Cherished by Christina Bauer

Book Description

For Elea, there’s never been a better time to turn away from witch life. The Tsar is in exile. The Vicomte is dead. And Rowan? Falling for him only broke her heart. Instead of casting spells, Elea spends her days running Braddock Farm and enjoying the flirtations of the very handsome and non-magical Philippe. Everything is going perfectly, except for one problem.

Someone’s trying to kill her.

Shujaa is a Changed One, a Creation Caster mage whose mutated form makes him invincible in battle. Now that the Tsar and Vicomte are gone, Shujaa wants to rise and rule. To do so, he must eliminate all those powerful enough to oppose him, and Elea is top on his list. Anyone who offers her aid quickly ends up dead.

In the end, there’s only one person who can keep Elea safe while helping her defeat Shujaa: Rowan. Like it or not, Elea must team up with her old love. With Philippe along for the ride, Elea plans to team with Rowan without losing her heart this time. But that’s when all her plans fall apart…

My Thoughts:

I absolutely love this series.  I will start with this is the 3rd in a series and probably won't make much sense without the other two.  My heart broke at the end of the last book but I couldn't wait to see where the author took the characters in the new one!  Elea is back to being a farmer, but misses casting spells.  Casting spells made her happy.  When she learns of a new enemy and a threat to Rowan she is excited but concerned.  Rowan is determined to keep Elea safe, no matter what the cost or the enemy. 

I was so excited to see all my favorite characters and to meet some new favorites.  The new 'bad guy' Shujaa was intriguing and I like how it all connected.  I could have smacked Rowan for being so secretive but he was doing it for Elea's benefit, even if we don't like it!  The dynamics of Rowan's family was fun to figure out and I can honestly say that I completely despise his mom!  The author threw a couple twists in here that I wasn't expecting but that made it all the better.  I disliked how fickle Rowan's people were but that is just the way their culture is so you can't dislike them too much.  Overall, I think this is my favorite book in the series so far.

Absolutely a 5/5.  I cannot wait for more!  Start with book 1 and you will love these books.

Thank you to the author/publisher for the review copy of this book (via netgalley).  I received this book in exchange for an honest review and the opinions stated above are 100% mine.