Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Caledonia Destiny

SERIES: Blessed Bane Book 1

AUTHOR: Lexi Ander

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: 356 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  July 6, 2018

BLURB:

A twist of fate changed both their destinies.

The wyrbears, once a long-lived species, were being lost to the forest in their prime. A people borne of a curse, their abilities not a gift but something wrongly taken, they nonetheless live in harmony with their animal spirits. But over time the curse they lived under changed, mutated, and now what once was a refuge from the world when they became too weary is culling mathan in their prime.

Ewen mhic Friscalach, the leader of his peoples, lost his father too early and is now a widower with four children. The vow he made as a youth to break the curse afflicting wyrbears has been buried by grief and responsibility.

Roi mhic Alric, a priest of Cerridwen and seer, watched his fellow priests slaughtered and his temple desecrated. The only thing that kept him going the last three horror-filled years was the vision Cerridwen had granted him of his emancipation. If freedom came at the cost of his life, well, he was more than ready for the Otherworld.

A fated meeting upon a bloody field of battle. A wrong done long ago. Their choices could save a people… or send them into extinction. Either way, their love will be legend.

REVIEW:

I picked this book up when I saw a post on Facebook about it, and wow and I happy I stumbled on that post. Wyrbears… and the book has a dragon on the cover, how could I go wrong?

Caledonia Destiny was a wonderful find. Rich in detail, the storyline was one that drew me in and kept me captive until I got to the last page in the book. The characters were very well written and I really felt like I came to know Ewen and Roi during the story. Their tale was one of danger and evildoers, but also one of budding love.

When Ewen, a wyrbear, spares the life of a young man on the battlefield, he doesn’t know how the young man will change his life. Ewen is a widower and still mourning the loss of his wife. He was left with four children and is also the leader of his people.

Roi, is a seer and priest of Cerridwen and has had visions of his death at the hand of Ewen on the battlefield. He was supposed to die that day, but Ewen held his hand. Could the visions have been incorrect?

I loved the way the author built on this tale. Moving past the mutual distrust to bring the two men together. Along the way there were evil magic-doers and betrayal. I wasn’t sure until the very end where the story was going, but I’m happy to say it ended just the way I would have liked.

I hope there will be more in this series. I adore this world and hope it is expanded! It is vaguely historical in setting, but honestly it read as a totally different world, just with a few common elements.

I very highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

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