Hello everyone!
I say this quite confidently, as I'm reasonably sure that the couple whose story we're covering in this particular book WILL return for SEVERAL more books, not just one or two more, which makes me all giddy and excited!
C. L. Carhart is an author I've been following since very randomly picking up Gift of Fire over on Booksirens, and I have to say I haven't been disappointed yet.
She writes magnificently well, and as I'm currently slowly making my way through His Name Was Augustin series - with gusto and much enjoyment, taking my time - I can definitely say that each new book seems to get better than the last.
So without further ado, let's jump right in, shall we?
We're headed to the 19th century with a brilliant witch of light and the undead Black Priest who claims her as his consort, which unleashes a whole host of problems ... in Claimed by the Undead.
Imperative to read before diving into this one is Gift of Light, a prequel novella in the Elemental Bloodlines series, because it introduces us to Helena and Konstantin, gives us Beauty and the Beast to the max, and then you get to thump back down to reality when you try to figure out:
how WILL a living, breathing witch manage life with a priest who's been brought back from the dead, is technically not even alive anymore, wants her more than the air they breathe and has a hair-trigger on an anger that can flatten anyone within miles?
Welp. That's what this book's all about, y'all.
Helena is perfectly ready to start her life with Konstantin, but she does firstly catch her brother trying to sneak off with someone from the Teuton Brotherhood - a rather incompetent group of fools who think they can go against a Black Priest and win - to try and storm Konstantin's castle.
Thankfully, she manages to put pause on that one, but her father, who equally doesn't support this misuse of logic, does say that the village will be having a hard time over winter since he didn't bring back supplies after the misadventure with Konstantin.
And oh also, he'd feel MUCH better if Konstantin could somehow have someone vouch for him, ya know.
Helena hatches a plan with her beau how they'll make sure the village makes it through the winter unscathed (Konstantin will gather the necessary items and they'll distribute the care packages in the night), and she gets a glimpse of just how possessively dangerous Konstantin can be when someone threatens the woman he loves.
With the autumn sacrifices to Woutan, the demon lord who rules the Black Priests, done with, Nemo, the other one living in the castle, is off into the big wide world, and Helena can officially move in with Konstantin, who begins teaching her deeper aspects of her light magic, so they can safely enjoy each other's company in the astral plane.
Then a little girl goes missing from Helena's village, Helena herself gets called unsavoury names after attending her sister's bachelorette party, and you can just tell life is NOT going to be easy for these two lovers, even if Konstantin's former mentor vouches for him to Helena's father.
Listen. When you choose to tangle with the undead, there's bound to be complications, m'kay. That's just how it goes, and I LOVE that Ms Carhart is addressing this, and it isn't all honey and roses.
Another child goes missing, and Konstantin suspects Nemo, because what emerges during all these back-and-forths, explained by the mayor of Helena's hometown, is that one of Konstantin's predecessors made a pact with the mayor at the time, that no magic wielder will live in the village, and the village will leave the castle alone.
The current mayor let Helena's father and his children stay, but effectively the pact has been voided since Helena started using magic, and then of course Konstantin started poking his nose in ... which means Nemo's probably been sneaking the children off based on that.
No pact to respect, he can do whatever he wants, right?
Konstantin promises to handle him when he returns for the spring sacrifices, but first he and Helena go to visit his twin sister Sissi in her convent - where she's been recovering from the abuse a cardinal inflicted on her.
And then the cardinal gets released, the demons Konstantin called to haunt him exorcised, and apparently he's back to this convent, which means Konstantin swoops in, and grabs the Mother superior while he's at it.
Turns out the cardinal had accomplices.
It's a wide ring that Konstantin will be dismantling for a while, we're sure, but he's got bigger problems at that moment.
Nemo walks in during the sacrifices, with ANOTHER victim, this one a girl who met Konstantin when he was visiting the village with Helena, anddd this means Woutan summons his servant to his realm.
Enter stage: torture, because the demon really doesn't like his Black Priests forming any attachments other than to him, they must love him unconditionally for bringing them back to life, otherwise there's hell to pay.
Konstantin manages to warn Helena, in part, but unfortunately, as he gets a revelation during his torment that Woutan is lying about the promises he makes - no idea from where or who this is coming from, yet - Woutan decides the punishment must be made more severe.
Helena, returning home from studying with a forest witch to deepen her understanding of magic (and also making new friends along the way who I'm sure will be able to help her if needed), finds her village decimated.
Including her remaining family (her brother ran off, probably to join that silly brotherhood).
Woutan sent Nemo to destroy it, as punishment for Konstantin, and then, because he's such a magnanimous overlord, sends Konstantin to Helena in her distress.
Which is where the book cuts off.
Five stars for the absolute BEAUTY of this plot and how much it unearths about the Black Priests, Woutan, and the complexity of all these bonds in the Teuton world. Also, this was an ARC, in case it isn't obvious yet.
As I've said before, I'm very much in love with Ms Carhart's fictional world, and I keep returning to it again and again on purpose. 'Gift of Light' was one of my favourites of hers in the 'Elemental Bloodlines' series, so to actually get a full blown, fleshed out story about Helena and Konstantin? Sign me up!
Warning though, this one's a banger and tear-jerker.
Setting: 19th century Austrian countryside in the mountains, however, I will say that some of the linguistic choices used feel quite modern to the time period, or maybe it's just me. I might be too inundated with how I THINK people spoke back then ... I'll work on that one.
World: we're getting more and more about the Teutons and I love it. If you think we got it all in Bloodlines you'd be vastly mistaken, because that only scratched the very surface, and the deeper you go into these books, the more you'll know. I HIGHLY recommend.
Main characters: Helena and Konstantin are Beauty and the Beast in a story about what happens AFTER Beast gets Beauty, and doesn't turn into a handsome prince (he's handsome anyway, he doesn't need to turn into anyone else, lbr). How do you navigate a relationship with someone who's undead, bound to a wicked demon, and his anger can flatten everyone in a wide radius? How do you conceal your love for someone so pure from the master you purportedly serve? Those and other questions are all answered, to a degree, in this book.
I do have to mention however that Helena is a little bit ... well. Girl, you CANNOT just think you'll be making bargains with the demon overlord everyone's terrified of in your community. Really now.
Side characters: I like the sprinkles of information throughout, and loving the shout-out to Wolfgang, a character you just have to read OTHER books by Ms Carhart about to know, and people like Ludolf or Kazimir and even Woutan himself who we actually see and interact with in this one give this book a very grand shine. I'm loving it! They all bring something to the table that I wasn't expecting, and it's brilliant.
Magic system: we've already gone into a lot of the nitty-gritty, but the more we deal with these priests, the better we'll learn about it, and I, for one, can't wait.
Overall, this is another banger by Ms Carhart and I can't recommend it enough. It ends on a massive cliffhanger so be prepared to continue the journey!
Helena, Konstantin, I'm rooting for you. You got this!
As I've said before, I'm very much in love with Ms Carhart's fictional world, and I keep returning to it again and again on purpose. 'Gift of Light' was one of my favourites of hers in the 'Elemental Bloodlines' series, so to actually get a full blown, fleshed out story about Helena and Konstantin? Sign me up!
Warning though, this one's a banger and tear-jerker.
Setting: 19th century Austrian countryside in the mountains, however, I will say that some of the linguistic choices used feel quite modern to the time period, or maybe it's just me. I might be too inundated with how I THINK people spoke back then ... I'll work on that one.
World: we're getting more and more about the Teutons and I love it. If you think we got it all in Bloodlines you'd be vastly mistaken, because that only scratched the very surface, and the deeper you go into these books, the more you'll know. I HIGHLY recommend.
Main characters: Helena and Konstantin are Beauty and the Beast in a story about what happens AFTER Beast gets Beauty, and doesn't turn into a handsome prince (he's handsome anyway, he doesn't need to turn into anyone else, lbr). How do you navigate a relationship with someone who's undead, bound to a wicked demon, and his anger can flatten everyone in a wide radius? How do you conceal your love for someone so pure from the master you purportedly serve? Those and other questions are all answered, to a degree, in this book.
I do have to mention however that Helena is a little bit ... well. Girl, you CANNOT just think you'll be making bargains with the demon overlord everyone's terrified of in your community. Really now.
Side characters: I like the sprinkles of information throughout, and loving the shout-out to Wolfgang, a character you just have to read OTHER books by Ms Carhart about to know, and people like Ludolf or Kazimir and even Woutan himself who we actually see and interact with in this one give this book a very grand shine. I'm loving it! They all bring something to the table that I wasn't expecting, and it's brilliant.
Magic system: we've already gone into a lot of the nitty-gritty, but the more we deal with these priests, the better we'll learn about it, and I, for one, can't wait.
Overall, this is another banger by Ms Carhart and I can't recommend it enough. It ends on a massive cliffhanger so be prepared to continue the journey!
Helena, Konstantin, I'm rooting for you. You got this!
xx
*image not mine
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