Book review: The Rising Wave

I do believe I found another favourite author.

This novella came recommended by one of my blogger friends and I fell in love.



A captive princess and an injured warlord are thrown together into the same dungeon. Both doomed to die, albeit by different means.

Imprisoned for two years, Ava knows her stay in the dungeons will be brief if she doesn't escape as soon as possible. The poisoned food she had received was only the first hint. Her plan is already in place and all she has to do is wait for the right moment. Except that she hadn't counted on the badly injured warlord thrown into her cell. And now she faces a dilemma. Should she take him with her, or leave him to die?

At the mercy of his enemies, Luc had never expected mercy. And yet, the frail little woman in whose cell he is thrown, not only tends to his wounds but also seems to care about his fate. And as soon as Luc figures out she's planning to escape, he'll try his damnedest to convince her to take him along.

He's got a strong sword arm and may come in handy. Except that the little woman is not quite as frail as she seems. And Luc may be the one in need of her help.

Escaping the castle is only the first step of their journey. One fraught with dangers at every step. Hunted by enemies, they'll have to learn to trust each other, while making sure their secrets are not entirely revealed. A difficult thing to do when years of keeping secrets had made trusting anyone difficult, as far as both of them are concerned.
And yet, trust is slowly given, alongside respect, admiration and perhaps even love.

This little novella is one gripping page-turner that had me diving straight into book 1 The Turncoat King. Because I loved the two battered but not broken characters and am eager to see how their story will go on.
And I admit I found the little spin refreshing, because here we don't have the big handsome warrior saving the dainty helpless princess. What we get is a strong non-nonsense woman who knows what she wants and saves her wounded warrior, making sure he'll stay safe.

The plot is gripping and the chase intense, while Ava and Luc will have you rooting for them from the very first page. I read this in one sitting and highly recommend it to all romantic fantasy fans out there.

There's not a lot of romance in here per se, more like partners watching each other's backs in a fight - but we do get a fierce and longing filled promise of it in the books to come. And I personally look forward to the rest of it all.

If you love strong characters and great intriguing plot, do yourself a favour and pick this novella up. It is downright fabulous!
But make sure you have book 1 close by too. Because you're guaranteed to want more. :D

Check out this book and more of Michelle Diener over at http://www.michellediener.com/