The Twilight Lord (World of Hetar, Book 3)

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Goodreads synopsis: Lara, Domina of Terah, has mysteriously disappeared while visiting the New Outlands. The Dominus is frantic to find his beloved wife, but when no trace of her can be discovered, Magnus Hauk turns to two strong allies—Prince Kaliq of the Shadows and his mother-in-law, Ilona, the most powerful of the faerie queens. Who has stolen Lara? And why?

In the Dark Lands, Kol, the Twilight Lord, revels in his victory. The faerie woman Lara is now his possession, and her powers will soon help him to conquer first Hetar and then Terah. But the Emperor of Hetar is hatching schemes of his own—having learned of Lara's disappearance he believes Terah is now vulnerable, and plans to go to war against Magnus Hauk. 

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, HQN, 2007.

How acquired: Borrowed from the library.

My thoughts: I gave the first book in this series two stars on Goodreads, and the second book got three stars. I liked this one even more. I found the story to be much more engaging than in the first two books. As in the previous books, lots of references to "man roots" and "seed sacs" and "love juices", the sex scenes were are not very sexy, the children talk and act like adults, and none of the characters had much depth to them. But the plot was interesting and I enjoyed seeing the women of Hetar rise up and rebel against the emperor. I'll admit I'm curious to see where Lara's destiny will take her next, and I will have to hunt down the next book. 

A Distant Tomorrow (World of Hetar, Book 2)

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Synopsis from Goodreads: Five years have now passed since the Winter War between the Outlands and Hetar. But Gaius Prospero has not given up his scheme to become emperor, and unexpected tragedy causes Lara to once again heed the pull of her destiny. Finding herself across the sea in a secret new world known as Terah, she discovers that her magical abilities grow greater with each passing day. Using her newfound powers, Lara lifts an ancient curse from the men of Terah, earning its ruler's gratitude and his deep and passionate love.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Harlequin Books, 2006.

How acquired: From a BookCrossing member.

First line: Vartan, Lord of the Fiacre and head of the Outlands High Council was dead.

My thoughts:  I think I liked this a bit more than the first book in the series, LARA. In this entry, Lara's destiny calls to her again, telling her it's time to get a move on. Her husband has just been murdered by his brother, and Lara leaves her young children with his cousin and his wife, and begins her travels once more. She winds up in the Coastal Kingdoms, where she learns about another land across the sea, called Terah, whose goods the Coastal Kingdoms trade for and then sell in Hetar. Next thing you know she's been drugged and handed over as a slave to the Dominus, who rules Terah. Of course she's not about to be any man's slave, and soon has the Dominus wrapped around her little finger. That exquisite fairy beauty, you know.

I really enjoyed this part of the story, where she's arrived in Terah and gets to know the inhabitants there. She's told that women in Terah do not speak. Not because they don't want to or are down-trodden by their men, but because of an ancient curse placed on them. They are physically incapable of speech. Once she's alone with the women, however, she discovers that they can indeed speak – the curse was actually placed on the men, rendering them incapable of hearing their women. So now she sets out to remove the curse. That's not her destiny though. Her beloved Outlands people are in danger from Hetar, and she must also find a way to save them.

The conversations between the characters often felt stilted or wooden, slightly monotonous with short bursts of emotion thrown in here and there. Lara's son is six or seven, and her younger brother a year older, but both spoke and held conversations with her like adults. I was quite happy to not read as many references to “man roots” in this book as in the first one, though there were several mentions of “seed sacs” and way too many mentions of “love juices”. I don't think there was quite as much sex on the page this time around, but as with the first book, those scenes weren't particularly sexy.

I don't have the third or fourth books in the series, and while I won't knock myself out looking for them, should I come across them I probably will read them. Like Lara, I'm very curious as to who or what may reside in another distant land that she spots while riding her flying horse one day. The world building is what kept me interested in the first book, and that interest still continues. 

Lara (The World of Hetar, Book 1)

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Synopsis from back cover: Welcome, dear reader, to the world of Hetar, a realm of Forest Lords, of Shadow Princes and Coastal Kings. A land of passions, both civilized and savage. Where the social classes know their place, but where anyone can, under the right conditions, advance to the highest pinnacle. This is a place where pleasure is never censured, but encouraged, and where deception and desire may be intertwined. The orderly, elegant veneer of refined Hetar can no longer ignore the rebellion brewing in the Outlands, a dangerous place of both magic and mystery.

From the city that is the very center of Hetar, Lara, the beautiful half-faerie daughter of John Swiftsword, ventures forth on a journey that will awaken her, both body and soul, as she learns the true meaning of love that will last an eternity – and a searing passion that will change the destiny of Hetar forever.

Creating Hetar and it's many characters has been a great challenge for me, but a wonderful ad creative endeavor. I hope you will enjoy Lara's tale.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 2005.

How acquired: Received from a Book Mooch member.

First line: She was naked.

My thoughts: While this book was published by Harlequin, I would not classify it as a romance, but rather as fantasy, with a little romance thrown in.

At the age of fourteen, Lara, who is half human, half faerie, is sold into slavery by her father, a mercenary, so that he can afford to outfit himself properly to apply to become a member of the Crusader Knights. Lara is meant to be auctioned off to the Pleasure Houses, but her beauty is so great that the owners of the Pleasure Houses begin to fight amongst themselves and so much dissension is caused, that avenue is forbidden. She winds up being sold to the Head Forester and his brother, who believe that if they can impregnate her and she gives them a child, a curse put on their race by the Queen of the faeries will be lifted. And that's just the beginning of Lara's journey, for she has a destiny to fulfill. She doesn't know what it is or where it will eventually lead her, but follow it she must.

The story unfortunately became a little tiresome after awhile. I didn't find many of the characters very engaging, other than the young slave girl Noss, who Lara takes beneath her wing, and the giant Og, who helps Lara escape the Forest Lands. There wasn't a lot of depth to any of the characters. Lara is just so perfect. Her beauty is apparently due to her faerie heritage, and while traveling she has to hide it, as all the men she meets are mesmerized. That got old also, and I would have liked a little more explanation of why being half faerie made her so enticing. Are the faeries just really so much more beautiful than humans? Does faerie magic make them appear so to humans?

The books spans two years, during which time Lara also becomes a very skilled lover. Which when I thought about her being just sixteen, seemed a little over the top, and even at times a little yucky. Sex between the characters flows pretty freely and without inhibitions, but the sex scenes aren’t very…sexy. They’re more just a non-graphic recitation of what happened between the people involved. There are many mentions of the male characters' “manroots”, an almost quaint term that didn’t particularly bother me - until Lara and the Shadow Prince are watching his horses mate, and reference is made to seeing the stallion’s penis. After that it began to irritate me that on a horse it’s called by what it is, but on a man it’s called a manroot. And then when Lara and the Shadow Prince fall to it themselves, Lara faints from the pleasure. Ugh, please. I had to set the book down and take a break at that point.

What I loved was the world building. Learning about the different races, the different peoples, and the mythologies behind their cultures, particularly the giants and the forest people. And that is why I will eventually read the next book in the series, and hope the plot improves.