Hello everyone!
It can also, like any other magic or power out there, be used for dastardly and evil things, and it's one of those situations where you really just want to keep to the bright side, you know?
Dana C. Brentson is an author I would say really bears watching and paying attention to, if her debut full length novel is anything to go by.
And what's better, the book's official release date is TODAY!
Yep, that's right, you can go ahead and pick up your copy right now if that's what you want, and honestly why wouldn't you?
There's action, there's magic, there's mystery, there's love ... it has a little bit of everything.
Even the pickiest of readers should enjoy it. So without further ado, let's have a look at Her Latent Charm, shall we?
Now last week, if you remember, we talked a little about Bryn in Grim Imperative, the series' starter novella, and don't worry, we'll get back to him real soon again. But we have to start with our protagonist, Lila.
Lila was kidnapped from her family at such a young age she can't really remember anything, but she does remember being with the slavers and eventually being bought by the captain who offered her freedom and family. She grew up with him and his crew, on his ship, loving the life of the high seas and the merchant runs they did on the regular.
She also couldn't explain the random pops of unknown things that happened around her, which is where we clock into the story proper, actually.
See, she takes a tumble off the crow's nest and is caught by some invisible force before she can splatter down on the deck, and she finally starts to try and understand this connection to a power she has no clue about, but which resides within her. She also, conveniently, finally allows a crew member closer to her (name's Hunter, mind you) and they start a relationship which has grown from childhood friends to now almost-lovers.
So it kind of seems like she has it all - until she doesn't.
After rescuing them all from the vortex of a deadly storm, they run into slavers, exactly the same slavers Lila was originally kidnapped and sold by, and unfortunately they've now acquired someone skilled in rather dastardly magical arts who helps subdue her by placing some sort of ... I'd say cloaking or controlling spell on her, though how it looks like is that she just sees the world in greys and has no emotions of her own.
Basically, he cuts her off from the Ambience, and her emotions, and then they lock her up so they can take her to their destination and sell her.
This is where she meets Bryn, on his uncle's ship, and while he feels bad for her he can't really do much, not that it's a problem since Lila's busting out of there herself. She literally manages to break through Derth's control on her and, in the ensuing fight, not only makes the ship explode, killing everyone on it, but also links herself to Bryn - which means that if one of them dies, the other will die too.
Marooned together, Lila's initially wary and wants to strike out on her own, but then surprise! She actually didn't manage to kill everyone, because Bryn's uncle and Derth are hunting them, so Bryn and Lila hightail it into the wilderness together. Their goal is to reach Bryn's old stomping grounds if they possibly can, resupply, and then disappear into the mountains, but it proves difficult because it seems Derth still has some sort of connection with Lila which enables him to track them easily.
Of course they also get nabbed by other traders in the process, and Lila can't seem to access her powers, to boot, but, as you do.
After a few other mishaps, they finally make it to what should have been a safe haven, though they know they can't rest there long, but they're there just long enough to reconnect with one of Bryn's old buddies, an older man named Sam, who promises to take them to a hiding spot they can stay at for some time and regroup.
Then the uncle pops back up again and they have to run like the wind, getting separated from Sam, first, but eventually reuniting with him on the road; and thankfully so, too.
Because turns out, Sam's an Ambient as well - just not as powerful as Lila because he's only linked to one spirit, while Lila's almost a conduit and can call on pretty much any spirit in vicinity and the power of that pool.
See, at some point in time, there were PLENTY of Ambients around, and then something happened that left only Sam behind to teach the new generation, once it showed up, but unfortunately he's never taught someone quite like Lila so he's kind of making it up as he goes along. He does, however, teach her how to sever the link with Derth so they don't have to worry about the man spying on them anymore, and takes Bryn and Lila to his cabin in a hidden valley in the mountains.
Once there, he and Lila can slowly make progress on her studies, as he explains that her powers are rooted in her emotions, and the more out of control she is, the more uncontrolled they would be in response. There's also tons of history there in that place which Sam won't talk about, and also random spirits that Lila can see who also don't really give up any of their secrets (but we can all infer Sam was married and had at least one child, at a time).
Oh and, in case you were wondering, Bryn and Lila finally admit they have feelings for each other and decide to see how this will play out, although Lila's worried that the feelings aren't real and are just a product of this bond she's established with him.
Once they get attacked by assassin hunters the man's uncle sends after them, though, they decide they might as well take the fight to him, so they trek out of there with Sam again, back to the city which was originally Lila's home ... and where she gets the shock of a lifetime when it turns out that, contrary to what she's been told about her original crew (and family), aka they all died, plenty of them survived and are beyond glad to see her.
One of the survivors happens to be Hunter, so you can imagine THAT awkwardness, but at the very least he later admits he isn't even sure he can love Lila with the fierce emotion Bryn feels, so, we solve it pretty quick.
The captain and the others agree to help with the whole, Bryn's uncle and his magic pet problem, but before they do it, Lila and Bryn choose to sever their bond so that they won't be in danger that way - which almost proves to be problematic because she can't feel him anymore and therefore can't locate him when he suddenly goes missing.
There's really only one place he can be though, so off they troop for the confrontation, which ends with Bryn's uncle and his cronies dead, Derth disappeared into the ether, and Lila almost mortally injured, but she manages to heal herself, and then Sam heals her the rest of the way.
Just when you THINK all's well that ends well, they get summoned to the palace to stand in front of the king, who reveals that his family actually has Ambients in their lineage so he knows a thing or two about the power - and oh, by the way, Sam used to be an advisor and tutor for a great-great-great-I don't know how many times removed grandfather, which was how they were even recognized in the first place.
And what does the king want, you ask? Well, he wants to protect his kingdom, so he's putting Lila's captain in command of the royal navy to patrol the coasts, and Lila & Co will be going with him to see if they can't root out the slavery business once and for all.
You might also be wondering, but what about Lila and Bryn? Well, they decide they don't like being separate since they've grown so used to hearing each other's thoughts, so Lila attempts to connect with him again the way she did before - only it kind of goes slightly differently, as in the aftermath, Bryn seems to be connected to one of the Ambience spirits himself, which boosts and bolsters him, but I'm not sure whether it also gives him some powers or not.
Either way, however, the ship sails out, and while Derth is still out there, and the mystery of just who Lila was being delivered to remains, the story overall ends on a happy note as our cast and crew look out towards the horizon.
Fin!
I want to preface this by saying I was generously sent an ARC so that I could review it ahead of its publication date.
I also should have been reading a different book entirely but ... well I dun wanna. LOL. So Her Latent Charm it was.
I also should have been reading a different book entirely but ... well I dun wanna. LOL. So Her Latent Charm it was.
And listen, I say this as someone who always, ALWAYS has problems with female protagonists. A female protagonist, and a love story to boot? Forget it. I might as well just DNF there.
Not with Lila though. Lila manages to grow from a relatively helpless girl to strong, reasonably independent woman, which I love because she doesn't automatically know everything once her lessons begin but she makes mistakes very in tune with her character and faces consequences. Some are obvious but based on the ending some are probably less so. She also has just enough of a mysterious past which we sort of see glimpses of to make readers want to learn more. I want to know who Penelope is, or the red haired guy who calls her "Little Flame", or why she feels that she should know something there at the end, at the palace.
There's way more to her than we know, and we barely scratched the surface, because all we know is she was sold as a little girl, but we don't know where she was taken from and from who. My guess is that may be more closely tied to what Sam isn't saying than we know.
Speaking of Sam, I have to read HIS short story. Because HIS past will probably come play a big role too, eventually, based on what we've already seen with the king. Also we all love a soft-hearted, grumbly old geezer who serves as guide and mentor and makes sure to let everyone know the PDA is NOT what he signed up for!
Bryn is also a great companion and love interest because he experiences a growth of character right along with Lila, particularly from the starting point of his novella. He also, thank every deity out there, knows not to go green with jealousy every 5 seconds, which is a balm to the eyes and soul and nearly made me cry with relief.
I am here for relationships where participants act like partners, run into problems, sure, but own up to their mistakes, talk about it, learn from it, and stand united against the world. Plus make a kick-ass team in the process.
The rest of the supporting cast is wonderful and circles out this found and chosen family, and the villains are honestly pretty great. I was literally dragging my hands down my face halfway through the book going NOT AGAIN but quickly recognized the brilliance of the move - plus it's not quite over yet either!
The magic system, or powers really, is intriguing and I can't wait to learn more about what this means for Lila - and Bryn. The world feels real and lived in, and there's still so much more to explore, I think.
So I'm on board with this. I am absolutely on board with and of this ship - literally and figuratively. The pacing is good, we have family, we have love, we have conflict, we have Master Yoda minus being green and wrinkly teaching us stuff. Honestly my only minor quibbles are that there were some grammatical errors but, well it's an ARC lol. They sometimes have them, and the finished product turns out swell.
Huge thank you to the author for allowing me to accompany her on this journey. I can't wait to see what's next for Lila and her crew!
Not with Lila though. Lila manages to grow from a relatively helpless girl to strong, reasonably independent woman, which I love because she doesn't automatically know everything once her lessons begin but she makes mistakes very in tune with her character and faces consequences. Some are obvious but based on the ending some are probably less so. She also has just enough of a mysterious past which we sort of see glimpses of to make readers want to learn more. I want to know who Penelope is, or the red haired guy who calls her "Little Flame", or why she feels that she should know something there at the end, at the palace.
There's way more to her than we know, and we barely scratched the surface, because all we know is she was sold as a little girl, but we don't know where she was taken from and from who. My guess is that may be more closely tied to what Sam isn't saying than we know.
Speaking of Sam, I have to read HIS short story. Because HIS past will probably come play a big role too, eventually, based on what we've already seen with the king. Also we all love a soft-hearted, grumbly old geezer who serves as guide and mentor and makes sure to let everyone know the PDA is NOT what he signed up for!
Bryn is also a great companion and love interest because he experiences a growth of character right along with Lila, particularly from the starting point of his novella. He also, thank every deity out there, knows not to go green with jealousy every 5 seconds, which is a balm to the eyes and soul and nearly made me cry with relief.
I am here for relationships where participants act like partners, run into problems, sure, but own up to their mistakes, talk about it, learn from it, and stand united against the world. Plus make a kick-ass team in the process.
The rest of the supporting cast is wonderful and circles out this found and chosen family, and the villains are honestly pretty great. I was literally dragging my hands down my face halfway through the book going NOT AGAIN but quickly recognized the brilliance of the move - plus it's not quite over yet either!
The magic system, or powers really, is intriguing and I can't wait to learn more about what this means for Lila - and Bryn. The world feels real and lived in, and there's still so much more to explore, I think.
So I'm on board with this. I am absolutely on board with and of this ship - literally and figuratively. The pacing is good, we have family, we have love, we have conflict, we have Master Yoda minus being green and wrinkly teaching us stuff. Honestly my only minor quibbles are that there were some grammatical errors but, well it's an ARC lol. They sometimes have them, and the finished product turns out swell.
Huge thank you to the author for allowing me to accompany her on this journey. I can't wait to see what's next for Lila and her crew!
xx
*image not mine
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