Untainted The Crystal Island Series Book One

Lilian T. Wagenman — 2021

There were several things Vera was quite skilled at. Wielding a blade and pretending to be human were two of them. Following the rules and controlling her anger, were not.Raised in the heart of the Matherin Empire, Vera spent most of her life forced to hide what she was and what she could do. Until one day, she foolishly confronts a strange male she spies tailing the Crown Prince.Not only does the altercation not go as planned, but the male claims she possesses a power his people vitally need. He's desperate to return home and refuses to leave without her.Staying would give her a life she never thought she'd have but leaving could provide her with the only chance to learn more about her past.The more answers she uncovers about herself, the more questions arise, and nothing is adding up. Vera must decide what to do, not only with her life, but with the ancient power inside her.

Reviews

Katie Allard@ktallard

Oct 15, 2022

This was a quick fun read. I enjoy this version of “mates” and I like how they came together as it was slightly different than the norm. I also like the FMC and her feisty-ness and the MMC as well. The motives and the villains are also a bit different from the norm and I like how it seems that we are going to get a dark evolution with Eithan. Hate the word Magyki. And it feels like Veralie and Jaren came together too quickly and there were times when everything felt a little one dimensional or there were plot holes. I’m looking forward to the second book and hoping she fleshes things out a lot more in terms of world, magic, and characters.

Anna@annazc

Oct 14, 2022

A quick and easy YA Romantasy read. Very refreshing book filled with all your favourite tropes.

vmknmy@vmknmy

Sep 7, 2022

had no idea what was happening tbh, only got what was happening like 60% into the book (doesn't help that the Kindle edition doesn't have a map ;_; had no idea where anything was)

the rest i liked, even the... interesting romance

but yeah 3 cus no clue what just happened but i enjoyed it mostly and was a quick read

Marisa Petri@risareads

Aug 18, 2022

Ugh that was delicious

Rebecca@rlvajda

Apr 29, 2022

I DEVOURED this book!! I’m a slow reader to begin with but I finished it in a day! I could not stop reading this. I love it so much! I love the MC so much. I’m so sad to have to wait for the next one because I can’t get enough of this story! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romantasy book!💗

Elizabeth Morris@booklover1717

Mar 14, 2022

** spoiler alert ** More like a 3.5, but rounding up because it just didn't feel right to give it a 3. First of all, this was my first audible book and I enjoyed it! Although I definitely imagined the voices of the characters completely different then the voice actor. However, it was really nice to read while cooking, cleaning or driving. Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought that the world she's developing has a ton of potential. However, I rated it low because I truly felt like it was written as a prequel. It sets it up for some really interesting plot in the next book, but other than her escaping the empire nothing else really happened. The spice was nice and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I am just hoping she adds more in the next one!

Roisin Giles@roro

Nov 5, 2021

I am so grateful to have received an ARC of this book! It is my first one ever so I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint! This book is in a genre that I love, fantasy, but is unique and unlike other fantasy books I’ve read. It has so many amazing tropes and bad-ass main characters. It is told through three main perspectives, Vera, Jaren and less often, Eithan. Vera is our main girl and she is bad-ass. An orphan, sent to be a ward for Elric, the Weapon’s Master, she lives her life very isolated. She cannot remember the first five years of her life, and has spent fifteen years working and living with Elric, who she convinced to train her in fighting. On her first trip away from her home, accompanying Elric and the Prince, she encounters Jaren for the first time. Jaren is another amazing book-boyfriend to add to the collection. He is a Magyki (another race, I think - not human) and is on a scouting mission. He follows the Prince, Eithan, but before he can try anything, Vera attacks him. We love a tension-filled fight scene that almost ends up with them killing each other. Vera leaves him unconscious and steals his blade, which means he follows her to retrieve it. This leads to many revelations that are written so well. This book is unique as from the beginning, the reader is aware of who the two main characters are and the significance of their relationship to each other. This means that throughout the book when Vera and Jaren don’t understand their attraction and their emotions, we do, so at times I was internally screaming for them to finally see that they are mates! The moment when they finally realise is just *chef’s kiss*. The tropes this book has - perfection. The soulmate trope, mutual pining, a slowish burn, lots of tension, one horse and one bed trope, and some very good spicy scenes! I cannot wait for the next book! The reason I gave it four stars and not five is, as standard with fantasy books, I was a bit confused with the world building and have a few questions about the world and would love more background. Also, I would have loved a map! However, I hope and think that most questions will be answered in the next book and this in no way lessened my enjoyment of the book! I read it so fast as I couldn’t wait to keep reading it! Very excited for its sequel and I’m sure I’ll re-read this book too.

This review contains a spoiler