Heir of Ruin is the first book in the Fae of the Saintlands series written by Author Leigh Kelsey. In the first book we are introduced to the character of Mai Delakore, a princess, with the ability to ensnare minds through her song magic. When her Aunt, the Queen, commands Mai to use her magic to kill a prince, she refuses and flees before she is punished for her disobedience. Mai seeks refuge with Azrail, a fae lord who is known as the Sapphire Knight and who challenges the Queen at every opportunity to thwart her death sentence punishments and hunting of the beastkind, part human and part animal. This is a story of romance, magic and fate.
I enjoyed reading Heir of Ruin although admittedly it did take me a little while to get into, but as the pace and plot gathers momentum I was gripped and eagerly turning the pages. The story does end on a cliffhanger and so readers will definitely want to have Book Two to hand to continue where the excitement left off.
There is a fascinating range of characters, all are believable and readers will look forward to seeing each one develop over the course of this series. The dialogue is credible and throughout the book the point of view mostly switches between the characters of Mai and Azrail. There are no significant editorial issues to distract the reader from the story.
Highly recommended and I award 4.5 stars.
