This was fantastic. Tessla was amazing. Vale was amazing. This was truly epic reading. My one and only complaint was the confessions of love between Tessla and Vale. Those few paragraphs should've been deleted. I loved how they became friends and I could believe they were well on their way to love but it would've been stronger without it. It could've been left for the epilogue.

But two paragraphs is literally my only complaint. The rest of the entire novel was utterly brilliant. It reminds me of when I read The Network series. Partly because the prequel was unexpectedly epic also. But this was just perfect fantasy. The world building is incredible and the messages of peace and harmony are the perfect balance of pushing a message without overwhelming the reader with the message. Yeah, the whole peace and harmony bit sounds kind of trite but this book really does tackle some of society's most important issues in a fair, objective and subtle manner. Without becoming a mouthpiece for the author's opinions. There's tons of great quotes about how power corrupts and the benefits of open mindedness. No character is portrayed as black and white. All of them have shades of grey. All of them are prejudiced in their own ways and it was interesting to see how the author demonstrated the contradictions in viewpoints. There's this understanding conveyed that readers will and do have their own biases, their own prejudices - but encourages them to identify their own biases and work towards overcoming them.

The friendship between Tessla and Vale was adorable. Vale was such an honourable man - even though he's somewhat of a jerk. Tessla was fiery and strong and determined. And I loved how even though they were both forced into a bad situation they were on the same page. They both understood that each of them were giving up their freedom but that they were working to make the best of it. And Vale's dedication to his friends was inspiring. And Fain! Fain was fantastic. Such a sweetie.

I only wish this was longer. I'm excited to dive into the rest of the series.
( )

I really wasn't planning on re-reading the Black Witch before I had the Iron Flower in my hands. Now... i don't think i have a choice. Laurie Forest has completely drawn me into this world and it has quickly become one of my favorites. ( )

This was a great back store and prequal to the Amazing story called, The Black Witch. I really e.joyed this novella ! ( )

"Wandfasted" von Laurie Forest ist das Prequel zu "The Black Witch" (Die schwarze Zauberin). Und da ich erst durch die deutsche Veröffentlichung auf die Reihe aufmerksam wurde, habe ich mit dem Prequel zu lesen begonnen.

Im Mittelpunkt steht Tessla, eine Gardnerian, die mit ihrem Großvater und ihrem kränkelnden Bruder nicht in Gardneria, sondern jenseits der Grenze im Land der Kelts lebt. Bislang hatte das auch funktioniert, nur ändern sich die Zeiten und die Stimmung wird immer negativer in Bezug auf die fremden Gardneria. Bis es dann zum Pogrom kommt, gleichzeitig mit dem Aufmarsch des keltischen Heeres, um Gardneria endgültig zu besiegen und die Bedrohung durch die Magie wirkenden Gardnerians ein für alle mal abzuwenden. Gerade noch rechtzeitig für Tessla und ihre Gruppe beginnt der Gegenangriff der Gardnerians.

Doch obwohl Tessla einen nicht unwesentlichen Anteil an der Rettung ihrer Gruppe hat, wird sie ausgegrenzt, da sie mit einem Kelt befreundet war und auch trotz der kriegerischen Handlungen weiter zu dieser Freundschaft steht. Doch zum Glück gibt es nicht nur engstirnige, auf die Reinheit des Blutes bedachte Gardnerians.

Der Titel "Wandfasted" deutet auf die zentrale Zeremonie hin, um die es in diesem Band geht - eine magisch besiegelte Ehe, die durch ein magisches Tattoo nach außen verdeutlicht wird, nicht auflösbar ist und zu gravierenden Konsequenzen für die Frau führt, sollte sie untreu werden - alles für das Ziel, das Volk der Gardnerians ethnisch rein zu halten. Da will der zukünftige Partner gut gewählt sein - nur fehlt dafür die Zeit, wenn zur Sicherstellung der Versorgung der Flüchtlinge eine Massenzeremonie angeordnet wird.

Die ganze Geschichte wird aus Tesslas Sicht erzählt und es gibt immer wieder spannende Brüche, Überraschungen in der Handlung und trotz der schwierigen Gesamtsituation auch lustige Momente. Und natürlich kommt auch die Liebe nicht zu kurz. Alles in allem eine gute Mischung, die mich gleich im Anschluss zum eigentlich ersten Band der Reihe, The Black Witch, greifen ließ. Einzig das Lektorat hätte etwas gründlicher arbeiten können - aber meinen Lesefluss hat auch das nicht gestört. ( )

Wandfasted
By
Laurie Forest

What it's all about...and...why I wanted to read this book...

This is the book that comes before this author’s amazing book...The Black Witch. In other words...a prequel. I am not normally a fan of prequels...but I loved The Black Witch so much that I felt drawn to this book. This book introduces some characters that I remembered from The Black Witch but I didn’t really remember them until the end of Wandfasted. This book is about the inequities of the various races in this country. It also touches on sexual differences but since this book is a fantasy differences are treated in a unique way.

What made me truly enjoy this book...

I did enjoy reading this book but I didn’t really understand its role until I reread the first chapter of The Black Witch. That’s when some of the key characters in The Black Witch stood out as young characters in Wandfasted. And that’s when I truly understood this book.

Why you should read it, too...

Readers who loved The Black Witch should enjoy reading this book. It sort of explains what happens before everything else happens. ( )