The Tairen Soul Series by C.L. Wilson

                                   

                                            

A five star series!
I am such a huge fan of authors that have the ability to create a completely different world with unique characters and an original story line.  There is no doubt that a great deal of time, effort, heart and soul went into the creation of this series and I am such a fan! 
First of all this is one big loooooooooong story so before you begin you need to know that you will not get full closure until the last book!
This is the story of Elysetta and Rain.  Rain is a Tairen Soul, the last of his kind.  A Tairen Soul is Fae but also has the power to change into a Tairen.  The Tairen are powerful, magical winged cats that can breathe fire.  Rain is also King of the Fae and he is both deadly and feared.
The Fae have a strong relationship with the Celerians who are mortal.  On a journey to Celeria for a political gathering Rain meets his Soul Mate...  Elysetta.  When a Fae man meets his soul mate he must find a way for her to accept this bond.  If she doesn't accept with all her heart, mind and soul then eventually he will be driven to madness and die.  And so begins the journey... 
This story is not just about the coming together of these two souls... it is so much more.  The Fae and the Tairen are dying and Rain is desperate to find out why and somehow Elysetta and their bond is vital to the survival of their race. 
Elysetta is also on a difficult journey of her own which is making it hard for her to complete the bond.  She really has no idea who or what she is and cannot complete the bond with Rain until she figures this out.  And Rain isn't the only one out to claim her soul.  She is also being hunted by the Evil High Mage. 
The Mages are a nasty evil bunch who practice dark magic and have the ability to claim souls.  Once someone has been marked and claimed by a mage they become the mages puppet to be used in whatever way they want.  The perfect weapon because your best friend could very well be your enemy if they have fallen victim to a mage claiming. 
The High Mage wants to claim Elysetta and he stalks her through dreams and magic.  If he is able to mark her six times she will belong to him.  Rain and Elysetta must complete the bond before this happens...  that is the only thing that will keep her safe from the High Mages grasp.  
The series wraps up with a world war basically.  The mages want to gain control and they are out to destroy the Fae.  The Fae must align themselves with the Celerians, the Elves and whoever else they can grab to help win the war.  If they do not win the world will be consumed by evil and darkness.

Just a small warning...  the High Mage practices dark evil magic.  There are elements to his magic that are disturbing.  He collects magical prisoners and uses them to create offspring that he hopes to use to his advantage in the impending war against the Fae.  So... there is torture, sacrifices (sometimes infants), sexual abuse, rape and scenes of cruelty against children.  It is not overly descriptive in most cases but some people may find this content disturbing. 

There were times that I felt the story was dragging on a bit...  but that was just a small complaint for me...  once the series is finished you realize that every detail was important. 
In a nutshell, this story is full of amazing and creative characters that you will both love and hate.  There were times I wanted to crawl into the book, move to the fading lands and hook myself up with a Fae Warrior.  Fae men love and honor their women and they protect them fiercely. 
I would love to be able to re-visit this world again...  I do hope this author feels compelled to give us more some day.  There were so many characters that I wanted to get to know better and I was impressed by this world that C.L. Wilson created. 
If you are a fan of fantasy mixed with romance with a large dose of action then I highly recommend this series!

K~