Return by Charity Santiago

Title:   Return : Lady of Toryn - Book 1

Author:   Charity Santiago

Pages:      301 pages

Rating:      4.5

Genre:        Fantasy, adventure, sweet romance

The war to stop Lord Angelo destroying the sun has been over for three years. During this time Ashlyn, Elder Heir of Toryn, has gone walkabout and is presumed dead. Her reappearance drives the protectors of the Free Land Democracy to bring Devlyn, the new Lord of Toryn, under control. At first Ashlyn complies but doubts are sown in her mind by a captured Toryn ninja and from there on chaos follows Ashlyn wherever she goes.

The first thing that caught my attention was the name Ashlyn, Elder Heir of Toryn. This brought to mind a strong person and someone to be reckoned with. Ms Santiago brought her character to life in such a delightful but forceful way that I felt quite sorry for Ashlyn when things went so disastrously wrong. I sympathized with her when her companions all knew what was happening and she was left in the dark. No wonder she took her own route to resolve the danger threatening her people and the planet in general.

The more I delved into this book, the more hooked I became. The variety of vampire, spartans, warriors and ninjas plus a surprise element blended perfectly into a seamless adventure story with a hint of romance appearing as an underlying plot. In fact there are two or three sub-plots to this book which all help make it a perfect start to a series. 

Adventure, fantasy, good writing and editing, all these make the book "Return" the type of book I love to curl up with and lose myself in. Well done Ms Santiago, I intend to follow this series. Thank you for giving me such an enjoyable few hours.

Charity Santiago