Tears of the Wolf by Elisabeth Wheatley

I have a recommended read for you this morning.

After the murder of her child, Brynn of the Istovari wants nothing more than to escape the shackles of her birthright. As a sorceress and the last of a once-great bloodline, many still seek to use her for their own schemes. Brynn will do anything for the chance at freedom, even if it means marrying an upstart warrior from the far north.

Cenric needs a wife—but not just any wife—a sorceress. Having recently reclaimed his inheritance after a youth spent across the sea, a sorceress will bring security and legitimacy in his estranged homeland.

A marriage gives both Brynn and Cenric what they want—for now.

In the far northern reaches lies a land ruled by pride and strict codes of honor. As Brynn and Cenric struggle to navigate the aftermath of their hasty union, they soon realize that rival factions within the kingdom are on the verge of war once again.

Alone, they will be destroyed by the coming storm. Together, they might stand a chance.

A bold new Fantasy Romance from author Elisabeth Wheatley.

A lot of the current romantasy focuses on the sexy side of the relationship and the highlights of the world, the magic fireworks, the high drama, the wars. Sometimes these books commit too heavily and end up feeling slick, with a setting that could be almost interchangeable from one series to the next because it matters so little.

And then there is romantic fantasy that focuses not just on the characters but on how they fit into the world. It has texture. Here love doesn’t strike like a bolt of lightning the moment the characters meet. Rather it grows one kind, considerate moment at a time. The more you read, the more alive and human the characters feel. Before you know it, you like them so much that you get genuinely upset when bad things happen. Fortunately for all of us, books in this niche usually end happily and often become comfort reads.

It’s an interesting pocket of the genre. I don’t know what to call it. It’s a romance at the core, wrapped in a fantasy where dinners still have to be cooked and livestock must be fed and sheared. Slice of life romantic fantasy? Grace Draven’s work fits into this category. Sometimes when you read her books, you feel like you are there, in the world.

Whatever this subgenre is, TEARS OF THE WOLF is a beautiful example of it.

Brynn has been dealt a terrible hand in life. She is trapped in a loveless arranged marriage. Her husband doesn’t hate her. Hate and rage are strong emotions, and all of his emotions were buried with his first wife and their children. He’s broken, and he has nothing to offer as a partner. Somehow they managed to make a child, but now their baby is dead, and Brynn is the only one who mourns him.

The story starts with Brynn seeking a divorce. She’d tried to be a good wife, but the tragedy of losing her son was too much. The wound is too raw, even months later. She has to escape this marriage to survive, or her grief will overwhelm her. Unfortunately for Brynn, she is both a sorceress and of royal blood. That makes her very dangerous to the current monarch. She cannot remain unattached. She must be married and to someone who will not be a threat to succession.

Cenric is a lord on the crossroads of two nations. He carries both the blood of the kingdom’s nobles and that of the raiders who endlessly harass it, and he is very good at fighting both. Cenric rules a small territory to the north that’s frequently raided, and he has been petitioning the king for a sorceress for years. A skilled sorceress isn’t just a dangerous opponent. She is an accomplished healer and a savvy politician, and he needs help in the worst way.

The king puts Brynn and Cenric together and kills all the birds with a single stone. Brynn is attached and removed from the political chessboard. Cenric will never be king. Even with Brynn as his wife, he simply doesn’t have the pedigree. The territory Cenric rules is far enough to give her a break from political pressures and hopefully give her a chance to heal.

Meanwhile, Cenric, who desperately needs assistance, gets a wife who is probably the most powerful sorceress in the kingdom. She is skilled in managing the lands and households. She is the niece of the king. She is beautiful. And something terrible clearly happened to her. Brynn needs to be protected, and Cenric is a protector. He is genuinely kind when he doesn’t have to be.

They marry, travel back to Cenric’s lands, and try to navigate their new lives, surrounded by Cenric’s retainers and an adorable, slightly telepathic pack of dogs. Of course, Brynn is too valuable, and evil people will try to use her to their advantage. But at the core, this is a story of two people who come to deeply love each other. This is not a closed door romance. The book ends well.

I should probably mention the setting. It’s very loosely based on Saxon England with Viking raiders, and it is very well done. It’s kind of unusual to see this particular time period used as the basis of romantic fantasy, and it works beautifully. It’s an excellent book if you want to take a break from the current world.

Anyway, this is going onto the comfort read shelf for me. Your mileage will always vary, so make sure to read an excerpt before you jump in. Unfortunately Elisabeth doesn’t have an excerpt on her site, so I suggest using Kindle’s Read Sample feature on Amazon.

This post is for Elisabeth’s book, so please do not recommend titles from other authors in the comments. We have dedicated book posts for that.