Review: You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

Goodreads Summary:

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.

Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

Publication Date: May 6, 2013

This was on my Kindle for a while now and I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I really loved it! I have to applaud the author on an amazing debut that had me blowing off work to finish the book today.

Serena’s society was tough to stomach. The warlocks own the women in the society and the fathers sell off their daughters to the highest bidders. Serena is sold off to a cruel man, but a twist of fate has her engaged to a man from another country where customs are very different.

The book definitely enraged me as I read about the way women were forced to take part in cruel customs. I liked that Serena was willing to take risks to go against the unfairness of the practices. Serena was very naïve and lacked conviction in some parts, but I felt her flaws made her more relatable.

I liked Zade a lot and I wished there was more of a focus on the romance. The point of the book is for Serena to escape being forced to marry, but I still wanted more love scenes. It was still very sweet to see how much Zade and Serena grew to care for one another despite their different backgrounds. The side characters were also enjoyable and I did feel like they were all well developed.

The plot was good although I would’ve preferred a tad bit more world building. I just had a hard time picturing what the town looked like and would’ve liked to know why the society ended up the way it did. I liked the magical elements a lot and loved the descriptions of the parties and the elaborate clothing.

The end tied up everything nicely and I do see there’s a prequel out now and a sequel in the works. I hope there are more of Serena and Zade in the second book and maybe a story focused on one of Serena’s sisters. I believe the book is categorized as YA, but it definitely has crossover appeal.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

I received a copy of the novel for my honest review.