Title: Impossible Things
Author: Kate Johnson
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Choc Lit
Format: E-book
“Are they cursed as well as Chosen?
Ishtaer is a mystery. A blind slave, beaten and broken by her sadistic mistress, with no memory of a time before her enslavement.
Kael Vapensigsson is one of the elite Chosen – a warlord whose strength comes from the gods themselves. But despite all his power and prestige, he is plagued by a prophecy that threatens to destroy everything he loves. When Kael summons Ishtaer to his room and discovers the marks of the Chosen on her body, including the revered mark of the Warrior, both warlord and slave seem to have met their match.
But as their lives become increasingly entangled and endangered, Ishtaer is forced to test whether the Chosen ever have the ability to choose their own fate.”
Couple of days ago Linda from Book Girl of Mur y Castell (Books-forLife) blog review Impossible Things by Kate Johnson and she loved it. I know Linda and she doesn’t give high ratings easily, when she says she likes a book it’s because the book is really good. I trust her recommendations completely, that’s why after reading her review I decided to read Impossible Things, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I loved Impossible Things, loved it so much I was asking Linda and Twitter for more recommendations similar to this book. I’m getting ahead of myself; let me talk more about what Impossible Thingsis about and why I loved it.
Kael Vapensigsson is a famous warlord and pirate, feared by many; he has a reputation that precedes him. People are afraid of him and with good reason. He’s the most feared warlord of the elite Chosen and proudly bears the double marks of the gods.
In this world Kate Johnson gives us they are different kinds of Chosen, some bear the mark of the warrior like Kael, others the marks of healers, the marks seers, the marks of the viator and some other marks. Few of them have two marks and the few that have them have a higher status than the others. Kael is double marked.
Kael may be a pirate, but he works under the sanction of the Emperor. In one of his missions he comes to the New Lands, where the woman who reigns is known for her cruelty towards her slaves. One of those slaves Kael discovered is marked as a Chosen. He knows he can’t leave the Chosen behind and smugglers her out with him when he departs. Kael is appalled at the Chosen state, she’s not only completely starved and blind, but she also bears the marks of vicious torture. But what is more difficult for Kael to accept is the broken spirit of the girl. A girl he soon discovers not only bears one Chosen mark, but three marks, something not seen before; what is even more astonishing is that she bears the marks of the warrior, the first ever woman to bear those marks.
Ishtaer doesn’t have memories of a life before the New Lands and only remembers pain and hunger. She’s glad to have escaped, but she can’t help to cower and be afraid, because that’s the only thing she has known in the last years of her life.
Kael takes Ishtaer to the Academy, where all the Chosen are train in their specialties. He makes her his ward in the public eye and leaves her to be trained. Soon after leaving her in the Academy he returns to the land of Krulland, where he rules. Months pass but Kael can’t stop thinking about the emaciated girl he left in the Academy. He decides to check on her again and what he finds on his return to the Academy not only surprises but also changes his life.
The first time Kael is introduce we see why people fear him, but after couple of pages we can see there is a lot more than what others think of him. It’s almost as if there are two Kaels, the public one and the private one. He has that vicious public persona he exploits, but he uses to protect those he loves. If people fear him nobody will risk his wrath and attack one he loves. When Kael is with the ones he considers a love one or a friend he is a caring and a loving man, a man that will do anything to protect those he loves.
Ishtaer is one of the more broken heroines I have ever read. She has suffered all kind of atrocities and her spirit is broken in many tiny pieces. Her recovery is slow going and with many ups and downs. Page by page we see her getting one more piece together until she can make herself whole. Along the way she finds he mantle, seeing her find inner strength was a heartwarming experience and I couldn’t help but cheer for her.
The romance in no prominent in the story but there is enough of it to make our heart flutter. Kael and Ishtaer relationship is slowly built. They both need to solve some issues before being able to be together and they are also afraid of their feelings and what it means for them; but when the heart reigns there is not much left to be done but accept their destiny. Especially when they are better together than alone.
The secondary characters are also great and there are some of them I would love to know more about.
The world is interesting, the action keeps the pages flowing and there is enough romance to appeal to romance lovers.
Do you know that feeling of “this is just what I needed” after finishing a book? That was the feeling I had after finishing Impossible Things. Impossible Things is not your normal fantasy nor is your normal romance, it much more. So much that I really hope Kate Johnson decides to write more books in the world she created in Impossible Things.
My verdict: 4 ½ Paws
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