My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Genres: YA Fantasy, YA Fiction, YA Romance, YA Contemporary, Fantasy Romance, Clean Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Clean Romance, Contemporary Fantasy |
Blurb:
Sixteen years ago, I took a vow that changed everything.
Earth had done a lot of things to me over the years. I always had desires, hopes and dreams. However, wanting to follow my own heart over duty? That was new.
Guardian knights protect the ancient heirs of Terra. This is an honor and a privilege. I was not created to follow my own path. I was bred, born, raised and trained to be a guardian knight.
The single night I let myself forget my purpose resulted in death. One moment of freedom was all it took to kill my best friend, his wife and scar Emma forever. I know that if I had been there—if I was in that back seat with Emma, I could have saved them all. I vowed from that moment on that I would never let the ways of Earth corrupt my soul.
I am Rykerian Dallard. I am a guardian knight of the first kingdom of Terra. I will stop at nothing until I find who murdered Emma's family.
I will keep her safe.
I can not, and I will not fail, not again.
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I felt the oath of the guardian knights pass through my lips in a soft whisper as I lay close to Emma: “May my melody never corrupt, may no vow I make break, may my soul never sing false, and may no heir die before my last breath.”
Excuse me while I go and SOB. I honestly didn't know what I was expecting when I started reading this novella, but I didn't plan on my heart just BREAKING for poor Ryker! His backstory way so beautiful and saddddd (😭), y'all!! It really explained a lot of his actions/feelings in The Heir. I loved getting inside of his head, especially since he explained a lot of different things about Terra (his home planet).
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| my reading experience was really bittersweet, y'all |
As always with novellas, I never want to spoil anything...so let me just say that if you were #TeamRyker after reading The Heir, you NEED to read this book. Seriously. I'm #TeamRyker even more now. 😍😭
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| #TEAMRYKER!! lol, i couldn't help myself |
Shall we share some highlights?! Heck. Yes.
As I approached her, I could feel her melody swirling free, for it was then uninhibited because of the loss of Lamont and Ara. It was the most beautiful thing, and yet the most tragically heart-wrenching thing, that I had ever heard.
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"You could never lose me," I said, wanting so desperately to kiss her to make her mine.
Note: Oh my goshhhhh 😭😍
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I attended school with her, watched over her, and I grew to love her.
Note: Oh my goshhhh
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It was my purpose; she was my reason for living.
Note: THIS IS WHY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH
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“Ryker, no. No, I couldn’t live without you. No one wants you dead.”
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She stared at me as if I were the entire world, her melody swirling within mine, and I had never felt more at home in my entire life. I wanted to kiss her. I wished sometimes that I had kissed her back then, but I hadn’t. Was I a coward? Probably, but what was done was done, and that day was long gone.
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I wished to no longer exist, but then I remembered Emma, there in my arms, broken and weak, and I knew that above all else, she needed me.
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I rolled my eyes. Of course, his melody would be perfect. “He’s horrible. Do you know how many people rave and talk about him on Terra? He’s like the most well-known heir, and it was only because of his soul,” I answered, thinking to myself that he was horrible because he wanted Emma for himself, because he wanted to create some fairytale life with her.
Note: I just—I love Ryker
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My nickname, on her lips, was carried from her breath and made alive in the air. She had a way of making everything seem so simple, like breathing. Only she could break me down to just my basic self, with one basic syllable: Ry.
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I paused as I let part of my melody free, and I listened as it reached out to her. I watched as she moved closer, her melody reacting to mine. Could she sense me?
I'm just...I'm not okayyyyyy
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She cared about me too much. I couldn't survive if I lost her. I could not live, could not accept more air into my lungs if Emma were to no longer exist.
CAN YOU HEAR ME SOBBING?!
Could I share more highlights? Oh yes. Absolutely. But this is (hopefully??) a spoiler-free review, SO NO MORE HIGHLIGHTS EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL. Read the book, y'all. Read The Heir first (if you haven't already), and then binge the HECK out of this one.
As far as content goes: No language (that I can remember anyway, lol)! Emma and Ryker do share some intimate moments, but they weren't as passionate as her moments with Shad...so I wouldn't deem them as inappropriate. Ryker makes an observation that "Earthlings" might drink and do drugs to numb themselves from pain. Grief, anxiety, depression, and anger are some of the major feelings that are experienced and talked about. I personally wasn't triggered by any of this, but other readers might be...so please take that into consideration. There was a darker side to the souls/melodies concept, but nothing too dark.
Can we talk about that ending? THAT. ENDING. It snuck up on me so darn fast and just left me wanting even more (which is why I've already started reading Shattered Heir, lol). This novella reallyyyy is a great addition for the series, y'all. And Ryker reallyyyy has my heart...sorry Shad. 😬🙈
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About the Author:
