Title: Stolen Mage Bride

Author: Sylvia Mercedes

Pub. Date: May 14, 2021

Pages: 170

Pub: FireWyrm Books

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads

A brutal king. A gentle mage. A bond neither of them desires . . . nor has the strength to resist.

King Lodírhal has no choice—he must battle the human champion in single combat and save his people from slaughter.

Mage Dasyra also has no choice—she must serve her masters and channel the powerful magic in her soul for a chance to stop the deadly fae king.

But when they meet on the battlefield, these two adversaries discover they have bigger problems in store. For they are fated by the gods to be each other’s True Love . . . and the moment they lock eyes, the Fatebond awakens. Now all that matters is breaking the bond before it can be sealed for eternity.

Can these mortal enemies work together and survive the perilous journey to the Sundering Place? Or are the demands of fate—and the desires awakening in both their reluctant hearts—too powerful to be thwarted?

This will be a spoiler free review. I started reading Sylvia’s books last year, and I haven’t stopped. So, when I saw that she was going to a part of this series, I got really excited. I had no idea going in, that her short fantasy romance was going to tie into the Scarred Mage of Roseward trilogy – and I loved it.

You can check out my reviews for books 1 & 2 of that trilogy – Thief and Prisoner (review for book 3 Wraith coming soon!)

This short fantasy romance gives you the backstory of King Lodírhal – who is mentioned quite often in the trilogy but doesn’t appear right away. He’s not painted in the best of lights in the series – but Soran is definitely biased in his feelings towards the king. But I’m not here to review that trilogy, just this book.

This didn’t feel like a prequel, or a sequel, but its own thing. Yeah, it ties in, but I was invested. I could easily read a whole, full-length novel about Lodírhal and Dasyra. I’m serious. One of my favorite tropes in fantasy books is two characters having to travel and face down life threatening tasks, while slowly getting to know each other, trust each other, and fall in love. Fated Mates is a definite bonus.

I just love enemies to lovers and Lodírhal and Dasyra deliver. I swear it makes for the best chemistry. And they do have it – it’s just lacking a little due to the length of the book. Honestly, if this were a full-length novel, I’m pretty sure I would have given it 5 stars.

And like with all the books I’ve read in this series so far, they’re not long enough. My fantasy romance, Fae loving heart wants more, wants longer books! Though, they are introducing me to some new authors and their backlists…

So, maybe that’s the goal. It seems like most of the books tie into series that already exist, or are potentially in the pipeline, so I’m keeping my eyes out.

Having now finished the last book in the Scarred Mage of Roseward series, I have questions about King Lodírhal and Dasyra’s relationship and future past this short romance. Like, I’m invested. I just want more! I really loved that it tied in – seriously. It’s background information I really love having – it kind of sheds light on certain characters.

I’m loving this series and I love that these authors have come together to create it. I can’t wait to dive into the next book! If you want to check out the reviews I’ve already done – Stolen Goblin Bride & Stolen Shadow Bride. I’m definitely recommending checking this series out if you haven’t yet, and diving into the author’s other works!