4.5 stars! This was definitely an interesting high fantasy romance, with a great adventure and fast moving story that left me definitely wanting more. I think what made this more intriguing was that we have two very powerful main characters, but neither of them knows exactly how powerful the other is. They are forced on this journey together, because Callum, as a dark fae, is apparently the only one who can help Kelia gain access to the Starlit City, which as a human and Mage, she is not generally welcome. She is in search of a prodigy child who is allegedly powerful enough to stop the growing rift that is threatening their world. So she takes him from the prison he was in, with his power fully dampened by a magic collar, to the city to retrieve the child.
Their interactions are great - she has trained to suppress her emotions in order to better control her magic, and this emotional vacuum seems to not only intrigue, but drive him crazy. He’s also been locked away for the last twenty years, and he is most definitely attracted to her in more than just a physical sense. As he challenges her long guarded control, Kelia remains committed to her end goal, to do whatever she can to stop the rift and heal their world. As they get to know each other, they each start to let go of some of their strong walls, and as more secrets come to light, the back and forth is absolutely engrossing. While this is a clean romance, there is definitely not a lack of innuendo or even innate sexuality to be found, especially in places where you would definitely expect it. But the story doesn’t suffer for the lack of spice, as often fantasy is one of those genres that, when written well, can easily weave an interesting story without it. The development of their relationship is slow and deliberate, it doesn’t feel forced or off, and their story, while given a nice HEA, at least for now, leaves open a key story point that will continue to propel this series forward and have me coming back for more.