M. Dalto

Two thousand years ago, the Prophecy of Fire and Light foretold the coming of the Queen Empress who would lead the Empire into a time of peace and tranquility. But instead of the coming of a prosperous world, a forbidden love for the Empress waged a war that ravaged the land, creating a chasm between the factions, raising the death toll of innocent lives until the final, bloody battle. Centuries later, Alexandra, a twenty-two-year-old barista living in Boston, is taken to an unfamiliar realm of mystery and magic where her life is threatened by Reylor, its banished Lord Steward. She crosses paths with Treyan, the arrogant and seductive Crown Prince of the Empire, and together they discover how their lives, and their love, are so intricately intertwined by a Prophecy set in motion so many years ago. Alex, now the predestined Queen Empress Alexstrayna, whose arrival was foretold by the Annals of the Empire, controls the fate of her new home as war rages between the Crown Prince and Lord Steward. Either choice could tear her world apart as she attempts to keep the Empire’s torrid history from repeating itself. In a realm where betrayal and revenge will be as crucial to her survival as love and honor, Alex must discover whether it is her choice - or her fate - that determines how she survives the Empire's rising conflicts.

Two Thousand Years

Sheila Goicea

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. 

Content Warning: Assault, Rape, Abduction, Hostage, Premarital Sex, Adult Sexual Content, Death, Violence, Discussion of Abortion

  She wasn't just a salvation of a people. She was a salvation to him.

I've been wanting to read this book for a while, ever since I heard of it back in early 2018. The idea of a Prophesy of Fire and Light definitely intrigued me, but also made me anticipate some sort of romance--what I found was that this was mostly a romance, with a hint of fantasy. I'm fine with that, to a degree. But when romance turns into two brothers battling for the same girl...and it all revolves around to point of getting her in bed, that's where I check out.

Two Thousand Years begins like Black Dawn, Gateway to Fourline, and The Last of the Firedrakes to name a few with similar concepts. I don't mind this set up for a plot. As in, a girl who lives in this world is suddenly spirited off to another world that she had no idea existed and she leaves Earth and everything she knows here behind. Once there, she finds out that she plays some significant roll in the story of the realm...like is actually it's ruler. What I don't like is how the character that makes the transition across worlds almost immediately loses their former-self and seamlessly takes on the more Medieval-like lifestyle that I feel these books mostly land in. I literally can't imagine the majority of people just forgetting about amenities like running water, toilets, a shower, or cell phones. Now, I don't expect these characters to be unable to transition and to remain wallowing in their situations. There just needs to be a period of time allowing for better and more realistic adjustment. Alex actually took a bit longer to make this adjustment in comparison to others. Even so, when she decides to stay in the Empire, there's very little remaining of her former life.

Moving from Boston to the Empire is a massive shift. I've never been to Boston, but I'm familiar with it's setting seeing how its here. The Empire, on the other hand, isn't explained much at all. Going into this foreign world, I really need much more detail across the board. Even the prophesy itself could have used more explanation.

  The birth of the Queen Empress within the Otherrealm triggers the birth of the Twin Princes within the Empire. Once the Dream of the Empress is revealed, the Crown Prince travels to the Otherrealm to retrieve the Queen Empress. Upon coronation, it is the Crown Prince's sworn duty to ensure the continuance of the Empire's royal line, and upon the birth of the next generation, the Prophesy is reborn.
 
But, why? Seeing how this entire story is built around this prophesy, there needs to be more of a backstory. 

The characters themselves were somewhat developed, Reylor being the least and Alex the most. Reylor is angry, spiteful, and cruel, and seems to be wildly incapable of anything else. Oh, and he is very lustful. Insta-love takes place between Alex and Treyan, which is to be expected due to the prophesy itself. Even so, everyone could use more dimension and building between their relationships--okay, interactions, because anything with Reylor isn't a relationship, its a conquering. I will be reading Reylor's Lament and Treyan's Promise to see if more of their stories are divulged.

There were aspects about this story that elicited my curiosity. In particular, Reylor's character is quite a mystery---but a repulsive one at that. What exactly is his motive? If it is only to overthrow the prophesy, then that would be disappointing. I hope there is much more to come from his character, as in, an explanation for the way he is now. I thought that the idea of the Annals--a large, ancient, and magical book which tells of the Empire and prophesy's history--was an interesting inclusion into the plot. It's predictions of the future definitely set the tone for the sequel.

I think overall, this book has an engaging story. A lot of it's content, however, isn't well suited for me. Either way, I really wanted to see a lot more of the Empire as a whole. As I always say in series, I'll wait to see what comes from the next installment, as more is shared with the reader as the plot continues on.

Vulgarity: Minimal.
Sexual content: A lot, including graphic sex scenes, assault, and rape. 
Violence: Moderate, including murder.

My Rating: ★★1/2

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Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by The Parliament House. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Yay for another fantasy audiobook that I got to listen to! I love listening to fantasy books, especially if they are pretty long because I think about how small the font may be and how thick the physical book may be and I just freak myself out with that. But listening to the book helps me realize that I am able to get through it even though it can be considered lengthy. Or maybe I’m just making excuses to listen to even more audiobooks than I already do. Who knows?

It’s so funny, but I kind of dig when there’s a character in the modern world and they either have to travel into the past or travel to some alternate fantasy world and find out that they are the CHOSEN ONE and have to take up that extra responsibility to save the world. I know that the CHOSEN ONE trope can be played out because it’s pretty popular and it really does help to give the main character some sort of mission in their book journey, but I dig it.



I personally was pretty bummed that it was a forbidden romance that seemed to make the whole kingdom fall into chaos and stuff, because sometimes a girl just needs to love on whoever the heck they want to. I mean all the time, really. Without the super major consequences. But alas, that is not what happened in this case, and now Alex is having to figure out what to do with said consequence.

Now, who would I have chosen to fall in love with? Not sure, but I think that I was pretty enamored by Teyren when I first met him in this novel. Maybe because he was a little snarky at some points, or at least that’s how Alex thought of him. But yeah I was digging him a lot.

I also think that our narrator did an amazing job for this book. I hope that when the next books in the trilogy are made into audiobooks, she is able to narrate them again. I’m telling you fam, I have a soft spot for books that keep the same amazing narrator for the entire series…. just saying.

Jackie

Going into this book, I hadn't expected to enjoy it as much as I did. I've had a lot of hit and misses when it comes to books this year and have been leaning towards contemporaries when it comes to reading for myself. 
I loved how fierce Alex was throughout the book and I found myself cheering her on. She was a very likable main character and so was Treyan. I didn't care for Reylon's character but there were parts that made me not completely hate him so there's that?
A side character pulled a major twist and, to be honest, I want her to get what's coming to her in the next book. (I can totally say that because there's so many female characters, right?)
I devoured this book in about a day when you factor out the times where I had to hesitantly put my Kindle down to human. 
The ending is going to make you want the second book as soon as possible!

Two Thousand Years

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