The heart and blood of life will give rise to the final army.

Evvie Hewett is human. Or at least she thought she was. An encounter with a handsome stranger turns her world upside down in an impossible way and everything she thought she knew about herself has changed. Her history holds the key, not only to her future, but to the future of the darkest kingdom in existence.

Thrust into the middle of a rivalry between two brothers for the Unseelie throne, she must decide who to trust, and who not to. However, knowing who to trust has never been more difficult when one brother wants her heart, the other, her blood.

She holds the key to the creation of the ultimate army. Threatened at every turn, she must find the truth before she loses her heart, and her life. Can she see past the lies and deception to stay alive, or will she fall victim to an ancient feud?

I am loving this world. You enter with a skeleton key. The way you obtain said key is varied. One thing appears to be certain you must accept and use it willingly. In this story two brothers Aurelian and Nolan are vying for the throne of the Unseelie Court. However in order to prove themselves worthy they feel they need an Army. The type of Army is the difference between the two brothers. In order to create the army they need the cooperation of a halfling. Since most if not all halflings live in the human realm they would first need the key and then locate her.

Aurelian is ahead in this game he has the key and knows where to to find her.

Evvie is the halfling and she is drawn into this game. Scared confused and glad to see Ian, she is slowly informed of where she is and why. Unfortunately for her no one and I mean no one is being completely honest with her. Here is one of my favorites scenes where Nolan sort of tells her the truth.
“H— he told me that I was the key. That I had to choose between you and him. That my decision would decide who would be the next King.” Evvie dropped her eyes as embarrassment continued to flood her cheeks. Nolan was handsome, but in a different way than Aurelian, he was also nice… maybe nicer. She was glad she hadn’t made a hasty decision.  

It’s always better to take your time and weigh the odds, right? Especially if they were going to affect my future… but how could anything in the fae world affect me?

She frowned. They would let her go home after she’d made the decision… wouldn’t they?

Nolan stepped closer, his fingers trailing along her neck and over her shoulder.  

“That is all he told you? I’m surprised he wasn’t more forthcoming about what your decision would cost you.”

“Cost me? What do you mean? He just said that I had to decide and that it would affect me… he didn’t say it would cost me anything.” Her gaze shot up to meet his. Nolan was too close for her comfort, becoming almost predatory. She turned from him to face the window again.

“You will have to decide— that much is true— but he failed to tell you about the army.” His voice trailed off on the last word.

“Army?” She echoed.

“Yes, you are the key to the creation of the most powerful army. Whichever you decide will cost something from you.”

She shuddered, “What will it cost me?”  

A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

“One of us needs your blood and the other,” his hand slipped up her arm and rested above her heart. “The other requires your heart.”
Army Of The Winter Court (Skeleton Key) (pp. 114-115). Sapphire Press. Kindle Edition.

As the story progressed I found myself holding my breath hoping she chooses wisely. Only to be surprised by a stunning turn of events.

5 contented Purrs for Ali!

  Ali Winters

Ali grew up in the Pacific North West. She attended Oregon State University for photography. After many adventures she moved to Colorado and earning second degree, she found and met and married her husband. 
Ali currently lives in windy Wyoming with her husband and two dogs. When not writing Ali is either photographing, knitting, reading, dancing or staying inside where it’s warm with a hot cup of coffee and dreaming of traveling the world someday soon.