ARC REVIEW How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days by Kerrelyn Sparks

First book in the new series The Embraced by Kerrelyn Sparks, How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days is a wonderfully woven new Fantasy Romance world. The prologue paints a world where four Kingdoms all worship the sun and two small islands who worship the double moons. When a child is born under the eclipse, when two moons becomes one, they are said to be blessed by the Moon Goddesses and are special. The men in charge of the sun's church believe these children are dangerous and must be killed upon birth. But the Isle of the Moons often takes children into their sanctuary. The Embraced is about six young girls who were all born under the eclipse; this book centers around the eldest of the six, Luciana.

I can already tell this series going to be awesome. The active setting is spectacular, the fantastical medieval setting is so easy to picture in my head. The characters are so easy to fall in love with. The plot of a the book is a serious one but leave it to Kerrelyn Sparks to have a comic relief that will have you bust out laughing at inappropriate times.

Luciana was raised on the Isle of the Moons as an orphan along with her (adoptive) sisters. Luciana and her sisters would kill the time by telling fortunes using colored stones, it was all in fun until one day Luciana's prediction came true. Luciana's father came to the isle to get Luciana. The King has demanded that Lucius' daughter was to marry his nephew Lord Leofric of Benwick or else face death. The King has become greedy in his power and will do anything to obtain the wealthy lands that Lucius owns; that includes murdering them before the wedding. Leo is one of the embraced, but he contains the power of lightning and no one can touch him, so the can't kill him. Leo has risen in the ranks of the army and is now the Lord Protector of their Kingdom. All this was a way for the King to try and kill him but so far his attempts were unsuccessful. Now Leo has to go and get married to a young woman and protect her from the King's murderous intentions.

It was love at first sight. From across a crowded courtyard their eyes met and Luciana knew nothing would be the same again. Leo vows to protect his betrothed and despite the rumors about her, he knows she's different from any other woman he's met and he knows she's hiding something from him. He tries not to get to close afraid his touch will kill her but in no time their love is stronger than even the King. But will the Kings machinations kill them before it's too late?

Overall, outstanding. I really can't wait for the next books. It's a continual rollercoaster ride of adventure, action, magic, and mayhem; and the romance is pretty dang good too.