Mistwood By Leah Cypress

Mistwood by Leah Cypress
Isabel is shape-shifter, and her one duty is to protect the king and his kingdom. When Prince Rokan comes to Mistwood seeking her she knows she must follow and protect him as long as he is unsafe. She senses something has changed from how it was before, but is not the palace that is different but her. She has more human emotions that she feels comfortable with, and has trouble shifting into different shapes.

She is thrown into court intrigue and politics, as she tries to discover who or what threatens the prince. Everything that is wrong seems to point back to the reason she left in the first place. When she remembers what happened she has to make a decision between what is in her heart and the duty she owes to the crown.


So, one of my favorite things about working in the library at my High School during my off period is that we have an awesome librarian. She got the ARC of Mistwood at a Librarian conference and so I got to borrow it from her. Squee! First off, I assumed that Mistwood was going to be a typical paranormal romance. Sure there were no vampires or werewolves, but it would probably have the same feel as all the other books out there. I read the first page or two and the setting of a misty and mystical forest caught my interest. So, I took it home to read.

So glad I did! It was so refreshing to read about a Heroine that does not dither about whether or not she should avoid the dangerous boy who is suddenly and mysteriously interested in her! In fact, there really is no “dangerous boy” in this story. I loved this book because so many aspects of it are unique from the current market trend. It has a varied blend of action, political intrigue, mystery, and romance. The plot focuses more on the mystery side than the romance side, which was fine by me. There was an good plot twist (though I guessed it from the clues), and all the plotlines are neatly tied up at the end. I think the author employed the whole love triangle plot line in the most innovative way ever. When Isabel is faced with the choice of to whom she should dedicate her loyalty and protective powers, I was totally hooked. In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book.