Surrender by Rhiannon Paille

                Another book thanks to the wonderful NetGalley.  This is the first in a new series by Rhiannon Paille.  Surrender is a mystical tale of Kaliel and Krishani, both different than the others of their land, both unsure of what their prophesy mean for their future, and what love can do in a world where it is nothing but a long forgotten tale.

                So first this cover is not drop everything amazing but it is quite bright and noticeable.  Kaliel, or who I assume, standing holding purple flowers with the title above.  Not new but her striking appearance, so pale and  radiant with her white/blonde hair and a foresty background that matches her eyes and the hint of pointy ears tell of another world.  It made me curious anyways and the description of a great tree laying out your future is always intriguing.  Is everything predestined or do we make our own destiny?  That to me is a great idea and depending on the store I can go on either side or fall in the middle.

                Characters are a great part in the story as well and though I admit I sometimes found things a bit melodramatic, I still enjoyed it.  Don't worry it's not too over the top, more I liked how it played within the story.  Though from seeing both points of view it can be really frustrating when you know both sides and with they only knew what you knew.  Kaliel is a elfin girl who is awkward and different, which I think no matter how many times you see it is always something the general population can relate to.  She is scared of her future and after meeting Krishani, quite by accident, she finds herself with feelings she is unaccustomed to, as no one in Avristar is meant to fall in love.  Krishani on the other hand is a noble soul who is part of a brotherhood with a great prophecy hanging over his head, yet he never exceeds at anything.

                For me they both represent something within us all.  High hopes and pressure to live up to expectations of others, not knowing what your future holds, uncertainty of everything, even the one thing that makes you feel whole.  Good themes for me anyways.  Along with characters there is this new world of Avristar which was like its own character.  A word with its own creatures, rules, history, and most important a voice.  Some things are left unanswered, okay a lot, but it was only book one and I can see where it will show more as the story continues. 

For some reason it is called Flame of
Surrender on Banrnes and Noble
So here is the other cover I just saw.

 The romance and love in this book was innocently sweet.  A world where the people don't love, you marry the land and go to the Lands of Men to fight in the war.  You only take a mate if the land provides one.  SO when a chance encounter leaves two young ones caught in a web of mixed feelings and confusion.  When they meet again it is impossible to stay apart even with the best of intentions to stay true to their duties.  I liked the pull between them.  You have to wonder if no one loved and you only knew what you felt it would be a completely new experience with no one to really ask about it .  On top of that you are both already different from the others which adds to the magnetic connection.

Now aside from the having to wait aspect I also have one other little tidbit of concern.  I did receive the ARC of this and am unsure if the published copy (It came out Dec 4th), had this or not but I had an alternate ending on mine  Don't get me wrong the idea is intriguing but when there is another book to follow I'm not sure which one it will go from thus my slight concern.  I'm just going to go with the original ending and wait for book 2.

                Surrender is out and is for me a 4 purple flower book.  I liked it and would recommend it if any of the above sounded interesting to you, and am patiently waiting for the sequel.  Now have you already read it?  Want to read it?  Tell me what you think below.