Let start off with this wonderful title. I just love it. It really draws the eye to this book. If you hadn't yet read any of the books yet you'd think about it after this title.

I'm so happy that we finally got another book in this series. Or I should say The Embraced series. That's the series that started it all. When the author changed publishers she also changed the name of the series. It is now Embraced by Magic. Only a little change but one none the less.

I was really worried we'd never get Sorcha's story and I'm so happy that here it is. In the prior books, I really liked her. She really stood out to me. She wasn't always as likable in her story. It was hard to put my finger on why. I think it was just the way the author wrote her. I enjoyed the woodsmen he shined for me

I liked their relationship for the most part. I got why Sorcha held her independence so close to herself. When you are left on your own at such a young age with no one but your "sisters" to be there for you it molds a person and their thinking.

There are many parts of this story that I really enjoyed and I am glad that I read it but I'm not so sure it's my favorite of the two series. I don't feel it was as well written as the other books. Usually, with a Sparks book, I find more humor and fun in them while the suspense is happing. Something I really enjoyed about her. I just didn't find that here.

I'm not saying that I couldn't read the book because I could. It just felt different for this author. Unfortunately, I can't give it more than 3 stars. It's good, but not great. I would also check out the other series first before reading this one. It will help you get to know Sorcha and her sisters.

Even though I was a little disappointed I will be reading the next book in the series with hopes it's more to my liking. You do learn the woodsman's name at the end of the book but I decided not to share it with you in my book info because I think it's fun to learn it on your own.

Could have ended better but overall a joyous return to Aerthlan

I would like to thank Kerrelyn Sparks, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Spoilers

Yaaayyy! They’re back! The Embraced series was my introduction to Sparks, and I’ve become a big fan. I grew concerned when, after the release of book three, Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon, no information about the fourth book was forthcoming. Eventually I messaged Sparks via her website and asked if everything was all right. Just kinda tossed the message out into cyberspace, figuring even if she couldn’t respond to every fan mail, at least she would know a fan was thinking of her and wishing her well.

But about this time last year I was happily surprised to find an email from her in my inbox! She said St. Martins dropped the Embraced series without much notice—must not have performed well enough in their minds—leaving her to scramble to find another publisher willing to help her finish the series. Kensington picked her up, and here we are!

How to Love Your Elf is on par with the other Embraced books, corny title and all. I listened to the audiobooks of the first three to reacquaint myself with the characters and world, and fell in love with them all over again. I even liked book three more than I did when I reviewed it two years ago. The books have their flaws, but they also have charming characters and a fascinating world to explore.

So how did I feel about this one. In general, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was lovely to see everyone again, and I even caught a callback here and there, like Brody stealing Sorcha’s bread as he did Nevis’s in book one. “Hey, that’s mine!” “And it’s delicious.” Also, the humor was to my taste. If you’ve read Sparks before, you know her characters can behave rather cartoonishly at times, but I’ve always had fun with it. That’s part of their charm.

It was nice to finally get to know Sorcha. I never got a good sense of her personality in the other books, mostly because she was hardly present, but my curiosity has been satisfied. It’s unfortunate how little her gift was utilized, though. It was a really cool power—she could conjure a flame in her hand—and made sense considering her background, but to my memory she only put it to use twice, in pretty minor ways. Sorcha was underutilized in general, now that I think on it. What did she do that actually moved the plot forward? … Hmm. Mostly she was just herded around like cattle. So Sparks probably should have crafted the plot to better utilize her—I think I made a similar complaint about book three—but ah well. Sorcha was endearing regardless.

The Woodsman, despite having a recycled plotline and motivation, was magnetic. Like Sorcha, I couldn’t get enough of his humor and charisma.

But I did have three issues with the book.

One: The plot was recycled from book two, which was disappointing to discover. A lost prince whom everyone thought was dead had actually grown up under a false identity, complete with disguise, and become an outlaw, though really he was something of a Robin Hood. Over the years he quietly amassed loyal followers, created a secret home base that was difficult to find, and plotted to take back the throne, all while undermining the buttwipes in charge. He even sent out notices to gather people to his cause when he marched on the palace. There were probably more parallels, but that’s all I could immediately think of.

Two: Sorcha’s underutilization, which I mentioned above.

Three: The end of the book bothered me in a few ways. Don’t get me wrong, I was ultimately satisfied with it, but it could have been better. Mostly it felt rushed, which factored into other problems: Sorcha and the Woodsman deciding they’re in love rather suddenly, and the very anticlimactic ends of Jenetta and Griffin. It felt like it got to a point where Sparks realized she was too close to her word count limit with too much story left to tell—or too much she hadn’t yet figured out how to conclude.

Sparks could write a long, epic fantasy adventure if she wanted to. The books in this series are, to me, like epic fantasy lite. Their tone isn’t dark and gritty enough, their plotlines not complicated enough, and they’re too focused on cheesy romance to truly be sprawling epics like the Throne of Glass series or Game of Thrones or Outlander. But you know what? I would be okay with that. I love the idea of epic fantasy that’s not depressing or uber political or super intense. I just need endearing characters, an exciting adventure in a fascinating land, a realm of magic and wonder, and guaranteed happy endings.

Epic fantasy lite. You heard it here first. ;)

Overall, I loved returning to Aerthlan and meeting new Sparks characters. I’m SO looking forward to the fifth and final book, The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea; I’ve been dying to know what happens with Maeve and Brody. They break the mold—ostensibly; I have a feeling they’ll wind up in the same situations as the other sisters, but at the moment both characters are delicious enigmas.

Oh, and last I knew, Sparks plans to return to her vampire series after Maeve’s book. She told me in her email that she planned to write about the children of the original group of MCs. I never did finish those books—though I intend to, eventually—but I’m curious to see what she plans to do with those characters. Maeve’s book should release late this summer, so perhaps we can expect the first of that new spin-off series by this time next year.

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I completely LOVED this story! The author never disappoints. Her creative mind is WOW! Loved the characters. There’s romance, adventure, action, and a great hint of humor that I thought was perfect in which it can’t go wrong. I can’t wait for the next installment. I’m always at the edge of my seat when the evil shifter makes his moves. They really need to catch him. Well, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. I honestly recommend if you enjoy what I previously described.

I have never read this author before so I had no idea what to expect! The title drew me in and I just had to read it! I did notice that a lot of characters are from previous books but I did not feel like I had to read them first. I could follow their story as a standalone and just take the information I was given and run with it. An exciting world with great characters that hooked me from the first page. A princess afraid to love because when she does and someone she loves is in trouble her feelings cripple her. A thief with a heart of gold and a secret so deep few know it. A war that had gone on for too long and an evil that may just destroy them all if their not vigilant. It's funny and endearing. Exciting and action pact. Happily ever after guaranteed! I do however want to go back and read the rest since it does have a storyline that continues on to the next one that I feel like I must follow to its conclusion!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. This is the story of Sorcha, who is "Embraced" - gifted with a magical power. The story moved quickly and kept my interest throughout. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books in this series as well as other books by this author.

How To Love Your Elf is the first novel in the Embraced By Magic series by Kerrelyn Sparks. But it’s also the fourth novel in a larger series, known as the Embraced. That might be a bit confusing for some. While it is technically the first in a new series (according to the branding), having read the Embraced beforehand will likely make a huge impact on this read.

Sorcha is one of five. Five girls, all saved. Now they are five women, seeking to find their place in the world. Or rather, Sorcha is still searching. Many of her sisters have already found their place in this world. Now it is her turn.

Perhaps that is why she agreed to take on such a dangerous mission. Though knowing you’re about to set off on a dangerous mission, and actually completing said mission are two very different things. A fact she is about to learn.

“She was definitely a sneaky one. Unpredictable. Surprising. A challenge.”

How To Love Your Elf was an interesting read. It’s set in a complex world of magic, politics, and so much more. The plot was very heavily character-driven, giving readers plenty of opportunities to get to know the one and only Sorcha.

Admittedly, I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if I had more had I read the first three novels in this series. I know that this book is being marketed as the first in a new series, but it really doesn’t read like it. I know I missed out on a ton of subtext and backstory by not having read The Embraced. It made it really hard for me to get into this book. Something I deeply regret.

I did enjoy Sorcha’s story, despite that (though I was confused at times, for obvious reasons). She’s a stubborn and driven character, one who seems to have a talent for getting herself into trouble. Her dedication to her sisters was clear, even without knowing everything they have gone through together.

On the whole, I enjoyed the concept and plot of How To Love Your Elf. This was a fascinating world, as I mentioned above. I’m assuming there are opportunities to learn more about her sisters in the first three novels, which is awesome, since I found them fairly interesting.

Here is the fourth installment of a group of sisters (not blood but of the heart). Sorsha is convinced that she is to weak to love until she meets the man the stone fortold. I have to say that usually Kerrelyn Sparks is better than this. Her heroine and hero said the dumbest things and leaped to unsupported claims all the time. Their inner monologues were so full of made up angst that was so easily resolved when they spoke to each other. Of course as the reader we had all the answers to the secrets and problems, so they quickly became annoying. I do like how magic and science are combined. I hope that Maeve and Brody's story is better and gives us a solid conclusion to the series.

This is Book 4 in the 'Embraced Series' but also showing as Book 1 for the 'Embraced by Magic Series.' I've read and loved the other 3 books but do not recommend this as a stand alone or a start to a new series. Readers will be confused, there is not enough background information in this novel to warrant this as a book 1. I highly recommend starting with How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days.

I received this e-arc from NetGalley for an honest and unbiased opinion. I am a HUGE fan of Spark's series. Sadly I think this may be my least favorite of the Embraced novels so far but I still enjoyed diving back into this world. I want to preface by letting readers know these are romance novels where the MCs fall in love very fast. It's a fated love, foretold by a deeper magic that is better explained in the first novel. I typically hate insta-love but the chemistry and banter between the MCs in these books is typically hilarious and (for me) absolutely lovable. Sorcha and the Woodsman have flickers of that chemistry and banter but this novel isn't like the rest. There is more time apart and more pining instead of time together connecting.

One of the things I've come to love about The Embraced is the 5 sisters and their connection. This book didn't have as much of the whole group as I hoped. I know each book is based on the next sister finding her match but there is typically more involvement from the others.

Overall, I still enjoyed being on Sorcha's journey to her fated love. I read the excerpt for the next book in the series and cannot wait to see how that unfolds. There is always one book readers love most or like least in a series and this may be my semi-least... BUT... this entire series still ranks 5/5 on my list.

This review is not going to be long. I am not a huge fan of a review rehashing the entire plot and spoiling it for everyone.

I love several of Kerrelyn Sparks series. That being said, I was truly entertained by this book. I did not think she could come up with a new story line, after all the other books she has written. I was wrong!!!I loved the different 'gifts' that some of the characters have, some we have seen before, some are new. The story moved along at a good pace, to say I wasn't able to put down for long :-). All the main characters are easy to relate to & very entertaining,

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/02/20/how-to-love-your-elf-by-kerrelyn-sparks/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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I love the people, the sisters of  the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/180353-the-embraced" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Embraced series</strong> .</em></a> The series had a delay and a new series name, Embraced by Magic with a change in publisher.  I felt a little bit lost, at first, with the time lag.  While the male and the kingdom are new, each book focuses on one new couple, so it wasn't hard to read.  The sisters are always part of the story and it's great to get updates on what is happening with them.

<strong>How to Love Your Elf</strong> is about the elves.  There are actually two factions of elves: the river elves and the wood elves.  I enjoyed learning about them. The King is Gwennore's grandfather.  They've been at war with the dragons for a long time.  Gwennore almost met her mother but it didn't work out. <spoiler>Her mother has made some bad choices and chose to double down on them. </spoiler>

The couple here is Sorcha, whose brother, Silas,  is the King of Dragons and Gwennore's husband. She's smart and strong but inexperienced and rather silly about relationships.  The Woodsman is a mystery, with no name but a legend with his comrades. He is an elf of integrity and rather a Robin Hood sort.  I found the romance and sex scenes to not be very realistic, but it is fiction.

So far all the sisters have turned out to have royal connections and have ended up married to kings. The mysteries of the series ties in with the hidden stories of the sisters' pasts and the five kingdoms. We did see the continuing villainery of the Chameleon but the Circle of Five took some hits! There are still many concerns with them, though.

I have really enjoyed this series!  They are fun and interesting as we learn about each kingdom and the mystery of the sister who turns out to be from the kingdom.  The books all follow this similar pattern.  The feel is fantasy with romance, mystery, and suspense.  I love the bits of humor!  There is one more book for the final unmarried sister, Maeve, <strong>A Siren and the Deep Blue Sea</strong>, planned for this August.  I can't wait to know about all the kingdoms and mysteries!

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Although this is labeled as being first in a series, it's not. It's a continuation of the Embraced series. This could be read on its own and wouldn't be horribly confusing. Having the background info on the world and the characters is helpful.

Sorcha gets kidnapped by elves. She is rescued by a mysterious man called the Woodsman. There is too much going on in the country of Woodwyn for Sorcha to be brought back to her family quickly. I really liked how the relationship between Sorcha and the Woodsman developed.

It was cool to finally find out what was going on with the elves. They were mentioned in the other books as being vicious but the reason for it wasn't known. The chameleon makes an appearance and remains as elusive as ever. The goal of the circle of 5 was revealed. They are a crafty bunch, but their motives are still murky. Can't wait for the next one!

This might sound silly, but How To Love Your Elf reminded me so much of The Witcher meets Robin Hood or maybe its more like The Witcher meets Lords of The Rings. Either way it was very enjoyable! This is a phenomenal new series that is downright intriguing, imaginative, descriptive, and so very fresh and unique. I loved how the story was written. The characters were interesting and had amazing abilities and the plot and storyline was fascinating. I honestly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next one!

Its not too often I find a new book in a brand new series from an author I have followed for a long time that captured my attention the way this one did. Everything about it is original and amazing and is worth reading again and again! This is an unforgettable new book!

How To Love Your Elf gets a UNFORGETTABLE FIVE SHOW STOPPING STARS!

I thought this was a really well written book. I loved the world building the author did with the different languages (Elfish, Norvisch?) I also really liked the relationship between the Woodsman and the Princess. Definitely a series I would want to continue. There's an elfish war at hand and who will win?

More of a 1,5 stars...

I wanted to like this. I really did. And it was entertaining enough, but eeehh. I guess I should just start with some components of story-telling and book-writing and base my review around that.

So, the story itself. This book is a fantasy romance. It takes place in this world where some people have magical powers (lots of different ones too, but we don't know why). There is also a country where there are elfves. Some of these elves have magical powers too. They're basically the same as the normal people. But with very sensitive ears... or something. We follow Sorcha, the sister of a queen of one of the nations, and a man (an elf) called the Woodsman. Apparently the elves and the humans from this kingdom don't like each other very much and they're on the verge of a war. Some stuff ensues and Sorcha is kidnapped by the elves and then saved by this mysterious man. They travel together and a romance happens between the two.

There were more than a couple of things that bothered me. Call me a dumb-dumb, but before I received this ARC, I didn't know this was part of a series. Yes, I was aware that this was book 1 of the 'Embraced by Magic' series, but the 'The Embraced #4' wasn't mentioned when I picked this up. I kind of figured out that I was missing some information as I read along. And most of the time I don't mind being out of the loop when it comes to series in the romance genre when each book is about a different couple. But considering this is one in the fantasy genre as well, I was very much missing out on information about the world. This book lacked world building so much, I still have questions. How did these powers came to be? Why were these Embraced all sent to an island? How do the elves have the same issues with these Embraced? Why were there even elves in this world? What are the differences between the countries? I figured out at least one: religion, but how do these different religions work?

So, yeah, this was quite annoying and took away from my reading experience. I cannot judge a book on world building where I need to have read a previous series in order to understand it completely. So, please take this point of critique with a grain of salt: I don't know if the world building is any better in the first series.

As for the plot. The plot was kind of okay. I didn't mind it. I did have some issues with how certain characters behaved and acted, but yeah, that's for the character part of this book. It was a bit slow at times, and I didn't quite understand the characters motivations (which is what mostly drove the plot), but overall it was okay. The major thing I was bothered by were the battle scenes. So clean, and so quick. Too clean and quick.

The romance! This one was definitely a case of lust-at-first-sight. I wasn't feeling it. I wasn't falling in love with the characters with them. I didn't know why the two main characters were falling for one another, except that they thought the other was hot. The minds of both of these characters went straight to how the other person looked, even though they were in quite some dire situations. It felt a bit misplaced in some of these situations.

And for the next point the 'character'-part of this review comes in. This kind of meshes together with the fact that the romance wasn't a success for me. The characters were portrayed very superficial. Both main characters had one or two character traits and those were the only character traits they had. This is both bad for character-building, but especially if you're trying to make the reader care for the romance. That's what happened here. The Woodsman was stubborn and knew how to lead. Sorcha was "fiery" (at least, that was what we were told) and doesn't want to get close to anyone. ("No one else would be given entry into her heart" is a literal sentence from page 89 in the book). So: on the nose descriptions of things the reader gets told, but isn't shown.

This is also exactly the case with the antagonists of this story. They kind of become caricatures. But anyhow, I still don't know what the main antagonist's motive was. (view spoiler)

So what do we have here: two thirsty MCs who fall in lustlove within a week. A world where I understand very little (which might be my own fault). Lots of telling (instead of showing). Clean and easy battles. A supposedly fiery heroine, who only gets to use her magical powers twice. An okay plot. And a wild Scottish accent that appears sometimes, or something.

bugger, i didn't realise this was a spin off of the Embraced series - my bad! that's my fault, i think i missed too much without reading that series first.

I'm enjoying the heck outta this series! I love all the sisters and their mates. This is Sorcha's book. She starts out a little timid but is commanding an army and a kingdom by the end of the book. And I love the Woodsman...who you just know is someone other than who he claims. He and Sorcha are just fabulous together.

This book kept me entertained from the first page until the last. I wanted to keep reading until I was done (who needs sleep? LOL) This is (technically) the fourth book in the Embraced series but it's listed as book 1 since it has a different publisher than the first 3 books.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.

Kerrelyn Sparks gives us a Fantasy Romantic Adventure with "How to Love Your Elf". Its pretty light fair but absolutely adorable for all that. I can't find in it anything that isn't enjoyable and fun. There is some romantic, even erotic, moments, but you don't feel weighed down by the intensity of it. The love flows from the adventure and the adventure seems effortless. Sparks does an excellent job of conjuring a world you can get yourself lost in. You will enjoy this book regardless of whether you think this is your type of book or not. Sparks gives us a highly readable book with a solid characterization that allows you to get sucked into the fantasy world she creates. I particularly liked the inventive use of Slavic and Celtic roots in creating the names. I highly recommend this book.

How To Love Your Elf is the newest installment on book four of the “Embraced” series. There has been some confusion on the order of the series since for some reason on Goodreads it has this book as book one for “Embraced by Magic” series ..however, if you check her website you will see that she just has the Embraced series. So not sure why there is such a mix up on Goodreads. So hopefully that clarification will help.

Our delightful story continues on with our heroine “Sorcha” who is traveling with her sister when they are ambushed and set into a trap believing that the elf princess “Jonetta” had honest intentions. But now Sorcha in a mind of trying to save a lieutenant in the army trying to protect her, is killed by a traitor she is taken captive but then she is rescued by the “Woodsman” a feared leader (very similar to Robin Hood in some ways) but the Woodsman is fighting for a different cause, to free his people from a corrupt evil and claim the throne as he is the grandson of the current King. But in hiding, Sorcha and the Woodsman find a tender love that will be challenged by their enemies.

How To Love Your Elf was such a fabulous story that lifted my spirits in such a poignant yet witty way. It has been way too long since the last book was written and I do feel for the complications with the publisher drama she dealt with but I do appreciate that this author has been honest and upfront about this issue. And now its fabulous to see her writing again and we have both books of the series being released in 2020. This delightful book is releasing in just a couple of weeks and then book five (the conclusion–I am guessing) will be released in August.

There has been so much intrigue surrounding the Elves, and so this book really helped clear up so many matters of confusion that some readers (including myself) may have had about this book. It’s so interesting to see this and to see the world dynamics that this author portrayed in this story. I have loved this fantasy world that Kerrelyn Sparks has created for her readers. As much as I loved her “Love At Stake” series, my great weakness is a good fantasy world and she has really nailed it on the head. I will say the biggest drawback overall is the romance. I felt like there could have been more focused attention on the actual love story between the Woodsman and Sorcha. There is some focus but just not as much as I was hoping for like we received in the previous two books to be honest. Now I definitely got a kick out of the story and its a sold 4 rating for myself, however, I do wish it could have been longer so that the romance didn’t suffer quite so much.

I did find that this story really suited me quite a bit though, and it isn’t like the romance was badly written just that it needed a little more attention and focus. But I truly adored this whole “denying the chemistry” trope where they both have this powerful attraction to each other but deny it quite a bit. It definitely made for quite a few entertaining moments. And it was such a joy to see our old favorite characters, plenty of plot elements, mysteries unfolded on the Elves culture and some leads up to Maeve and Brody’s book.

Overall I found How To Love Your Elf to be an enticing read that leads you on a beautiful adventure into this fantasy world of intrigue, unique elements and endearing characters….you definitely don’t want to miss out on this one!!! A TRUE TREAT!

Having read the other books in this series, I knew what to expect. A lovely story, with the younger sister coming into her own and finding true love. Awwwww. The plot was engaging and the characters were well written. The story segued well from the previous story, though I found myself struggling to remember the last book. All in all, I look forward to the next book in the series.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Ok This is going to sound odd because if you look I gave it 3 stars but I think this is a book that people either love or dislike. But I am just not sure how I felt so I rated it right down the middle.

I never connected with the characters. Something was just off with the romance. It almost felt forced.

I see it is the first in a new series but if also falls under the Embraced series as well.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.