Mistwood by L. Cypress

Mistwood by Leah Cypess is a story that was able to draw my attention almost without effort.

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can’t help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

In Mistwood, you mostly follow Isabelle, who is a shifter that is bound to serve the king of the time. The only catch is that once she returns to the Mistwood she becomes wild again. So when a new king comes to claim her she won’t remember anything of her previous lives.  It’s this bit that was able to pull me in. While everyone around Isabelle know the reasons for her previous departure, she doesn’t have a clue. Her inability to remember anything, including exactly what she is, makes for an intriguing story. I immediately was able to connect and empathize with Isabelle. She was clueless, but in order to make herself seem competent in the protection of the king, she had to act as if she knew what she was doing.

One thing that I will say is that though I loved the story, there was a point near the end were I became confused about exactly what was going on. Everything was happening so fast, and the revelations around the characters were coming to light almost in the exact same time. This created a bit of befuddlement on my part and I had to reread it a couple of times in order to understand what was going on. When I did understand it though, I was pleasantly surprised.  The ending definitely gave me a shock that I really didn’t see coming.

Overall, Mistwood was a really easy and fun read.  I hope that readers of young adult paranormal stories will like this as much as I did. The characters were relatable and intelligent. The story provided a genuine surprise, and even though it was confusing near the end, I really enjoyed it.

Also reviewed by:
Library Lizard Lounge
Books at Midnight
Steph Su Reviews
The Book Smugglers
The Bookshelf Sophisticate