Carla ✨

wow was this a ✨ R I D E ✨

5 ⭐️ & 2 🌶

where do i even start? 🥲

let me just say, when i filled that form to get an arc from ray, i was hoping for a book that promised exactly what the blurb said, the story about a maiden destined to find her soulmate, with a reincarnation subplot and a broody mmc... but boy oh boy was i (kinda) wrong 🥹

let's refresh the tropes, shall we?

🪡 reincarnation

👩‍❤️‍👨 fated mates

💔 grief recovery

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family

with a healthy af Plus size MC and LGBTQIA+ rep, what else can we ask for?

the first chapters paint a beautifully well plotted world building, the delicate writing about grief and the journey it takes you through, and then, when you least expect it, the story of the weaver-blessed and the warrior 💔 i've never read such beautifully tragic tale, it was heart breaking, and i loved every moment while reading it ❤️‍🩹

long story short...

i'm obviously not explaining the whole legend to you, it's not a spoiler but the author does a better job than i could ever do so 🤷🏼‍♀️

the weaver (our godly being in the story) threads people's fates into the tapestry of life

when you die, your thread gets rewoven into the tapestry and you begin a new life, another pass on the loom

this might be one of my favorite faiths built into a book, i really need the author to explain how that came to be (really Ray, if you are reading this, i'd love to know how it happened)

the angst of our fmc towards the divinity due to her grief, the way it is a powerful being but are we sure it is the most powerful it exists?

so many thoughts where thought at this point, and obviously, after the legend had been explained and everything started to make sense, i realised i was only 30% in... suspicious 🧐

that meant that there was more to the book that a sad story of two lovers fated to find each other on the loom every time... that had me like mhm 👀 tell me more, and god damn was there more to tell :')

at this point, i do not want to spoil you more about the story itself, but i want to tell you about the characters 💖

Derica is our mmc, striken by grief after loosing her mother and everything she had left in her small village, only left with her best friend Reid and his family.

she decides decides she can't keep going on like that and next to Reid they both pack up and go to their next adventure

i've got this nagging feeling that we don't see her full growth on this book, but of course we see her overcome, or more exactly, learn how to live with her grief and explore the kind of live she wants to have, and whats more important, towards the end we se her standing up for herself and making decisions on her own for what she believes in <3

then on the other side we have our mercenaries 🥹

Commander Hadrian is our mmc and oof, hot damn 🥵 (i'm sorry, but this man's description on the second chapter had me screaming and hyperventilating 😂)

he is broody, serious, with a heart of gold and the most "touch her and you die" attitude you will ever see 🙆🏼‍♀️

his angst at the start of the book towards anything Derica related is jksndcjdfni SO GOOD

i love myself some angst and sassy jealousy, sorry not sorry 😂

poor baby is so split between wanting to save his heart from the pain and also wanting to feel love once more, BUT IT'S SO PAINFUL TO WATCH, i suffered for him, a LOT, and i don't thin it's over 😭

also, theres nothing more sexy than Derica being all straightforward with him, and him having to stop brooding and giving in, like GIVE ME THAT EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK ❤️‍🔥

and then we have the Nyle and Maz 🥹

Nyle is me, i am Nyle 💖 he is a words before fists kinda guy, which is weird for a mercenary tbh :') he is the one that has the calm demeanor the others lack and that scares me, i'm not gonna lie, i hope nothing happens to him on the next books, because i will scream 🥲

and Maz, oh Maz, i had some real good laughs with them 😂

- they are hilarious

- they know too much

- they know that they know too much, so they are cryptic as shit

- and they take no bullshit from anyone

if they like you, good for you, if not, they won't even acknowledge you 😂 i need more stuff about them and i can't wait to see what's in store for them in the next book :')

let's end this review here because i got to excited writing everything and i already made a real effort not to spoil anything :') gotta say that Ray made a beautiful job with her first book and i know it will only get better from here 😌

also, thanks to Ray for the opportunity to read her book before it was out <3 still, bare in mind, my opinions are my own whenever i review anything, and i hope i made you want to pick up this book or at the very least, made you curious about it 😉