Review: Jeweled by Anya Bast

Berkley Heat
ISBN-10: 0425236862
ISBN-13: 978-0425236864
Release Date: November 2, 2010

Defined by magic. Ruled by desire.

In the Court of Edaeii, magic-imbued Evangeline is rewarded for her gift in manipulating emotion with a sapphire stone set into the perfect curve of her lower back. Her greatest rival in the royal court is the enigmatic Anatol, instilled with the power of illusion. He may better her in magic, but he is her absolute equal in passion.

They share something else—they’re both targets of low-born revolutionaries bent on overthrowing the palace of the privileged few. Rescued from the mobs by Gregorio, the brilliant revolutionary mastermind, they’re given sanctuary. But in this warm refuge, Evangeline soon finds herself torn between the magic of one man she has always desired, and the excitingly new and radical moves of another. For her, there is only one choice.

Evangeline, Anatol and Gregorio come together as one to explore the possibilities of love beyond reason, and to indulge in pleasure without limits.

I obtained the above information from Ms. Anya's website.
I was also given this book by the author for my honest thoughts and words... So here goes!

Oh wow... where do I start. First, let me say that Ms. Anya did another fan-freaking-tastic job of taking me to another time and place. She rocked my world with Wicked Enchantments world and now the Jeweled world. Where all things are mystical and dangerous. Where being yourself might actually cost you your life. Ms. Anya entwined her story around me so that I had to finish the story. It was like holding your breath... You just have to breath.. And I had to read this book. I had to know Evangeline's story.

The world which we enter is where magick is special and treated as such. We enter a world of Royals and commoners. Where there is riches and the finer things of life... where there is poverty and starvation. But to hold magick, is a special thing and for that those chosen are taken from their parents at a very young age. To train and hone in on their special ability ~ daily, religiously and even to the point of exhaustion. But the training is so worth it... or it is worth it to some.

Evangeline lived her entire life, since she was taken from her family at the age of four, for the day she would be jeweled. She knew her magick would prove to catch the attention of the Royal and she seek to gain that acceptance. With that acceptance came the privileged world of the Royal. Being allow to marry into the Royal line was what Evangeline wanted, or so she thought. The childhood she could remember was not the best. Being poor was one matter, but being the daughter of a pig farmers was another matter all together. She knew she wanted better than that for herself and if using her magick and her body got her where she wanted to be... then so be it.

I admired her to an extend. She survived some pretty rough hands life dealt her. She did what she had to do in order to stay alive. I admired her determination, her spirit to never give up when it got tough and her stubbornness. Even though it almost cost her her life a couple of times. The only niggler I had about her was she thought she was not worthly of the love that one man wanted to give her. But when you sit down and truly look within yourself, I think we are all like that at some point in time in our lives. So even though she constantly reminded herself that she was not worthy (and that was a little issue with me) of love because she never knew love, I went past that and saw the woman for who she truly was... A woman who was never shown true love, never shown true passion, never show happiness within. She built walls around herself because of her special magick. She manipulates other people's emotions, but in doing so, she soaks them into herself... in her soul. She bounces off the emotions of others... taking from one to replace another. But it damages her each time she does it, hence the walls she built. She built those walls so thick that it hinder her from even experiencing any true emotions.

Anatol has watched Evangeline since she came to live at the the Court of Edaeii. Anatol's magick is that he is instilled with the power of illusion. Which is awesome, but you have to remember, to have a power also comes its draw backs. So with this ability, his curse is to see the true nature of person's soul. And what he saw in Evangeline made him want her that much more. He also has to be careful with Evangeline because he knows that he could never push her to him. He wooed the Royals at the ceremoy that was held to determine who would be Jeweled and who would be dismissed. He was Jeweled. But after the Jeweling ceremony... Anatol and Evangeline's world would soon change... forever.

Things are not always as they seem to appear. By keeping the Jeweled in the Royal tower, it kinda kept those away from the happenings of their surroundings. Evangeline was always busy training and making sure she was at the top of her game (or magick I should say) or she was using her *cough* magick to get one step higher in securing her place at the Court of Edaeii. Knowing what was happeneing outside the castle did not appeal to her, for she did not have the time to learn of the current events. If she would have, she might have been better prepared for what was going to happen to her next.

Revolution. Chaos. Citizens taking action. More chaos. Bringing down the Royal family and any one associated with them, even the Jeweled were in the making the night Evangeline got Jeweled. It was supposed to be the most special night of her life and it turned out to be the one that flipped her world upside and inside out and all the way around.

Ms. Anya is creating another awesome world for us to lose ourselves in. The story building is enough with out it being to much. Her writing skills made me feel the cold from the snow, the hunger within my own belly and the sensation from one kiss. And she will make you feel the passion come off the pages as you read, she will make you feel the desire the characters have for each other, you will feel the sadness, you will feel the happiness but most importantly she will make you feel the love that surrounds the characters in this journey! Now that is writing.

If I tell you any more about the story, I fear I may give it away. And you know I do not want to do that... But I will give you this... You know I am going to tease you now that I have given you a little history on the story...
Evangeline and Anatol alone will rock your world. But then there is a third party, the one that pushed for the revolution to happen. How does he fit in you ask... Well, you will have to read to find out, but I will tell you that when these three come together they bring out the best in each other, they work together for a brighter future for their country. They push each others buttons and get heated with each other and in more than one way... but it comes down to one thing... can a person love when they never knew love to begin with?

Let's find out....

Please visit Ms. Anya's website here... and her blog here... To check out all the happenings of her world! You won't be disappointed! And I sure she would love to hear from you!

And remember... Keep it Dirty, Smutty & Hussy!