Title: Halayda
Author: Sarah Delena
Genre: Dark Fantasy / Steampunk
Rating: 4,5 stars
Purchase: Amazon
A mortal alchemist. A faerie king. A bond that transcends death.
Betrayed by a trusted mentor, Sylvie Imanthiya hides on the fringes of society, caring for half-fae orphans and trading her alchemical creations on the black market. She lives for the one night each season when she can see her dearest friend—a man whose destiny is far above hers.
King Taylan Ashkalabek knows better than to exchange halayda vows with a mortal. Even their friendship is a risk; love is an impossible dream. Then a brutal alchemical attack poisons his realm, unearthing a dark power within him—and leaving Sylvie with the ancient mark of Faerie’s savior.
Manifesting unpredictable abilities and aided by allies with their own secrets, Sylvie and Taylan journey into the wilds of Faerie to heal the damage and confront Casimir, an invincible star-fae determined to claim the realm as his own. But only their enemy knows Sylvie’s true capabilities—and Taylan’s weaknesses—and how to use them in his vicious schemes.
Her fate is life. His fate is death. With Faerie in the balance, Sylvie and Taylan must stand together before reality as they know it is destroyed.
I’ve read a lot of books about faeries, but Halayda was one of my favorite books in this subgenre. Sylvia Imanthiya was betrayed by a trusted mentor and now hides on the fringes of society, caring for half-fae orphans and trading her alchemical creations on the black market. One night each season can she see her best friend, a man whose destiny is far above hers – King Taylan Ashkalabek.
Taylan knows he shouldn’t be friends with a moral, let alone change halayda vows. But a brutal alchemical attack leaves Sylvie with strange abilities, and Taylan wants to protect her at all costs.
The story was amazing, and I loved Sylvia and Taylan from the start. Each character was great, but Sylvie was my favorite. She was such a strong, intelligent young woman. The world building was outstanding, and made the book stand out from other faeriei books I’ve read. While the romance was heart-warming, it didn’t take center front, leaving room for the other storylines to develop.
It was a truly outstanding fantasy read, and I would recommend it to all fans of the genre.
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