Beyond the Rift by Alana Ankh

Title: Beyond the Rift
Author: Alana Ankh
Series: Elemental Lovers, #1
Genre: High Fantasy
Length: Novel (260 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (October 27th 2014)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts
Blurb: Across the centuries, the Nikari, a race of vicious elemental mages, have built an empire, bringing an entire continent to its knees. The course of history seems set… until one innocent Andari mage changes everything and claims a greater prize—the heart of the Nikari emperor.

Behnivyr ‘Ivy’ Erethe knows his duty is to wed another Andari Pure-Blood. Craving one moment of freedom before his loveless bonding, he escapes his father’s suffocating protection and goes to a masquerade ball, only to unexpectedly meet a mysterious Nikari named Kris. Kris makes Ivy ache with a need he barely dares to acknowledge.

One kiss, one dance—and Ivy’s life changes forever. Unbeknownst to Ivy, Kris is actually Kristelien Fezenda, the Nikari emperor. Forced to make a difficult choice, Ivy picks love over duty and becomes Kris’s concubine.

Poorly prepared for the whirlwind of emotion Ivy summons inside him, Kris now faces the hardest battle of his life. In a ruthless world where all weakness is exploited, where allies become enemies in the blink of an eye, where love can mean death, he will have to defeat more than his own personal demons to breach the rift between him and Ivy.

Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5550

Reviewer: Tams

Review: Ivy is Andari royalty, a prince who has led a sheltered life and is being basically pawned off to a Lord for the status the union will bring. Longing for just a taste of freedom before he is shackled to a loveless union, he sneaks out one night and attends a local fair where he meets a Nikari that stirs something inside Ivy he is required to keep bound until he is bonded. Of course, his father’s come looking for him, but not before Ivy has his first dance, his first kiss.

Kris is ill prepared for the feelings Ivy stirs in him. As the Nikari emperor, it would not be in his best interest to bond with an Andari, but don’t we always want what we can’t have? The Nikari emperor can have whatever, and whomever he pleases though. Kris sets an elaborate stage disguised as a masquerade ball, inviting Ivy and his father’s of course, all in an effort to get the man who has already captured his heart, into his bed.

Against all odds and almost everyone’s wishes, Ivy becomes Kris’s concubine, and eventually his bound concubine, yes there is a difference. But the relationship is not without its difficulties. Ivy is Andari for starters, and this does not make the Nikari people happy at all, especially Kris’s cousin slash brother (can’t even get into that, you’ll have to read the book) and uncle. And the same can be said for Ivy’s people where the Nikari emperor is concerned. But the attraction, the connection and the love that Ivy and Kris share is palpable and real and they are determined to make a life together.

I absolutely loved the elemental magic and the rifts between worlds that the Nikari and their Nightwolves use to travel and fight. There are words and languages used in the story that are unique to this story, but the Author starts the book out with a glossary of terms and an explanation of this world she has created so you would be hard pressed not to understand what is going on or what is being said.

Ivy starts out as a sheltered, naïve and innocent young man who wants nothing more than to be loved and appreciated. And he finds that love and appreciation in the last place anyone would have thought. The arms of the enemy. Kris wants someone to see him. The man that he is and the man that he wants to be, and Ivy truly sees him. It was beautiful watching them grow as individuals and as a couple throughout the book.

Kris’s beloved Nighwolfe, Attcha, almost stole the book. Overbearing and fiercely loyal, the nightwolves are companions to the Nikari and watch over them, travel the Rift with them. Attcha is immediately drawn to Ivy and just as protective of him as he is of Kris. It’s very much like a spirit animal sort of relationship, which blends perfectly with the root of this story, this world being based in magic.

I think this story will appeal to many readers, it is rich with content, and unexpected plot twists. The romance is passionate and electric, while being innocent and tender when needed. The storyline and the world Ankh has written here are very original as well, fresh, and enticing.

Full of magic, danger, suspense, romance and an underlying threat, a battle for Nikari that is just beginning. I’m very excited to see where the next book, Fractured Souls, takes these characters and their peoples.

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *