ARC Review: Rogue's Pawn (Covenant of Thorns: Book 1)

Rating: 4.5 Stars Out of 5
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Author: Jeffe Kennedy
Series: Covenant of Thorns
Release Date/Format: July 16, 2012; eBook
Blurb: 
Haunted by nightmares of a black dog, 
sick to death of my mind-numbing career 
and heart-numbing fiancé, I impulsively 
walked out of my life—and fell into Faerie. 
Terrified, fascinated, I discover I possess a 
power I can't control: my wishes come true. 
After an all-too-real attack by the animal
 from my dreams, I wake to find myself the 
captive of the seductive and ruthless fae 
lord Rogue. In return for my rescue, he 
demands an extravagant price—my firstborn 
child, which he intends to sire himself…

With no hope of escaping this world, I must learn to harness my magic and build a new life despite the perils—including my own inexplicable and debilitating desire for Rogue. I swear I will never submit to his demands, no matter what erotic torment he subjects me to…

When I was searching through NetGalley, I stumbled across Rogue's Pawn and with it's gorgeous cover and captivating blurb - I simply had to have it. I had such high expectations for this book and Ms. Kennedy didn't disappoint. 
Jennifer is living her life as a shadow. She's engaged to a man because he's confortable, has a career lacking passion, and seems to be lost in this shell of herself, doing what is expected. So, one night, she's had enough. She leaves her fiancé at a party and just drives, not caring how "insensible" she is being, simply letting the road lead her. 

And lead it does. Following her instincts, Jennifer finds herself in the shadow of Devil's Tower, blindly completing a ceremony that wakes her in a land where her wishes come true. Unfortunately, said wishes aren't always well thought out...

After a rapid series of events, she finds herself a prisoner to a sexy not-quite-human man in a world unknown to her. Oh, and here, in Faerie, she's known as Gwynn - Lady Sorceress. Learning quickly about this world filled with bargains of life or death, telepathy and manipulative politics is necessary for Gwynn's survival, but at what cost?

Ms. Kennedy writes a lovely story, woven with thoughtfulness and honesty. The journey of a woman navigating her way through so much unknown is written as a relatable fantasy that I connected with easily. My biggest qualm was the multiple formatting errors in my ARC (hence the missing half star). I am *hoping* that the Kindle version will be void of these errors making for a flawless read.

Rogue, our leading man, is dark and captivating. I loved and hated him right along with Gwynn, not knowing his true feelings or reasoning even through the end of this story. His ability to command attention through every page, whether on it or not, was incredible. 

Gwynn's journey is at times difficult to read, but apart from a natural disaster, there was nothing that could stop me from turning the pages. There are still so many questions to be answered and I cannot WAIT to read the next book in the Covenant of Thorns series.

My Favorite Quote:

"I feel certain you'd 

ask hard questions 

that require long 

answers. I'll give you 

three principles - three 

things you should know

 to get through the evening."

"Five ground rules."

"I can't think of five."

"You disappoint me."

He flashed me the 

wicked grin. 

"I wouldn't have, if you 

let me kiss you."

This book releases tonight at midnight and is available for preorder right now on Amazon.