Ena of Ilbrea: The Four Book Saga

By: Megan O'Russell

Narrated by: Alexandra Hunter

Ena never hoped for a peaceful life. She never dreamt she’d become a killer either.

Ilbrea: A country mercilessly ruled by the seven Guilds where commoners struggle to survive - no one knows the cost of survival better than illegal healer Ena Ryeland. Ena is offered a life of freedom and a chance to fight the Guilds. But she can’t win the battle alone....

A myth to guide her journey.
A brother she thought she’d lost.
A ghost to steal her fear.
A man to steal her heart.

An impossible enemy. A hope for freedom. Ena is the only one with a chance of fighting the Guilds - if she can survive long enough to try.

Ena of Ilbrea: The Four Book Saga includes Ember and Stone, Mountain and Ash, Ice and Sky, and Feather and Flame.

©2020 Megan O'Russell (P)2021 Ink Worlds Press

not a happy story but one worth reading

I really like when authors combine a series together, it makes binge reading so much easier and with the endings to each book the way they are, this is really the only way to enjoy this book. I'm quite happy I didn't read it in peices and had to wait for the next one. I needed time to process this story when it ended. I am still confused and then after reading other reviews I'm pretty sure thats not going to change. However, there were alot of good parts and I did enjoy the overall story. Most of the reviews focus on the ending so I'll try to focus on everything else.


The perspective of the story is from Ena after the whole story takes place, so before you hear the chapter you will hear her retrospective memory of the events that occured. The intros to some of the stories were sometimes hard to match to the story that came after, and often made me think something much worse was going to happen. I also think the narrator helped over exaggerate this as well. Also, I suspect that this book will be better on a second read because you know the ending and the real place she is telling the story from. It was hard to match this without knowing certain things first.


The beginning was a slow start but keeps it interesting from early on. I really like Ena as a strong female lead. I really liked all the females in this book and wish there were more female freindship building. I also loved Liam, Fynn, and Emmit. The males seem to be a little overboard on protectivness when it doesn't make sense though. I enjoyed the love/hate sibling dynamic and watching that relationship mend itself. Fynn adds good necessary humor to the story, he was my favorite character. For the first book i was intrigued by the love story that's not a love story (which did develop into a love story).


The writing style is very descriptive that helps try to paint the scene but while going through the story it just felt like filler words and overly dramatic. Now that I've finsihed it i am thinking back and reanalyzing my opinion. For example, she mentioned so many times she needed to touch the pendent to feel its warmth against her skin. It was kind of annoying while reading it but now I understand that description of the pendent changes at the end and is how we confirm a very specific detail. Actually I think alot of what she said will only make sense once you get to the end of the book, so keep that in mind if you haven't read it yet.


I really liked the complicated world dynamic with the guilds and blackbloods. The unique magic system of the mountain and it protecting its people was also cool and different. We never reached the bottom of the mountain's power and that story line but it doesn't take away my appreciation of the author's creativity.


There were a few times i thought I guessed who the traitors were but everytime I was wrong! I thought it would be a more obvious choice but the author kept the twists just enough so it didn't break your heart. Not that she doesn't break your heart, she does.


Now the ending. Do I love it? No. Does it make sense that everyone needed to be invovled? Not at all. Is it complete? Also no. However it does leave me with the ability to imagine the rest of Ena's life, as miserable as that will be. I can picture her just letting her wrath out on the world. Whose more dangerous then a person with absolutely nothing to lose and a desperate thirst for vengeance? I see her rallying the people to finally fight back on their own. Maybe even the rest of the blackbloods finally join. I am left the with the ability to finish the story the way I think it should be. Plus, not every ending needs to be HEA. The extent of the tragedy at the end is what is most shocking for me. As I was getting closer to the end I couldn't picture how it was going to be able to wrap up in such a short amount of time and then I understood why.


I'm intrigued with the whole story, the way it was written, and how it ended. If you are looking for something quite different to most fantasy books then I'd still recommend giving this a shot. Just know its not a happy story and definitely not a happy ending.

Came for the Story. Stayed for the adventure.

Ena of Ilbrea is among the best epic fantasy tales I’ve had the pleasure of reading/listening to. Ena is a strong, unassuming hero. Haunted by her past and hunted by the Guilds, Ena is driven from the only home she’s ever known and into the mountains of Ilbrea where she joins the legendary Black Bloods.

This saga is rife with love, action, epic battles, and mournful losses. It’s the fairytale we all deserve today. Be wary if you only want HEAs. Ena’s tale isn’t the happiest, but my god is it incredibly beautiful!

Awesome world building!

I’m so glad this series is available to download in one tome! Listening to this world grow and expand, and hearing an author be unafraid to make some surprising character choices makes this series incredibly enjoyable! I hope the world continues to expand!

Addictive

I listen to all four books in this compilation. First of all the narrator was absolutely amazing and I could listen to her for another 38 hours. The story was some thing that she wanted to keep hearing more of. it did leave a lot of loose ends and room for a fifth book. I was beginning to lose my interest in this fantasy genre because I kept starting picks and immediately realizing that they were too convoluted and did not engage me in the first chapters. This one did and restored my love for fantasy. Highly recommend