Ever Blessed (Olivia O’Flynn, HarperCollins)

Ever Blessed by Olivia O’Flynn is a confident debut in the romantasy genre, featuring a recalcitrant heroine, a taciturn hero, and potentially world-ending stakes. Captain Elva, a warrior princess of Vettona, agrees to a political marriage with Fynton, heir to the throne of Vettona’s rival, Clochain, to end a devastating war between the two regions. Under the contract, Elva leaves her home, family and friends to live in Clochain, only to find her position far more restricted and precarious than she expected. Meanwhile, Innes – a healer, midwife and witch – travels to Vettona with a grim warning and a slim chance to right an ancient wrong. Elva and Innes share something in common, something dangerous and potentially deadly, as they navigate politics, religion, and their own prejudices and beliefs in the hopes of saving the world. Ever Blessed is a highly readable and fast-paced start to a new romantasy series, with engaging world-building and an action-packed plot. While Elva’s bolshiness and bravado can make it harder to connect with her, Innes’s softer nature balances out both Elva’s prickliness and reliance on physicality. Readers will be eager to see how the two parts of this story connect in future books – and how the burgeoning relationships develop. Those who enjoy the world-building in books such as Vanessa Len’s Only a Monster and the action in Stacey McEwan’s The Glacian Trilogy will find Ever Blessed equally compelling.  

Books+Publishing reviewer: Kate Cuthbert is the publishing director at Books+Publishing. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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