Hearts in Exile by Mysti Parker

RATED 4 STARS




In Tallenmere, fate has a way of catching up with you...

Somewhere, hidden in the waters of the Southern Sea, lies an island unlike any other. Within the amber glow of its pyrogem-laden cliffs, legend says the very heart of the dragon god Drae keeps the island, and its occupants, alive.

Loralee Munroviel, daughter of Leogard's High Priestess Arianne, had no idea what she would face when she arrived by boat ten years ago and was left alone in exile. All she knew about Draekoria's inhabitants was written in one tattered notebook. Now, her life revolves around keeping Drae's descendants happy. Never in her life did she imagine being a Dragon Keeper.

Captain Igrorio Everlyn, known as Sir Robert to his unit of Holy Paladins, has faced his share of hell, battling the evils of Emperor Sarvonn's tyranny and the dark god Tyr's abominations. But none of that compares to the ten years of hell he's been without Loralee, presumed dead.

One freak storm changes everything. Now the two of them must fight to reestablish the delicate balance of the island before the dragons take things into their own hands. Through it all, they discover the secrets that kept them, and their hearts, exiled for a decade.
                                                ***********

Loralee and Igrorio are two elfin children who meet after Igrorio’s father commits a heinous act.  Although Igrorio is mortally wounded Loralee is able to summon the power of her goddess and heal him.

They spend time together while he is healing and they create a bond.

Life separates the two friends and they continue on paths that are similar but never cross except in passing.

When they meet again as adults they find their friendship has blossomed into love.

They are doomed to be separated however as Igrorio has responsibilities in the King’s guard and Loralee is in training to follow her mother as the leader of the Healers.

Many obstacles are thrown in the path of the young lovers but by a miracle Igrorio washes up on the beach of a secret island where Loralee has been sent to be a caretaker over the last dragons.

Life doesn’t get any easier for the couple as Igrorio meets the dragons and at least one is not all happy to find another human on their island.

After a crisis with the dragons which ends with one of their deaths, Loralee and Igrorio decide to remain on the island and finally have the life together that they always dreamed of as protectors of the remaining dragons.

I enjoyed the story of Loralee and Igrorio for the most part.  There were an awful lot of different characters like elves, trolls, shades, necromancers and vampires that I found hard to keep track of.

Loralee was a spunky heroine and even managed to deal with her sister, Ivy whose jealousy turned her to the dark side of healing.  Ivy was evil and I was left a bit deflated when she had just disappeared at the end of the book and suffered no consequences for her actions.

I also had trouble with the huge time gaps between chapters.  Fifty years is probably not a long time for an elf but it is for me and I found it hard to believe that nothing happened in all those years.

These few things did not dampen my interest in the story however.  There was a lot of excitement and the characters were believable.  That poor couple went through the wringer to be together and I was happy that they found peace at last in each other’s company.

I especially liked the supporting character, Clive who was a corny jokester who managed to win the heart of Loralee’s younger sister,Prysilla.

I think if you let it, this book will capture your heart.