Into The Night Book Reviews: Blog Tour: Homecoming by Cecilia Robert

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Blog Tour: Homecoming by Cecilia Robert

Welcome to our stop on the blog tour for Homecoming a Cloaked Devices short story by Cecilia Robert.

Title: Homecoming (Cloaked Devices #0.5) – novella

Author: Cecilia Robert

Release date: October 25th, 2013

Age Group: New Adult/Adult

Genre: Paranormal romance with steam punk and fantasy elements

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours and Events

Five years ago, twenty-three-year-old panther shifter Sera Czedar left her home and her newly mated groom in a humiliating position after a mating ceremony gone wrong. She built a new life for herself in Varselles, the City of Outcasts where shifters exiled from their clans in the Seven Kingdoms can go for sanctuary.

Five years ago, panther shifter Levian Grayson was abandoned on the bonding bed by his bride, Sera. After years of tracking her, he arrives in Varselles, intent on staking his claim on her once and for all, even if it means hauling her over his shoulder just to make sure that happens.

Sera has always known her homecoming would eventually catch up with her one day. The one thing she can’t bear to do is hurt Levian, which will happen as soon as he finds out the reason she left him. Is she ready to take that path? Most of all, will Levian still want her when the truth comes out?

Homecoming is the introductory novella to what promises to be a very interesting 'shifter' series. Homecoming is the 'establishment' chapter of the series in which we are introduced to the main characters and get a fairly detailed description/understanding of the environment, culture and context for the story. Roberts has created, with very intricate detail, a society filled with shape shifters, humans with the ability to bend air, fire and earth, ships that fly ... it's absolutely amazing in fact. The characters are incredibly intriguing. Levian and Tegue, twin brothers and panther shifters; Sera also a panther shifter and mate to Levian; Uriel a human that can bend air and fire.

The focus of Homecoming is on finding Sera and her return to the clan home. Her departure, on the night of her mating ceremony with Levian, was unexpected and it has taken Levian five years to track her down. As the story unfolds we begin to understand the connection between Levian and Sera and the reasons for her mysterious departure. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and felt that I develped a good understanding of each of the characters.

While the start was a little slow, I gradually found myself immersed in the story, wanting so much to happen between the characters. There were sections where great detail was provided, although sometimes it was too much for me as I worried I would need to retain the detail for future instalments in the series. In other sections things were glossed over a little when I would have liked more detail. There were some minor editorial issues in the version I was reading, which were a little distracting at times. But overally I enjoyed Roberts writing style and her ability to engage me as a reader.

While this is a novella, it provides a good introduction to the series. There is no cliffhanger as such, but obviously there are lots of unanswered questions when you get to the end of Homecoming. I will add future instalments in the series to my TBR list as I would really like to see what unfolds in this series.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Cecilia Robert writes YA, NA and Adult. My motto: Passion rules. I enjoy writing stories about people finding love in the most unexpected of places,and also about people finding their true purpose in life coupled with adventurous journeys, whether it's urban, fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary or paranormal romance. There's always a happy ever after, no matter how long it takes for the characters to get there.