Friday, April 29, 2011

Review: Mistwood by Leah Cypess

Mistwood by Leah Cypess
Mistwood #1
Published: April, 2010
304 Pages
Goodreads, Amazon, Author's Website
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes. Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have. Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty-because without it, she may be his greatest threat. Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them. Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.
This book had a lot of twists and turns. I didn't know who was I was rooting for or what I wanted Isabel to do. We don't know what's happening or why, just like Isabel herself. The book starts with Isabel in the Mistwood being approached by Prince Rokan and his brother Will. He takes her back to the castle with him. As she navigates her life in the castle, certain memories come back to her and she has an overall sense of knowing what she needs to do. Almost immediately she settles in at the castle and begins picking up information from the court. 


There is a lot of mystery surrounding the last time she served the King, and how & why she left. There was magic and death involved. She is struggling to remember what exactly happened and what it means to her today. She has been unable to shift so she attempts to learn more about the "Shifter" legend with the help of a friend with the hope that she will figure out how to use her powers. Meanwhile, she is having trouble figuring out exactly who or what is threatening Rokan. He must have had a reason for tracking down a legend... a very good reason, and Isabel wants to know what it is.


When a new character comes into play the story takes a whole new direction. Isabel's loyalty is muddled and she is more at odds with her shifter self than ever. The Shifter is supposed to be blindly loyal and unfeeling, yet Isabel feels more like a human and refuses to acknowledge it. When it comes time to choose between two people to guard, who will she choose? Like the hopeless romantic I am I was immediately on the look out for who would be Isabel's leading man, and frankly I didn't know who I wanted for her. At first it was a certain guy... then he dies! I was pretty much shocked. This story is just so twisted, it was enjoyable. This review does not do this book justice, there is a lot going and a lot of mystery. You're kept in the dark along with the heroine.

I give this book 4 Stars!

Would you be able to trust your life to a Shifter (or any paranormal being)?


3 comments:

  1. Ummm... I'm not big on trusting shifters or other paranormal beings but I would still allow them to protect me. Much better than humans :)

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  2. Thanks for finding a book and author both new to me Anaiz, as for being able to trust my life to a shifter or any other paranormal being it would depend on the circumstances and probably it would be smarter to trust one of them than most humans if it were a matter of keeping me alive... However the trust would not come easily or immediately but have to be something earned and created over time...
    In the case of this story that seems to be the ticket, Isobel being the shifter has "earned" the trust of the royals who have sought her out in the past so it makes sense for the story...

    Your review peaked my interest in the email blog feed so have bookmarked this one to look into more later...

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  3. Love this book! I can't wait for Nightshade to come out!!

    Well, I'm not sure if I'd trust anyone with my life unless I knew them super-well. And you just never know with paranormal beings:)

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