Sometimes what you need the most has been there all along...
Delpha is terrified. She is terrified of accepting her sorceress side, she is terrified of never fitting in anywhere land or sea, but most of all she is terrified of allowing herself to be loved.
Cad is worried. He’s worried he’ll never have the life he’s always wanted, he’s worried that he’ll never outrun his ancestors betrayals, and most of all he’s worried he might lose Delpha forever.
When a deadly darkness threatens Willow Harbor, they must push aside their fears and create a magic only the two of them together can wield.
I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Alyssa Rose Ivy returns to Willow Harbor in her second contribution to the series written by a slew of authors. In Warlock’s Embrace, it’s Delpha’s turn on the page. She was Mattie’s best friend in the first installment, Shifter’s Fate. Now we get to see the reasoning behind her wanting to movie in with Mattie to escape her on again, off again boyfriend, Cad.
Delpha has had to deal with a lot her in the past ten years. Her mother, an Oceanid, decided to embrace herself within the ocean after her husband (and Delpha’s father) left them with no clear reason. Delpha has struggled to let herself get close to people for fear of growing to care so much for them only for them to leave her. Her fears are very real and understandable, but Delpha also struggles to communicate her feelings with her friends and Cad.
Cad has loved only Delpha his whole life pretty much. He knows they are meant to be together, but trying to convince Delpha of that is easier said than done. But then an idea comes to him, courtesy of his friend Pax, that if he finds Delpha’s father and gets them to at least talk about what happened all those years ago when he left Willow Harbor, perhaps it could provide some closure for Delpha and allow her to accept Cad’s love.
Naturally, things aren’t going to happen as planned.
Delpha longs to find her mother and almost thinks she can hear her voice beneath the ocean when she’s underwater, but there’s something else under there. Something dark and powerful that wants to claim Delpha for its own.
As with any Alyssa Rose Ivy book, I found my back on familiar territory when it comes to incredibly likable characters. Delpha was a breath of fresh air when she breezed onto the scene in Shifter’s Fate, so I was psyched to see her get her own story. She maintains her spunky attitude for the most part, but we also get to see a deeper side to herself. One that’s been hurt by her parents in the past. I truly admire Delpha’s strength. I mean to basically have to raise herself—though she did have family friends in Willow Harbor looking out for her—pretty much since she was fourteen is incredible. I can understand why she held back with Cad, it’s a completely realistic feeling. And to have Cad try to find one man in all the world to try to help mend some fences for his sort of girlfriend was astounding! Though he did get a bit lucky in being able to find said father relatively closer than expected! Lol!
A minor issue I had with this one was that I never really quite caught onto what this “darkness” in the water was. Namely, our antagonist. I wasn’t clear on how a connection was formed with Delpha’s family, but evil see, evil do, it must be stopped! That much I did understand. I might have expected just a little more romance between Delpha and Cad than what we got, but mostly because I’ve been spoiled with all the other paranormal romance novels Alyssa has given us thus far. A change in pace isn’t a bad thing, just a little unexpected! Lol!
The ending to this one was sweet and cute! Just what you would expect from a standalone in a widespread series. I am not entirely certain if Alyssa is done with Willow Harbor, as I did initially think there would only be one book of hers in this quaint little town. Who knows?! I can say that I will definitely be picking up another one of hers should she be writing one!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
Warlock’s Embrace releases April 5, 2018
I have read a few books by this author prior to stating this series and loved them all, but there is something special about this series and the way Alyssa Rose Ivy has brought characters that we have seen glimpses of in the other stories and made the real whole people with back-stories of their own and futures to behold. The story itself is one that is compelling and beautifully written, thank you to all four authors for creating Willow Harbour.
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