Clouded By Envy
Brenik has always been envious of his twin sister, Bray. Growing up as fairy-like creatures, known as bats, everything came easier to Bray. While Brenik spent his time in her shadows, never feeling he was enough. After escaping their world of Laith, and living on Earth for ten years, Brenik attempts to strike a deal with the Stone of Desire to become human. Though true humanity is not an option, he will accept the curse that will alter him to get as close as he can.
Living in a tree trunk for the past year hasn’t been easy for Bray, more so after her brother disappears again. When a human boy and his brother, Wes, find her, a new friendship is struck. Through Wes, Bray learns there can be more to life than waiting within a tree. But worrying over where Brenik has vanished to always remains in the back of her mind.
When Bray reunites with Brenik, she realizes she must help him break the curse after she discovers the need for blood is beginning to overpower him. The curse not only damages those who get close to Brenik, but it could also destroy whatever is blooming between Bray and Wes.
Title: Clouded By Envy
Series: Laith #1
Author: Candace Robinson
Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy
Hardcover: 334 pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Publishing Date: 02/10/2019
Language: English
ISBN: 1796516678
ISBN-13: 978-1796516678
My Review
Whoa! I stinking loved this!
Oh, what gorgeous book has fallen into my hands, swept me away with its story and left me heartbroken to bits in the best of ways? This one has!
Where to begin?
Let’s start with the gorgeous cover. Simply beautiful. The art of the branches continues for every new chapter beginning through the entirety of the book, and I always enjoy that extra touch.
Before I was able to start this novel, I already peeked inside to check out the first few paragraphs and I was hooked. A story of young bat siblings stranded during a deadly war against their kind in a different world? Well…I was in and all over that different concept, intrigued about what was to take place.
Bray and Brenik, twins and bat creatures left by their mother after birth, have been raised by two special friends in succession. First, in the world of Laith where they were born and later on in our world. Though they are twins, one was the stronger - Bray, and Brenik - the weaker and smaller one of the two.
Through a mysterious stone gate, their first caretaker, Junah sent them to find refuge in the human world. There, Bray was afforded a wish by the Stone of Desire, while Brenik was left without a wish in his sister's shadows, as always.
Ten years pass by, and the two of them live in the tree by an elderly lady’s property who takes them in and teaches them about their new world. By the time she passes away, Bray has mastered the wish of turning into the form of a human girl and back at her command but didn’t make much use of it since her brother would not be able to participate.
Throughout the years, Bray has always looked out for her brother, but he is loathing himself for being different, weaker, and what he perceives as useless. Often he disappears to the Stone of Desire, to ask for amends that could change his life. And while Bray is waiting on him for days on end, she befriends the two brothers, Wes and Luka, who have moved into the house of their former caretaker.
The three of them get on very well while Brenik is staying away for longer than usual. When mysterious murders happen in town, Bray is beginning to wonder if anything has happened to her brother or if there possibly is a connection to the murder cases.
In the meantime, Brenik has finally struck a deal with the Stone of Desire. Was it everything he wanted it to be?
A deadly contract as readers find out at the end, but who will pay the price for it? Can love prevail through the cloud of envy or are the forces of the dark too strong and unforgiving? A conclusion that will leave you crushed to bits over the torment of human desires gone wrong with a glimmering brush of hope to save all the bat creatures and the future of Laith.
***
This book was precious as well as entertaining with an unforeseeable outcome. I enjoyed all the movie references made that I lived through back in the day as a blossoming teen, and it all fit like a glove for me.
I enjoyed Bray’s character immensely. She is sweet and kind, adapts easily and learns fast. Though she has had many chances to leave Brenik behind, she never does. Her heart shines in the interactions with Wes and Luka. Though there is a hint of romance in the air between her and Wes, the entirety of their connection is based on real friendship and they do nice things all day long.
Brenik’s struggle is the counterbalance in the novel. His torment is dark but relatable. All the emotions that Bray can constrain, he is discovering in full force and uncontrollably. Let’s call it perhaps hyper-emotional. Lust, envy, and anger are the greatest struggles he acts upon. Though he is adaptive as well, his motives deceive him into further troubles deeper and deeper. He turns out to be quite a bad boy…naughty and nice (-ish?).
The Yin and Yang balancing act in the novel is characterized perfectly with the siblings but eventually, a coin will fall and one will rule over the other. Admittedly, I enjoyed reading both sides. In alternate pov, it kept the story propelling forward unraveling everything in its path.
You’ll just have to read it yourself. I loved it. I think the author gets me…or perhaps it is the other way? Not sure…
Give it a try and enjoy,
Cheers!
