Rising Sun by Donna Grant
Elven Kingdom series book #1. Paranormal romance. Spin off from prior Dragon Kings series.
Nothing could make Yasmin return to Shaldorn. Until she is given an ultimatum of taking an elf into Shaldorn or face imprisonment for the rest of her life. Not really having a choice, she travels with Ravi through the freezing mountains for days, camping where they can find shelter. She refuses to face the place where she was a prisoner at the whims of the rich and sadistic. But Ravi is on a mission to save his people and he will do whatever necessary to save his world.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook narrated by by Shane East. He has a very deep and low voice for Ravi which had me upping the volume and slowing the playback from my preferred speed. On the other hand, when he is vocalizing Yasmin’s speaking voice or the children, it’s a slightly higher pitch and louder causing quite the variance in volume from male to female. By chapter 5ish, I got used to the variance until Chapter 31 has Ravi whispering with the opposite side from Yasmin. For the majority of the performance beyond this, I enjoyed the emotional and perilous journey of strangers to soul mates.

Heart thumping danger, passionate interludes, and a story enthralling enough to read in one sitting.
Fantastic hook in the last minute of the epilogue of dangers yet to come.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Tantor Audio.

This audiobook held me from start to finish. What a unique fun start to a new series! Shane East did a great job narrating this book. This book was well written with really good conflict and well developed characters. This was an enemies to lovers action packed book. The world was well developed and the descriptions were great! Huge thanks to the audiobook publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to listen and review this book.

Tropes:
Romantasy
Elven hero/human heroine
Forced proximity
Enemies to ❤️
Slow burn
Found family
Soul mates
Redemption

As a big fan of everything Donna Grant has written I had high expectations for this new series and I was definitely not disappointed. It has everything. We get enemies to lovers, slow burn, angst and more! I love anything high fantasy, and this certainly delivered. Yasmin is a human woman and when she is caught stealing she’s given a choice, go to prison or help an agent get to Shaldorn and retrieve a bomb. It an easy choice. Ravi is chosen to go with her. He is a a DIA agent and a sun elf. Yasmin hates elf’s and Ravi doesn’t think to highly humans. The question is can Yasmin and Ravi put aside and overcome their differences to work together or will they be torn apart by betrayal? Highly r this new series. And of course we have to talk about Shane East narration. He is amazing and really brings with works to life. .

NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL A WELL-DONE ROMANTIC FANTASY!!! This was my first time ever reading Donna Grant and it will certainly not be my last!!

In Rising Sun, we meet Yasmin, the strong, selfless and brave human with a sassy attitude. After being caught stealing, she is forced to help Ravi, a broody sun elf find passage into the fortress of Shaldorn, a place from her worst nightmares. Tropes include:

- one tent
- forced proximity
- enemies to lovers
- elves vs humans
- found family
- trauma rep

I was immediately hooked when I started listening to my advanced listener copy. The banter between Ravi and Yasmin was so well done, and I loved the gradual development of their relationship moving from enemies to friends to lovers. Though their love story is a highlight, it is second to the plot line in the book. Yasmin’s background story and the usecrets within the fortress had my heart aching. Watching Ravi finally overcome his prejudice and open his eyes was such beautiful character growth (which is always an important factor in my 5 star picks). This was just such a well done story with fantastic narration by Shane East - I could listen to his voice all day long (and admittedly, I did since I was so obsessed with the storyline).

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley and Tantor Audio for providing me with an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review. All ratings and opinions are entirely my own, and trust me when I say you want to check this new fantasy romance out!

Have you ever looked at a book and thought,

- Beautiful Cover ✔️
- Genre Is Right Up My Alley ✔️
- Tropes Are All My Favorites ✔️
- Blurb Is Interesting And Pulling You In Already ✔️
- It's Getting Decent Ratings ✔️

Only for the book to let you down completely?
This is the Rising Sun for me. 😭😭

I'm not sure really where to begin. With all for 4 and 5 star ratings for this book, I really feel like the odd man out.

In my opinion, the story fell flat. Maybe I'm just not a fan of Third Person POV? I felt like the story was very slow. Everything was slow to me, the action, the communication, and the romance.

I will say that Donna did do a great job with building a world that has so much potential, but I don't feel like I know what it actually looks like because there was so much lacking in the descriptions of the details of both places and people.

I was able to get an audiobook for this book and Shane East being the narrator was one of the only saving graces for it, in my opinion. He did a fantastic job!

I had such a high hopes for this book!
I even powered through, hoping beyond all hope that I could find the 4 and 5 star ratings POV too, but NAY I couldn't not.

As a side note there are a TON of TWs for this book that weren't mentioned anywhere in Netgalley or the Author's web page or anywhere that I could find!?!!
•Grapic âbuse
• Isolation
• Mûrder
• Slâvery
• Tôrture
• Suîcide
• SA (Hinted at)
• Bûllying
And these are just the ones I remember. Netgalley and Authors need to do better, to make these lists available to their readers! It doesn't matter how pretty your cover is, or how happy your ending is, TW list should always be provided.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Donna Grant, and Tantor Audio for this pre-release . Publishing 5/14/24. I enjoyed Shane East as the narrator his voice is calming and clear. The story is of Yasmin a human on a forced mission with a Sun Elf named Ravi. Making Yasmin confront her past. I liked how we got little bits and pieces of Yasmin’s past and her secrets. I can’t wait for the next book Dark Heart (Elven Kingdoms) release date 11/12/24

Rising Sun by Donna Grant and narrated by Shane East is book one of the Elven Kingdoms and a series I will be watching closely!

Our FMC is Yasmin, a mortal who has been caught stealing food and a glass vial. She is given a choice by the Queen, either go on a mission with Ravi (a Sun elf) or be thrown in prison to suffer for the rest of her natural life. The thing is, the choice between suffering in prison and returning to Shaldorn is a choice between a rock and a hard place. However, with the promise that the food and medicine will be taken to the children she has given sanctuary to, and that they will be kept safe, Yasmin agrees and oh what a delicious slow burn this series is shaping up to be!

The character development is detailed, colourful and the world buildng concise yet expansive, a world of 7 Elf types and humans who are banned from having children. Brilliant concepts and a narrative that is so utterly delicious! The narration is unique but equally delectable

Thank you to Netgalley, Tantor Audio, teh author Donna Grant and narrator Shane East for this wonderful ALC My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This book took awhile for me to get into it. I enjoyed the last half, though there was a little more descriptive sex than I prefer. The narrator was good.

This was a great read for the first book in a fantasy series. I honestly haven't read a lot of fantasy involving elves, so it was fun to learn more about these magical creatures. This story lead Yasmin & Ravi on an exhilarating quest. Yasmin, a human who seriously hates elves, is forced to lead Ravi, an elf not super fond of humans, to a top secret place of debauchery - a place she barely escaped with her life. They're on a mission to break in, retrieve a weapon that is intended to be used against the elves and get out alive without being caught.

It's an exciting adventure with some interesting world building. The character development is solid. It was heartwarming to see Yasmin open up to Ravi and Ravi fall for her once he begins to understand her more. Yasmin is a very strong FMC. She has been through some incredibly horrific things, but still opened her heart to take in and care for abandoned and abused human children, kept her word on the mission regardless of having several opportunities to attempt an escape and faced her trauma head on like an absolute bad@ss.

In fantasy books where the POV is regularly shifting, I think it's important to either have multiple narrators or distinctive voices for even internal dialogue between the various characters.

I'll be honest in saying Shane East isn't my favourite narrator. He didn't deliver a bad performance by any means, however I do feel like there was room for improvement or this book would have been better off if narrated by a female or a voice actor with more dynamic tone. Personally, I really don't like Shane East's version of a female voice and that's the main reason I'm not a fan of his narration. I feel as though I would enjoy it more if he did works in duet narration. As the only narrator, there were times were times where I couldn't tell whether he was narrating from the FMC or the MMCs POV, as even the internal dialogue was delivered with the same tone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Donna Grant and Tantor Audio for the ALC & ARC.

It took a little bit to get into this story, but by chapter 13 I was invested. I really appreciated the slow burn. The characters were complicated and well developed. A true fantasy romance.

Rising Sun is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romantasy as a human, Yasmin, is paired with the elf Ravi on a quest to retrieve a device that would start a war in the wrong hands, and the device is currently in the wrong hands.

Both of the main characters had to adjust their biases about one another's race to develop trust, ensuring they both survived the quest. I liked the world-building of the different landscapes and types of elves. I have a hunch that Yasmin will turn out to be a Mary Sue, but that had not yet been revealed.

Good audio narration.

So, I start reading this one and I’m hearing “elven” and “humans”, and I’m thinking…what did I get myself into????

But as I listen, I realize that this is going to be a very special book…one that deals with elves and humans and Magicks and other realms and families and friends…and love.

And what do I find? That I just grew to LOVE these characters more and more, as time goes on!

Yasmin is human. She’s had a very rough time of life. She escaped from her own sort of hell a few years ago, and now takes care of several children.
When she is caught stealing, she is threatened with jail, for a very long time, or she can help them out by guiding the elves to the one place in the world that she NEVER wanted to return to…
She chooses the deal…

Ravi is a Sun elf. His Magicks are associated with the Sun. He is assigned to go with Yasmin to retrieve ‘the package’ in order to try to maintain peace…

Their ‘journey’ is the book! And oh what a journey it is!

We meet sun elves…wood elves…mountain elves…mean elves…Nasty elves…and some good elves too!

I don’t believe I’ve read Donna Grant before, but I will definitely be looking to continue down this road! This is book #1!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #TantorAudio for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
This is due out next week, on 5/14/24.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

#RisingSun by #DonnaGrant. Narrated beautifully by #ShaneEast.

Oh…and I just LOVE the book cover! ❤️

⭐️ Main female character (MFC) that’s a true badass!
⭐️ Main male character that wants to be anywhere but with the MFC! (Initially)
⭐️ Fantasy/Alternate realms…
⭐️ Can peace and love and family prevail?

*** Triggers: There are some pretty graphic scenes painted here with abuse, isolation & even murder…but if you can muddle though, it’s a terrific book! ***

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Thanks so much for reading! And if you 'liked' my review, please share with your friends!! 📚⭐️

“Rising Sun,” by Donna Grant

When Yasmin is caught stealing, she is given a choice, imprisonment or take Ravi over the Dangerous Peaks to Shaldorn. Despite her fear of going back to that place she agrees to take him but to try to escape as soon as possible. They continue to get closer during the expedition, complicating Yasmin’s original plans.

This was a really good romance book. I loved the mashup with elves, humans, and dragons. There was enough action and world building that it wasn’t just a romance and was interesting to imagine. The romance is very enemies to lovers and passionate with internal turmoil. I really like all the books by Donna Grant that I’ve read, and this one didn’t disappoint. I had the audiobook version, and the narration was really good and paced really well. 4 out of 5 stars.

-Elves
-Humans
-Dragons
-Magic
-Enemies To Lovers
-Forced Proximity

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I've heard really good things about this author but had never read anything by her until now. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC audio book narrated by Shane East and I am really pleased that I did.

I don't know if the Elven Kingdom ever showed up in previous books by this author, but I didn't feel like I needed much guidance as the world building is clever and subtle.

Yasmin is a thief with a heart of gold who happens to be the only human who can smuggle Elf and special agent Ravi into an icy stronghold to find a mystical device that potentially could start a war. They both have prejudices against each other's kind - I feel like Yasmin's are pretty legitimate but Ravi's come from the culture he was raised in.

Throughout their journey Yasmin opens up and Ravi learns about the struggle of minority humans in an Elven world.

We have our classic enemies to lovers trope but it's slow burn so get ready for our duo to give each other steamy looks before they steam up the sheets. I love the way Ravi grows and changes and the way Yasmin begins to trust him.

The other characters are pretty interesting too. Can't wait to see what Dane does.

I didn't love the third act breakup but the grovelling was first class, so I will allow it.

The narration is spot on and reminded me a little of Richard Armitage (who was the narrator of the first audio book I ever listened to and is basically the OG in my humble opinion)

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Tanto Audio. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

"Rising Sun" by Donna Grant is a fantasy novel featuring a human named Yasmin and an elf named Ravi. Yasmin, the human character, is depicted as a survivor, aiming to find a place where she can be fully accepted. On the other hand, Ravi, the elf, is driven by a mission to save his kingdom. Their journey is fraught with danger, and the tension between them adds an extra layer of complexity to their situation. Despite their differences and the daunting challenges they face, they cannot ignore the intense passion growing between them.
The book is characterized as an enemies-to-lovers tale. The narrative is both fun and intriguing, making it an enjoyable read for fans of fantasy. The author, Donna Grant, is commended for her storytelling skills, and readers are eager to explore more of her works. The audiobook version of "Rising Sun" is made even more engaging by the performance of Shane East, whose strong and masculine voice brings the story to life.
I want to thank Donna Grant, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley for giving me this opportunity to listen to this amazing adventure (ARC audiobook).

❤️ Happy Reading!!! ❤️

Rising Sun by Donna Grant is the first book in the Elven Kingdoms series. This is a fast paced action & adventure book that follows Yasmin, a human who is paired with Ravi, an elf as she must take him over Dangerous Peaks. This starts as a slow burn both Yasmin and Ravi don't want to be together however, they need each other to get into Shaldorn without being caught. As they they soon have feelings for each other but they don't share it . This is for fans of Katee Robert, Geneva Lee, Piper CJ, Mia Sheridan, and Penelope Barsetti. I would like to think both NetGalley and Tantor Audio for giving an advanced audio copy of this book.

***I would like to thank NetGalley, Author Donna Grant, and Audiobook Publisher Tantor Audio for this ARC. "Rising Sun" by Donna Grant release May 14, 2024.***

"Rising Sun" by Donna Grant is an enchanting journey into the world of the Elven Kingdoms, told through the dual perspectives of Yasmin and Ravi. As a reader, I was captivated by Yasmin’s strength and resilience in the face of past traumas, making her a truly empowering heroine and FMC. Grant's meticulous world-building drew me in, setting the stage for an epic series filled with romance, fantasy, and adventure.

I found myself rooting for Yasmin every step of the way as she navigated the complexities of the Elven Kingdoms and her evolving relationship with Ravi. Their enemies-to-lovers dynamic added depth and tension to the narrative, keeping me hooked until the very end. Even when the end of that relationship took a different turn.

While "Rising Sun" primarily focuses on establishing the intricate dynamics of the world and its characters, I appreciated the attention to detail and the promise of future developments. I sincerely look forward to seeing how the journey unfolds in the upcoming installments, as we delve deeper into the mysteries of the Elven Kingdoms and the characters who inhabit them.

I thoroughly enjoyed Shane East's narration, especially in bringing the male perspectives to life. However, I couldn't help but wish for a female narrator to accompany him, adding more depth to the characters' voices (Yasmin). While I understand that it's common to have one narrator for all characters, I believe it would have enriched the listening experience. Nonetheless, East did a fantastic job, and Tantor Audio remains one of my top choices for audiobooks.

Overall, "Rising Sun" is a captivating start to what promises to be an unforgettable series, leaving me eagerly anticipating the book in this creative new series.

You can also view my review via GoodReads and StoryGraph.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tantor Audio, and Donna Grant for the opportunity to listen to this ARC/ALC!

First of all, Shane East, as a narrator—excellent choice. I am really picky when it comes to narrator voices, but this one is a 10/10 for me. While I would have preferred a female voice for the FMC, I am not mad either that Shane narrated the whole book. It was easy to distinguish whose POV it was, and he narrated all the characters very well.

As the plot unfurls, listeners will find themselves drawn into a tapestry of intrigue and discovery, walking alongside characters whose journeys are as captivating as they are transformative. And for those who relish in the delicious tension of forced proximity, Rising Sun is for you!

Personally, I am in love with Dane (I hope I am spelling his name correctly, since I listened to the audiobook, I am not sure), and I wouldn't mind getting to know him more. Maybe a cute love story? (Also, please don't break my heart, he deserves a happy end!)

The end, with the foreshadowing for what's to come, left me excited for more. I can't wait for the next (audio) book!

For some reason I could not get into this audiobook. I don’t know if it was the story, which I did find lacking a little, or the narrator, or just the writing style. I just could not get into it. I felt like everything was random and the love scenes, idk, just didn’t like the description of everything and I’m far from a prude. I just couldn’t recommend this book.