping that readers will get to see even more in the next book...

I don't get to read a lot of fantasy romance anymore - it's mostly paranormal and urban fantasy for me, so this book was a welcome, and well done, change. I hope to see more from Mysti Parker in the future. And be on the lookout for my review of the second book, Serenya's Song, coming soon.

Final Rating: FOUR out of FIVE (4/5)

The Series: 1) A Ranger's Tale, 2) Serenya's Song

Find out more about the author: Mysti Parker

Happy Reading!
~!~ Amanda ~!~

*This review will be cross posted on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com in the following weeks.