Adult Review: Avery by Charlotte McConaghy

Avery by Charlotte McConaghy

ebook, 330 pages

Published: July 1st, 2013 by Random House Australia

Source: NetGalley 

The people of Kaya die in pairs. When one lover dies, the other does too. So it has been for thousands of years – until Ava.

For although her bondmate, Avery, has been murdered and Ava’s soul has been torn in two, she is the only one who has ever been strong enough to cling to life. Vowing revenge upon the barbarian queen of Pirenti, Ava's plan is interrupted when she is instead captured by the deadly prince of her enemies.

Prince Ambrose has been brought up to kill and hate. But when he takes charge of a strangely captivating Kayan prisoner and is forced to survive with her on a dangerous island, he must reconsider all he holds true . . .

In a violent country like Pirenti, where emotion is scorned as a weakness, can he find the strength to fight for the person he loves . . . even when she’s his vengeful enemy?

Avery is a sweeping, romantic fantasy novel about loss and identity, and finding the courage to love against all odds.

Avery is a fantasy romance and romance books are always books I go into with slight trepidation, they don't always work for me.  But I have found that fantasy romance books almost always do work for me and it's not just the fantasy aspects I love, but the romance as well.  One thing that I loved in this book, and for me it works best in fantasy, is a story of redemption.  This story is not just the story of Ava, Avery and Ambrose either, it's also the story of Thorne and Rosalinde.  We get the POV of all of them, but don't despair, this worked very well for this story once you get settled into it.  Initially it was slightly jarring but I settled in very quickly.  I think getting a first person POV from each of them gets us into their heads so we really know WHY and HOW and WHAT of it all.  Ambrose and Thorne have been raised to be awful, awful men.  Their mother is exceedingly cruel and they are her right hand.  But we quickly see there's more to them, but for them to realize it, and then to find their way, is not so easy.

I really liked the characters in the story a lot.  Ava has a lot of forgiveness to find and has a path to find herself.  Her mate has been killed and she's determined to find revenge.  Not only that but everyone has turned against her because she should have died with him and she didn't.  In route to getting revenge she 'runs' into Ambrose and their story was rollercoaster of emotions for me.  I teared up more than once watching it all unfold.

Thorne and Rosalind are husband and wife but Thorne is cruel and has trouble finding the good in him.  Rosalind sees it, but she's constantly punished by him for not doing things right, for embarrassing him, etc.  She knows there's more to him, but can he find it in himself?  The story of these two was heartbreaking.  Normally I say that any man that beats his wife is unforgivable but I found myself wanting to forgive him.  It was a struggle for him to change, to find his way, but the story was tremendous and heart breaking.

This is a romance, but it's also a fantasy.  The world created was easy to imagine.  I loved the magic and even the scenery.  It was any easy book to keep reading as I was invested in the characters but I also felt invested in the world.  I wanted to see a change and know that things could turn out different for these people. 

This is an adult book but would work for mature YA readers.  The sex scene is brief and not too descriptive.  There's some gore but I think the descriptions were vague enough that for me at least it wasn't too much.  I may have flinched at the violence, but it felt necessary for the story.

I definitely recommend this book!  Romance and fantasy lovers both should consider picking it up!

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.