The Willow

The Willow
Stacey Kennedy / Paranormal Romance
Book One of The Magical Sword series

Review also found at The Romance Reviews

In Carson City, Nevada, a tragic car accident has claimed the lives of Nexi Jones’ adoptive parents. Now, without them, the loss could be overcome, but not for Nexi. Now, without them, her reason to live has vanished and she is determined to end her pain.
The problem with that, it’s not heaven she wakes up to, it’s the Otherworld. Nexi must reconcile the truth about her past, and her heritage as part guardian/part witch, while she begins to train to join the Council’s guard. But it’s not the combat training that has her worried, its attempting to keep her cool around the luscious guardian, Kyden that’s her biggest concern.
Before long, Nexi’s skills are put to the test as she begins to fight against the supernatural who have taken a human life. But nothing can prepare her for the journey ahead. Soon, she will find herself lost in a mystery and fighting to keep all she’s gained, as Lazarus, a vampire, threatens to take it all away.    (click title for my review)



The moment I finished reading the opening prologue, having watched an intimate moment of Nexi as she lay under her beloved willow alone, I knew that this would be a book I wouldn't be able to put down. Three hours later and buzzing with excitement, I finished devouring The Willow and immediately reached for the next book in the series The Wicked. A definite sign that what I had just read was amazing.

Straight away I was drawn to Nexi, really wanting to find out who she was and how she was going to handle being brought into a world where she had always belonged but had been kept from to protect her. At first it seemed a little strange, that with the rapid fire changes happening in her life, she seemed to accept everything a little too easily. It wasn't until I continued reading that I began to see it was something that worked well for her because she wasn't then prone to wasting a lot of time whining (I loathe whiny characters) about how terribly unfair her life was. It helped her develop into a stronger character that even as she was pushed to her limits through the story, she was smart enough to realize there wasn't much she could do and instead focused on her own attitude. She faced a lot in this story, discovering things about herself and her past, about loved ones she didn't know she had and about what she was truly capable of when forced to fight for herself and those she had grown to love. She has all the potential for a great female character, filled with sass and energy and just so you know, she and Kyden are SPECTACULAR!

This story introduced Kyden, the guardian warrior assigned to train Nexi who inevitably falls in love with her and sets the book on FIRE. If you love your male leads passionate, over protective and alpha with a capital A, look no further than Kyden because he is the poster child for them. There's not much not to love about him. He's incredibly sexy with an often laid back flirty nature one moment but flip that switch and he becomes this fierce warrior who has such a power-packed presence bullies would cross the road to avoid him. I have to say he got my blood boiling when he turned all seductive and alpha male and the more I read the deeper I fell in love with him. He was what pushed the book over the top for me and guaranteed I'd keep reading the series.

This is the first time reading something by Stacey Kennedy and I have to say I was extremely impressed with just how easy it was to become immersed in the story and how effortless it was to read it. I was a little reserved at first because the book wasn't as long as I'm used to so I was worried that either the story was a few basic scenes strung together that would leave me feeling blah or that it would be so incredibly fast-paced because the author raced to cram everything in. There was no racing in this story, no huge gaps of unexplained time and although it was fast-paced, everything had a purpose and there was a very natural flow and rhythm to it. When I finished, I was left not only feeling satisfied and grateful for an amazing read but also with the sense that the author had really enjoyed writing it. This is definitely a series and author to keep an eye on. What a great way start to a new series!

Rating: