cover image How to Love Your Elf

How to Love Your Elf

Kerrelyn Sparks. Kensington, $15.95 trade paper (328p) ISBN 978-1-4967-3004-6

Sparks launches the Embraced by Magic series with a boisterous return to the magical lands of Aerthlan, the setting of her Embraced series. Feisty human Princess Sorcha, who possesses the ability to control fire (a talent that goes woefully underutilized), grew up with four adoptive sisters in a convent for the magically gifted. When Sorcha’s half-elf adoptive sister Princess Gwenmore of Woodwyn, who is pregnant with the human king of Norveshka’s heir, sets off on a diplomatic journey to address the long-standing conflict between the humans and the elves, Sorcha accompanies Gwen as her bodyguard. Their party is ambushed, but Sorcha and her companions are rescued by the Woodsman, an elfin Robin Hood–like figure who possesses the power to talk to trees. Sorcha has always been determined to resist romance, but Gwen once prophesied that Sorcha would fall in love with an elf and her instant attraction to the Woodsman makes Sorcha wonder if the prediction may come true. Sparks fly between them even as the mounting tension between species threatens to break into all-out war. Satisfying chemistry, a playful sense of adventure, and the threat of more danger to come keep the pages turning. Readers will revel in this fun, fast-paced fantasy romance. Agent: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary. (Mar.)