Of Promises & Thorns: A Novel of Abreia

by Kenley Davidson

Genres: Fantasy, Clean Romance, Elves, Romance, High Fantasy

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 22, 2022

About the author

Kenley Davidson is a romantic fantasy author and unrepentant caffeine addict who believes in the power of storytelling and loves nothing more than a good book hangover. Her books include romantasy, urban fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, and sci fi, but no matter the genre, she writes stories of hope and redemption with characters you can root for, heart-pounding romance without the spice, and happy endings that might just make you cry.

Her favorite things (besides books) are coffee, k-dramas, cats, and playing cozy video games. And also scones.

Kenley currently lives in Oklahoma, where she cares for a menagerie of misfit house plants while waiting for her adult children to occasionally pop in for laundry and a home-cooked meal.

Find out more about Kenley’s books at her website: kenleydavidson.com

Reviews

[Lorrie (Clockworkbookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 - I needed a little more of an ending. It was so open ended that it felt unfinished, I hope we see them again.

Memorable Quotes:

“No shame in wishing that things were different, or wanting something to call your own.”

"the things we expect are not always the things that we need. And I believe at times we convince ourselves that what we are denied is the one thing we need to be happy, instead of looking for the possibilities in what we do have."

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring down a lot. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

3.5*

I liked this world and looking forward to reading more.

First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Sandy Schleich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book, but it was awfully short and quick. The ending seem to leave me with more questions. Kasia is a young woman that has been abandoned by her parents as a teen and was left with her younger siblings to raise. She is trying as hard as she can to raise her younger siblings and keep her magic secret from everyone. The country that she lives in does not tolerate magic users, and would probably kill her on site if they knew that she had magic. she also knows she supposed to stay away from the hedge that keeps the elves on their side but she ends up getting tricked to the elf side and tricked to marry an elf. One thing I do like about Kasia is that even when she is in a foreign land she does not let anyone push her around elves included. I hope there are more stories with Kasia and her elf.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second reading…
Such a good story! Kasia is a great character. I loved her devotion to her siblings, honesty with her feelings, and fiery personality. Really hoping to get to see her magic come in to play to defeat the wraiths in Legends of Abreia.

Also…It wasn’t wishful thinking in my first reading and I’m dying over how happy I am about that! I wish this was a really real part of Legends of Abreia and Dechlan and Kasia also had two books of their own because that was NOT enough of them. Please, please let them be in “The Uncrowned Prince” I just want all the characters in this series to be BFFs. I love them all!

First reading…
{First read as “Stolen Thorn Bride” in the Stolen Brides of the Fae multi author series}

The only reason I had any interest in this series is because Kenley Davidson was involved. I’ll read her books every time, no questions asked. So I almost died when I saw that this short story took place in ABREIA! So fun to take a little trip back to that world before Book 3 comes out in December. And I vaguely remember Dechlan’s name being mentioned in Book 2, so maybe he and Kasia come back in Book 3???? Or maybe that’s wishful thinking. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I should read that series again and get my facts straight.

Believable, uncheesy romance ✔️
Good plot ✔️
Well written ✔️
Likable characters ✔️

All I’m looking for in a book. And Kenley Davidson checks them off the list every time.

[Sara Casalino · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novella so much!

I liked how Kasia and Dechlan got to know each other, learning to trust and help each other. The romance was so sweet. Things were rocky at first, since they'd both been forced into the bond.

I loved that Kasia didn't back down when others tried to tell her what to do. My favorite part was when Dechlan accepted Kasia's help to dismount from the wolf. It was such a sweet moment. I loved how Kasia and Dechlan both had something to teach the other person (for example: the sparring scene) and had such a good balance in their relationship. I liked the use of the word bondmate and the strength of the bond between them.

Such a sweet romance!

[Bek*DevourerOfWords · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick, sweet read. I would love it if the author would write more stories of the different elves in Abreia, as those are my favorites, and a female human with a male elf has always been my OTP.

I also wish this would become available to purchase again, as I would love to have it in my Kindle library and not just readable only through Bookfunnel.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful story, but I would’ve liked a little more to the ending. However, I am halfway through reading the Legends of Abrea series right now, and I am happy to say that I have just read more of the story of Dechlan and Kasia there. I definitely recommend this one — especially because it does offer some important pieces of information to the other series. Also, these are delightful characters in and of themselves.

In addition, this story is free if you sign up for Ms. Davidson‘s email updates.

[Jillian Cori lippert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a new author for me. I've read one of her series of 3 books besides this one. I think she's going to be one of those authors where I end up buying all her books. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had action but the characters also grew as the story progressed. I wish she had more books with these characters.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fantasy story will hold you captive until the end. The characters have depth, banter and face many challenges. Their world is explained well and draws the reader into their hardships. I would have loved a longer story, but the ending is satisfying. A clean fantasy romance.

[H J Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely gorgeous clean romantasy. It is the perfect opener to Abreia - though this story concludes with the HEA of our dreams we are given hints to what will happen there.
I cannot recommend this highly enough.

[Katie Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short novel - read it in a day. Interesting and fun fantasy!

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one a ton but I was disappointed that it ended quickly and without a sequel. I’m glad to see this might wrap up the story line in another series, though.

[Vanessa Waller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute and short story. I’m a sucker for bondmates and magic!

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kasia’s life is definitely not the easiest, having to bring up her siblings all alone. Perhaps she’ll find some happiness. Short and well written, made me want to learn more about her.