After reading Radiance, I was fully into Fantasy Romance for FaRoFeb. I was debating to getting back into Milla Vane's A Gathering of Dragons series or continuing on with Grace Draven. Since it was Saturday, I figured I'd go with Milla Vane so I would have more time to devote to it in one sitting. Things didn't go as planned, but I'll talk about that more in my review of A Touch of Stone and Snow. Before jumping into book 2, I decided to read the novella as a primer to get me back into the world. The Beast of Blackmoor was originally published in the anthology Night Shift, which I already had! It's also sold separately now as an ebook (with the matching cover to the series above). Can I just say though, Milla Vane, if you're reading this, please release a physical copy of this book! I would love to have the paperback copy of this cover to put with the others!
This novella focuses on The Beast of Blackmoor, Kavik and Mala. Despite being a novella, I didn't feel like anything was rushed or cut short. It was masterfully written and paced. While I would love for it to be longer, that's just because I love this world that Milla Vane's created. Mala is such a strong female and strong in the physical sense. In the first book, Yvenne is strong, but more in a mental and willpower way, so this change in our Heroine was a nice surprise. She is tasked by the goddess Vela to tame the beast of Blackmoor. What she doesn't know until after meeting Kavik, is that he is the beast. Kavik has been dreaming of Mala and knew that she was his one and only, but to find her finally coming for him and as the "woman in red" from his prophesized "end" just throws him for a loop. I loved the way that he kept trying to push her away, but at the same time he wanted to never let her go. Plus we got the fun battles and fight scenes that are so beautifully written and add more to the world. I also didn't catch on until closer to the end that Kavik was the rightful king. I do have to put a warning out there, these books are dark and gorey. I feel like in the past these wouldn't have been quite as well received by romance readers as a whole, but with Game of Thrones getting so mainstream people are a little more desensitized to this kind of violence. Me personally, I love that she goes there, but doesn't do it in a way that feels overly harmful or too much (red wedding anyone?).
I loved this novella and it was the perfect way to get back into Milla Vane's series. I immediately jumped into A Touch of Stone and Snow and can't wait for the third book A Dance of Smoke and Steel to come out later this year! I may have had it on preorder as soon as it was available to do so.
Have you read The Beast of Blackmoor?
Bookishly Yours,
Stasi🍎
STATISTICS: The Beast of Blackmoor, Milla Vane, 5-stars, 0 days, paperback, 162 pages, Published 2014
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